7 Months Old

I know at each monthly milestone I've said I can't believe how fast he is growing up, but I feel that is especially true now at 7 months old.  I feel like he isn't a baby so much anymore, but rather a little boy.  A part of me is a little bit sad that time goes by so fast, but another part is so excited about all the new stuff he can do and the interactions we can have now.  It is truly amazing to watch him grow, develop, and change.  I've enjoyed everyday with him, but I still don't know where the past 7 months have gone.  

Army Crawl Video

I made my first youtube video to show Pat and my family Ryan doing his little Army crawl. Link

Thankfully my macbook makes it too easy to post to youtube. I think this may help me keep Pat included more often. I was sending over 2 hour DVDs of home footage, but those took forever for me to create. Yay for youtube being faster and easier.

Early Morning

It's an early morning here.  Recently the dogs have been getting up really early, but today Ryan decided he wanted to play instead of sleeping.  I don't really mind waking up so early, especially when Ryan is happy and playful.  Being up early will give us an earlier start on our grocery shopping later this morning anyway.  

Now that Ryan is mobile he's trying to get into everything.  Here are a couple pictures of what he likes to do now.

I absolutely love all the fun we get to have each day.  He is so amazing, and such a happy little boy.  Yesterday I was making a mental list of all the things I love about Ryan, but then I decided that list would be way too long to share.  But since I'm mentioning it, I'll share a few of them now:  

I love the way he snorts when he laughs.  

My favorite sound in the world is his laugh.  He laughs so hard that I sometimes wonder if he can breath.    

I love how he raises his eyebrows when looking at people.  

I'm happy that he seems to recognize his Daddy when he looks at the flat daddy poster on the wall and smiles at him.  

Speaking of his smile, it always melts my heart.  

I could go on and on...but I'll stop there.  

2 Months Down

So I've officially made it 2 months into the deployment.  I'm excited that I've made it this far, but honestly it doesn't seem like much when I know that I still have at least 6.5 months more to go.   Although, even that doesn't sound too bad.  I know I'm getting lucky if that is the case because this will be a short deployment, and he'll even get R & R.  Pat is being kept super busy with all the missions they have going on.  He works at least 14 hour days if not more 7 days a week.  In one respect he really likes the role he is playing coordinating artillery fire with his unit, but in another way he cannot wait to get back to a unit where he's not the only FA guy.  So it seems like this deployment and unit are just a "notch on the bedpost" of his Army career.  

Next month I am traveling home for a week.  With all that will entail, I'm sure that month will fly by too.  Soon I'll be another month closer to seeing Pat again, and I cannot wait.  

He Moves!

Ryan has learned to army crawl.  He isn't very fast, and it isn't a smooth, fluid motion, but he is moving.  I'm so proud and his Daddy is too!  I've taped it a couple times so that his Daddy can see it on video.  Now I desperately need to baby proof the house because he wants to get into everything and eat it all.   :) 

So for the past few days my mind has been racing thinking about the future.  Pat started a conversation the other day that got me thinking about what will be next for us.  Of course I'm trying to make plans for that which we all know cannot be planned.  I'm a planner by nature.  I had just told Pat in an e-mail that I wanted to live in the moment more and plan less.  Of course I wasn't talking about these big issues though.  I'm just overwhelmed when it comes to the Army and our future.  I need to accept not knowing anything until it's right in front of me, but that is a hard lesson for me to learn.  Now that my mind has started racing, I don't know how to stop it.      

Change

Change of background.  

Still undecided...text seems small to me, but I'm not wearing my glasses.  

I wanted something without too much color--I'm just not feeling very vibrant these days.  

Life has been uneventful.  

Ryan and I are getting by.  

More to come soon...

Phone Calls

Today I waited and waited for the phone call I was pretty sure would come.  We hadn't talked for a few days, and his e-mail led me to believe I'd hear from him today.  Finally this afternoon the phone rang with a strange number, and I knew it was him.  Unfortunately for me, there was a horrible delay between what we would say and the other person hearing it.  (For those who don't know:  this delay is not abnormal during deployments.)  Okay I've dealt with this many times before, but this time it was the worst it has ever been and was about 40 sec. delayed.  Since he was using a computer to make this call he said he'd try to talk to me over the computer using a different program.  We hang up, and I promptly wait by the computer.  While waiting, I decided to change Ryan's diaper.  I bring the laptop and place it on the bed.  Little beagle Bailey couldn't see the computer and jumped on the bed, right on top of my laptop.  A minute later Pat calls.  I can't hear anything and the volume button isn't working right.  CRAP!  So I try to type to him to tell him I can't figure it out yet and to hold on.  GREEK!  Yup, the computer is typing in Greek.  (maybe not Greek, but it sure looked like it to me)  After a few frantic moments and help from my sister, I figure out one of the buttons is stuck pushed down.  I release it and all is right with the computer.  But again, bad luck the delay is on that program too.  We cannot carry on a conversation.  DARN IT!  It's one of those days where I really just wanted to talk to him, and the universe is conspiring against me.  Thankfully he would not relent on his mission to talk so he walked over to the phones, and finally we were able to talk. 

