Saying my Good-byes . . .

Our things are in storage, our cars are sold or ready to be given to someone else. Our apartment is a mess and we still need to place whats left into our 5 trunks and 5 suitcases. We also need to pack some of those suitcases to take with us to training. Whew. It's been a busy past few weeks. You may think this post is a tear jerker about the people and places we've had to say good-bye to. But you know that's not how I roll . . .



No more visits to old friends I never see anymore. The Spanish teachers I taught with the past two years threw me a shower a few weeks ago. These girls are great teachers and passionate about teaching languages to children.



No more playing video games. Jesse hasn't played video games in months. But when we went to our best friends Tom and Jenny's house this past weekend, he got to play one more time. As you can see, Renae is a quick learner.



No more sewing! Really! I'm not taking my machine with me as I usually only use it when I have random crafty bursts in me. These also usually happen when I'm with Jenny and I won't get to see her for awhile either. Unless she has her baby early in April! (P.S. I made THREE slings last weekend!)



No more sleeping in a crib for Renae-ever! Renae's bed overseas will be a pack-n-play until she needs a bigger one. I took a picture of her last sleep in it.



No more skinny jeans. Ok, this one has nothing to do with moving overseas. I had saved them after I had Renae for motivation. I wanted to fit into them again. They were my absolute all-time favorite pair of jeans. However, I wore them before I had hips. Now, I don't think it matters how much weight I lose. I will never fit into those pants again. I sadly put them into the Goodwill bin, shed a tear and then walked away without turning back. Fabulous jeans, R.I.P.


And I must leave you with one classic picture that has nothing whatsoever to do with this post. I had the joy of experiencing a photo session for the first time. The subjects were my 3 year old niece, my 7 month old niece, and Renae. You'd think it would be easy to get those three girls to all smile at the same time . . . . yeah right.

Our Quick Trip to Chicago a Few Weeks Ago

Shortly after (as in the very next morning) we returned from our adventures, the three of us headed to Chicago to turn in our visa application. I was pretty excited to go because I really enjoy big cities and had never been to Chicago (unless the airport counts-which it doesn't). So we packed the wee one and headed out. They don't call it the Windy City for no reason! It was one cold night and day but we still enjoyed it. After checking into our hotel and eating a quick supper, we went out for a walk to see the sights. It was cold and dark, but we still had fun. Plus we did some window shopping the warm department stores so I was happy!

The next day we walked a good 11 blocks to turn in our application, turned around, checked out of our hotel and left! But I was still so glad I got to see Chicago finally. I'm looking forward to living in a big city for a few years. I don't think I'd like living in a big city permanently, but for a few years, it will be great. Here are some pictures from our trip:


We haven't yet trained Renae to take a picture so we still need to use the long arm shot.


The peanut all bundled up!


Waiting to be told everything is in order and we can go.


Is this not the cutest baby ever? She was social (of course) with the few others there.


"Woohoo! I'm in a big city!"

Random Update

It's been a tad bit busy at the Masson house. Thankfully we don't really live in a house and only have an apartment to pack up for our big move. But still. We have lots to do. Over the past week we have:
-Packed up our kitchen
-Chosen the DVD's and C.D's we are taking with us (plus removed them from their cases so they fit in one big album)
-Boxed up the books we aren't taking
-Vacuum packed Renae's clothes for 6 months and bigger
-And lots more that I've decided I can't think of right now.

Renae received her 4 month shots yesterday. Poor girl. I held her while Jesse watched her face change shapes as the needles went into her thigh. I'm so glad she has short term memory right now . . .

My Mom showed me this HILARIOUS video that you may have already seen. Go to www.youtube.com and type in "Charlie Bit My Finger." The video is too funny. Just hearing a little English boy talk is cute enough.

Since we don't have much food in our house we are eating at my parents house tonight and I've been told it's time to eat. Adios . . . .

Some Fun in the Sun . . . .

Renae's first experience on a plane was great. On 2 of the 5 flights, I got to keep her in the car seat in a seat next to me. I was fine holding her on my lap, but I sure didn't mind when I got some space to myself!



Renae's first "swimming" experience. She lasted about 10 minutes swimming in the nice Florida sunshine and then she needed a little break:

"I'm go glad I found these feet to play with!"




