Traveling With Two

When Noah was almost 8 months old, we traveled to Texas.  I was a little nervous about it and I shared my thoughts about it in this post.  So I was worried about traveling with Noah.  And Billy was there with me. This coming Saturday, I'm flying to San Antonio with Noah and Asher.  And Billy will not be with me.  I will be alone with a 5 month old baby and a 2 1/2 year old toddler.  I know women do this all the time, but I don't, and I'm nervous.  It's going to be a ton of fun trying to get through security with everything... the car seat, the stroller, the portable dvd player or computer, the breast pump, bottles of milk, diaper bag, toys, etc.  I have to do all of that while getting us all halfway undressed and redressed.  By the way, did I mention our flight leaves at 6:00a.m.?  That means all of this "fun" we'll be having will be happening at about 5 o'clock in the morning. Then we get to the actual flights.  We have one layover in Atlanta and we land in San Antonio at almost 10:00a.m.  It doesn't sound too bad, but who knows what could happen.  Yesterday I had to change my clothes three times because Asher spit up all over me.  This morning he had to get an unplanned bath because of a diaper blowout.  He was sitting in his exersaucer quietly for about 15 minutes and I thought he was about to go to sleep.  When I finally picked him up, he had poop all the way up his back and under his arms.  I still can't quite figure out how he got it all the way up there, but he did.  So, with this little man, anything is possible.  Let's just hope we can keep the spitting up and pooping under control. 

Can you tell how much we miss Billy?  (I sure hope he appreciates this!)

And so it begins...

As they were sitting there, Asher was touching Noah and Noah was whining, "Asher's hitting me." Then he turned to Asher and said "don't touch me."  And so it begins...

Growing Too Fast

My littlest boy is now 4 months old.  I have an almost 2 1/2 year old, so you'd think I'd know how fast this time goes by, but I just can't believe that Asher is already 4 months old.  I feel like I'm going to turn around and they'll be walking across a stage to get their diploma or walking down the aisle to get married.  It's actually kind of scary.  But I digress.  This is just an update on Asher. 

weight = 15 lbs = 50th percentile (I swear he feels and looks a lot heavier)
height = 25.5 in = 75th percentile
head = 16 in = 10th percentile (it doesn't look like it with those chubby cheeks, but he has a peanut head just like his dad and brother)

The doc said he's doing great and everything is right on target.  Unfortunately, he doesn't tolerate his shots well.  As an infant, Noah would stop crying as soon as you picked him up after the shots.  Asher, on the other hand, doesn't stop crying.  He has tears streaming down his face and is screaming like he's being tortured.  He definitely needs a lot of extra TLC afterwards. 

Based on the new recommendations, we'll start Asher on solids at 6 months.  I'm sure he'll be more than ready. You should see the way he already eyeballs our food, but I also have a feeling he's going to be a picky eater. Of course, he's full of surprises so I need to stop guessing and just go with what he throws our way.  We might be in for an adventure!

Seven Months Down

Okay, so we've passed the hurdle.  We're more than halfway through Billy's year-long hiatus.  We have seven months down and five to go.  Luckily he has a class in San Antonio next month where me and the little boys will meet him and get to hang out with him for a week.  Then he'll fly back to Charleston with us.  We'll get to hang out for another week before he's back to work leaving us with only four months to go.  And boy will those four months fly by.  We should be getting some information about his new assignment any day, and by any day I mean they have to tell us by March 31st, so I'm wondering why in the world it's taking them so long to tell us patiently waiting to find out what the Air Force has in store for our future.  There will be SO MANY things to take care of before he gets back.  One of the most important things will be getting the house ready to show/sell/rent, which includes some MAJOR cleaning (which by the way means lots of money because I simply don't have the time to do the necessary cleaning), tidying up all the holes in the wall (can't do that either), touch up painting, fixing the yard, pressure washing the exterior, cleaning the garage, etc..  Then we'll actually have to decide whether we'll sell or rent and I have no idea how to even figure out what would be best.  I'll also have to do plenty of research to find somewhere for us to live in the as of yet undisclosed location.  I'll have to figure out if I'll be able to transfer, which will take some work, or if I have to start looking for a new job, which would also mean a lot of research, resume updating, application filling out... you get the picture.  I'm sure there are many more things that will need to be done, but I'm only looking at big picture things right now.  Everything else is one day at a time.  SO, if anybody has any suggestions for good cleaning people, a handyman, a realtor, info on whether to sell or rent, I'm all ears!!!

And just so you know that as busy, and crazy, and anxiety provoking as this life is, I wouldn't trade it for anything because they make it all worthwhile.

February 12 on the 12th

1. Our house as it began to snow

2. Noah's slide covered in the white stuff

3. Talking to Billy on the computer using Skype

4. Just got through feeding Asher and it's time to start the day

5. Footprints in the snow

6. Noah didn't want to be in the picture so he had Ruffy pose instead

7. The first time we've seen snow

8. Gammy and Asher

9. Noah's eating chocolate chip banana bread for breakfast

10. Our mailbox with snow on it

11. Noah had some hot chocolate after spending a few minutes outside in the cold (someone needs to get that boy a haircut)

12. Asher watching us eat Mexican food for dinner... he wanted some