Anna Lost Her First Tooth!

 My mom keeps telling me to take pictures of my pregnancy with this baby.  I've been so awful at it.  She always reminds me that this baby will want to see these pictures just as much as the other ones.  Then, the guilt sets in and I finally take a picture of me with my baby bump.  This is when I am 17 weeks pregnant.  I am now 19 weeks pregnant and feeling great.  This pregnancy has been such a breeze so far.  I think Heavenly Father knew that I couldn't take a redo of my last pregnancy with Daniel, at least not back to back.  I thought my body was going to totally give out from the beginning with him.  It was a really, really hard pregnancy and this one has been totally opposite.  Thank goodness because with all that's going on, I can't imagine doing it with all the aches and pains that can come with pregnancy.

 A few days ago my little Tornado...ahem...I mean my little sweet Daniel poured half of a bottle of baby powder all over Andrew's bed.  I'm sure he thought it was super fun.  I don't know what he thought was more fun though, pouring it on or trying to get it off.  I heard the boys banging on the bed from the other room.  When I went to go look at what was going on, I saw both of them dying laughing and banging on the covers as best as they could.  Andrew said he was trying to clean it off.  Daniel was just in it for the laughs.

 Either way, their room smelled fresh for days.  It was quite hilarious.  Sometimes, I try to get on to them for something but they just look so stinkin' cute that it's hard for me to keep a straight face.

 In other news, Anna lost her first tooth.  She was SO, SO excited for that thing to come out.  She made me wiggle it at least three times a day to see how loose it was.  She only wanted to read library books that had to do with loosing your teeth, and every picture she drew related to this momentous event.
I was in the kitchen cooking the other day when she came in to show me.  I was so excited for her and she was just beaming.  I asked her where the tooth was so I could see it.  She told me she didn't know.  Anna had been eating carrots and then discovered that her tooth had disappeared from her mouth.  I told her that she must have swallowed it when she was eating.  Thankfully, she thought that was funny.  The tooth fairy still came though and left a dollar bill under her pillow.  She was so proud and sent lots of snapchats to all of her family to announce the big news.

As One Door Closes, Another One Opens

 We have had quite the journey these past few months.  Actually, this journey started about 6 years ago.  I still remember sitting in our apartment in Atlanta where Josh was working as an intern for Ernst & Young as an auditor.  He wasn't loving the position and was seriously reconsidering this path of life for him.  I was stunned and searching my brain for what could be a solution.  Here we were, newly married, expecting our first child, we would both graduate from BYU in a year with a stable job, and now all of our plans were changing.  We began discussing the possibility of pursuing a PhD.  The thought of having 6 more years as opposed to one more year almost seemed more than either of us could fathom.  However, we knew in the long run, it would probably pay off.

 After thinking if over for quite a while and praying if this was the direction our family should be headed, we felt overwhelmingly happy and sure that this is what path we would take.  We went back to Utah to finish our last two semesters at BYU.  Josh was working at his job 20+ hours a week, going to school full time, studying for a few hours every day for the GMAT, and taking care of his very pregnant wife.  It was a really busy time but we were happy.  To get into a PhD program, you have to score very high on the GMAT so the pressure was on.  He took the GMAT in November and after receiving his score, he turned down the job offer we had at Ernst and Young to pursue his newly found dream of earning his PhD.

 It was not easy to get into a PhD program and we just slid in at the last moment.  We found ourselves, moving across country with our five month old baby to Saint Louis, MO to begin his program at Washington University in St. Louis after we both graduated from BYU.  We didn't know a soul before moving here, and I can honestly say that neither of us could have imagined to have loved these people as much as we do.  We have been remarkably blessed to know some of the sweetest, most wonderful, kind-hearted people.  These mid westerners have blessed our lives forever.

 We were told by lots of people that going through a PhD program is tough and you just have to get through it.  Well, I think "tough" is an understatement.  It was truly a grueling experience but I think it being so hard made all of it seem so much more worth it.  We have both been stretched and pushed and challenged throughout this process.  I think we are both better people for it.  We wouldn't trade our time here or the experience for anything in the world.

