Melissa Dawn

Christmas family and friends!

2012-01-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

We were able to be home for Christmas this year and we made the most of spending time with family, friends and having fun. Because Scott was originally supposed to be deployed over the holidays, we used his leave earlier in the year for family time, so because of that he was only able to scrape up a week to be in Seattle with us. It was a busy week especially with Christmas during the only weekend he was there, but I'm so thankful he was us and can't complain. We enjoyed being with family and although there was a power outage Christmas day, which meant no Christmas ham and potatoes, we had fun with candles, headlamps, snack foods, pies and a lot of little kid giggles :)

I only snapped a few picture so these are only a few friends we visited with.

Litlle miss Audrey with Logan Megan and Abigail

Georgie girl and Maddie girl watching out for the neighbor dogs, a highlight of any day for sweet little ones:)
Since Georgiana and her daddy made a donut run before our arrival we all enjoyed the perfect sweet morning snack.

Logan and Mia, friends from their newborn and play date days and I have been blessed with her mommies friendship since. We had a wonderful morning meet up at U Village, they played throughout the Land of Nod store (one of my favorites I've discovered) and had fun climbing on the toys provided at the outdoor play area. Little Clara standing by watching the good bye friendship hug :)

Christmas day:

the pictures are a little out of order but it all in the same day!

Madeline enjoyed opening her gifts but was equally happy to play with the boxes and paper, unfortunately this is one of the only shots I got of her darling poofy Christmas dress.

Cousins

Morning breakfast in Christmas jammies

After the Christmas bussel was over, we headed up to the snow for a day of cold fingers, pink noses, sledding, and some hot chocolate

Madeline didn't want much to do with the sled, but these three loved being pulled by Uncle Ben

Megan and Madeline not quite sure what to think of being so bundled up

Since we were not able to be at the dedication ceremony this past summer at Lakeside, we took the ferry over to the Island and as a family to visited Luke's Wall. It was a visit full of different emotions, but I'm glad we were able to finally see it together.

Both kids have now officially climbed on the wall :) Luke would be proud!

Before Christmas my mom and us girls enjoyed a day in Seattle. We shopped, ate lunch, laughed and had a great time. I love the city and even more so during the Christmas season. The decorations, music, festivities, I was happy :)

We also walked though the Gingerbread house display at the Sheraton hotel, it was really neat to see the creativity and size of the individual houses.

We also enjoyed a walk though the Bellevue botanical gardens, before hand we attempted to see snow flake lane down town Bellevue. We were twenty five percent successful,We were a part of the crowd, but could see almost nothing. Logan enjoyed himself thoroughly though, he had no idea of all the other things he was supposed to see :) the music and snowflake lights displayed on the buildings were his favorite part.

Advent

2011-12-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Looking back on Christmas growing up I have fond memories of advent. I remember different calenders my grandma would send for us kids; some of them had chocolate in them, some would have ornaments, and some would just have flaps you open with pictures inside.

Other years we would use a fabric wall hanging my mom made with pockets filled with, if I am remembering correctly an ornament of the object we would read about. It was a fun special time and something I want to continue with for my family.

Up till now our family has not really done advent, so I wanted this year to be different. I did not get things done in time to have a specific advent tradition for our family so we are reading a simple children's advent book with a picture flap for every day. I keep seeing these wonderful advent calenders friends have made and think "I wish I had done something like that", but I have to remind myself that my kids are still little and I have plenty of time for that to happen :) and most importantly, that it's not what the calender looks like but that we are sitting down as a family reading the Christmas story and teaching our children what we believe. To Logan and Madeline, a simple flap book is exciting and something to look forward to every day, and those are the memories I want them to remember :) Maybe next year I will make something special for our family, but for now we are having fun with flaps and pictures.

Just thought this post needed a cute photo to make it complete :)

playing outside

2011-11-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Now that Madeline has a winter coat we are able to be outside, the weather has finally ( I think) consistently turned to being cold so winter clothing is a must! the back porch is a great spot for some short outdoor fun. I still have to find some toys to put there for Madeline to climb on, but for now leafs and sticks are good distractions :)

Excited about finding a leaf with crystaly ice on it

After lots of fun we came back inside and warmed there little bodies with some hot chocolate with marshmallows, an everyday favorite with this cold weather.

Blueberries

2011-09-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

We have really been enjoying all the delightful foods for this time of year! Berries have played a big part in Madeline's meal menu. Blueberries is of course one of her favorites and something I try to always keep on hand :)

Madeline + Blueberries = One very happy little girl

Jelly Beans

2011-08-28T14:54:00.001-07:00

A game Logan like to play with daddy is, what's in my ear? usually it's little jelly belly's (when Scott has them around he'll bring up the game)
This afternoon we were all hanging out in Logan's room, Madeline was reading books, I was being lazy on his bed, and Scott and Logan were showing off their wrestling moves.

Logan rolled over close to me and gave me an up close look at his nose, I said jokingly, "ooh, you have a bugger in your nose" and this was the conversation that followed...

Logan: "daddy, are there any jelly beans in my ear?"

Scott checked and pretended to eat one (because there were no beans any where)

Daddy: "sorry Logan, there aren't any more"

Logan walks over to the bed and asks...quite seriously I might add...

Logan: :"mommy, when are they going to grow?"

I tried very hard to contain my laughter, he was genuinely asking when his ears were going to grow jelly beans :) he just didn't quite understand that it was all a fun game, I love the innocence of little children.

On a side note, Scott came back last night from another month of training out of state, this has made him gone for pretty much most of the summer. We've had little breaks here and there (a weekend or a week and a half) in between different training events, but it's given me an idea of what deployments might look like. Thanks to the Irene he came home a day early, it's not much but I was in heaven having him home. I still am, we are having a great time hanging out and the kids could not be having a better time playing with him.

Anyway, I had to share this story of Logan, but now it's back to the fam and out starting the bbq.

another year of preschool

2011-08-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today preschool started for me sweet four year old. After many tears and "mommy I want to go home"'s he kissed me good bye and gladly sat in his seat at the table and started coloring. I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity. We has been on a wait list and I didn't think he would get in time, but last week we got the call that there was a spot :) so he's only missed a week. He'll go two day's a week for five hours! It's going to be so different to just have one baby in the house those mornings. So far it's been supper quiet, but I'm looking forward to spending one on one time with Madeline.

Here's the cutest preschooler of the class :)

captivate your thoughts

2011-08-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

these past few weeks have been pretty challenging. There has been one thing after another to test my patience and my sanity. With Scott's ever changing schedule, kids on an emotional roller coaster ride and just life being unpredictable right now, the silliest thing can get the best of me. This week I it has been discontentment, boy is that an evil one. Between going to the Dr. and seeing that my clothes not fitting is a legit issue, complements of the scale, being tired of the on and off single parenting, complements of the military, and just not being able to come up with ideas and being able to finishing the house decorating, I've really has a hard time keep my focus on what it should be. Instead, I've been dwelling on what I think would make my life better, for example, a bigger house, nice furniture, having family weekend excursions, and a flawless in shape body.
Just the other day a dear friend of mine sent me a devotion on taking your thoughts captive, looking at situations in a different light (finding the positive), and not letting earthly things be my idol. So all this to say my week has taken a turn for the better! I am really working on taking every thought captive and not let it control my life. It sound so easy, but it is a lot of work, I am so thankful for friends who love and encourage when time are tough.

To make this post a little more interesting, here is a picture from our trip to Colorado Springs just a few weeks ago. There will be more to follow...

Madeline and Logan sitting on top of Pikes Peak

Maddie Girl

2011-08-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

I love walking into a room and being met with smiles and squeals of delight! You can't help but be in a better mood after snuggling with this happy girl!

I finally set the mattress to the lowest level!

no climbing out for now little one...

A new look

2011-08-05T07:02:00.001-07:00

My little chalk artist :) He was very proud of my portait

My picture in chalk form

I love little kids creativity and proportions

A sprinkler day

2011-07-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Alot of the days I consider it too hot to drive in the car so we stay in the coolness of our house and sometimes venture out for a water activity :) this was one of those venturing out days. I get really cranky when it's hot out so I don't just like to sit out in the heat for a long time, but with the fun the little sprinkler gives these kiddos it's worth a little bit crankiness :)

I love happy faces

water and smiles

2011-06-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

The fountain park on base has opened for the summer and has become our new favorite spot. With it being 90* by 10am its a welcomed morning visit.

Maddie thought the water was fantastic

this one cracks me up :) trying to move away without using her knees...

so happy to be getting wet

Daddy time

2011-05-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

With Scott home after being gone for a few weeks we were all excited to spend time with him. Logan was very happy to have his Daddy home and quickly reminded him that he said they would go camping when he came home. Although he did not mean right away, but when it got warmer, that evening he set up a tent and fire for a back deck camp out. I was a little jealous but when I hear Logan say "this is the best vacation ever daddy!" I was happy for there special time :)

Experimenting with a slow shudder speed and sitting still

At least I got to join in and enjoy a smore

building the fire

Turning 28

2011-05-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I turned 28! Although Scott had to be gone and could not celebrate with me Logan did a good job at making me feel special.

I woke up to an excited "mommy....it's your party day!" so with that i decided we would go have some fun and eat pancakes at I Hop. I've never taken both kids to a restaurant by myself before, so I was a little nervous, but it went great.

After breakfast we went and picked up some cupcakes for later. There is a really cute cupcake store that I've been wanting to go to, so we tried it out.

After that was home and nap time for Maddie, and sidewalk chalk for Logan.

Lunch came next, then off to the park for some fun!

Later that day after dinner and putting Maddie to bed, we opened up the cupcake box and indulged ourselves :) that was one fantastic cupcake, a bit rich but sooo good.

All in all it was a pretty good day. Here is a recap in pictures.

Pancakes at I Hop

A Tiffany's something cupcake for me, and an Andie's mint delight for LoganMy chocolate cupcake with fudge swirls topped with Tiffany blue butter cream frosting with little silver beads. Mmmmm, that things was so good

Swinging fun

2011-05-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

We have discovered we love to swing! I'm sure she could sit there happily forever but there are only two baby swings at the park so unfortunately we have to share. Her giggles and smiles as she goes back and forth just crack me up, she gets so excited, and when I say "yay Maddie!", or "good job baby girl!" she she tries to clap for herself and that makes me smile all the more.

blurry, but I Love this one!

trying to clap for herself

happy to be swinging

wide eyed excitement

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to the two most wonderful mothers in my life.

it's a bitter sweet day for me, I love celebrating the life's of these amazing women, I am so thankful for the relationship I have with my mom and that we can talk and visit and I can call her for mo reason :), but I am saddened that my time with Karen was cut short.

