I'm here and you're there

This month marks 6 years since I met my husband. It really doesn't seem like it has been that long, but I guess that is a good thing. This year will also mark our 3 year wedding anniversary. The only problem is, I'm here and he's there. :( I miss my husband immensely and each day that we spend apart seems like eternity. I hate that we are apart, but I know that it will only make our relationship stronger.

*Then*

We have been tossing around the idea of putting the house up for sale when hubby gets home and moving out to the country. I think the kids would really enjoy the extra space and not having our neighbors so close to us. I would also like to have a bigger garden next year and have the option down the road to maybe have some chickens for fresh eggs. I know, crazy right? But it sounds like a good adventure and my husband could teach me how to do it. :)

We are planning to get pictures done of the boys next month. I am having the same person do it that did my sister's wedding photos. She did an amazing job on her pictures and I hope the boys' will turn out just as good. I would've liked to get family pictures done, but we will wait for hubby to get home to get those done.

*And now*

10 months and counting

Wow, it has been forever since my last blog. I cannot believe my little man is 10 months old now. And even more so, I can't believe that when daddy left, B was only 5 months old! It kills me every day to know how much he is missing with the boys and how much they are changing while he is gone. I have been taking videos and pictures of the boys with my cell phone and emailing them to daddy so that he can still see how they are changing.

It seems like B has changed so much from 9 months. Let's see what he is doing now:
--pulling up on just about anything he can get his little paws on
--he is starting to move from one place to another while standing, such as from the toy box to the kitchen set.
--he is eating only table food.
--We have switched out the bottle for a cup during one of his feedings at the babysitter.
--We are still nursing and going strong! I am determined to make it to the one year mark and beyond.
--He has taken a liking into tackling his older brother to the floor and then climbing all over him.
--I don't know how much he weighs exactly or how long he is, but he is outgrowing his Medium sized diapers in the rise. So that would tell me he is getting longer.
--He loves to laugh and is probably the happiest baby I know.
--He now has his 2 bottom teeth.
--He has discovered where the DVD's are kept and I must now find a new location for them unless I want to continue to clean them up constantly.
--He has also found the toy box and loves to stand there and throw out all of the toys.
--He is sleeping the entire night in his crib. (Not sleeping through the night, but he is staying in his crib the whole night)
--He now wears 12-18 month clothing and he and his older brother can wear some of the same stuff.

He is changing so much and learning so much from watching his brother. He is just a joy to have in our family and I can't wait to see how he continues to grow and change.

P is also growing and learning so much. His speaking skills have improved so much in the past month and he can now say so many words that he was unable to say before. Another big milestone for P is that he is now potty trained, except at night. It didn't take very long and I am very thankful for that! Both boys are just adjusting so well to daddy being gone and we have gotten into a very good routine. Bedtime is so much easier now and so are the evenings and mornings. I think we have it down to a science. :) So, now on to the good stuff...pictures!

*A good pic of his teeth*

9 Months Old

Well, B is officially 9 months old now. Let's see what is going on with him:
--He is crawling like a maniac
--He pulls himself up on just about anything and everything he can get his hands on
--He loves to walk while holding your hands
--He is in the process of getting his first tooth
--He is still breastfeeding and going strong
--At his 9 month check up today he weighed in at 18lbs 2oz and was 27 inches long
--He babbles and laughs non-stop
--He thinks his older brother is just hilarious
--He looooves table food, but still not a huge fan of jarred food
--He can drink from a cup
--He can clap his hands
--He is sleeping half the night in his crib

I think that is all I can think of right now. He is just such a happy, happy baby and so full of life. Everyone that meets him comments on how happy he is and how good of a baby he is. (I attribute that to the breastfeeding and babywearing) Trust me, he definitely has his moments of fussiness, but overall he is just a joy to have around. I wish daddy was here to see how much his little man is changing every day. It won't be long before he is walking and I hate for daddy to miss that!

Long time no see!

I know, it's been quite a while since I last updated this thing. So, what has been going on in our lives?

First off, I went back to work at my old job at the beginning of the month. So far, it has been a good choice. The boys are doing great at the babysitter and I am able to pump enough milk for B while I am at work.

Secondly, B has really taken off in the crawling department. He is everywhere and in to everything! He has now started to pull himself up on things to the standing position. I had to move his crib mattress down another slot because he can pull himself up in the crib. He will also stand and walk while holding onto your fingers. He is so mobile! P was never this mobile so fast.

Also this month, we went down to Gulfport for a week to visit with the hubby before he left. It was such a great time and we have some really awesome memories. My birthday just happened to be while we were down there, so the inlaws watch the boys while hubby and I got a date night. We went to go see Harry Potter, ate some sushi, and then went gabbling. It was such a fun night!

