WHOOP

Texas A&M had their first game/the opening game of college football season - just an hour and a half away at University of South Carolina. I mean let's be honest. There could not have been a clearer sign from God that we needed to go. And so we did.

(On a side note, it blows my mind how much can change in two years:

http://adventuresofthewilkersonfamily.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-favorite-season.html)

Despite Jered's concerned look here the Aggies stayed in the lead the whole game (Whoop!). This must have been when he realized we were out of snacks.

We did it!!

A little over eight years ago we got married and soon thereafter settled into a decent-sized house in suburbia, complete with two oversized cars, the most beautiful little gal I've ever seen (no offense to all the other angelic rugrats out there), and surrounded by what I thought would be the friends with whom we'd grow old side by side.

That Texan bride and groom would probably never have guessed we would spend the beginning of our thirties in a small two-bedroom condo on the coast taking public transit to work.

But we did it!! And outside of hating that our side-by-side friends and family are now our geographically distant friends and family, we are otherwise having a blast!!

Man oh man have we made mistakes. In marriage. In parenting. In career. Let's just say in all of life to cover all our bases. But somehow, despite my daily cynicism that I will wake up and it will be different, grace is always enough. And it all works out for the Greater Good. And we are
so.
very.
happy.

As I said, we're now at least a few states away from everyone we have known and loved our whole lives up to this point. With that in mind I will continue to regularly re-elect Jered as the social chair and social media president of our family, but I will try to make it a point to give more comprehensive updates and pictures here (for the sake of our parents and anyone else that would like to see the RIDICULOUSLY RAPID changes in our 2.5-year-old blond haired blue eyed beach bum).

We are only guaranteed to be here for a year until I finish my degree, so there is a feeling of urgency to take advantage of this great city (and state! and region!). A feeling I hope we can carry with us for a long time. Here are many snippets from our first few weeks (in random order because the times on our phones and camera are slightly off-sync and I'm too lazy care about chronological sequencing on a blog):

16 months

This smart little lady turned 16 months old yesterday.

16 months seems an odd milestone to make mention of. But this week I've realized a few things. I consider myself fairly well educated. I have a master's degree and am beginning to see (in the distance) the finish line of a phd, and yet I am quite sure I've learned more in the last 16 month of didactics from a mini human than I have in 25 years of formal education. Some of my favorite lessons:

I've learned (albeit begrudgingly) the days of planning every second of my life are over... For good.

I've found that the frustration of sleepless nights can be easily trumped by the idea of my kids(s) coming home for family love on the holidays (even if that means just walking out of a bedroom into the living room if we have a failure to launch issue...)

I learned that overnight, and without warning, I became one of the "cry-ers" I always rolled my eyes at, and I'm pretty sure there's no going back... I'll let you know in a couple decades.

I've determined child care workers and stay at home moms have the hardest, most complicated job known to man.

I've learned that lots of people (including strangers and acquaintances) have strong opinions about all the decisions involved in the functioning (or dysfunctioning, depending on the day) of my family.

I've learned that I don't care about said opinions.

I've decided I probably have the sweetest, most patient dog on the face of the planet, who often graciously moves (or rather, is shoved by tiny hands) away from her favorite spot on the couch or quickly gets over it when she is abruptly awakened from a peaceful sleep by playtime squeals.

I've discovered temper tantrums are sometimes hilarious (unless it's in public, of course, in which case it's mortifying), not only because they can be fake and occur over something ridiculous (e.g., wearing pants), but because she often runs into my arms for comfort, not remembering it was me who caused her rage roughly 45 seconds prior.

And finally, I've been taught that nothing in the universe can beat family cuddle time, and I'm hoping before she becomes a teenager I will find a formula for the magic potion that keeps her from thinking this amazing activity is uncool.

Happy Vday from PK

Laughin with daddy

Strollin with mommy

How can love not be in the air when you're looking at this sweet face?