My relationship with her was special, she was so much more that a mother in law. I miss her smile and welcome hugs when I walked through the door, our shopping trips, and conversations. She is the much love mom to Scott and missed grandma to Logan and Maddie. Although I know in God's eyes her time was NOT cut short but just right, we miss her like crazy and look forward to seeing again one day! I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend with her, how she impacted me life and raised Scott to be the man that he is.

Both these ladies are amazing women and I'm glad I am and was a part the their lives.

I love mothers day also because I get to celebrate being the mommy of these two beautiful and awesome kids. Being a parent has changed my life forever. Although I don't always like the changes and thought it's the most wonderful, challenging painful role, I would not give it up being these little ones mother. I am so thankful they have been given to me.

I love you mom, Karen, Logan and Maddie, thanks for being my loving moms and most wonderful kids.
...
Happy Mothers Day as well to all my beautiful mommy friends out there, For many of you it's your first one holding a your little one in your arms, have a wonderful day and enjoy your sweet one.

Date night with Jillian

2011-05-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

My pants are only getting tighter (I'm not kidding) and these are the pants I bought last summer after having Madeline, so for many reasons I have created date night with Jillian, or I guess I should say....date nightS, there will be many.

I tested it out a few weeks ago and o my word my body has never been so sore all over before! It hurt to think about moving, and when you have a little ones who need you bending over, playing on the floor and lifting things, I was in a constant ough.. aw...ouch, state of living. It was a good feeling knowing it HAD to be working, but I was intimidated by the long lasting soreness that my motivation failed me.

Scott is gone right now and that's when I typically eat badly, so I figured this was a good time to break that bad habit and start doing something productive with my evenings. I'm looking forward to a seeing a difference and gaining a little more self confidence back.

Here we go....

belated birthday post

2011-05-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

My baby girl's 1

When we got our orders to leave Ft Bragg we decided to celebrate Maddie's first birthday a little early. It was a last minute affair as we did not have a lot of notice, so the night before there was a lot of crafting going on. All in all it turned out pretty well! We wanted to celebrate with friends and it ended up being the last time we were all together before moving to different parts of the country the following weekend.

It was a fun day!

Maddie eating her cupcake
thanks everyone for my presents

Madeline and buddy Jonathan

(my good friend from collage drove over from charlotte NC)

party decorations

guest favors
(homemade pink popcorn balls)

Butterfly cupcakes,

(I forgot the little antena things, o well)

Table and birthday girl's seat

That's all for the early birthday...

Birthday day...

playing with new activity table

My new doll from Aunt Amanda and family :)

Rain boots from Aunt Joanna, I can't wait for them to fit

Present stash from family in Wa

Mommy..... Please no more pictures!

unposed pose :)

Sweet face

For her actual birthday since we had just moved in and were living amongs boxes we had lunch at the olive garden and a pink cake donut with a candle at home.

A pink dress and blue argyle

2011-04-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Easter is a wonderful day, celebrating the Resurrection of our savior, spending time with family, eating a lovely meal, dressing your little ones in sweet outfits, and seeing the delight on your child's face when they look inside their Easter basket.

I love holidays with little ones, their sweetness and joy for little things make all the work worthwhile.

Having Scott gone for the last two Easters it was great to have him be a part of this special day with the kiddos. He got to hide and seek his first egg hunt with Logan, and see Maddie pull apart her first Easter basket, (she didn't have one last year)

It was a low key day, church, a nap for everyone while mommy cooked, ham-scalloped potatoes-corn on the cob-dinner rolls-and strawberry short cake for dinner and dessert, a skype visit with the family get together back home, bed time for a cranky little girl, and an egg hunt for an excited boy.

Over the last few years this day's been spent with family and friends, it was a little different being alone, but it was nice to be together as a family and finally start these memories with Logan and Maddie

several attempt at getting both to smile and look at the same time

My sweet Maddie girl dressed in pink

Scott was all smiles watching his little boys excitment

A little taste of window

2011-04-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

Since Madeline quite often sits on the inside watching Logan play on the deck it didn't take her long to discover the cold smooth feeling of her little tongue in the window. Now I not only have to worry about the windows being clean for looks but also for the health of her little self.

Testing it out...
The verdict is in, she likes it...

Tornado's

2011-04-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Well, our first tornado weather experience is over! I think the weather was sensing my feelings that day, It was Scott's first day back after 40 days of leave. I was less than thrilled to have him have to go back, and of course the first day he's gone we have terrible weather. It was super windy the night before and just kept going through the morning. When the rain and thunderstorms came I kind of figured there might be something happening. Around eleven thirty the first siren went off, although I knew at some point this spring I would hear one I still had a moment of panic and my heart beat a whole lot faster.

I was in the middle of making lunch for the kids so I quickly turned of the stove (I'm a little surprised I even thought of that at the time) grabbed Maddie, the phone and quickly got the kids downstairs. When the sirens go off that means a tornado has been sighted somewhere in the area close by. Not knowing when the warning was going to be over I called me mom to calm me down, she got online (i didn't think to bring the laptop down) and told me what the weather was doing and when the warning was supposed to be over. I tried to stay calm and collected for Logan's sake and explain as best as I cold why he cold not go outside, next to the windows, and had to stay downstairs.

Over the course of the day we had several sirens go off and spent quite a bit of time in the basement. After the third one I thought, "well the sky isn't turing green and Maddie is taking a nap, so I'll stay up for this one"haha...then came the loud rumbling thunder and I ran in to get Maddie and we were down again.

Having to be down stairs gave me a good incentive to finish it and get it set up. Also on my to do list is to have a tornado emergency box put together and set aside, blankets, snacks, a few surprises toys for the kids to play with, flashlights, battery radio, things like that.

I didn't think to watch the news that night to see if anything touched down, but my neighbor the next day informed me she saw on national news that morning one did just a few miles from here. It ripped apart a factory building and sent several workers to the hospital. Yikes, needles to say, I will be heading downstairs when I hear the sirens weather the sky is green or not.

Although this has nothing to do with Tornado's it's pretty cute so I though I would add it anyway :) because she was in the bumbo with the tray attached she was not able to reach what she wanted so she got creative and tipped herself and scooted along. When I looked over at her I laughed so hard, she reminds me of a little turtle with it's shell... Surprisingly she was able to get a long quite well.

brother watching

2011-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

On sunny days while Logan is playing on the back deck in his sand box Maddie likes to watch enviously. She'll just sit and watch Logan happily for quite a while.

Window buddies :)

Happy girl

A quick getaway

2011-03-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of driving to Louissiana to visit with some good friends. We were blessed to be able to stay in the familys beautiful vacation home on the river. As wonderful as it is to have finally moved and have our own place the last few weeks have been exhausting and a bit challenging for me. It was great to be able to get away for a few days and relax and have fun. It was worth the nine hour drive, the weather was beautiful, the house was peaceful and relaxing, the company was wonderful!

We enjoyed riding on the boat, (my favorite summer acticity) Logan had a blast fishing off the edge of the pilings with daddy and uncle Drew. We spottted “gattors” as Logan refers to them on the river, it’s such a foreign idea to have alligators in the river be so normal, It was really exciting, I’ve only ever seen them in the zoo. We ate some good southern deep fried sea food, I even tasted my first frog leg, kinda weird, but I felt like I had to at least taste It, but in the end I don’t think I’ll feel compeled to do that again.

We are home again and working on painting the kitchen and dining room. I am so excited to have it done but right now am feeling overwhellmed with details and being neat. After the paint we will be putting up some chair railing, I’ll post pictures when it’s all done, but it might be a while. For now here are some pictures of the weekend in LA.

waiting for the fish to bite First fish with daddyLooking for fish This little girl loved riding on the boat

Wind in the mouth

Love her sweet face!

Sweet Amelia and Logan

Thinking he's going to shoot a "gator"

Moving

2011-02-28T05:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to say that moving day has come and gone and we are now in a new state getting ready to move in into the new house :) We have the walk through this morning then we can get in! Unfortunately we have had thunder storms and heavy rain all night, this might is going to make unloading the truck a bit more difficult. thankfully we have a friend coming to help Scott with the unloading, with the two little ones I will not be much help in that area, besides I can't even lift some of the stuff with Scott. We were hoping to have a little more help but we'll take the one :) Will try to put up some pictures soon but it'll be a bit before we have interent connection there.

boxes and play

2011-02-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

With moving day quickly approaching and all of the toys being packed in boxes, Logan has had to be creative when keeping himself busy. After not being interrupted or hearing any whining for some time I stoped to see what Logan was up to. Come to find out he has been quite entertained but the stacks of boxes in the dining room, he cornered himself in (along with a basketball, and Maddie's little truck on wheels) with some small boxes and is playing quite happily. And the packing continues.......

Where's Logan?

batman cupcakes

2011-02-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our day to bring snacks to preschool and since they were celebrating Logan's birthday we were supposed to being something special to eat. Last week he quite proudly told his teachers that he would be bringing batman cupcakes, since he was going to have a batman cake for his birthday he assumed he would be bringing something similar for his little buddies. I wasn't quite sure how to make batman cupcakes but his little heart was set so I got creative. I colored the frosting blue with blue sprinkles, glued a tooth pick in between some paper, then glued on some batman confetti for batman toppers.

walla, batman cupcakes :)

What fun it is to have a boy!

morning on the playground

2011-02-04T05:19:00.000-08:00

One of things I really like about living here on base is that there are parks everywhere within walking distance. From our house we have a choice of three different locations to go play at. Today the newest one was finished and the yellow tape was taken down so we had to go break it in :) Logan had his buddy Cy over and together they had a great time playing, all the while I enjoyed visiting with Aspen and watching Maddie girl enjoy her time outside. We keep getting little glimpses here and there of spring weather that's to some and this was one of those days, it was sunny, a little breezy and perfect to be outside.

Logan's favorite activity on the playground

A Logan quote

2011-01-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

"Mommy come look! I did something for you and you will be so happy......

(I walk into my bedroom and see Logan standing and pointing proudly to our bed)

LOOK mommy, I made your bed!"

(he pulled the bedding up and arranged the pillows)

Snow day

2011-01-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

A snow day at last, I love the snow!

We woke up this morning to several inches of white snow and excitement all around. Because snow is not a normal thing down here places don't know how to operate. With a threat of snow Schools are delayed and most often cancelled. Because of this beautiful weather Scott did not have to go to class :) and since it's supposed to freeze tonight he most likely will have tomorrow off as well. Although it's a little irritating having most things closed and everything put on hold, I can't complain, we get an extended family weekend :)

Pretty much right after breakfast Logan was in his clothes ready to play outside, we got Madeline bundled up and out we all went. Logan ran around totally thrilled by his trailing footprints, Maddie was not too sure, she was fine until she tried eating it and was a bit surprised that it was so cold and wet.

