Settling in

          We are here! Pocatello Idaho. Which, actually, our apartment is in Chubbuck.  It's a town that seems to weave in and out of Pocatello and while it has its own zip code, I'm still confused about its legitimatcy.  Depending on what app or Website you are on it will erase Chubbuck all together. For instance my iPhone gps doesn't seem to think it exists at all. Which is unfortunate. Even my iPhone is in denial about the relocation. Poor thing. We are all a little off from the move.

(she always wanted to be a 'monkey' and climb on the boxes.  She wanted to eat a banana whilst up there. We were fresh out. The string cheese would have to do.)

           Indie did amazing with the time leading up to our move. We packed up her toys and our house room by room. She didn't seem phased by our disappearing things and the hoarder like pathways of boxes that linned our house.  Structure went out the window for a good two weeks as we tried to get everything ready for moving day. Poor Indie was pretty much an orphan those weeks.  
(She came apartment hunting with us for what turned out to be a very long day.  She was an absolute rockstar on the drive and at house after house.  Had to give her a shout out. She was so sweet and amazing!) 

(Here she is zonked in the car on the way to Pocatello)

(One of the houses we looked at had a play structure she really wanted to play on. It was in the neighbors backyard, and far too cold and snowy to play anyways.  She was such a good sport about everything and so very sad we couldn't play on the playground that Damon and I searched for an indoor play place to take her for lunch.  We thought we had found one in McDonald's, and got her all excited for it.  Then upon entering found out that the play structure had been taken out during a recent remodel. She was dissapointed but let it roll off her shoulders. I however was devastated. She was being such a doll. I wanted so badly to get her the play time she wanted. This was her face of shock when after looking at every corner of McDonald's no play place was found.)

Anyways, I was so focused on packing and not going into labor that Indie ended up just following me around the house and playing quietly in whatever room I was working on packing. The TV was on more than I'm proud to admit and some meals were just completely replaced by quick and frequent snacks.

(I was packing a different room and came out to find her like this.)

          I thought we were home free when after being in our new home a couple of days, Indie was still just cruising along like normal. It all came crashing down the night before Damon's first day of work.  She was up for 3+ hours starting at midnight, absolutely frantic.  It was probably the worst night she's ever had.  I tried everything.  Potty, snacks, water, prayers, stories, singing, stroking her face, more blankets, she requested Damon at one point... In the end she was just so anxious that I was going to leave the room that she fought sleep hard core.  Her eyelids were like bouncy balls, when she'd force them open to make sure I was still in the room she'd get a smile of relief and then go back to fighting sleep.
          She's become absolutely glued to my side during the day.  She wants to be constantly engaged in one on one quality time.  Indie is frantic if I'm in a separate room than she and wants to be carried everywhere or on my lap if I'm sitting. Which is not a maintainable thing at 8 months pregnant. She's melting down at the drop of a hat and is testing boundaries like she never has. It's all very exhausting.        
               I know it's largely a product of all the change, but I'll be honest, it's not easy.  My body hurts, the past few weeks have just been one giant contraction after another.  I'm exhausted, emotionaly and physically.  I have to remind myself that when Indie's acting up its because she needs to feel secure and loved.  It's hard to stop and shower words of love and reassurance to a pint size tornado that is acting like her arm was just cut off because you suggested she probably should not go outside in the hail storm.
           Today went a little better though. Bedtime happened without tears, which is no small feat.  I was able to keep my cool and talk her through most meltdowns. The ones I couldn't I just cradled her and told her how much we loved her and how important she was to our family.  That no matter what emotional she or I was having, that she was always loved.  I worked really hard on keeping my emotions in check and (no surprise) it helped. Baby steps.  Hopefully, Indie will feel safe and secure in her new surroundings in no time.  Then we can chalk this whole experience up to a great trial run before the big test of bringing home a baby.

         I'm excited to get our house all put together. We'll have to do another blog update when the rooms are presentable enough to photograph.  I need to do one last shout out to all the people who helped us get out of our old apartment and into our new one.  We appreciate it more than you know!  We are touched by how many people dropped their busy day to days and came together to tackle less than desirable projects! I can't sing your praises enough.  It's humbling to need help, especially when the work is 100% nobody else's responsibility but your own. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

(orphan Indie and Phillip on our last night at our old apartment)