15 months

Yes, another month of no blogging. There's only 1 more month of school and I hope to have more time on my hands after we move!

At 15 months Ty...

-is around 27 lbs I think
-still in size 4 diaper
-sporting 18 month clothing/size 5 shoes
-sleeping on average 12 hours a night! He is such a big boy now and doesn't fuss at all. We say "goodnight", put him in his crib, and he goes straight to sleep. PTL!
-most days taking 1 long afternoon nap (2-3 hours)
-shakes his head "no", claps his hands, waves
-loves pushing buttons on remotes/phones and anything with wheels
-goes straight to sleep
-is sitting front facing in his big boy car seat
-loves fruit! New favorite discoveries include quesadillas, corn dogs, chicken, gold fish, fig newtons, dried fruit, sorbet... pretty much anything mommy and daddy are eating
-not a huge fan of pools
-loves to carry around his big blankets
-loves to play "chase me" around the living room
-first set of top molars are almost all the way in
-learning how to interact with other kids/babies/share

15 months old - hanging out in the backyard munching on Goldfish!

*Sigh* when did he get so big?!

Loves to cuddle!

I'm having SO much fun with Ty at this age. He's so happy and giggly and I can't get enough of his hugs - they're the BEST! I have 1 month left of school and I can't wait to become a stay at home mommy!

He's turning into such a big boy and as much as I hate seeing him grow up so quickly, I am enjoying every new stage and how much more interactive he is becoming! Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Ty!

In other news, we're quickly realizing how quickly this move is approaching.  We have so much left to still do! We're excited for all of the new adventures that await us. I'm already trying to build up my list of things I'd like to do while we stay with my parents over the summer/fall, and places to take Ty!

Hope to catch up when school is out and I have a hot second to sit down and unwind! Until then...

14 months & recap

My little man is 14 months old - holy cow, time surely is flying!  We've been SO busy lately, I've neglected to blog.

At 14 months Ty...

-is around 24-25 lbs?
-is in 12-18 month clothing
-is wearing size 4 diapers
-is drinking Lactaid whole milk 3x a day, and watered down juice
-LOVES fruit, bread, chicken nuggets... and anything that Mommy & Daddy are eating
-walks like a pro!
-can push to stand from a sitting position
-enjoys reading books
-claps his hands with excitement when he is proud of himself
-is very mechanical - loves anything with wheels and inspecting them to figure out how everything works
-is good with puzzles - can switch out the letters on his Leap Frog phonics player on the fridge by himself, and stack the wooden puzzle pieces on the pegs that are meant for 2+ year olds!
-enjoys rides in his wagon
-will do simple commands - jump, shake, come here, hugs (those are the best!)
-will on most days will take 2 naps, but some days it's just 1
-will pull down blankets onto the floor and cuddle up on them when he gets sleepy
-has 10 teeth but are currently working on the bottom molars
-loves to play peek-a-boo, patty cake, and tickle monster

Love those cheeks!

Loves to read!

14 months 

He is such a happy little guy with a great personality. He is learning so many new things and is looking more and more like a toddler (especially with his new hair-cut).  I am really looking forward to finishing out the school year and staying home with him! :)

We love you!

This last month has been a whirlwind (as always).  We were really busy figuring everything out with the dogs. We had my brother fly out and stay with us for a bit. It was nice to see him and catchup, show him around Oki, and let him spend some time with Ty.  He took the pups back to my parents and they'll be there until we fly out in August.   Thankfully, everything worked out smoothly and they're enjoying my parents' big backyard!

I'm on Spring Break and tomorrow is already Friday and I'm scratching my head wondering where the week went.  Joe took leave, originally thinking we would plan a trip but we decided to stay local.  We haven't gotten much done or gone anywhere, but it's been great to sit back, relax, spend quality time with Ty, and just hang out.  We've gotten some cleaning done (not nearly as much as I hoped), ran lots of errands, spent time with friends, and today we spent the entire day TV shopping.

This morning the TV made a loud POP sound and the screen went black. The bulb died, and Joe was telling me something about since it's an older DLP (I have no.idea what any of this tv talk lingo means) that he didn't even know if they sold the replacement bulb we needed. Anyway, he was excited and wanted to shop for a new TV. We originally planned to get a new one when we moved, but alas,  timing would have it that we needed one now. We don't generally watch too much regular TV, but we do watch a lot of movies.

We had a 46" tv, and we were thinking of wanting a 50" or 55" but none of the BX/PXs here had any. They had either 46" or 60" which is a huge jump.  Joe debated all.day.long.  I told him it was up to him. He went and bought a 46" top of the line Sony TV and it's ah-mazing!




So there you have it. Less than 3 month of school left and we leave Oki end of July! Time keeps on flying and we're hoping to enjoy the rest of our time here in Okinawa!

