Crazy Day

Today started out pretty normal. Eden woke up around 8 {her new norm these days} and we went for a run. It has been getting so hot here during the day that I wanted to get out the door pretty early. Because of this, Eden got to eat breakfast while Mommy ran - pretty sweet gig if you're Eden! I haven't gone running in almost a week, so it wasn't the best run I've had! As a matter of fact, it was a terrible run and when Eden spotted the playground and heard kids playing she asked, "pay?" while signing please, so how could I say no! I was ready for a break, so I welcomed the playground today...but I digress.

When I got home and I was re-hydrating and cooling down, I took a look at facebook. A friend of ours that just moved onto our street had said something about not being able to get home with her groceries because the cops were blocking her street. My mind first went to, "well, maybe they have the front gate closed," and I told her to go in the back gate. Of course it was then that I noticed that there were, in fact, police on our street and they weren't letting people on our street. Um, weird! Eventually my friend brought her cold groceries to my house and we stashed her things in our fridge until she could eventually get home - hours later!

As she was sitting at my house, we were just watching out the window...for hours! Eden provided us with entertainment on the inside of the house and the action outside provided entertainment on the out the window. Eden had someone new to entertain, and she took full advantage of that. Outside we thought things were starting to wrap up - it had been almost 2 hours and the Base CO had come and gone. Boy, were we wrong! Things were just getting started!

Around 12:30 I noticed that a friend of mine was leaving the street in her family car. This was odd because it was nap time for her little girl, why would they leave? She sent me a text and told me that they had been asked to leave because there was a standoff on our street and they were bringing in SWAT! Seriously? SWAT? Wow, this was serious! As the SWAT truck was driving down our street to get to the house they were dealing with the housing office called on behalf of base security and told me that if I was home it was requested that I not leave the house because they were dealing with a security issue on the street. Uh, yeah, no problem...I don't want to be out when SWAT is around! They wandered the street in their full gear - guns and gas masks included. This is when we realized things were getting super serious down the street.

All in all, the situation went on for about 5 hours, and unfortunately ended in the death of the individual in the standoff. He took his own life. When the news was told to his {we assumed} spouse we could hear the screams from in our house. It was one of the most sad things I've ever seen. The chaplain was there when the news was delivered to her, and she was not left alone after being told this heartbreaking news. After she was escorted off the street by the chaplain, the crime scene was brought in and the house is still taped off.

*Through everything today I never felt like I was personally in any danger. The man was in his home the whole time the situation was going on and the police had the area secured. When the situation began to escalate we were asked to stay in our homes, and there were police monitoring that people were not being put into danger.*

Please say a prayer for all the friends and family of the man who ended his life today, as I know they will be in great emotional pain for some time.

12 Going on 14

As of yesterday, Eden had 12 teeth. She's been pretty fussy and hasn't been falling asleep very easily for 2 days now. Last night at dinner, Lane asked if she was due to get any more teeth at this point in toddler-hood. I honestly had no idea. I guess there was a part of me that thought we were done after 1-year molars, of course until we were blessed with 2 year molars.

Boy was I wrong! She's got 2 teeth coming in now. One has already broken the gum line. They're right on schedule, and will make numbers 13 and 14 for Eden. She's getting her new teeth on the bottom, just on the outside of the 4 that she already has. I can't believe she's got so many teeth. I just went back and looked at some pictures of her when she didn't have any teeth at all! Wow, a lot has happened in 15 short months.

Oh, and boy was I wrong about being done until those 2-year molars come in! She's going to have 20 baby teeth! Why didn't anyone tell me that teething was a never-ending battle with toddlers?! Or, I guess, why didn't I listen to everyone who ever told me that teething was a never-ending battle?!

Finger Paints

With PUDDING! When we weren't sure how long Eden would have to stay away from her friends because of HFMD, I got some pudding for her to play with. Yes, to play with! It was a big hit!