Not much longer after that we were back inside warming up and drinking hot chocolate. It's nap time now but when the kids awake I'm sure it'll be outside again and this time building the much talked about snowman :) it hasn't stopped snowing so by now its about seven inches :)

If you look closely you can see the reflection of her face smiling in Scott's shirt

checking out the snow

just plain cuteness

2010-11-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

Our days have been busy, running from preschool and back, trying to keep the house clean, feeding and keeping two children clothed (Logan enjoys changing his clothes many time a day) trips to the park across the street, walks to starbucks (I'm very blessed it's only a mile away:) much training+disciplining= exhaustion, and much more, but all this to say here are a few pictures that capture some the goings on around here.

enjoying the warm late afternoon sun

bath time with daddy
playing outside while daddy works out

hanging out in the swing

all bundled up for a morning walk to the park

little Del loves rolling around without her diaper

Learning to sit up
playing with our toes

riding around very excitedly in front of the fire truck parked at the end of our driveway (not to worry it wasn't for our home, there was a small fire across the street.)

First visit to NYC

2010-11-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

"When would we have ever driven eight hours for a weekend getaway back home?" This I is what I asked Scott as we started our road trip. I've never been to the Big Apple and since we're so much closes to it than from WA we wanted to go before we moved again. When we saw we had an upcoming four day weekend we seized the opportunity for a road tip to the city. We made several stops along and the kiddo did fabulous. We stoped two thirds of the way in Baltimore for the night. Not wanting to drive in the city with a the constant sound of horns honking and rude taxis cutting you off we stayed in New Jersey. We were able to take the train into the city and did all the walking from there. We walked ALL over, My feet were very sore by the end of the day, but of course wanting to look like I belonged in the city I had to wear my black wedge boots, so I kind of did it to myself. Being the silly girl that I am it took much thought to put together outfits from within my small closet to look NYC appropriate, but as much as I tried I still didn't feel the part. O well, there will be a next time :)

We walked through time square, central park, (CP zoo) wall street, lower Manhattan (ground zero) Liberty state park, and all along the Hudson river walkway. The city is beautiful, the landscaping, architecture, the park, I just kept marveling at how tasteful and pretty everything was.

We ate a good amount of New York pizza (fabulous), some Delicious chicken kabobs from the street corner vendors, and of course had to visit TLC's "Cake Boss" Carlos' Bake shop for some good ol pastries and picture taking.

Going with little ones we had to make it a little more kid friendly then I had always imagined my first time in NYC, but we had a great time and I loved being there as a family. There was no museum visiting, Broadway shows, or city shopping, but we took Logan to the central park zoo, (I stayed out side the entrance while Maddie napped on the park bench) and saw some great sights. Of course traveling and walking can make for some cranky kids, and we did have a few issues with behaviour, but it was great to be all together having fun. It was also really good and refreshing for us to be able to get away from life and every day life here at home.

(Here are some picture of the trip, click on it to make it bigger)

2010-10-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

Posting pictures to my blog has been taking a long time recently and thus trying my patience. I was playing around with Picasa the other day and figured out how to do collage pictures, it's so much easier and takes no time to upload. I am loving this easier way to get pictures up so I'm sure you'll be seeing quite a few of them :) here's one of sweet Maddie happily playing on the floor :).

Food, teeth and getting older

2010-10-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

We were a little late so her sixth month appointment became her seven month check up. They didn't give me the percentiles this time but my mom is going to chart her stats and get back it me. I'm assuming with her at 19lbs and being 28in she'll be somewhere close to the 90th :)

She's my little chunky chubbers alright:) The Dr. said that chunkier little babies with slightly bigger heads often have a little harder time learning to sit up, she's getting better but is still a little tipsy.

No crawling yet! but she's getting close. If she needs anything she rolls herself in different directions to get whatever she wants; quite often I'll look over at her and she'll be out of site, this has taken a little getting used to. I can't imagine what it'll be like when she's on the move.

Her mouth is now full of teeth, six to be exact! Around five and a half months she started waking up frequently at night, not being able to go to sleep and crying a lot(all this being quite different from normal behavior). Since Logan didn't get his first tooth till about seven months (and when he did you only didn't really know it was coming), plus not being able to see anything on her gums I was beginning to get a little stressed out. I didn't want to give her something for teething if it wasn't actually that, so my sister suggested giving her some Hyland's teething tablets. They are all natural and even if that wasn't the issue she'd be fine taking them. Just a few days later when I looked in her mouth I saw the white of her first tooth, top left! It was quite the exciting day, I bombarded Scott with the news the minute he got home from work :) After that they just kept popping through poor little thing. She has four on the top and two on the bottom.

I've done it, we gave Maddie her first solid food. It was quite the accomplishment for me. I knew she was ready and would love it, but I was putting off the day that I had to face the fact my baby girl would not stay a baby forever. Watching them grow up is so exciting but also a bit sad. She was quite curious and excited about the whole ordeal, but she didn't much like the rice cereal. I didn't think she would but tried a few bites anyway. After that we ate bananas and that went over really well, she smiled and opened her mouth like a little expert. We'll stay with that for a few days then move to either avocado, sweet potato or pees. I'm having fun feeding her and she looks so cute in the big highchair :)

Well that's all for now, here's her eating her first few bites of cereal.

2010-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy and challenging and I have few words to write. I wish I had the ability to gather and organize my thoughts down in writing, but life right now is keeping me too busy to focus on posting anything that would sound cohesive.. So for now some pictures of my darling Madeline

Better late than never

2010-09-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Logan's first day of preschool has long since come and gone.
Since we found out we were staying here a little longer I scrambled to find a preschool that was still open and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Wow! you think babies cost a lot, this is when kids start becoming expensive!
After being on a wait list I found one that was open from a friends recommendation. I visited and registered all the week before it started. I wasn't supper prepared with such short notice so as you can see the little guy does not have a backpack, but It's been ordered and is on it's way. When it comes I will be sure to post a picture of it, Logan picked it out himself and is very excited :)
I was very excited to get him in and give him the social interaction he has been lacking. They have a great schedule of learning, show and tell, play and art, and he loves it. In the car on our way the first morning, he quite excitedly informed me that I was going to leave him, go shopping with Madeline then come pick him up :) He had absolutely no reservations about entering the classroom by himself. When we got there he gave me kisses, a head bonk, knuckles and went on his merry way :).
I was very excited for him and all he was going to experience, but as I drove away it sank in that he is now going to start having experiences on his own without me. My boy is growing up! a little sad but also so exciting!
Here we are before getting in the car for the first day. I was a little nervous about being late so we were in a little bit a hurry and the pictures were rushed...

Having a hard time standing still

Just a tad excited! Preschool here I come...

Sweet Logan

2010-09-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Our bedtime conversation tonight...

Me: Jesus likes to hear you pray Logan...

Logan: Hey Unca oootie up in heaven with Jesus!...

Me: He sure is! maybe when you pray you can ask Jesus to give Uncle Luke a hug for you...

Logan: I want to go on an airplane go way high in the sky and go to Heaven to see ootie and Jesus...

Me: I don't think airplanes know how to get there, It's to high up there...

Logan: Mommy, you go and tell the airplane driver how to get there...

Logan: O I know!!! we can take a map, daddy shows me how to use them...

...

What a precious little boy, He was determined to find a way to get there. I love hearing him talk about Jesus and wanting to go see Heaven, but at the same time it's hard to know what to say and how to explain things. He can understand so much more than I realize and he just keeps amazing me with his comments.

2010-08-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Logan's little friend Sammy is back in town for a visit so they stoped over for dinner tonight. The boys had such a great time playing together. This is quiet time at the end of the evening with Thomas the Train. it was pretty cute, they opted to sit right next to each other. These little boys love each other.

Fish face Happy smile

Well we are off tomorrow for DC for the weekend to spend time with Auntie Becky! We are all looking forward to seeing her.

A new table

2010-08-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Scott and a friend went and picked up a table set from craigslist for us. We were down to only three chairs and small and unstable ones at that. I originally thought I would just find six chairs for sale, but soon after that I realized it's not easy to find six chairs by them selves on craigslist (st least out here) and to buy that many new I might as well look for a used table and chairs all in one buy. So after checking craigslist for quite a while this one appeared. I'd seen it several weeks ago but was not ready to commit to something. Well the other day it was still there and I still really liked it so we got it! It's so nice to have a table that fits us and anybody we have over. It's counter height which works great for us long legged people :) and I just love the style. I know it sound s little silly, but I feel so grown up with a real table and chairs, especially now that we're in a house and not an apartment :)

2010-08-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

It seems like i've seen several little adorable girls in tutus on different blogs lately, so I couldn't resist sharing Madelines' :) I had quite the fun time taking these last week, it's a little big (it actually says 2+) but with her chubby waist and the streachy band we made it work, and hey, when she's a little older and waddling around it'll still fit :)

Logans' garden friend

2010-08-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Our harmless but terrifying new visitor

A yellow and black Argiope (I think) Spider...

Logan brought me out to see his new find and I jumped with horror and yelled "get back get back don't touch it!!!" As you can tell I hate spiders and am pretty darn scared of ones that size. Logan is totally into it though, he checks on it every day and shows it proudly to everyone that walks through our door. It's in the garden right out the dining room window so much to my dismay it's easy to see.

I think it's a harmless garden spider but it's the biggest by far that I've seen out here.

Looking close but not too close

Taking a picture of proud find

Spider watching with daddy

fun in the pool

2010-08-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Here at our new place we live a street up from the pool so we are frequently there playing and cooling off. Here are a few pictures of Madeline's first time in. She woke up early from her afternoon nap so she was not too enthusiastic.

Her chubby legs just make me laugh :) you gotta love those baby rolls!

Picture of the day

2010-07-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Life as of today

2010-07-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

We have moved into a house on base and I am loving life right now! things before we moved were a little rough, and although it still comes and goes, many stresses of before have gone. These would include living in to small of a space, not enough room to cook meals or keep my things, and Logan being cooped up inside because of the heat without having much space to be a boy. I know there will be more things that creep in to be anxious about, but for now things seem good.

I have been having fun keeping busy with organizing and setting up a new place, currently I am spray painting cheep gold curtain rods, and trying to find some inexpensive black out curtains for all the rooms. With the strobe light flashes of lightening at night we all need them in order to get any sleep.

I am also having a great time setting up a girls room :) O how I love pink :). Since we had a one bedroom place with Logan, this is the first nursery I've been able to decorate, and I'm having fun! When I'm done I'll post a few pictures.

The kids are doing well, Logan is loving his new room and having a backyard to play in and a driveway to ride his trike in. Maddie is four months and such a lovable baby. I'll post her four months info in the next post.

2010-06-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

My little sea creature...

A busy two months

2010-06-24T18:06:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged, so here's a little update of what's happened in our lives over the last two months.

Scott left for his final phase of training. A month long exercise in which they worked in small teams along with contracted role players; they planned and executed missions in an imaginary land placed in a small town somewhere within the state. (all towns that host this phase are aware of what's going on and play along with it) The point of this is to allow them to use what they've been trained in and be able to learn from mistakes in a setting as real as they can make it without it being authentic.

