When life throws you lemons....make sure they are dairy free!

This is the third time I have re-written this post.
Kinda ridiculous, but to my defense, when you read what we've been up too, it's totally understandable how a whole post can become irrelevant on a dime.

To begin, in all honesty, this last month has been really hard.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The week before Brynlee's birthday (January) she had what we thought was a tummy bug.
She had one day of a fever and diarrhea and within twenty four hours, she seemed back to normal, except the diarrhea.
It continued on up until her birthday, so I had her on a bland diet hoping this bug would work itself out aaaannnnnddddd, it never did.
It continued on and on to the point where there was about a week long span where every morning I would wake up to find not only Brynlee's diaper exploded through, but soaked through her pajamas, through her bed sheets, through the mattress pad down to the actual mattress.
Her little bum got so raw and sore she would just cry and cry, cringing at my touch.
There has been nothing more heartbreaking than having your babe cry when you touch them.
I couldn't even hold her on my hip like I normally do, and there were a lot of times where I just cried with her.
I called her doctor once a week for four weeks straight, trying everything they suggested from different diaper rash creams, to different diets,  to lots of diaper-less "air" time (which is now the reason for my loud and proud nudist baby).
It seemed like a new idea would start working and things would appear normal for a day or two, then I would wake up to an exploded baby/bed again and we'd be back to square one.
On Valentine's day her doctor asked me to collect some samples to send to a lab for tests.

LOTS of naky time. 

Let me reiterate.....it was Valentines Day.....and I'm digging through the dirty diapers of the day filling up seven viles of poop to send out for tests.
One for the record books, y'all.
One of the seven tests came back positive, that Brynlee had rotavirus.
Finally an answer, not a good one...actually a really frustrating one, but an answer none the less.
Per her doctor's instructions she went on a complete lactose free diet which also included adding probiotics to her meals throughout the day for the next two weeks.
Like before, things seemed to go well for a couple days then it started all over again.
Thankfully she wasn't blowing through her clothes, but she was having anywhere from 4-6 full diarrhea diapers and her poor bum started getting sore and raw again.
I swear I couldn't change her diapers fast enough or have her naked enough.
I called her doctor who ordered another round of four more tests, including another one for rotavirus, and they all came back negative.
Negative.
Uuugghhhhh.
We were referred to a pediatric gastro-neurologist for further tests.
My graciously patient mother in law came with Brynlee and I on the 11th for our appointment and during her physical evaluation we all noticed a couple little "raspberry" splotches on her inner thighs.
None of us, including the nurses or specialist, thought much of it, thinking it was diaper related from her skin being so raw so much.
Given some antibiotics and a strict dairy/lactose free diet, Brynlee and Gma Connie went home to play for the day while I went to the PPCC campus to do some homework.
I got a call a couple hours later from both my dad and my mother in law that I should come home and take a look at Brynlee because she was breaking out all over.
I came home to this....

Poor babe. Pic on the far right is of her ear. It was so swollen and heavy it started to bend down and out. :(

"She's obviously allergic to
something..." No kidding.

What was really odd is that she was as happy as a clam.
In fact, she was the happiest I had seen her in a long time since this mess started.
We took her to her pediatrician, again, and after swearing on everything that I didn't feed, clean, bathe her in anything different or new, all they were able to do for us is confirm that, yes, she did indeed react to something.
No kidding.
We quit the antibiotics and had a blood draw ordered to test her for the "main" allergies which consists of dairy, gluten, soy, corn, dairy, egg yolk, egg whites, and peanuts.
All came back negative.
So then we were referred to a pediatric asthma and allergy specialist who conducted about 25 skin pricks in Brynlee's back to test more exclusively for any type of allergen that might have caused her hives.
All came back 100% negative.
As much as everyone treated this as good news, I did not.
She obviously reacted to something, what in the world was it!?

In the mean time, go figure, her diarrhea seemed to die down with only a few "bad" diapers on a more random occasion rather than every time, everyday.
One of the hardest parts of all this, besides holding down your kid for skin pricks, is having to do it alone. I know that if John could have been here for this, he totally would.... viles of poo on VDay and all.
It's really hard for BOTH of us to even talk about it when we know it's all really in vain in the end.
I think it helps me vent my frustration, and it helps him to feel like he's helping me in listening, but ultimately it makes him feel very far away and it leaves me feeling very overwhelmed and alone.
It is what it is.

SSG Christian and Denzel. 

Speaking of, I have to take this moment to let you know my husband is a rockstar.
In Army terms, pretty much literally.
John earned his "rocker" (E6) on March 1st and we couldn't be more happy or proud.
Ultimately if we can't all be together as a family we might as well be really successful in what we ARE able to control, right?
I am so proud of him, and Denzel, his K9 bomb dog.
I still wish our communication online could be better.
Besides the obvious time difference, his internet connection is horrible and until recently we were rarely able to finish a conversation before getting cut off or the call dropped.
We send a lot of emails and I send him lots of photos from my phone (yes, I'm a iPhone mom and don't care, judge me in my situation, please).

In the end, I'm not sure where Queen B and I go from here.
She's more than thrilled to have her favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs back as well as her beloved almond milk and string cheese.
She seems to still be doing alright overall, with no real diaper issues that is everyday. I have been keeping a food journal of what she eats (as much as I can, she eats like a teenager, so it's hard to keep up with everything) and really try to make a true effort to see if anything she eats creates any issues.
I am cautiously optimistic, but of course writing it all out is almost setting me up!

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, always for John's safety while away, but especially for the sick and hurting in not just our little family, but our family as a whole.
Unfortunately, B's sickness is small compared to some members of my family, so we could ALL use your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement!

One down...

So I am fully aware I'm completely behind and am probably closer to Brynlee being 13 months old than her first year mark.
What an absolute chaotic couple weeks it's been!
Christmas came and went.
2013 appeared, which gave me the beginning of my countdown until school started.

