Saturday, May 29, 2010

The goal: getting both cars back in the garage

Today we had a big garage sale. You name it, it was out on the front driveway to be sold.

I have decided I am the opposite personality of the people profiled on the Hoarders show. If there is "stuff" sitting around that is not an item that we actively use, it is gone. We live a transient lifestyle, we can't schlep this "stuff" around the country with every duty station move!

So we advertised for the Garage Sale to occur today from 8 am - 12 pm. Chris got up at 6:15 am to get the "stuff" pulled out of the garage and set up. There were at least 5 people outside of the house waiting for him to open up shop. Crazy! We were warned about this. I guess Garage Sale's are a big hit here in Hanford!

We were successful in getting almost everything sold. We have one small box that I need to take to Goodwill and drop off. Chris had a great time negotiating, or lack there of, with the buyers.

Buyer: How much do you want for this pot?
Chris: $5
Buyer: I'll give you $2
Chris: Sold!

Hey, I am just glad it is all gone and out of my hair! Now we do still have some arranging to do in the garage to get both cars in but I am 100% confident we will do it!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Michael chatting away!

He has 2 or 3 different kid friendly telephones and he LOVES playing with them. He will hold them up to his mouth like this picture shows and he will talk into them. It is so cute. But it makes me wonder, does he see Chris and I on the phone too much that he knows how to imitate it so well?

Hmmm.....maybe.

His imitation skills are getting really good! And his understanding of what we say is becoming crisper every day. Yesterday, he had this little basket on his arm and in the basket there were two toy balls. One was orange and one was blue. I asked him to hand me the orange one and he reached in grabbed it and handed it to me. Then we repeated the same with the blue one and he understood it perfectly. Then today he was coughing and needed a sip of milk. His milk sippy was sitting near him on the floor and I told him to reach over and take a sip of his milk. He crawled over and picked up the sippy and took a drink. Amazing. I love it. I am sure over time, however, this "listening" will become a more selective "listening" skill.

Tonight we met some friends at the Farmer's Market and had dinner on the lawn by the Carousel. It was a lot of fun watching the kids run around and visiting with friends. Now, we are looking forward to a long Memorial Day weekend!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Bear Hugs


It is just the cutest thing you have ever seen. Chris opens up his arms really wide and says "HUGS" and Michael stumbles right over into his arms for a big bear hug. Then I do the same action and he melts right into my arms. It is the best feeling in the world!

This is one of my new favorite pictures. I love how Michael is holding onto his cousin, G! So precious! We miss them so much!!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Our whirlwind trip back east!

We are finally home and getting back into our California time zone and routine!

Michael and I made a trip back east to NC and FL. Just a few highlights of our trip:
1. Michael got to meet my God Parents, The McAllister's, for the first time. He loved them to death! Usually it takes Michael a few minutes to warm up to new people but with them it was like he has known them his whole life. He would crawl up on Dr. Mac's lap for back rubs and he would talk a blue streak with Ganga. Truly, I have never heard him chat it up so much with someone in his life!
2. He also got to see Grandaddy and Grandma Mitchell, his Aunt Sara, and his Great Grandmother Memommie. He also met some other family in New Bern, but he tuckered out pretty quickly that night from all of the activity. I think he was most excited about playing with the dogs: Sam (chocolate lab) and Spike (beagle). I swear we heard him say "Bad Doggie" when Sam was acting up!
3. We miss being so far away from our family in Florida. Michael and his cousin, G, LOVED playing with each other. G was usually up before Michael in the morning so G and I would go in together once Michael woke up to get him out of bed. They both would have the biggest grins on their faces and the grins would not go away until bedtime. It was so wonderful to see. We also got to see a bunch of Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins on one night in Orlando. There were 5 little ones under the age of 2.5 years old so at times it was a little chaotic but it was SO much fun! We miss them terribly too!
4. I taught G a few things. He is at such a fun, impressionable age. I would say: "Who is handsome?" and he would say back "ME!" This was also the first time meeting Baby J. He has such a sweet and gentle soul. Michael would try to rub his head and grab his hands and feet and Baby J would just sit there and watch and take it all in. He is beyond precious.

We do hate being so far away. The east-west coast flights are not fun at this age. Michael just wants to run around. Sitting on 1 plane for 3-4 hours at a time can be challenging, to put it mildly. We have counted, and to date this was our 8th east-west coast flight (round trip) since Michael was born. Most kids don't travel this much in their first 18 years of life! But the pain of the traveling was worth the time that we got with our family. We can't wait to see them all again!

Until then, thank God for the technology like Skype and Flip Video's!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

My Mother's Day

Today, was a day filled with laughter and tears. Mother's Day can be a tough day. For many people who have lost their Mother, especially at a young age, it can be a very bitter sweet day.

The events that made my day special included:
  • Chris and The Grant's sending beautiful flowers that I was able to enjoy all week! They make me smile each time I look at them.
  • A call from my far away brother and his beautiful wife, Nikole. Next year they will be celebrating Mother's Day with an adorable sweet little girl in their arms.
  • Big belly laughs from Michael. Apparently, he thinks it is really funny to hear me trying to sing Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill songs. He is probably right!
  • My friend, T, remembering that today may be a tough day and tell me she was thinking about me.
  • Hearing that my nephew, G, keeps asking for his Aunt Molls. I'll see you this weekend G! I can't wait!
So everyone whose Mom's are still around to hug, hug them tight. And tell them you love them every chance you get!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Teething Tears

They break my heart. I can't wait for these molars to pop through already. Poor guy. I wish it did not hurt so much. :(

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

My life will never be the same

When I was pregnant with Michael, EVERYONE loved to tell Chris and me that our life will never be the same. Be prepared they would say, it is going to change drastically. Some of these comments were said in overly dramatic tones and I think we heard it so much, it just got to be annoying to hear.

We were ready for the life altering experience of having our first baby. If it is possible to be prepared for bringing home a newborn, we were as prepared as it was gonna get. And everyone was right: it is life changing. However, not as dramatic as people would make it out to be.

My opinion is that the "life altering" part really did not kick in until Michael just recently started walking. When all he could do was roll over, sit up, and crawl, I had control of where he was and what he was doing. NOW, it is a completely different ball game. He decides to walk from room to room because the spirit moves him and I have to follow suit. I was writing an e-mail to Chris today, as this is the only form of communication that we have right now. The highlight of my days are receiving and responding to e-mails from Chris. (Another one of those things that my military friends will understand 100%). I was mid-sentence responding to one of Chris's e-mails when I had to stop to chase Michael into the office/playroom.

But I love it! He is constantly smiling as he walks around. The dogs follow him everywhere and he has figured out how to get them to chase him. He giggles so hard when they play this game. So our "life altering" 24 lbs of love and smiles and teething tears is the best thing that has ever happened to us. Yes, our life will never be the same as it was pre-Michael, but I would never want it to be. Our little baby is growing up!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

His Book Nook


Our office room is also Michael's playroom. I love having a playroom that we can just close the door and not look at the mess of toys everywhere.

Everyday, multiple times throughout the day, he will wander in here to play. He loves going over to the book case and flipping through his books. He is turning the pages of his Toddler Bible as we speak!

So this is a picture of all of that. He sits in this little corner, next to the bookcase and couch and looks through his books. It makes me so happy that he loves his books!