Looking Back

This was one of the best years of my life...other good things have happened, getting married, finding good jobs, graduating from college, but this one so far has been the best I can remember. Brandon and I thank God every day for the wonderful family he has given us and can't imagine our lives any different. 2006 was definitely a great year.

Christmas was so much fun this year, Timothy was a little grumpy (I think a certain over-excited 8 year old yelling, "Wake up! It's Christmas!" didn't exactly help) but once he got some food in his belly and got to rip some paper off the presents he was pretty fun. I think his Christmas present to Brandon and I was the four hour nap he took that afternoon. We got some good pictures though and we had so much fun.

Brandon's parents flew in that night and got in around 2 in the morning on Tuesday. They left today (Sunday) so we're busy relaxing today and getting the house back to normal. Brandon had to leave to go help move the HUGE desk that Santa brought for Tyler over to Heather's house so I've been relaxing by baking for tonight's party, doing laundry, and dishes.

Timothy has been a little grouchy lately, I think he might be working on some more teeth. He still sticks his tongue out at EVERYTHING and has started the whole separation anxiety thing. Any suggestions on surviving that? He's fine as long as I leave the room but if anyone else is there and I'm in there too he will only play with me, or he'll play fine and then just out of nowhere break down and cry and crawl over to me. It's sweet but a little tiring. I'm sure I'll miss it someday though, and want him to be close to me and just hold each other.

We're celebrating New Year's tonight at my parents' house like normal. We're just having a small group over this year, but everything else is the same, we'll still go out at midnight and bang on pots and pans to ring in the New Year! Brandon thinks it's a pretty stupid tradition, but we like it. I hope everyone else had a great 2006 and I hope 2007 will be even better. I think my resolutions will be to lose the 30 pounds I've been trying to lose for a while now, find a new job, and sometime around November or December of next year to be pregnant again! Hopefully all will go as planned!

What a Week!

Well we survived the storm, we moved into our new house and we got the Christmas tree set up. We had power in our old house on Friday so we decided to go ahead and move Saturday. We got everything loaded (thanks to Brandon, dad, TJ, and Chris) and headed out to the new house. All the traffic lights were working the whole drive over so we expected the house to have power as well, but no such luck. It was 39 degrees outside and 44 degrees in the house. Thankfully Aunt Heather watched Timothy for us so he stayed nice and warm at their hotel room (because they didn't have power) so we unloaded everything as fast as we could and headed back to Tacoma.

Finally Heather's house got power Saturday evening so we all (mom, dad, Britt, Heather, Tyler, Brandon, me and Timothy) stayed at their house. Timothy refused to sleep, it was great. Brandon's flight didn't end up getting in until 3am Saturday morning, so he was exhausted and went to bed and I stayed up til almost midnight with the baby. SO much fun! We all went to church on Sunday...and with that many people in one place we actually ended up getting there early! After lunch we all drove back to our own houses to check for power, and we still had nothing. It was so depressing, all I wanted was to be in my new house and be able to unpack and put Timothy down to sleep in his own bed instead of the pack n play.

Brandon went back to check one more time during church Sunday night and we had lights!!! We were so happy. So we finally were able to sleep in our new house in our own beds. We're pretty much all moved in, there's a few things at the old house still, but nothing we really need. I spent most of Tuesday afternoon unpacking and Brandon had stayed home Monday to unpack so it's getting there. We did get the Christmas tree up and all our decorations so it actually feels like Christmas now. Timothy loves it, so much room to crawl and play!

He has picked up some pretty funny habits lately, whenever he's crawling or pulling up he has to stick his tongue out, he had done it before, but now he does it ALL the time. We think he picked that one up from Grumpy. He also is trying to clap his hands now. He tries really hard, but so far he keeps missing. It's really funny to watch though. He is definitely saying "mama" now which I love, it's so sweet to hear it. We got his 8 month pictures made on Wednesday, it was so weird to see him standing up and holding onto things and to think that just three months ago he could barely roll over!

Well I should get back to work, we have internet at our house, but I usually don't have to time to sit and think...next week should be better, I have Monday through Wednesday off and Brandon's parents are coming up Tuesday morning so I'll have lots of help keeping Timothy entertained...plus he'll have all his new toys to play with. I can't wait, only two more days! In case I don't have time to get back on here between now and then, Merry Christmas!

Crazy Day

So the weather here has just been crazy...anyone here knows that it has just been bad. I stayed home yesterday to pack and I left at 3:45 to pick up Timothy from the sitter. It wasn't bad when I left my house, barely raining and still light out, by the time I got there at 4:00, it was really starting to rain and the wind was picking up. By the time I got to the Narrows Bridge I was scared. I've never seen rain like that, it was coming down in buckets, but it was nothing compared to what we encountered over the bridge. I could barely see by the time we got to my parents' exit. It was weird, it was pitch black and rainy and windy and things were starting to flood already. Thankfully, we made it safely and spent the night at their house. Mom said the power went out for good around 1:00 in the morning. Of course, she was up, checking her email.