 Now, fast forward five years and two children later....  We find ourselves as a family of five (and a half, since we are expecting #4 in September), and the program is finished.  January and February of this year was spent doing interviews.  Josh was gone for three days at a time for a month and a half.  It was exhausting for him.  He would put so much energy and emotion into each interview and would come home and just crash.  It would take him a day or so to get back to normal and then he would go again.  The whole job market process was hard and stressful and we are THRILLED that it is over.

 Josh and I are super excited to say that he has accepted a position as an accounting faculty for Florida State University.  He will be working at FSU as a professor and do research for the university.  He can't wait to get started and is so excited to work with all of the wonderful faculty that are there.  When Josh interviewed at FSU, I got to fly down with him while our AMAZING neighbors kept all three of our crazy kids.  We both loved the people there.  Everyone was so nice and made it known that they would love to have Josh as a part of their faculty.

 These first several pictures are of our celebration we had for finally being able to accept the position.  It was such a relief to say 'YES' to a school.  The process was over and we were so happy.  We went to Fitz's that night and enjoyed a great dinner.  I think we all smiled the whole way through dinner.  The kids helped me to make a sign for Josh for when he got home from school to surprise him.  We wanted him to be sure that he knew we were proud of him.

 We can't wait to go to football games and enjoy all of the beauty Florida has to offer.  Josh's favorite dessert of all time is chocolate covered strawberries, so of course, we had to make them.

 The kids loved making the sign for him by getting their hand prints stamped all over the paper.

 Since then, Josh has been working on finishing up his dissertation so he could defend it.  One has to first propose their dissertation to a committee of members.  If it is accepted, then the student goes forward to continue their research.  After months and months and MONTHS of tirelessly working, Josh was able to defend his dissertation to the same committee.  If this committee thinks it is acceptable, then they sign off on it and he has officially earned his PhD.  Well, on the day of his defense, Josh dressed up in his suit and set off to school.  While he was gone, the kids and I made lots of signs for him and bought balloons.  We wanted to go up to the school after his presentation was over so we could be there when he received his letter that his was officially Dr. Josh Lee.

 I lightly wrote the letters for the kids and they traced over them with markers.  Anna went all out and drew lots of pictures on hers.  Daniel and Andrew worked on the other poster.  Andrew drew the cutest dinosaur you will ever see and a picture of himself with his daddy.  Anna drew a picture of our Florida house, our family, (including the unborn baby), stars, and a bunch of 'I Love Yous'.

 Daniel colored a lot too and was so proud of his work.

 Here we are waiting outside the classroom where he presented.  I don't know why but I was so anxious.  I knew they would pass him but my nerves were still on edge.

 So cute!

 Just sitting and waiting for Daddy to finish and come out.

 SO, SO cute!

 Here is his dinosaur.  I LOVE little kid pictures.  They are the cutest thing ever.

 This is Josh and Andrew together.

 He came out after a few minutes and had finished his presentation.  A few minutes after that, his committee came out and congratulated him.  He had passed and was officially a PhD.  Now, we can call him Dr. Lee and it's legit.

 These two people have been instrumental for Josh.  I so appreciate all of the help all the faculty have given Josh.  They will always hold a special place in our hearts.

 I definitely think a congratulations was in order.....hence the balloons.  It was a must.  We were all so proud of him.  It was a happy, happy day for everyone.

 Sorry this is not flipped but this little piece of paper verifies it all.  Josh kept saying how it is AMAZING how so much work goes into just one little piece of paper.

 Yay!!!!!!!

 We just could not be happier right now.  Josh has done a great job and we are so excited to finally have a job after six and a half years of marriage and three and a half kids.  We honestly wouldn't change anything if we could go back.  We are also so grateful for everyone who has been SO supportive of us throughout these years.  Congrats especially to Dr. Lee.  We love you.