I am currently enrolled in 9 credit hours, 6 of which are made up of two classes (Illustrator and Photoshop) that will run from January through May, then one fast track class that starts the end of February (Concepts of Design and Color) through the end of March.
My Illustrator class is a hybrid class that only meets once a week on Monday nights and the rest is done through online lecture, etc.
I love this class because it's primarily made up of other adults most of which are working, so it's a no play zone, we're all here to learn and work, which I appreciate SO much.
Photoshop is my two times a week, day time class, where I'm one of the "old" people in the room.
There are maybe two or three others in the class of about 25 that are my age or older, the rest are all 20-22 years old.
Oh to be "young" again and take classes "for fun."
Sigh...
Anyways, so far the classes are going GREAT but definitely keeping me on my toes.
I am learning SSSOOO much and I'm not even a month into it.
It makes me miss my fellow art department peeps back at MJ Soffe SO MUCH.
Brynlee has adjusted to childcare amazingly and I couldn't be happier.
The fact that I can go to class and NOT think about her makes me feel secure about where she is--it's a great feeling, and allows me to truly concentrate while I'm away.
I'm taking a moment to be "that" person and post my current projects I'm working on/have done so far for classes....

Illustrator.

Illustrator.
Yes, I'm aware the interior is backwards.
Don't ask.

Photoshop.

I got through my first week of class and was 100% on cloud nine.
That Friday, Brynlee caught a 24 hour stomach bug and the puking began.
Pretty much the longest 24 hours of my life, to be honest, besides being in labor with her, haha.
Thankfully the puking only lasted the 24 hours, but the diarrhea was another story.
Brynlee's been sick before, but never like this, so I was totally out of my element.
She wouldn't eat much, (B)RAT didn't seem to be working this time.
If she wasn't her usual perky self I might not have believed she was ever sick at all.
Within 24 hours of her not throwing up anymore, I started too.
The other longest 24 hours of my life!
My poor mom spent her MLK holiday taking care of B, while I set up camp in the bathroom, feeling like death.
The next day, dad.
The next day, mom.
Coming up that weekend? Brynlee's first birthday.
Sigh.
I remember sitting in my room one night, trying not to puke while doing homework, seriously contemplating canceling B's first birthday party.
What a drag that would be?!
I played it by ear, and thankfully by Friday, we were all feeling back to normal, minus B still having bad diapers. We Lysoled the ENTIRE house, and the party was on.
What a great time it was!
**On a side note, I am SO GLAD I started planning it in November. I knew with me just starting school a couple weeks before, that if I didn't start it early, then it might not happen, needless to say, I love it when I'm right and plan ahead!**

We had a snow themed party, for our little snowflake, and of course, go figure, in Colorado on January 26th there was NO snow.
To improvise, I made my own snowballs and we were good to go for outside decor!
We had soups and breads, a hot chocolate station, and then TONS of blue, white, and silver candies and sugary treats you could think of.
Brynlee was totally in her prime.
The more people to pay attention to her, the better.
The girl has got NO shame.
The best part of the party, I have to say, was her cupcake.
I made "baby safe" carrot cupcakes from scratch with whipped cream cheese frosting, thinking if this kid is going to have sugar, it's going to be my way!
I had no preconceived idea of how she'd react to cake, thinking she'd either be all over it, or not care.
She was kind of in the middle.
I plopped down that little cupcake with her "1" candle and she just kinda stared at it, not really knowing what to do...after a while she took the candle out, looked it a few seconds, then tried to stick it back into the cupcake.
Holly, our awesome photographer we use here in CO, suggested smushing her hand into it to "get things going," so I smushed.
Needless to say, it did not go over well.
Poor little Queen B cannot tolerate dirty.
It was pretty much awesome, and thank goodness for grandmas to the rescue from mean mamas.
We had such a great turn out of family and friends.
We are SO blessed to have such a consistent support system.
There's really just no words for how awesome it is.

I got to Skype with John, that night, after her party and tell him all about it.
It was a surprise call, so it was a great way to end the day.

After B's birthday, I was ready to get back to "normal" and really get a routine in place for my school schedule, her childcare schedule, and our together home schedule.
But she still was having tummy issues, here almost two weeks later.
I brought it up at her one year appointment and the ped said with babies it can take longer to kick those kind of bugs, so wait it out a couple more days and see if anything changes.
**Another side note, B is now 18.5 lbs (12% weight), 27.8" (12% length) and 17.5" head (31%, big noodle!) so she is still rather petite, fitting in a solid 12 month clothes. We're also getting in two more bottom teeth! We have 8 teeth total, now that they've completely broken through.**
Well nothing seemed to change in those couple days, if anything, things got worse.
For about 4 days in a row, every morning when she woke up she'd wake up shrieking.
I'd go into her room to find that she not only exploded through her diaper but through her clothes, and on some days, through her sheets.
I was doing laundry for her once a day, seriously.
Blow out after blow out after blow out.
This issue caused us to have our very first diaper rash, EVER, and it absolutely broke my heart into pieces.
There is nothing to describe the helplessness of when your baby cringes at your touch.
All I could do is cry while holding her down and doing my best to keep her "treated" to try to heal.

We spent many mornings "airing out" with her little naked booty scooting all over her room.
She LOVED it and I got peed on often.
It brought back so many memories of when we still lived in NC and the only time I ever did put clothes on her is if we were going somewhere...other than that, she was in just a diaper most the time.
As of today, almost a MONTH since she was first sick, her little bum is still on the mend, but SO much better than it was. Bath times are no longer scary or painful and changing her diaper isn't like wrestling an alligator.

So, Brynlee is now ONE.
She isn't quite walking, but she can pull up like a pro (thanks to all those squats with Papa every morning) and can shuffle along and around things using her hands.
She crawls like a beast, and seriously is a little stealthy ninja.
She's there and gone before you can blink.
With the pulling up, we're just now getting to the point where she can gently let herself down without falling.
THAT took some major work.
I can't tell you how many times she would pull up on something, play a bit, want down and not know how, so she'd just SCREAM panic until someone came to help her.
I went along with it for a little while, but it started getting old, so the "neglectful" mama that I am, decided not to help her down anymore and just let her figure it out.
It took some time, and some major screaming fits, but now she can squat down to where her hands find the ground and then gently kneel or plop down.
Her words are all over the place.
"Bob-bob" is Hurley, our dog.
BUT she also says "dah" every time she hears a dog bark or sees another dog...I think "dog" is well on its way.
"Eow" or "oooowwwww" is still the words for the cats. And it usually sounds more like a question than a statement..."oooowww??"
She just LOVES them, and I think the feeling is mutual on Jax's end.
I even find him sleeping outside her door every once in a while.
Bella could still honestly care less, haha.
We have a southern accented version of bye-bye, which sounds like "bah-bah."
It's pretty much awesome to hear her say it.
It seriously has the perfect southern twang-ugh, it's awesome.
Brynlee is the best head shaker ever.
Can't make the girl do ANYTHING she doesn't want to do--IDK where she gets it.
Want a drink? Shake head.
Want some cheerios? Shake head.
Want ______? Shake head. Hand swat the object.
If she does want it, you'll know. If she doesn't, you'll DEFINITELY know.
With that, she also knows what "no" means and is very attuned to testing those "no" limits.
I try not to say no very much, I use more of the "Don't_____, please."
But sometimes a sharp no is all the time I have!
She tests the limits by not touching something but by hovering her finger over it while looking at you with a complete stoic expression seeing how you'll react.
It's crazy how smart she is.
She is pretty good, for the most part, in following basic instructions.
"Brynlee, do not touch," is a fair example. She might sit and think about it before she crawls away, but she always does. :) (Knock on wood).

