11 Months

Price,

You are 11 months old today. You amaze me more and more every day! I cannot believe how quickly you are growing up and how you seem to change. Two weeks ago we received a 12 month developmental checklist to track your developmental progress. I was disheartened while reading it because I couldn't really check much off the list. However, in the past week, I have started checking things off on a daily basis.

You are so much fun to be around. You recently started laughing at everything. Every time your dad or I look at you, you smile. When you crawl across the floor in your funny hybrid army/traditional crawl and look back to make sure someone is watching you, you smile. When we feed you with a spoon you bite the spoon and wait for us to shake your head back and forth and smile because you know you are being funny.

You are clumsy (like me) and bump your head A LOT! You've had 3 bruises on your head in the past two weeks. You are very resiliant, you bump, dust yourself off and get right back up. I hope you continue to be this way.

You finally seem to understand the word "No." You don't like hearing it (and I hate saying it to you, but it's in your best interest when I do) and have started crying because you know on some level you are being denied something that you want.

Your daddy and I love you so much. You are usually the last thing we think about or talk about each night. One of usually brings up some thing new, funny, cute, or sweet (typically a combination of all the aforementioned)and we drift off to sleep with smiles on our faces thinking of you.

I love you baby boy!

What A Wonderful Weekend!

We had an action-pack, friend-filled weekend. It was a blast!

We kicked the weekend off on Friday afternoon by heading over to the USAF Freedom's Call Tattoo. We went with the Mays, and our new friends (and backdoor neighbors) Brandon and Shelly, and another neighbor Jennifer. We got there early enough to pick a great spot, spread out a big blanket for the babies and enjoyed a pleasant evening visiting with friends, watching planes flyover and listening to several bands.

After the Tattoo, we headed back to the Mays to hang out and watch fireworks. As we were walking home, we noticed a woman writhing in pain on the ground. An older man was standing over her watching her cry and talk on the phone. We stopped to ask what was wrong and the guy said she had a stomachache. Luckily, Nathan is a nurse so he and Don stayed to see if they could help, and Rachel and I headed on home. I flagged down some bike cops and they also went to help. About 20 minutes later, we heard ambulance sirens and the guys came in. Apparently the girl had been like that for at least an hour and was actually going into shock and becoming less responsive. The ambulance we heard was for her and took her to the hospital. Nathan thinks she got overheated (we are in the middle of a heat wave) and then dehydrated. I hope she is ok and I question the parenting skills of the man who just let her lie there for an hour not doing anything!! After that, we stayed up late watching fireworks and eating pizza. Price was such a trooper! He stayed up late with us and was in such a good mood the whole time. He enjoyed watching fireworks. We headed home a little after 11 and Price fell asleep before we even made it down the driveway.

Saturday was garage sale day! We were up early to set everything up. Shelly came over to help us get ready and Rachel brought over all of her things to sell. It was slow going at first, but once things picked up we had a steady stream of visitors. I wanted to sell everything, and while we did well we didn't get rid off as much as I had hoped. I was really surprised by what didn't sell- baby clothes, baby blankets, and winter clothes. I was also amazed at my willingness to get rid of things even if they didn't sell. Don and I decided anything that didn't see would go to Goodwill. Old Terrell would have gone through everything and pulled out items to keep because I might need them later. Not yesterday, with the exception of the baby items and a few things I think I can sell on Craigslist, everything went to Goodwill. It's so nice to have friends who live close by. It made the heat seem less hot and the time flew by since we just sat outside and visited until we closed up shop and went our separate ways. That night, all the big boys went to see Transformers and Shelly came over and we hung out.

Today was one of my favorite kinds of days. We got to sleep in a little thanks to Price's new ability to sleep past 7 a.m. We had no plans when we woke up, and decided we wanted to go to one of our favorite breakfast places, Clifton Mill. Clifton Mill is a working grist mill in Clifton, OH. The food is great, there are nice views, and it's a pretty drive to get there. We invited "the gang" to go with us and the Mays joined us. It was a nice morning.

