New Adventure With An Old Hat

The end of the year is my favorite time.  I love looking back at how God has worked in my life through the past months. This has been such a happy year for us. We've embarked on a incredulous journey of parenting our precious little Bean. I knew that we would love being parents and growing our family, but I didn't know how much FUN it would be! (Or how many times we would Google search baby poop. Truth.)

We have fully embraced our family of 3 and can't thank God enough for the opportunities we have been given. 

As we head into next year, we are looking into the unknown with certainty that God will guide us through our next adventure.

We have made a decision that will most definitely change our family in the coming year. 

Kyle has re-enlisted in the National Guard. He previously served 9 years in IL but we have been out of "army life" for almost 3 years now.  So here we are.  Back in the military family life.

I know family & friends have questions so I thought I would clarify here: 

 Why?

There are several different reasons he has chosen this path, but I will give you a few of mine.

He has an incredible (and largely untapped) skill for leadership. It is a gift that I think he will excel with in the army. 

When he talks about his brothers whom he has served with, he has a laugh and a love, that goes into the depths of something that I cannot understand. I would not deny him that important part of his life.

 He is our family leader and I trust him, plus the money & benefits is helpful.

His job?

He will continue at the police department, and they will allow him to take the time off he needs for training and drill weekends. However, the few weekends he gets off now will likely fall on drill weekends so family weekends might be rare. 

What now?

He will continue with the same rank he left with and will drill one weekend a month until he starts OCS- Officer Candidate School. This will be around 4 months long and when he is finished he will go through IBOLC - Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course. This will be another 17 weeks. It sounds like we will start this all in the summer and he will be in GA. But we don't know for sure quite yet.  Long term after that will be the "one weekend a month plus 2 weeks a year." 

Deployment again?

Not likely, but  9/11 changed our lives in a second. Anything is possible when our countries are not at rest. Every soldier signs the blank check, no matter what your job and expectations.

We are excited to see where this new road takes us. However, there is a lot of anxiety since he will be away from home for a large portion of next year for training. I am not looking forward to cross-country parenting or to going to every event solo. But Bean and I have great friends and church family here in IN and I know we will be well taken care of!

* And, yes I know, my blog has been non-existent for several months!  :(  Our laptop is old and slow and I haven't taken the time to sit down and write. I am hoping to get a new laptop soon and get back to sharing my thoughts. (And updates on Bean of course!) 

Five Months

I feel like I live in a whirlwind and the strong winds are just sweeping me through the days. Those days turn into weeks and here I am in the middle of summer wondering if I will ever have both feet on the ground again. I guess that's parenthood, or maybe it's just me.

I do want to post a little about my little Beanie since this is the closest thing to a baby book this poor babe will have. I could write things down for him, but I don't even know where to locate paper in this house anymore unless it's his daily sheets from daycare telling us when he ate and pooped.

5 Months:

-We finally got him to gain some weight-  15 lbs
-He is very close to sitting on his own. He can sit by himself for about 5 minutes but if he gets excited and waves his hands he topples right over.
-He is fascinated with our dogs. He reaches for Lola and giggles when he sees Archer.
-He is already a Mommy's boy. Big time.
-He gave Daddy a  present in his diaper which resulting in him using 30 wipes and shop towels for
     clean-up. I'm not sure why "bath time" didn't cross Daddy's mind but oh well. We both have our ways.
-He is still spitting up like crazy. Some days he does fine and the next day everything is covered in puke.
-He LOVES splashing in the water, his jumparoo, and any toy he can get his hands on.
-He does not like to roll over. He can get 5/6 of the way over from his back to belly and then gives up.
-He picks his pacifier up and puts it in by himself.
-When he's tired he nuzzles in to your neck and chest and sighs. He's such a sweet and happy little boy!