There is seriously nothing more neat than watching your child develop.
I love this age.
Everything is so amazing and cool to her and I love to just sit in the living room watching her explore everything.
The hardest part to swallow is when you start seeing traits of yourself in your kids!
Lord bless her, but the TUDE can get intense sometimes.
I know part of this is just a learning experience and up to me to define boundaries, but seriously, it's so hard not to laugh sometimes. I've had to sincerely turn away or straight walk away so she doesn't see me laughing.
I'm laughing more at how unfair this karma all is, cause it's not really all that funny when it comes down to it!
When she has one of her defiant head shaking moments and you try that "one more time?" to make her do something she doesn't want to do, to prove her point she goes "eh!" and swats the item away.
It's like she's saying, "Woman, I've been shaking my head no, how many more times are we going to do this? One more time. Ok, fine..."
Smack!
She hasn't trained me yet. ;)
I KNOW I drive her nuts because I see her looking at me like, "really? ok....."
Sigh...it really is awesome, but I can totally see how kids win their parents out in this arena.
It's exhausting but hilarious.
I can't wait to see what this next year brings!
With barely a month of school under my belt I'm cautiously optimistic.
I feel like she and I both are in really good places right now all things considering and we both have room to grow together and alone.
Doesn't excuse the fact that we miss dada.
We talk about him all the time.
Pretty much any male of any age or race will most likely be called "dada" by her at some point.
Pretty sure Jax is dada quite a bit too.
We miss him bunches.
But, on the flip side, with all that he's been gone for, it sure will be an awesome show she'll get to put on when he's home.
And once again, she'll be in her prime, with all the attention. :)

Milestones

As the days dwindle down, closer and closer to Brynlee's first birthday, I find myself in a place where I am seeing and thinking things differently.
Thinking back to this time last year, I was nearing my long awaited due date, not quite to the "I am SO done with this" stage, but pretty darn close.
I have never been shy about how hard the first few months post birth were.
I think anyone that makes the beginning this transition seem like roses and butterflies is either A). an absolute liar or B). they had been around babies/kids enough before that this wasn't a huge shock of lifestyle change for them.
I tend to take a lax approach with these big life changers, mainly because I have been so busy doing other things or honestly just out of plain, self admitted, ignorance.
I was never one of those women that dreamed of her wedding someday.
BUT when it came, I loved planning it and love being married.
I was never one of those women that dreamed of having children one day.
I figured it'd happen someday, but never really had an opinion or stance on when, where, etc.
BUT when it came, I adapted, I learned, and as we all grew together I've learned a love I never knew I could have/give.
I am blessed with a multitude of friends from so many walks of life.
Some from a long time ago, as far back as elementary school, then there are some who are newer, from professional to military friends.
With all these different connections, no matter where we all are now, I'm always fascinated to see how we changed and especially how major milestones in our lives have changed us.
This first year of Brynlee's life we've been through a lot, and for the majority of it, it's been me and her as a mommy-daughter team.
It's been hard to watch her achieve her own milestones, knowing her daddy doesn't even have the option to even watch from the sidelines.
He see's her growth, in multiple ways, through emails and Facebook pictures.
It's easy to get tripped up by this and feel really pitiful.
If there's one thing I have learned through this first year is that I no longer have a lax approach to major life milestones anymore.
They are a big deal, and they no longer just impact me/us.
When you talk about providing for a family someday it's SO different feeling than when you are actually doing it.
With that this year has taught me a lot about myself as a woman, daughter, wife, and mom.

The first and foremost thing I've learned, and learned the hard way is that I am not meant to be a full time stay at home mom.
I see those mom's who relish the opportunity to be home all day, cooking, cleaning, playing, rocking their children and from the outside looking in, it appears as if these women are just absolute supermoms.
I have found, in order for me to just plain function on a day to day basis, I have to get out and away, even more so, for an extended period of time, not just running to the store for something random that I could make up off the top of my head (we need another bag of broccoli, right?).
I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to have options, and a husband that gave me the privilage to choose whether I stayed home or not, and even so, looking back on it now, I don't regret being home for Brynlee's first year.
But in the end, I'm relieved that this time is almost over.
I know some mom's on the other side of the equation that would gladly give up their job for the opportunity to do what I've gotten to do-hence why I said FULL time stay at home mom.
I love Brynlee's age right now, and LOVE getting to see her grow.
But I have found that in order to be the best mom I can be, I've got to step away and take care of me, and that means sometimes literally walking away.

I have found that I don't want a lot of kids, if anymore at all.
This may not be a huge shocker to those of you that I talk to on a consistent basis, haha, but it's not something pre-child I would have thought I'd say.
Pre-Brynlee I used to say that I wanted four kids.
I can now say that's a huge resounding NO and not going to happen---at least if I have anything to do with it.
This has been tossed around in my mind more recently than usual because of my besties back on the east coast that seem to be those super fertile mertile's where their husband's LOOK at them and they get pregnant.
You know how you are, LOL. :)
One of my besties has four kiddos of her own and is living vicariously through our kids to get her baby bug fix. Two others are both pregnant with their third baby's right now, and then there's another one that recently got restationed away from us, that has twins.
I have to come right out and apologize to my two pregnant friends, because each time they both surprised me with their pregnancy news, I had a good long blank stare of shock, before I had any congrats to give.
How do they do it?!
These women are such great mom's and I am often intimidated by their awesome mommy-ness because they are a lot younger than me (it's true and relevant to me, although they sometimes argue that their age has nothing to do with it, haha) and have so much more experience in this realm than I do.
You can tell by being around all my friend's kids that these mom's, whether doing the geographical single mom role or not, are in love with what they do as moms and would absolutely do anything for their kiddos.
Watching these women with their troops of children made me realize, in a GOOD way, that I am ok with not having a lot of kids, if not just Brynlee, and I don't feel like I'm less of a woman or mom because of it. I actually consider it a point in my corner, especially since we waited til we were a bit older to start a family.
I often find myself in admiration of these women because of the odds they are constantly up against. Most of it is not self inflicted but at the mercy of good (sometimes bad) ole Uncle Sam.
I have come to realize that my initial shock face that comes when their pregnancy news is announced is because I automatically, and selfishly, think, "OMG, how in the world do they do it?"
It's not a lack of belief in that they can do it, it's a lack of confidence on my end knowing I couldn't.
It's made me build an enormous amount of respect for ALL the mom's out there that live and breathe their children and I've come to the realization that although I totally feel the same for Brynlee, I know that anymore than one sibling would be spreading myself out too thin for the other things, non kid related, that I like/want to do.
Therefore Aunt Katie is here to stay. :)

