Cutest Baby Contest

I need your help!!!!! Please vote for which picture is your fav that I should submit for a Cute Baby Contest. Thanks!

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Tummy Time

For the past few weeks I have been having Mace do a tummy time routine at the same time that we have play time. Last night Mace did the best yet. He held his head up the longest and actually had more fun with it than in the past. He does tummy time when cuddling with the momma but we have tried to do more on the ground. I am concerned that he is going to start becoming active very soon as he is already showing signs of coordination. It will happen when it happens regardless if I am ready for it or not. We shall see how long it takes but I am enjoying this cuddling phase we are going thru right now. Here are some cute pix of him in his trial and error of holding his head up.

~So focused~

~I'm Tired~

~Try Again~

~I'm Done~

~Mace cuddling with Milo~

2 Months

Our little guy is 8 weeks old today! So weird. Things he does on a regular basis.

~He loves to smile, but not very much in front of the camera.

~He loves to look at the pix of Mommy and Daddy and smile at them, because I think they are always smiling at him. He loves looking at the pix though.

~He is cooing a lot more than he did last month, and will coo back and forth with me when it his is play time.

~He loves to watch the moving lights in his little play gym we have and to listen to the music, well he loves any music.

~He loves to cuddle with Mommy and to be held by here all the time, well that hasn't really changed since last month, but he will go in the swing now and sleep.

~He loves to watch Daddy on the computer when we skype. Matt has this uncanny ability to calm him down over the computer. It is really cute and I love seeing Mace know his dad.

~Archer has finally let Mace touch him, and even today let Mace cuddle with him without freaking out and running away. I think Archer is finally getting used to the little guy.

~He has grown out of 0-3 month clothing and is in 3-6 month clothing because of his length. So sad to see the smaller sizes go and they were super cute but now we have more cute clothing to dress him in.

Life for me is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I love it and love watching him grow and even learn a little, but the lack of sleep and hands free time is a little difficult. I have relied on my neighbors and church family to help me out which they have and I am so thankful for their help. It has helped strengthen my bond with them and allowed me to learn from them.

It was amazing to see him learn to recognize me and to learn how to smile. He is taking in all the sights and sounds around him but gets overstimulated easily. It is such a blessing to have him in my life and I really am enjoying it. I know that with the coming months it will become easier, everyone has told me that the first 3 months are the hardest, and I am almost done with that. We miss daddy so very much and wish he was here but we are surviving without him together. We get to talk to him almost everyday and we are so thankful for the technology that we have to have this chance for Matt to see him grow.

Well here are some cute pix of Mace at 8 weeks old! These are not all back to back pix either, I was very lucky to get some great smiling pix!

9/11/11

I love this country and how strong we are and how much stronger we have become since this terrible act. This has changed so many things in everyone's life including the war that is still being fought overseas. Please be safe Matt on this day and everyday that you are away. Thank you for standing up to the bad guys! Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost on this day and in the military since.

Getting Bigger!!!

It is so amazing how quickly they grow!!!! The other day I put Mason in the swaddle me things that he used to be wrapped up snug as a bug in. It used to be so big on him. He had plenty of room for his legs to kick and it would wrap around to his back. Now it barely fits him. His legs have no extra room in the length and I had to pull it tight just to get it to Velcro closed. Also he doesn't fit half of his 0-3/Newborn clothes. So sad and they were so cute! He has more length on him the width, so he is going to be tall and skinny just like daddy, I think!

He still has the bad stuffy nose and it doesn't matter how many times or how much I snuff out his nose it just stays stuffed up. He knows what the bulb thing is and once he sees it he freaks out! I just wish it would clear up soon.

We have been doing tummy time and play time on his mat almost everyday. He rolled over from front to back yesterday. I helped him once and he screamed at me because it seems like he wanted to do it himself. Very cute! He really likes to watch the lights and listen to the music that the play gym makes. As much as I used to hate battery operated toys for kids, I sure do like his gym as it keeps him occupied while I do laundry or clean up my room. If the music stops he usually cries to let me know! He definitely likes music as he now has his own playlist on my ipod.

We have been talking to daddy on Skype for the past few days. I love modern technology and the chance we have to see him. Matt is doing well, doesn't like the weather but is doing well and is safe as safe can be. Anyhew Mace loves to watch daddy on the computer. He knows his dad and it is so good to see as I have been concerned that when Matt comes home Mace won't know who he is. Well Matt calms Mace down and just loves to watch him. It is very cute! I just wish Matt was here with us to see all the cute smiles that Mace gives me everyday.

Well here are some super cute pix of my super cute kid! Gotta love those baby blue eyes!