My love/hate with Pinterest

I should really cook for our family more.
What was that recipe I saw on Pinterest?
Oh look what Mary pinned. So cute!
That is the best idea if I had a preteen daughter.
That cat picture is hilarious.
I"ll screenshot that and show Kyle later.
If I was a stay at home mom, I could really plan out our day and do some of these cute educational ideas.
Who am I kidding? I'd be one of those moms that only change out of pajamas to go to the Dr.
I love sweat pants.
Ooh that outfit is cute!
I used to like dressing up. When did I wear heels last? Last year? Two years ago?
Heels are stupid anyway. If you're short, you're short. No need to hide it.
Emailing girls about a girls night right now.....
I wonder what they have been up to.
Ashley has been pinning bathroom ideas. Is she remodeling?
Gosh I'm a horrible friend.
Oh look that dog pin looks like mine.
Man, we need to get our dogs groomed.
I wonder how much fur the baby has eaten so far.
He loves those fur balls.
I wonder what people who don't have dogs do.
What do they snuggle with?
Each other?
I guess I would snuggle with my husband if he was ever home.
I should look up some date nights on Pinterest.
Second shift stinks.
But listen how quiet it is in here without him!
It's so peaceful I can finally get some time to just relax and not think about anything.
Ah this is great.
Wait, why isn't the dryer banging?
Still need to do laundry, vacuuming, dishes....
Ugh, we need a new dishwasher.
Then I can actually cook without worrying about dishes.
Oh yeah, what was that recipe I was looking for again?


**I wrote this post while searching for a recipe and realizing I"d been all over the place in Pinterest. Now seriously, I should really get back and find that recipe!

Backyard Photos Spring 2014

It's our first official backyard photos with Bean (Take 2). We attempted once a few weeks ago but K and Bean were both fussy and there was spit up everywhere. Yuck. So we gave it another shot today, I think they turned out great and bonus...we actually had fun.  Bean loves it outside! 

Here's our sweet little family photo shoot with our 4 month old son.

God's Gift Basket to Moms

I thought I was good at multitasking. Then, I had my son. I've taken multitasking to a new level. However, at the same time, I can't remember what I ate for supper 3 hours ago. It got me thinking how I've changed since becoming a mom and I've decided that it's all part of a gift basket God bestows on women when they hold their baby for the first time.

To: First Time Moms
From: God

-A lifetime of multitasking talent that will always impress those around you. Additional refills given with each child to come.
-Inability to remember your children's names, where you parked your car, or why you walked into the room you are standing in.
-An iffy bladder (at best)
-A love like nothing you've felt before. Giving a small glimmer of the love God has for each of us.
-A fear like nothing you've felt before. Causing a battle of control, in which they only way to win is to give up and let God take over.
-An incredible sense of hearing. (or listening)
-Strength to conquer the dirtiest of messes in the dead of the night with a sense of patience (towards baby at least....patience with your husband? that must be in another basket.) 
- Healing powers to calm down even the fussiest, grumpiest babies and later will evolve to make boo-boos, tummy aches, and bad dreams dissolve.
-An encouraging spirit to love and uplift other mom's and mom's-to-be.

Thank you God, for designing such a perfect plan for me to be able to care for my baby boy, laugh at my mishaps, hope for wonderful days ahead, and share the experience with the great friends and family around me.

Three Months

Guess who is three months?!

Bean....
weighs 12 pounds.
sleeps through the night.
takes a pacifier but really prefers his thumb.
makes a fake cough sound when he is trying to giggle.
loves bath time, riding in the stroller, & looking at toys.
can roll over from belly to back.
has a very sweet, happy personality so far.

Two Months

Mr. Bean is 2 months old! He is starting to develop a little personality. K and I just can't get enough of him. Oh how I wish they would stay tiny & snuggly!

2 Months:

-10 pounds 2 ounces

- cooing and "talking" a lot. Especially when looking at his playmat toys and when mommy sings. 

-shorter naps and has the "7:00 fussies" every night. 

-sleeps swaddled & with a paci. (Although, he usually spits it out and talks or whines himself to sleep. )

-spits up a lot & often.

-smiles a lot!!!

- enjoys taking baths.

-starting to notice & watch his doggies.

Daddy's Favorites:
- cuddle time
- the big smiles I get when I come home
- fist bumps
- staring contests