my cup runneth over

I love the times when you take a second to step back and look at your life and realize you have it made. As sickly-sweet as that is...it is true. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I don't have days when I feel like ripping my hair out...or feel like I am on the verge of some sort of stay-at-home Mommy mental break. But...in the grand scheme of things, I know I have an amazing life.

I am married to a man who can make me laugh so hard I feel like I might pee my pants (let's face it...I've had 2 kids...and all other Mommies out there TOTALLY GET IT). He makes me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to and has total faith in me. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

I have this amazing 3 year old son. Parker melts my heart (and sometimes makes me feel like I am going to lose my mind). I am still not sure why people are still using the phase "terrible twos"...I will never understand it. Any parent of a toddler KNOWS that 3 is so much worse than 2! He can be so sweet one second and so loving...then he flips a switch and ignores everything I say. Some days he acts like a caged animal who has just been set free! My sister and I always talk about how all toddlers are bipolar. He is such a boy and I love that about him! But at the heart of it all, he is a Momma's Boy...and I love that too! I sure am lucky.

Parker Loves:

• helping Mommy in the kitchen
• cuddles on the couch after sissy goes to bed
• playing with boxes more than the things that come in the boxes
• truck/cars/trains/and anything else with wheels
• plain noodles or any kind
• white rice
• cereal
• muffins...he actually prefers them to cupcakes
• helping feed sister a bottle

My daughter is such a blessing and I still feel like it is a dream that I actually have a baby girl. I was so sure that I was destined to only have boys and I had come to terms with it during my pregnancy with Delainey. I was so surprised when the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. I still look at her and can't help but squeeze her so tight, kiss her sweet little forehead, and thank God for such an amazing blessing. I can't help but think about my relationship with my own mother and wish that Delainey and I can share the same bond. I so look forward to all the things we will get to do together in the future. She is growing up much to quickly and I wish she would just slow down a little. (Especially since we know she is our last kiddo)

Delainey Loves:

• chewing on her fingers
• chewing on bibs
• chewing on burp cloths
• being snuggled
• sitting on Daddy and Mommy's laps
• her bumbo seat
• playing on her activity mat and her bouncer
• when you make her same noises back at her
• her lovie...she snuggles her face right into it at naptime
• pulling Mommy's hair
• staring at her brother
• making little crooked "Elvis grins" at us
• ATTENTION

As we continue on through the holiday season I hope that you can take some time to reflect on the little things and the people that make your life amazing too. I have been so blessed with so many people that I get to call mine and I would just like that say thank you to our family for being so wonderful. We miss you all so much and wish that we could have come home for Christmas to see you all this year...God bless!

So...a lot has happened since my last post!

It has been far too long since my last post. So many things have happened and not all of them have been good. To start with some of the "good stuff" though, our little princess is 6 weeks old now. I can't believe how quickly it has gone. She had her one month check-up with her pediatrician (who we love) and she said our little lady looks great. She has been having a little streak of blood in her stool every once in a while, but the pediatrician said that because she is so happy and is growing that we will just keep an eye on it and go from there. I had to stop eating all milk product for 2 weeks to make sure that Delainey doesn't have a cow's milk allergy...it doesn't look like that is what it is, so we are checking into some other things at this point. Please keep our little lady in your prayers. I know that God is watching over her. She is just so happy that I am praying that is a good sign that nothing serious is going on with her.
We took Parker and Delainey to the fair. It was the first time Parker was big enough to go on rides. He loved them so much and it was adorable to watch him with Daddy.

My Aunt Lauri came to visit for a week and we had a blast with her. Her visit couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Right before she got here I had gotten news that my Grandpa Bob had passed away. It was heart-breaking and so sudden. Sometimes I still don't feel like it has had a chance to sink in yet. My Aunt Lauri is hilarious and can always make me laugh...so her visit was just what I needed before the stress of booking a last-minute flight to the Tri-Cities to attend my Grandpa's memorial. Parker had so much fun with her and loved having a visitor.