 

Phone calls are one of the "gifts" he is able to give me during a deployment that really brighten my day.  Although I have to admit, they also can be hard.  In one phone call you must get your fill of everything.  You have to talk about household business, what is going on with all the family, events that have happened since the last time you talked, and usually last on the list of things is the conversation that would normally be had between a husband and wife.  I find it very hard to cram this all into one phone call.  I feel the pressure to make sure I tell him everything, but I always think of more as we hang up.  I cannot wait for the days when I can call him again, or we can talk as we fall asleep at night.  I miss him so much.  While I absolutely love hearing from him, I loathe the fact that our interaction is limited to one phone call.  But since that is the way it has to be, I cannot wait for the next phone call.  

Homemade With Love

I never thought that I'd do it, but I've started to make my own baby food.  I always thought, "why not just buy the jar?".  I don't think there is anything wrong with buying it, and there are some kinds that I'm too lazy to make so I'll continue to buy those.  I find it fun to experiment with making different kinds and seeing how Ryan likes it.  Maybe this is because I don't get to cook meals anymore really.  It's hard to cook for just one, and I only have time when Ryan is napping.  So I guess for now, my cooking repertoire will have to consist of purees, but I'll admit they do smell good.  :)  

   

Father's Day!

I couldn't let today go by without posting about Father's Day.  I'm a little sad that Pat's first Father's Day is spent away, but that is the Army life.  Pat is an amazing father to Ryan, and I know what amazing fathers are because I grew up with one of them.  From day one when we brought Ryan home, Pat knew exactly what to do to care for him and make him smile.  He is an absolute natural.  I never saw Pat nervous or overwhelmed caring for Ryan.  Many times I was a bit jealous of all the fun the two of them have together.  I cannot wait to be together again.  It is better than I ever imagined watching Pat care for our son.  He is so gentle and sweet, and when I see him with Ryan, I fall even deeper in love.  I'm lucky to be married to such a great man, and Ryan is lucky to have a great dad.  

Celebrate!

There have been many events in my past that have changed the direction that my life would take me. Four years ago today one of those events occurred and from that day forward my life surpassed my dreams. I cannot imagine my life being any other way, and I am so thankful that the events of my past have led me to my present. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.

Four years ago today, Pat and I got married. This is the first anniversary we have spent apart. (He took R&R for our anniversary last time he was deployed) In a funny twist, recently overseas Pat ran into one of his friends from college that was at the wedding. Pat hasn't seen him since the day we got married. He's actually the second guy on the left in the arch picture above. So Pat was able to reminisce about the wedding with his friend, and I've been able to look at Ryan today and think about how lucky I was four years ago today.

I'll admit I'm missing him a little extra today.

Snakes!

I had two visitors this weekend, which caused a lot of commotion at my house.  One visitor was my mother-in-law, and here is a picture of my other visitor.

Yup, that really is a giant snake!  (or at least what I consider to be giant)  I went outside to see what my dogs were yelling at and saw that they were yelling at something in my yard.  I knew it was a snake before I saw it.  I just didn't know that it would be BIG!  I got my dogs in safe and the snake finally went away.  Now I'm constantly on guard checking my back yard. 

I don't feel like giving a recap of the rest of the weekend, so this will have to do for now.  

One of Those Days?

Do you ever have one of those days where you are in a bad mood for no particular reason?  One where you just wake up and are crabby.  You don't want to be a grump, but you just can't seem to help it.  That's how it was today for me.  I couldn't shake my bad mood.  

On top of already feeling cranky, one of the dogs threw up on the carpets twice, but at least it cleaned up easily.  

In the middle of the day though, I did get a reminder of how thankful I should be that my husband is safe tonight.  Tonight I will be saying some extra prayers.  

My nightly walk with Ryan was peaceful.  I tend to talk out loud while walking.  My conversations are directed a little to Ryan but mostly to myself.  It gives me time to think and is a nice way to relax.  

Here's hoping I wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow.  (and hoping it is after 6 a.m.)   

Lonely Life

It really is a lonely life lately.  I find my days pretty occupied with feeding Ryan and playing with him around his nap schedule.  However, it is often that Ryan and I go days and days without seeing anyone.  We take an evening walk most nights, and sometimes we see a neighbor to say a quick hello to as we pass.  At night after Ryan is in bed, I surf the internet, but it has really got to the point where I have nothing else to look up on there.  I think I need to buy a book the next time I go to Borders.   I thought about scrapbooking tonight, but I just didn't want to make all the noise getting my stuff out, and then I realized I was too tired anyway.  I think my dogs are even a little lonely.  I am so thankful for the telephone, it really is my only communication with the world outside of my house.  My family and friends definitely keep me sane with the phone calls. And the "computer calls" I get from Pat are absolutely amazing.  I can hear his voice and he gets to see Ryan.  I am so grateful that we are able to communicate so well despite him being deployed.  

My mother-in-law is coming out this weekend.  It will be a short trip, but just long enough to give me a little break from the isolation that I sometimes feel here.  It will be nice having her here to watch Ryan while I do the things I've been  too busy to do (or just neglecting) like giving a good scrub to my bathroom. 

While this post may seem like I'm unhappy, I'm actually very  happy even though I sometimes feel lonely.  I feel very lucky with my life.  Everyday I think about and reflect upon how I got to where I am and how I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.