Grandma still has the touch . . .



Yes, Renae was screaming her head off. It was time for her to eat but I just had to give her another "First"-going to the beach!



I first had this wonderful dessert in Turkey. Turns out the Greeks make a great profiterol as well!



Playing with Grandpa.



"It feels so good to go sockless!"


After a few days in the sun in Florida, we flew to another sunny state. One of my best friends, Steph, lives in Texas.



Had to take a picture with a Texas longhorn.




Steph's parents took me out to "a real ribs" place. Apparently Hickory Park isn't the best . . .



On Saturday night we went to a nice Brazilian restaurant. You flip a coaster over to green when you are ready to eat and waiters bring different cuts of meat around. They slice a piece off, and then you grab it with your very own set of mini-tongs. The meat is endless and so good, so when you are done or need a break, you just flip the coaster to red and they stop bringing you meat-until it's flipped back to green. I did a lot of flipping as I couldn't decided if I was done or not.


And of course we did lots of shopping!



We found a cute hat store and decided to act like "real" models.



Renae got in on the fun too.



Steph's sister made a beautiful blanket/quilt. Renae loves the soft green side. I love this blanket so much I think I'm going to do her next room based on the theme.



Saying good-bye at the airport.



And saying hello to another good friend. Heather lives in Denver and I had a 3 hour layover there. So she came out and we sat and chatted for a few hours. Steph, Heather and I had so much fun together in college. It was so good to see them again.



On our last flight back home, we had a whole row to ourselves. I put Renae in her car seat then kicked my feet back and relaxed all the way home. What a way to travel . . .

Renae's Ramblings Part 5

We're Back!!! Mommy and I arrived back home late Sunday night. It was so good to see Daddy again. I think he missed us.

Mommy and I were busy! We flew to Florida to see GGma and GGpa. We had so much fun! Then we flew again to Houston to see Mommy's friend Steph. Then we flew AGAIN back home. But at the airport in Denver we stopped and met up with Mommy's other good friend Heather. When we finally got home, the very next day we left in the car for Chicago. Whew! I've been busy busy busy but Mommy says I was such a good baby. It really wasn't that hard. I like flying on the planes and I liked getting lots of attention from people everywhere I went. I even made a friend on one flight. She was just a few months older than me but we talked a little bit. I think she was from Malaysia. She was so nice. Mommy is tired and has lots of things to do but she said to tell you that soon she will be posting pictures about all of our adventures. I would do it but I can't reach the plug-in on the computer for the camera. Gotta go! It's time for my nap!

All by myself.......

Well, I was challanged somewhat by my daughter (doubt if that will be the last time in her life) of my inability to Blog. So here is a "Daddy Rambling" ... for my personal benefit :)

I am definitely by my lonesome this week when I can grow my beard out and not worry about any remarks of "ouch! don't kiss me." Of course, the down side is that I have no one to kiss and I greatly miss my wife and dughter, but that is the way this cookie is crumbling.

That's right, I am Mr. Lumberjack, Care-free, Independent...or... just lazy. I prefer "Mr. Focused-on-other-stuff" as I have been taking care of some paperwork for our official departure from the states.

Not much to report here as .... not much is exciting when its just me. However, a few moments of solitude are nice and not having to worry about a schedule, or waking up in the early morning hours to comfort Renae. So all in all, don't tell Julie or Renae, lets keep this our little secret.

BFF, right?

Slowly catching up with the times,

Jesse

Renae's Ramblings Part 4

This is me. This is me trying my first bit if rice cereal. I'm not really sure what I think about it. It doesn't really matter though because I won't be eating it for awhile. Mommy says that I don't weigh enough to need rice cereal yet. She just wanted me to try it. Daddy took a video of me eating my cereal. How embarrassing. Would you want a video taken of you trying something for the first time? I didn't think so.

Mommy says we are leaving today to visit my Great Grandparents in Florida, and then flying somewhere else to visit a friend of hers. Yay! It's my first plane ride. I hope the take off and landing don't make me cry. We will see! Mommy will post when we get back from our trip. Daddy will still be here but he doesn't even know how to make a post. I wonder if he knows his 4 month old daughter can post on the blog?

