tomorrow is tuesday!

tomorrow is almost here - our family will be back together again, the way it is meant to be. there is so very much excitement and emotion in the air. i am honestly quivering and jumping with giddiness and glee.  i want to compare it to something but honestly, this is more excitement and joy then i think i've ever before experienced. he's coming home to us!!!  pete understands we are going to get him tomorrow - at bedtime as he's fighting sleep, he is mumbling "daddy.....breakfast......airplane.......loud.......kiss.....home......play"
just like that. he has laid out the sequence of events perfectly. he knows. his reaction as he sees his daddy coming across the flight line will be priceless. of course i can't wait to have my man's arms wrapped around me again, but i am out of my mind excited to see him scoop up our littles and love on them first! waterproof mascara, check.

there are so many things that have been missing from my life. so much has happened and changed that he has missed. and i know our darling children have missed him so. tomorrow, all that changes.

i can't wait for him to be real again. for hugs to be real. and kisses. i even miss his smell (yes, i have opened his dresser drawers more than once because his clothes still smell like him). and that dreamy-but-naughty grin of his.  can't wait to see him scoop up those two beautiful babies of ours.  can't wait to watch out the front window with petey for the headlights to arrive at bedtime, just in time for a chase and a story and a kiss goodnight for the little man. i can't wait to trip over his boots at the end of the work day. can't wait for sharing about our days over dinner by candlelight, whether its grilled cheese or fancy steaks - just sharing that with him again is perfection.  can't wait to hear him giggling with pete in the other room, up to something i'd likely not approve of. can't wait to watch him melt every time betsy lights up that smile of hers. can't wait to watch baxter sprint around the house in delight when he realizes who the new arrival is. can't wait for him to pat the couch and demand i sit down - oh, yes i can't WAIT for him to finally force me to sit and relax and snuggle into him. he brings so much laughter and happiness and fun into our lives. i can't wait to feel like i'm really truly living my lovely life again. secretly i've been holding my breath for the last 6.5 months, praying and pleading for all to go well and him to come home to us. there has been fun and joy and laughter and wonderful memories made while he's been away, but truly, i've felt like half of me has been amputated this entire time. i can't wait to feel whole again with him back in our home once more. welcome home honey, we've missed you so!

lady bug's new tricks

miss betsy is really becoming aware and involved in the world around here and i LOVE it. can't wait til she crawls, she is going to l-o-v-e crawling. i think pete will enjoy it too once he gets used to sharing everything. her latest tricks include blowing her food back at me and swiping the spoon just before it gets to her mouth as well as almost-crawling. she scrunches along the floor, practices the crawling position, rolls and pulls her way to whatever she's trying to get to.  so, no official crawling, but its safe to say she is mobile. we'll be lowering the crib mattress this week because i am betting money she'll be pulling to standing within seconds of mastering crawling. i never thought i'd say it, but i am positive she is stronger than pete was at this age. he didn't crawl until just after 7 months either. click here to enjoy the movies!

we'll miss you deedee and bumpah

our last day with bumpah and deedee has come to a close. this week has been such a whirlwind of fun and action. so much action that i'm afraid i haven't captured half of those memory moments with the camera. but in my head and heart i have an entire album full of cute shots of my parents and babies loving each others' company.  there is really nothing sweeter than seeing your babies with their grandparents (well, maybe seeing them with their daddy, but that'll be soon!).  while i still had my christmas elf helpers here, we decked the halls today with all the christmas decor, hung the lights and brought in the tree. the house smells amazing, love that real tree smell. pete was mesmerized today with the tree and lights, i'm sure tomorrow morning he'll really be fascinated when he sees all the ornaments have been added. christmas takes on a whole new feel when you add sweet children to it and i am so excited about this holiday season.

we kept trying to get pete to say "christmas tree" today but he kept saying "trick or treat" because his pronunciation of it sounds essentially the same as christmas tree.  he loved helping grandpa on the ladder with the lights. he loved it all, in fact. when we put up the lights he kept cheering and saying "happy birthday!!!!" - which is true, it IS almost his birthday, afterall. two. he'll be two. that's blowing my mind. he's also doing a pretty decent job with saying "merry christmas!" and he has totally nailed "ho ho ho!" - i think that is his favorite one so far.  pretty sure his favorite moment of the day was seeing all the insane inflatable "christmas themed" yard ornaments - a personal favorite was santa in a helicopter (no grandpa nannen, you may not buy one for us).

december is going to be a GREAT month for us.  looking forward to so many reasons to celebrate so much goodness!

