airborne

Hey.  Remember me?  I used to blog here... but then my computer was stolen.  By my husband. 

For the past three weeks, Patrick has been at jump school in Georgia.  Due to work reasons, he had to take our laptop with him.  So, that meant I couldn't update you on our incredibly exciting lives!  I know, I know.  You were worried.  But, it's all good.  I'm back now!  Of course the computer absence came at the most exciting time in our lives thus far, Gunnar's first birthday!  More on that later...

For now, some pictures of Patrick's training experience:

Aren't we so cute?!  We missed Dad so much.  Because Patrick got finished so late the night we flew in, Gunnar was sleeping.  And Patrick had to leave for graduation practice so early the next morning, Gunnar was still sleeping.  Before we headed over to the ceremony, we grabbed breakfast at the BOQ and there were all kinds of guys in uniform.  Gunnar got so excited, he tried to run up to all of them.  The first time we saw our hero was when we pinned on his wings.  Little Guns was so excited, he tried to dive out of my arms and into Dad's.  Unfortunately Patrick was in formation and couldn't really hold him.  I put him down, and he ran off as I struggled to get the wings in the right spot.  (Thanks to the guy next to Patrick who I used as a guide).

I would just like to note that this was the first time in the 6 years Patrick has been in that I have been able to pin anything on my marine.  He got commissioned in St. Louis, so I wasn't there for that.  He promoted in Iraq, and then again in Afghanistan, so I (surprisingly) was not present for those either.  I kind of made a big deal out of it, and I was so nervous I dropped the pin backing twice.

Oh well, we all survived, and after a very long trip home (11 hours, arrived at 3:30 am) we can't wait to get back to our routine.  With our one year old.

mama

Today is my first real mother's day.  Yes, it's true, we have celebrated it with the dogs.  But this time it was with a real, live human baby.  And it was spectacular.  My morning started off with a nice run sans jogging stroller.  If you haven't run with one it's impossible to know how much harder it makes running.  Then I came home to a delicious breakfast cooked by my wonderful husband.  Scrambled eggs, topped with our very own home grown chives, bacon, and toast with home made fig jam.  Yum! 

After that it was present time, and the best one of all was this cute little canvas with all my boys hand/paw prints on it!  Love.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the house and an afternoon walk on the beach.  Followed by a nap with the reason I get to celebrate today.  Heaven.

Now, after a baked brie appetizer, I sit here as my dinner is being prepared.  Tilapia, wild rice, aspargus and corn on the cob... mmmm.

I must say, it is nice to be appreciated.  I know I am appreciated every day, but to hear my husband say "Don't worry about that, I've got it, go sit down" is a wonderful thing.  I sat on my butt all day and didn't feel bad about it one bit.  (Okay, I might have snuck in a load of laundry and dishes before he woke up... shhh).

Here's my extra special present from my little man:

Isn't he the cutest?  And don't you love his shirt?  He's been saying "mama" for a while now... more and more every day.  And I can't get enough!  This is the first time I caught it on camera though...

So Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there.  You deserve every bit of every nice thing you get today, and then some!

5 months

It's been a while since my last Little Guns update... you know with Dad getting home around the 4 month mark and everything.  So I hope you're ready to be overwhelmed with baby information!  Just kidding. Sort of...

Our (not so) little Gunnar Douglas is 5 months old now, and how appropriate that it falls on Valentine's Day since he came in and completely stole my whole heart.  At this point, I can only imagine how long/heavy he is.  We've got another month before any official measurements are taken, but we may try and do our own at some point this week(ish).  But he changes so much everyday that with black and white stats staring me in the face I just might cry at all of those changes.  Just the other day I put him in a 6-12 month onesie and it fit way too well.  Cue:  teary eyed momma.  I digress...

He absolutely loves his jumperoo, and his walker.  Being upright is pretty much his favorite thing.  We think he will skip crawling altogether and go right to walking running.  Especially since we got him the walker.  He doesn't like to go back to his all-too-familiar horizontal state, making crawling pretty much out of the question.  We still try tummy time every day, but he is so over it.  He is already jumping with both feet (at the same time) in his jumper.  It is by far the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

We also recently got him a high chair because he has started eating real food!  Well not real food, but baby food.  He started out on rice cereal and moved on to peaches.  He loved them.  Now we are on our week of bananas.  And since we unpacked our blender, I have been making the food myself, and I hope it is a habit I stick with.  I like knowing exactly what goes into his tummy, and plus it is nice that we can essentially share our food with him.  He really likes sitting in his high chair, and he loves eating (just like Dad).  Although it might be more that he is teething and really loves to chew on the spoon... but that's ok!  He still digests it all... and it's cute when he tries to feed himself.

He has got to be teething at this point.  The poor boy chews on any and everything he can put in his mouth.  And as if I thought he was drooling a lot before, he upped it ten fold.  It is insane how much saliva comes out of his mouth.  He also has been waking up around 1 in the morning just crying in pain. It breaks my heart, so I run upstairs and scoop him and and bring him in bed with us.  We get lots of cuddle time, which I love.