We woke up to no power, I called the emergency line at work and they didn't have power there either so I got to stay home another day. We finally got cold because there wasn't any heat in the house so we left to come see if our house had power. It didn't, so we left and went to the only place we could think of, Chuck E Cheese. Tyler got to play and run out some energy while mom and I got to sit and relax and Timothy got to watch all the kids playing. He even got to ride on the big rocking horse with Tyler, he was pretty excited. Then we had to run to the UPS store to mail those last Christmas packages which we found out might not make it in time for Christmas (sorry Stefan!). We thought we would see if Heather had power, she said she had left her door unlocked for us, but when we got there it was locked because maintenance people had been in there and she didn't have power anyway. She got some really bad damage, a lot of trees fell on her row of buildings and they said hers had some bad roof damage.

We came back to my house to get mom's keys and the lights were on!! So Timothy and I stayed here and he took a much needed nap while mom and Tyler drove back over the bridge to Gig Harbor to pack up some things since they still don't have power, they met up with dad there (who had been picking up branches in the yard) and everyone met back up again for dinner. It was so crowded in the restaurant, we had to wait almost an hour for a table. There's still well over 500,000 homes without power, so not many people can cook at home. So at the end of the day, mom and dad and Heather and Tyler are staying in a hotel, Timothy and I are home, and Brandon's flight home has been delayed 5 hours, which will put him home around 2:00 in the morning instead of 9:00 tonight. It's been a long day.

Tomorrow is moving day, so of course, after the crazy weather we had last night now they're predicting snow for tomorrow morning. And to top it all off, I just got Timothy down a little while ago and someone is shooting off fireworks outside and my lights are flickering. If we could just have an extra day this week, that would be great. I won't be able to sleep until Brandon gets home and then we need to get up by at least 7:00 am to get everything ready before the guys helping us move get here and Brandon has to leave to get the truck.

Pray for us tonight and tomorrow, we'll definitely need it. Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

Two Days Left

We move on Saturday. I still haven't packed my kitchen...or closets. I sent Timothy to the sitter today and called in sick so I can stay home and pack. It was either that or stay up all night tomorrow night finishing. I think I made the better choice! Plus, I probably won't even be here tonight, we're supposed to get really bad storms again and it's supposed to be worse than Tuesday night and that storm knocked out power everywhere, so Timothy and I are heading over to Grammy and Grumpy's later this afternoon and staying the night over there.

A major milestone for us though, since Brandon has been gone, I've been working on the "get yourself to sleep" thing with Timothy. I've been laying him down awake (but very sleepy) and letting him cry. I play an Acapella CD for him when he goes to bed, so I would let him cry for a few songs and then go in and check on him and then head back out and let him cry a little more. It's been tough, especially since he can pull himself up, he just stands there and cries and waits for me to come back and rock him...until last night. I don't know if he was just exceptionally tired since he only had one nap yesterday, but we did the whole bed time routine. We took a bath, got our PJ's on, I nursed him, we went upstairs and said our prayers and sang a song and then I told him good night and laid him down. He cried for about 5 minutes and then...silence! So we'll try it again tonight to see if it was just a fluke, but it was really nice. But I'm really proud of him for getting himself to sleep. He can do it when he wakes up during the night, it's usually just getting him to bed that can take a while.

I had to do it while Brandon was gone because he can't stand the crying and he wouldn't let me do it while he's here. Way to make me feel like a great mom there. So hopefully we'll have this down before he gets home late tomorrow night! And then we'll move to a new house on Saturday and Timothy won't be able to fall asleep in his new room...perfect. Oh well, he'll learn eventually.

Well I should go pack...I'm going to take a load over to the new house and then come back and pack up the kitchen. Should be a great relaxing day...yeah right!

The Joys of Procrastination

It's 10pm, Timothy is asleep and I have so much to do it's ridiculous, but here I sit, playing on the computer. I don't take for granted everything Brandon does for me, but when he's gone I always remember just how much there is to get done every night. I still have to clean up the kitchen, sterilize bottles and breast pump equipment, get Timothy's bag ready for tomorrow, let the dog out, get my stuff ready for tomorrow, clean the mess in my room so I can get in my bed, and then try to get some sleep before 5:30 comes and it's time to get up again!!

To top it all off, it's raining and really windy and they keep saying the power might go out and those of you that know me well know that I'm scared of EVERYTHING and normally wouldn't be staying here at night without Brandon here to protect me so I'm terrified and I'm sure I won't get much sleep tonight.

