First, 1st Birthday Party

We had a few friends over Sunday to celebrate G's 1st birthday before we go galavanting off across the US for the holidays. It was a great time and The G enjoyed being the center of attention (a real change for her :-). She dove right in to her cake and even wore the little I'm One! hat that I got (for a little while). We got her a little pony to ride, it even hooks up to the TV and the image changes the faster she bounces. The pink cowboy boots are hand-me-downs that are still a little big but I thought they were just the flair she needed. Also, she's not quite tall enough to bounce well without them!

Winter wonderland

Well, supposedly we live in the south but on Thursday we had 2 inches of snow. At first it wasn't sticking but as it continued the ground was a blanket of white and everyone's Christmas decorations started to look like they belonged (instead of awkward like a birthday candle on a piece of steak). The first pic is when the snow began. You can't really see it but we took M out to experience her first snow. The second is G & I outside our house. J was night-flying so he was still home to take a couple pics.


Merry Christmas to us!!!

11 months old

M celebrated 11 months of life last week. She won't sit still with her little bear anymore but I was lucky to get her to stand still long enough to get this shot. Miss G took her first steps (4 of them) on Thursday, Decemeber 4 at 10:45 a.m. She took a few more Saturday morning but J hasn't gotten to see her walk at all yet. Hopefully I'll get some video of her toddling around soon.

Halloween Pics, Finally!

So, J had our camera in Israel and I didn't get the pics from Halloween until tonight. Here's a little glimpse of our holiday.

She was my little ladybug...1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9, 10-11-12, and they all had fun, at the ladybug picnic!

Miss G in her Halloween duds. She's a "Snack-o-lantern"

My friend Kelly in the SWEETEST costume ever, Rainbow Brite!

"Michael Phelps"...sexy

I was a police lady and J was a guy I just tazed! (By the way, I was wearing shorts under that skirt.)

In big trouble...

So I don't know what I was thinking but my sister just informed me of a HUGE mistake I made in the last post. She & her husband celebrated their FIFTH wedding anniversary on November 8th (I better double check that date ;-). Sorry Sissy, you know I'm scatterbrained.

On hiatus...

MMG & I have been in Missouri staying with my parents for the past two weeks, taking a little hiatus from "real" life. J is on a work trip so it's been a great chance for us to visit. We had beautiful fall weather the first week and even though it took her a while to warm up to these strange crunchy things, she loved playing in the leaves.


We (ok, I) also played dress up and put her in a dress that was mine when I was little.


My sister and her husband also celebrated their first anniversary and we went out to dinner at the Melting Pot on the Plaza in KC. This is a shot of M cracking herself up and a good chance for you all to get a peek at her chompers. She's nibbling on a piece of rice krispie treat which also explains the double chin!

Cruisin'

Miss M has been on the go for some time now. She crawls, she rolls, she pushes chairs around so she can get from one thing she's not supposed to touch to another. But, no walking yet. Which personally, I am a-ok with. Do I really need her to walk...no. But, I do think she's pretty cute when she trolls around with her little scooter. Hopefully you'll think she's cute, too!

new fence (& a small non-related rant)

Well, J FINALLY finished our fence (ok, it still doesn't have a gate but let's not get technical). We are really enjoying having the backyard closed in and the nicer weather. M loves to be outside but the traffic made it too hard before. We've got a busy few weeks coming up. Friday night and Saturday we'll be going to Pensacola so I can take part 1 of 3 of my Florida Teacher's Exams (a 6 hour test, yuck) and then Saturday night J's squadron is having a Halloween party. Of course I don't have a babysitter yet. Honestly, so far, that has been the hardest part of being a parent :-). And, I realize that its hard to find someone to trust with your baby but at this point we don't even have anyone to give a chance! Bah!

There is also something else, non-G related, that has been bothering me. Why do people insist on leaving their grocery carts in the middle of the parking lot. Its always been a pet peeve of mine but here in N.O. it is worse. A few days ago I stopped at Target, Lowes, and WalMart. As I was getting M out of her carseat the woman parked next to me came out of the store, took her son out of the cart, then left it between our two cars (actually against my car) and drove away. She was pulling out slowly and her window was down so I felt the need (yes, I'm THAT person) to ask her why she would do that. I politely said "Excuse me, why are you leaving your cart resting against my car?" She says, quite nastily, "I have a child that I can't leave." and she sped off. Well, I have a child but I somehow manage to put my cart away!!! Its not like it was raining or cold or anything. So, after Target I headed to Lowes and started to pull into a spot but lo and behold, someone had left their cart there so I had to look for another space. Then, when I came out of Lowes someone had left their cart right behind my car. And, when I got to WalMart, I watched a man just give his cart a saucy little push, just far enough away that he could back out without bumping it. Hello, are we all really that lazy?!? If you are one of these notorious cart leavers, consider being annoying in another way that is much more worthwhile...like cutting me off when the road narrows from 2 lanes to one! Rant complete (until next time).

