I'm going to start doing these again.
{one} what was one thing that you valued when you were a kid?
I loved to help take care of my little brother when he was a baby. After all, I'd been coddling baby dolls for years- now that there was FINALLY a sibling in my life, I was going to soak up every single moment I had with that chubby, redhaired little baby.
{two} what was your favorite (+ least favorite) subject in school?
English was my absolute favorite- I took every AP english/composition class offered at my high school. My least favorite was DEFINITELY math.
{three} do you remember your first love?
Why yes, I do! He was my high school sweetheart, and I'm married to him now. :) ♥
{four} what one pet would you love to have?
a miniature vietnamese potbellied pig. SO CUTE!
{five} would you rather live in the country or in the city?
Neither. I prefer the suburbs, ideally about an hour from the big city. It's a nice happy medium.
{six} what do you love about blogging?
All the people I've met. Oh, and the fact that someday I'll be able to go back and remember the early days when Elliot was a wee baby.
{seven} what is the first website you visit everyday?
Facebook.
{eight} will you or have you joined google+?
I probably will. I always get sucked into the newest "thing" online.
{nine} what is your favorite scent of candle/air freshener?
Mulberry. Delicious!
{ten} how would you describe your style?
Simple, bohemian, and bright.
As most of you already know, I'm a military wife. It's not something I talk about often on this blog. Well, I guess I haven't really talked about much of anything on this blog lately other than my day-to-day life with Elliot. Although *I* find every tiny little thing he does exciting and adorable... it probably gets a little boring for all of you. From now on, I'm going to make an effort to post about other things in addition to my life as a SAHM, because there is more to me (and my life) than that!
So, first up? My life as a military wife.
Here are the best and worst things about being a military wife:
The good:
1. Being a stay at home mama. A huge number of military wives are stay at home moms. Thanks to the benefits, such as great healthcare, we are able to do this. I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with my son, to get to watch him grow and help mold him into a little person. Not everyone has this opportunity.
2. Sense of Security. I don't have to worry about my husband losing his job, even in this unsteady economy. We always have a roof over our heads, clothes on our back, and food on the table, and I don't take that for granted. In addition, I fall asleep easily knowing that I am safe- my soldier can protect me, and I feel safe in his strong arms.
3. Friends and community. Even though we've never lived on base, there have been military families surrounding us everywhere we've lived. It's been so easy to make lasting friendships, friends to lean on in the tough times. Other military wives understand how tough deployments are, they actually know what you're talking about when you talk in acronymns... they just get it.
4. Pride. I feel proud of my husband every single day. He is brave. He serves our country, he helps to keep us free, he risks his lives to save others. Everytime I see him in his uniform, I smile. I love my soldier.
5. The opportunity to travel. We move every two years. To some of you, that may sound horrible, but I actually enjoy it. Every move is an opportunity to start fresh and experience a different place and (often) culture. It's hard to fall into a rut when you are constantly moving!
The bad:
1. Deployments. Nothing is harder than having your husband gone for a whole year (or more). He's across the world in a war zone. In the meanwhile, you're all by yourself, holding down the fort on your own. Communicating can be difficult, and it's easy to get yourself all worked up over nothing. I tend to change the channel when anything about the war in Iraq or Afghanistan comes on the news. The hardest part though, isn't really the worrying or loneliness- it's being a single parent while he's gone. It's not just a year of MY life that he's missing every time he deploys, but a year of Elliot's, too. A lot changes in a year- particularly when kids are young. It makes me sad to think about how many of Elliot's "firsts" Aaron missed while he was gone, and how many more he will miss in the coming years. It's tough, but that's just military life. You learn to cope. And you know the saying, "distance makes the heart grow fonder"? Well, that couldn't be more true!
2. War changes people. My husband spent 15 months in Iraq {as infantry}, where he was shot, stabbed, and blown up a few times. He did and saw terrible things, things that I prefer not to talk about. He struggled with PTSD and memory loss for awhile, but is doing better now. He's not the same person that he was before he left for war, though, and probably never will be.
3. Long hours. The army isn't a 9 to 5 job. It's basically 24/7, and with each promotion comes more responsibility. Aaron works long days, and often gets called in in the evenings and on weekends. He leaves for work every day at 5:30am and doesn't usually come home until about 5pm. When he walks through the door, I'm usually ready to get out of the house, and all he wants to do is stay in and relax. This is where compromise comes into play.
4. Lack of control. Decisions are made by supervisors and are always out of your control. Paperwork takes forever to be processed, and things often aren't finalized until it's almost too late. For people like me, who literally LOVE planning and making lists, it makes life kind of frustrating, but you learn to let go. Things always work out in the end.
So there you have it. I could probably go on and on, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me and I'll be sure to get back to you... maybe I'll even do a follow-up post.
