Wyatt is a growing boy!

We just came back from Wyatt's 4 month check up. He did fantastically!! He was a bit grumpy since he didn't sleep hardly at all last night and was refusing to nap. So instead of being his happy, smiley self, he looked at the doc with his lower lip out on the verge of crying the whole time.


He came in at 15 lbs, 2 oz. and 24 3/4" long. He is in the 60th percentile all around. He's very healthy and gaining well. The pediatrician said we could start rice cereal, but I think we are going to hold off. There is absolutely no reason to right now. He's healthy, he's gaining weight well, he's happy. I don't think we need to introduce solid foods. She said that it was just for "practice" to learn how to eat with a spoon and when he's 6 months, I need to introduce veggies. She mentioned that many breastfed babies have a hard time transitioning to spoons so that's why she suggests the rice cereal so that he can take to solids a bit better in 2 months. I asked if there was any real hurry or deadline and if he had trouble and didn't really get it down until 9+ months then is that a problem? She said no. Since he's doing so well, I think we are just going to stick with what we are doing for now.

In the last 2 days, Wyatt has starting rolling a LOT. He has started using rolling as a mode of transportation. It's wierd to set him down and when I look back, he's not where I left him! He's starting to scoot a bit too, but its not realy intentional. We are staying with Adriana right now and Wyatt is getting some quality time in with his girlfriend in. She is still stealing his pacifier and smashing him with love. It's adorable!! He is much happier when she is around. The only sad part is that when one of them cries, the other one gets very sad too. So, we get crying in stereo. It's still adorable. Right now as I type, she is trying to shove his pacifier up his nose and he's grinning from ear to ear. She loves to rub his head and tries to grab the peach fuzz that is posing as his hair. He likes to hold her hands (though, it may just be to keep her hands from stealing the pacifier... we're not sure).

The next few days will be very busy. I will be out of the area by Friday afternoon. I am looking forward to it, but sad to be leaving so many new and old friends.

Let's get this party started

Well, we have started Iraq Chapter 3 for our family. David got going with no major hiccups or issues. It was a crazy busy day (heavy on the crazy), and time is never enough in these situations. I don't know if I should say "fortunately" or "unfortunately"... but I'm getting used to this and it is getting easier. It's nice to have the confidence in myself to know that I will be ok. I have a plan. I know that it is going to be a good year. David's crew is a fantastic team and I know they are going to accomplish great things and also become a cohesive team. There are several spouses who I have met and we have a great time together!! Today two other girls spent today with me to help us distract ourselves! (We did a little damage at IKEA---yaayyy for retail therapy!)

The day started with a bang. We got up and loaded up the truck with David's ruck sack (I think that was heavier than me!), his duffel bag, and Cory. We all headed to David's office intending to just drop him off. However, a little man named Wyatt decided he was hungry RIGHT NOW. So all of us piled out of the truck and into David's office (including Cory) to give Wyatt more breakfast. From there Wyatt, Cory, and I got BACK into the truck and we headed to the boarding kennel. I got Cory dropped off (and it only took 3 trips to the truck & back--I just don't have a lot of arms--one holds the baby and that means very little room left for cargo). He is spending a few days at the kennel to stay out from under foot with all the packing & moving. After all that, we headed BACK to David's office just in time for lunch. We were able to escape back to the apartment to pick up a few more things to throw into a tough box for David (instead of me having to mail it) and then went to lunch. David wanted Cracker Barrel and some chicken fried steak & eggs. I got a little choked up there as the reality of the day started to settle in. We didn't have a lot of time to be sappy though--it was back to work for David. We got back on post and the flurry of activity began. He dropped off his bags at the gym, ran to the office for the tough box, ran to the TMC to drop off records, back to the gym to put his pocket knives in his bags, back to the office to clean up some emails, then into the van to go check weapons. This is where we went separate ways. David had to go get his weapon, I went to get something to drink and start waiting for him at the gym.

It was more than an hour before David was able to join us at the gym. Once he got there, there was more busyness. We did a casing ceremony of the colors, then had just a few more minutes together. We said our good-byes and then they all filed out to the bus. And he was gone. It was sad, but it was manageable. I tear ed up, but I didn't sob or get too upset. I joked with some of the girls, and then we headed out (after all the buses were out of sight). One of the girls came over last night and we just had a really good visit.

Today I moved us out of the apartment and came to Adriana's house. I don't know what I would do without Adriana. She continually saves the day. I might have to make her a superhero cape!! She came to help get us out of the apartment, and then gave me her giant king size bed to camp out on for the next few days. We decided to get out of town, so we went to IKEA. It's quite an experience!! I did a little bit of damage and had a lot of fun!! It was great hanging out with the girls and it was a fantastic way to divert my brain.