I put a tarp out in the back yard, and we let her have a go! I gave her the bowls full of pudding - one chocolate and one vanilla - along with some spoons and let her do what she wanted to with them. Her Daddy had already taught her when we were inside, that eating pudding was delicious, so she did more eating than painting. She ended up pretty messy though, so I think we accomplished what we were going for. Fun, good eats, easy clean up {because who doesn't love to play in the hose?}!

Daddy showing her how good chocolate pudding is!

Here she goes! She's getting started...

Look at those toes! I could just eat 'em up!

Still clean...well, except for her feet! She's learning how to be a double dipper.

There she goes, now she remembers the good stuff that Daddy showed her inside.

Loving that she can make a mess without being told "no" when she smears it in her hair!

I couldn't resist this one. She was sucking in and Lane happened to snap the picture at the right moment.

Oh what a messy baby!

Everything in Between

We've been busy around here with VBS this week and Lane has started flying again too. Life at home is as crazy as ever, but I love being busy. For the first time in a month everyone in our house is healthy! I know, can you believe it?! We're all healthy and starting to get back into a groove. Enjoy the pictures of everything we've been getting into over the past week or so.

June 17 - The dogs were helping me do things on the computer.

June 18 - Eden was excited to eat chocolate pudding with Daddy! {They snuck it before I could stop them.}

June 18 - Oh Eden, always into something!

June 19 - Eating one of Daddy's Father's Day muffins in her "I love Daddy" bib {or, as Eden would say, in her "bee"}

June 19 - On our way to church on Father's Day. Eden the ham, with Daddy.

June 20 - Day 1 of Vacation Bible School made her crazy! She thought her swim diaper was a hat.

June 21 - Eden didn't want to get up early for VBS, so I let her lay in bed with Daddy while I got ready.

June 22 - Half way through the week. The fun is starting to get to her!

June 22 - Flamigo spotting on base. They typically hang out at this little marshy area close to our house in the evenings. I don't have great zoom, so I can't get great pictures of them. They're hot pink, so much prettier than what you see in the zoo!

June 23 - Eden loves to "float" with her baby in the bath tub. Now if only we could get her to float for real in the pool - there would be one less stressed Momma at the pool!

June 24 - Last day of VBS! Eden {and all the other toddlers in the nursery} in the bounce house for "Fun Day!"

June 25 - Eden running from Daddy at the indoor playground at the mall.

June 25 - Eden started to climb up between the dolpins to get to the slide on the other side. Never fails, when she realizes that they're dolphins she says "no, no, no" and turns to get back down. I have no idea why she doesn't like dolphins!

June 26 - Eden lounging before bath time. When I sent this picture to Grandpa, this is what I got in response:

 With the caption, "Me too." We love Grandpa!

Amen

One of my new favorite things that Eden does is say "amen!" after her prayers at night. When we start the prayer we put her hands together and she lays her head on my shoulder. I've been very pleased with the way she stays quiet when we say her prayers. I know that she's listening to what I'm saying because she's learning when the end of the prayer is.

I always end the prayer with "...in Jesus name we pray..." and she immediately takes out her paci and says "amen!" Of course it is the Eden version and somehow it has 3 syllables and I'm not too sure how she managed that, but its hers and I love it.

Goals Galore

While Lane and I were out at dinner on Friday night {because our church offers a Parents' Night Out once a month! Yes, please!!!!!} we were discussing what goals we wanted to set for ourselves during our fifth year of marriage. The biggest goal we set for ourselves is to run a marathon.

Ultimately we would like to run the Marine Corps Marathon in Quantico in November of 2012. As we began talking about when we would run this marathon, we decided that this November was simply too soon to be able to run 26.2 miles. {I did run a solid 2.25 miles this week! Its the most I've done all at once in a LONG time!} Not to mention, we're supposed to be moving again before the end of the year, which could make any planning of anything a little harder.

I'm hoping that before we get into the marathon, we have the opportunity to run a half marathon. I will have to some research to see where there are some half marathons, but I will get to training even before I set anything in stone!