After breakfast Don, Price and I headed to Babies R Us to look at carseats since Price is about to outgrow his infant carrier. After deciding on one we headed home, had lunch and I tried to get Price to go down for a nap. No such luck! So, we decided to head for the pool. The gang met us there, and after spending some time at the pool we decided to go to dinner then we three ladies went to see Transformers 2.

It was busy, but not exhausting. Don and I haven't talked about it, but I think we are, at least I am, trying to pack as many outings and as much friend time as I can into the time we have left before we head to Guam. I know doing this may make it even harder when it's time to go, but who knows when we'll have these opportunities again?

Guam Update:

We still haven't received orders, but we did get travel reservations. However, Don is submitting a request to get the travel amended so we can spend a few days on a stopover en route to give us a break from being on a plane with our little guy for 18 hours. Hopefully, it will be approved.

Generation X

I am a member of Generation X. Yesterday, my generation experienced its Elvis moment. Michael Jackson died. We also lost another icon, Farrah Fawcett.

According to msnbc.com, due to these two losses, my generation had a bad day yesterday and we are now, more than ever going to feel like we are growing up. The article really hit home with me, because when I learned of Jackson's death my first thought was about how this was a generational loss. This was made more evident by how many of my Facebook friends' status updates were devoted to the deaths of these two people who we never met, but who are so indelibly linked with our adolescence.

Thriller was the first "grown-up" record I ever owned (yes, I had it on vinyl). I remember getting it for Christmas with the stereo I wanted so badly. I can see it now, the record propped up against the stereo, waiting for me on my Santa chair. Oh, how I loved every song on that album! I got so excited when I learned that he was coming to Houston for a concert, I heard it on the radio late in the evening at Fun N Care. I went running through the school barely able to control myself screaming and yelling, "Michael Jackson is coming here." It didn't even occur to me at that young age to go to the concert. I was young enough to get excited that he would be in the same city as I was, and that mere fact was enough.

Aha! Moment

My apologies to Oprah and Mutual of Omaha for borrowing the phrase... but I have just had a major Aha moment while cleaning out a closet....

When Don and I started dating, my life was a mess- both literally and figuratively. I had a horrible ex-boyfriend who made me feel like I wasn't worth much, I was in a nowhere job working for the spawn of Satan (OK, not that bad, but she really was pretty horrible to me), my credit was not good, I was in school but not doing well, and my house was a mess. I mean a really gross mess- the kind of thing that they've created TV shows about. I hate looking back on that period of my life because I am not proud of it, nor do I enjoy thinking about it. When I do look back on it, I still can't believe that Don was able to see through all of it and still fall in love with me- it's a true testament to who he is. Anyway, the physical mess was just a symptom, I guess I felt a little out of control and not worth a whole a lot- I felt like a pig so I lived like one kind of a thing.

Anyway, I started moving away from that period in my life, I regained control. I met and married a wonderful man who makes me feel proud of who I am, I got serious about school, I switched jobs, I started (with Don's help) paying all of my bills on time and in full. And I became less messy.

Now, I won't claim to be clean freak or neat nick, but I am not by any means the slob I once was. However, I still can be pack-rattish about some things. Take for instance gift bags. Today, while cleaning out our linen closet, I realized that I keep gift bags, paper shopping bags, and gift boxes like I am the sole supplier to Dollar Tree. I now understand- this has got to stop! I think it would be fine to keep a few of my favorites to reuse later, but I seriously don't think I need to keep every bag from every gift I ever receive in hopes that I can give it away later. It's kind of ridiculous! I'm sure I will fall off the wagon every now and then (I really do like cute bags), but in my effort to save bags, I had forgotten about some other lovely things in my closet and there were so many bags crammed in the closet, many aren't even salvageable. So I finally get it!