Visit to the Aquarium

Last week, on J's day off, we took M to the Aquarium for the first time. We became members of both the zoo and aquarium so there will be a lot of visits to both in the next year! M LOVED seeing the fish, penguins, and sea otters. But, even better was watching J watch her. He's always been smitten but now that she's so much more active he really loves taking her places and seeing her reaction to new things (I do too).

M wishes she was in there swimming!

Silly penguin!

Weighing in

Well, I finally took M for her 9 month checkup today (12 days late!). She weighs 16 lbs. 14 oz. and is 28 inches long. She also had a flu shot today and had to get her finger pricked (she was VERY good through both). I'm a little overwhelmed with school...I planned my time very well then one of my teachers moved up a due date (from Sunday to Wednesday) and threw everything out of whack. I think MMG can tell that I'm stressed because instead of playing by herself like she usually does, she is constantly tugging at my jeans, pulling on the computer cord, and begging for attention. She is a GREAT distraction, however, when I need a break from the exciting world of collection development and information literacy (what?!?).

Making mommies feel good...

So this is slightly off topic but I'm excited and want to share it anyway. I recently bought some new make-up from Prescriptives (who I love, btw). I've been seeing infommercials for sheer cover mineral make up FOREVER and am always tempted. But, because we don't have a Sephora here (it'll be open in 2 weeks, yay) and I can't bring myself to order it online, I never have tried it. But, Prescriptives recently came out with their own mineral make-up...and I LOVE IT!!! It feels good on and I feel like I look nice when I wear it (plus, its got SPF 15). I'm now officially a Level 2 Warm Medium/Light. I did tell them the last shade I wore of their regular liquid foundation and they laughed at me..."Were you a lot more tan when you wore this?" Duh, 2 years in England and a summer inside with a baby (its too hot here if you can't lay by the pool all day) will make a girl look pretty pasty! So, for all you skeptics out there, I say GO FOR IT!!! Embrace the mineral make-up!!!

Six Years

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. What a wonderful day shared with the most wonderful people. I think about most of you that I know now and can hardly believe that you weren't there and a part of our big day. Being married to J has not only been awesome for the obvious reasons, it has also been an amazing opportunity to make new friends. Thanks for sharing your lives with us, you've definately enriched them. (I need to scan a pic of our wedding day to post, and no, they weren't digital waaaaay back then :-)

Nana's visit

J's mom came to see us last week and M was very excited to have someone new to play with! While she was here we go to GO OUT!!! For those of you that have spent even an iota of time with Josh & I, you know that we are not one's to stay home on Friday and Saturday night. Of course, that has changed quite a bit in the last year. But, we had a wonderful time while MMG and Nana played together at home. I'm guessing M felt like she was getting a special treat also (because she wasn't just stuck with boring ole mom).

Before Cleopatra Ball
We also went to the zoo while she was here. The first thing we say when we walked in were the pink flamingos (a favorite of mine). It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. So good, in fact, that Miss G fell asleep (we stayed another 45 minutes or so...I guess the trip wasn't just for her :-).

First trip to the zoo!

All tuckered out

New discovery...

It was so nice outside the other day that we decided to wait outside for J to get home from work. I was really surprised at how long it took her to venture off the blanket out into the grass. She's not quite sure how she feels about this green, crunchy stuff...

9 months!!!

As you can see, Miss M G was a little less cooperative this time while I was taking her "official" 9 month pic. She's harder to wrangle these days and it made be wonder about baby wranglers that work on movie sets, photo shoots, etc. How do those people get that job? All I know is that I'm glad its them and not me!!! She's into everything, crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, eating tiny bits of fuzz and dirt off the floor, playing with anything she can find that is NOT a brightly colored toy that's meant for a baby...basically, she's your typical and wonderful 9 month old.
Since M's Nana was here (J's mom), we had a little celebration. Unfortunately, MMG fell asleep before we got to her cake. All in all, it was a good day...

Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur....

