Bigfoot and Mitchell

I totally forgot to add this super funny story to the blog, but I'll add it now. This happened a little over two weeks ago on the 20th...

Mitchell got the job offer from Nationstar on Friday the 20th and he promptly put in his two-weeks notice to Walmart that night. He left for work like usual around 3 and I did the afternoon routine with Derek. Once Derek went to bed for the night around 8 pm, it was Mommy Time!! YAY! Animal Planet had been showing old and new episodes of "Finding Bigfoot" that I had recorded, so I stretch out on the couch and flip it on. I watch one and start on the second, a particularly creepy episode in which a sasquatch had left a greasy hand-print on the inside of a lady's house in Florida. The windows are making sounds like little pebbles hitting the glass as the temperature drops outside. The walls are creaking occasionally as the house settles. A cup falls off the counter in the laundry room (it was left on top of the washer and the more energetic spins at the end of the cycle shook it off) - you can tell I was a little jumpy.

Mitch calls around 9 pm like he usually does during his lunch breaks and we start chatting. I tell him about what's going on and how I'm a little freaked out and he rolls his eyes (over the phone) and tells me I'm being ridiculous... and I know I am, but it's fun to be freaked out. We're chatting about his day when I suddenly hear a soft knock knock at the back door. I instantly stop talking. Knock knock. "Who's there" was the very last thought on my mind at that point, so I settled for a terrified whisper: "Mitchell! There's someone at the door!" He says I'm hearing things, but I hear another knock knock followed by a BANG! At this point, I'm sure I'm gonna die by the hand of some axe murder, so I shrink under the blankets (because everyone knows murders sneak in saying, "I'm gonna kill y - aw, crap; she's under the blanket!") and tell Mitch that someone's trying to break down the door. He very calmly tells me to go see who it is. "What?!" He comes back with, "No, seriously, let me in." At this point, my mind stops working. He's supposed to be at work! He raises his voice and calls to me from outside, telling me to open the door.

The stink pot had been sent home early so Walmart wouldn't have to pay him the overtime he earned.

New Job - Part 2

AHHHH!! Mitchell has his last night tomorrow! He was really having a hard time going in to work tonight and I'm sure tomorrow will be difficult too. His managers have been telling him multiple times a night for the past week that they're going to miss him (I think that means they don't know what they're going to do without him). They don't have a replacement so far as we know, but I sure hope they find someone soon.

As far as getting out on our own... sigh. I can't answer that question now. I wish I could. Mitch and I are going to look at apartments on Thursday, but we may just be teasing ourselves. Let you know what the results are from that trip (including pictures of first, second, third and honorable mention apartments).

Derek and I have been getting over some killer colds. No fun. He's been a great sport about it. No problems since we got rid of the binkie - I think he's forgotten about it. YAY! He's such an awesome little guy. :)

No pictures in this post, but I promise I'll have more this week. We're going out to a Brazilian food place to celebrate both Mitchell and Jeff getting jobs, Derek is going to show you how he can "bam, jam, slam dunk the basketball!" and I'll probably put some of Mitch's comments about starting his new job (and what exactly he does).

NEW JOB!!!!!

Alright, alright, so he found out last Friday.... we've just been celebrating too much to slow down and blog! So, here is the blog. :)

Mitchell is going to start 06 Feb with Nationstar Mortgage managing the quality control in the mortgage and tax departments.He's so thrilled and excited to be able to get out of Walmart and into a more suitable career. No offense to people who like working at Walmart (is there ANYONE who likes working for Walmart?!). Mitch went in early on Friday just to put in his two weeks' notice. Technically, he won't be able to stay the full two weeks (and he told Walmart that) because Nationstar wanted him to start sooner, so his last official day at Walmart is 31 Jan... a week from tomorrow!!

More to come later!!

Trip to the Park

Nana gave Derek a convertible tricycle for Christmas. He's been getting the hang of pedaling around the house, so Mitchell and I attached the steering handle and off we went to the park. One thing we didn't figure on was the pedals moving faster as we moved faster. There was NO way Derek could keep up with those pedals, so he ended up just letting the pedals move his feet. It was so funny that a lady pulling out of a nearby subdivision stopped her suburban in the middle of the road to tell us how funny he looked. Nice laugh there.

Big cheesy grin on his trike - yes his legs are already a little too long for it. Sheesh!

