Good Morning!

I just love it when our day starts like this....Christian smiling and giggling. All ready to explore and play. (And hopefully mommy will be able to keep up with him long enough to last the day.)

"Hi Daddy, Look at Me!"

We filmed this last night before Christian went to bed. He is in a pretty good mood considering. Maximize the video for a better view. :o)

Light at the End

I was thinking: Steve has been gone over a year in the past 22 months, about 1/4 of our marriage, and 1/2 of Christian's life between his lengthy TDYs (Fort Bragg and Hurlburt Field) and this deployment. Needless to say, it will be so nice to have him home. Hopefully he can stick around for awhile. In some ways I don't remember what it was like to have him home...how sad is that? I guess I have just gotten used to the solo days and evenings. Setting up new routines in hopes that it will help Mommy and Christian get through the day. Sometimes we are just in survival mode. And in the end, we have nearly made it. I am not quite sure how some military families have been able to sacrifice so much of their life together. I am grateful that this was a shorter deployment compared to the year-long+ commitments, and I am thankful that Steve will (cross my fingers) not have to go back soon. God has kept him in safe territory and I am incredibly grateful that he is not on the front lines. No, this lifestyle is not ideal, but I am SO thankful that God has given us the grace to get through these rough separations. So...as we look at these last couple weeks, I am just so thrilled that there is light at the end of the tunnel. And can I just say, "Thank You" to all military members and families, past and present, who have served (in a multitude of ways) for our country. We have gotten just a taste of what that sacrifice looks like.

Spring Bulbs?!

It is still January right? I'm not mistaken? So what are these little guys doing popping up in our yard? Even though South Carolina has had cold weather, rain, snow, and ice, it is not keeping these spring bulbs from pushing through. But I need a little more winter please. And I am definitely not ready for another round of the southern summer heat and humidity. Yikes!

Walking at Last (Most of the Time)

Right before we went home for the holidays Christian look his first steps (at 14, almost 15 months) so naturally we thought, "this is it!" but C had other plans. During our entire month stay in Colorado Christian would only take three or four steps on his own at a time (which were few and far between.) He would walk on his own if he was holding a finger or if you slightly had your hands on his back, but as soon as you would let go he would drop to his knees and continue "the knee walk." Well, it seems like he has gained quite a bit more confidence ever since we returned back to South Carolina. He now walks randomly without encouragement, and is very close to taking off!

Christian is 16 Months

Christian is growing healthy and strong. At his 16 month appointment yesterday he was 24 lbs. 4 oz. which puts him in the 36th percentile and was 31.5 inches long which puts him in the 44th percentile. I am still surprised that he is in the bottom half percentage-wise for children his age. He has been a great little sleeper and is becoming a better eater now that he is using eating utensils more frequently. It also helps that he has 13 teeth. Although playing is still what he does best :0)

Wordless Wednesday *Nom Nom, Popcorn*

Christian and Jana Marie

Have I mentioned that we have some awesome neighbors? I cannot begin to describe the wonderful neighborhood community that we moved into last May. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful, which is especially important since we had only lived in this house three months before Steve left for his deployment. There are a lot of military families, but also some native South Carolinians (maybe 50/50?) Across the street from us are our dear friends Leigh and Jana Marie. They have been so sweet to us and have watched Phoenix a number of times while we have been away. Christian has adopted JM as his "Big Sister" and they are so cute together. Poor JM was worried that Christian wouldn't remember her after our lengthy trip this past month, but not to fear, as soon as C saw her he squealed with delight and reached for her. It is so wonderful knowing that we have friends and neighbors that we can count on at any time. We are so blessed!

Phoenix helping Jana Marie with her homework. "My buddy and me!"

The Best Grandparents!

God has blessed Christian with wonderful grandparents.

We really enjoyed spending time with you during our special visit in Colorado. Thank you for welcoming us into your homes and making us feel comfortable. We are so very thankful for you!

Counting the Days

...until we see you again!

We are coming down the homestretch of this deployment!

Whoo hoo!!

A New Years Goal

I am not a big New Year's resolution type, but this year I would really like to work on staying in touch with others. So much so, that I want to make it a goal for this year. Being home this past month has been such a blessing and I have had the opportunity to see family and reconnect with friends that I hadn't seen or heard from in awhile. So whether it means phone calls, e-mails, or letters, I am finding more and more that I need to make it a priority to keep up with those who are important to me and have made a difference in my life. Since I am writing a post about this, that means I need you to keep me accountable. If you haven't heard from me in awhile, give me a little nudge.

Oh So Fun to be a Kid

Kids have it the best don't they? Getting to play and do fun activities all day. What a life. :o) It is even more fun when you have a little friend to play with. Below are some pictures of Christian and Linden goofing around at Nana's house with Uncle Ryan and playing at "The Monkey Place" as Linden calls it (Little Monkey Bizness.)

Christian really enjoyed the slides at the play place. Can you tell?

Blackmail or Something like it...

These old slides turned digital definitely provide a good chuckle. Did our parents really dress us that way? (Even though some of the fashions have returned.) Look how young they were. Even the furnishings in our past homes bring back memories. Isn't it always fun looking through old albums and pictures?

I wonder how our children will view our "old" photos. Will they watch them in a digital picture frame, or view them in the folders on the computer? Things have definitely changed since digital cameras came out. I know for us, not nearly as many photos are printed anymore. I am hoping that this year I will be better at working on albums (with the little personal time I have) or finding some way to make these memories more accessible.

The Purple Tutu Project

My niece, Linden, has been very excited about "Bal-a-lay" this season. She likes to give us ballet lessons and is a wonderful little instructor. So my mom and I thought we would take on a little project and make Linden a purple tutu for Christmas. After tying on the pieces of tulle, somehow the elastic became quite stretched out (by the way- I am not actually wearing the tutu in the above photo) so my mom will need to do a little alteration. Linden LOVES spinning in her tutu, maybe a dancer in the making? It has been so fun hanging out with Linden this Christmas and to watch LP and C play together.