Military life isn't perfect, but it's perfect for me.
I love being a military wife!
Elliot is eight months old today. I barely batted an eyelash when he turned seven months {after all, it was right after Daddy came home!}. In fact, I was so busy and distracted that I completely forgot to do a seven month post! But don't worry, folks. When Elliot woke up today, he crawled over to me and started smacking me in the face while squealing with delight. It was as if he was saying, "Wake up! I'm EIGHT MONTHS OLD, mama!" What a nice wake up call, right?
This month:
♥ Elliot weighs 16.95 lbs and is 28" long- that puts him at the 5th percentile.
♥ he is wearing all 3-6 month clothing
♥ he is eating 7 ounces every 3-4 hours during the day and I'm happy to announce that he now goes SEVEN HOURS without a bottle at night! He has a bottle before bed {between 9 and 10pm}, and I don't offer him another, even if he wakes up in between, until his 4-5am wakeup
♥ we're working on sleep training Dr. Sears style. Thanks to that, he USUALLY sleeps 5 1/2 hours before waking up at 4-5am, when he comes to bed with us. He usually wakes up again around 6am and gets up for the day between 8 and 8:30.
♥ he eats 4-5 ounces of homemade fruit or veggie purees 3x a day. His favorites are sweet potato and peas.
♥ he loves to eat fruits and veggies in his mesh feeder
♥ he fell into a very reliable schedule and almost always naps at 10, 2, and 5.
♥ he has SIX TEETH!
♥ he has mastered sitting up on his own, crawling on all fours, RUNNING in his walker, pulling up to stand, and cruising along furniture
♥ he loves to "swim" and splash in the pool
♥ he has started throwing tantrums by arching his back and flinging himself backwards in your arms or throwing himself on the floor. He hates to be told "NO."
♥ he still LOVES to go outside and gets very cranky if he's cooped up inside
♥ he is fascinated with a number of things which he isn't supposed to touch/ play with: the door stoppers, which make a fun "BOING!" sound, wires and cords, and blinds
♥ our new apartment complex has a duck pond and he loves to feed the ducks!
♥ he always tries to crawl away during diaper changes
♥ he often cries when I leave the room {even if he is happily playing with Daddy}
♥ he is VERY talkative. He's always babbling away, loves to blow raspberries, and squeals when he's excited
and now, since I haven't said it yet {you knew it was coming}
Holy cow! My baby boy is EIGHT MONTHS old!
Sorry for the lack of posts lately! My husband spends way too much time working, so we like to enjoy every minute of our weekends together as a family. Things have been busy around here! Elliot is now not only pulling up onto everything but CRUISING along furniture. He is constantly getting into things or falling over, so someone literally has to be a foot or two away from him at all times.
We are finally settled into our new house, so I'm happy to say that Elliot is back in his cloth diapers and eating homemade baby food again!
The other big piece of news? Our house is finally starting to feel like a home because we added a furry new addition to our family- a seven week old kitten named Winslow. ♥
There were a lot of other kittens to choose from, but we picked Winslow based on what his previous owners told us about his personality- that he loved to play, but he also loved to snuggle. They were right! He absolutely loves chasing toys, wrestling with our hands {or random discarded socks?}, and zooming through our house and up and down the stairs. But he is also a real snuggler and loves to be held and cuddled. Winslow is fitting into our family perfectly so far. He doesn't seem at all put off when Elliot grabs his tail or ears {we're teaching him to be gentle, but Elliot gets really excited so it's hard}. Every time he approaches Elliot {which is quite often- he seems to like him a lot}, Elliot greets him with a hug. Half the time, Winslow is already off exploring something else before the hug can be completed, leaving Elliot hugging nothing but thin air... but other times, Winslow leans into him and purrs and it just melts my heart.
Here are a couple pictures of the new addition- he doesn't like to sit still long enough for me to focus on him.
My sick baby!
Elliot has a nasty cold. AGAIN. I swear he has the worst immune system ever. I hope he starts feeling better soon- he spent most of the day today crying, whining, and clinging to me. It breaks my heart.
I can't believe I have been married for two years today. Somehow, I love my husband even more now than I did on our wedding day. It has been a crazy, beautiful ride so far... and I wouldn't have it any other way. We have lived in three states, been separated for a year, struggled through a difficult pregnancy, and brought our beautiful baby boy into this world. He held and supported me while I cried a million tears during Elliot's NICU stay. Most importantly, has been the best father a little boy could ever ask for, even when all he could do was hold Elliot's hand while he was in the NICU or talk to him on the phone while he was overseas.
I couldn't have asked for a better partner through it all.
Happy Anniversary, Aaron Patrick! ♥I love you.
