Moving to New Mexico hasn’t felt real until today when Mommy and Daddy had their offer accepted on the house we hope you will grow up in. We saw many houses yesterday before picking this one. It’s located about 2 miles southeast of campus on a quiet street. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, with 1-story stucco southwest architecture and an attached 1 bed, 1 bath casita that Grandpa Don and Grandma Lois are going to fix up for coming to stay with us several months of the year. There is a small fenced in backyard for Jamie and open ground on the rest of the lot’s one acre…so you will have some wilderness to explore.

As we make the long drive back to Houston, it feels as if the trip was worth it. The house will officially be ours once the building inspection, termite inspection, septic system inspection, survey, appraisal, and repair negotiations are complete.

Today you added a new state to your list of places you have been: Iowa, Minnesota & Wisconsin (visit to Sloans); Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas (move to Houston); Florida (Thanksgiving); Washington (Christmas); and now New Mexico.

Mommy and Daddy have been looking at houses for several months now in preparation for the move to Las Cruces this summer. On Tuesday, an awesome house came on the market and so we decided to make the 800 mile drive there for the weekend. You were a trooper on the trip: playing with your toys, napping, and testing Mommy’s spoon-feeding-baby-in-moving-car skills. Our only complaint was that after you finally were allowed out of your car seat in the hotel room…you didn’t want to go to sleep.

The next three days are just you and Daddy as Mommy is at a conference in Washington DC. So far so good and prayers all around that no teething incidents or digestive issues arise while she is gone, as you and Daddy have lots of outings planned and you (both) need your rest.

Standing while holding on to things is getting easier for you…as it should be given how often you want to practice. Mommy and Daddy have seen you crawl over otherwise interesting toys to reach the side of your crib (now at its lowest setting) to walk your hands up the sides and pull yourself up. From there, you chatter at the view, the dog, anyone who will listen. Sometimes, you “cruise” around your crib. It took a few head bonks, but you have also now learned to sit down from standing. Another habit you have started is holding out your arms when you want to be picked up and leaning over in our arms to be set down. For now, such moves are endearing.

As the sleeping/teething situation continues to improve, we thought it worth celebrating so we have been working on teaching you how to clap. We clap our hands together three times, then hold yours and do the same. You think this is awesome. When you are sitting by yourself on the floor or in your crib and get excited about something, you try to clap in delight…even if it looks more like a butterfly stroke (up to down) than clapping.

Nothing gets more clapping than our dog, Jamie.

A happy note as you gradually get over your cold and inability to sleep: you can push yourself from crawling into a sitting position and back easily now, and just today, from sitting to standing by pushing/pulling up on your crib rail. Mommy and Daddy were quite surprised to see you looking at us over the top of your crib while we made dinner. You seem to like the view because you have now done it several times. We guess the moment for lowering your crib down one more notch has come.

The last two weeks have been hard between teething (past that now) and the never-ending cold that keeps you and Daddy sniffling and coughing. During the long evenings and frequent night awakenings, your parents have discovered the magic of the outdoors. For some reason, maybe the noise combinations, you calm down as soon as we step outside of the apartment. Mommy has spent several hours holding you on our back porch and Daddy has taken you around the block in the stroller a few times in the wee hours.

A mixed blessing from this cold has been that you have partially lost your voice. This makes your cries far less loud and piercing, but quite pitiful sounding. We hope and don’t hope that it comes back soon.

Last night, it seems as if all of us were given a short reprieve. Mommy and Daddy gave you some strawberry baby Tylenol about 5:30 for your mouth ache and fever. By 6, you were relieved of pain enough to polish off your plums, your cereal and the rest of your bottle. You were quiet and back to your usual cheerful self. Best of all, for the first time in several days, you slept straight through the night, even with the sniffles.

There is one patch of floor in our apartment that will, from this point forward, be cleaner and wetter than anywhere else. You have started your tenure as a swiffer sweeper substitute by getting your tummy time on the actual floor. The drool contributes to the moisture profile.

“Tummy” time is a slight misnomer; it should be “knees, hands, feet, back, face and sometimes-tummy” time.

You love dogs, or at least seem to think that Jamie is the funniest thing since Mommy trying to cut your hair to an even length. Daddy has taken advantage of this. If you are slightly fussy, all Daddy has to do is have Jamie come closer for “pets” or swoop you down by her. Then, you’re all smiles and giggles. You almost can’t contain yourself when we let you pet her. Only time will tell if the feeling is mutual…at least to the same extent.