8 Is The Magic Number

I finally found the cord to my camera.  Yeah.  It had been THAT long since I uploaded pictures.

So,  word on the street is Lael turned 8.  How the hell did that happen?

Also, Kobi is 18 months today.  Seriously.  I know.  I haven't posted a picture of him since he turned one.

Sorry.

He is really super cute though.  And a busy body.  And did I mention cute?  Just checking.

So remember when I had planned to take Lael to the American Girl store in New York for her birthday?  Yeah, probably not, but follow along anyway.  So I was supposed to but then something very much so cooler happened.  They opened one her in the DC area.  I immediately made reservations and had been keeping it a total secret the entire summer (the very busy summer which I will catch yall up on soon). 

We got snow on her birthday here in DC.  On October 29th.  Seriously.  We couldn't believe it either but I sure didn't let that stop the birthday festivities.

We got to Tyson's Corner Mall which is where the store was and she was super annoyed that her big surprise was going the mall.  It was hilarious.

As we were walking along she noticed a few girls carrying American Girl bags but still didn't put two and two together.

I swear, that place was the cutest thing I've ever seen.  There was so much pink and sparkle I could die.

It was also very pricey.  The grandparents were all generous enough to pitch in so I was able to easily pay for our birthday lunch package, get Lael a new doll and many accessories.

Here are a few pictures from our festivities.

It was a wonderful day.  Afterwards we went bowling here on base were Lael ended the night by winning the costume contest and getting an iPod Shuffle.  I know.

Halloween post to come soon!

Where did the time go?

So the last time y'all heard from me Kobi had just turned 1. Well now he's creeping up on 18 months. Lael just turned 8 and I recently hit the big 30. Life has been overwhelmingly busy. I'm taking two college courses and juggling work, sports and everything else that comes along with motherhood. I'm very happy but just too busy to enjoy it sometimes. I know all my hard work will be rewarding some day. I miss you all. I miss reading your stories and laughing at your comments. I'm ready to be back. I'm not really sure how I stopped. It's like a part of me has been missing the past six months or so. Time flies by.

I'll be back soon with pictures and stories. Soon, I promise!

So Now He's 1

Kobi turned 1 on the 14th. I am still having a hard time grasping the concept. I remember being pregnant not that long ago wondering how I would ever love a baby as much as I love Lael.

Somehow your heart stretches. You don't love one child a little less to make room for another. Your heart just gets bigger.

On the morning of his birthday, the girls wanted to have a little private celebration before all the guests arrived.

Even with bedhead they manage to be adorable.

The party was supposed to be at a picnic area but of course the weather didn't cooperate.

Of course I didn't let that stop our celebration. I rubbed the house down with Magic Erasers and sent everyone a notice that the party had been relocated to my house.

I made this photo garland that was a big hit. Thanks to my friend Beth for writing a quick tutorial post for it.

Because I wanted his party to be extra special, I also stole and idea to make his birthday banner.  It came out much better than I expected.

This is the cake that I had orginally ordered. Originally I ordered a photo cake that had the same picture as his invitations. I was a little annoyed the machine was broke but I got over it.

Kobi had his own little cake. So cute.

He loved it!

One of my neighbors came over and brought her two little girls. At some point she asked me if I wanted her to do facepainting. Sure I said a little confused.

The last time I checked she was in home daycare provider. Apparently the week befor she taught herself to facepaint from YouTube. Who knew.

Kobi had a spiderweb and spider. I mean seriously. How cute is he?

Even though his party wasn't as I planned it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. I am so proud to be his mama.

Happy 1st Birthday Kobi Dobi!

Emotions

Hi friends.

I know it's been a while. I have missed you. The whole 5 of y'all that still read my abandoned blog.

Life has been a whirlwind and I can't seem to steady myself. Lots has happened in the past few weeks.

Let me break it down in no particular order.

Mother's Day: It was a great day. I pretty much stayed home and relaxed. Hubby made me breakfast in the morning and that afternoon we had a picnic with the kids where we were almost attacked by pigeons for our lunchables (classy aren't we?). Later hubby made me dinner. It was lovely except the part where I spoke to my mother. It was great to hear her voice and I sure do miss her. I haven't seen her since December and she lives like 30 minutes away. But that's beside the point.  We chatted for a while and I asked her about my youngest brother.  I hadn't heard from him in about a month. He’s usually good about calling every few weeks and is always on Facebook obsessively. Well I found out why he's been so quiet.

My brother is in jail: My throat closes up just typing that. He is 19 and is the sweetest boy at heart but can't manage to stay out of trouble. He is being charged with some really serious crimes and my heart feels like it's literally breaking. 

I got promoted:  If you’ve read my blog for a while you know that I’ve tested quite a few times with no success.  I was starting to think it would never happen.  Traditionally the results would come out in June for those that scored high enough.  However, I got promoted under a different program.  Basically they do a narrative write up of your career and submit it to a board.  The board picks the ones that they thing are hot shit and they get promoted immediately.  Yes.  Apparently I’m hot shit.  I got a phone call on Tuesday night at home from a 2-star general telling me that I had been selected.  I had to scramble to get new stripes sewn on my uniform but I managed. It’s still unbelievable.  It also comes with a pay raise (around 300 bucks a month I think) so that’s awesome.

My supervisor is retiring: Ugh.  I’ve only been here 8 months and she’s leaving me.  We technically she’s moving across the hall in a non-military position but still the same, she’s leaving me.  This means that I have to take on her duties until they replace her.  Unless they decide I’m the one to replace her because I just got promoted.  Which means they may find someone to replace me.  Which means I will be a supervisor.  Which means OHMYGOD don’t have enough to do already?