His new favorite things to play with are his feet.  When he lays on his back (which rarely happens anymore) he goes right for them and just giggles.  He is also becoming more and more ticklish.  Cutest. thing. ever.  Especially because his laugh is right in between baby and real person.  It's the best combination.  He laughs a lot these days, especially when you give him crazy kisses.  And when you stop he grabs your face and kisses back.  Ok, so it might be more like he's trying to eat your face, but I like to think of it as kissing.

So, happy 5 months of heart warming love, to me from my Guns, and Happy Valentine's Day to you from me and my little love bug!

coming home

Finally!  Patrick is home!  And I am posting it!  It was a great day, filled with lots of ups and downs...  Most people probably don't realize this about the military, but we really have no idea when they are coming home.  When he left, I had no clue when I'd see him again.  Your best guess was as good as mine. 

Eventually you will receive a flight window, which will give you something to countdown to.  A few days before arrival you will get word of the actually day and an estimate on the time.  Now, anything minor can change that in a major way.  When Patrick was coming home from Iraq he was delayed a full 24 hours.  

This time it was a total rollercoaster.  Instead of one big delay it was up, down, and all over the place.  He was supposed to be back around 6 pm.  About a day before they pushed it back to 8 pm.  Then the day of we got word it was back up to 6!  Not even 5 minutes after reading that message from the battalion commander I got a phone call from Pat saying that they hit major delays and the phone went dead.  Awesome.

We came to find out that they hit bad weather somewhere along their route (who knows where they really go).  Snow and fog I think?  Anyways... 7 hour delay meant a late night arrival, sometime around 1 am.  That's what we all prepared for and I didn't even go out and get my nails done until around 6 pm (his original arrival time).  While I was there I heard that they were running early and it was looking like 11 pm!  And the time just kept moving up from there.  So I rushed home and started to get ready, and off we went!  I even managed to remember everything I needed.

By the time we got to base, got visitor passes for family, we arrived at the battalion just about the same time the guys were getting to base!  They had to go to the armory and turn in their weapons (which they did in record time... 200 guys in about 20 minutes) and then they were finally in our arms!  All in all we only waited about an hour outside for the marines to arrive.  Most of which Gunnar slept in my arms for.  Then with all the cheering from the loved ones also there to greet their heroes, he awoke with a start and was screaming his head off...  But when things calmed down, so did he, and he loved loving on his Dad for the very first time.  

We couldn't be more happy to have our hero home.  We are thoroughly enjoying settling into our life as a family of three (or five if you count the dogs, like I do).  And we are looking forward to a good, long time of having Patrick home with us.  Enjoy the pictures that my sister Kelly took (can't thank you enough, Kel!)

 

finally

Monday night, I was finally able to rest easy.  It was the first time in 191 days.  And the reason for that was because my husband was sleeping next to me.  He is finally home!  Our family is whole again.

Thank you to my sister, Kelly, for taking the amazing photos and making us this slideshow.

For the record:  Gunnar had been crying long before Patrick arrived, he was sleepy and hungry.  Plus there were families of 200 marines cheering and yelling.  Once it all settled down, so did he, and he was perfectly happy loving on his Dad.  And let me tell you, they are 2 peas in a pod.  Everytime Guns looks at Patrick he breaks out in a huge grin and laughs.  We're not talking baby giggles here... I mean full on, real person, can't-catch-your-breath laughing.  Love it!

Welcome home Husband, Dad, Hero.  We love you!

giving thanks

First of all, I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying your holiday. I thought I would just take a moment to note just a few things I am thankful for this year.

Number 1 would be the wonderful wives of the 2D Radio Battalion.  I know I haven't seen much of any of you since the deployment started, but all the chats here and there, and even just your own updates on Facebook have helped me get through knowing I'm not alone.  So thank you ladies!

Number 2 would be my best friends in the whole world.  AKA my Wolfe Street Family.  I would not be who I am today without the influences (good and bad, ha) of you girls!  I love you all so much thank you all for being who you are, and always being there for me.

Number 3 would undoubtedly be my family.  They are truly unbelievable.  All the love and support I've gotten from them throughout my life is more than greatly appreciated.  I don't know what I'd do without you.  I love you all!

Number 4 goes to my dogs.  For so long it was just me and them.  Even when Patrick wasn't deployed, I could go entire days not talking to any humans.  Just them.  And they don't love me any less for having a baby.  And they still love to play with me.  They are the best.  If you are an avid reader of mine, you already know how much I adore them.  Thank you boys for your sloppy kisses!

