Already a battle of the wills...

I never thought it would start this early. But it has. Wyatt & I disagree and we are BOTH determined to get our way. Wyatt wants to be a thumb-sucker. I am absolutely opposed to it. I have about 47 pacifiers in this house and he can have any style or color he wants of those. However, he'd rather have his thumb. I'd rather he have a pacifier because it is better for the development of his mouth (don't have a thumb pulling against the roof of his mouth), and mainly because you can take a pacifier away. You cannot take a thumb away. Wyatt is quick! He gets that thumb in there fast. I'm not sure if he's teething already because the boy has some drool! He is a drool factory right now and he really wants his fists and anything else in his mouth at all times. He even will chomp on his hands through socks or sleeves. I keep pulling out his hand and popping in the pacifier. He'll go with the pacifier for a bit, but seems to prefer his hands. I just hope I am more determined than he is about this. The only bad part is that I cannot constantly be on thumb-patrol. I've got stuff to do!

In other news... It's still crazy busy around here. Let me just summarize the last 7 days:
Wednesday--got my cast off, returned my scooter, picked up dad from the Airport in Austin.
Thursday--breakfast with David so dad could see him, time with mom and dad, then they get sent off.
Friday--Family Day at the lake for David's unit
Saturday--an AWESOME visit with Tom & Sheila who came up from Houston.
Sunday--church with a potluck, finishing up the family book for deployment that has consumed me for the past month
Monday--Wyatt & I spent ALL DAY at the unit to create & construct the books for deployment. Wyatt did amazing! I wore him all morning and he slept for 3 hours while I worked. Then he hung out in his stroller and was content all day! Now I am convinced this kid doesn't belong to me!! haha!! After we finished what we could of the books, it was time for our pre-deployment brief.
Tuesday--Today I am catching my breath! Wyatt & I slept until 9. We were both exhausted after yesterday (we all got home after 9pm!). I have about 4 loads of laundry to fold, I am desperately behind in cleaning, and I need to get bills paid.

Starting tomorrow, I have to take the FRG leadership courses for the next 2 days (again... I took it 5 years ago and I have plenty of experience, but it was "highly encouraged"). Then we have a 4 day weekend, then we are off to Dallas for David to get some flying done.

As always, I know that I need to share pictures of the little guy. I know that's the only reason some of you even read this--just to see the pictures. Of course, who knows if you are even reading this part, this could all just be filler around the pictures for you... So to keep you happy, here are some of my fav's. I have been REALLY bad about taking pictures this last week (I cannot imagine why, I've had absolutely nothing going on...).

Family play time on the floor.

Wyatt was soooo tired, but really didn't want to fall asleep!

Love this shirt from Aunt Miriam!!

He is a very happy baby!!

FINALLY asleep. He fights it sooo hard!

Got some big Praises to do...

I always love it when doctors are surprised. I KNOW I have a lot of people praying for me. I know that we are so abundantly blessed with so many wonderful people in our life. I know God answers prayer!

I got my cast off yesterday. The next step was supposed to be a walking boot for 2-6 weeks. Then PT with a brace (flexible) and then I'd be done. We did the x-rays and he came in and said that it healed REALLY well. He said that I could do the walking boot (completely immobilizing the ankle) or I could skip ahead to the lace-up flexible splint. He really felt like the boot was not necessary at all. He said that I can slowly put more and more weight on it over the next 3-4 days, then just keep walking. Once I'm fully weight-bearing without pain, then I can drive. He said 2-3 weeks! PLUS, I don't have to do PT!! He gave me a resistance band, a few exercises to do and sent me on my way. I don't have to see him again unless I have problems. He said he doesn't expect to ever see me again!! He is a fantastic doctor and he was wonderful through all of this. I'm really sore now. The cast had me pain-free for almost a month now. I had some incision pain, but that's about it. Without the cast, I can really feel the sprain that came at the same time as the break. I'm also having a hard time easing myself into weight-bearing. I'd love to just jump in. Today I probably did too much. I'm pretty achy. The muscles are very very sore and weak. It's not horrible, but it's a bit annoying. It is nice to be able to set this foot down completely while on the crutches. I've already returned my scooter. I am hoping to be walking by Sunday!

We've also found a church here that I really like. The people have been so great and very friendly. Several people have personally offered to come drive me anywhere, cook a meal, sit and visit, or anything I need. It is wonderful especially since we've only gone there for the last 3 weeks. I really look forward to Sunday mornings. I'm glad we found some place where we can feel like we fit in even though it is for such a short time.

