The beginning of the END (of the deployment)

Well, I guess if I continue to keep the blog, I might as well blog!  No, really, between not having internet for the first month we were here and 2 little houligans to keep me busy, I just haven't had the time to blog.  I should have been writing down what I have wanted to blog because o so many times, I have thought how nice it would be to blog about that.  My mind is so stretched these days that I am afraid most of the little moments I want to remember won't be something I do remember.  So, without further adue, here is my thoughts on our trip over here, way back 7 weeks or so ago:


After a tearful goodbye from my mom (and a small mini meltdown on my part), we headed off to the airport.  Upon arrival there, Grammy and Aunt JuJu let the two little ones burn some energy off while Dad and I work on our bags and car seats and extra luggage and 2 strollers (you get the idea, we had A LOT) with the Delta agents.  Hey, I'm not a light packer and on top of that we were MOVING to Germany.  Need I say more and in my defense, we were not nearly as bogged down as the real MOVE to Germany, but then again, we weren't on orders and we didn't have lots of free baggage to throw around.  My one extra bag was $50!  OK enough of that.  We leave there and get through security which really wasn't all that bad and we got lucky and has some security scanners with a heart.  For some reason, most of them operate like robots and have no feelings or sympathy, but we got lucky!  After dinner at McDonald's we head back to our gate where Sadie (who is now past her bedtime) continues to run around like the energizer bunny.  Mason's too worried about getting somethign from the gift shop!   Anyhow, we get on the plane on time (amazing I know and wow, such a blessing)!  After a quick discussion as to whether Sadie's seat is airline compatible (we now know it's not), it is installed TIGHTLY in the seat and we're ready to go.  Within minutes of taking off, Sadie is in dreamland!  How much better can this get?  Mason plays with all of the gadgets on his individual TV screen for a while and Sadie and I doze (and I watch a movie). The whole flight really goes off without a hitch!  Praise the Lord the kids did most excellent and we are now in Amsterdam for leg 2 and we have approximately one hour to make our connecting flight!  As we get ready to get off, we wait for most of the plane to clear because we have SO much stuff.  In trying to get Sadie's seat unbuckled, we encounter a major problem.  The seat was not really airplane compatible, so the buckle on the seatbelt is so tight (the flight attendant kept making me tighten it) that we can't raise the lever to get the seatbelt unbuckled!  Maybe 20 minutes later, every flight attendant and both pilots, the seat belt unscrewed and removed later, the seat is removed!  Our entire personal entourage has taken all of our carryons, coats, etc, out for us and as we exit, the cleaning crew is waiting on us and so is  not one stroller but two!  Seriously?  Oh and to make matters worse, they're soaking wet.  WE have no option but to take both strollers at this point if they are both to make it to the next plane, so we pile suitcases in them and Sadie and Mason in one and BOOK it to our next flight!  Of course we have to go back through security now and fold BOTH strollers up to pass them through the x-ray machine and of course, we are met with people who are not kind in the least bit!  To make matters worse, I am "randomly" selected to be practically strip searched in front of everyone so Dad manhandles both kids and attempts to get both strollers up and running again.  We are a tad stressed at this point :)  One quick run by to make sure the gate is still the same and we're off!  As we make the gate, they are boarding (the busses that is).  We now have to take a bus int he rain and board our aircraft in the rain.  In tow we have one single and one double stroller, 4 carry ons, one car seat, and 2 kids.  It is COLD at this point, too.  Remember we left 90 degree weather and we're now in rain and cold!  Down the ramp we go to reveal an entire set of stairs.  Some nice man grabs my stroller and puts it o n the bus with me, so I am o nly left with the 2 kids and we get on the bus.  Dad, on the other hand, has about 3 of the carry ons left along with a stroller the carseat, and himself of course.  On the decent down the stairs, his luggage takes a tumble from the top to the bottom of the stairs and he comes on the bus practically throwing some of the luggage and runs to get the rest.  He is D-O-N-E at this point. To make matters worse the bus driver is just standing at the bottom of the stairs offering NO help and even shakes his head at Dad.  That's when the whole foreigners thing sets Dad off!  He decides to ride in a different part of the bus than us.  We arrive at the plane and i make the exec. decision to leave our unairline friendly carseat in the belly of the plane.  It seems perfect as there are three seats on our row (they have put Dad in a different row than us) so Dad can sit with us and i can put Sadie on my lap.  As the flight attendent ever so RUDELY announces that we cannot do that because there aren't enough oxygen masks in our row for four, Dad takes his seat between two people in the back of the aircraft and we stay on the front row of the coach section.  The ride goes off without a hitch and i only encounter a small problem when I have to go to the bathroom to find him sleeping so Sadie goes in with me!  That was an interesting experience.  After arriving at the airport in Nurnberg,  Dad has to run to the bathroom himself as he has had to go since we exited our first plane in Amsterdam.  I begin getting our luggage (which all made it amazingly enough).  Upon his return, I get a cart and we begin to figure out how the two of us will make it out to meet our ride with both kids and all of our luggage and strollers.  We figure it out (minus one piece of luggage that I don't discover is missing until 3 days later!)  The trip was made.  We only lost a hat of Dad's in the struggle and that darn piece of luggage that I FORGOT I had!  Seriously?  WHO FORGETS THEIR OWN LUGGAGE AT THE AIRPORT?  AND WHO TAKES THREE DAYS TO REMEMBER THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN IT?  Yep!  This proves why two kids is more than enough for this girl (for the time being at least :)  )  The funny thing is I knew I was missing items and I kept asking my Dad if he was sure I didn't have anything else left in his suitcase (yes, I over flowed MY stuff into his suitcase, too)!  The hour long drive back to the airport actually ended up helping me out. See, I had not really driven a lot on the roads the first time I was over here (Brent did most of the driving), so I was nervous and it gave us a trial run for returning Dad to the airport.  By the way:  the roads aren't just different, the signs are different, the way the pople drive is totally different, everything is different except thank goodness, they DO drive on the same side of the road as we do in the USA!  Anyhow, that was our adventure in a nut shell.  Jet lag reared its ugly head for several weeks really after that, but we adjusted and here we are 7 weeks later..ready for this doggone deployment to END!

