Since having a baby just wasn't enough change and upheaval, Garrett and I decided to throw a mini-move into the mix!
When Ethan was one day old, Garrett got a short term job contract offer for a company in Dallas! He had started sending out his resume during his Christmas Break, but we hadn't expected to hear anything so soon. Garrett is thrilled to have an opportunity to use the skills he's been learning in Grad School and work at a job in his career field.
Well, things starting moving quickly from there! The first week of Ethan's life went by pretty quick and during week two Garrett went up to Dallas, found an apartment and then we had about a day and a half to get what we needed for the next three months packed up and loaded to go! We were very blessed that during this time our Church family was bringing us meals to help us through this time of transition.
Thursday and Friday our friend Justin came and helped us pack and move things onto the U-Haul and Friday at noon we headed out! We figured in time for delays (feeding the baby etc) however, we were unable to foresee all the delays that came up during our trip and when we were close to Dallas we discovered that we wouldn't make it in time before the apartment office closed. Garrett called ahead and spoke with them, but there was nothing we could do except find a place to stay the night and wait until morning to move into our new apartment. This meant another day of fees for the U-Haul and trailer. However there was a blessing in this though- for some reason the guy at the U-haul place never charged us the overage fees. And since the U-haul was due at 2 pm (which we didn't know) we would have had TWO extra days of fees!
Did I fail to mention that not only were we traveling with a 2 1/2 week old baby, but we were also traveling with two cats? And did I mention that these two cats HATE car trips?
Well, even though the move wasn't going according to plan, there was a silver lining to this. My Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Alan live in Arlington which we weren't too far away from and they told us that we could stay the night with them. So U-haul, trailer, 2 cats and baby all stayed with my relatives. They were super sweet to put us up for the night and not only that but they heated up dinner for us and had it waiting when we arrived. It was great and just what we needed after a long stressful day! Also in the morning we got to visit with my grandmother and Aunt Beth before heading over to the apartment complex.
When we got to the apartment complex we found out that since we didn't move in on our move in day our lease was deleted out of their system. Oh well! We were able to re-sign all the paperwork though and sweet Ethan decided to give his parents a break and waited until we were done with the paperwork before he decided he was hungry and unhappy.
Once again we were blessed by our friends! Two of our former classmates at A&M, Ryan and Chalyce, live in the area and they came by to help us unload the truck! If it weren't for them I don't know how we would have pulled it off. Being just two weeks postpartum I had barely gotten clearance to drive to Dallas and wasn't supposed to do anything as heavy as lifting and moving boxes. Not only were they sweet and helped us move, but they also came by the next day with a lasagna for us! It was amazing and very much appreciated!
Well, Ethan has had some pretty big firsts for his first three weeks of life! First trip (other than the pediatricians office) a move! Fist grocery store run- was three stops long and was a long expensive run because we were setting up house in the Dallas Apartment! Our little baby may not sleep at night, but he sure was sweet and made the move and grocery run as easy for us as he possibly could.
Here is a picture of 2 1/2 week old Ethan dressed and ready for his first grocery store run!
We are so excited about Garrett's opportunity here in Dallas, but we are also sad to be away from College Station and our friends and Church family! It's bittersweet- we love College Station, its where we met, fell in love, and had our first few years of marriage- but we are excited about this new adventure. Ethan and I will be back at the end of March so its not forever. As for after that, Garrett still plans to graduate in August and from there we'll just have to see where our adventure takes us!
I do have to say that having my husband by my side has been amazing as we have gone through these past few weeks. Not only has he been amazing with Ethan (quick to change and feed him) but he's also been my best friend and I don't know when I have ever felt more bonded and like a "team". We've laughed together through all of the ups and downs of the moving process and (in hindsight) enjoyed every moment of it!