I can tell that there are a lot of people praying for us. It's very evident. I've been doing so well and while it's not been super easy, it's definitely easier than the deployment departures in the past. Wyatt is doing amazing and we are more than ok! I'm sure reality will set in one of these days, but for now we are doing fantastically and just focused on everything coming up. THANK YOU all for your prayers. Please know that God has made Himself known every day and I appreciate all of your prayers so very much.

Wyatt's first birthday party!

Wyatt has a girlfriend. Her name is Elizabeth. She hugs him (well, grabs his head and squeezes it, or she grabs him and lays her head on him--SO ADORABLE!!). She kisses him (well, slobbers him really). She hits him on the face & head in excitement. She steals his pacifiers. It's love. :)

We celebrated Elizabeth's first birthday party last night. Wyatt had a great time being passed around and spend a good amount of time getting "loved on" by the birthday girl. I have a lot of pictures from the party, but our internet at the apartment is lousy. I thought I'd show you a picture of the 3 of us and as soon as I have decent internet I will share more pictures from the birthday party.

David's departure is rapidly approaching and he will be gone very soon. Please keep us in your prayers as we are trying to accomplish all of the errands, spend some quality time together, and enjoy the time instead of stress about how short it is. Pray for David. He's having a hard time leaving his little boy behind. Pray for me to have the strength to accomplish everything next week after David leaves.

A rough day today...

Something I wrote for the book my mom is making:
Grandpa was always a pushover for little kids. No matter how gruff or grumpy he wanted to be, a little kid would always have the upper hand. This was evident in the way he'd always let me (or any of us grandkids) climb into that big brown chair with the brass rivets to sit on his lap for hours on end. He was always inviting us on to his lap, no matter how many of us there were. Grandpa could fit 3-4 kids on that lap!! I remember him taking us on trips to see grandma at her cafe and he'd always get us a donut even when he had protested the entire drive over there that we weren't getting anything to eat, just going to say hi to grandma. The biggest evidence of little kids getting what they want was the candy drawer! It was never empty and if it was lacking in a specific candy, the next time we came over it was magically there. Grandpa would override moms & dads to let us have "just a mug full" of m&m's, or "just one more" snickers bar. Grandpa remained a pushover even with his great-grandson. Even though his memory had started to fade and he was growing very tired in his old age, he lit up brighter than the Central Park Christmas tree when he held my son, Wyatt. That big old tough guy melted and smiled the biggest smile I'd seen since his wedding to Fran. He coo'd and talked and made faces at Wyatt for hours. He reminisced about the times he used to hold me and play with me just like that. He didn't want to share with anyone and it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. That was the last time I saw my grandpa--the grandpa I remember from my growing up years who loved openly and was absolutely enchanted by the little babies that made up his family.

Wyatt loves his daddy!

so much to catch up on...

It has been VERY VERY busy around here lately. There is a lot to update you on and it's not all good news. It's not all bad news, either. Just a lot of news in general.

First, Big Grandpa passed away this week. Thankfully he & Fran made it to their 8th anniversary and she spent his last night with him before he passed. He was in a lot of pain and had quit eating and talking. It's good to know he is finally out of pain. The funeral will be next week and we will not be able to attend. It is very very close to David's departure and it's impossible to be everywhere. I will just have to experience it through pictures. I am just so thankful that I said my "good byes" to him in April when he met Wyatt.

Secondly, things are gearing up for David's departure. We are down to single-digit of days before he has to do some globe trotting for his 3rd combat tour. Our to-do list seems endless, the nights are short, the sleep isn't good, and next thing you know he'll be gone. I had purchased a ticket for my friend, Elizabeth, to come help me drive. This is the first time the Army has changed a departure to give me MORE time. Now I have to figure out her ticket and hopefully it will work out without costing too much money. I haven't had the brain space to think about it.

Our little apartment has had no internet for over a week now. It's driving me a bit crazy since I'm up to my ears in rosters, deployment plans, and more. This weekend we are staying at Adriana & Eric's house to stay with their dogs. It's a nice break from the apartment and it's nice to be able to help them out while they take a weekend away together.

Wyatt is doing amazing! I put him in our johnny jumper this week and he had a great time! He's slowly figuring it out and he likes being upright and seeing all around. The first few times he made himself bounce, he scared himself. After that, he realized how much fun it was! He can stay in it for about 15 minutes before he gets tired. He's starting to giggle and he's laughed once. David wasn't around for when he was laughing, but I'm hoping he'll do it again.










We were in Dallas last week (was that just a week ago??) for some flight training for David. We stopped by to see Aunt June. She's in the hospital for now, but it was a good visit. She was absolutely enchanted with Wyatt and he did great. Aunt June is Wyatt's Great-Great-Aunt. So we told the nurses that she was his "Greatest Aunt June."