OK, so M loves to listen to T-pain. What can I say, she loves her Uggs and dreams that someday I'll go to Dillards and get her some Apple Bottom jeans. She really gets down when I sing that song.


Also, these are just a few of the faces of Miss MG. I love her smile and can't help but smile, too. Even if she's just dragged all my cookbooks down off the shelf and had a little snack from the corner of one of my recipe cards...is it a sign of some sort of vitamin deficiency when people eat paper???

My heart officially stopped...

So, last night we were at a friends house and M was eating a cracker. I was breaking off little pieces and giving them to her and it was going fine. But, I decided to see what she would do if she just knawed on the whole thing. Boy, was that a mistake. She started choking and it was literally stuck in her throat. I stuck my finger in there and scooped it out, she sputtered a little, cried for about 2 seconds, then was fine. Of course, I was NOT fine for about an hour. I know, I'm a horrible mommy. The worst part is, now I'm probably gonna continue to give her the tiniest little pieces of food until she's 18 years old!!!
Here's a little video of her "walking" with J. I think her little stubby legs are so cute and I love how much fun she thinks this is.

8 months!!!

Well, this post is VERY late. I'm going to blame it on living on the Gulf coast. Things aren't quite back to normal here yet. I only bought a few groceries in case Ike landed here (looks like we're OK though). Also, because of power outages, things aren't really open back up yet...drive-thrus only, no milk at the grocery store, etc. J is working 3-24 hour days in a row with 2 days off in between and we still have most of our windows boarded up (because J isn't home and I can't take them down by myself :-). Alright, back to MMG...

This pic was taken August 25th, the day she turned 8 months old. She has two little teeth and started crawling last week. She's also pulling up on stuff so we have gotten rid of our coffee table and picked EVERYTHING up off the floor. She gets really frustrated because she wants to walk but she's definately not ready yet (or maybe I'm not ready yet).

It's been pretty stressful for me because I've had to start telling her "no." Yesterday she kept messing with the VCR and stereo. After numerous no's I finally put her in her crib for a couple minutes. She was REALLY angry with me but I was also the only person to comfort her. Man, that was no fun at all. I know, its only the beginning...don't stress me out with all the stories and I definately don't want to hear about the fights we'll have when she's a teenager!

Darn Gustav

Well, I'm back in Missouri to wait out hurricane Gustav. My mom brought M & I (and a few of our things) here while J stays and works (sits at some command post doing something...exactly what I'm not sure). It was very hard to leave all of our stuff but especially difficult to leave Daddy there to fight the wind and rain (not to mention the looters and maniacs). Fortunately, the weather channel is reporting this morning that its not so bad right now. But the worst area in New Orleans is the Westbank where we live. Keep us and all our friends on the Gulf in your prayers.

Late nights are different than pre-MMG...

So, I had a crazy night last night and got barely any sleep! Now, in the past that would mean that I was out at a club or bar all night having a wild time. But this was very different. M has her first cold and J GAVE IT TO HER! She has slept through the night every night since April 7th...until last night. I knew she was sick so I was expecting it. She went to sleep around 10 p.m. (which is late for her), then woke up at 1 a.m. for a little milky snack. She slept for about 15 minutes then woke up again and we walked back and forth (back and forth, back and forth) around the living room until she went to sleep again just before 2 a.m. I fell right back asleep but she woke up again at 3 a.m. and we were up until 4, then up again at 5:30 until 7:30. We started our "normal" day at 7 a.m. with breakfast but thankfully she took an early nap from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Just in time to get ready to go to the airport to pick up Aunt J! Oh, you're wondering how J dealt with all the interruptions in his sleep. He used a technique I have yet to master...he just kept sleeping.

Taking a break with my Mom

I've been having a wonderful week of relaxing and hanging out with my mom. We haven't really done anything worth mentioning, just chatting, watching HGTV, and playing with MMG. Also right now I'm on a break from school. My fall semester at FSU starts up again next week (boo!), hopefully I'll be able to continue posting at regular intervals.

M is sitting up on her own now. She goes from her belly to a crawling position, then back on to her bum. When she did it yesterday my mom just happened to be videotaping. We both said "Yay! You're so good!" and she clapped for herself. It was sooooo cute. Unfortunately mom's video camera is the tape kind so I can't put the video on the blog.

Do you think when she's a teenager she'll be embarrassed that I put her pants on her head?

Anybody out there???