Growing Like Weeds

So, we weighed ourselves today and much excitement was had!  Mason let out a big, "YYYEEEAAAHHH" when I told him he had almost gained 3 pounds!  That's really big for him.  He's been at 32 for a long time and today he showed as 34.5!  Sadie has gained another pound weighing in at 23 pounds.  This all reminded me that these two are changing so much that I might need to go ahead and record more, so here it is!

Mason still plays all of the time.  He is constantly drawing and does things that amaze me like adding 8 legs (4 on each side) for a spider and adding extra details when drawing people.  He is really into bugs right now, too, and where he used to be skeptical of picking them up, you now have to warn him that not all bugs are going to treat him kindly!  He also loves rocks and while we were at the beach recently collected lots of shells and such that he thought to be pirate booty!  He has some of the funniest, yet most real conversations with his Daddy and many times Brent gets more detail into his day than I do!  He says he dreams good dreams every night about him and Daddy playing together.  He knows his Birthday is coming up and there is a very small list of that which he doesn't care to have!  He has colllected enough money in his piggy bank to replace a broken V-Smile that cost $50.  He referred to Germany as "home" yesterday.  Last but not least, he is still a Mommy's boy and does not want to leave my side. 

Sadie is more rambunctious and full of energy than I EVER bargained for!  She is a real piece of work.  She already knows how to properly roll cars along the floor and even attempts to make "vroom" sounds.  She does like to love on her baby dolls, though, just before she throws it down, so there is a bit of hope!  She has a bit of a temper (not a bit like her Mama) and an amazingly LOUD screech  that she shares with everyone whether she's happy, sad, mad, or whatever.  She loves to hear herself and will talk and put her hands over her ears to see how it sounds different.  She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES her big brother. He, however, likes his space every now and then now. Our Sadie bug is very ticklish. She still signs "more" and "all done."  Her hair is also growing just as fast as she is and she cannot even see if she does not have a bow in (this makes me happy).  Her walking is getting quicker, but she is definitely still "toddling" a little bit and has had 2.5 black eyes already! Although she's still a Mama's girl, she has continued to get better about going with someone else.  She works on new words every time you turn around now.  Here's some of her vocabulary:

mama

dada

bubba (brother)

up

out

uh oh

uh uh (and shakes her head no)

mau (meow)

jack

daisy

paw paw
vroo(m)  (for a car)
at (for cat)

