Evan

Dear Evan,

It's really been a year--a WHOLE year!! I can't believe it! This milestone for you has been a rather emotional one for your mommy! We started out a little shaky, you were definitely a more "high maintenance" newborn than your brother :), but we made it through the crying (it took about 3 months, and we were BOTH crying!) and we made it through your Daddy being gone, and well--we made it through mommy learning how to be a "stay at home" mommy!! You are such a sweet sweet little boy! Your nickname is MonkeyMan and you come by it so very honestly!! Again, unlike your brother, you are very
adventurous and seriously all over the place!! I remember the whole spill we got at the doctor about leaving toilet seats down, bathroom doors closed, doors to the outside locked when we took your brother to his 1 year check up. It didn't really apply there--but to you--to you it APPLIES ten-fold!!! Let me offer you an example, while it's fresh in my memory: Last night in the period of about an hour and a half you closed your arm (yes your whole arm) in a drawer, tried to crawl into the bathtub with your brother using a stool that was next to the tub (and if it hadn't been there you would've pushed it there), tried to crawl over the gate keeping you from the stairs to the playroom, and crawled into a laundry basket and then face planted to get out. . .

Now I know what you are thinking, you are thinking "wow mom, you might want to keep a closer eye on me", maybe you are right, but truly I turn my back for a second and you are out of here!! :)

You are at the stage where you eat anything put in front of you!! It's a great stage! I'm hoping it sticks longer for you! You love pb&j, and bananas, but your love for eggs seems to be dwindling. You have such an infectious smile, whenever I tell you "no" you look at me for a second stunned and then flash it for me! I can't help but smile back! My favorite thing that you do right now is come up and lay your head down on me, or give me a hug! It's very very brief (as you don't really stay still long), but so wonderful just the same!! Here are some things you LOVE right now:

Your Big Brother! You would follow him anywhere, even to the ocean!

Your dog Penny! you do your best to play with her, and nothing thrills you more than when she is receptive.

Your monkey/blanket thingie-every time I put you to bed you look for it!

Stacking cups

Music--it is so fun to watch you and your brother dance around to the Laurie Berkner band

Any sort of electronic-remote, laptops, phones, etc--if you shouldn't have it, you really want it! That's a pretty typical male trait!

I'm sure there are so many more things for me to share, like you don't take a bottle anymore, and you hate for anyone to feed you--you'd rather do it yourself. However, I'm going to have to bring this letter to a close now! You will be waking up from your nap very soon and I still have some chores to do!! Your Daddy and I love you very much!! You have added nothing but joy to this family! We are so excited to watch you grow over the years, but I would like to request that you not grow too fast as my heart just can't take you boys growing so quickly!!

Love,

Mommy

Camden

Dear Camden,

It's hard to believe that it's been ALMOST 4 years since your Daddy & I first brought you home (we didn't actually bring you home until the day after Thanksgiving)!! You entered this world 6 weeks early, but it has never held you back in any way! You bring such joy to our lives every day! You have turned into such an affectionate little boy, daddy and I are showered with hugs and kisses from you every day. You and I were able to get to know each other VERY well while your daddy was away last year. The most important thing I learned about you is that you may LOOK like your daddy--but you ACT like your mommy!! Let me tell you some things about you:

--you LOVE TV, especially SpongeBob! you come by this pretty honestly, your Mommy & Daddy have a love for TV as well!!

--you are a VERY PICKY eater! What you ate yesterday, you probably won't eat tomorrow. The only thing that is consistent is chicken nuggets, and cereal--it could be worse, but it's frustrating just the same. I know you'll be fine because I was! I was the same exact way, and I LOVE to eat now--it will come!!

--you LOVE your little brother. you have amazed us from the very first minute you were in the room with Evan. Daddy and I are so proud of how good you are with him!

--you really enjoy school, you usually come home singing and you always have some sort of craft you have made for me!

--favorite color: red

--favorite food: tacos

--favorite Disney Character: Buzz Lightyear

--for your 4th birthday you got a new bike (from mommy & daddy), and a 4-wheeler (from your grandparents)--we just knew for sure that once you got that 4-wheeler you would never ride your bike, but you know what??? WE WERE WRONG! You love your bike, and ask to ride it almost every day!!

--you still sleep with your "Mr. Frog", he's been your loyal buddy since Day 1! when you are tired you still smell his feet, and when mommy isn't feeling well you will bring him to me and stick his feet to my nose! he always makes us feel better!

--you are a very cautious, shy, and quiet (till I get to know ya) kind of kid! this is comforting for a mommy, I'm hoping you stay cautious but break away from the shy a little!

Buddy--that's a lot about you, and I know there's a lot more! Our lives changed the moment we found out you were coming! You really are such a blessing and a joy for all of your family, and we know you will continue to be!!

Love,

Mommy

ps--my favorite words from you lately: "Mommy, I need some mommy-time"

Normal. . .

What is normal exactly?? The question of the month for me has been--"SO, have things gotten back to normal yet? "

If you've asked me this question, don't worry-you aren't the only one, and it really is a valid question!! Before Jason left we had a 3 year old and a 6 week old, now that he's home we have a 4 year old and an almost 1 year old. . .that being said, there was no normal for Jason to come back to!!

