Married life is fabulous!

We're about a month and a half into being married, and I have to say that we have taken to marriage like breathing.  Seriously!  When people ask us how it feels to be married, our response is always the same - it's like breathing.  The only real change is that we stay in the same room now.  We spent over 2 years living in the same house, and now we are living in the same room.  I love it!  My name was officially changed to Jessica Phifer two weeks after our wedding... I'm still getting used to it!

I realized that I forgot to give an update about my car situation!  I received a decent settlement on my Sonata, and after a week of looking and comparing cars, I wound up getting a 2009 Hyundai Elantra.  Her name is Ellie (thanks to Travis for coming up with the perfect name!)  She is silver and has been good to me, so far!  She's not Chelsea (my Sonata), but she's almost as good!  Because my settlement was so good, I only had to pay $1,200 for Ellie (actually, I had to borrow the money from my mom, but we have developed a payment plan, and I'm paying her back).  I'm very happy with my selection.  The big points were gas milage, trunk space, and passenger space.  I wanted a car that I could support a family with (we aren't planning on having kids for a couple of years).  I also wanted a car that would be reliable.  I had planned on driving my Sonata for a long time, so I needed to make sure my new car would last a long time.

It wasn't easy looking at and comparing cars, since I am notorious for picking the first thing I look at, but I knew I had my future to think about, and I took the time to get the best car for my needs.  The cool thing is that my Dad's friends (a financial advisor and a car dealer) both told me I picked a great car and made a good decision... coming from them, it meant a LOT!!!  I am still getting used to Ellie, but I am satisfied with my car, and I know she'll last a good while!

Back to marriage:
I have posted a good number of pictures from our wedding on facebook.  It was an amazing day!  We acted fools, which is normal for us ;)  I did miss Daddy, but the emotions I expected to have never came. It was 100% joy!  The "Flat Daddys" (cardboard cut-outs) were a huge hit!  There are many pictures of Trav's Dad and mine.  I have a few pics of Daddy "holding" a beer :)  Life is amazing right now, and I'm just so happy!!!!!!

Now for Nannying updates!
Little Man is 14 months old.  He can run (mixed with face-plants) and knows a lot of words!  HE KNOWS MY NAME TOO!  The family went to the beach, a couple of weeks ago, for a week and when I returned to work last Monday, Little Man was sitting in his high chair, eating breakfast, and when I walked in the room, he looked up with a huge smile on his face and said, "JESS!"  OMG it made my heart smile!!!!!  Let's see... what words does he know....  Cheese, hot, Mama, Dada, ball, book, "baba" (the name he has given his paci), his sister's name, Jess, dog, "uh-oh!" (that's a personal favorite), and the "I Love You" song from Barney (he will start singing it randomly... SO CUTE!)... hmm, he knows more than that, but I'm having a brain fart right now...  He can follow simple directions!  Tuesday, while his sister was at preschool, I decided to take him to the park (he loves the park!), so I asked him to get his socks and shoes that were in the other room.  I realized after I asked that toddlers can only follow one direction at a time, so he only brought me his shoes, which had been the second thing I asked for.  After he brought his shoes, I said, "Ok, I need your socks too!  Can you get your socks?"  He gave me a big smile and got his socks.  Y'all, this kid is SO SMART!!!!!!

I can't believe that it has been almost a year since I first started my Nanny job... When I began working there, he could barely hold his body up... now he can run, say a few words, and follow simple instructions!  It has been amazing watching him grow!  I'm just honored that I was chosen to aid his development...  I have stopped doing much for him, but if he gets frustrated with a task, I help a tiny bit.  For example:  he was trying to get his socks off on Thursday, but was having issues getting it over his heels, so I pulled the socks down over the heel so that he could pull them the rest of the way off.  I asked him if he wanted a snack, and he ran to the fridge, but couldn't get the door open, so I pulled to get past the suction, and he open it the rest of the way :)  He is so proud when he does things himself!

He is also in Preschool now!  Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I was fortunate to get to meet his teachers, as well as his sister's teachers, a week and a half ago.  I felt the need to introduce myself so they would know who I am when I come pick the kids up... though they would have known anyway bc when I went to get Little Man on Tuesday, he was sitting on the floor (the door to the room was open) and when I said his name, he looked up with a huge grin, got up and yelled, "JESS!" while running to me.  I must say that when he and his sister run to me , like that, it makes my heart so happy!  I love these kids so much!!!

As for Sunshine: she's 3 years old and is in preschool four days a week!  I was sad that I wouldn't be able to spend a full day with her anymore, so last Thursday, I took her to get ice cream with Travis.  She ended up with chocolate all over her face, so I pushed my ice cream cone into my face so we would match.  Travis took a picture that we call, "Chocolate Smiles!"  Little girl is also super smart, and SO HELPFUL with Little Man!!!  I'm so proud of how she has grown.  In the year I've been with that family, I have taught Sunshine: how to look both ways before crossing the street, how to say "yes ma'am," "no ma'am," "yes sir," and "no sir,"... my favorite thing I've taught her is the "courtesy flush"!  Whenever she does her stinky business, she flushes so the stink doesn't spread.  Her mom thought it was funny the first time Sunshine did it without me around!

Oh, and the kids have a Southern accent now...  The parents are from Virginia, so they blame me *looks up innocently*  The kids now say, "Hah" (Hi) and "Bah" (Bye).......  My response to their parent's comment about the southern accent was, "My work here is done!"  (which, of course, made them both crack up)

Ok, I di have more to say, but I need to get back to Thank You notes... still working on those from our wedding *looks down shamefully*  So.... BAH!