New Stress

Joe and I were out walking Ty and the pups, and we were chatting more about our upcoming move.  We'e been trying to plan how to get the dogs back to the states. It's quite a headache.  Most airlines implement a heat restriction policy when trying to fly pets back during the summer.  If temps are over 85 degrees, they won't fly your pet. Well, we're flying out in July and it will be well above 85 degrees in Okinawa by then. So we need to send them back early.

We didn't think much about what we would do after we left AL (we're going there for SOS) and I'll be staying with my parents a few hours away. So Joe has about 1 week inbetween SOS and reporting to training in NM. We had planned to go to a wedding. That cuts out 2 days. So 5 days to drive from AL to NM with two dogs and an 18 month old. Yikes, cutting it close. Okay, we could handle that. THEN what we do when we get to NM? Check into a TLF? Joe will be in training all day long during the week. Just how am I supposed to juggle two hyper dogs and an 18 month old? Won't happen. They need a yard so I don't get yanked around when they're on their leashes (and walking them with a stroller is impossible).

My original plan was to travel to see my best friend who is a few hours away. Well scratch that, can't do that with two dogs in tow. I also wanted to head to Las Vegas to house hunt. Well, what do I do with two dogs?  If Joe was with me and wasn't in training, we could easily do it.

What to do? I suppose I could always stay with my parents while Joe is in training. It would be a lot easier. But they went from having an empty nest, then to having both kids at home, a grandbaby, and two extra dogs. Talk about a full house and big changes!

I posted an ad to see if we could find any good homes for our dogs. It's heartbreaking, but I figure I don't have to commit to anyone if we decide to keep them. Is it fair to them to be bounced around with no home for 6 months? Will we be able to juggle them, the baby, and flying across the world, and then driving across country?

Time will tell... and now just a whole new can of worms to handle!

13 months

Another month has gone by and Ty is really a toddler now, not a baby. :(

At 13 months Ty is still a happy go lucky kid. He's been having some difficulty switching from formula to whole milk.  He was running fevers and having awful diarrhea (TMI I know), so the docs had me switch to soy. He was still having trouble with soy, so I switched him to Lactaid whole milk. He seems to be doing well with this and even enjoys drinking it cold.

He's been enjoying lots of new foods - he had his first tastes of peanut butter, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tangerines and can't get enough of them!  He is such a good eater and I always serve him some type of fruit or veggie with his meals and he eats those up too!

He's so active. He decided to take his first little steps this last weekend! Joe had just gotten back from being gone for almost a month, and he must have been very excited to see his Dada and took a few steps toward him. He can crawl SO fast and can furniture cruise almost at a jogging speed!

He's constantly learning new skills and it's so much fun to see him interacting on a deeper level. We have fun at night before he gets really sleepy, he loves to cuddle and roll on his belly and get tickled. He gives the BEST hugs and when you pick him up to carry him, he latches on so tight! I love it!

He's working on several new teeth. He has one top molar poking through and his bottom incisors are poking through too. Poor guy, 3-4 new teeth at one time can't be much fun! But he is still in pretty good spirits. Waking up a few times during the night though due to that darn teething monster. We can't wait for the day he goes away!

Lately, it's been a big struggle leaving him. All I want to do is stay at home with him all day long and play and cuddle. I keep telling myself I only have 3 months left and I get to be a stay at home mommy until I decide to go back to work. It's going to be the longest 3 months ever I think!

He is a bundle of joy and I love every moment I spend with him. He's learning so many new things and I am excited for all the fun things we can do together. I love my big boy SO much!

13 months old - furniture cruising like a champ!

Walking around with Dada!

Playing in his pop-up tent! "Hi!"

Loves to play!!!

Precious. I love him SO much!

Proud

My friend posted this quote on Facebook and it got me thinking:

"Look back at yourself five years ago. Where were you? What were you doing? And did you think you'd be where you are today? Imagine what another 5 years will be.  Life is full of the unknown and that's what makes it beautiful."

Five years ago brings me back to 2007. I was graduating college, newly married, and just moved to Columbus, MS with Joe while he was going through pilot training. After a year and a half there, we were off to Okinawa, Japan.

Now our tour here in Okinawa is coming to an end (4 months left), I look back to where we started when we first got here, and am really proud of our little family!

When we came to Okinawa, Joe was a 1st Lt., we were living pay check to pay check and had a few measly hundred dollars in our savings account {that we more than often dipped into}, two student loans, a credit card bill, and a car to still pay off.  We weren't necessarily struggling, but we were the typically newly married and fresh out of college couple still trying to get the house set up and things in order.

