My Daddies Jet

As an Air Force wife I've followed my husband from Florida to Ohio and all the way out to the High Desert where he now gets to fly F-16 fighter jets and I am totally jealous. So when he came home last night with an envelope and said here you go I was curious as to what was inside. Yep! it was pictures of him and his jet"his names right there" and as an FTE this is pretty cool. He has been super busy these days with tests and other projects and now a new job title of "Flight Commander". I am so proud of him and his accomplishments these fast few years. Congratulations Honey!! All your hard work is paying off.

September

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend!! We have enjoyed having daddy home for 4 days to play with. I can't believe it's already September and we are counting down the days to the SETP conference at Disney Land
http://www.setp.org/HTML/Symposia/losangeles.htm. We can't wait for Nana and Papa to get here to help out while mommy and daddy are busy with cocktail parties and events. It will be Ben's first trip to Disney Land I know he'll only be 10months old but he knows who Mickey Mouse is so I can't wait to see his face take in all the lights and colors, and mommy is ready to ride some roller coasters!!!

The man in charge

I just couldn't resist putting these two photos up of him. The black and white one Adam took this morning, not bad daddy!

Running Through the House

Thought you might like to see just what goes on in our house when Ben is getting ready for bed and on his way into the tubby. It has become he and daddies nightly routine for him to go "running through the house naked" while Adam is yelling WooooHooooo!!!!!! naked baby running through the house!!!! over and over again. I'm sure our duplex neighbors are wondering what the nightly yelling is all about :)

Enjoy my crazy crazy men!!

Growing up so fast

~Ben had his 9 month well baby yesterday and man is he growing like a weed. He is now 20# 3 oz and 29 3/4 inches long. He has mastered the ability to crawl and is now quickly moving on to the standing shuffle. I know he will be running in no time. He has been making new friend at the CDC on base every Wednesday and so far he is doing good. He was so excited to see me this afternoon when I went to get him that he started to cry. They said he was a little sad today while he was there :( I was told this is all normal until they get used to the surroundings and all the other kids. I know it will help him adjust a little faster going once a week instead of just a random drop off for meetings and functions but it's still going to be hard to leave him next time knowing he was sad.

~Marlins thank you for giving us the cool car. It has become Ben's favorite and we now take our nightly walk with it. The first night he rode in it we walked with the Reinhardts and Ella(she is the little girl I nannied during TPS)she wanted a turn so Adam took Ben out for a minute and let Ella have a go at it. After 2 min or so and Ella having a blast in his car he was not happy. All the sudden he turns bright red, scrunches his face and starts to yell. Adam looked at me and I looked at him and then looked at Ella's parents and we all thought the same thing. Hey chick get out of my car!!!!!! We have a feeling this red hair of his is going to give us a run for the money.

Sunday afternoon

Anyone close to me knows I love Sonic. While we were in Palmdale today running our typical Sunday errands we noticed a Sonic being built in front of Walmart Super center off 10th street. I am so jazzed about this and can't wait to get those Cherry Limeades Yummo!!!! We also noticed a Buffalo Wild Wings going up across the street. Now all we need is a Chic Fil A and I will be set :)

I can't believe my baby is 9 months old today! Seriously where has the time gone? It seems like just last week he was only a few weeks old. I watch him everyday and notice that he is not much of a baby anymore :( he has turned into such a funny little dude! At any moment he will look at you smile real big and then laugh as if you just said the funniest joke. Sometimes all I want to do is just squeeze him and make him laugh.

I bought a new book today call "Bringing up boys" It had a poem in it that I fell in love with and so I leave it with you.

That Little Boy of Mine:

Two eyes that shine so bright,
Two lips that kiss goodnite,
Two arms that hold me tight,
That little boy of mine.

No one could ever know how much your coming has
meant.
Because I love you so, you're something heaven
has sent.

You're all the world to me.
You climb upon my knee.
To me you'll always be,
That little boy of mine.

One week

So I actually made it posting for a whole week. It definitely made the week go by better. Ben went to his first birthday party today at "The Jungle Zone" here on base. It's an indoor play area for the kids to play at during the summer months because it gets so hot outside. Ben had fun watching the older kids run around and his buddy David Starr was there. David just turned 1yr last Sunday and is already walking so Ben's very motivated to get moving also.



On the subject of Ben moving we had official crawling movements this afternoon. Adam and I tried our hardest to get decent motion on video but it seemed like every time we would pull out the camera he would just stop and look at us. At least he's figured it out and is now on his way :) Go Ben Go!!!

