Catch Up: July

My 2016 unintentionally became "The Year I Never Blogged"
because it intentionally became "The Year I Learned How to Be a Mom,"
and I hate the empty space over in those little drop-down year menus to your right.
So, each month is getting a retroactive rewind post.

 July:

The first full month of residency. Michael was on oral surgery service for the month of July, set to be on anesthesia from August through the rest of the year. That first month was a brutal reality check. The temperatures in Fresno were 110+ and Michael's weekly hours felt the same way. At first I kept track of his hours each day but after two weeks of passing the 90s I just stopped. It wasn't helping anything and the curiosity wasn't worth it.

Another low point was when the truck died (we thought it was just the battery and luckily it was) but it took a ridiculous amount of time and effort to go get that taken care of. I can't take the boys in the truck to go do it myself, and Michael has to have time off for one of us to leave the boys and take care of it. So after a week of him using the Corolla and Westin and I just being at home, we made it on his first free Saturday in a while to an Auto Zone. That sounds like such a small thing, but I'll always remember that week. Our first month really experiencing what Michael's hours would be like, carless in a new city, so hot that we didn't know what to do with ourselves, and Michael just so gone and so tired. That month felt so long.

Little things Westin and I did to keep us happy: pizza picnics, painting with water in the backyard, meeting up with my friend Emily for free slushie day AND free Chick Fil A day in the same week, and playing at her house a few times. We were so grateful that we moved somewhere I knew someone already. Emily helped our transition so much! We also spent time putting together furniture for our new place and slowly turning it into a home. 

And the best part of the month was when Rachel, Spencer, and Sally visited over the Fourth of July and we made a Shaver Lake trip with our kayak. About time we get some use out of that! We always had Florida intentions with it but that was before we knew we were moving to the other side of the country, and it ended up in the pod during our Florida week. But we love that we're close to lakes around here.

First piece of furniture built! I instantly knew this entertainment center was perfect for our space when I saw it.
I love when decisions happen like that. It's rare over here. :)

Shaver Lake!

This belly is getting crowded...

And nobody seems to understand the problem with that :)

Mystery shop dinner date while dad works and works.

Little man at Shaver Lake. Westin was 19 months old when we moved to Fresno.

Always being sneaky!

Couches came! Finally turning into a living room.

Patient kitty girl.

But only so patient. We don't judge her.

Texas Roadhouse mystery shop -- all for the rolls!

This face.

Also, brownies at home.

This face. Again.

Free slurpies for 7-11 day

Annnd free Chick Fil A for cow appreciation day. I sent this picture to my friend and she said,
"Feral Westin seems unsure back there." He was. But he was all about the nuggets.

Looking so little with that binky.

Playing at Annie's house.

Pizza in the shade.

Water painting. It was a very wet activity.

So happy when Kitty hangs out around him.

As the belly grows and temperatures rise,
we frequently play the game where mom sits in a chair and Westin brings me stuff.
Lots of stuff. One at a time.

Another round of furniture building! Well, "building", you know.
But we felt pretty cool doing it all on our own while dad was working.

Coming together!

While I ordered furniture online, Michael ordered plants. These palms were literally delivered to
my house in a package like this.

Talking on the phone :)

Trying to get some park time in before the morning heats up too much.