~This is Milo the monkey. Mace tries to eat his ear as he falls asleep~

~Nap time, my fav time of the day~

They Will Be There Tomorrow

I found this story at the military spouse magazine website the other day and man it hit the spot with me. I have been trying to be super mom lately and not ask for help with anything, but I can't do that. I can't do this alone. I have such a strong network of people here to help e that want to help me and I am finally asking them for the help that I need. I have found that making one large meal a week for dinner is a HUGE help for me in preparing a healthy meal. Even if it is the only healthy meal all day at least it is a healthy one. Once a week I have been asking a friend to come over and watch Mace while I cook the meal. At some point I am going to have to do this myself but I don't get the time available now to cook a meal. Anyhew I just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well and I am surviving this. It is hard, that's no joke, but I know that this is only a short amount of time. And that this is one of the best times to enjoy my son because before I know it he will be a teenager with a strong will do to what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants! (if he is even a little bit like me than oh yea, he will be strong willed.) Enjoy the article.

A stay-at-home dad learns what many moms already know.

by Thomas Litchford, Navy spouse

A playground may not seem like an obvious place to go in search of wisdom. But it really depends on what kind of wisdom you’re seeking. When Danielle deployed this past spring, the question I needed to answer was: How do I deal with the constant demands of this parenthood gig, especially now that I have to Do It All?

After an exhausting few weeks, I found some enlightenment. Where? On the playground, at a spouses' club cookout and from my mom.

No Co-Pilot

A couple years ago, my friend Meg told me that parenting was, in some ways, easier during deployments. There is no one around to question your methods or your decisions, she said. In other words, you are the supreme ruler!

And I used to think that was true, because it was sure easier to be the sole parent while Danielle was at work during the day than it was when she came home at night. Sean had learned to play us against each other. You can picture it: He would ask Danielle for dessert when he knew I would say no, at which point any strict enforcement of "Daddy's rules" would cause too much of a fit to be worth the trouble.

But during this last deployment, I learned the truth: Parenting during deployments is much, much harder. This is not news to anyone who's gone through it. You don't get any breaks, you're responsible for all household duties and you don't have that precious time with your spouse at the end of every day to just talk and be yourself and "decompress."

Being a full-time parent is difficult at the best of times (there's a reason that mothers used to ask Calgon to take them away). But it's even harder when you're doing it alone.

The Myth of the Super Mom

So how do you deal with it? How do you manage the stress and anxiety from the many demands on your time and attention (with so little left over for yourself)?

When I asked my mom this question one day, she shared a truism that her mother-in-law had once shared with her: It'll be there tomorrow. The e-mail you haven't read, the floor you haven't swept, the laundry you haven't washed… it will all still be there tomorrow. When you feel like you simply cannot Do It All, don't. There are not enough hours in the day, and most things can wait.

What I've learned on the playground, and from fellow military spouses, is that other parents feel the same way I do. Their beds are unmade, they've been letting the kids watch too much TV and they hate cooking for just themselves and their offspring. And we all feel like failures because of this.

Newsflash: Even the most super of Super Moms still need some downtime. So when the kids go down for their naps and you've used up all your willpower just keeping your temper in check all morning, do something for yourself. Pick up a book. Put in a movie. Or take a nap. Ignore the unmowed lawn and the unbalanced checkbook.

They will be there tomorrow.

I'm All Shook UP!

I survived my first earthquake. I have always said that I wanted to experience one. Boy was I stupid. I never want to feel one again! It is the most un-nerving thing to feel the ground shaking from underneath you and hearing everything in your house rock and roll, and then thinking that the house is going to fall on you. Yeah, don't want to go thru that again. The after shocks still make me tense up.

It seriously sounding like a train going by at first, and since we live across the street from train tracks I didn't think anything of it. Until I started to get jolted off the couch, that is when it dawned on me what the crap was going on, and then the screaming began. I was talking to Matt on the phone when it hit, and poor Matt heard me scream and heard the rumbling and then the line went dead. The dog ran upstairs, taking his usual post under the bed and I ran outside with Mason in my arms. My neighbor was outside too and I asked him what the heck just happened.

Anyhew! Now everyone knows where I live since Louisa is such a small little town, we are all over national news now. So this is the largest quake recorded in VA and it happened 9 miles from my home. Seriously?!? Now! It was a 5.8 magnitude and they say that the strength of the shaking was equal to a 7.0 magnitude because it was not very deep. Also the earthquakes out here are totally different than what is in CA too. Per the news people. So yeah, I am done with earthquakes. No more, please. Now, time to turn my attention to the hurricane that is coming this way this weekend. Any other natural disasters to come my way after that... please no more.