TGIF

The longest week of my life is now almost over. I am so glad it's Friday!!!! My day has been pretty low key so far. I took Darla to the vet today to have her ear looked at and she definitely has an ear infection. The vet thinks it's an allergy either to the environment, food or even both. We passed on doing the $200 labs to prove what we already know and I am now trying to increase her Fish Oil consumption. She has quite the regiment for her ear right now with wash, ointment, steroids and then eventually something long term for the allergy. We have to go back in 2 weeks to make sure her eardrum is still in tact and it's healing nicely. hopefully she'll feel better soon, it's so sad to see her these days just laying around the house with her left ear hanging. I know she'll feel better in a few days.

What a Day!

My Thursday post is coming a little late because it has been a very busy day. Ben had his first day at the CDC and did great. He refused to eat or nap so when I got there at 12:00 to get him I knew he was hungry and tired. We went home so he could eat and boy did he eat. He had a Lg jar of Turkey rice dinner, cheerios, sweet potato puffs and then was asking for more and downed 3 oz of formula. He then went to take a nap and slept for 3 1/2 hrs. Poor guy!

My morning went great! I was super nervous for no reason at all and Beth was a huge help, Thank You. It looks like this is going to be a good year for the EOSC. we saw a lot of new faces and welcomed back a lot of current members. hopefully things will continue to go smoothly. We still have a lot of work to do but once we get everyone processed in the system it will all be downhill.

Hump Day

~I don't know why I love Wednesday's. Maybe it's because half of the week is over and the weekend is just around the corner. I had our first squadron coffee last night out near Quartz Hill area http://www.quartzhillchamber.org/ at the new commanders house(it is so beautiful out there). We had lots of Sangria, chicken kabobs and fun conversation. I think this is going to be a great year for the wives and a great change for the squadron.

Is it over yet?

It feels like this is going to be the longest week of my life. I have so many things pulling me in so many different directions that at this point I need to just scream. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK! I'm done now :)

Ben is napping so I am going to use this time to get the house picked up and things in order. Maybe i'll get to shower today? Oh yea! I have to be somewhere tonight so I guess I better shower before I go :)

It's still Monday

In my new efforts to blog something each day as a new stress relieving outlet it seems my Monday post is coming in a little late. It has definitely been a Monday here for us. Ben didn't sleep his normal 2.5hr naps X2 today. I know I am a spoiled mommy when it comes to this but he obviously needs his sleep and so do I.

We took our tour of the CDC today and met the ladies who will be watching Ben. they were very sweet and super nice. Ben wanted to get down and play with the two other kids there so I think he will do just fine. I think I have decided to take him there once a week(maybe Wednesdays) so he gets used to going and has that interaction with other kids his age.

I have decided to make the switch to cloth diapers. We have finally started to run out of all the diapers from my shower that Carrie gave me and well I have quickly realized how expensive they are. I have chosen to do the Bum Genius brand since they are AIO(look at me I'm already learning the lingo). I am very excited about the whole thing and think Ben will like them also. I have also heard it makes potty training boys much easier so we will see. I'm sure with the CDC I will have to use disposables but I think I can handle a few days a month of that.

Girls night Out

~Three of us Outlaw wives got together for dinner and some girlie conversation last night. We headed off base to the Lemon Leaf restaurant in Lancaster for some wine and good food. we had such a nice time and realized we need to set one Saturday a month to get together and catch up. It seems all of our lives have gotten so crazy again just a year after TPS graduation between school, work, and volunteer jobs.

thanks Ashlie for setting this up it was great to have a little adult conversation :P

My new tricks

~ I thought I would try to blog a little something each day since Ben is growing and changing so fast. We have a busy weekend with Birthday parties,David Starr is turning 1 yr old tomorrow and Ben is going to his first Birthday Party.

It is also time to lower his crib, yep our little man has decided to pull himself up or try and stand on his head. This morning Ben was laughing over the monitor so Adam went in to get him and found him bent over with his head against the bumper and his butt in the air. It looked like he was attempting some crazy yoga pose. I think this is a major sign that the time has come to lower the crib :( My baby isn't much of a baby anymore!!