ONE Sweet Little Cupcake

Sadie Bug threw one heck of a party a few weeks ago!  Such a chic little lady she is!  Can you believe she helped her mama with a cupcake themed birthday party right down to every last detail?!  She has expensive taste, too, as she picked out gourmet cupcakes and specially decorated cookies!  Daddy, be careful she's already spending your money as freely as she dirties a diaper!  Here are the events of the day! 

Our little cupcakes' food spread!

For entertainment, Sadie shared some of her new toys with her little friends!  This is Aubrey.  They are only 2 weeks apart in age!  Christen and I always said we'd try to line up our kids in age.... And we accomplished it--unknowingly!

Her cousin Payne brought his inflatable jumper for all to enjoy! Sadie and Ella liked to be bounced!

Bubbles are always a big hit! Thanks for the lift, Corey!

Last but not least, what girl can have a birthday party without having a few boys?!  Our girl is pinning them down (literally) quite early!  Daddy, you had better get home soon--she's a wild woman!

  Poor Luke, his Mama peeked in because she was worried HE was casuing trouble since it had gotten quiet and this is what she found!

Towards the end of the party, Sadie pinned Seth down, too!

Of course our birthday girl didn't forget to take a minute (or thirty) and enjoy her own cake!  What a sweet (and messy) little eater she is!

After playing, filling her tummy, and changing dresses (yes, every diva has 2 birthday outfits), we opened presents!  The most popular present?  A SWIMSUIT!  Our little girl will be the most fashionable one out there this summer!  I can't remember what our final total for swim wear was, but it was something like 4 or 5 suits and when you combine it with what she already had it comes to around 10!!!

To all our friends and family present, and those that were there in heart, thank you so much for making Sadie's birthday party so special!  To our sweet little cupcake:  Thank YOU so much for making your first year so memorable!  We love you!

our babies

This post was written several weeks ago and I never published it!  Funny how much has already changed with our Sadie Bug!  Mason of course is still his awesome big brother self, too!

Mason is still our sweet little man that continues to absorb everything around him.   He is super energetic to say the least, yet super sensitive.  He truly cares about those around him.  He told me the other day on the way to lunch that he wanted to  sit by his, "best friend, Sadie, at the table." It melted my heart beause I know they will eventually annoy each other, but for now he is honestly seeking out the best for her in everything (at least most of the time).  He plays with her and actually requests for me to bring her to his room to play!  He can't stand for her to be upset and will actually knowingly do the wrong thing to make her happy.  Every little laugh he gets from her eggs him onto bigger and greater things in an attempt to entertain (and get her attention). 

He loves school (just like I did) and makes new friends so easily.  He is quite the artist and loves to draw and color.  I truly am amazed at what a four year old can do when he puts his mind to it!  He knows some numbers and colors in Spanish.  He has a memory for music that is just like his Daddy's.  Brent can hear a song and know what year it was simply by the memories he best remembers from around that time in his life!  Our Mason is so genuine in everything--even in his anger and disappointment. He would stay awake for 24 straight hours, I'm sure if someone would only play with him.  The child loves to play an entertain and to be entertained.  He likes to do just like those he looks up to--mostly his Daddy, though.  His latest "Daddy quirk" is to go to bed in just pajama bottoms and no top because that'sthe way Daddy does it.  The other night he was putting on long, flannel pants and I told him it would be too hot.  His response was, "Well, it's hot in the desert and that's where Daddy is...."  I said nothing further.  He likes to make up games and rules for EVERYTHING...and he likes HIS say in everything.  Then again, who doesn't? Eating is definitely NOT his forte, though.  I wish I had that problem!  He just finished his soccer season and we're waiting on more swimming lessons, tennis lessons,and summer camps! 