With the whole, more kids? no more kids? issue has brought up a topic I've been wrestling with since Brynlee was born.
When TIME magazine came out with that article, "Are You Mom Enough?" it was totally ironic timing.
I personally am in a constant internal battle--having to reevaluate how I handle myself as a mom and as a friend to other mom's in the choices we all make in how we raise our kids and how they differ from each other.
Something I have found to be the most important thing to me is that it's not the number of kids that matter, it's how we raise them.
I don't know if I am mom enough, I am coming to the point in Brynlee's life where honestly, I don't care if I am to 'their' standards (who are 'they' anyways?), and how dare they question my dedication and love for my child by things I choose to do and don't do.
I ask the advice of my friends constantly, but in the end I don't feel like I need to prove anything to them or society by doing certain things with Brynlee that might, in my mind, make her more awesome.
My kid is better than your kid?
Please.
My kid is pretty crazy, so I cling to nothing. :)
I worry that society seems more obsessed with having bragging rights on their birth stories, or how they breastfed for the first 3 years of their kids life, or they could walk when they were 8 months (ok, I might be exaggerating a bit here, but still...) as opposed to being that obsessed with raising kids with good moral fiber, a compassionate heart, a searching soul, and a sensitive demeanor.
In a more personal sense, same can be said with Brynlee's weight issue.
I have in the past and could continue to let it totally bring me down as an obstacle that says I'm obviously not mom enough--but I refuse to look at it that way.
Overweight, underweight or 50/50.
Breastfed, bottle, or BOTH.
Cloth diaper or disposable.
Pacifier or not.
Co sleep or crib.
Bottle or sippy cups.
Home made food or jarred.
TV or no TV.
Home or work (sometimes this isn't an option).
WIC or not.
Some of these things you CAN control and have a say in how it's handled.
But then there are things like your personal birth story--when your baby decides to learn to sit up,  crawl, stand, eat, walk, etc. these are things that are going to happen when they are meant to happen regardless of the type of diaper you use or the type of bed your child sleeps in.
If only we all, myself included, could use that much passion and concern for things that truly matter.
This became even more relevant to me when Newtown happened.
I would tear up often for about the first week post-shooting, just thinking of those poor parents that weren't going to get to tuck their babies into bed that night.
I had never felt so possessive of Brynlee's and my playtime or bedtime routine until the thought of it being completely gone came to light.
I was talking to my mom about it and she challenged me with the quest of making sure that I preserve Brynlee's childhood innocence and don't "make" her grow up too quickly.
Let her enjoy being a kid and don't let her worry or know about things that kids just shouldn't know about.
It's so true.
Another thing my mom, and even other's have commented about Brynlee, is that she just has no idea that there are people out there in her world that don't love her. She's so secure in her house, with her things, with her family that she doesn't know of anything evil that exists.
I now understand why my parents kept me so sheltered as a kid!
I may be paying for it now in my lack of knowledge of media culture factoids, but I now 100% understand why it's so important. Innocence and purity is something that you can never get back for your kids, no matter how much they weigh or how soon they started crawling.

I just finished my last week as a full time stay at home mom.
I know there are aspects of staying home that I'm going to miss, and am just not aware of yet.
I find solace in knowing that what I'm headed into, in lieu of being home with her, is good.
Her daddy's and my intentions are pure and are decided with nothing but the best for her at heart.
She may never know or never care the thoughts and steps her father and I have taken to make certain things happen, but regardless, this is a milestone that is good for all of us, and I can't wait to see where it leads.

11 months

Let me just start off my saying what a totally different month this has been for me.
In a GOOD way.
I know the last post I wrote was kind of a downer, or at least several people told me so, haha, but hey, sometimes things just aren't that great, and thanks to modern technology I get to write it out for you instead of doing the whole "Dear Diary..." stuff I did growing up that no one got to read.
I do have to admit though, and this has been done in the past, this month has been so busy I had to rely on FB to help me fill in the blanks in my planner, that has been SO neglected this holiday season.
I used to live and breathe this planner, it's the same one I have had since sophomore year of college!
Before B was born, down to pretty much the day, I continued to use it on a daily basis for EVERYTHING.
Once she was born, I was good about it at first, mainly cause newborns have so many appointments, etc, but nowadays, I have to go on a cleaning binge to find it and FB stalk myself to figure out what the heck I did this last month.
Well thanks to me being overly connected to FB, I was able to get a great reminder of what went on this month and how things are headed for the last month of B's first year.

We started off month 10 with a rotten tummy bug, and I have to take the time to tell all you mom's out there about this remedy, that most likely you already know, I'm just the last person to ever hear of it.
If/when you, member of your family, even your babes gets the tummy bug (not flu like severe, but B had the most hard core diarrhea diapers EVER, and almost complete loss of appetite which was a true sign of something going on) do what I was suggested to do which is the BRAT diet.
Bananas. Rice. Apples. Toast.
Brynlee is allergic to bananas, so we had to go more of the RAT route, haha.
Pretty much for a week straight all I fed her, besides nursing, was rice cereal, apple puree, and toast.
I know it sounds horribly bland and boring, but as I understand, that's the whole point.
My mom's cousin used to be a nurse and my SIL is a labor and delivery nurse, and considering that they don't know each other yet suggested the same thing, I knew it was worth at least a shot and it worked great.
Bryn wouldn't touch any other foods (on her own accord) besides these items.
I had to stay consistent on this menu for about a week before I saw the symptoms 100% subside, but even after the first 24 hours of doing the RAT diet, I saw a difference mainly in her demeanor.
So onto less gross things, but seriously, keep this little nugget tucked away in your back pocket, you'll be doing yourself a favor.