And since I am equally thankful for both of these guys, number 5 is my husband and son.  I count my blessings everyday that this is my family.  I am the luckiest girl to have married my best friend, and my hero.  What better role model for our son who has so quickly completely stolen both of our hearts.  I can't say I don't remember life before him, because I do.  But I certainly don't want to go back there.  These 2 are my everything.  Thank you for being you Patrick and Gunnar. XO

thanks for all the laughs, my love

and thanks for being so sweet

and thanks for giving my this little guy

and sonny boy, thanks for that smile

Last but not least, I am thankful for the days passing quickly and that this deployment is more than half way over with.  I am thankful that Patrick has stayed busy (to help him pass the time) and most importantly safe.  I am thankful for each phone call, and every email.  Each one is one more closer to seeing him again.  Counting down the days...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  

hello due date

The day has finally come.  And I knew I should have gone with my instincts and kept telling myself the due date of the 17th (like I had been told after the first ultrasound).  But those darn doctors and check ups got my hopes up and I caved.  I decided to listen to them, and I mentally changed the date to the one they were telling me.  Today.  Now here I am, just waiting, waiting, waiting... For any sign that labor is near.  And let me tell you:  it does not look good for me.

I was actually hopeful that things would get moving last night, with the full moon and all.  So I did all of my last minute errands just in case.  And hey, did you know that having a baby is like having the plague?  Every place I went, someone asked when I was due, and when I responded with "tomorrow" they were incredibly quick to get me moving along and out of where they might be responsible for a laboring woman.  The guy at CVS even said "you need to get out of here" and turned me in the direction of the door!  Pretty funny...

As for today, I started off the day with a brisk mile walk with each of the dogs.  That's two miles, count 'em.  I am so paying for it now in the form of lower back pain.  But still no contractions!  Lucky me, right?  Wrong!   For the rest of the day I will be drinking pineapple juice and red raspberry tea.  No spicy food for me though, OW!  I get heartburn just thinking about it (seriously, I just did).

But, I have decided that even if little man decides not to come today, I will survive.  Simply because of the fact that I have the greatest husband in the world.  Please just take a look at what arrived for me today:

No, not the dog, or the books.  The beautiful flowers in the adorable basket!  Complete with a wonderful card that made me sob.  So, you see why if nothing happens on the baby front today, my day is complete because of this oh so very kind gesture.  I love you husband!

We'll see what the rest of the day holds...!

the ultimate day

Today totally makes up for yesterday - TEN fold!  It's like my birthday, Christmas, our wedding day, every good thing, all rolled into one... and today is STILL better!  I got 50 (yes that is five - zero) whole minutes of Skype video time with Patrick today.  I really took it for granted when he was in Iraq and we could do it every day.  But after 5 weeks of not seeing his face, it was WONDERFUL!

He called first and said that he thought the internet would be working and we could chat.  So I had to walk out of "The Help" right in the middle so that I could get home and talk to him before he went to bed.  My dear old Dad came and picked me up and I'm so glad he did, because now I can't wipe the smile off my face!  Sorry Mom, I'll pay you back for the movie ticket :)

I got to see him, he got to see me, and the dogs.  They were so excited!  They couldn't stop looking for him around the room.  They were giving me kisses all over as if to say "it's Dad! it's Dad!"  How cute are they?!  Goodness, I'm so giddy right now I could just scream or something!  God bless technology.  And God bless the USA!

PS:  this is us from the 4th of July... so it's patriotic.

paper anniversary

What does that even mean anyways?  Stationary?  A card?  Well my interpretation of it was:

Pens.

They go hand in hand with paper right?

We've got 3 weeks (and change) down on this deployment, and I celebrated that by mailing out 3 care packages to Patrick this week.  One of which included his glorious anniversary present (and card - so I guess I got the paper covered).  He won't get the package for a few weeks, but his internet access is terrible, so I'm quite confident this won't be a spoiler alert since he can barely check his email... but his gift was pens.  His favorite pens to be exact.  He had one that he loved, and he took it to and from work everyday.  He was very overprotective of his pen.  I had to ask permission to use it, and he kept tabs on it the whole time I was borrowing it.

As he was packing to leave, I made sure his pen was in a spot where it wouldn't be forgotten.  Well guess what, it was.  And when we got to the battalion, he was pen-less.  Even I didn't have one in my purse (and I always have at least 3).  We scavenged around the car and found one without a cap in the center console.  Beggars can't be choosers.  So off he went sans fave pen.  So I found it only fitting that his pen supply was replenished.  So there you go hubby - Happy anniversary!  One year down, forever to go.

In honor of our wedding day, 365 days ago... Some photos from the event.  Of course, thanks to Melissa Barrick for the gorgeous memories.

you know you're a military wife when...

...a mere 11 seconds can make your whole day.

That's how my day went today.  After 2 failed attempts to connect (comms are great across these 7,000+ miles) on the phone, the third call (which barely had a chance to even ring) went like this...

me:  "Hi!"
Pat: "Hey, I gotta go, but I love you."
me:  "Oh.  Okay.  I love you too."

And instead of being sad, I find myself feeling so incredibly thankful and lucky that my husband took those 11 seconds out of his without-a-doubt beyond busy day/night to call me and tell me that.  Oh, how I love that man!

'anniversary' celebration

Since Patrick won't be around for our one year anniversary, we opted to celebrate it a month early.  Old, frozen cake and all...