P had some much fun playing in the sand on the beach and in the water. B liked to sit where he could splash in the water and play in the sand. It was really nice to have some quality family time. We haven't been on a real vacation since P was born.

We have a crawler!

B has officially started to crawl on all fours as of July 4, 2009! It amazing how far they can come in just a couple of days. I remember that P didn't start crawling until he was almost 9 months old and then waited until he was almost 15 months to walk. For some reason, I don't think B will wait that long to walk. He is such a mover and a shaker.

B has also mastered feeding himself finger foods. He loves Cheerios, watermelon, Happy Baby Organic Puffs, and Mum Mum's. He will eat almost anything, except bananas and squash, he is not a fan of those.

We also did a trial run at the babysitter's last week. Both boys went for two days in a row. B has never been to a babysitter besides family, so I was nervous how he would react. But he was just fine! I should have known he would be ok, he is such a happy, go-lucky baby. He even took a bottle for her, of course it had breastmilk in it. I have tried before to leave him with my mom for a couple of hours while I am out and he will not take a bottle of formula. Period! He will take one sip and spit it out. So, apparently breastmilk is the key to my little man's heart. :)

*P and Papa C checking out the pond at GiGi's house*

P also said the word "pool" yesterday! We were at my uncle's for the 4th and he has a pool. P just came out of no where and said "pool!" Now I know he can say "P" words and there is no excuse why he won't say "please." We have been trying to get him to say "please" and "thank you" for some time now and he just refuses to say them. He has never tried to repeat us or imitate us using words at all, but I figured by now he would be saying them.

*P and cousin K watching a video on the cell phone*

In other news, I start back to work tomorrow. It is a bittersweet feeling, I am excited to go back and get into the routine again with adult conversation, but at the same time I will miss my babies tremendously!!

The explosion!

Our garden has definitely taken off rather well, a little too well for me being the gardener. I usually kill everything as soon as I plant it. But I guess my luck has changed for this year.

I had to take out an entire row of cucumbers and give them to my inlaws because they were getting so big that they were overtaking my jalapenos and green onions. I still have 7 cucumber plants left, which is probably more than enough. I also counted how many green tomatoes we have on our plant tonight and I got 21! Good thing I LOVE fried green tomatoes and regular tomatoes or else we would be in trouble. The green onions are coming along, I have already harvested about 8 or so and ate them up. The radishes I also harvested and ate all of them as well.

*Green Onions*

*Tomatoes*

I also planted an eggplant plant this year and I am very curious to see how this thing grows. It is getting tall but I haven't quite figured out yet how this heavy eggplant is going to grow on this tall plant without weighing it down. But, I may be surprised!

*Eggplant*

I think the thing I love best about my garden is that is it all natural. All of my plants are growing so well and all I used was organic soil and compost. You don't have to use a bunch of chemicals to get the results that you want. I can't wait to harvest more of our veggies!

A quick update

Wow, it feels like forever since the last time I blogged. Let's see, what has happened in the mean time?

P broke his arm and yes, I feel terrible about it! Those Target shopping carts will get you every time. The good news is, he only needs to have his cast on for 4 weeks. That means, it comes off 2 days before we leave for Mississippi to see dad. Which also means, P can swim while we are there!! I was so worried about that. We got a condo on the coast and I was hoping he would be able to enjoy the water and the pool.

P has also been talking so much more. He now says, "Look, mama, look!" Although it sounds more like "wook, mama, wook!" He says "brother" and will call people their names. However, he seems to think that all males are "papa" and all females are "nay nay" and he will ask where they are constantly. He will also bring me my phone and say "papa", which means that he wants me to play a video of daddy.

B has been doing great! He is maneuvering himself all around and is just about crawling. He can get up onto his hands and knees from his belly and he rocks back and forth. He will even hop his knees forward when he rocks. Now he just needs to get the arms and the legs together and he will be off. I can't believe that he will be 8 months old in about a week. He is growing up too fast! He has been babbling so much, he loves the "ba ba" sounds right now.

I have decided to return to work. I start back next week at my old job. I am nervous about B going to the babysitter for the first time, but I know that he will be in good hands. I have been working with both boys about setting a daily routine for naps and bedtime. So far, it has worked out pretty good. B is also getting much better about sleeping in his crib. It is much less of a fight now and he sleeps a good portion of the night in his own room. Now, if I could just sacrifice some sleep and feed him and put him back to bed instead of bringing him to sleep with me, he would probably sleep all night in there. That is my goal for this week.

We also got a new Canon camera. Our old point and shoot camera was starting to produce blurry pictures no matter which setting it was on. We received a $100 gift card in the mail from Dell, so I got us a new, better camera with it so I can capture the boys "in the moment" instead of 5 minutes after the moment has passed. :)