Thankfulness 2013: Day Thirteen and Fourteen

Alyssa is getting pretty sneaky.  She can make two phone calls without my phone being unlocked.  She has learned to navigate to the ICE list on the emergency dialer in the lock screen. So while I contemplate how to teach her to utilize things like that in an emergency for real, I am thankful that we have the technology we do.  Beyond the complications that it can create for child proofing and safety, it is such an amazing set of resources.  We can look up thousands of questions that our toddlers demand answers to.  We can have endless entertainment options available at our fingertips.  The most amazing thing to me though is along with the transfer of knowledge, we can transfer virtual lives.  Our family and friends who may otherwise not get more than the Christmas card in a year, can keep up with our family including photos, daily rants, chats, and whatever else they may want to know depending on the tech form used.  Phones provide a few ways to talk to people quickly.  The Internet allows for video calls or photo swapping, and of course blogs share our stories easily.  Such a wonderful tool!

Related to tech in the general sense, my e-reader!  I absolutely LOVE my e-reader!  I am so thankful for e-readers (physical and app forms)!  Reading relaxes me and gives me a mental break from daily stresses like trying to leave the house with a toddler and an an infant.  I would be so much closer to full blown crazy if it weren't for my e-readers.

Proof of Teeth!

I finally got a picture where he was willing to smile even with the phone or camera in front of his face.  Usually he just goes blank face or wide mouth but not smiling when he sees technology within grabbing (and chewing) distance!

Adorable, right?

The Value of Photos

Our Venture Photography Mosaic!

I adore these photos!  I think they are so fun and they are perfect for the family room atmosphere.  It was an investment because they weren't cheap but I put a lot of value on family photos.  Capturing not only an image, but a feeling or a personality through a camera is not a simple challenge.  They may hire anyone who can point and click at the basic studios and many of those photos turn out nicely, but they are so similar to every photo we've taken before.

Venture Photography is a studio-based photography experience but with the personalization of having an on-site photographer.  Their studio is large enough to hold horses...really, they've done it!  You bring ANYTHING with (almost) that shows off what your family does and who you are.  You don't have a 15-30 minute slot where you fit in a bunch of standard poses.  You have an hour and you play, you dress up, you do whatever kinds of things you'd do at home.  Your kids get relaxed and glow for the camera.  That dreaded 'say cheese' isn't heard within the building unless *mom* slips up...oops!

I have no doubt in my mind that we will save up to do this again.  Our goal is to be able to do this every 5 years.  Wether that happens or not will of course depend upon what life throws at us, but it would be absolutely wonderful.

They aren't very spread out in the U.S. but they are great if you're nearby!  They began in the U.K. so they are an international set-up and neat to check out.  (US, UK, and Hong Kong locations)

**No location, business, or individual has asked me to write this post.  I simply wished to share a product and business that I've personally utilized.  I received nothing in exchange for my post.**

A Glimpse at Christmas 2011

 While our Christmas celebration was short one Papa in person, we had a wonderful time at our many family get-togethers.  So here are some pics of Alyssa's second Christmas at various places.  (There are many more and much of it is on video to catch what the camera didn't.  I can't run two things at once without a tripod...)

 We do love our puzzles in my family and Alyssa has begun to follow that trend.  She has MANY puzzles (in wooden with peg forms) now and a rack to store them in.  She spends quite a bit of time with the two she had before the holidays so I can only imagine how much more we will be doing with the new ones to play with!

 Grandma!!  Open!  "Peeeze..."

 Alyssa:  A bucket to carry!
Momma: YES! Crayon storage!

 This one got the ball rolling with wrapping paper destruction.  She used to rip one piece off and not move on until an adult had taken it from her to throw away....So long gone when she saw a face of a lion 'colored' onto this Magnadoodle!

 We love music and are lucky to have had Uncle Brian and family home this year (for a wedding next week of Cousin Dustin) who is a musician.  He was playing everything from classic Christmas music to little ditties and polka.  I believe there may have been Oh Canada at some point even.  No matter what though, if it was upbeat enough, Alyssa was rocking along with it!  Thanks Auntie Becky for dancing too!

 I had to beg for this shot but she deigned to smile AT the camera finally!  Of course she was quite pleased to have escaped with someone else's hat...

 Santa (*ahem*) did a GREAT job wrapping this large box I thought... ;)
Either way its been a greatly enjoyed gift already and only was able to be played shortly after getting home tonight since the holiday plans require daytime travel of course.  As the only person in the house able to handle the video camera and digital camera I opted to take video for Papa to see later so there are no (as of yet) pictures of the SHOPPING CART that is snuggled inside that box.  It is pretty exciting to put babies in the seat and out and then trade spots with another baby though apparently.  Good job Santa!

It was a long day yesterday and longer today (considering the nap length of today was considerably shorter than yesterday) so this was a pretty standard face for the afternoon and evening.  I'd say she looks pretty good for having been up until 11pm on Christmas Eve and then only an hour nap today!!

From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful holiday season no matter how you celebrate or what you celebrate.  Many wonderful memories to create and to keep!

"Next year..." and the Holidays

Yes, yes...almost a month and half between posts....The slippery slope of blogging distractions has started.  The one thing that a holiday season acts as for most people is a busy schedule!  Our holidays are no exception to the hustle-bustle of family, travel, food, crafts, shopping, decorating, gift wrapping, gift re-wrapping, so on and so forth.  Y'all know the routine I'm sure.