As for our Sadie bug, she continues to grow and grow.  If fact the little booger has hit both the weight and heighth limits for her infant carrier, so she's moved up to a "big girl" seat.  She will be ready on time to turn around and face forward after her birthday in a few weeks which is totally different than our tiny Mason was.  Sadie has not only began crawling, but in just a few 3 weeks, she's now cruising with an occasional standing up on her own!  I thought I would have a little more time before she began walking, but it is not appearing that way!  She began walking the DAY Brent came in for R&R and he actually got to see her do it FIRST!  Funny thing is Brent actually made it into town on the EXACT same day he did 4 years agon for R&R.  He just barely missed Mason crawling on that trip, so I began to get nervous that he would again miss the crawling stage.  I guess our little diva had it all planned out!  I know it melted Daddy's heart that he got to be here for a first!  She can also sign "more" and "please." She says, "MAMA," "DADA," "NENE", "PAPA," AND "BYE BYE."  There are a few other things that we think she's trying to say, but nothing too consistent yet.  I think she attempts "brother" for Mason.  Although she's been known for her tears, she is quickly developing her own little spunky, more independent personality.  She actually is a HAPPY baby.  She is known for her signature shirll which can be quite embarassing and it can come out in either happiness or out of anger/frustration.  My Dad thinks we'll get kicked out o fa restaurant someday for her shrills, but really, at this age, what do you do?  She doesn't really get "quiet" yet and to tell her "NO"  only makes her cry out loud!    She claps her hands, stomps her feet, and does this amazingly adorable shoulder "dance" on command.  She points with her tiny little fingers, waves goodbye with  her tiny little hands, and even occasionally tries to blow a kiss.  She can make "indian" noises and sound like a motor boat.  She gives out kisses (wet ones at that) and LOVES to EAT anything and everything.  Most importantly, she LOVES and has many loves!  She's still a Mama's girl, but she also LOVES her big brother like I never imagined possible at this age...and he loves her just as much right back!

Boys, Girls, and Baby Curls

We've had my nephew, Payne, for the last few days and it's been so nice.  There are a few extra things you deal with like more baths and dressing more kids and keeping up with more kids, but Mason and Payne play so well together and really love each other's company so much that Mason is so much more content while Payne is around.  To make it even better, Payne has no problems being a way from Mommy and Daddy which is so nice AND as an added bonus, he EATS (which Mason sometimes does not).  I know Ashlee and Casey have to deal with a lot when our little blondie is sent their way, so it's really a perk that Payne does so well with us.  They do have their usual 4/5 year old spats, but in general they can work it out quite well among themseleves.  Today, though, was quite hilarious.  I took them to Monkey Joe's to get out some of their energy (4 year olds have more energy by themselves than 4 of me put together) and while we were there, Mason spotted one of his little girl friends from school.  He came to me and said, "Where did Wiwwy go?"  I thought he had met a new friend named "Willy."  He quickly told me it was a girl and that she was in his class and off he went looking for her.  When Payne caught wind of what was going on, he wouldn't play with Mason anymore.  I thought he might be a bit jealous and decided to just leave it alone.  Shortly, Lily left and Mason and Payne played a little bit until Payne caught up with a girl of his own.  Mason followed them around for a bit, but we left not too long after that.  I have videos that I have attempted to upload of our little ladies' men, but it was a complete and utter failure!  I'll have to figure it out and re-post it later!

While we were at Monkey Joe's Sadie bug stayed with Grandma Judy.  As I dropped her off, I was asked if it was okay to cut her "bangs."  I said, "No."  We had already had the discussion that if we trimmed the hair in the front of her face, it would eventually grow out and we'd have to cut it again and then we'd eventually have actual bangs.  I don't want to have to deal with bangs on a baby, so I'm just waiting on her hair to get long enough to stay out of her eyes after it's combed without having to have a barrette/bow in it.  So, I come back after our Monkey Joe's adventure and this is what my Sadie looked like--Pebbles Flintstone!  My mom and grandmother did this with  both my sister and I and my sister did it with her girls, Madison and Brooklyn.  I think it looks hilarious personally, but I guess you could call it a family tradition.  So, our little Sadie bug, welcome to the family!  It's now official!

EXHAUSTED...AND RIGHTFULLY SO!