I am amazed each and every day with how fast he is changing. It seems like he is constantly doing new tricks. He's starting to find his groove with music and attempting to dance(this is hysterical to watch) I think he has his daddies rhythm :) He says Dada, Mama, and sometimes will come up with a Nana. he does this after we hang up from talking to his G.G. or my mom. It just melts my heart to hear him say it. He is now waving bye bye and does the sign for all done when he's finished eating. I am so proud of him! We have a very smart kiddo on our hands.

Ben will be starting at the CDC for the first time ever this Thursday. I am absolutely terrified!! In all my craziness I decided to join the board of the OSC(Officers Spouse's Club) and our first coffee of the year is Thursday morning and I have to be there kid free. Ben and I are taking a tour of the facility Monday afternoon to make sure we have everything in order. I am going to be a total wreck and probably not enjoy the coffee much. I know it will be good for Ben and he will do just fine, he's such a happy kid. Please keep us in your prayers as I jump this big hurdle in the mommy world :)

Our Weekend

~So Saturday we took a little family trip to Ontario, Ca to go to Babies R Us. Ben has graduated to the next level of car seats and well this is the place to go if you are in the market for one and don't want to order one on line. We had a beautiful 1 1/2 hr drive through the mountains and our little dude slept the entire time. We went straight to Chic-Fil-A (this is mommies favorite place)for some lunch before our big shopping adventure. The store was of course packed like most places on a Saturday afternoon that's doing a lactation seminar so we made our way through the hoards of pregnant women to the car seat section, grabbed a sales clerk and started deciding between two Britax Boulevards. After asking tons of questions and trying them out in the store with Ben in them we made our decision and were off to the check out so we could put the thing to the test. It fits like a charm in the truck and Ben just loves how comfy it is :) I will take a picture of him in it this week and post it so everyone can see what a big boy he is now. Next step......getting turned around to forward facing!

After our little shopping trip Ben had his normal nightly tubby. He has always been a big fan of the bath but it seems the older he gets the more vocal he is and the more he splashes like a crazy man. I think there is nothing sweeter than a baby in the tub having a blast!

Crazy Man

~So this crazy little man of mine has decided that he doesn't want or need to crawl and is now pulling himself up to stand at the coffee table or anything he can get his hands on these days. I am trying not be to protective but it's hard when you see your baby wanting to be so independent. The other night Adam and I were watching a movie (National Treasure #2) and he very quickly decided to scoot over on his little rear end and pull himself up to the couch. I quickly grabbed the camera to get some video of his victory. he was so happy and just a little to brave for my liking.

Can I have some of that?

So Ben and Darla have now bonded in the food department. I know Darla has been waiting for this day for a very long time :) Last night after dinner I gave Ben some Sweet Potato puffs and a teething biscuit. Well Darla started stalking him and he quickly realized if he put his hand over the side she would come eat what he had. Of course he thought this was hysterical! The more we told him no and told Darla no the more he laughed and continued to feed her. I knew this day was coming, I guess I just didn't expect it so soon :P

And We're Back!!

~Ok so I know I've been a bad blogger lately and haven't posted anything but things have been kinda crazy around here. June 18th we flew to St Louis for cousin Laura's wedding and had a great 4 days with family. Ben met his Aunt Heather for the fist time and was able to spend lots of time with Aunt Lauren, G.G. and Grandpa Mac. we got our fix of Ted Drews(Yummo!!) and saw Laurens place. We took in a Cardinals game while we were there and Ben still wasn't impressed with all the yelling and loud music. The wedding was on Saturday June 21st which happened to be out 5th wedding anniversary and it brought back a lot of memories. We danced to our wedding song at the reception and even got in a little alone time to go have dinner before we flew back home.

After being back for 3 days Adam called me to say they finally were sending him to Eglin for the TDY that had been pushed back since February. We left the following Sunday(exactly a week after getting back from St Louis) and were able to spend 3 weeks with my family. My brother and his family were there for a little vacation and Dave was interviewing with an engineering company in Ft Walton that wound up making him a job offer and they excepted so they are moving back home in a few weeks. I am so glad they will be close to both sides of the family after being away for so long. Both sets of Grandparents are just thrilled with the whole thing! We also got a little Marlin fix since the TDY occurred the same time they were moving to Niceville. It was real hard having to leave the kidos and Elizabeth was so upset that we had to come back to California. She really wants Adam( her Big boyfriend close by her) Thank Goodness they moved somewhere we visit and Nana Barb is thrilled to have the kids close by. Mikayla and Elizabeth hit it off, were instantly best friends and are looking forward to going to the same Elementary School in the Fall.