Celebrating Daddy!

Today is a day that we celebrate all the dads in our lives. We had a great time going to church and relaxing. My day started today by making bran muffins for Lane {they're his favorite!} Today is the day that I get to think back over the past year and all of the fabulous things that Lane has done for, with, to, and about Eden. He loves her with all his heart and it shows every day. You can also tell by the way her face lights up when she sees him that she is in love with him too. I couldn't ask for a better Daddy for Eden, and she's blessed to have him in her life.

The Gifts

With every anniversary comes gifts {well, almost every anniversary. We didn't do gifts last year - we were doing the new born thing!} The traditional gifts for the 4th anniversary are flowers and fruit. Easy, right? Not if you're trying to buy for HIM! He did a much better job at gift giving than I did, hands down!

I got an Edible Arrangement! It was SO good. So good in fact that the only thing left as we speak are 5 strawberries {none are chocolate covered, those are long gone and the chocolate covered bananas were the first to be gone} and some pineapple {because I'm a nice Mommy and that was Eden's favorite}

So what did he get? Nothing quite as delicious, or as pretty as what I got. He got a mod podge of random {useless} gifts. Now wait, they did symbolize the journey of our married relationship, and they were hidden around the house, so there was thought put into it - but the gifts were crap, and I'll be the first to admit it! In my defense, though, I did do some research to learn that the colors for our anniversary are blue and green, so I did get blue and green colored wrapping to make sure that all FOUR of his gifts were wrapped within the theme! Oh, I know, no excuses...

He had left to go get my gift {I only knew he was leaving the house, I didn't know why} so it was PERFECT. When he was gone, I set up a scavenger hunt. It started with a note to him and let him know what was up. The first note had a clue to lead him to the gift to represent our first year of marriage.

He found it in the laundry room with the beach towels. It, too, is a beach towel to remind him of the fun in the sun when we went to the Dominican Republic on our honeymoon...ahhh, glorious times!

He found year 2 by his cover because this is the year that he started {and graduated} TBS in Quantico. The gift was a {lame} nerf gun because he qualified on the shooting range while at TBS.

Year 3 was hiding in the high chair because we were blessed with Eden in our 3rd year of marriage. The gift was a pj set {for Eden} that said Daddy's Wild Child.

And our most current year of marriage was found in the refrigerator {because who wants warm beer}. I wanted go get him something with the state of Texas on it, but knew he wouldn't want anything decorative, so I got him Bud Light...yes, it has Texas pride on the can!

4 Rock Solid Years



*I was going to post this yesterday {our actual anniversary}, but couldn't upload the pictures...and come on, who wanted to see this post without the one of Lane and all his fake tats!*

I can't believe it! Lane and I have been married for 4 years. This year in May marked 10 years that we've known each other. I love him more now than I did on our wedding day, and I loved him more then than when we met. I can only think that means I will continue to love him more and more every day that we're married! In the past 4 years we have:

* Traveled in and out of the country together
* Graduated with our undergraduate degrees
* Gone through 4+ phases of flight school with the Marine Corps {yes, WE have endured this!}
* Moved 5 times
* Lane graduated OCS
* Seen the 4th of July fireworks show at the Washington Monument, not once, but twice.
* Run 2 10k races
* I went on a mission trip to Costa Rica with my brother
* Suffered loss through the death of Grampie
* Had a baby
* Lane earned his promotion to 1st Lt
* Celebrated birthdays, holidays, weddings, and baptisms
I can't wait to see what the next year {and many many years beyond} have in store for us!

Anxious

That's a good word to describe how I feel most days these days. Well, not most days, just more often than in the past. Lane and I have made the decision that we are ready to try to expand our family again. Exciting huh? Well, not if you're the control freak that I am!