Drew has a NFL fan. :)
Adam Vinatieri of the IND Colts. 

As I mentioned in my last post, my parents made the trek up to Vail with my brother for his knee replacement surgery. While there he actually had to undergo a second surgery about a week after his first.
We'll just say it's been a long month.
Throwing holidays in there was just the cherry on top. ;)
BUT we survived (I think) and it seems, at least from the outside where I stand, that we're getting our old Drewbie back.
He's still in a bit of pain, especially during/after rehab appointments, but overall I can see his demeanor and agility getting better and better everyday.
This knee surgery has not only challenged Drew on a physical front, but same with school.
Drew would be getting ready to start his last semester at EU in January, but because of the injury he's still doing work to finish the fall semester in hopes he can realistically go back and begin the spring.
Fingers crossed and prayers prayed that it works out.
Poor kiddo is totally sick of school and ready to be done, and I don't blame him, been there done that. :)
Drew finally got back from Vail on the 7th, just in time to miss the mountains first "legitimate" snowfall that probably would have forced them to stay there a bit longer.
We've enjoyed having Drew home, even with the down days, I'm not sure any other time he would have gotten the opportunity to hang out this much with his one and only niece!

Snow and puppy kisses.

Our first "legitimate" snowfall happened a couple days later and it was SO great to take B out in it. She honestly could have cared less and totally was more into watching "bob-bob" (Hurley) running around like a psycho in the snow. BUT it was fun for me. These firsts are just so much fun and I want to relish them all.
One of the reasons that this month seems to be so much better is that I'm somewhat out of my downer slump and thoroughly enjoying my time with B, friends, and family as much as possible before school starts and I won't have as much time.
I realize, no matter how blah some days get, that I have been so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom for B her first year, and I have no regrets in doing it and even more so now in changing it.
Because I know my time/days are numbered I find the most glorious things to cherish sometimes not even having to leave the house to find.
I won't lie, the Newtown, CT shooting really humbled me.
I only know a handful of 6-7 year olds, but considering one is my niece just brought tears to my eyes for about a week. I will never understand God's reasoning in all this. It's not meant for me to understand, but heaven forbid I ever squander a day complaining about how hard my life is compared to those families.
I can legitimately say I will probably never be the same and it didn't even happen to me.
Maybe incidents like that are meant for people like me to learn from, in realizing life is a lot better than you give it credit for....I'm so humbled by it, I just can't even explain.
Having a child changes you, but having your child taken away, especially in that manner, I just can't comprehend....

Sassy pants. 

One of the reasons this month has been such more fun is because B is changing so much.
Her developing personality has made it pretty easy.
She is a HAM.
This has a positive side and a negative side.
The positive side is you are almost ALWAYS entertained and so is she.
I can't tell you how many times we'll be in the car, running errands, and she just starts giggling for no reason. It's like someone is back there tickling her! It's so precious and her giggle is contagious. It's not possible not to smile when you hear it.
When in public B thrives being around TONS of people.
IDK where she would get that trait, haha, but anywhere we go she has absolutely no shy quality about her, waving, talking, peek-a-booing, smiling to complete strangers as we walk/stroll around. I love it. I'm so blessed to have such a secure content babe.
So the negatives.
When you get that much ham in one little baby body, it means the most epic of temper tantrums and the most outrageous attitude ever.
Another trait I'm not sure where it was obtained. ;)
If shaking your head "no" was an Olympic sport, we'd have a room of gold.
If the girl doesn't want to eat that last bite of food, you'll be damned for trying to make her.
It's not only the shaking head, it's the squinting eyes, the lemon face (or fish face if she's tired) along with full leg swing kicks and full body shaking 'no' along with the head shake.
It's awesome. Except not really.
It's actually VERY frustrating.
Take for instance this video I posted on FB of me not sharing my breakfast with her...oh my.
Believe me when I say, this drama is sometimes a daily thing and usually over the dumbest thing.
Like sharing my breakfast with her after she had already eaten...heaven forbid I eat in her presence without sharing.

I'm a "hamster" and I know it.

Another perfect example is actually the other day. We have had a steady stock of clementine oranges around while fam was in town and I kept trying to get B to try it...she's very anti fruit (unless it's puree) for some reason and I've been trying every fruit known to man to try to find something she'll eat. I kept trying, trying, and trying with these stinking oranges and she wouldn't even taste it.
Not only not taste it, threw it to "bob-bob" every time I set any down on her tray (throwing food is a whole other issue...karma, why?!).
Well, apparently if Uncle Drew eats them, then I must eat it too.
I found B down in Uncle Drew's room, mouth full of awesome clementine juiciness with the biggest smile on her face.
WTH?!
Like I said, it's wacko.
I'm about 99.99999% sure she knows completely what she's doing.
She's that good at her game.

Brynlee started going to Rhonda's at home child care starting this month, consistently going two times a week for four hours a day.
She is doing AMAZING.
I am so thrilled with how chill she eased into the whole thing. It made it 100% easier for me to leave her behind!

B's childcare buddies. :)
Went to junior high with some
of their parents!

I have a few things left for school to get done, but other than that, I'm SO ready for this.
I feel like there have been lots of reasons for me to quit trying to make this journey happen, and I just felt so convicted that it was something I should do I just kept pushing the issue...I'm so blessed that things have worked out the way they have, and this time next blog post, I'll have started school!
Aauugghh!!

For the holidays, just know that celebrating your first born's first Christmas is just so great.
I'm sure it's great for your second born, or third (or fourth?) but like I said earlier, relishing those firsts is just contagious.

Sunday before Christmas.

My mom's sister and her family came to town to celebrate the holidays with us, staying at GG's house around the bend from our house. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome family. Not even just mine, but even my in-laws. They are all just so supportive in SO many ways I wish I could describe it all. It actually goes without words sometimes.
Without going on and on and on, just know that I don't think B's first Christmas could have gone any better.
I didn't have anything specific set in mind for her first experience, especially since she's so young, but as the pieces of her Christmas puzzle fell into place it just felt right and perfect.

My self stander. Getting so big. :(

Here we are on the flip side of the holiday and looking back from last post I now have a self stander, crawling speedster, food tosser, bob-bob lover, cat meower and stalker, and the best of all, a mommy hugger. :)
We def have our days, sometimes more than one, haha, but besides dada not being here, I'm not sure she and I could be doing any better.
This first year of her life has been so dramatic, with it's ups being really high and it's lows tending to be pretty low, but all in all I wouldn't trade it for anything and I'm so proud of my little noodle and the trantrum throwing babe she's become.
Thank goodness there is still ample room to learn from each other and grow together.
I'm so grateful for this time and can't wait to see what these last days of her first year hold for us.