During the month of time I couldn't talk to him (or know where he was) my good friend Danielle came to visit, I turned 27 and had a lovely dinner out with Danielle, Sarah, and Madeline :), and I was able to visit home for two weeks. It was really good to be home and have some help with the kiddos.
While home I was drove with my sisters and all four little one down to Oregon to see my two dear Aunts and uncle. It was quite the experience with all of us and a long drive but completely worth it. We enjoyed a lovely day at the Portland zoo visiting and catching up.

Just after flying home and meeting back up with my very missed other half, we prepped for graduation day. My mom and Rod flew back with me for the big day and a week long visit. Also, unknown to Scott his friend Aaron flew in to support him on the special day. Scott was surprised and very excited to have him there.
During these visits we played tour guides for the area and had a wonderful time with loved ones.
Graduation was AWESOME! The original one year turned into two years and I was so excited it was really happening. I'm so proud of Scott for all he has accomplished, the blood, pain, sweat, frustration and determination of it all finally paid off. I am now the proud wife of a Green Beret!!! wahoooo!

The outdoor ceremony -the dawning of the Green Beret

Celebrating after with some good ol cold stone

The next day- formal ceremony in uniform

As it turns out we are not leaving north Carolina yet. Since Scott did so well during the language phase he was chosen to stay and take an additional six months of language, during which time he'll be specialized in the Iraqi dialect.

After graduation was over and family left Scott was told he was on leave and had to be back by the x of the month. We had planned to come home during his leave but weren't sure when it was going to start. After being told of the short notice leave we bought tickets and flew home the next evening. We were only given a week and a half out of the month that we were expecting so we wanted to get there as soon as possible.
It was a great visit home, a little crazy with the time crunch, but really good. It was our first time back home together since our last visit for Luke's death. It was hard and brought back so many memories, but good to be with and continue grieving with those we loved. It was really great to see Scott so happy and able to connect with his group of guys. I enjoyed seeing people too of course:) We had a wonderful time catching up with friends and meeting the precious new addition to a much loved family. We sure miss the support group we have back home.

---

Upcoming events...

Madeline's four month check up

Moving on base for the remainder of our time here

Scott's 30th birthday :)

Two months and growing great

2010-05-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hi there, It's Madeline, I'm two months old now so I thought it was about time I blogged about how I'm growing. At my two month check up this week my Mommy was quite surprised that I was almost 13 lbs, 12.13 to be exact, and 23 inches. That means I've gained six pounds and grown three inches since coming home. My arms and legs are rounding up quite nicely, and I hear I'm getting quite the double chin, but I just can't stop drinking mommies milk, it tastes to good! I like to eat somewhere between four to six times a day. Here are a few other things about me,

I love being swaddled for sleep,
being gently shushed and rocked when I'm fussy helps calm me down, although that's hardly ever. I think I'm a pretty easy baby.
I love to smile at people who get close and look me in the eyes,
I figured out how rub my eyes to let Mommy know I'm sleepy,
I also like to rub me face back and forth on mommies shoulder when I'm tired,
It's great to have a big brother, he gives me kisses all the time, shakes the rattle for me, is always at my side when I make a noise, and always tells Mommy when I'm awake :) but I don't think she likes it when he wakes me up. I like it when he plays with me, sometimes he tries to stuff the pac in in my mouth when I didn't want it, and he just stared to pinch my checks together, I'm not a fan of that but I love him and he makes me smile.
I like to kick my legs when I get excited
I like tummy time, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get my thumb in my mouth,
Mommy says I'm a good sleeper so I guess that's a good thing! I like to get up around seven in the morning, eat, nap, eat, tummy time, nap, eat and go to bed around sevenish. it's a pretty good shedual I think, mommy likes it! I hope I can keep it up.
I miss my daddy! he's going to be so surprised at how much I've grown and changed when he gets home. I can't wait smile at him when he gives me kisses.

On another note, I'm going on my first airplane ride today, we're flying home until daddy gets back. I'll get to meet lots of special people and I'm sure Mommy will take lots of pictures for yall to see. Pray for us, it's a long trip and I hope mommy hold up fine with both of us :)

2010-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

My little girl is almost two months I can hardly believe it...

I'm so in love with this little face

she finds and rather likes her thumb during tummy time

girl weekend

2010-05-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

three wifes...two little boys...two babies...warm temperatures...a broken air unit...popcicles...chicken salad...ice cream...girly movies...monkey Joe's...lots of diapers...whining...splashing water in mixing bowls outside...laughter...quiet chattering voices coming from the boys room late into the evening...hungry cries in the middle of the night...girl talk...baby gurgles and smiles...church...lunch at the Red Robin=

tired little boys and worn out mommies :)

With Scott gone and two husbands out backpacking, I was able to spend time with Jan and Charity, two good girlfriends from college. We decided since the men were gone, we'd make it a girl weekend here at my house! Overnight girl time does not happen like it did before little kiddos entered our lives, so I really enjoyed just hanging out and spending quality time together. Unfortunately I did not snap a picture all weekend, I know, I can't believe it! but it was a fun time even without the visual memories...

Thoughts of the day...

2010-04-21T09:49:00.001-07:00

-I love watching Logan jump up and down saying "yay! Jesus help get bad guy!!!" when he sees Goliath, the giant pickle fall over.

-Yay, Logan can pull he own pants up

-Thinking about a new home here in NC, (will write more on that later)

-Tacos for dinner

-Wishing I lived close to a Costco

-I love baby smiles

-With after holiday M&M's only a dollar a bag on base, I eat way to many!

-Chocolate Milk for a snack

-Scott leaves again in four days

-I'm glad it's spring and there are birds searching for worms on the back grass to keep Logan entertained at random times during the day

-Please baby, go to sleep!

boys will be boys...

2010-04-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

This has been a bitter sweet week, Today was the day we had been anticipating for a long time. Today the guys he'd been with over this whole course graduated and are moving on. We're only a months and half behind, but his not joining them has brought up the reason why and the memories that are behind it all; being home with family after Luke's death set Scott back into the next class. We're excited for our friends that are now finished, but are missing Luke terribly and wishing he was here to be celebrating with us.

I have not had much to be blogging about lately, but we are getting away this weekend to the outer Banks of North Carolina, so mabey that'll change things. I'm looking forward to having a small break from everyday living in our little town.

In the mean time, here's a short clip of my two boys. Those of you who know Scott well, know that he's always up for doing something to keep those muscles strong, so it's only fitting that his son would follow in his footsteps. Weather it's in the sand, at home, or at the gym, Logan is right there beside Scott mimicking his actions.

more of the little ones

2010-04-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Pictures and video for nana and papaEaster morning: Logan was so excited to see his little sister, he had to go in there first thing in the morning...

2010-04-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row Scott has been in the field for Easter. I wish that I could say that I was used to it, but that's not the case, every missed event or holiday is hard. But as I am coming to learn with being in the military, you have to make the most of every situation, especially with little kids. So with those thoughts I decided to attempt church by myself with a new baby and have Easter dinner at my house with a few friends :) It was a fun day, a bit on the crazy side, but fun.

Church was a success, after that we came home and the two munchkins took naps while I started the cooking. Our menu included a smithfield spiral cut glazed ham, roasted asparagus with melted Parmesan, scalloped potatoes, sparkling cider and red wine, and an apple crisp for desert.

With the air conditioner not working properly, high 80 degree weather, and an oven on for most of the day, my little place was cookin with heat. Despite that, the heat made for a very pleasant evening to sit outside and let Logan run off some energy.

I missed my husband like crazy, but it was a fun day and I am thankful for friends to hang out with and to help out with my sometimes hectic life.

My two little Easter sweethearts

the table centerpiecenI had fun makingGetting excited about cooking my first Easter mealLogan having fun playing outside with SamMe and my babes

Sweet faces

2010-03-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to do anything cool to these pictures (crop black and white), so they are as is for now

...

I just love this picture, it's one of the only smiles I've been able to capture.

Wide awake

It was so wonderful to have my mom here, I'm thankful she was able to spend some time with the new born stage.

Egg Hunt

2010-03-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today Logan and I went to one of the neighboring towns Easter Egg hunt with a friend and her little boy. It was great to get outside and see the boys have a good time.

Look what i've got! My sweet little man

what did you say mommy? :)

Bedding fabric

2010-03-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Now that I officially have a little baby girl (as seen on previous post) I've been having fun thinking about what I will do for her nursery when we move. With my mom here it was fun to look around on line for all sorts of items. I didn't found much bedding that I liked, but we did find this fabric that I love and can't wait to use in her crib. I'll have a contrasting fabric for the skirt and inside of the bumper, and the sheet will be plain, so this will be on the outside of the bumper and on the crib blanket. All the colors are so fun and I just love the designer who makes it, Valori Wells.

Our new baby girl!

2010-03-16T06:51:00.001-07:00

Madeline Dawn Gullberg

March 5th at six fourty-nine in the evening

7lbs 5oz and 20 in

(birth story)

Several weeks ago I decided the 5th would be the perfect day for baby G to be born. Because Scott is still in training he's only allowed to miss eight hours of class before having to repeat the course. With that in mind, delivering on a Friday seemed perfect, he would be able to have the whole weekend with us before going back to class. As the 5th got closer the nerves started to creep in and I was getting a little anxious about all the unknowns of what was quickly approaching...what time would it all happen? where would Logan go? would I be able to get a hold of Scott? with testing positive for GBS, would I really have to stay forty eight hours? what would Logan do the whole time? will my mom be here in time?...With all this in mind I was a little more willing to be okay with the original due date of the 9th.

March 2nd~29th week appointment:

~four cm dilated and 80% effaced

~minor on and off contractions throughout the previous and current week, nothing big...

March 4th~ Events of the day...

Scott got home early and went out to get me the vanilla milk shake and oreos I was craving. I sat on the couch eating my yummies watching Scott play his video games while Logan took a long nap :)

At about four thirty in the afternoon I was talking to my sister on the phone and all of a sudden realized that my water might be leaking. This was a strange feeling as it did not break with Logan. As I was asking my sister what it was like when hers broke I felt a sudden painful contraction. So far the ones that I had been feeling were real minor, this one was a whole lot stronger.

I got off the phone so I could get my hair straightened (I wanted to to look nice post delivery:) I also tried to get a hold of my mom to let her know what was happening.

By five my hair was done and the contractions (now five minutes apart) were getting a lot stronger, I would have to stop what I was doing and stand still till it was over.

After throwing the last few things into a bag Scott knew we needed to get going, he took a fast shower, and got Logan up from his nap. At this point we realized that Logan had just come down with the stomach flu and was throwing up, as we tried to run out the door he went running back to his bathroom yelling "me throw up daddy!" When we finally got into the car contracts are two minutes apart and Scott is very calmly calling his buddies to find someone to meet us to pick Logan up. (the friend who was going to watch him got the flue the day before and was really sick) we droped off our poor little sick boy and continued to the hospital.