I don't need so much stuff! I think that our upcoming move is really making me take a close look at what things I think are important. And every time I look closer, I realize they are just that-things.

Guam Update:

We were all medically cleared yesterday, should have orders in the next week. Once we get those, the ball will really be rolling.

Price and I took Isabelle to the vet today, and have started her on the process of getting her ready to live on/in Guam (I can never decide which is correct). We think that what is best for Isabelle is to have her stay in Texas until Trey comes to Guam for a visit and then he can bring her, that way she won't have to be quarantined as long (5 days compared to 4 months).

I am almost finished with my dental proceedings!! Just have to go back to get my permanent crown put on.

Today

Today has been one of those days- and not in a good way. Thanks to our upcoming Guam adventure, I had to go to a dentist and get cleared (basically the dentist had to sign a form stating that my teeth were in good enough shape to spend 3 years on a tropical island where adequate dental care may or may not exist). He signed the form, but told me that we had some work to do before my teeth were in good shape. I must admit I don't enjoy going to the dentist and haven't been since well before Price was born (but have been since we've lived in Dayton). The first thing I needed to have done was a crown placed on a tooth with an old filling. The appointment was scheduled for next week, but I got a call asking me to come in today and they said they would take $75 off my bill, so I agreed.

This morning started off great!! I woke up at 4 (again) and wasn't able to fall back asleep until about 5, which was right before Don's alarm started going off (he's getting up earlier than normal to study for a certification exam he's taking in August). Of course, it woke me up and not him, so I had to kick him awake enough to hit snooze, then repeated about 10 minutes later. Once he got up I fell back asleep and had a nightmare- about the dentist! I dreamt that I went for appointment and instead of getting shots, they were going to gas me, but not in the exam room, in some other room where everyone was gassed up and draped incoherently over exercise balls. So, I ran away.

A little after 7, Price woke up. We had another first this morning, which if I had been more awake I would have tried to document on film, I walked into his room to find him standing up in his crib! It was so cute, and yet another reminder that my little boy will be 1 next month.

It was finally time for me to head to the dentist... I got halfway there and the road I was taking was closed, so I had to turn around and totally backtrack around the world and ended up being 10 minutes late. I have never had any type of dental work like this done, so I was nervous. I got shot in the mouth and then the drilling/filing commenced and went on for what seemed like hours. Other than the shots, nothing hurt, it was just loud and uncomfortable. Two hours later it was all done, except I had to get a temporary crown and have to go back in 3 weeks for the real thing. I left with the left side of my face numb and drooling and drove home.

Price woke up from his nap the minute I got home. I was not in the mood to mother. This is the hardest part about being a mom, you can't turn it off ! I love spending time with Price, but today I just wanted to crawl into bed and take a nap. It didn't happen. Then my mouth started hurting and he decided to poop every 30 minutes . He also wanted to crawl places he shouldn't, climb on everything in his view and walk from one end of the room to the other. He also takes after me and is clumsy and bumps his head on things. As the afternoon wore on, my mouth hurt more and Price got fussier. I finally gave up and took him on a walk because we both needed a change.

I am ready to eat something (that isn't cooked by me, but it is looking more and more like that is probably going to end up being cereal) and go to bed and put today behind me. We have a fun weekend coming up and I need to get the house in some kind of order before our houseguest arrives.

Guam Update:

Made more progress on Price's room, but there's still more to go through; heard from Price's doctors and we should have the form we need by tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get to have our meeting next week and get orders soon after.

Early Morning Wake Up Call

Price has been sleeping through the night off and on (thankfully, more on than off, except when teething or right after traveling) since he was about 3 months old.  In fact, yesterday he woke up later than Don and me! So, these days if he wakes up in the middle of the night it takes a bigger toll on me than it did when middle of the night upheavals were a regular thing, my body had adapted to the zombie like state.  Now, instead of jumping out of bed and running to his side like I did for about the first 7, 8 or to tell the truth maybe even 9 months of his life, I lay in bed hoping upon hope that it is a temporary thing and he will settle himself back to sleep.  Unfortunately, last night was not one of those nights!