Mikayla went back to NC to say goodbye to her friends so it was just Ben and I with my parents while Adam worked everyday. We went to the pool a few times and Ben has been trying to crawl these last few weeks, thanks to the help of Adelyn. He is really starting to get the hang of it and I think he will be off in no time :)

We had a long day yesterday of travel and Ben was a champ as always. we are so lucky to have a baby that is almost always happy and a great flier. After things settle down around here I promise not to wait so long to post.

Cooling off in the Desert

I finally got Ben a little baby pool and blew it up(boy was I dizzy) and We tried it out today. He had such a great time and quickly realized that if he splashed then Darla would try and eat the water and so he thought that was funny. I can tell this will now become one of our daily activities :P

That was Yummy :P

I loved this and thought I would share. This is what happens in my house after dinner and the boys tummies are full :) How cute is that!!!

Family Picture time

~Since Ben is now 6 months old and we have not had our family pictures taken yet we went into Sear today and finally got them done. They turned out pretty well ! Here are just a few for now

6 Months Old

~Ben had his 6 month well baby today and he is doing just great. He weighed in at 18# 2 oz and was just over 27 1/2 inches long(he's going to be very tall). He is growing well and doing things beyond the typical baby milestones. He can grasp food with his fingers and has had a few banana puffs and tried his first Ritz cracker today and loved it! He still doesn't have any teeth but has tons of drool so maybe he's starting to work on them. His normal daily routine now is up at 7-7:30am play in his jumper for an hour, then he has a little breakfast of either oatmeal with bananas or just a bottle then he takes his first nap around 8:45 and will sleep for 1 1/2-2 hrs then he has a veggie(usually green beans ) and we have playtime on the floor. Around 1:30pm is his second nap of the day and is usually for the same length of time as his morning one. then it's more jumper time(he loves this thing!) and then we usually head out the door for some fresh air and sunshine and a little stroll around the block. He has Oatmeal with bananas for dinner at 6pm a tubby at 7:30 and then it's Jammie's and his nighttime bottle by 8pm and we start it all again at 7:30 the next morning. He is such a loving, laid back happy baby and Adam and I are so blessed to have him. Every Evening we look at each other and wonder what we did before him because it seems like he's always been here.

Hello from Cali!!

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Adam flew back from Florida Friday so Ben and I drove to LA to pick him up and the three of us stayed for a few days to do some site seeing and visit with some friend from TPS. Saturday we went to the Getty museum http://www.getty.edu/museum/about.html and had a wonderful time. The day started out rainy and cold but turned out to be nice after all. Ben loved the art work and seemed to take a likening to the European sculptors. After 4 1/2 hrs we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Doug and Karen. They took us to a Thai restaurant off of Hollywood Blvd that had a Thai Elvis impersonator. It was hysterical watching him and we were amazed at how good he was. Elvis was definitely in the building :). We brought along Ben's new clamp on high chair and the manager wasn't to sure about it. He kept walking by trying to look under him to see how it was attached. Finally I said something to him and he commented that it was "freaky" then proceeded to take a chair flip up the cushion and slide it under his seat. It was so funny because we know it's safe but he just didn't feel comfortable with him like that so he have him a little extra protection :).

After dinner we headed down the street to have some desert at a little Japanese pastry shop called Bear Papashttp://www.muginohousa.com/and had the world best cream puffs. they are so fresh and are filled while you watch. after our little sugar rush we walked down to Graumans Chinese theaterhttp://www.manntheatres.com/chinese/ where we saw some interesting night life for a Saturday night.

Sunday we had tickets to see the Dodgers play the Cardinals and it was Ben's first official ball game. We were having a great time until he got a little tired and the crowd got a little loud so he and I left Adam to head outside for some peace and quiet. After a little snooze and some green beans he was good to go and seemed to manage the rest of the game ok. he let out a few more cries when things got a little loud and we eventually wound up leaving the gave during the 8th inning with it tied 3 to 3. Unfortunately the Dodgers won the game but we still had a great time. Ohh and we got to see a celebrity, Michaela Conlin who plays Angela on the show Bones. http://www.tv.com/michaela-conlin/person/29708/photos.html?tag=stars;more_img;5

Pants

It's amazing what a baby thinks is funny! Who knew putting pants on your head would be a big hit :)

I've got it!!