We drove up to hospital...Scott ran me down the hall in a chair...up the elevators and into the empty halls (I'd never been up there before so I wasn't sure where to go)...found our way and made it to the front desk...Scott had to fill out paper work while I'm doing the heee heee heee breathing and not able to answer questions, all the while thinking "this is my second baby, contracts are close, water has broken, and this is going really fast, why is no one concerned?"

I get back to triage where they do some blood work and finally check me, "Wow! she's at nine cm, we need to get her back now" says the nurse. It get's interesting from here on out.........

More online paper work and questions...gripping Scott's hand and thinking I really don't like labor...

Nurse: O you're only at a 4

Me: what? how do you got from 9 down to 4?

Midwife: she checks... No she's about 7 or 8

Me (my mind): where the heck am I?

Scott and I are very confused...

Everyone trickled out of the room and I start to panic, not knowing where I was in this process and wondering when they are coming back...I start throwing up and then at least know I'm in transition...nurse comes back in and I asked to be checked again "honey I literally checked you about four minutes ago"...me feeling frustrated and now feeling a new burning sensation and a little more preasure...I knew this was a different feeling but he nurse said it was just because baby was so low... I didn't believe her and was even more frustrated, I knew baby was coming...A few minutes later while sitting up I felt the pushing urge, and during the next contraction an intense need to push...while the nurse still didn't believe that I could be that close I started to panic and scream trying to lift myself off the sitting position... the midwife gets in my face and tries to calm me down, meanwhile I am saying very uncalmly, "get me back!!!!seriously, there is something coming out NOW!!!"...the midwife lays me back to check "O, there's a head"....Me~"I told you something was coming out!"

Three pushes and baby was out...6:49pm...

I forgot to add that when the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me back when they said I was at a false 4 cm I have to say that I was willing to get and epidural this time round. But in the end by the time the blood work was done I was in transition and did not think I would be able to sit still for the procedure. So in the end it was natural delivery number two.

Meanwhile during all this, several of Scott's buddies came to the house to play with my sweet little boy who would play...run back to his room and throw up....and play again. Despite being sick he loved playing with and getting all the attention from the guys.

I love these dishes!

2010-03-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

with this whole nesting stage of being pregnant I have been getting a lot of cleaning and organizing done. It's been great, but with that come the desire to get new things to spruce the place up and make things more fun. Since we will be moving in the near future, re-setting up house is not a good idea right now. So with the nesting habits, looking forward to moving into an actual house and getting new things, and my natural desire to find things I like :) I decided on some fabulous new dishes I really want to get. I love the style and I love the color, now I just need to start acquiring a few at a time... what fun it'll be to have new dishes for a new home!

the Emma design from pottery barn

2010-03-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

Bath time is a favorite time in our house both for Logan and for me. He gets to sit and splash with his toys, and I get a short amount of time to myself :) He was having a great time the other night and I was trying to secretly capture his imaginary play. This was the best I got....

Only seven days to go!

2010-03-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

Week 38 brought:

late night insomnia and acid reflux
extreme nesting and house cleaning
relaxing muscles thus having to pee all the time
baby droped :) resulting in random low sharp stabbing pains
2 cm and 70% effaced :)
the unavoidable waddling
sniffling noses and coughs for me and Logan
the feeling as though nothing cute fits anymore
lots of tears and emotions
getting excited to wear my normal clothes again :)
stocking the pantry and freezing meals
finishing up baby preparations: bedding washed and put back in the basket... changing table organized and cleaned
getting a little closer to picking baby G's name
treasuring baby's movement every day

Week 39, PLEASE bring baby!!!

pictures...

2010-02-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was able to throw a shower for a friend of mine here, Since I'm already in baby mode it was fun to plan. There were a few of us pregnant ladies here so the food was planned accordingly :) Decaf coffee punch (the best thing ever) and brunch yummies...

I know have a very cheesy tired smile here, but none the less here I am ready to have this baby but only at 38 weeks...

I finally found coming home outfits for baby girl/boy! The little flower hat was fun to make, but I could only find a white hat. If baby is a girl I can imagine I'll be making more :)

The baby bed came and we got it all put together:) We needed something small to put in our room for the next few months and I really love the looks of these moses basket stands. The basket comes out easily so If I want to transport it wherever I am it's really convenient. I don't have the bumper in there yet, so it looks a little on the plain side, but with baby in it it'll be perfect :)

2010-02-13T18:00:00.001-08:00

Saturday!

~waking up to a thick, fluffy white blanket of snow...

~eating a whole plate of little smokies rolled in croissants Scott wrapped up just for me...

~watching Scott and Logan laughing and throwing snow balls while making a snow man in the back yard...

~getting out for a coffee and lunch date with my honey...

and the list goes on... the point is, it was a good day :)

gearing up to throw this giant snow ball at me...

Pinata time!

2010-02-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little on the longer side, but I knew family back home will enjoy watching this :) Logan had a great time with the dino pinata, despite how long it took to break open (man, those things are solid)

2010-02-08T06:05:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had Logan's third birthday party! Since the baby is coming in less than a month I wanted to make this a special day all about him. Logan does not have very many little buddies here so our guest list included his daddy aged big brothers, a dog and his one little friend Sammy. With special decorations coming from a friend back home I was really excited about how everything was going to turn out. But when Saturday rolled around and the decorations had not come yet, I went into shear panic. I guess there was a mix up on dates so they were not going to be here in time. With twenty four hours till the party hour I raced to the craft store and bought stickers, spray paint, ribbon, paper, and all sorts of art supplies. I was determined that we would at least have cupcake toppers and a banner. After several hours of cutting, gluing, and redoing things till they turned out right, the toppers were and part of the banner were done. (I still had to spray paint the card board letter I got to attach to the banner) In the end I was quite pleased with how things turned out :)

Since I didn't realized till a few days ago that I planned his party on super bowl Sunday, we ended up having a Superbowl birthday party! It was a fun day, Logan had a blast and was completely spoiled by his favorite big brothers.

Tomorrow is his actual third Birthday so I getting ready for a second, but much much smaller celebration with just mommy and daddy.

Although I did not get a picture of it, on the last few words of singing happy birthday, the candle lit the topper on fire! It was quite somethin and Logan did not know what to think...

2010-02-04T16:09:00.001-08:00

Logan and his new bike... It was his Christmas present from us, but since we weren't home for the Holiday to give it to him he got it a little late, (a few weeks ago, I'm a little behind on posting this...) He loved it all the same :) it's been fin watching him figure it out! now we just need the days to warn up so mommy doesn't mind sitting outside with him.

Snow Day

2010-01-30T14:36:00.000-08:00

When I heard that there was a winter storm warning for this weekend I was very excited. I've been patiently waiting for the snow that almost never falls here in the south. We went to bed last night not seeing anything, but hoping there would be a blanket of white in the morning. There wasn't much this morning but I was still giddy with the sight of white snow just barely covering the ground.

We had previously arranged to take Logan to friends for a few hours so we could have some alone time to hang out and talk uninterrupted. Even though there wasn't much snow on the ground the car was incased in a very protective layer of ice. It took a little to get it out and ready to go, but my stud of a husband stood there in the frozen rain and got us one step closer to our date.

When we got to the gate to get on base, the guard stoped us and quite rudely (as if we were idiots for not seeing on the news) informed us that post was closed and we could not enter.
the conversation went something like this......

Scott....."Good morning"

Guard..."where are you headed?"

Scott....."to some friends house"

Guard..."do you live on post?"

Scott....."No"

Guard... long pause and blank stare "did you not know that post is closed?"

Scott..... "How would I know that?"

Guard... long pause ... (and in a very snotty and rude tone) " It's ALL over the news!!!" as if the first thing we would think of this morning when we saw a little snow would be Hum, let's watch the news and see if the town is still functioning...)

...

Who would have thought that less than an inch of snow slushy roads and some frozen rain would close post. It never entered out minds, but as I said previously, snow doesn't fall often here. With the generosity of our friends coming outside the gate to pick up Logan we were still able to go out. As we drove around town we realized that base was not the only thing closed, seriously, half the town was shut down! This just made me laugh even harder. We did have a great time together despite driving around for quite a while trying to find a place to eat.

Even with the limited amount of snow we were still able to have some fun in it. On our way back we got out a big card board box and did a little sledding :) Unfortunately we did not have out camera so I was not able to document it...

...

Here is me at 34 and a half weeks, (I also finally got to wear the white fuzzy wintry boots Scott gave me for Christmas, I was very excited about them...:)

What a day!

baby hats

2010-01-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

Since we don't know what were having yet, I am needing to come up with two different going home outfits for baby, one for a boy and one for a girl. As I was looking for baby hats these were a few that I fell in love with. I love little boys, but it would be so fun to have a girl this time I just love all the girly and flowery things :) We'll see!

I'm going to see if I can find a way to make one of these flower ones...

33 weeks

2010-01-19T18:33:00.001-08:00

Here area a few baby belly pictures Scott took this weekend... 33 weeks! I've been terrible and have not really done any before this...

Thoughts

2010-01-19T05:40:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: long wordy post...

Two years ago today Scott's mom went to be with the Lord, is been a hard two years and I have to say that the second was the hardest for me. I'm not sure if It was moving away, watching my little boy get older with out her being a part of it, or the final realization that she's not coming back, this being with Rod's getting remarried. Don't get me wrong, I love that He is married to my mom, and I think they are wonderful together and it's such a blessing from God that they love each other, but it will always in a good way be a bitter sweet reminder that Karen is gone forever. I miss her so much! my phone calls to her for advise, e-mails, shopping together, and her encouraging me to go all they way...
With this new baby coming it brings it to the surface even more. She was so involved with Logan's birth and 11 months she was here to see him grow. O how she would love to see him now, running, riding his new bike, talking, praying, and being her little grandson. It's hard to think that she will never on this earth know this new baby. I don't know much about the heavenly realm, but in some ways I really hope that the Lord can give her glimpse of things here on earth that would make her smile. I would like to think that she knows Logan and will know this new one even though she's not here.

It's hard to believe that Luke is now up there with her. How blessed is he to be rejoicing with her in the presence of the Lord.

Christmas is over, the New year has begun, and we are back home again with a hole in our hearts. It's been over a month since Luke made his last climb. Right now life seems to be overshadowed by a dark cloud of sorrow, everything from music, picture, videos, facebook, to things around the house that they has something to do with are a constant reminder that they are not here and sometimes the pain seems to much.
I hope this small blessing will be a joy full little one what with all the sorrow it's been experiencing from within me, sometimes I wonder if all this will have had an effect on baby already. Again with this baby coming it cuts the hurt even deeper with losing Luke. He was so excited for this baby, hoping it would be a little niece :) he couldn't wait to come visit and start making short videos if it's little life. We had already started making plans of how he would come visit us and stay for a while when we move this spring to a new base. It's hard to give up all the things in the future that you have already envisioned a certain way or previously made plans for.