First thing he wanted to do was swing with Daddy

Second thing he wanted to do was push the trike...

...Til he saw the slide!

Big boy!

I love his smiles!

This kid talks up a storm! Here he is trying to tell me how fun sliding is... too bad I don't speak Derek.

Still talking...

WOOOOOO!!

The many faces of Derek. I don't think I can get the same face in two pictures.

This is what I get when I ask for a "BIIIIG smile!"

Yet another face... such a cute little stinker!

Ok, so for this picture, I'm just using a placeholder because I forgot to snap a picture. Mitch went home to get the car because I was feeling really sick, so Derek and I stayed at the park a little longer. Out of the blue, a lady walks by with her little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Anyone who knows me (or has talked to me in the last year) has heard about how much I love these little dogs... but I hadn't ever met one in person. Until last Saturday that is. :D He was soooo cute! Looks just like the one in the picture except he was a little chunkier and was prancing along with a stick in his mouth, just as happy as could be. And his owner was so nice, she stopped and let Derek and I "pet the puppy" (he wasn't too sure what to think, even though I tried coaxing him to pet the incredibly soft fur) and I asked her questions about where/how she found her Cavalier (totally forgot to ask his name). What struck me was how small he was... 12 inches at the shoulder if that. I mean, I know that's the normal height (they ARE toy dogs after all) and I'd seen pictures and televised dog shows but it hadn't just hadn't sunk in. I totally can't wait to foster when we get our own place! They're pretty expensive little dogs and we wouldn't be able to afford one until we're very firmly settled (probably after Mitch gets his masters' and we get into a more predictable chapter of life) but I would LOVE to foster and at least get some experience helping homeless Cavaliers find good homes.

Happy Birthday Derek!!

I'm finally getting around to blogging about Derek's birthday party he had last Thursday. We kept it really small and had a nice time just chatting and watching Derek open and play with his presents. The missionaries (including the new elder, Elder Derrick... not kidding) came over for cake afterward and my mom, Rick, Amy and Valerie drove up from Keller. I'm still working out the kinks in my camera (I know, two weeks is a long time, but I'm stubborn) so I don't have ANY pictures of Derek with Nana, Papi or the aunts, but I think I'm figuring it out. So here are pictures!

Nana and Co. gave Derek two talking pop-up trucks. He loves them but popping them back down is still a puzzle for him.

This was Jeff and Tammy's gift to him. I think Mitch was more excited about this than Derek. :)

Grandpa Bazemore sent Derek a wooden bear climber toy...

...which Mitchell figured out how to use. Gold star!!

Jeff gave him an extra little light up airplane

Derek takes the airplane to bed at night. The propellers (which he tore off this morning) spin and the middle knob lights up lots of different colors. Poor description, forgive me, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about airplane anatomy to be more specific. :)

Tammy made this super cute little cake - french vanilla with a light lemon mousse inside. Delicious!!

YUM! I was surprised how neatly he ate. I think he licked the buttercream off his fingers after every bite. For a kid who doesn't really like sweets, he sure liked this cake!

Merry Christmas Part 2

Here is Part 2!!! This post is more about activities we did for the Christmas break, rather than the presents and parties. We were so glad to be able to visit so many of my family members this Christmas (and can't wait to spend time with the Heath families next Christmas!!).

How's this for super cute?! Derek has started throwing major temper tantrums, so I've started enforcing time out. He can climb out of pack n plays, so the next step is the nose-in-the-corner. He is so hard to discipline when he's this cute!

He always crosses his ankles - kinda weird

Tammy brought home Derek's first gingerbread men from the shop. He wasn't sure what it was at first, but it was one of his favorite treats!

Head-bite! That's my boy - He loooves bwains!

My beautiful mother had her birthday a few days after Christmas. She chose to go to Sip-N-Doodle (the same place Liz, Lanae, Tammy and I did our painting).

Tammy sent me with a Chocolate Madness cake for a special birthday surprise. Mom loooved it!

Everyone hard at work

Mom working on her background

Beth working on her super cute flower. Turned out great!

Aunt Jen and her A&M football helmets. Loved her background - looked like a crowd of students in the stands at a game.

Amy did a painting for her new goddaughter's nursery

Val did a super cute heart tree. Love the colors!