Another great thing... I've been doing FRG (Family Readiness Group) for several years. I've done 2 full deployments as a leader, and another deployment as a support volunteer. Last time, I had a very hard time finding enough volunteers. This time, we have plenty of volunteers who are excited and ready to tackle FRG!! This is so encouraging to me! I've been working on a deployment handbook for families and it's really coming together. I think we have a great group of people.

I just thought it would be nice to have a post about all the good things happening here in TX. God has been very good to us. Even though we have had so many challenges and "speed bumps" it's all going really well. God has answered so many prayers, I cannot even count them. Thank you again for all your prayers, support, encouragement, notes, and calls. You have helped more than you know!

Still alive & kickin'

Hello all!! I feel like I've fallen off the face of the earth. I know that I am dreadfully out of touch with most of you. I've been drowning in "life" and I haven't been the greatest friend right now. I haven't been up for much phone chatting and I haven't been good about sending emails or cards. Heck, I still haven't written my thank you notes from my baby showers. I promise that all of you are on my mind and in my heart. Please accept my apologies for being so terrible at staying in touch over the last several months.

Updates:
On Wednesday I will get this cast off!! I'm stoked! I won't be completely up and around, but I will be walking. I will get a walking cast. It's more like a moon-boot. It's something I can take on and off, but it will keep my ankle still completely immobile. BUT--I can shower! I can walk! I can hold my baby & move at the same time! I can cook dinner! I won't be able to drive. I don't know if I can swim. I have a lot of Q's for the doc and most of my plans cannot be made until we get some answers from him. Dad is flying in Wed. night and he & mom will depart Thursday morning. I'm a bit sad about mom leaving. It's been really nice having her here. She's been a huge help and the last month+ would have been absolutely miserable without her help!

Wyatt is doing amazing. He's growing so fast I can't believe it. He's becoming his own little person. He is starting to loose that newborn cry and get a deeper, more opinionated cry. It's cute and sad at the same time. It truly amazes me how fast time is going. Between my little boy growing up and my husband preparing to depart, time seems to be on turbo speed.

The biggest thing is another prayer request. I know I've had to ask for a lot of these lately. Please know that your prayers really do make a difference. I've been doing so well and I've healed fast and I've had a great outlook. We've been able to accomplish so much and God has provided in ways that we didn't even know to expect. Now... I need more.

We got some tough news this week. You all got to "meet" my grandpa. Well, "Big Gpa" is not doing well. They have discovered a tumor in his liver. It's very rapidly progressing. I don't have a lot of information, but I know that the doctor doesn't think he has much longer with us. He is in the hospital right now. I don't really know a whole lot. Grandpa's dementia and Alzheimer's is so bad that he really doesn't understand what's going on. He doesn't know he has cancer and I don't think he will be told. He's just going to be told that he's going to hospice to get stronger. He's a fighter and one of the strongest and most obstinate men I've ever met. Gpa's been fighting sickness for my entire life. He's defied the odds more times than I can count. Who knows what he will do this time. Please pray for him. Pray for pain management. Pray that he will make it all the way to his wedding anniversary. Pray for his wife (Fran). Pray a lot for Fran. She has been the best thing to ever happen to Gpa. She is absolutely devastated at the news and she is struggling with her health as well. Please pray for my dad. I cannot imagine losing my dad and he's now in that situation. This will be so hard on him. It's already been hard on everyone seeing how confused Gpa has gotten and how much he just doesn't feel good. Please pray that Gpa can hold out until after David deploys so that I can maybe see him one more time.

I don't want this to just been a heavy-hearted post. I will share some pictures of my amazing little man. He's the light of my life. We are having so much fun with him. I never imagined how FUN he would be! I knew it would be amazing, but I never thought it would be fun this soon! I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Packing up...

Wyatt has grown out of all of his 0-3 month clothes. I'm amazed and sad all at the same time. I went through all of his clothes today to box up all the tiny stuff. It's all so tiny and cute and I remember when it was all too big for him. He didn't get to wear some of those little outfits more than 2 or 3 times. It's all just so adorable! I can't believe that I'm already packing away part of his history.

Wyatt is still amazing and doing very wonderful. The zantac is the miracle drug! He hasn't been colicky since we started it. Our evenings are spent listening to coo's and seeing smiles. Wyatt is very smiley. He's a very happy little guy and the bright spot in my day. He loves to snuggle and be snuggled. I've been wearing him as much as we can. I love wearing him and I'm getting addicted to wraps! I'm having to rein myself in. I'd love to go buy more and more--then I could coordinate with my outfits!