Today was one of those days where I wish I had easy access to Mason's baby pics because Miss Sadie has followed in her brother's footsteps in falling asleep while playing.  It was too cute.  She ought to be exhausted tonight because she has accomplished SO much in this ONE day!  Today she signed "more" and "please" to me!  She had been signing more every now and then but not on a regular basis and today that reveresed and she even threw in another sign.  All it took was some frozen custard from Cheeseburger Bobby's to pursuade a regular sign!  She also said, "bye bye" tonight to Lauren.  It was prompted, but she did say it.  Lastly, she pulled herself up to a standing position several times today, too.  She had done that, too, but only a time or two.

I, too, have been exhausted of late because the adjustment from Daddy being here all the time to Daddy being gone in an instant's time has taken a toll on the littlest man of the house.  Poor Mason will not give me a moment's peace.  He is having some serious Daddy withdrawals/abandonment issues as I have personally "diagnosed."  He has no problem staying within our normal routine and going to school, soccer, etc, but he doesn't want me out of sight other wise.  He has given me directions and gone over them repeatedly every car ride as to how I am to get out and go around the front of the car so he can see me before I get him out.  He will not have me getting gas without the window down because he can't see me, and he didn't even want me to go out to eat tonight and leave him with his Paw Paw and Grammie.  I don't know what to do and it is getting incredibly hard for me to keep from blowing up with every waking minute spent in front of and entertaining him.  Not to mention that he still gets up at least one time a night in the middle of the night with some sort of a need.  I can't help but long for a normal life and situation, too, but I guess normal is relative.

So, here's to our crazy, yet somehow perfect and so incredibly PROUD life we live!

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one!

So, I've been struggling to get my little man back on track with his sleeping habits.  He's always had trouble falling asleep with out someone in his presence or without a night light.  Since we have come back to the USA, he has trouble without having not one or the other,but both.  I KNOW that if I would just give in and lay with him, I would have him asleep in no time, but I refuse to get that started.  I have never been the one to lay with him--Brent has though.  Anyhow, there was one night a few weeks ago that Mason just couldn't stay in his room and after several warnings that if he did not stay in his room, I would turn the TV off, I did.  He was NOT a happy camper with me to say the least and he kept coming out to the living room with a different excuse.  I finally told him to quit coming out or I would have to turn his night light and lamp off, too.  He was so upset and so in want of someone to be with him that he never made it back to his room!  He stopped in MY room and fell asleep in MY bed!  Here's his sweet little face.  I did move him back to his bed in case you all were wondering.  I love my personal space while I am sleeping and to be honest, this is about the only ME time I get all day! 

This is a view of what I saw when I walked into my room.  Poor guy.  He hides uner pillows, blankets, etc., when he has to fall asleep by himself.

Oh and I promise to try and just do small little blogs more ofen here.  I won't even attempt to try and completely back track since my last blog, though.  Miss Sadie will be next!

Forever and a DAY!

Christmas 2009

Brent on his first flight in a while January 7, 2009. If you look closely he's holding an Optimus Prime. He takes it everywhere and takes pictures of it so that Mason has something to follow and identify with while Daddy's in the "desert."