New Years Eve was kind of quiet for us. Mitchell had to work, so Jeff, Tammy, Derek and I went and played frisbee golf at the park. There were a ton of people there, so it was kind of hard to snap pictures at my leisure and play at the same time. I gave up keeping my score after hole #3 I think, lol, and snapped a few pictures before the sun started setting. After frisbee golf, Jeff and Tammy took us out to eat at Panda Buffet. It was really good food, but the sushi made me sick that night. Ugh. I was able to stay up and watch the ball drop in New York for the first time in years! The last ball drop I remember was Y2K. I'm sure I must have watched one or two more since then, but it's been a long time since we've made a big deal out of it. My sisters and I used to dress up in formal dresses and drink sparkling grape juice when we were younger, but now I just want to get to bed, haha! Anyway, here are the pictures from frisbee golf...

Derek had his own frisbee that he was enjoying throwing around... til the wind dropped mine into the river and then he and I took turns with that one.

Running, running, running!

Seriously, does this kid ever walk?

I love this picture, but Jeff thinks it looks like he's walking off into the sunset (as if in death) and Derek is chasing after him. Not my initial thoughts, but I suppose that's a valid interpretation. My first impression was that the sunburst and shadows look pretty... :)

Merry Christmas Part 1

Merry Christmas! We had such a good time hanging out with my side of the family this year. Next year is the Heath year and we can't wait to get together!! Colton (Mitch's youngest brother) will be home sometime in November/December and I have a new nephew due the 14th of next month (Woohoo Sereen! Almost there!), and hopefully we'll have a place of our own sooner than later. Yep, 2012 is shaping up to be a great year.

Papi (my stepdad) helps Derek unwrap a gift at Nana's (my mom)

Derek took his time trying to figure out how this Thomas the Train pop up fort works

He figured out how to crawl in the attached pop up caboose to get to the pop up Thomas engine

Derek was pretty protective of this Thomas toy

Opening presents with Ganka (Jeff) and Gankama (Tammy)

Everyone loved this car floor mat

Gammy (my grandma) got him a robot puppy since he couldn't have a real one - he loved it!

Another gift from Gammy and Papa (my grandparents) - this frog blanket is too cute!

One of the gifts from Grandpa and Grandma Bazemore - it's a toddler sized string-the-beads-on-the-lanyard game to help fine motor skills. Surprisingly, this is one of his favorite games.

Speaking of my Dad, Derek and I went down to Ingleside to visit for my Dad's birthday. We carpooled with my sisters and had a great time! Unfortunately, Mitch couldn't get the time off work but he had a nice, quiet week of sleeping undisturbed. ;) My Dad rented an entire house for us to stay at in City by the Sea, TX. It was such a cute little house! Two bedrooms upstairs complete with kitchen and living room and downstairs was a one bedroom stand-alone apartment. Derek and I slept downstairs while Kelly, Amy, Valerie and Denise slept in the two bedrooms upstairs. I loved the beach theme that was displayed throughout the house and the fact that the house was built on a canal that opened up to the bay. So cool! There were always birds out in the canal and Derek wasn't sure what to think of them. He loved to be taken out onto the deck to look at the dead fish in the canal though. Kind of weird.

Keeping an almost-2-year-old occupied for an 8 hour car ride is very tricky

Luckily, Aunt Val shared her headphones. :)



Derek is sad to see Shannon leave

Derek has his first crush! My friend, Shannon! Don't let the look fool you, I think she was flattered. ;)

We met Craig and Shannon while Mitch was stationed in Del Rio. Then Craig was transferred to Corpus to continue training. We're so glad we got to see them again (But Mitch was bummed he missed it)!

Self-proclaimed King of the Chair

Poor Ryan didn't want to sit in the chair with Denise and Derek

My cousin Suzie (Ryan's Grandma) helped him take a picture with Denise and Derek



Derek and Ryan played so well together! They certainly went to bed tired and happy that night. WARNING: turn your volume down - the kids are screaming

Derek was fascinated with my Dad's birthday cakes and I'm so glad to see my Dad happy! Happy birthday, Daddy!!



Blowing out candles with Grandpa



Aunt Val was a big hit again on the trip back to Dallas. WARNING: More screaming.

Saw these bumper stickers on the back of a 18-wheeler and my sisters begged for a picture. Notice one side says "passing side" and the other says...