Timothy definitely misses his daddy, he keeps saying "dada" and he loves to talk to Brandon on the phone. He gets the biggest smile on his face. He's not the only one smiling, I'm sure.

Well I suppose I should get started so I can at least get in bed at a reasonable hour. Hopefully sleep will come quickly!

Picture Problem Solved!

I don't know how it happened, but I can add pictures now! I went back and added some to a few previous posts (notice Aunt Rheanna's big belly!) and I'll put some of the newer ones on here.

Daddy and Timothy on Thanksgiving
Grammy, Jax, and Timothy at the bowling alley
Timothy checking out a new friend
The boys and their babies...

All Alone

Well Brandon left for Ohio this morning, he just called to let me know he made it ok. So Timothy and I are all alone all week long. It's only Sunday and I'm already exhausted...probably because Timothy has picked up this lovely habit of waking up in the middle of the night and not going back to sleep for 2-3 hours. And I should take a nap while he's napping now, but there's so much to clean and pack I just feel guilty not getting it done. Every time Brandon leaves I realize more and more how much he does around here!

A couple of cute Timothy stories, yesterday I put him in his excersaucer and he was playing with the buttons that make animals noises and he kept pressing the cow button and then he started making a "rrrrrrr" noise every time he would hit the cow button, it was really cute. I think he was more amused by me moo-ing at him. He has also (finally) started to say "mama" every now and then. I get so excited when he says it, I've lived with "dada" and "baba" for quite a while now. His teeth are really cute now, he keeps running his tongue over them, which means he's sticking out his tongue more now too.

I went today to finalize everything with our new house so it is officially ours now. We're having the washer and dryer delivered on Wednesday and I might take a small load over if I can get much of anything in my car. It's been hard to move with a baby, I think he can tell something's changing, he's been extra clingy. Of course, he's also been sick so that may have something to do with it. We're both pretty much over the cold bug now, just a lingering cough now, not too bad.

Well I should get busy, I've done my "me" time for the day! Since the next couple of weeks will be hectic, who knows how much time I'll have to get online, but I'll try to, right after I set up my Christmas tree!

Still Sick

Yes, we're still home and we're still sick. It's pretty yucky. I hate being sick, but I didn't realize how much more I would hate being sick and having a sick baby. Timothy is such a trooper though, he'll be playing and laughing and then go into this big coughing spell and when he's done he just goes back to playing and laughing again. I guess the good thing about it is he's been extra cuddly and sleeping more during the day.

I've been a busy little bee packing up the house, my mom came over yesterday and packed up the whole china cabinet (thank you thank you thank you!), so I think all that's left now is the kitchen and some miscellaneous things like clothes and bathroom stuff. We're trying to get rid of as much as possible, like the area rugs we don't need anymore, the fake tree, the coffee table...and we're giving back to red couch to my parents. We bought Shawn and Karen's couches since they're leaving us (sniff). We had quite the adventure last night getting the couches to the new house. Thankfully our landlord was nice enough to open up the house and let us move the couches in, but it was a good 6 hours in the car before we got home last night. It was worth it though, we got the keys to the house and we got to spend time with the Casey's before they left.

I'm totally getting into the Christmas spirit now though, I can't wait. I love Christmas, I'm sure I've said that before, but I'm so excited!! I only have two more gifts to finish and then I'm done with the whole shopping thing. But for now, I'm going to go enjoy the next (hopefully) hour or quiet before Timothy wakes up from his nap and get myself some lunch.

Yucky Day

Well the cold bug has hit our house now. Timothy had been coughing for the past week and over the weekend it turned into the runny nose and fever and fussiness and then Sunday I began to feel the sore throat coming on and now I've got the coughing and runny nose and fever so we're in full swing here! I did take him to the doctor just to make sure it was just a cold and nothing more serious since the cough had lasted for over a week. She said he looked fine and we just had to wait it out. So here were are...I stayed home from work today because I assumed his babysitter didn't want him infecting her or any of the other children she keeps and I didn't want to be at work with a fever and a cold. I'm trying to get as much done as I can on my lap top at home, but I just don't feel like working at the moment. We had our month end closing last week so I've finished up all of my financial statements and I'm taking a "my baby is still sleeping and I don't feel like thinking right now" break.