December 26th, 2012.

Oh my. Awesome.

Gearing up for B's 1st b-day. Can. Not. Wait!

The Big 10

As of 12-3-12.

I know I always start off these monthly posts with exclaiming how crazy the time has flown and how so much has changed. While a lot of things have changed, I have to admit this month has drug by to no end, and has been a real rough one in it's entirety. It's definitely had it's ups, but the downs have kind of made me forget what the ups were!
I have still UBER failed on keeping B's "private" blog on her day to day, week to week progress since I got here. Thankfully I'm still a pen and paper planner keeper and that's been the only way I have kept up with anything.
I have to start off by getting the elephant in the room off my chest.
Deployments are so stinking hard.
You'd think by deployment #3 that one would be used to this lifestyle, but I am learning more and more that each one has it's own set of challenges and adversities no matter how "experienced" you are.
Having a baby makes it 100 times harder.
The burden one has to carry in what John and I have named, "geographical single parenting,"is such a heavy one, and I would be lying if I said there weren't days where I just didn't want to get up out of bed and face the day.
Brynlee is such a joy and I am so proud to be her mother, even on the bad days.
But those days when I wake up to that little whisper of "Da-da?" for the billionth morning in a row, it just starts to make you a little angry inside.
Ok, a lot angry.
Not really sure what/who I am angry at, I'm finding I'm becoming just an ill person in general.
I harbor feelings of anger, guilt, restlessness, regret, exhaustion in multiple ways, the feeling of defeat is something to be conquered on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.
Each day is a new day, meaning a new day of highlights, but also a new day of challenges.
Sometimes I am able to take those challenges head on and not be phased.
But sometimes when I am faced with my first one of the day, it's all I have not to just throw in the towel and walk away.
Not literally. You know what I mean.
I am slowly learning, through this trial and error, that I am not meant to be a full time stay at home mom. And I am TOTALLY ok with that.
I don't regret having tried and done it this far, but it's something that I am not sure I want to do again...I know I'm saying this extremely prematurely, but it's how I feel as of now, so my foot is 100% prepared to be inserted in mouth at a future date, with no shame.
I have mentioned before that Brynlee's personality seems like karma payback to me (and those that raised me, sigh), meaning that as precious as she can be, she can also be an absolute STINK.
There's no real grey area.
I am learning, that's it's kind of an either/or thing.
Because I am pretty much the same way, the way we feed off each other is kind of dangerous, and the hardest part is to be the adult in the room!
I have to say though, that among all the chaos I call my life, there are days where I just look at her playing and just sit there thinking, is she really mine?
Did I really "make" that?
She's just such a cutie, even when she's in a funk it can be entertaining to watch, especially now that she's older. She's such a little explorer, and in such fine detail.
She'll sit in my parents living room and trace the designs in the rug, over and over and over, going over every little dot and detail.
Playing peek-a-boo is pretty much the best thing ever and now that she pulls up on everything, furniture is fair game to sneak behind.
I hate saying that the bad days have outweighed the good, because it's sounds like such a downer, but honestly this month has just been hard, so there's no real way around it.
Onto the progress!

Last post I mentioned that we were going in for B's 9 month appointment and I knew she'd gained good weight and couldn't wait to see her stats.
Well, once again, I sit in the room completely dumbfounded that she not only did not gain weight, she'd lost half a pound.
Granted she'd grown an inch, but that almost made the weight numbers worse.
Her weight wasn't even on the percentile chart.
Her height was 17%.
It's moments like these that make you question everything that you do as a mom.

Maybe I shouldn't have exclusively breastfed...obviously it wasn't doing enough.
Maybe I shouldn't be so "anti _________" (fill in the blank with anything to be honest)....
Maybe I didn't do _______ right...
If the girl is hungry, I feed her, how can this happen?!
Omg, am I STARVING my kid and don't even know it??
Dude, this mom thing is clearly not for me, take her from me now before she dies of starvation...

Teefers!

Whenever we go into these appointments and the scales go the wrong way it's back to blood work, finger pricks, and nutritionist meetings, and at that moment, I was on the verge of tears thinking about going through that all again.
Prior to the move her weight was shooting up since her last documented weight loss, and this news just knocked me down to the last peg of motherhood I could even find to stand on.
This was our first appointment with our new doctor in CO, and instead of making me feel like a horrible, misinformed mom, he simply said, "Well, you just need to feed her more. Honestly, you are not a very big person, so don't get all bent out of shape about it cause unless your husband is huge, she's just not going to be a big kid."
Instead of making me meet with nutritionists, he sent me home with a list of new things to try to add calories, carbs, and proteins to her diet and scheduled a weight check for a month down the road to see how she did.
That night I went to Whole Foods and spent over $100 on foods on this list to start implementing immediately and to get her on some sort of diet track.
Days after her 10 mos. bday we went in for our weight check and within this last month alone since the diet change, B has grown another inch to 27.5" (29%tile), and gained 2 pounds, putting her weight at 16.4 lbs. (5%tile whoop whoop!!).

Her new diet eventually eliminated pureed foods entirely, leaving her to eat (and me to constantly cook!) pasta, chicken, chicken sausage, quinoa or rice, yogurt, LOTS of different veggies, cheese, toast and pancakes are faves, one of my original anti's is now a must which is putting butter on virtually everything (within moderation)....she's not a huge fruit fan when it comes to finger foods, there are only a few we've been successful with.

On to more fun things, B has gained 3 teeth this month, with a fourth on it's way.
We conquered our fear of hard wood floor crawling (thanks Moss family!)...
We can stand-but not move for fear of falling- if propped into doing so. For some reason falling is terrifying in every way.
We had our first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and trip to Vail.
We stood up on our own while in Vail (didn't get picture proof, will work on that)!

So...what else has been going on?

My brother got injured on his senior day (go figure...) bringing him home for the semester early for complete knee replacement surgery (hence the trips to surgeons and rehab in Vail). It's been hard to watch this whole chapter of his life unfold, but I'm so proud of how he's handling it. I keep telling him it's ok to be mad, it's ok to be a bit angry, but he's refusing to let it get to him and I have to admire him so much for that.
There are so many things this injury has most likely shut the door on when it comes to that "little" man's future and it's hard for all of us to let that go. All the training, all the NFL scouting/combine talk and prep, all to go away within a matter of seconds has been hard to swallow...and it didn't even happen to US. Sigh....
I just have to give a minute of this blog to tell you how awesome my little "big" brother is, and how mature he's become when it comes to handling adversity in general and allowing God to use him regardless of how it doesn't make sense. It's something I can't do, let alone gracefully, so I just have to give him a mad shout out. :)

Giving Uncle Drew some pre rehab lovin. :)

Drew's new home away from his home away from his dorm. Hmmm....