I'm wondering lately if anyone reads this? I ask my mom and sister if they've seen the newest posts and they're like "Oh yeah, I haven't looked at it lately." If they don't read it, does anyone??? I guess I'll keep writing because its been such a nice journal for me. And, for some reason I do a much better job at this than paper-and-pencil journaling, scrapbooking, or writing in her baby book. What's that all about?!? I think its because I'll update the blog when I'm checking my friend's sites out. Thanks Moe and Tiffany for keeping me blogging. Plus, I think the two of you check in on my M news so for my two girls, Thanks. Man, this is a sad and pathetic post. Plus, I also know that I'm an overpuncuator. I LOVE the 3 exclamation points and the check-exclamation-check mark but I do realize it irritates some people, so this is my attempt at an apology. Oh yeah, I probably won't stop though. Here's a random pic of my girl so that this blog is still about her. And thanks for the jammies Meredith (if you're out there), they are our favorite.

We got to spend a little time at the beach while in Florida. And, after coating our pasty-skinned, I mean fair, baby with SPF 1,000,000 a couple of times we braved the water. She absolutely loved it. This wasn't too big of a surprise considering her minor fits when we take her out of the bathtub and how much she likes being in pools. I guess she doesn't just look like her daddy, she has his love of the water, too!

Home again, home again jiggity jig!

We had a wonderful time on our little "vacation." At least M and I did. J had 6:30 a.m. briefs so he was not enjoying it quite as much as my girl and I. The best part of all was seeing some of our dearest friends. M got to meet Addalyn who I'm sure will be one of her best buddies.

M and Addalyn
Also, we got to see the number one most wonderful and bestest family EVER while we were in Panama City. Matt, Candie, Mikaela, Chance, and now little Trinity are like our family away from home and we miss them desperately. Sadly, this visit was much too short and they are heading off to VA while we stay "here." Candie and I vow that one day we'll get our husbands back at the same base...even if it means that its Whiteman fellas!!! :-) We've known them since Candie was pregnant with Mikaela (2002) and she tried to convince me throughout our time at Whiteman, Vance, and Tyndall to have a baby. I always promised that I'd have #1 when she and Matt popped out #3. Well, I was only 3 weeks off. Trinity was born 22 days before MMG and I know they are destined to be true friends. Here are a few shots from the trip, and yes, I realize they're almost all of babies!

M & Trinity (who is 3 weeks older)

the girls at the beach

Mikaela's awesome pool, built with the help of Matt & J

Chance looking precious

On vacation

Well, I'm late getting the 7 month pic posted although I did take it last week. But, we are off on an adventure this week so it'll have to wait. We are staying in Destin, FL while J works then are going to Tyndall for the upcoming weekend to see some great friends...The Howards, The Nalepa's, and lucky us, The Reapers from Lakenheath!!! M and I are going to hang out by the pool at the hotel today (she's napping right now) then explore what there is to offer in walking distance (hopefully its not too far to the beach). We'll keep you updated on our exciting trip as it progresses, but no pics until next week (I forgot the dumb connector thingy).

7 months old!!!

Last week M turned 7 months old. Hard to believe. She's so interactive and is getting to be quite cantankerous with her new tooth. The first pic is of MMG with an outfit made by our friend Brooke but both were taken on her 7 month birthday.

Constipation Proclamation

Well, from the poll in the left margin, some of you may have noticed that my precious MMG has had some tummy issues. Last week we went from Friday to Tuesday with only wet diapers, then again starting Wednesday no such luck either. But, I'm pleased to announce that yesterday we changed 4 productive (if that's what you'd call it) diapers!!! After eating nothing but prunes and applesauce, drinking A LOT of juice, and finally having a bit of Karo syrup at the doctor's suggestion, we are back to normal. I think. So, my proclamation is to do my best to keep this unfortunate circumstance from happening again. If any of you new (or more experienced mommas) have any tips besides those I already listed to keep my angel regular let me know!

Military Wife

This is a little deviation from my normal posts but I thought I'd add it just the same. I think a lot about what our lifestyle will mean for M, how it will affect her, how she'll have to make new friends and adjust over and over and over again. Please keep her in your prayers...ask that she'll have the strength and devotion (with our help) to maintain old friendships and the courage and tenacity to create new ones. I pray that God will plant (or transplant :-) people into our lives who are Christian, kind, loving, and fun and I also ask that we can be that for others. Thanks to Tiffany (one of my favorite military wives) for sending this on. Unfortunately, I don't know who to credit for writing it.

