Smarty Pants

There have been so many fun things in the past couple of days that I have made myself wait to post and not put something new on here ever 5 minutes!

On Friday, Lane was able to be invited to an Academic Award Ceremony by the Commodore. The Commodore is usually the one who hosts the ceremony, but Senator McCain was on base to be with his son who earned his wings of gold that day and the Commodore was with him, so Deputy Commodore Colonel Grace hosted the ceremony. Col Grace was a funny and entertaining man who was very proud of the individuals receiving different academic awards. Lane got an award for completing the academic portion of Primary in the top 10%. I am a proud wife, of a smarty pants husband!

Yesterday and today, little Miss Eden has also shown us how much of a smarty pants she is too! While I was putting her diaper bag in the car to get ready to leave yesterday morning for the awards ceremony for Lane, he blinked at her to play a game with her, and she will now blink back in a VERY exaggerated way! We have named this game "The Blinking Game" because we're oh-so-clever! When we picked Lane up from work yesterday evening Eden started The Blinking Game without having to be prompted.

Some of the other fun things Eden is doing:
Me: "Eden, what does a dog say?" Eden: "woof woof" in a way that only makes sense to Lane and I!! We couldn't be more proud of her. We're working on "moo" now!!!

Eden points with her single index finger. She heard a dog barking when we were out on our walk yesterday and she pointed in the direction of the dog, and of course followed that with "woof woof" to bark with the dog.

While at playgroup we were talking about kids eating and how they will throw food on the ground. When I said something about Eden throwing food on the ground another mother told me that she was shocked that Eden ever dropped food because "it seems like she's always eating something!" I guess she really is her mothers daughter!

What am I doing these days, you might ask. I'm just trying to keep up with the 2 smarty pants at my house! I'm still goin' strong with my Weight Watchers and exercising. I went to Mommy Fit on Wednesday and today, I ran on my own on Thursday, and yesterday Eden and I just went for a walk. I'm working on being that better Brittany that I posted about a few weeks ago!

A Picture A Day:

January 28 - Lane getting his certificate from Col Grace

January 28 - Lane and me with Col Grace.

January 29 - Eden's birthday outfit. The tutu is from Ms. Whitney (www.diaryofapreppymom.blogspot.com) and the embroidered shirt, bib, and hat are from Ms. Michelle (www.eandsembroidery.blogspot.com)

January 29 - Close up of the outfit. Can you tell I was just a LITTLE excited to get this in the mail today?! Oh, and the pink fabric sparkles!!!!!



Stroller Brigade

Today was my first experience with the Stroller Brigade - or Mommy Fit, as the group more commonly likes to call themselves. This morning we did a track that is 1.7 miles and I was in the walk/jog group. We jogged .2 miles and walked .1 miles at a time. I had to turn around and do about .3 more miles total because Eden conveniently dropped her hat half way through the course and I didn't notice it in time, so I didn't pick it up. Luckily there was a walking group behind us, so they saw it and grabbed it for me. It's a good thing too, because it was one of our favorites!

A Picture A Day:

January 22 - Jello, made and in the fridge. Eden started a liquid diet on the 23rd to help get rid of the runs, to help get rid of the worst diaper rash you've ever seen because of teething!

January 23 - Daddy and Baby watching TV together

January 23 - tired baby after a long day shopping

January 23 - the "pillows" on the couch is what we got when we went shopping. The red pillow is a true pillow, the other 2 are fabrics that we got in order to make pillows to go with the new living room decor.

January 24 - evil palms! The thorns are the size of your face...not really, but when you get stabbed by one, you'd think it was that big!

January 24 - the naked palm with the torturous trimmings

January 24 - this will eventually turn into the cupcake tower for Eden's birthday party

January 25 - Grandpa went to LA to be with his mom as she was having surgery today, and he stopped by for a day to hang out with us.

January 26 - our morning with the stroller brigade. This was after our jog/walk, so Eden was tired and not amused at the fact that I wanted to take her picture.

Weight Watching

I've been trying to lose 10 pounds for A LONG time! Before I got pregnant with Eden I wanted to lose 10 pounds. Well, as you may have guessed, I didn't want to continue that goal after getting pregnant, so my goal then, was to just maintain a healthy weight gain throughout my pregnancy. I did that, and I did that with ease. After Eden was born I was able to drop weight at a rapid rate and this was very promising to me. I think this was also what helped me come to a stand-still really quickly. I didn't do much in the beginning to drop the weight as quickly as I had and so I thought it would just continue to fall off...wrong.

Here I am, a year after Eden was born (almost) and I'm now 3 pounds OVER my pre-pregnancy weight (which is still within the "normal" limits) and therefore I've not reached that "easy" 10 pound goal that I had set for myself. Because I've had no luck, and no accountability, I decided to join a Weight Watchers group, and I will be weighing in once a week, and I will be attempting to drop these extra few pounds that I've gained. I know many people have joined Weight Watchers and had great success - a friend lost 30 pounds, a family member lost 30 pounds, and other friends have lost various amounts and haven't been specific with their weight loss numbers.