After my aunt left, the next evening (Thursday) we got on a plane to head to the Tri-Cities. Let me tell you...it was a debacle!!! I think that is putting it lightly!!! First, our flight leaving Oklahoma to Denver was delayed because of high winds into Denver. We finally left Oklahoma 2 1/2 hours late. When we got to Denver and boarded the plane to Spokane we were on the runway about to take off when the pilot said we were being turned back around and unable to land in Spokane. Our flight was completely canceled! The folks at Southwest were unable to find us a flight that would get us to Washington in time to even rent a car and drive to the memorial. At that point it was about 1 a.m. and the kids were exhausted...so were we! We went to every airline counter trying to find a flight into Pasco or anywhere close. Finally the people at the United counter went out of their way to help us and ended up finding us a flight through San Francisco that got into Pasco at 10 a.m. Friday morning (the memorial started at 11 a.m.). We were so thankful that they ended up over-booking the flight in order to get us on it. By the time we got the flight figured out it was 2 in the morning and our flight was scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. We ended up having to stay the night in the airport which is horrible even without children, let alone a toddler and a newborn!!! We had to wake up at 4 in the morning in order to go get our bags from Southwest, check in with United, go through security, and get to our gate in time for the flight. The line for security was HUGE! If Travis hadn't been wearing his Air Force backpack we would not have been told to go through the military line and we would have missed our flight!!! Thank goodness for that backpack! All in all we ended up getting to the memorial just in time.
{sleeping in the airport is not something i recommend...especially with children}

The service was beautiful. At the cemetery we had an Air Force Honor Guard ceremony. It was amazing and Travis and I feel so honored to have been given the flag to bring back to Oklahoma with us. I will miss my Grandpa so much and will always remember all the times we spent with him. I will remember singing with him at his piano and singing in front of his church congregation when I was so little...just he and I in front of everyone! He was always there for me and I knew I could always turn to him if I needed anything. He was so proud of Travis for his decision to join the Air Force and I know that he was proud of me for how well I was adjusting to being a military wife. He made sure to tell me about Grandma Sy's adjustments to being a military wife and staying at home with the kids. It was nice to know that he knew exactly what I was going through. I know that he will always be looking out for us and that he was happy to go home to be with Grandma.
{this is the only picture of the 4 of us...please excuse my closed eyes...i'll take what i can get i guess}



The flight home was much less eventful and went much more smoothly. The time at home with family was much too short, but was cherished even under the circumstances. My family was thrilled to get to meet Delainey and see how big Parker has gotten. I miss family already, but am also glad to be home. Shockingly enough...I actually like living in Oklahoma so far!
{sitting with daddy on the flight home...so content}



{this little gal always has smiles for her daddy}

4 years, 3 cities, 2 states, 1 family

It is hard to believe that Travis and I have been married for 4 years now! Our anniversary was on September 8th. In our first four years we have moved quite a bit for a young family! We started in Cheney, WA--to Richland, WA--to Oklahoma City(Tinker AFB), OK. We were so blessed to be able to celebrate our 4th anniversary as a family of 4!

So many things have happened and changed over the last 4 years...but the one constant is the amount of love I have for that man. Travis and I joke around...a lot...but I could not imagine my life with anyone else. He is my rock and the person who keeps me grounded. Every year I love him even more and have 2 beautiful children to show for it. I would not want to raise my kiddos with anyone else as a father and I am so blessed to live the life I do. I am so proud to be an Air Force wife!


Happy Anniversary to my husband, the father of my children, and the love of my life.

--

In other news...Delainey is almost 2 weeks old now! Here are some pictures of her and Parker from our first 2 weeks as a family of 4!
{me and both my kiddos}

{my C-Section was on the morning of 8.29 and they let me leave around dinner time the next day...it was awesome!}
{first night sleeping at home...I have about a million pictures of Parker sleeping this exact same way right after coming home from the hospital too}
{first morning at home...such a good big brother already...he wants to hold sister all the time!}
{at the park near our house...the sunglasses are too big still...but so cute!!!}
{getting some energy out}
{our blue-eyed beauty}
Delainey now weights 7 lbs. 10 oz. and her hair is getting lighter every day! She is such a great sleeper and a wonderful addition to our family. We are all so happy to finally have her with us!

--

Pictures of Nonni Donna's visit & Grandma Jammi's visit to come soon...well...as quickly as I can get around to it!