Wyatt is still sleeping through the night. I'm in shock. I don't know who's kid this is, but I'd like to keep him! I never slept through the night. I didn't think MY kid would be sleeping this soon. I figure our second kid will be the kid I deserve. Wyatt loves his bath time and if he's having a bad night, all we have to do is put him in a bath. I thought I'd share some of his bath time.

He still hasn't giggled/laughed yet. He's so close to it. David is TDY this week and I'm hoping that Wyatt won't giggle until his daddy can see it. David will miss out on so many firsts, I really want him to be here for this one. Please pray that Wyatt will save his giggles for Daddy and that Daddy will be home when he does.

All Wrapped up...

I finally got around to making a sleepy wrap. I first discovered/heard of one when reading Erin's blog and she was sporting her twins in one. I was looking for one to buy, but did some googling and found very easy instructions. Mom & I went to Hobby Lobby today and got everything I needed. It's just a really big piece of fabric. After a few youtube videos of instruction, we were ready to go. Wyatt loves it, I love it, and now I can cruise on my buggy with Wyatt! Check us out!

Check out my new wheels!

I have a knee walker! Ever heard of one? I hadn't. My friend Robyn suggested it to me. I started doing some research and I found one in Georgetown. I could have gotten one off the 'net, but it was $140/month rental. I found the one in Gtwn for $70/month and I could get it that same day! My right shoulder has been giving me some problems and since that is the shoulder that took the hit, I'm not surprised. The crutches were killing me. I got this new buggy yesterday and it's been WONDERFUL. I have a little bit more independence, but leave it to me to even fall off of a set of 4 wheels. It was right in the store too! I was wearing flip flops (when you only wear one, is it just "flip flop?") and as I scooted myself forward, the back wheel caught the back of the shoe. Down I went. I like to leave lasting impressions! The buggy isn't stable enough or easy enough to carry Wyatt, but I can atleast make my own bowl of cereal and it's a lot easier to fit through the hallway!

Today we took it easy. It's been a busy couple of weeks since mom got here. Today I just wanted to stay in the house--so we did. I started to get bored and ended up doodling on my cast. I thought I'd show you what I came up with. :)

And of course, my handsome little man is growing and he's so stinking adorable. I just had to share a picture of him from yesterday. We got him in his little bucket hat for a day outside. He actually left the hat on!

Wyatt meets "Big Grandpa" & "GGpa"

I'm trying to get myself caught up on blogs. I've been meaning to share these pictures for quite a while now! However, the last few weeks have been a bit busy. haha!

When Wyatt was just 21 days old, we all headed to AZ. While there, I wanted to make sure that Wyatt got to meet & get some pictures with both of his Great Grandfathers. Since Wyatt is not the first great grandchild on either side, the names for both of them have been previously chosen. We call Great Grandpa Ed (Kristina's Maternal Gpa) "GGpa," using the initials from "Great" & "Grandpa." Great Grandpa Bane (Kristina's Paternal Gpa) goes by "Big Grandpa." Now, this is not a commentary on anyone's size... at least it isn't now. Back in the day when my great grandmother was alive, we called her "Big Grandma." The reason being that Grandma Charlotte was a peanut of a woman at 5'1" (with big shoes on) and Great Grandma Hester was much taller at 5'10". In my mind, that was one taaaaallll lady! Both gma's lived in the same house with Big Gma living downstairs. Since they lived in the same house, "Grandma" just wasn't sufficient. To differentiate, we came up with "Big Grandma" for Big Gma. Both of those ladies were very skinny, but to me, Big Gma was an amazon of a woman. Well, the tradition has just stayed with the Bane side and my Gpa goes by "Big Grandpa" now.

Big Grandpa was absolutely enchanted with Wyatt. His memory has started to go, but the day we were with him he was very lucid and he was glowing as soon as I put Wyatt in his arms. He talked to Wyatt & coo'd at him for at least an hour. I will always remember the smile on his face when Gpa got to meet my son! Gpa could not get enough of Wyatt. It was great because Gpa told me about when I was little and how I'd sit on his lap for hours when I was that tiny. We had a great time visiting and I had Vicky take a bunch of pictures! Big Grandma Fran had to be convinced to hold Wyatt, but once she had him, she had the most beautiful smile on her face. She let Gpa spend the most time with Wyatt, but I'm pretty sure she fell in love with Wyatt too.

GGpa also enjoyed his time with Wyatt. He snuggled with Wyatt and talked to him for several minutes. I think Wyatt is great-grandchild number 17! With each one, Ggpa's heart just about bursts with pride & love. I was so thrilled being able to share my son with him! I'm looking forward to the time Wyatt will get to spend with his great grandparents when we move back to AZ in the fall.

I will get a photo album uploaded soon to share all the pictures of Wyat with his "Greats." :)