We had our "quad-annual" election party, sans my parents (because of Drew's injury they were still in MO), and although my poor mother in law come out the only "happy" one at the end of the night, it still made a good reason to hang out, eat some grub, and pop some balloons.

I'm going to school in January to get formal certification in web design....best part is, thanks to the benefits we get through the military, my tuition is 100% paid for. I am starting out the Jan-May semester doing only 3 classes (9 credit hours), one of which is only a month long doing four Sundays in a row, eight hours a day.
This step is something I can't even put into words with how excited I am.
I have been so blessed in this career field, but haven't had enough formal training in it.
We'll just say I know enough to be dangerous, but not adventurous.
I decided, with John deployed, I had the time, the means, and the opportunity, so the only thing preventing it from happening was me.
I have had to work but BUTT off to make it happen, and class hasn't even started yet.
Having the government assist you in paying for anything, regardless of qualifying, means a TON of paperwork and a TON of time to follow up with people that view you as one of a million other people wanting to do the same thing whole feel just as important.
Thanks to the help and support of friends and family, I was able to get the time to make the calls, fill out the forms, follow up the emails all in the name of my love of learning, and I CANNOT WAIT.
It will take the full year for me to get the complete certification because of going part time, but the fact that my tuition is 100% paid for, regardless (well, I have to pass of course), makes the pressure so much easier to handle.
With that comes the whole childcare conundrum that all parents face when working/school part time/full time.
I have been to private schools, development centers, and am currently exhausting home care options, all trying to figure out the best way to make this transition as much of a learning experience for B as it will be for me. Another benefit of all this is that, again, thanks to the our military benefits, her part time childcare is virtually paid for, SUCH a blessing.
I am planning on having her in part time care four days a week for four hours a day. Two days of the four are classes, the other two are errands/gym/homework time.
This has been really hard for me to figure out, and it's built a huge respect factor from me for the parents that have had to do this with much younger children, and because they didn't have a choice to stay home like I do.
It's made me realized how blessed I am, but it's also made me realize how paranoid I am about leaving B anywhere. She's never been in childcare minus the church nursery and the gym nursery, and honestly, having a good day in either hasn't occurred yet.
BUT, Brynlee will be two weeks shy of her first birthday by then, and I'm hoping with age comes a smidge of maturity and curiosity to be social with other kiddos her age.
I am cautiously optimistic, all the while have complete mommy panic, but whenever I am this way, she ALWAYS proves me wrong, so here's to optimism!

Stuck on the tarmac, so taking pictures
for baby distraction. :)

I attended my 5 year college reunion in Bethany, OK.
Whoa. Five years?
While there it felt like we'd graduated just yesterday, but while away it feels like a totally different life.
Although getting to see and visit with everyone was SO fantastic, the trip there and then back home made it absolutely miserable.
This was B and my first flight solo, and I swear after this experience I will NEVER do it again.
Every single plane to OK and back to CO was delayed...not just delayed, but HOURS delayed, sometimes stuck on the tarmac for the dumbest things ever...like:
"We have too much luggage on the plane, we need to turn around and unload some of it, sorry if the bags being unloaded are yours, it'll catch up to your final destination eventually."
Not joking.
Plus they lost our stroller and car seat that were gate checked luggage.
I'm still not sure how that actually happens. I'm not sure that they are sure, to be honest.
Needless to say when mom picked B and I up from the COS airport she slept almost three hours when we got home.

I turned 28.
Enough said about that.
BUT my birthday twin/niece Emery turned 2, so that's awesome. :)

I have come to realize through this month of selfish self pity and loneliness, that the only one that can make the bad day spin around is me.
I set the tone.
I am planning on spending this next month relishing all the good and the bad with Brynlee, realizing that although she can absolutely drive me insane somedays, that this time is fleeting and too fast, at that.
I am already starting to plan her 1st birthday party and have too many ideas and not enough time or sense to implement them all.
I have been asked, by both friends and family, why I am already planning/buying into a party for a baby that's not even going to remember it.
And for me, that answer is simple, it's not just her turning one, it's just as much for me hitting a milestone that I kept another human alive for that length of time!
Albiet underweight, but other than that, somewhat successfully. :)

Must. Crawl. Over. EVERYTHING.

My Halloween fish face. :)

Our Brynlee Bug. :)

Wishing Star Farms pumpkin picking.

Thanksgiving 2012. :)

Thanksgiving is AWESOME!! :)

The Nines

Happy little 9 month b-day to our little Bryn bug!

As of her 9 month "bday," Oct 26th, we are currently up to 32 days without daddy, est. 18 of which he's been actually deployed. We've been able to Skype with him once since he deployed. The internet connection is awful, so there have been several failed attempts that leaves B bored, while waiting around, and me bummed.
Every times she's in my room and see's my computer on, she'll start her little head bop and holler out "Da?" or sometimes "Bob?" We have no idea who 'bob' is, but he's very popular, almost more than da. I have also noticed if she's fussing at me for something and I'm not responding fast enough or at all, that after a couple tries she'll resort to calling out for her "da" instead.
Smart girl.
That will get her somewhere someday!
Since he left we've actually managed to stay pretty busy, having only a few, here and there, "boring" days where I have to make up something for us to do.
Next week is B's 9 month appointment with her new doctor and I am really excited to see what her weight/height progress has been. I went ahead and bumped her to size three diapers, she's almost completely grown out of her 6-9 month clothes and is wearing a solid 9 month with some of those even getting a little snug in the length.
I swear since we've been in CO her hair has doubled in thickness.

Avocado is our #1 food right now.