What is a MILITARY Wife?

A Military wife can be tough to describe.
She is a southern belle,
a northeastern Mets fan,
a California 3rd generation recycler,
a Pacific Islander.
She is short or tall,
a tomboy,
a fashion diva,
a physician's assistant,
a Republican,
a Democrat.
A Military Wife is a career gal,
a home-schooler,
a scrap-booker,
an accomplished cellist,
an auto mechanic.
What IS a Military Wife?
WHAT is a Military Wife?
What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique
But this they have in common.
They have THIS IN COMMON!
lots of moving---
moving,
moving,
moving far from home,
moving two cars, three kids and one dog--
--all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.
Moving curtains that won't fit,
moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends,
moving toward new friends,
moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.
Often waiting-
waiting, waiting, waiting for housing; waiting for orders;
waiting for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls;
waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home...
for dinner----AGAIN!
They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.
She can balance a checkbook,
handle the yard work,
fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, --
--all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the
desert,
the arctic,
or the deep south
and learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent.
Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career
alternatives, churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are
short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and
perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.
They connect over coffee,
rely on the spouse-network,
and accept offers of friendship
and favors,
and record addresses in pencil.
Military Wives have a common bond.
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands.
His commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission.'
He can't just decide to quit.
He's on-call for his country 24/7
but for you,
he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
ACC
BDU
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed
the glue that holds them together.
Military Wife has her moments----
She wants to wring his neck,
dye his uniform pink,
and refuse to move to Siberia.
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath,
a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man
who puts duty first,
who longs to deploy,
who salutes the flag,
and whose boots in the doorway remind her
That as long as he is her
Military husband,
She will remain his Military wife.

Dancing queen

Here's my first attempt at adding a video. J was home from work today and we did a lot of important stuff, including our European dance party. I know many of you are saying "Is there any other kind???" M is also doing G-pop's famous dance (something I was privy to over 7 years ago the first time I met J's parents...go G-pop!!!). Am I on a posting rampage or what?!?

Best buddies

While we were in Missouri we got to see our very wonderful friends B and A. Again, as with the previous two posts, I'm making plans for M and A is definately part of her future (maybe they'll be more than friends, hee hee). Poor thing doesn't get to decide anything for herself :-). I sure wouldn't mind spending holidays with the in-laws! Also, you can see some of B's handiwork...M is wearing a dress that she made. I promise that very soon I'll post some pictures of her wearing all 3 couture garments. B is very talented so if any of you are looking for unique and beautiful clothes, bags, or baby accoutrement (bedding, curtains, slings, burp clothes, you name it) she's your girl!

Say my name, say my name...

Lately we've really been working on trying to get M to recognize her name when we say it. There's only 1 problem, well, about 8 actually. We call her so many different things!!! She's known as M (which is what I'm trying to focus on now), MMG (she is a southern lady after all), "G", Muffin, Muffin Puff (no, NOT Muffin Top), and most recently Twister. The poor child has no idea who she is and we, her supposedly loving parents, are creating confusion.

Maybe we should just give up and say "Hey you!"

My bright (and slightly strange) future plans...

I figure that it's never too soon to start thinking of M's future (and planning to live vicariously through her, hee hee). In the previous post I already mentioned a her aspiration to be a pilot. Here are a few other choice careers that could be for our little girl:

Philosopher

Julia Roberts/Mick Jagger impersonator

Magician/escape artist

NASCAR superstar (move over Jimmie & Junior!)

hula dancer OR sorority girl

Shakespearean Actress

Journalist (she's already destroying the news!)

perfect daughter...well, she already is this one!

Sittin' Pretty

I love that M is sitting up now. I can definately tell that she's embracing her new independence and is quite proud of herself. We've had a pretty uneventful few weeks (which is great!) but are looking forward to a visit from Aunt J this coming weekend.

This picture cracks me up. Here she is, looking dainty in her pink outfit and fancy socks, yet her face is screaming "I don't wanna be a ballerina...I wanna be a fighter pilot!!!" Well, I have control of the pink and girly stuff for a little while longer so, TOUGH girlfriend!

Another 6 month post...

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

As we try to get back to our "routine" of survival I remembered that I wanted to get a picture of M in her crib at 6 months. So I thought I'd post all the pictures as a visual record of how much she's changed. Today she weighed 15 lbs. 8 oz, and was 25 3/4 inches long. I think that's the perfect size for a baby who is 6 months and 14 days old...don't you?