My anxiety starts up when I take note of something small that Eden does and I think its totally amazing. Take today for example: we were at the pool and Lane and Eden were playing {while I sat in the shallow end of the baby pool soaking up some rays} and Eden's hair was sticking up in true Alfalfa fashion! Lane and I both got a good giggle from this sight. If we have a second child, will we notice the small things like we do now? I know we won't lose sight of the milestones and the big things that happen, but what about those small moments?!

I also get anxious when I think about the fact that Eden is our everything. Right now our days revolve around her and she ultimately dictates what we do and when we do it {within reason, of course.} I think about sharing what we have with her with a second baby...when Eden was first home from the hospital, she had our 110% attention, will a second baby get that attention, in addition to Eden getting that same attention too? I know we will love both children equally if we get the opportunity to have another child, but once again, the anxiety starts to set in.

Oh wow, I'm not even pregnant yet...I need to calm down! I know that there are plenty of multi-child families who love their children more than you can ever imagine! I remember thinking that I knew how I would love Eden before she was born - I had no idea! Until you are a mother {or a father} you don't know that kind of love. It's amazing! I know it will be the same if we are blessed with a second child, so I just need to get over my emotions and my anxiety about it all!

New Year's Resolution, Going Strong!

Yes, we're about half way through the year and I've not broken my resolution! I'm still taking a picture a day {having an AWESOME camera helps!} I don't think I've ever set a realistic resolution and I'm excited to be keeping up with this one.

June 10 - I am in love with my new shoes. I got them at Target...in the KID section! Don't worry, Eden got a pair too. This is the color for the Fripp Trip this September, so I couldn't resist.

June 11 - A slight diaper rash means that Eden gets to sit around in nothing. She didn't even pee on the floor this time!

June 12 - Eden hanging out while I was taking the next picture...sometimes I feel like she's just off in her own little world!

June 12 - This is where we like to spend a lot of our evenings. The sun sets to the front of the house, so the back patio has a great breeze that makes it bearable to sit outside. {Please take note that Eden put her drink in the drink holder on the chair. She always makes sure her drink is stowed when we're outside.}

June 13 - Eden with the statue of Jesus and the children outside her "Sunday School" room. We went to church to help set up for VBS next week.

June 14 - "Huh?" She's just precious!

June 14 - She climbed up on the couch to read her numbers book. She loves to find things on the pages. She's getting so smart!

June 14 - Reading her Numbers book.

Into Everything

Yes, I knew that Eden was into everything before...but its getting WORSE! I didn't think that was possible! She is climbing onto, into, around, and in between anything and everything in our house these days.

*****

Always - she will trip while running in the baby pool and she goes under the water, only to resurface with a smile on her face.

*****

One day she was trying to climb on her dresser to get to her paci.

*****

Another day she tried to climb out of her crib. She looked at me when I went to get her up from a nap and she put her foot up on the rail and said "up!"

*****

Last week {and today} she got into one of her toy boxes from the bookshelf.

*****

Yesterday she opened the dishwasher door and wanted to pull the drawer out to "help" unload it.

*****

Today she climbed on 2 boxes in order to get her drink off the counter.

*****

Today, she also put a colander on the floor {upside down} and stood on it - just to stand on it.

*****

Oh, please say a quick prayer for all of us as we endure these adventures that Eden takes us on. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that all bones stay in tact and that we only suffer a few scraped knees this summer - she's already had a few! She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!

Popcicle Playdates

June 9 - The planes flying over our house. They were flying lower today, so it was fun to try to catch them on camera!

June 9 - Eden was walking over to her friend's house for a popcicle playdate before time to turn in for the night.

June 9 - Eden's friend Vanessa had bubbles to play with when we got there. Eden and Vanessa tipped them over and there were none left by the time we went home!

June 9 - Sharing, I'm sure!

June 9 - Vanessa

June 9 - Eden and Daddy walking back home.

June 9 - Hosing off before going inside with sticky hands!

June 10 - Eden decided to empty out one of her toy boxes that fits into the bookshelf in the living room so she could sit in it with her dog.