Going back home to the West Coast... #roadtriptoaz

Most humans, by nature, do not like change. When things are a certain way and seem to be stable, why would anyone want to change that? Well, sometimes we also put on blinders and those blinders make it seem like everything is okay, but it's not. Once Jenna got out of the Navy we soon realized that we had to make some decisions on what to do. Maryland was an expensive place to live and the only way for us to live there was to buy a house. But as we were just finally finding a house we could live with, Brad's parents suggested that we move back to Arizona. Naturally we hesitated because Brad didn't have a job and then by the grace of God, Brad's employer said that he could keep his job and working remotely from his laptop from Arizona! So the decision was made and nothing was keeping us in Maryland anymore. We contacted the Navy and they packed and shipped all our goods for free. Brad's dad came to Maryland and drove one of our cars back with our dogs. So all we had left to do was drive across the country... with a 4 month old! It wasn't as fun as it sounds, I assure you. But it also wasn't nearly as bad as we expected. Anberlin in seriously the best baby in the world.

Along the way we made plenty of stops and Anberlin was able to meet tons of family who she otherwise wouldn't have met. {There are LOTS of pictures coming up, just warning you...}

Obligatory picture in front of the first house Anberlin lived in.

Hope this thing is comfy...

Family photo during a stop on the 4th of July.

Anberlin and Great Grandma Sheppeard,

Hanging out with the girls!

Great Aunt Sally.

We had so much fun during our visit!

Sleeping on the way to meet Nana.

Anberlin and Great Nana.

Cousins.

Anberlin and Great Aunt Valerie.

Anberlin and Erin and Katie.

More sleeping.

Anberlin and Great Grandma Ebert.

Anberlin and Great Grandpa Ebert.

Yup! I got them all!

WHEW. That was our trip across the US. It took us 4 days and Brad drove the whole way (what a trooper!). We are thankful that we were able to stop and see family. And now we are so happy to be in Arizona with our parents and immediate family.

Tomorrow Anberlin turns 5 months! And yes, there will be a blog for that tomorrow! :)

<3

Baby's firsts...

When you are only 6.5 weeks old, you get a lot of chances to have your "first" things. Like Anberlin had her first Friday the 13th last Friday. It was also the start of her first road trip, through her first set of different states, to her first baseball game where she saw her first homerun. She had a pretty awesome set of firsts this weekend. :) She was suuuuch a good baby on the road trip too. We were able to drive about 2-2.5 hours before needing to stop and she would sleep pretty much the whole time. Then when we stopped for the night in a hotel, she would sleep in her pack and play with ease and would only want to be fed once in the night. We couldn't have asked for an easier time with her. 

We found her a little STL Cardinals hat!

Hanging out inside.

After the Cardinals won! :)

Hanging out inside with dad.

Playing in the hotel room.

Smile!

Crying baby

Still so cute, even when she is crying.

Playing in the trunk after a diaper change.

WHEW. Roadtripping is hard!

And then on Wednesday, she had another set of firsts... her first shots! :( The appointment started out with a basic check up. She is now 12.6 lbs and almost 23 inches long and healthy as can be. They had us fill out this assessment of things that she does, or should be doing at 2 months, and she is well off the charts AND she is only 7 weeks old! :) After the appointment part, it was time for her to get her shots. I sent Brad into the room with her for that because I KNEW I wouldn't be able to handle it. So they walk over to the room where they give the shots. It's pretty far from me, but I could see inside the room still. And then out of nowhere I hear an ear piercing scream and I KNEW it was my little baby and so I started crying. The way it went down in the room according to Brad was that she was just laying on the table all smiles. Brad was behind her head holding her arms and she had two corpsmen on either side of her legs. She was looking up at the smiling and completely unaware of what was about to happen, then BAM they both shoot her at the same time. Then it was a one, two, three kind of reaction from Anberlin, like she was processing what happened before screaming and crying. Then they bandaged her up and sent her on her way. When she came out of the room she was fine, not even crying anymore. Me, on the other hand, still crying. Haha.

One of the battle wounds. :(

Little Anberlin has had a very eventful week and right now her grandma and grandpa (Jenna's parents) are here visiting. :)

Until next time....
<3 Brad, Jenna, and Anby