I know I complain about my job and I've said I'm looking for a new one, but perhaps you're wondering why. Aside from the fact that I work 4 10 hour days and don't get home until almost 7pm every night and I have to leave my baby 4 days a week, I absolutely hate what I do. I have no idea why I majored in accounting and I wish I would have thought this whole career thing out a little better when I was young and in college and didn't have a whole lot of responsibility. They really should have provided better career counseling. I would have majored in something that allowed me more time at home, like teaching or something? My manager is a complete jerk. He has no family, has never been married, has no children and he's probably in his 50's and he lives by himself in an apartment and his whole life is all about his job. His boss is the same way. She's married but has no family and doesn't understand children. So I'm 0 for 2 there, I'm the only one in my department with a baby, the next youngest child is like 12 so she can stay at home by herself and she's in school all day. So I get comments about how my family interferes too much with my job and it's not their problem that I have a family and my boss even had the audacity to make a negative comment about the (two 15 minute) breaks I take to pump every day. They are so not family friendly. I don't see why it's such a problem, I get my work done on time every month. Apparently that's not good enough. So it's completely a hostile work environment and I'm so stressed because of it and I really just need to get out. It's not healthy for myself or my family. I was talking to the girl that cuts my hair last night (I love my new haircut, thanks Drew!) and she told me I need to get out before I go crazy and throw something at my boss...that time is coming faster than he realizes!

But enough of that, just wanted to make it clear why I hate my job so much, it's not that I'm picky or lazy, it's just a really really bad situation. I still haven't packed much of anything, my mom's coming over in a little bit to bring me newspapers so I can pack up my dishes and she's going to go in the basement for me to get the rest of my boxes so I can pack. For those of you that don't know, our house is 100 years old and the basement really scares me. Brandon is the one that goes down there (thank goodness because that's where the washer and dryer are so he does our laundry), but my mom will go down there too, which is good because I've packed all the boxes that are up here and I need more! We may be able to get into the house to move in some new couches tomorrow, I really hope we can...we have no where to put them in here!

Timothy is doing fine with the exception of being sick. He's started to move a little when he's standing and holding on to the furniture. He was actually pushing a chair around the other day, walking and holding onto it. But he mostly just wants to stand there and bang on whatever he's holding onto. He has cut his front two bottom teeth, I can't wait for them to grow in all the way, they're just little stubs now, but they are so cute! We gave him some Orajel for the first time on Sunday and he was so funny with it. He kept sticking his tongue out, like he was trying to figure out what was going on in there! I can't believe he's practically 7 and 1/2 months old, time flies...we've completely finished Christmas shopping with the exception of a pair of shoes for Timothy and our mom's gifts which I have to finish making. It's a nice feeling to have all of that done and over with! Only like 20 more days til Christmas, I can't wait!!

Well I should go, he's starting to move around and I should probably get a little more work done before he wakes up. Pray for us to get better quickly, I hate being sick and I hate even more that he's sick. Not good timing with Brandon going out of town and having to pack up and move! But we'll get through it, it can only get better :)

Santa Pics

I added some of Timothy's Santa pictures below...so cute! Here's one of the family too.

Not Enough Time in the Day

I've decided that we should have 30 hour days instead of 24 hours. I could get so much more done with an extra six hours every day. With 6 extra hours, I could work out and get rid of my extra baby fat, I could cook good home made meals, I could maybe have time to read a book, or take a nap...or just go to the grocery store or the dry cleaners or the mall...so I'm adding that to my list of things that would make the world better. The rest of the list basically includes making it illegal for women to work, and giving pregnant women in their third trimester handicap stickers so they can park close to buildings. But I'll try not to complain!

This week has gone by so fast, I can barely believe it's already Sunday (technically, it's still Saturday night because we haven't gone to bed yet, even though it's after midnight). We got a lot of snow this week, Brandon and I couldn't go to work on Tuesday because we were snowed in so bad. It was nice to have an extra day at home with my boys.

Timothy's tooth finally cut through, along with the one next to it as well. He's got two razor sharp little bumps now, hopefully the worst is behind us. He had every teething symptom in the book, runny nose, cough, tons of poopy diapers (like an average of 6 per day), fussiness, not sleeping, you name it, we've been through it in the past month. I can't wait until they come all the way in, he'll have such a cute little smile!

We're still trying to get packed, we haven't done much, but hopefully we can at least get the kitchen packed up, the rest of the house should be pretty easy once that's done. I just can't wait to move in to the new house, the first thing I'm doing is setting up my Christmas tree, it's killing me not to have it up yet. I love Christmas, we've got all of Timothy's "Santa" presents and I just need to get him a few more outfits and he'll be set. Everyone else is finished too, that's such a nice feeling!

We had a going away party tonight for the Casey's who are moving to TX. I can't believe they're actually leaving us, we will miss ya'll so much...our only non-military friends with kids! But we'll meet up again in TX or AR. We do miss Rachel and Jax though...

Well I'm getting the "I'm tired, can we please go to bed now" look, so I guess this is it for now. I'll try to keep ya'll updated on the move and get some pictures up as soon as possible!