Well, hello blogging world! I guess I have finally decided it's been long enough since my last blog and have decided to enter the world again! I truly feel like I have been COMPLETELY out of the loop for some time now. As you can see, the last blog was back in October. After we got back from Paris, our lives hit the fast forward button and I think we're still in that mode, but starting to slow down a bit. We had family come in mid October all the way up until the 31st. WE enjoyed getting to show everyone around and let them experience a little of what the culture shock is like when you first arrive. After my mom and Brent's sister left, we had a little over a week before my dad arrived. After he arrived, we began "closing up shop" if you will to prepare for a year apart as a family. I began packing bags and mailing boxes of our "stuff" back to the states so we wouldn't have so much to bring back in suit cases, Brent made the finishing touches on his duffels to head further east with him, and collectively we tried to begin making sense of what it would be like apart from each other and Brent from our babies for another long year. Even as I blog about it now, it's still hard to talk about. The day came and went (thank goodness) and we were back in the states. The kids did exceptionally well on the plane overall and although their little bodies were on a completely different timetable when we made it over here, it wasn't too terrible for them. I must be getting old because my body was in a fog for almost a month, I guess. I was on the right schedule and all, but it just didn't feel right at times. I think if I had a day or two where I could have just slept and slept, it might have helped, but the truth is, anybody would struggle to get back on a good schedule. It was good and bad that VERY shortly after we got back here, Thanksgiving rolled right on in. I don't think I was completely there that day still :) I did thoroughly enjoy being back here and being able to have the traditional celebrations that we've always enjoyed, though. The week after thanksgiving, we all got a bit sick, but once we were well, Mason headed off to school. The night before we went, Mason was terribly worried, but had NO trouble adjusting at all once we made it there. It was as if I had dropped him off like that every day prior. I guess it shows just how resilient little guys are. It's a good thing since our whole life revolves around resliency being military and all.... Anyhow as quickly as Thanksgiving came and went, so did Christmas. It was a great day, but busy as usual. So here we are, the week after New Years. As Brent put it, the best part about the new year is that now we are actually IN the calendar year that he will return home!

Since Brent left (and since we've last blogged), Miss Sadie bug is a NEW girl! She can now sit up completely on her own, eats baby food two times a day, can say, "DaDa" and "MaMa", gives wet, slobbery kisses, waves bye bye, and even tries to handle a few puffs. The girl is HUGE. Well, she was only in the 50% in her weight when we went for her 6 month appointment, but in comparison with what Mason was, she seems like a giant. I am surprised I am even able to lug her around in her carseat out in public now. She weighs 17 pounds now and to give you an idea or comparison of how it was with Mason, at 13 months he weighed 18 pounds and at 7 months, she weighs 17 pounds! She is also a MAMA's GIRL! I have been told by MANY in my family that this is payback for how I was like when I was little. I seriously cannot turn the corner with out an ear piercing WAIL coming out of her! It's kind of neat sometimes, but others, I just want her to be content with someone else so I can breathe a second or two without a baby on my hip :) Anyhow, she is fairly well scheduled, completely weaned off of nursing, and loves to be in the bed by 7:30.

Sadie at 5 months old

Sadie at 6 months old

Sadie at 7 months old

My little man, Mason, is learning how to cope and get some "male" time while Daddy's away. He prays for Daddy every night (and also other various hilarious things like Santa, his elf, Willis, and even inanimate objects). He misses Daddy and isn't afraid to tell you that. He asks a million and one questions about ANYthing and EVERYthing. We have seriously covered subjects such as how Sadie came out of my tummy (no he REALLY wanted to know, but after several distractions we were able to steer away from that whole subject), to why we're in the women's bathroom, how boys stand up to pee, but girls do not, to why is this lady right here at this particular moment in time, and every other subject you can possibly think of. He is still seriously a sponge and just takes it all in. He has learned several new "Papaisms" from my Dad. If you know my Dad at all, you know that he makes up and say silly stuff to which Mason finds completely amusing and repeats it. Not all of it is that flattering for him to be saying! He is also the BEST big brother I could have ever imagined him to be. He does not like for anyone, including myself, to utter a negative word or tone towards his Sadie bug. I have been told that I'm not nice and to stop telling Sadie no many a times. If she cries after I say anything, he immediately goes to her and starts baby talking her and chastising me for "hurting her little feelings." Sadie was screaming one day and Mason's cousin, Payne, put his hands over his ears. Mason took some serious offense to this and told Payne to, "not be mad at my baby sister." It really is quite cute, but I'm afraid we're going to have some trouble in the near future when she is more mobile and wants his stuff. I really do think he might give her something that could in turn hurt her because he just wants to give her everything she thinks she needs!

Mason loves to go to Monkey Joe's

At Mason's new preschool, they had a Christmas program. Mason probably did not know all of the songs because he had only been going to school for a week and a half before they had the program. Instead of showing any kind of embarassment, he just decided to go silent altogether! This is what we saw for about 90% of the performance!

Here's what he did for the other 10% of the performance!

Other than that, we're getting on more of a schedule and getting readjusted to life with Daddy half a world away.