Thanksgiving

Is a time for family, friends and good food! While we really don't have any family or friends in the area, we were fortunate enough to have Jamie's aunt and family come to town to visit. They weren't here to see us, but the other side of the family ( of which we've never met). THey invited us to their home for Thanksgiving dinner. While I was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing-being that i do NOT like to be around people that i don't know- i was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as comfortable as being with immediate family, but they did their best to make us feel at home. We received hugs upon arrival, and when leaving. We had a nice time visiting with family that we haven't seen in years- mainly Jamie and Daren (cousins) since I did get to see Kathy, Emily and Mason just a couple months ago in Colorado. Next year i think we'll be "home" and perhaps be fortunate enough to have our own dinner party, but until then... the above pictures will have to do.

Mid Week Monotony

We had Ayden's one year doctors appointment today. He is getting so big! He now weighs 22 pounds (40th percentile), is 30 inches long (60th percentile) and has an 18 inch circumference on that big old head of his :) guess he's gotta have some place to store all those brains! Doctor says he's perfect, and very smart. I already knew he was smart, but it was nice to hear none the less. He has more words than the average 2 year old! Yep, that means he's a full year ahead in his vocal development. We also talked about Eli only going potty if we make him sit every 30minutes. She agrees that it is just because he is 3.... he knows hes suppose to go potty on the big boy potty, but doesn't want to interrupt his play to do it. She said if he was 5 and doing that, then she'd be concerned, but its perfectly normal for a 3 year old. Thats a relief! I was starting to think he was just too stubborn to do it. Nope, just too lazy! I told her about Ayden's interest in the potty, and she thinks we should go for it....Wouldn't that be nice? having BOTH of my boys potty trained in the next couple of months? Now if we could only get thru the nights without any accidents we'd be good! Both boys have appointments in January... That will not be a good day, as they BOTH have shots to get. oh and did i mention that daddy won't be here? NICE! yeah, not so much.... we are not looking forward to that appointment.

Dinner tonight: Chili Bread! mmmm
Looking out the back door: I see frost. Yes, you read right, FROST! The sun is shining and you'd think that its warm out, then you glance at the vehicles and they are all dusting with a nice layer of frost.... so cold....
Today im thankful for: a good nights sleep. Thats two nights in a row that Ayden has let his mama sleep! while he was up at 4 this morning, he just needed his bottle, and a good snuggle, we went back to sleep until 8! YAY!
Plans for today: finishing up laundry, meeting a gal who wants to by my bouncer seat, printing off pictures for the Grandparents calendars, running to the store to grab a bottle of wine to take to Thanksgiving in Poulsbo, finishing making our "wish lists" and looking for a potty chair for Ayden.

Oh me, oh my things are changing fast!

Up until 3 months ago we thought that we would in fact be in the military for life. And we had accepted that fate. Although we have always felt that there was more for us elsewhere, we just didn't know where. Until now. Jamie and I have been praying about what to do, where to go and when to do it all, for the better part of a year. We had "heard" something, but weren't sure if it was because we were being selfish or if it was in fact what we were suppose to be doing. Because of some changes, and our constant meditation on the subject, we now feel that this is what God has planned for us. What is that plan you ask?

I can't tell you that just yet. We have told many people some of our tenative plans and then they fall through for one reason or another and we don't want this to be another one of those things. We are going to keep our mouths shut until we have something more concrete. I will say, that we will be moving from Seattle sometime this summer. By Spring I should be able to tell everyone where we will be going, but for now, we'll just leave it with, its not Seattle :)

With so much changing on the job front, Im grateful that things on the home front have slowed a bit. Were still working on the potty thing with Eli.... For some reason he seems to forget that he needs to go potty on the big boy. I am CONSTANTLY reminding him that its time to try... Thats fine, I have the patience for it, Im just starting to wonder, how long is it going to last? Everytime I say, Eli its time to go potty, Ayden RUNS to the bathroom door. Maybe i should consider potty training him now too? I mean, hey, cleaning up ALL the accidents at once would be better than having to do this all over again in a year and a half right?!?!
Ayden is very vocal now, saying mama, dada, bubba, car, go, this, eat, snack, bye bye, hi, more, milk, cup, down, up, play, ball and UH HUH... hasn't figured out the NO yet, but he repeats EVERYTHING that we say. Hes a little monkey, climbing on EVERYTHING. He's figured out how to get on to our dining room chairs now... Unfortunatly for him, we push them in, so once he gets up, he's stuck. Hes still not sleeping thru the night, and Im at a loss as to what to do. He wants to nurse. And i keep thinking he's too old for that! BUT then i remind myself, that I nursed Eli (comfort nursed) until he was 15 months. Then he decided it slowed him down and he was done. Why does the second child have to be so much harder? J and i joke that if we'd had Ayden first, there wouldn't be a second child yet!

Oops, theres my one year old, stuck behind the sectional again, and the big brother trying (unsuccessfully) to help get him out... These are the days of MY life!

Sleep, sweet sleep.

We have had a very...... interesting Novemeber thus far. Apparently the wee hours of the morning are the best times for 1 year olds to be awake. Ayden has decided that he doesn't need to sleep anymore. He only takes ONE nap a day, and the most it ever is, is maybe 45 minutes. We put him to bed between 8 and 9 and then for some crazy reason he's up somewhere between 1 and 2... Now I'm not talking up as in, he needs a bottle and a diaper change and he goes back to sleep, were talking UP FOR HOURS!!! And the crazy thing is, he doesn't seem tired the next day. Take last night for example.... he got a total of 7 hours of sleep...yet today, he is happy and acting his normal self... I just don't know where he has this energy stored... If i find it, Im going to borrow some because its wearing me out! Tears... I was in tears this morning over it all... When you're overly tired i suppose the tears just come a little easier. Mama always says... This too shall pass. I just need to remember that!

Eli is a great almost 3 year old. Jamie and i are constantly having to remind ourselves that he's ONLY 2. Hes such a great helper that i think we tend to forget, he's really still a LITTLE guy too. Its unreal how fast he's growing. Spelling his name, singing his ABC's, starting to write, he knows his colors, shapes, and even recognizes some letters. Seems like just last week i was helping him get his balance. He's AMAZING with his brother. Yes, they do fight a little, but for the most part, Eli is REALLY patient. At times having the boys so close together is difficult, but man is it worth it!

Jamie and I are doing well. We have many things that we are praying about and contiplating. Seems that we have a clear direction, and now all we need is some follow through. Soon we will know where our next stop in life is, and I am very excited about taking this step in faith. Please continue to pray that we are HEARING Him clearly, and not being clouded by our own selfish desires.

I promise, im going to start doing this Blog thing more, we just got a computer desk last night, so now I can be in the same room with the boys without sitting on the floor while im on the computer! YAY!