My weight loss goal is 15 pounds. I haven't thought about an date to accomplish this by, but I think I want to be able to do it in time for Eden's birthday party. I would love to be able to get a new dress for her party when I know that friends and family will be in town so I can show off my results. I don't know yet if that's too soon, or if that's a realistic goal because I've not started counting my points as tonight was the first night I've gone to my meetings. I will keep the end of February in sight as a tentative goal for myself (so that I can have time to shop for my new dress before the party!) and keep everyone posted about how that's going.

I had started going back to the gym and taking a class, but I no longer have the child care available to me for Eden, and therefore everything I do has to be done at home, or with a "home group" of other moms. Tomorrow I will meet up with some of these ladies and we will be running and other active activities in a near-by neighborhood. I remember, when Angela lived in Virginia, she called the mommy group that did fitness in her neighborhood the "Stroller Brigade" and that is what I will be doing in the morning! I'm really excited to have this opportunity, because I feel that the group will be another accountability tool for me to use.

So, now that 2011 is underway, I've got 2 resolutions that this blog is helping me keep up with: A Picture A Day and a Better Brittany - physically, emotionally, and spiritually! Thanks for coming along for the ride with me and here goes nothing!

Saying Goodbye is Military Life

Over the past year that we have lived in Florida, we've had to say goodbye to many families as they've moved on for different reasons. The Bible study group I've been going to has a quick turn around. Women here never know how long they'll be here because of their husbands' training. The long and short of flight school is that there are 3 parts and you could be here for just one part, or you can be here for all 3, it depends on what branch your husband is in and it depends on the need of that branch.

Since we've been here in Florida we've said goodbye to the following families (this doesn't even TOUCH on the families that we left behind when we left Atlanta OR Virginia!):

Hakes family moved to Oklahoma
Cole family moved to Oklahoma
Zasadny family moved to North Carolina
Kelso family moved to North Carolina
Christensen family moved to California
Staffenson family moved to California
Hubbard family moved to Japan
Cohoon (single friend) moved to Texas
Anderson family moved to California

And most recently, the Vanwingerdens - the Vans - moved to Mississippi and the Dunlaps will be moving to Texas. The last 2 families mentioned are the ones that are making all of this a reality. Most of the families mentioned we met down here after coming from Virginia, but the latter 2, have been along for the ride with us since Virginia, which makes saying goodbye a little harder.

Lane went to TBS in Virginia with Van and Dunlap, and then went through IFS in Virginia with them too. We all moved down here around the same time and all of the guys have started training around the same time for phases 1 and 2 of flight school. Now, that phase 2 is complete, people are going to different places to complete phase 3 - we'll be onto phase 3 in about a month-ish and will probably stay here. Don't get me wrong, we still have fabulous friends down here in Florida (I wouldn't even want to start to try to name them because I know I'd leave many families out) - and now, all over the world - but going through so much of the beginnings of the Marine Corps with these people and then having to say goodbye, makes me realize the lifestyle that we've chosen to live. I've always known that this part was coming, but was hoping that it wouldn't be so soon.

To all of our military friends and family all over the world - thank you for the sacrifices that you make on a daily basis. It is more than fighting for our country. You and your families have left behind friends and other family members to do what you're doing. It isn't always easy, but it is always an adventure, so thank you for your many adventures!

A Week in the Life

January 18 - the flower on Eden's birthday tutu, I'm hoping to use this for decorations and the cake!

January 18 - When teething gets you down and you have a fever and a runny nose...TAKE A BUBBLE BATH!

January 18 - Getting her toys down for bath time

January 18 - Eden found the drain in the bath. She only realizes that it makes noise when lifted, not that it lets the water out of the tub.

January 19 - She's our little climber!

January 19 - Loving on Nugget.

January 19 - This is a big deal...we've had the same bedroom stuff for almost 4 years now and I just NOW put up curtains (not to mention we've been in the same house for over a year now)

January 19

January 20 - One of Eden's favorite past times (and one of Lane's favorite workouts!)

January 20 - 1...2...3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

January 20 - WWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

January 20 - No, she didn't get on top of the cabinets and jump down!

January 21 - Eden didn't want to be stuck in the gate anymore, so she wrapped it into itself to put it away.

January 21 - only a month later!



Good Morning Girls

This past Monday I started an online Bible study with daily accountability. The group I am a part of is a much smaller version of the blog Good Morning Girls (http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/) and only has about 20 people in it. The group is set up to hold each other accountable for reading the Bible every day. The GMG blog posts worksheets and daily verses for you to read, so that you have a jumping off point.

Not everyone in my Bible study is doing the same study. I thought this would be weird in the beginning, but have quickly learned that with most people doing the book of James - which is what I'm doing along with the GMG blog guidance - the other people who had already started on their own studies contribute to the study what they've learned in their study and it is easier to cross-reference things.