As far as Jason and myself go--we have gotten back to normal. We were pretty much there as soon as we said our hellos in CA! We are lucky that way, it's never really been a problem for us to just pick up where we left off. Now that we are back home I have to give Jason big props--he's fallen into step with the boys, and in some ways it's like he never left!! I feel like I never slow down--which is funny b/c I really had dreams of having more time to myself once Jason got home. . I'm still waiting on that time :) I honestly feel like I'm busier now than I was before, however, I don't feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders--when I'm having a bad day, I know that I will have a bit of relief in the evening, and Fridays actually feel like Fridays!! The big joke amongst some of the wives while the guys were gone was "TGIwhat?? " Everyone around us was always so happy for the weekend, but for us it just meant 2 more days that would be longer than the others b/c everyone else was doing family stuff and we were most likely going to be doing the same thing we'd been doing the 5 days previous, only alone! We have seen lots of changes in Camden as well! I'm not sure if it's that he's growing out of his 3's or if he's just more at ease with Daddy home!! He seems happier, and more obedient (?sorry, I know that's probably not the word I'm looking for, but it's the only one I can come up with to describe it). The manners that we've been pushing for so long finally seem to be clicking, and for the most part he stays in his own bed ALL NIGHT!! It makes me happy that he is doing so well!!

Since Jason has been home we've had a case of H1N1, 3 cases of pink eye, and a trip to the hospital for wheezing (Evan)! We also had a wonderful trip to Disney, the beach, and a soggy Halloween with friends and family! Things have been busy, and it seems will continue to stay that way!! We are looking forward to celebrating the boys birthdays next weekend and enjoying all of the holidays that are coming!!

I have so much more to share and I do apologize for my lack of posting, but we really have just been so busy!!! I'll try to post on Camden's birthday later this week--we did a family celebration and he got a bike from Mommy & Daddy--which he LOVES!! (SIGH OF RELIEF)

HOMECOMING!!

Well, he's home!! It was a long 10 months--but we made it! I travelled to CA on 9/26, and the Main Body of NMCB 24 arrived in the US on 9/29!! I really wasn't sure what to expect with this whole "homecoming" thing. I was nervous, anxious, emotional, excited, any emotion you can think--I was it!! The days leading up to the 29th I cried over EVERYTHING! Every time we talked about the guys coming home, and them seeing their kids, etc--I CRIED! So I knew for sure that when I saw him I was just going to lose it. . .we saw the buses pull up and I teared up, and the doors opened and again the lump in my throat, and when I finally spotted him from across the parking lot (please remember the guys are all in the same outfit!)--a sudden calm just sort of came over me. It was like my wedding--I was a nervous wreck leading up to it, fighting back tears until those doors opened and I saw him and literally RAN down the aisle dragging both of my fathers behind me!!!

THE SWEETEST 4 WORDS I'D HEARD IN A WHILE!!!!!




I have to say--Jason and I sort of picked right back up where we left off for the most part! We stayed out in CA for almost a week after he arrived and just enjoyed hanging out, catching up on shows, happy hour, a little site seeing, and I'd love to say eating--but for the most part the food we ate was VERY disappointing!!

After enjoying our week in CA it was time to head home and have Jason's real homecoming and reunite him with the boys. . .MORE ON THAT LATER!! :)

A Day of "Yes"!!

The boys in their BigBrother/LittleBrother shirts

Okay--so last weekend as I was running around all day Saturday to showers, and birthday parties I started feeling a little guilty. Here it was one of the last weekends that it will be just me and my boys and I've gone and filled it so full--I won't even see them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad that my journey of deployment is coming to an end, but I have oddly mixed emotions about this special time with just me and the boys is ending. . .maybe I've just gotten used to it? I don't know. Anyway, I decided last weekend that this weekend was going to be just me and the boys for the most part doing --who cares, just doing, just being together! We've gotten our act together and now it's all going to change again--for the better, but still a change and major disruption for such little boys!

So Saturday morning started like no other--Evan up around 7:30, and went back down for a nap before Camden pulled himself out of bed around 10:30--woo hoo!! (it didn't last mind you, they were both up at 7am on the dot this morning, so don't be too jealous) Anyway, Camden asked if we were going to school and I said no, and so he said "can I watch tv then??" SURE!! Then he said, can you bring my table from my playroom down so I can sit in here and eat and watch tv?? and I heard myself saying "Sure, honey--what would you like to eat?" Cheerios and yogurt--"no problem"--about 30 minutes later, he said he was "still hungry" and wanted fruit snacks--"Okay, sure, what kind do you want??"--Thus starting the "day of 'yes'"!!! It was such a great day, and though he did get several no's in there--for the most part it was all "YES!"

A few weeks ago my aunt sent me a blog article about how to take time to enjoy your kids. I am always thankful for things like this b/c it always makes me stop and evaluate my actions. One of the things it said was "say yes for a change"--so I did--and you know what, it was a PERFECT day!! I got so many "yes ma'ams" and "no ma'ams" with no prompting I couldn't believe it! Now, this doesn't mean that every day is a yes day, but I will probably do it more often!

One other thing--today Evan is 10 months old!! I can hardly believe it--it has seriously just FLOWN by!! I forgot to post his 9 month stats b/c things were just so crazy around that time--3 Friday's in a row at the Doctor's office--YUCK!

MonkeyMan!

Weight: 21lbs 13.5oz (64%)

Length: 28.5" (50%)

Head: 18.25 (75%)

Not as big as you thought huh?? Although, it was pointed out to me today that maybe it's b/c his head is so big that everyone thinks he's so big!! :) hehe!!

Camden's 1st Day of School-this is the only one he would let me take. . .