Our STILL Little Peanut

Renae had her 4 month appointment yesterday. Jesse thought she probably weighed close to 13 lbs. I thought more like 12 1/2. I mean, she IS 4 months old, and most mom's I know with babies her age weighed around 12 or 13 a few months ago. So how much did Renae weigh?

A mere 12 lbs.

What a little peanut! She has gaind about a pound a month! Crazy! The doctor said she looked really healthy (in fact he used the word "perfectly" healthy) and that she is just a petite little thing.

In a few more weeks Renae will also get her 4 month shots. Ouch. I'm taking Jesse with me this time so he can see her poor cute face when they stick the needle in her unsuspecting thigh.

Now, please read the next post as I just added it a few days ago. I always hate when I do a big post and then I have a little one to post shortly after because I feel like the bigger better post gets overshadowed and forgotten about. Don't let it be forgotten about. I worked too hard on it . . . kind of.

My Christmas Top Ten List

I’m back from what seems like a long blogging hiatus. Sure I updated a few quick blogs, but nothing substantial. I feel I owe it to my blog to do a super-big-huge-long update of our Christmas break. However, that would take far too long and I would have to wait for too many pictures to upload. Instead, I decided a top 10 list would be more appropriate. So without further ado . . . .

The Top 10 Reasons Why THIS Christmas Season Was Awesome

10. The food, the food the food. I feel like I totally wasted my month and a half of working out prior to Christmas. But at least I didn’t really gain weight; it was more of a canceling out effect . . . .

9. Sledding down the neighbors yard at Penni and Kevin’s house. I haven’t really been sledding like that in years. The snow was perfect, the hill was awesome, and I crashed. A lot. And I fell walking back up the hill. A lot.

8. Watching Britt fall on her daughter during her first run down the hill after being too scared to try sledding. Priceless. I believe the situation went something like this: “Kaylin, go ahead sweetie. I’ll catch you.” Kaylin makes first run down the hill. Shortly before she reaches Britt, Britt can’t decided which way to jump so she can get out of Kaylin’s way. So instead, Kaylin runs into Britt and Britt falls directly on top of Kaylin. Again, priceless.

7. No pregnancy announcements from us this year! Woo hoo! I think I would die if we had an announcement!

6. Turning 25. Yay. I did get one sweet gift. And by sweet I don’t mean “awww, cute.” See number 5.

5. Receiving Season Three of “The Office” from Jesse for my birthday. ( I was going to make number 10 “Falling in love with the show ‘The Office’ but thought I was overdoing it a bit. But we really did fall in love with this show.)

4. Watching all of Season 1, 2 and 3 of “The Office.” In fact, Kevin, Penni, Jesse and I spent 11 hours one day watching 21 episodes. Holy cow. It was perhaps one of my favorite and most relaxing days of my entire break. (Kari if you would have been there to shop with me that would have been one of my favorite days.)

3. Watching Renae and Taylor sit in their swing and exersaucer totally oblivious to the fact that they have a huge pile of presents sitting in front of them. I must say it was fun to have Renae’s first Christmas-especially since it cost us nothing. Seriously. We didn’t buy her anything.

2. Spending New Years’ Eve with family at Scott and Julie’s. It has been a long time since we have had people to hang out with and stay up with until midnight. This may sound lame, but we had such a great time playing Balderdash, eating and laughing until after midnight. Thanks guys!

1. And now for the one sentimental statement: Being with family on Christmas. There is nothing like it. It will be a few years before we will be able to see so many family members at Christmas time, let alone our immediate families. So this was a special Christmas for us as we were able to be with our families a lot. Thanks for coming to visit Britt and Dan, and thanks to our two awesome families for being so great. We will miss this next year . . .

Ok I have to tell you the ones that almost made the list . . . . Finding Kevin and Penni asleep on the couch while watching some PBS “late-night” show, Watching Scott stick a Bees Wax cone in my Dad’s ear and light it on fire (it sucked the ear wax out), Hearing Ethan tell his other Grandma at Perkins, “Grandma, these eggs are much better than yours” and Hearing Addisyn tell Nana that she had “silly” hair, Seeing Krystin chow down on some tic-tacs, and lastly, watching Renae fall asleep while her Great Grandma Roth rocked her, and another time while her Great Grandma Ruthe.