happy thanksgiving 2010

am so thankful for skype, for today i got to chat to my happy husband. no more exhausted/run down hubby on the other end. this time hubby is out of the bad place, on his way home to us. he's happy and rested and well fed and has had his fair share of italian coffee and house wine and delicious food. he has his own hotel room - its been 7 months since he's had any privacy or personal space so that can do wonders for a guy! sleeping in a real bed is the best, right babe? he's on his way to being himself again and that was so refreshing for me to see.
am so thankful for my parents who worked and worked and worked this week to prepare food and clean my home so that i could host a thanksgiving celebration for my friends today. and it was a great day! we had an amazing spread of delicious food and great company to share. ryney and pete had a blast yet again going full speed ahead. we are truly so blessed to have such amazing family and friends in our lives.

 we are so thankful for the service of our men - their bravery and sacrifice. we missed them so much (well, glad elgb was there with us, pictured far left) but are all happy in our hearts that they are heading home to us. looking forward to celebrating christmas as a family!

 the masterpiece - way to go mom and dad! it turned out great! hard to believe this is only the 3rd turkey they've ever done.

 sweet preggos - steph (left) is due in 2 weeks and jen is due end of january - can't wait to meet those new babies of theirs!

some of my amazing friends - my life is so richly blessed by their friendship. friends are the family you choose and i am so grateful for my military family. love you girls! happy thanksgiving!

bits of our days

 she honestly is always this happy. i'm not kidding. it does help that her grandpa is giving her a ride on the rocking horse, but she is truly always this happy! what a doll.

 pete is very into cuddling his dog and covering up with blankets right now. "bodder" is what he says when he needs help covering up. there's that famous petey smile again. phew!

 finally got her foot in her mouth. so cute.

 i ditched the crazy-blonde highlights. i was going to wait to show reid til he got home but now i'm paranoid he'll hate it so i don't want him to be surprised. so here it is babe - hope you like it. :) i do!

 she is desperately trying to learn to crawl. she's almost there. almost! the race is on to see if she masters it before daddy gets home. can you imagine coming home to a baby who can crawl when the last time you saw her she was a newborn? he's got to be excited. i know SHE is!

we took mom and dad to base today to eat lunch at the officers' club and shop at the commissary/NEX. bumpah thought the whole trip was the bees knees - its the disneyland style entertainment for my dad.

one homecoming closer

we were excited to attend the 232 main body homecoming today at miramar - they are home!!! the marines are home with their families for thanksgiving. the pilots and trail maintenance crew are the only ones remaining "out there" but they'll be home with us soon enough (well not soon enough for me, but SOON!). it was so exciting to be a part of all that magic - the anticipation and joy in the air as we all waited and then those buses pulled up and oh man - you could just FEEL it all around you. the doors opened, people started getting off and all the families were screaming and whooping and hollaring and clapping. sheer joy. the marines formed up and then one of them proposed in front of a news crew and everyone screamed even more. magic, pure magic. so we're standing there with our gal waiting for her man and we're scanning and searching and she's so calm and quiet just waiting, happy knowing he is home and safe. and then she spotted him! so happy to see them together again, the way things should be. congratulations and welcome home!!! we're so glad our boys are back. thanks to the 232 red devils for all their hard work to keep those planes fighting hard and in the sky where they belong!

 the boys loved waiting - they got to run all over the terminal on base - had a ball! thanks to my parents for chasing them around!!!!

 waiting with andrea - GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!

 isn't she the cutest thing? lucky guy coming home to her ;)

 bumpah and pete going to explore. love seeing these buddies together

 watching as the buses pull up

 here they come!!!!!!

 where is he? they are all dressed the same!

 formation - and then a guy proposed to his lady! so awesome.

 amazing chaos as everyone finds their loved ones. the BEST moment ever.

 welcome home!

deedee and bumpah visit!

having a ball with grandparents in the house again! kids just KNOW how awesome grandparents are and i love it!

 she is half a second away from being able to sit up all on her own. she's got the sitting up part mastered, actually - its just that she keeps locking her legs and trying to STAND which causes her to tip over. she's going to be rocking and rolling any day now with sitting up - and i think crawling will very soon follow. she is already able to scoot herself backward across the floor with no problem. she is going to LOVE being able to crawl!

 deedee, pete and betsy in the "tunnel" as pete refers to the secret-fortress-under-the-kitchen-table

 pete loving on his bumpah - these two are such buddies

 her first pony ride was a big hit! (i love seeing my dad with that pure joy grin on his face)

grandparents in action. such a blessed sight to see. so grateful that both sets of grandparents totally rock that grandparent magic! we love you all!

fabulous cockTAIL soiree for a fabulous friend

my dear friend charlotte (megatron's mom) is marrying an awesome guy in january. am so happy to see them get hitched and help them celebrate! they compliment one another in every way, yet are so individually unique - its wonderful to see such a great union team up for life's adventures!  tonight we celebrated the bride-to-be with several generations of red devil ladies who know and love miss charlotte. the soiree invite requested little black dresses with animal inspired accessories - so fun to see everyone decked out in jungle prints and feathers. and even more fun to drape her amazing downtown condo with the same!