Luke was so much more than a brother in law to me, he was a brother and a friend. I miss talking to him and hearing of the newest developments that are going on in his life. It's hard to go on with life knowing that he's not here, to watch Scott having has lost his best friend and constantly hurt from not being able to talk to him and share what's going on in life.

Logan is pretty much a constant reminder of him. He talks about him all the time. The other day I walked up behind him and saw him sitting there looking up to the sealing talking to his buddy Luke, he was telling him all about the lizard that hatched from the egg he got for Christmas. It was so precious, he was so excited to be telling him about it. When he hears words like die, heaven, and mountain, he will often remind you of what happened to him and quite proudly say that "Luke sees me:)" I will always think that he was taken way to soon, and it's going to take quite a bit of time to get over my anger and bitterness about it, but I'm thankful for the relationships we all had with him, and the memories we have.
I was listening to the radio this morning and the song "There Will Be A Day" by Jeremy Camp played. It was really good! There will be a day that there will be no more pain and suffering, won't that be awesome :)

2009-12-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind words. The events of the last few days have felt like a bad dream, I still feel like it can't really be happening and i'll wake up anytime in a cold sweat. We've really apriciated the phone calls and texts, It's been really encouraging for both of us to hear from those we love. Thankfully Scott was able to get emergency leave quickly and hop on a flight home tonight, Logan and I will fly in tomorrow evening. It's so hard to be away from family during this, but so thankful that Scott and I have had each other to hold on to and cry with.
Logan has been a little walking comfort, anytime during the day he see's me crying he'll walk up to me and say "tiis mommy" then give me a hug and little kiss. He never gets tired of comforting me. Just tonight he gave me that laugh I needed, I walked into the bathroom to get him out of the bath, and as I was about three feet away he popped up out of the water grinning and squirted me directly in the face with his water wale. He then began to laugh hysterically as if it was the funniest thing he's ever seen. I couldn't help but laugh with him, after all he did get me good... I love my little boy and am dreading when we get home and have to explain why unca hoot is not there. It breaks my heart and brings me to tears to think that the person he has to pray for every night, talks about all the time and loves dearly is not going to be there for him. I feel like my emotions double when I see how things will affect my precious boy. He still thinks that unca hoot is flying on an airplane to come for Christmas and can't wait to give him his "mas prise" (christmas surprise = present) We've talked about "daddy's mommy" and that she's in heaven singing songs with Jesus, and when we ask him where she is he replies "way way hi (heaven), lalala (singing) pway me (praying for me)" and fold his hands. I hope and pray that even at this young age he'll be able to understand a little of the concept that Luke, someone he loves to play with and talk to on the phone, is with daddy's mommy.
I just realized how late it is and I need to try and get a little sleep before our long flight in the am. Again thank you for your thoughts and prayers, we are so blessed to have so many people that love us and care about us so much.....

2009-12-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

An update on the last post:

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december122009/mt_hood_rescue.php
Sorry this isn't written in my own words, but I don't have the energy to write it out, our house is am emotional wreck right now. Please still be praying for the other two still up there and the families...

Prayer Needed...

2009-12-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Early yesterday, my brother in law Luke set out to climb Mt. Hood in OR with two friends. Long story short they are not back yet and there are five search and rescue teams looking for them. This is a serious situation (not just a miscalculation of timing) and they need our prayers. Please pray that they are found soon and safe. it's been hard to be on the other side of the country and not be able to do anything to help, or be able to be with the rest of the family.
When I can I will disclose more of the details, but in the mean time PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!...

2009-12-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas tree lights warm snuggles and soft giggles family time....

We had a great day yesterday,bouldering around, throwing rocks into the river and watching them splash, playing at the park, listening to Christmas music, restful naps, and family movie night in the glow of the tree lights!

I love Christmas time, the lights, music and smells make me so happy...Last week we were able to get our tree, set it up and decorated! We did the decorating while Logan was sleeping so when he woke up the next morning he came out and all the lights and ornaments. His exact words were "WoooooOW!" so far he's done pretty well at keeping the ornaments on the tree, but there have been a few mishaps, and if he wakes up and the lights are not on he'll eagerly asks "lights on peese?"A few favorite ornaments

2009-12-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

We had a great day at the beach this past weekend. Logan did not like the water much as usual, but he did have a great time in the sand. He was covered in sand by the time we left. Before getting into the car I had to hold him upside down and shake him off, we could have brought back our own little sand box with what he was sneaking away with in his shoes :) We has so much fun jumping down the sand hills. Logan kept asking to do it over and over :)

Before we hit the beach we visited the small town of Southport, last year I discovered a little store there called the Christmas house! It's a small old three story house totally decked out in Christmas ornaments, decorations, and everything else Christmasy you can think of. I have been waiting all year to go back and find some new treasures :)

While walking around the town Logan was given some bread to feed the Sea Gulls, they swarmed and hovered like four feet above our heads, I'm amazed we weren't pooped upon. He loved chasing them and seeing them all fly away!Scott was able to get some awesome pictures of the birds, I love how blue the sky is!

On our way home I made Scott pull over so I could take a picture of the cotton fields. We see them frequently and they fascinate me :) they look like fields of small snow balls...

a few baby purchases :)

2009-12-02T05:40:00.000-08:00

Since i don't know what were having I have not been able to purchase much in preparation, but I have bought a few things :) here are some of them. I just love the little crochet headbands with flowers! and the robeez shoes are my favorite, they're all so sweet. I can't wait to have this little baby in my arms!

2009-11-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. We drove out to a near by state park and walked a few miles through the wooded trails, over a few bridges and down to the river. Logan was really hoping to see a deer, but that was not to be had on this occasion. It was a beautiful day and even though the colors out here are not nearly as pronounced as the fall colors back home, and although most of what's here has fallen to the ground I still enjoyed the Autumn brownish/yellow crisp leaves crunching beneath our feet. It felt fabulous to get out of our little small town bubble and spend some fun time laughing and playing in the leaves with my two favorite boys.

Savoring his mid-hike snack, a small hand full of gooey gummy bears

I just love this picture, he's so happy!

first baby picture :)

2009-11-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday we had our second but first official ultrasound. It was pretty exciting! the tech did about twenty minutes worth of measurements then Scott and Logan could come in ans watch. It was a little hard to stay still the whole time, every time I saw the baby move and felt those little feelings I giggles and hoped I didn't mess it up:) It was the most wonderful thing to see baby on the screen moving, the little kicks and punches were precious, seeing the heart beat was amazing, and watching the little mouth swallow was really sweet. This time we are not finding out if baby is a boy or girl so I was really nervous that something might slip out, but all went well and it's still a surprise. Although we are not finding out I am terribly anxious to know, and even though I was nervous the tech might say something and spoil the surprise, that was the hardest it's been for me to keep with our agreement of waiting.Even though we've been talking to Logan about the baby in mommies tummy and told him that it was a camera taking pictures of baby, the whole things kinda freaked him out ( I kind of anticipated that). He took one look and yelled "NO BABY" then turned he head and buried it in Scott's shoulder. He warmed up a little by then and by the time we got home he loved looking at the pictures. "mommy baby" he says when he looks at the pictures, then he comes and points to my tummy. I can't wait to have him have a little sibling to play with. Since we don't have a way to scan the pictures I took a picture of it, it's not the best but it's our baby :) sometime I'll show the comparison between this ones profile and Logan's, they look pretty different...

2009-11-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

To make a long story short, just two weeks ago my sweet hubby decided to send me home for a much needed break. The timing was perfect, Scott was on break so he was able to keep Logan with him :) and I was able to be there for the arrival of my precious niece. It was a good trip; it was a little unusual to be without Logan as he goes everywhere with me, and a bummer that Scott was not given leave to come with me, but I was able to see some good friends and spend some great time with family, I completely enjoyed my vacation. I flew into Seattle Sunday the first and left on the eleventh. After eleven days I was ready to be home and be a mommy and wife again! When I got in Logan and Scott were there to meet me, Logan was a little unsure of me and waited for me to approach him. After hugging and kissing him he looked at me a little funny and turned and grabbed onto Scott. Having him want daddy over me was a little sad, but he soon warmed up as he was repeating "mommymommymommy" in a very excited tone half of the drive home :) It's been a little of an adjustment with him after my coming home, but that was to be expected, were working on it.

While I was in Seattle I was able to meet my little niece Megan, she was born very quickly (ten minutes after my sister got to the hospital) and only an hour and a half labor (lucky duck) Megan is a beautiful little girl and I fully enjoyed being able to hold her and see her a newborn. holding her made me really excited to see my own little one in a few months. We were all very thankful to have a healthy beautiful family addition.

I was also able to meet a few other new little faces and spend some quality time with some close girlfriends. A few of my friends have had babies in the last few months so I was glad for the opportunity to go visit them. Being able to spend time with friends and family was really encouraging, I felt like I was able to catch up on things that have I have had a hard time missing out on.

While I was gone Logan and daddy had a great time together. Hiking state high points in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, visiting Gettysburg, sleeping in a tent in the living room for a night, attending the daily formation (role call to make sure no body left while on break) and many trips to the park and train set at Barnes and Noble. They had a great bonding time and really had fun. It was quite a different experience for Scott to have Logan by himself and especially for that long, but he is a wonderful daddy and I'm so thankful for him and how he parents and loves Logan. It was also a little fun on my part to have him experience the single parenthood feeling that I have done a few times., it's nice to know he's had a glimpse of what it's like :)

Well I guess I didn't really make a long story short, but I did spare you the details of my almost on flight pucking (bad turbulence and being pregnant don't mix well) Here are a few pictures to wrap it up...

Finally getting to meet Ryder Cloyd! what a sweetheart...

sorry girls, I couldn't remember which one I wasn't supposed to use, there were several pictures so i tried to pick the best of all...gotta love these girls...

Boy hiking trip, throwing snow balls with the little snow in PA and seeing some beautiful landscape. what a great trip for Logan.

prego sisters

2009-11-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

We thought we'd better get a picture of the two of us pregnant before Mandy delivered

Mandy: 39 weeks and 5 days

Me: 22 weeks

Language is over!!!