Wyatt is getting stronger every day. He's getting better about car rides and starting to state his own opinions. He does not work himself into being angry. He goes from zero-to-angry in about 1.2 seconds. This kid does not mess around. Fortunately, if I solve it quick enough (for example, if it takes me too long to get him latched on to nurse, he's mad... but once he's getting fed...), then he's quickly happy again. HOWEVER, if he has to stay mad for a while, he holds a grudge. The other night we were at a meeting and we left a bit late. He decided shortly after he was buckled in that he was hungry. We had to get home, so I figured we'd make it. He was MAD MAD MAD!! He sobbed like I've never heard before and screamed and got so angry! Even after I had him latched on, he was still mad. He'd take a few bites, break off, look at me and then scream in anger. If he could have figured out how to eat without actually having to touch me, he would have been happy. It took him 30 minutes before he wasn't mad at me anymore. I am thinking that we have a lot of lessons in forgiveness in our future.

I can't believe my time in TX is almost over. On one hand, it seems like we've been here forever. On the other, it seems like we just got here. It's been a big 3 months and I'm exhausted. I'm looking forward to getting to AZ, riding my horse, getting this deployment going so we can get it behind us. I have a lot of goals for this year and I'm ready to get to AZ so I can tackle them. I haven't been able to visit with everyone I wanted. I haven't been able to do some of the touristy things I wanted (the broken ankle didn't really help with that...). I'm ready to get out of here, but I'm sad that what I wanted to happen didn't happen.

There is so much going on here. I have no way to keep you all up. Plus, it's just not that interesting. Just keep us in your prayers as we prepare for David to leave. It will be hard on both of us this time.

Mom, put down the camera. I'm not in the mood.

Yesterday, I tortured my kid by making him "pose" for pictures. He was NOT in the mood (see above pic). That didn't slow me down one bit. Poor kid. I thought I'd share a few of what we did.

































This one is my favorite. Such a sweet baby (as I type that, he's yelling at me....):

Swimming!!

The first day at our hotel here in Dallas, Wyatt & I jumped into the pool. He LOVED it!! We had a really good time. David was there to take pictures and watch Wyatt take his first dip. We are probably going to jump in again today and enjoy the water. It's been very hot here and the pool is indoors. We don't have to worry about getting sunburnt. It's a nice bonus to this hotel.

I thought I'd share some pictures. I think this little guy is going to be a fish. He loves bath time, he loved the pool... maybe we have an Olympic swimmer! :)

mommy, I'm so tired. Please leave me alone

My poor kid... I just wanted to take some pictures. :)

More to come later!

Independence Day (and more pictures!)

We had a very relaxing Independence Day! We all slept in (even Wyatt!) and had a very leisurely morning. We loaded up and went shopping for a video camera, had a delicious lunch, more shopping, then we went to the rodeo in Belton. It was a very relaxing day. We had a good time even though it was ridiculously hot outside. We spent all of the day inside, so it worked out.


Wyatt enjoyed his first rodeo so much, he slept right through it! The rodeo started at 7pm. Wyatt is normally headed for bed around 8. We had a big day, so he was tuckered out. The sound was incredibly loud and it was physically painful to my ears. I was worried about Wyatt's little ear drums--if he's going to lose his hearing to sound damage, at least let it be his own choice, not because I wanted to go to a rodeo when he was 3 months old. The rodeo was indoors, so the sound just reverberated off of everything. Wyatt spent the evening with a blanket wadded up around his ears. I'm hoping that was enough of a muffler. He was not happy about his ears being covered, but he eventually fell asleep. He slept pretty well, but he'd jump and make faces every time the buzzer went off for the rough-stock events.


The rodeo was an evening rodeo and didn't finish until almost 10pm! We didn't get to see fireworks this year. It was a bit disappointing, but we weren't too upset. It really was miserably hot and fireworks are an outdoor activity. We saw a few fireworks on the drive home from people setting them off in their yards. That was kind of fun. Over all, we had a good Independence Day and a very fun weekend.

For now, we are headed up to Dallas for David to get some flight time in. I'm confident I can find some good shopping up there. haha!! The hotel we are staying at has an indoor pool. I am planning for Wyatt & me to get some good swimming time in--it will be the first time in a pool for him. I might be able to convince David to do the pool tonight so that he can take pictures of us. He will be working the entire week, so tonight is the only chance to have a photographer. I need to go get us packed so we can drop Cory off at the boarding place and we can hit the road!

OH--most importantly... I know you want to see pictures. HERE (click the word "here") are a few from the last several weeks. These pictures were mostly taken by my mom. I've taken a few since she left, but not nearly as many.

Wyatt rolled over!!

He did it twice even!! I set him down on his tummy (which he HATES) and he flipped over right away. I wasn't going to count that because it happened so fast, I figured it had to be because of the way we set him down. I flipped him back over and shortly after that, he rolled to his back again. This time I wasn't touching him at all, so I figure we can give him credit for it. I've since flipped him back to his tummy and he's TICKED, but not rolling over. So it was probably an accident, but kinda cool at the same time. He's getting pretty good and pushing his head up to look around when he's on his tummy. But, he really really hates being on his tummy.