Don and I sometimes participate in the slacker parenting method- we don't always wake Price up if he falls asleep drinking his last bottle.  In order to accomplish this we will leave him in the clothes he was wearing (not always a problem since there are many days he never even gets out of his PJs) and if his diaper seems clean enough, we don't change it- even though I know in my heart of hearts we (and by we, I mean Price and I- Don sleeps through all middle of the night shenanigans) will have a night like last night.  I fell asleep a little after 11 last night, only to be woken up at midnight by my child who was cold since we let him go to bed in shorts, so in my effort to continue my progress towards mom of the year, I just threw a pair of pajama bottoms on over what he was already wearing and put him back to bed.  I finally fell asleep around 12:45 only to have my sweet, precious child wake me up at 4:30 because his diaper had leaked and he was wet. Again, better parenting could have prevented this, but I forget these things at his bedtime, when God bless him, I am just ready for him to go to bed (I love him dearly, but he is EXHAUSTING these days- he is everywhere into everything all day.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, but the only time I can truly relax is when he's sleeping).   So, at 4 a.m. under the cover of darkness, I let him nurse and he falls asleep.  Once asleep, I change his diaper while he is laying in my lap.  Of course, he has a poo ball that rolls right out of the diaper and onto the bed, I quickly scoop the poop with MY BARE HAND back into his dirty diaper, put new jammies on him and slip him back into his bed- without waking him up.  After spritzing with hand sanitizer, I went back to bed for about 2 more hours. I had a HARD time waking up this morning.  And writing this reminds me, I need to go wash our sheets!

Guam update for the day:

Our meeting with the medical clearance board has been delayed another week because we haven't gotten a form back from Price's craniofacial team.  we can't get orders until we have this meeting, without orders we can't arrange our move, check into housing or make travel plans.  When you only have about 10 weeks to make an overseas move, any delay like this crucial!  We are hopeful that we can make next week's deadline.

In packing/organizing news:  I have gone through the kitchen and gotten rid of anything I don't want to move or store- it's all in the garage waiting to be sold. I have started on Price's room, and have made good progress.  My house though, is beginning to look like a hurricane hit it- oh well,  guess that's the price you pay for progress.

Time Flies

It's been a little more than 2 weeks since we found out we are going to Guam. It still feels unreal, although it seems like everyday we do at least one thing related to our move. We've taken passport photos, submitted passport applications, today Price and I each had dental visits. We all have to be cleared medically to go. Unfortunately, eventhough the move will be here before we know it, we aren't able to do the BIG things that are essential- like actually arranging for our move. We know when Don needs to be in Guam, we know when we'd like to leave for Guam, we don't know how we'll get there or when our stuff will we packed and shipped to us.

It's all a little overwhelming, especially when I think of how fast the summer is going to go by- when Don and I were talking the other day, we realized we have about 2 free weekends between now and when we expect to leave. Everytime I am sitting in a room, I am taking inventory and thinking which dot each item in the room will get. That's my plan- I am going to put color coded dots on everything- one for items to store for 3 years, one color for our household goods shipment, another color for items to sell/giveaway, and one more for our unaccompanied baggage shipment. I also keep making a mental list of what we need to pack in our typhoon kit- yes, a typhoon kit- several people have advised up to have one on hand for our arrival.

So, to escape all the planning, I keep visiting Guam websites and looking at the amazing pictures of the tropical island we'll be living on soon. It really is gorgeous and everyone we've spoken with who has lived there loved it and only has good things to say about it. If only it weren't so far away!

Mr. Potato Head!

Price loves to eat, especially when he gets to feed himself. Tonight he ate (or rather played with from the looks of things- potatoes, brocoli, turkey and butternut squash).