2009-10-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Six months ago I was thinking "o my lanta, Arabic is going to take forever..........we have a long road ahead filled with hours of studying and focused minds" Well, that six months is over and it really wasn't that bad :) the beginning stages of the course were really intense and took alot of Scott's energy, but as the months past it got a lot easier. I have to say that Scott did a phenomenal job being committed to doing well.
Arabic is not the easiest to learn, it has sounds that don't exist in the English language, is written and read from right to left, is spoken with either a feminine or masculine tense, has completely different sentence structure, (in English it might be I'm going to the store, but in Arabic would be store going me) and generally has an absence of most prepositions. it took a lot of studying and time...
At the end of the course each student sits alone in a quiet room awaiting a tester from Ca to contact them by phone. When the phone in front of them rings they pick it up and there test has begun. They are graded on a 30-40 minute phone conversation with topics ranging from politics, world topics to everyday activities. The tester is scoring them on comprehension and ability to speak the language accurately. Going into it you have to be prepared with enough vocabulary to talk about anything, and you may not be asked anything that you thought you might, it can be a bit unnerving going into. Scott's test was last Friday, but he had to wait all week for his score. We found out yesterday that he not only passed but he as well as ten others in the group of thirty guys that took Arabic received the highest score. It's really hard to explain how they score with numbers and plus signs, so I'll spare you the agony of trying to understand my interpretation. All you need to know is he did really well and I am so proud if him!!!!! Scott is still in shock of his score, but I knew he could do it, this is another huge encouragement that this is what he's supposed to be doing. Now that language is over he has a month off until his next phase starts; we are kind of feeling like what are we going to do with all this extra time, we'll find things I'm sure :) I think our next adventure will be to the outer banks.......

2009-10-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

The story of our weekend to Washington DC

A long drive...great food, Arabic, BBQ, Thai...lots of walking...a little shopping...eating Lindt chocolates...rolling over in bed to see Logan's little blond head standing next to me trying to crawl in...trips to Starbucks for breakfast, snacks, and survival drinks...an emergency road stand hot dog when feeling dizzy and light headed (was so good:)...museum of Flight and Space, and history of the American Indian...riding the Metro train...falling in love and buying a necklace from a little boutique...walking all over to find H&M only to find out it closed 20 min before we arrived...beautiful weather...support rallies in support of the hate crimes bill...many colorful signs...

sightseeing on the way home...stopping to see the stonewall Jackson shrine, the plantation he camped at and the house that he died in (the only building still standing on the property; they even have the authentic bed and blanket he used)...walking around Richmond Va...a new book for Logan...taking pictures and eating...two sleeping boys in the car on the way home :)

The start to our first day in the city,

The family in DC

Having a little fun... Although the picture didn't turn out so well, the city is a different place at night, and it's our favorite time to walk around...Logan for the Metro train

Heading up to the capital

The buildings and landscaping around the capital were really beautiful

The building Stonewall Jackson lived his last day in

The real bed he slept in and blanket he used

Random Bits

2009-10-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random thoughts and statements that came to mind while sitting here watching Scott play video games...

had a wonderful weekend in Washington DC with the family
tired
in need of a hair cut and color
homesick
walked through Nordstrom in the city just to remind myself of Seattle
feeling snappy
How I love the sound of Logan laughing, it make me smile
why does organic milk last longer in the fridge that regular?
already feeling huge
I love the fall, but seeing Christmas decorations makes me feel happy, I can't wait to have family come down!
how in the world am I going to cook a thanksgiving dinner?
I need to start reading the third book in Twilight
We have one more disk for last seasons Office then we can start watching this one :) it comes on Wednesday!
I need to make Carmel apples with Logan
What shall we be for Sarah's Halloween party?
rainy and cold, what fun things can I do with Logan inside?
I NEED TO GO TO BED!
will post pictures from DC later sometime...

Logan's first pie

2009-10-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin pie making with my sweet little boy turned out to be alot of fun. He was quite proud of his pie and was supper excited to tell his daddy

the moment he walked in the door :)

Please mommy can I start now?

In goes the sugar and spicesnext comes the milk

A little hand stirring before turning on the mixer

The finished product, topped of course with home made whipped cream :)

family weekend

2009-10-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been full of fun family time, it's been really great! There's a little town north of here that I've heard has some really cute shops, so we thought we'd drive up and walk around. When we got there we realized they had the town's harvest festival happening, we can never mind a little extra fun :). We walked around, I browsed the fun little shops, found a few little items I couldn't live without... Scott took pictures... Logan got some ice cream; candy cane mint, and bounced on the toys they had set up, it was a great day!

Today we met some friends for lunch and then took the little boys to a near by pumpkin patch. When I think of a pumpkin patch I think of walking through a dirt field where the pumpkins are grown, so I was a little surprised when we got there. When we drove up I scanned the grounds for the patch, and what I saw was a small area of the grass filled with pumpkins that had been spread out evenly. It was kind of funny, O well it was still fun. We rode on the ponies, the small train, and hay ride :) Logan and Cypress are the best of buds and had so much fun running around playing with each other picking up the pumpkins and throwing straw in the air. It was an altogether perfect weekend with the fam.

You can see a little belly in this picture (Almost 18 weeks)

Just chillin and eating ice cream

Fun on the fam

Best of buds

This was the best family picture we got, Logan was in no mood to smile at this point

Saturday fun

2009-09-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured out and visited the Averasboro battlefield. It wasn't quite what I had expected, but it was fun. While we were there I got a couple cute shots of Logan.

Potty Training

2009-09-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

For a while now Logan has made little steps towards being potty trained. I've heard that boy are a little slower at it than girls and sometimes it's not till three that they'll get it; by the time he's three there will be another baby, we'll be moving and a few months after that it's possible that Scott could start deploying, so i figured with all the changes coming up we needed to get it figured out now. Monday morning was my starting point, off came the diapers and on went the little boy underwear. The underwear didn't stay on long, so he mostly just ran around naked. He has done a pretty good job, with all the baby steps we've taken so far he has no problem going in to pee every time. There has only been one pee accident on the floor and two poopy ones in the underwear. He loves going in and sitting on the potty to pee, but up till not he would not go poop. He would run to the bedroom and frantically look for a diaper. When I wouldn't put one on he just decided to hold it and wait till nap time (for which I do still use diapers, for now) he's not been eating a whole lot lately (another story for another time) so he's consuming more liquids than solids, that means his messy underwear has not been fun to clean up...Yesterday I could not stay in any longer and had to get out, my Friend Sarah was coming to pick us up for a quick trip to Starbucks. I was a little nervous since he had not gone poop yet that morning, I tried sitting him there on the potty for like ten minutes while reading him stories trying to distract him so he might just go, but no luck. I was a little desperate to get out (Scott has the car ever day so I have quite a bit of cabin fever) so I just decided that I would risk it and just have to clean up a pooppy mess while enjoying my coffee. Once we got our coffee and sat down go figure, "mommy pooooooop now" So off we went to the bath room. To my amazement he actually did go a little on the potty; I was so excited and made a big deal about it, I hope the customers outside the bathroom could not hear me squealing! He was excited also, he had fun flushing and washing his hands, I think the soap is his favorite part :) It cracks me up that his first poop in the potty was at Starbucks; I guess he feels more comfortable there than home, this must mean we'll have to spend more time there :)
He did go once more last night before bed, but again just a tiny bit. I still have to get him up there when he's really got to go. Well, today is a new day and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens! I hope yesterday was a breakthrough and it'll keep getting better, we'll see...

Exhausted!

2009-09-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's a transition time in Logan's age or if he's just decided to be difficult during sleep time. I have to say that the last year I have been truly blessed when it came time for Logan's bed time. You would say "bed time" and he would run in there for story and tuck in time. After I'd put him down he would go right to sleep and you wouldn't hear a sound from him till morning. When Scott was gone this was a huge blessing, it was my quiet time of the day and I always looked forward to it. Now on the other hand is quite different. All of a sudden a few weeks ago he decided he would start screaming when you put him down, and it would take like and hour or so to get him quiet and asleep. I'd sit out in the living room holding back tears listening to my little boy scream and cry and debating at what point of his hysterics to go in and talk to him. When your child is really upset it never stops gripping at your heart. He learned to say "Mommy Daddy help", it's kind of cute, but not when it's yelled consistently when all you want to do it sit and have some down time. When we'd go in there there was nothing wrong, he just didn't want to go to sleep, he'd be good when you were in there but it would start all over again once the door shut. he's also been waking up two to three times a night and getting up early. His recent behaviour has really taken us back to the drawing board to figure out what to do. We are still not sure what is going on, but have been finding a few things that have been working to our advantage. Of course when you add a vacation, sickness all round, and a double ear infection in the last two weeks it make things even more more complicated to work with. Is there anyone else out there with a two and a half year old that has started behaving differently when it comes time to sleep? He has all his teeth, and I'm pretty sure he's not having night terrors. I'm really hoping it's going to disappear soon. I have been exhausted and living in a vicious cycle, early wake up call, cranky boy, continued morning sickness and now I'm just randomly throwing up, dreading evening time, feeling at my wits end, and then a restless nights sleep. I've been having some insomnia at night so that's really not helping. Please keep us in your prayers, I had thought that the morning sickness would not be here at 16 weeks, so I have been a bit discourage with how I've been feeling, and what my life looks like right now.

2009-09-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we finally got to take the trip to the beach that we've been looking forward to for quite a while. Scott's friend Drew from the Marine Corp. and his wife had invited us to come stay at a family owned condo in Orange beach AL. Scott had not seen Drew in a few years so we were looking forward to some good catching up time as well as getting to know his wife Lindsey and little baby girl Amelia.

...

Thursday after class we headed to the airport and had an uneventful trip down to New Orleans (it was really nice flying with Scott:) The next morning after staying the night in town we drove to the beach. It was a beautiful place to stay, when we got there I just kept saying, "WOW! I can't believe we get to stay here, this is going to be great!". The Condo was part of a resort on the beach, so it was equipped with many great amenities. Logan loved the little kiddie pool, we spent much of our time there! I think one day he was in and out of there for like four hours :) Drew brought his boat along so that was a treat. All summer I've had a bad attitude about not getting to go out on the boat back home, (my favorite thing to do in the summer) so this kind of made up for it.

...

We did not actually go to the sandy beach in itself; the day we had planned for that it rained and thundered, But we did stop on a little sandy island while we were out on the boat and looked for sand crabs, played with hermit crabs, and ran after the Herring's. So I guess you could say that was our beach experience, Logan was not a huge fan of it I guess it worked out fine. We spent most of our time at the pool and on the boat.

...

We tried several new things while were there. Spear fishing, grits, alligator meat, and fried pickles. Scott was able to go out spear fishing with Drew twice, the first time they just encountered a ton of jelly fish, but the second time out they speared several, along with swimming with the jellies. Scott had a blast :)

...

Our last night there we boated to Tacky Jacks, (a local sea food restaurant accessed by boat) and picked up our dinner and headed back to eat it. Among the choices to eat were popcorn gator :0 looked alot like popcorn chicken but with alligator, and fried pickles. I was really excited to try the pickles since I've been hearing great things about them, but the gator meat was a little different. I had no idea you could eat alligator, It was good, but a little weird to eat. The pickles were really good :)

...