I have enjoyed having this quiet time to myself as I've never been able to keep myself disciplined enough to read the Bible every day. In the book of James, we're only reading 2-3 verses each day and it isn't taking much time. I've even read the verses to Eden some mornings as she's eaten breakfast in order to possibly start a devotional time with her each day. Even though she isn't active in the devotional time, I talk to her like she is! I've enjoyed my devotions when it has been "me time" but I have also enjoyed them when I've shared them with Eden. I will have to start a devotion with her so that I can have the best of both worlds - "me time" and time with her.

{Pictures from the week to come! I haven't forgotten about them, but I think I'm just going to upload them on 1 day so that the blog is easier to read}

MLK Weekend

January 14 - the sunset on my way to the grocery store to prep for Mimi and Pop coming for the weekend

January 15 - Mimi and Eden, ready to go for a walk with Pop and me

January 16 - we took Mimi and Pop to base to see where Lane works

January 16 - Pop and Mimi with the "static bird"

January 16 - Lane with his solo plane

January 17 - Pop with Eden before she went down for her nap

January 17 - Pop and Eden before her nap again. This is what a tired baby who is teething looks like!

Bye Bye

Today was the day that we had to say goodbye to Mimi and Pop. It's always sad to see them go (or to leave when we're there), but duty calls and Pop has to go back to work bright and early in the morning. It was a great visit, and we were able to get a lot accomplished.
While Mimi and Pop were here Eden started running a fever and she's not been feeling 100% the past 2 days. We can see her 2 front teeth on top, and I think that's why she's not feeling well. Her nose is stuffy and yesterday and this morning she had a fever of 101.7 which wasn't fun for anyone! I hate to see her not feeling well when there's nothing we can do to help her. We just keep giving her motrin for her fever and discomfort and orajel and teething tablets as she needs them for her teeth. Today I let her have a popcicle to see if the cold would make her feel better at all. At first she didn't like that it was cold, but she came around to the idea of it and eventually enjoyed the popcicle!

Pop started a bookcase for us when we were there for Christmas, and because of all of the snow Georgia got this week he got 3 whole extra days to work on it before coming down here this weekend. It wasn't totally completed when they got here, but with hard work and dedication from all of us, we were able to get it done!

Now, I have the task of strategically filling it. I've moved all the books onto it that I want on it - I think - and the bottom 2 shelves are still empty. Part of the reason they're still empty is because every time I put something on them Eden pulls it right off! That is why I say I have to strategically fill the space that is available. I have time and it doesn't have to be done right away, so it will happen eventually.

The making of the bookcase:

 

Mimi and Pop are here!

We have had a fun filled couple of days with Mimi and Pop here. On Friday after Pop got off work, Mimi picked him up and they were on their way! They left the snowy state of Georgia for the cold state of Florida. They arrived right around bath time for Eden that evening.

Yesterday we all worked on sanding and staining a bookcase that Pop made for us. Today, we will put it together. We have plans to go bowling and to take them to base today, so hopefully I'll have lots of fun pictures to share with you!

Hope you're enjoying your MLK weekend!

You did WHAT in WHERE?!

Oh yes, it's been almost a full year and we've yet to have an accident in the bath tub...until last night! Yes, occasionally we'll have a little dribble when Eden's toes touch the warm water, but last night was different. I mentioned before that Eden has been playing this wonderfully amusing "dropping game" where she picks up a toy, stands up, drops it, grunts while she picks it up, and then does it all over again. Well, she was doing this in the bath tub last night, but she wasn't. She picked up a toy and dropped it, but as she grunted I realized that it had nothing to do with the toy or the game at all...she was "pushing a prize!"

As all of this was happening, Lane was studying (he has a big test tomorrow) and I was with Eden in the bathroom. When I realized what was going on I screamed and Lane came running. I don't know what I was thinking, but I wasn't thinking clearly for sure. Lane had to tell me to get her all the way out of the tub and over the toilet - instead of over the tub - which was a MUCH better idea! We got a diaper under her and the rest is history. The tub got cleaned, the baby got cleaned, and Lane and I both got calmed down and watched a movie after she went to bed.

You might think that because this was so dramatic that the moment is worthy to fall into my "Picture a Day," but the only thing I could take pictures of was the "after" and none of the "during" while Lane and I were running around like mad. And let's face it, the "after" isn't anything anyone wants to see! I will admit that I would have loved to have had a picture of our faces as we were dealing with this ordeal!

A Picture A Day:

January 11 - our first born babies

January 12 - One of Eden's favorite books to read (Thanks Aunt Angela, Uncle David, and M!!)

January 12 - we just got home from our walk when Daddy drove in the drive way. If anyone tells you that Florida is warm, they're lying! It's been in the 20's at night this week.

January 13 - Eden at drop off care so Mommy can go to the gym

January 13 - We did a diaper change before bath, and so we had to do a costume change too!

January 13 - clapping, "YAY!"