So it didn't take long for our little guy to figure out how to get his cereal into his mouth and how to work the sippy cup. He's definitely going to be an Engineer :)

Having fun

Benjamin received this really cool lights and sounds music toy at Christmas from his G.G and Grandpa Mac. I decided to pull it out of his closet yesterday to see what he thought of it. He was hysterical to watch and it took him no time at all to figure out how to make it work. Thanks You G.G and Grandpa Mac!!!

4 month well baby

~Ben had his 4 month well baby on Thursday and he is 100% perfect. He weighed in at 15#10 oz and 26 1/2 inches long(he's gonna be a tall guy!) The Dr gave us a heads up that we need to go ahead and start baby proofing the house because he is very advanced with his motor skills and will be on the move very soon. This is exciting and scary at the same time! He was impressed with how vocal he was for his age and told us to watch out! :) Adam says he obviously gets that from me :) He's also being treated for a mild case of thrush that will hopefully clear up here soon and won't go back until the beginning of June for his 6 month visit.

Cute as a bug!

~While we were away on our adventures Benjamin received a beautiful quilt from my friend Martha in Ohio. Ben loves the bright colors and talking to the bugs :) Today he was having some playtime on it and decided to sit up for the first time all on his own. My little baby is changing so fast!

Thanks again Martha for the beautiful/colorful quilt and give the kids hugs and kisses for us.

And we're back!

Benjamin and I had a wonderful time on our little 3 week East coast adventure. We flew to Nana and Papa's then drove to Myrtle Beach to meet up with my brother and his wife and their girls. Then after a wonderful week on the coast we headed back to there place in North Carolina for another week and then drove back to Florida for 2 days before getting on a plane to fly home. It was cold and rainy the last week of our trip but we still had a great time. Benjamin got to spend lots of time with his cousins and already misses them tons. I think he keeps looking around wondering where all the noise went to :). He loved hearing Mikayla sing silly songs and Adelyn was always close by to offer him his Bob(this is what she calls her Pacifier). She was very helpful and you could tell he thought she was the coolest thing ever. she would walk around with her pacifier in her mouth and hold one of his and say Ben's bob...Ben's bob...Ben's bob, it was the cutest thing ever!!!!

We will get a little break from traveling before we head off to St Louis in June for cousin Laura's wedding. Hopefully he will be an excellent flier then too!!

Mr Cheeks!

How can you have a bad day when this is what you see all the time?

Our New Home

well as a lot of you know we finally got a new house and are slowly getting settled in. We absolutely love it here and it feels good living in a place that doesn't smell of raw sewage(YUCK!!) all the time. Darla and Jasmine love having some grass in the back yard to roll around in and windows to look out of from the front bedrooms. Anyways! hope everyone is doing well and now it's off to more boxes :)

Meeting Dr.Marrs

The other week I took Benjamin down to the fertility clinic so he could meet Dr Marrs. It was hard to believe that this time last year we were starting our treatment plan with him and getting ready to do another IVF cycle. Now we have our beautiful little boy thanks to his knowledge and gift of making dreams come true. He was so happy that I drove all that way for him to see the baby, I don't think very many of his patients take in their babies after he gets them pregnant and releases them. He told us that whenever we were ready again that he was hear for us(I think I need just a few more months before we head down that road again).

Anyways!! Thank you Dr. Marrs for making our dreams of having a family come true. We can never thank you enough!!

Belly Laughs

Ben has offically started to do some Belly laughs. I think hearing a baby laugh is the greatest thing in the whole world. You can't help but laugh when you hear it.

Precious

Thank You Carrie for taking some beautiful pictures!!! we absolutely LOVE every single one of them.

Mr. Lion and Mr. Duck

~I recently pulled out the activity mat to see how Ben would take to it. We found out he absolutely loves it and seems to focus most on Mr. Lion and Mr. Duck. The more he plays with them the more he talks, If he could actually speak I think he would be telling stories already. It's funny to watch him carry on this conversation with them and then get upset when nothing is said back.

2 Months Old

~It is hard to believe that our little guy is now 2 months old and not so little anymore. We had his well baby today and he is a whopping 12# 13oz and almost 25 in long. That puts him at the 75th percentile for weight and over the 75th percentile for height. Everything checked out just fine except the Dr is afraid he might have a hernia in his scrotum. Instead of sending us to the surgen right away he told us to just watch it. If it expands when he cries then we need to let him know immediatley so it can be fixed. Lets keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't have to have anything done!!