Monday morning, the day we had to leave, both Logan and Scott woke up really sick. Both had high fevers and just laid there. It was a bit on the unnerving side, I have not seen Scott sick like that in, well I can't even remember. And Logan would just lay on the floor and not move, all the while I'm thinking they probably have the swine flu. With all the traffic out of the beach it took five instead of three hours back to the airport. Traveling with sick boys is not fun. We got to the airport fine, we all slept most of the way :) but once we got there our traditional family traveling bad luck kicked in. I thought we would be home free since our travels down had gone so well. (every time we travel as a family on the way home something bad always happens.)

...

The first flight went well, but getting to the second was a challenge, we landed when the next flight was boarding. with my stress escalating, we booked it onto the tram, running down the stairs, and down the empty walk way. They closed the doors like three minutes after we sat down. We made it back to Raleigh safely, but our luggage did not. Normally that would be fine, but I unthinkingly had packed our keys in the checked baggage. So at eleven o clock at night we were stuck at the airport and had to get ta hotel, not knowing when our baggage was coming in. I wold have been okay with this on a normal day, but with Scott and Logan being so sick, and not breaking their fevers, I just wanted to get home and get them to the Dr. The next day after much confusion of what was happening, I made it back to the port, got our bags, picked up the lethargic boys and made it home :) Home never looked more sweet..

...

While still thinking the boys had Swine, I was able to get them into the Dr the next day. After waiting four hours and the Dr thinking for sure he had it Scott came out with an upper respiratory infection, and because Logan's fever had broken they did not even test him. She just said ya it was some kind of influenza if not swine. The thing is that both Drew and Amelia tested positive for swine two days later, so either Logan did have it and gave it to them, or was just exposed and has not come down with it. Either way it's been one heck of and ending to such a great vacation. I have also come down with something and have been out of commission for a few days. The hospital on base here is such a large medical system that it's really hard to get in. I've given up on getting an appointment, I would just like to know for my curiosity's sake what I have, it's definitely the flu of some sort. I'm looking forward to a weekend of relaxing and hopefully all of us getting better and being able to eat and get strong again, having one person sick is no fun, but a whole household, yuck...

...

Fianlly here are the pictures or our weekend at the beach...

Logan enjoying the waiding pool with daddy
He loved the fountain, he spent a lot of time steping on it and releasing the water...
Eating breakfast out on the patio
Spear fishing, that was Scott's first catch :)

Drew, Lindsey, and AmeliaOur first taste of Gator, and fried pickles :)The gang...The flight home, both were sleeping, and with their fevers I was about to die of heat...

2009-08-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

Wake up to a beautiful sunny day, enjoy a sweet juicy nectarine for breakfast, take a stroll to the pond with Logan, the smell of my pumpkin spice candle, Logan playing in the pool on the back porch, laughter in the background, a moment to sit and read a good book...

play time with daddy...

2009-08-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

As I've said before it rains here pretty much everyday, therefore we always have some good mud puddles right outside to play in. This was outdoor time with daddy yesterday :)

Just chillin in the mud making funny faces
Even though he's just jumping, it looks like he's drinking from a mud fountain...High five daddy... O daddy you're so silly :)

2009-08-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Lately my days have consisted of: Laying on the couch, feeling sick, string cheese, sounds of Caillou and curious George in the background, realizing i didn't make dinner, hopes that tomorrow I will feel better so I can get out of the house and do something fun!

In almost twelve weeks of being pregnant six of those I have felt gross. When I was pregnant with Logan I was a little nausea, but not to the extent that it's been this time. Once I got home from my last trip to Seattle it kicked in big time. I went from working out several time a week, taking Logan to the park, and swimming often, to waking up feeling like I had to throw up and laying on the couch as much as I could. As they day progressed so did the tiredness and sick feeling. I think I've worked out only a handful of times since then :( With my not feeling good came a strong sensitivity to smells, therefore making it hard to cook dinner. My poor wonderful husband has been so understanding, making dinner for me, getting random things for me, and taking care of most of Logan dirty diapers. I think he's eaten more than his share of Ramen, tuna, and baked beans! I'm not complaining, morning sickness is a good sign of healthiness, but I'm looking forward to it going away and getting back into a normal routine:) Hopefully in the next week or so :)

This next week I have my twelfth week appointment, Yaaaay! they will listen to the heart beat this time and I can't wait! I'm also really nervous though. I have had a lot of friends who have recently experienced the loss of a precious baby, it's hard to know why God has so far allowed me to carry this gift when those close to me have had it taken away! I am so thankful for this precious baby and can't wait to hear the little beating heart...

Baby on the way!

2009-08-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm super excited to say that............................

We're EXPECTING!

Early next March Logan will have a little brother or sister, we'll have to wait till then to find out which one :) We are all really excited and can't wait!

Stuck in the mud

2009-08-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

This is what I saw when I stepped outside on our porch this evening. Logan had apparently jumped into this mud puddle and was stuck. It took a little effort on Scott's part to pull him out. He was having a great time.

When we pulled him out, the boots were covered in thick mud

His poor little feet were suctioned into the boots...

2009-07-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today:

waking up to a little voice yelling "momadaddyma" madaddymommy"
watching Logan light up with excitement when meeting his little best friend Cypress at the gym for play time!
water aerobics
long awaited nap
fun running out in the sun
eating Popsicles with Logan
listening to laughter
dreaming about fresh kiwis and peach cobbler :)
plans of making one tomorrow...
looking forward to a movie with Scott and a good nights sleep...

2009-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. A lot has gone on, a fourth of July celebration on base, A trip to the North Carolina Zoo, flying home, seeing my little sister get married, whirlwind visits with friends and family, another hectic flight home, adjusting to life without "Nanna and Pappa" readjusting to the heat and humidity, being able to see Seattle friends here in N.C. and meeting there little girl for the first time, making curtains for Logan's room, working with him on the ABC's, colors, and shapes, getting a new laptop :) and finally tonight I get a date night with my man! I'm so excited to get out alone with him and have uninterrupted conversations.

Here are a lot pictures to capture the recap... :)

The zoo was great, we had a lot of fun walking all over. Logan never gets tired of seeing animals :)

On base we were able to see the Golden nights jump, it was really cool, they landed right in front of us... It was really bright to look up, but Logan thought it was amazing...they are really pretty awesome to watch! Logan also had a blast in the bouncy tents, it was so funny watching him fly around in there, he's so grown up!

This was the first Fourth of July that Scott has been able to do Sparklers with Logan, they had a blast. The wide open mouth was pretty much his expression for the whole sparkler.
I was able to see some friends while I was home, but did not really get many pictures. Here are some of Logan with his cousin Abigail, and little Calen. It was great to be able to see Amy and Calen during there short trip up from Oregon...The rehearsal ho-down :) Weddings are a great time see family that live far away. The first picture is with my great Aunt Rita and Aunt Jane, they came up from Oregon and they had never met Logan, so it was great to see them.Getting ready, she's beautiful, what more can I say...The happy couple! The wedding turned out really well and was a wonderful day!

2009-07-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm headed home for the week, my little sister is getting married and there's much preparation! I can't wait for this fabulous day. I'll be back next week with pictures...

2009-07-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Hope yall have a sparkling day full of fun and great food :)

2009-07-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've been reading quite a few blogs lately and it's been interesting to see where peoples lives are at. Some look like a fairy tale, some like normal life, and others, just struggling with every day life. As I've been reading i can't help but compare my life to theirs, and sadly i seem to relate more to those who are struggling with life. Since we have moved life has been good, but on the challenging side; I've really struggled a lot, emotionally, lack of friends and support, little communication with friends from home, feeling a little on the forgotten and lonely side, and when you add a two year old into the mix it gets a whole lot harder! being a parent is hard, and although I never will, some days I just feel like giving up.
It's easy to write positive things, fun pictures, and the perfect real life stories; I'm not saying that's wrong, I'm not much of a writer myself so I manly stick to photos; often so people won't really see what life looks like, so it make me wonder how well we know what's really going on in our friends lives. life with a toddler has been hard, we've been facing quite a few challenges, not wanting to eat... constant yelling and fussing during car rides... whining...being stuck inside with the strong heat... not always having a car to get out and take him places... discipline, what to do, how to do it, and when to do it... Logan is a strong willed and stubborn boy, and although I know God does not give you more that you can handle, sometime I feel as though I can't. It's hard not to have the support from other moms near by with little ones. It's been great to have Scott home and be able to be on the same page as far as how we deal with things, but it's hard to figure that all out. Sorry this isn't a fun blog, but it's how I've been feeling and I just needed to write some of it down. Please keep us in your prayers, for support, wisdom, patience, and guidance.

2009-06-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday as I was walking past the bathroom, I saw the light on and heard the trickling of water. As I sneaked a peak at what was going I saw Logan on the counter applying tooth paste to his tooth brush and then brushing those tiny teeth. Through all the trail of toddler hood, I love these moments that put a smile on my face.

2009-06-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

this last weekend we were blessed to have Luke come visit. It was so great to have him here and we had a blast. A few of the weekends events were Climbing, going to the lake and feeding turtles, swimming in the ocean, ice cream, work outs, movies, grilling out with friends, and pool time with Logan.......Logan was thrilled to have his Uncle here and there were many tears all round when we had to leave him at the airport. It's always hard to resume normal life after someone leaves, the days seem a little more boring, longer and quieter than usual, but were getting there. We love having people visit! hint hint to anyone :)

.........

The day we went to the beach was magical, I've decided it's my happy place! upon arrival my spirits lifted and I felt liberated from everything that keeps me down. The weather was beautiful, company was great, lunch on the sand was delightful, and being able to run into the water and swim out past the waves with Scott was so much fun. It was great to get a way from daily life and just have fun and laugh! I definitely need more of those days. Logan was not a fan of the water this time, but loved making sand castles with Luke and collecting shells

while here Luke was able to experience all the weather we get here. The sun, heat, warm rain, and really loud thunder. The last day we had a huge thunder/rain storm, (when it rains here it comes down hard and last for a long time) We were on post when it stared having dinner with Scott, and when we got home it was still raining strong, so I put our rain boots and coats on and Logan and I went puddle jumping. The one thing I love about the rain here is that it's warm :) It was fun...

2009-06-03T05:47:00.001-07:00

I was given this website by my mom recently, and although I'm not nursing any more I thought it was really interesting to read. It's got a lot of really good information and some fun baby related resources, things like glamorous baby gear, etc. I highly recommend reading this regardless if you have a baby, are breastfeeding, or even if you don't and are thinking about having one in the future check this out! the info is encouraging and enlightening. http://www.bestforbabes.org/

Swimming!

2009-06-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

It's been incredibly hot here, so we have really been enjoying the pool at our apartment. Logan has not been much of a water fan until now, I think he liked it so much yesterday because the water was so warm :) It felt so good to have fun and relax in the sun and water...He jumped of the step for the first time (fell forward off of) and kicked is feet and floated...Nobody liked my idea of getting his head in, We'll work towards that. I can imagine we'll be in the water much more this summer!