It's hard to remember "back in the day" when I yearned for B to eat real foods because all I could get her to eat was 100% watered down rice cereal.
Nowadays it's the polar opposite, I can't get her to sit and eat a bowl of oatmeal for longer than 5 minutes. If it can be put on her tray and picked up with fingers, she wants to do it on her own.
With this has obviously come with a broader menu which has made things really fun to try.
She's a veggie NUT which is kinda strange, but I'll take it!
The current faves are avocado, black beans, cauliflower, and peas...she'll eat some puree of other things, but prefers to have the real food to feed herself if it's an option.
She also loves watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, and cheese!
She still loves her mum-mums, her wheat or barley teething bars, occasional puffs and even toast if handy, and LOVES the yogurt drops.
The girl can put it down too. I swear she spends half her time between naps eating instead of playing. Could be just a growth spurt, which is what I am hoping it is, but goodness! The girl can seriously pack it down.
With all that, sometimes I struggle to keep her interested in nursing with all these new food options. She still wants to at key times throughout the day, but you can tell that at times it's more out of pure comfort and routine than sustenance.
I honestly don't have a nursing plan for after 1 year, I never thought beyond that! I still don't really know what my goal is past the first year, but unlike everything else I do, I'm going to kinda let her decide when she's done, within reason!

Crawling!

With all that, I know she's gained weight and height based on her jumperoo alone!
When we first got to CO, her little ballerina toes barely touched the ground, now they not only touch but her knees are bent, most likely me needing to raise it up a level here soon. Downside is that she's less entertained by it nowadays because she's crawling!
Three days after her daddy left us in CO she started crawling.
THREE DAYS.
I was so happy and so bummed at the same time. She started off with huge crawling lunges. The awkwardness of it reminded me of a new foal or calf learning to walk...Large and exaggerated 'steps' with lots of little face plants in between.
She's now graduated to full on crawl 'sprinting' and more recently starting to pull up on objects and crawl up and over things/laps/legs.
Now that we are finding our new "normal" routine this has included several different childcares which has been anything but easy.
First experience was at the church daycare and she seems to be doing "ok."
"Ok," as in, her nursery # isn't flashed on the screen to come get her, but yet they have to hold her or feed her snacks the whole time to keep her from fussing.
We've also continued using the gym daycare every once in a while and that's a major work in progress.
We've also used Grandma Christian on occasion and that's a work in progress as well. She's getting MUCH better with Grandma C the more we hang out with her both at our house and at hers, so I see it improving a lot as time goes by, thank goodness!
The childcare hatred is totally my fault and I'm trying my best to remedy it. I had her off to a good start leaving her with friends when I occasionally went into work, but once that stopped, so did the occasional stay over and now we're fighting the separation anxiety big time. She shows progress on some days, then other days it's like starting all over, so persistence is key!
Right before B's 9 month bday she started getting in her top two teeth and BOY what a trial it's been.
It seriously reminds me of when she was a "new" newborn where sometimes you get to that point where they are fed, clean, warm, and they still just cry and there's not much you can do.
She's been extra clingy, which at first I didn't mind, but after about a week of it, I was starting to go a little crazy.
She earned the new nickname of 'Snots' during this time (for multiple reasons) and it's a symptom she still has even now that they have barely broken through.
I think my mom put it best, "Sometimes there are easy babies, and sometimes there are hard babies. Your's is just not an easy one..."
True THAT.
I truly feel that teething is of the devil and that it's the second consequence of the Original Sin in some demented way.
I totally feel for her, and I can see why she's in so much pain, but baby Tylenol, Hylands, and Orajel can only go on for so long!

Pulling up, where'd my baby go!?

With all these changes also came a change in our daily routine which is something we just changed recently.
B was still on a three nap a day schedule, mainly because the move here pulled us back a bit with the time change. Now that we're pretty set I noticed that the #2 middle nap wasn't really a nap anymore...it was more of a "my bed is a trampoline!" type of experience.
SO we've moved to a two nap a day schedule and it's something we're all still trying to get used too.
Either we struggle to keep her entertained long enough to keep her awake-yet tired, OR we get her too riled up to where she won't take the second nap at all and just plays in her bed the whole time.
Most people probably wouldn't mind this, but our #1 thing from day one is that beds are for sleeping, not playing, so we're having to nip it in the bud...my little diva just takes a little more time to adjust to change than most (John says she get's that from me, but I don't see it)....


We stayed uber busy this month with several adventures.
First was our trip through the mountains to see the aspens change and hang out in Cripple Creek.
Trips like this remind me why I love CO so much.
You just don't see things like this anywhere else I've been!

Sorry ladies...#29 is mine!

Loving Uncle Drew. :)

We went to Missouri to see her Uncle Drew play in his Homecoming football game for Evangel. She also got to meet my uncles and cousins that she hadn't met yet, it was a blast and she wasn't spoiled in the least.

Ha. Haha.
She was SUCH a sport during the whole weekend of events and I'm SO thankful for all of my family's help with her. I actually got to sit and enjoy the trip instead of being consumed in 'single' mommy-hood and that alone made the trip worth it! Well, hanging out at the lake house wasn't so bad either, but ya know...

Pumpkin Patch with
Grandma Christian!

Towards the end of this month B and I, along with Uncle Jerrod, Grandma Christian, Aunt Karen, and B's cousins, Audrey and Emery, went to the pumpkin patch at Wishing Star Farms in Black Forest.
It was a blast and I'm so glad we went!
Again, B was SUCH a great sport and Grandma Christian was in her element holding her youngest grand while following around her other two.

Our little ladybug. :)

To debut our very first Halloween costume that daddy picked out, we went with her cousins again to an event at our local zoo, called Boo at the Zoo. It was cold, but it was a blast, and I loved getting to show off our little lady bug.

On B's actual 9 month birthday I actually had her babysat by Grandma Christian while my mom and I went to the Nevada vs. AF game. It was a whopping 17 degrees outside for the evening game, but it was still fun! I just love football season, I love a good game, and I love CO, so it made for a great mother daughter date, all the while Grandma Christian was getting in some major baby lovings, WIN-WIN.






We're glad the deployment has started and that we've finally settled in to our new temporary home. I'm looking forward to the holidays ahead with B's first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then her 1st birthday. I know that it's going to be hard to have genuine fun in all the festivities knowing how far away "da" is, but we're making the best of it!
We finally got John's address in Afghanistan and already sent him one small "Happy Halloween" care package and have another one ready to be sent. I have to admit that care packages are a bit more fun to send with a baby's touch to it. I imagine they are much more special to receive from a baby as well!
Until next time!

Missing you "da!"

Cripple Creekin' with PawPaw. :)

Evangel football with Ashleigh!

Blessed with an amazing view from the Branson lake house.

Pumpkin Patch with Uncle J. 

BOO at the Zoo. 

Pulling up on toys, sigh.

Fall Festival with Auntie Kristen!