Checkin' in with the Johnsons: moving forward

I need to remember these things...

#1- if you're going to share a blog with a lot of people, you should probably be consistent in writing/keeping it up.

#2- every day of maternity leave goes by much faster than that of any other normal day.

#3- as challenging as some of your "new parent" moments are, there are other "new parents" that have it much harder than you do.

So, I'm feeling really humbled this week, as I usually do, when I realize how blessed we are and how the Lord continues to provide for us, even when we often neglect to acknowledge His presence in our lives.

It's been 6 weeks. Can you believe it?! Teagan is 6 weeks old! We have seen her first smile (at us and not just gas!), taken many baths, walks, trips to the store and restaurants... we've done so much! And... she is already around 10 pounds!

First walk through Rock Creek Park.

First Metro ride.

First lunch at a restaurant.

First visit to a memorial.

Yesterday I went to the doctor for my 6 week post-partum check up. When the doc said, "OK, we'll see you again in one year," I almost couldn't believe it. It's funny because at the end of my pregnancy I was going to the doctor two times a week. I think I may miss driving to and from Georgetown University Hospital, waiting 45-60 minutes over my appointment time to be seen, and paying for valet parking... I honestly don't know how I will live without the excitment!

As I sadly count down the days until I go back to work, a lot of my anxiety over some of the logistical things we needed to figure out has begun to deminish because things are slowly, but surely, falling into place.

Sean got a job! He'll be starting this month (before he graduates) as a law clerk with the Dept. of Energy's Office of General Counsel. He'll be working in the Financial Assistance & Procurement Policy division. (This is the division where he interned last year here in DC- they are also the office that oversees the office in Colorado- where he interned last summer.) Once he passes the bar (he takes it this July), he will transition into a full-on attorney.

We've secured a child care situation for sweet Tea! This was probably the most anxiety provoking issue that I've been dealing with since we got pregnant. Here in DC, people get on waiting lists for child care (either home care or centers) when they are like, 4 months pregnant. Wait lists usually take at least a year for your spot to open up. Even though I had heard this to be true, Sean and I had a lot of external factors that prohibited us from deciding where to start looking- for example, we had hoped that Sean might have a job opportunity in Colorado.... besides that, we knew that we needed to move to a bigger apartment and weren't sure if we wanted to 1) stay in the city, 2) move to VA, or 3) move to MD. OR.... should we just find a place near my office?

Then I heard about this website called DC Urban Moms. It's a site that has a discussion forum in which moms in DC can talk about anything, including... NANNY SHARE!! I saw a post by a gal living in the neighborhood next to ours looking for another baby/family to share a nanny. We met with the couple over dinner last night and everything looks really good. We are so compatible in terms of our child rearing philosophies, work scheudles, etc. Get this- the couple are both attorneys, the gal also lived in Vietnam teaching English for a year, and the guy is from the south and watches SEC football.... with a friend who's an Aggie. This may seem like superficial stuff, but it sure did make it a lot easier for us to feel comfortable with them. They have an adorable son who is almost exactly 4 weeks older than Teags. We are still sorting out the details but it looks like we'll be interviewing nannies this month! It's crazy, because I never thought a nanny would be affordable, but here in the city, if you share with another family, it looks like it's going to cost the same (or a little less) than a private home care or child care center. AND- the family we are sharing with wants to hire a nanny who will speak Spanish to our little ones, which we are very excited about! Hopefully Teags will become fluent!

The last logistical thing we are working on is deciding where to move- we want more space for less rent, which is a bit difficult to find.... Teagan will be going to the other family's house to be watched by the nanny (which happens to be around the corner from my office!), so we are able to move pretty much anywhere that is still accessible by metro (in case the nanny needs to come to our house one day).

So, the hunt is on! We are not sure yet if we will wait to move until after Sean takes the bar- I guess it will depend on what we can find between now and May. It's crazy to think that we will be in DC for at least another 3 years- meaning that we will have actually lived in one place for 6 years- I guess that's called "settling down?"

Here are some recent pics of our little family. I feel like we learn something new about caring for Teagan every day. For example, yesterday we learned that I am not allowed to go shopping for her clothes by myself. She is gonna be one stylin' gal between the ages of 3-6 months! You should have seen all of the stuff on sale at Babies-R-Us!! Hahaha...