Three quick years later, we're so proud for having no credit card debt, one small student loan still left to pay off {we could easily pay it off, but it's considered "good debt" for now}, all cars are paid for, and an entire year of pay saved up in our savings account.  It's refreshing not living paycheck to paycheck, and ultimately we feel very blessed and secure knowing we can make all the purchases {and then some} we need to in order to provide for ourselves, Tyler, and two dogs.  We feel guilty when holidays like Christmas and birthdays roll around and people ask what we want, and we really have nothing major on our wishlists. We are fortunate enough to buy the things we want and can easily afford them.

Hard work pays off and we can live comfortably and have saved {and will continue to do so} for things in our upcoming future like a nice house, new car, and furniture for the house.  We plan to have another baby sometime in the future and want to continue to save for our children's college funds.

We've come a long way from 2009, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!

A little bit of pampering goes a long way!

As mentioned, I scheduled a pedi and it was glorious.  The sitter came to watch Ty, and I went to the BX to pick up a few things, and then got my pedi.  I'm pretty sure it's my favorite design in the 3 years I've been here! Ty loves them too. He keeps petting my toes and trying to chase me around. It's pretty cute!

I fully enjoyed the hour and a half.  I fell asleep while they gave me my massage and did the painting!

Anyway, took a day off tomorrow since I have a doctor's appointment.  Normally I only take a 1/2 day, but I need to use up my leave before the end of the year since it's not like I can trade it in or anything.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit and spending more time with Ty! :)

Today was Joe's birthday but he's still TDY. We'll have to celebrate when he gets back! Can't wait!

My pretty toes!

Autopilot

Joe's been gone for a little over two weeks and I'm definitely running on autopilot.  My daily routine is different, yet the same.

-I wake up at 5:15am, quietly get ready as to not wake Ty
-Speed drive to work to beat the crazy Okinawa traffic to get there by 6:30am
-Get my room cleaned up and ready for the day
-Juggle 21 6/7 year olds for 7 1/2 hours (while 5 out of 6 school days I get a prep period and then shovel food during my 40 minute lunch break which is more like 35 minutes by the time I walk my kids through the lunch line and walk back to class, which really is only like 5 minutes because I'm too busy grading papers or getting things prepped for something else)
-When 2:20 strikes and I walk my kids out the door (and I don't have any kids lingering behind with behavior problems or scheduled meetings (that we have far too many of in my opinion), I clean up and get  a few things ready for the next day and try to leave by 2:45 (when teachers are allowed to leave for the day)
-Drive home in terrible traffic where I deal with people who drive like incompetent morons 99% of the time
-Depending on how long it takes me to weave in and out of traffic on the way home, I try to stop by the post office to pick up the mail
-Get home, see if Ty is awake or asleep (if he's asleep - yay, a few minutes of peace and quiet time to myself - oh wait, I usually end up cleaning dishes, take out the trash, put away the never ending piles of junk, etc. - if he's awake - it's play time)
-Play, play, play - try to get dinner ready, change diapers, feed Ty dinner, inhale my dinner, play a bit more before bed
-Bath time/struggle to get Ty into a diaper and PJs
-Bedtime bottle and put him to bed - if all goes well he goes down for the entire night - but of course, luck would have it that he's teething again while Joe's gone - so it's not uncommon for him to wake up hysterical in the middle of the night, or 45 minutes before my alarm is set to go off... meaning I lose 45 minutes of precious, glorious sleep
-When he's finally settled in for the night, I tackle the kitchen (that's Joe's usual routine - he actually enjoys it!)
-Prep all of Ty's food for the next day
-Clean up all of Ty's toys that have taken over the living room
-Take a shower
-Collapse into bed - I haven't managed to make it to bed before 10pm while he's been gone (except for last night - I made it and fell asleep around 9:30... on a Friday!)

*Not to mention this last week was Dr. Seuss week which involved a lot of extra activities complete with a Dr. Seuss costume birthday celebration on Friday. I've had a little too much Seuss in my life the last few months!

Repeat the next day, give or take a few changes. Weekends consist of trying to sleep in as long as Ty and the dogs will let me. Relaxing in PJs all morning until Ty takes his morning nap and then get ready and run errands - commissary/BX are the normal places we go and sometimes go out to eat with a friend. I occasionally have time/energy to sit down and watch a movie or tv show.  Such a simple pleasure is now a luxury.  We hardly get to watch anything except Baby Einstein. It's sick how much Ty loves those videos and how Joe and I have them memorized. We limit his screen time to about 1 show a day, but with Joe being gone, sometimes those shows are the only way I can entertain him so I can cook a meal or fold the laundry.  He's getting to where he has to be by someone all the time or he cries - separation anxiety?! Not sure, but I hope he grows out of it, fast!

I have no idea when he's scheduled to get back, but I hope it's soon. I'm beyond exhausted and could really use some help.  Thankfully, our old nanny is coming to watch him for a few hours tomorrow while I run a few errands and get my pedicure (Christmas gift from Joe which is about to expire so I needed to squeeze it in).  I can't wait to have a few hours of me time! :)