I started writing this post yesterday and I was going to tell you all how my dog has been sick.

Well between yesterday and today she has passed away.

My dog died: I had my Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix) dog Princess since the summer before I started 10^th grade.  That means I’ve had her just about 15 years.  That’s a long life for a dog.  My dog.  She recently picked her leg and it became a sore.  We cleaned it and wrapped it but she kept picking at it.  We took her in yesterday and for some reason she had developed and infection in her leg which is why she kept picking at it.  It must have been painful.  Between her losing her eyesight, her hearing and just being plain old they decided it would be in her best interest to put her down.

And so it was done.  It’s amazing how quickly the whole process went.  They vet hospital team was very professional and very sweet.  They thanked me for taking such good care of her and bringing her in so that she wasn’t in pain.  But it makes my heart sad.  I can’t remember her NOT being around. And now I look at her water bowl and her leash and feel like a part of our family is missing.

You don’t realize how much animals are a part of your family until you lose one of them.  We haven’t told Lael yet.  She knew Princess wasn’t feeling well and she had been spending time in daddy’s man-cave.  She hasn’t asked about her and I think I’ll wait until next week when we pick up her ashes to tell her.  She’s going to be devastated.  Do y'all remember how she was when Boots died?  Exactly.

Kobi will be 1!:I am full of so many emotions and on top of everything my baby will be one on Saturday.  How did this happen?  How could y'all have let this happen??

I am excited for his party but sad at the same time.  So many things are going on.  I find myself daydreaming more than usual.  I just need things to slow down.  Just a bit.

All I Need Is A Frame

She did it.



All the hard work has finally paid off.  I was so proud that I burst into tears.  As long as I've had this blog I've talked about the report cards that broke my heart.

But she did it.

She kicked the 3rd advisory period's ass.  I'm so proud of her.  Now that she has a taste of the Honor Roll she wants to keep it up. 

She did it!

11 Months

So here we are Kobi. Counting down to your first birthday.

You are such a big boy. There are so many new things to touch on. You've graduated from your infant car seat. Today you had your first ride in big boy style. I think you kind of dug it.

You have finally grasped the concept of the sippy cup. I knew you could. You just don't like being rushed into things.

You can stand on your own now. Yes, you can but you are really quite lazy and don't stand longer than necessary. You're such a tease.

Baby food is pretty much a thing of the past. You refuse to eat anything but the real thing. You also do this thing were I put food in your mouth and you take it out, look at it and then decide if you want it. Silly boy.

You love repeating me. When I say cheese you give the goofiest grin and say "sheeee". You pretty much have Mama and Dada down but use them only when necessary.

I am planning your first birthday. My heart aches just a bit but it swells more with pride. I still can't believe I have a son. My boy. Mama's baby.

I took you to the park today do a photoshoot. You climbed and crawled and enjoyed the sun on your face. We were alone for a while but then a mom came with her two kids. She had an older daughter and a boy maybe a little over a year. You were sitting and across from them staring. She was one of those cute moms. You know the kind that look like they never had kids. I stared wishing I had that body. Before I knew it you power crawled over to her and she helped you stand up. Then. You slapped her.

I pretended to be mortified and she laughed it off. But when she wasn't looking I totally high fived you. We are have lots of adventures ahead of us my boy. Happy 11 months!

Brain Waves

I don’t think I posted here about it but I’m sure I tweeted about Kobi’s “thing”. So, for the past few months he does this head tilt. He leans his head to the right and lifts his right should up simultaneously. All day at random times. At first we thought it was just something cute but we then decided it was something weird. He was do it his highchair, when we’re holding him, when he’s playing, etc. No specific time of day or during a certain act. We tried not to make a big deal about it but continued to watch him closely.

When I took him in for his 9 month checkup, we brought it up to his Pediatrician. Right when we were explaining it, he proceeded to show her himself. Quite a few times actually. She took notice of it. She checked his ears and they were clear. No ear infection. She checked his eyes and they seemed fine as well. She told us not to get worked up about it but to keep an eye on it.

No sooner that I had got back to work later that day, I had an email from her. I guess it bothered her enough that she asked a few colleagues and they didn’t seem OVERLY concerned but thought it would be safe to send me to a Pediatric Neurologist.

So, that’s where we ended up last Wednesday. We had 3 doctors in the room. They did the usual check of his weight and head circumference. Then they asked us one million questions. We explained that he still did the “thing” but it seems to be more often now. They poked and prodded. He giggled and babbled. They checked his reflexes, is strength, this length, his motor skills. Everything seemed fine.

Then they saw him do the “thing”. They all kind of looked at each other. They all went out to discuss the possibilities and brought in the real doctor. It was like a scene from House where the other doctors try to figure things out on their own and when they are baffled the big dawg comes in with all his expertise. Except our doctor was old. Really old. But didn’t have the cane like House, or the sarcasm. No, he was a really sweet old man and seemed to know what he was talking about.

He thinks that it just may be one of Kobi’s quirks. If so, I’m ok with that. But he did say that we have to give my son an EEG. They will hook him up to a machine that will monitor is brain waves. Scary. He said that they want to rule out any silent or mini seizures.

Yes please, let’s go ahead and rule that out. I was worried that I wouldn’t get an appointment for weeks but turns out they wanted to get him in quickly. I don’t know if I should be worried or relieved. So, either way his appointment is Wednesday. Wish us luck and perfect brain wave activity.

Also, any of you ever experience anything like this? What was the outcome?