Elf Yourself 2010

i was so excited to see office max sponsored this again - you get to put your faces on dancing elves. click here to see the magic. so cute!

dtars

as you know, my boy loves his trucks and cars and things that go "vroom vroom, fast!" - there is always one (or more) in his hand during the day. he's also quite excited about the movie, "Cars" - excited may be an understatement. he loves it. that's always his top choice (followed only by "Milo and Otis") for viewing when momma is putting sister to bed at night. its brilliant sneaking a peak as he watches - he really giggles at the right times and is equally as excited every single time that opening scene crosses the screen. well today, across the aisle from where we were doing some very practical rubber boot shopping for the coming rain season, he of course spots lightning mcqueen slippers. and he is EXCITED. freaking out, pointing and proclaiming "dtars!!!" so...i grab them for him, at first with the intention of letting him enjoy them while we shop and then telling the check out cashier we don't want them at the end. cruel, maybe, but that's my strategy for avoiding shopping tantrums and what does it hurt for him to play happily while i shop? i can handle tantrums on the car ride home, no sweat, but they really get me down while i'm trying to shop. so, then in my little holiday heart i start thinking how great it'd be to sneak them into our bag and hide them away and have them waiting for him on Christmas morning. and i pull it off! he forgets about them while we're in the check out line. they get stashed in my room as soon as we get home and off he goes for his nap. except i forgot to hide them during the nap....so after the nap, he wants to read a book on my bed and there. they. are. and his face lights up and he's off with them, already making laps with them around the coffee table. and you know what? i say no to that little boy so many times a day, today i decided to say yes to the $7 slippers. go crazy, little man and enjoy!
i know my mother-in-law is smiling that i gave in to buying them in the first place. i am not-so-very-into the whole commercial toy thing. in fact, it drives me crazy. CRAZY. but, they were small and simple and cheap and somewhat practical (if he ever actually wears them on his feet) so hey, i made his day and that made mine!
tonight at bathtime, he was having a fit about wanting to take the slippers in the bath with him. a "fit" as in laying on the bathroom floor, clutching the slippers and screaming. i tried the "we can't get them wet, they will be ruined" - nothing. "honey, we'll put them right here next to the tub and they can watch you take a bath" - nothing. "you're going to have to take a bath without them or mommy will have to put them away" - nothing. and then i simply said, "honey, cars don't take baths". and seriously, he stopped screaming immediately. got up and put the slippers on the stool next to the tub and got in the water. LOGIC. oh my goodness, are we there now? awesome! "cars don't take baths" - its that simple. :)

i know he's going to hate it someday that most of the pictures of him at almost-two are in his underwear. he really does own and wear pants (for playing outside usually and when we leave the house) but its just so much easier for everyone involved when we are home to omit that extra step. and aren't his skinny little legs just the cutest?

silver strand 1/2 marathon

last sunday i completed a goal: race a 1/2 marathon 6 months after baby betsy's birth-day.
i ran it in 2:01:24
it was a beautiful, sunny but cool morning on a flat flat flat course. i wore my digital camouflage running skirt to give a shout out to my hubs. i felt strong til mile l1, although mentally i started to deteriorate around mile 10 when the course did a goofy out-and-back-loop and it felt like it would never end. thanks to my darling friend charlotte for coming out to support me and take the race day stress of having to drive to the race, park and figure out getting-home logstics completely off of my shoulders. not to mention, she's awesome company and a great cheerleader AND she bought me a breakfast burrito after. yes charlotte, you are hired!

almost

that word is working its way into my every sentence and every thought lately.
she is almost sitting up
she is almost crawling
its almost the weekend - my parents are almost here.
the bridal shower is almost here.
he is almost home (carrying a huge smile around in my heart over that one!)

two boys

noodle came over this morning while his momma did baby-doctor-appointment-things and we had a ball! when pete woke up i told him who was coming and he stood by the door until the suv pulled up and then he started dancing around shrieking "rhyney-rhyney-ryney!!!!!" and then went to the door and said "help!" because he was trying to open it. so cute. these two are like brothers, two peas in a pod, ornery when appropriate, hugs sometimes and body slams other times. its great to just watch them BE BOYS together. lots of car driving, truck crashing, animal locating, etc. there was also some food prep on noodle's part that pete eventually drove a truck through and the fun was on. later in the morning while i tended to betsy, the boys got to watch 10 minutes of "Toy Story" - and look how cute they are snuggled up on the couch together (i had nothing to do with this, i just found them this way after i put betsy to bed).