Things this year are a little different for us of course.  The deployment makes everything in our lives a little less typical.  This doesn't mean that our 'big events' are put on hold or that they aren't plenty of special like the would normally be.  It just means it takes a little more planning and a lot of luck to come out the way we want them.  Today is one such event for us.

We had our home Christmas celebration today.  Every year we have multiple Christmases to attend so we planted our feet and dug in and have our small family time on Christmas Eve morning.  This year instead of the three of us tearing into gifts together in pj's and then eating whatever Papa decides to make for breakfast, Alyssa and I hunkered down in front of the computer this morning and hit "Video Call" on Skype.  Alyssa watched with a smile as Papa appeared on the computer and was ready to show him all sorts of things (c'mon, she isn't quite two yet...she hasn't figured out that we could commence the ripping open of gifts right then).  So while they chatted a bit I set up the video camera on a shelf aiming at the bottom of the tree and then hit record.  Alyssa was handed a gift and to town she went!  Papa watched her open all her gifts under the tree and then she opened a couple for him too.  She did try to give them to him so he could open them but unfortunately Skype doesn't quite work that way yet so we sat on Momma's lap to open Papa's stuff.  (This is where that 'planning' should've come in.  I should have had his gifts wrapped and mailed over so that he could open them on the other end of Skype today.  I'll remember that better for the next deployment I swear!)  Of course his gifts will be mailed out to him ASAP next week and there are a couple things that he didn't get to see today for his holiday surprises.

It was wonderful to share the holiday together even if it was in a way that takes a little more effort.  Alyssa loved to have Papa 'here' and to show him not only her gifts but his as well.  She holds things up when asked and thrusts it as close to the web cam as possible (typically resulting in a black screen due to lack of light).  I read a blog today that a friend had posted a link to.  It is another blog for military families and it's theme was the phrase "Next year..."  A better phrase for us I have not thought of.  I have avoided using the phrase up until this point in this post and it was HARD!  It is almost like an anthem for many families who are temporarily apart.  "Next year..." we will get to go through the holiday craziness together.  "Next year..." we will get to curl up for classic holiday movies at night.  "Next year..." we will get to remember that this year was wonderful even with a deployment overlaying it. <3

Happy Holidays to all of you.

"I'm a big kid now!"

I will start by saying "You're welcome."   You're welcome for not taking or sharing photos of this monumental event in Alyssa's life.  Alyssa has used the potty!!!  (If you are not a person interested in potty training toddlers--you probably don't want/need to finish reading this post.)

She has been pulling and dragging me into the bathroom for the last couple days simply to flush the toilet.  We had to put a stop to that after about a dozen times in an hour clearly for pure entertainment purposes.  She also would go in there with her pullup needing to be swapped.  This last time I was thinking--sure, she just wants to flush the toilet again.  She was pulling and tugging and grabbing my whole arm and I got up with her.  I figured we would go in, she would try to flush the toilet and I would carry her back out.  Nope....She grabbed her potty seat, put it on the big toilet, moved her chair/stool over and then stood there.  She started going potty in her pull up before I realized she was actually serious!  Dumb Momma!  So we stripped the pull up and finished on the potty!

Super proud moment and she was super excited to flush something besides a wipe down the potty!  Yes--I am clearly an overly excitable parent right now.  We got a rubber stamp star design and a multi color (pinks and purples) ink pad and got TWO stamps on the tops of her feet.  (She adores stamps...)  Wish us luck for the future!

Choosing your messes...

Kids unerringly find the biggest mud puddles, the tallest pile of leaves, the wettest pile of sand, and the grossest mess left in the corner by a sick pet....So why then, when encouraged by a momma, does a child squirm away from a mess prime for the playing in?

The other night we finally carved our pumpkin...and the only time Alyssa wanted to touch the ickiness was trying to put it back into the pumpkin!  I think she was trying to clean up the mess Momma was making....Awfully nice of her to help clean up the one time I'm NOT asking her to do so.

She also demanded the use of the sharp tools.  Momma didn't go for that one though.  Alyssa was given the pokey (serrated) spoon and the pumpkin top.  This is where you say, a toddler with a pokey scraping spoon?  Are you nuts?  Apparently I am because after being chased away from the sharper tools, Alyssa in a fit ran away with the spoon.  Yes the dish is upset over the kidnapping.

The Nuk typically stays in bed....

Momma gave the Nuk to avoid "spoon" fed raw pumpkin guts.

She did lose the spoon privileges after jumping onto the couch with no regards to Momma's command for her to be careful and bring the spoon back.

Yes...Momma's carving skills are sadly lacking....

Lifestyles of the Rich or Deployed...

Well, I have a few pictures from Chris of his new living situation.  They don't match what I had in my head based on description but that's because in my head there was one less wall!  LOL!  So here is a glimpse into this particular deployment.

Based on the bathroom travel bag, the last picture is Chris' locker.  I *believe* his bunk is the bottom bunk in the second picture but I'm not positive on that one.

Well, this is a preliminary glimpse into the living space he and his buddies have put together.  (In case you didn't know, this is a bay that holds 60 people.  They worked it up into a private area for 4 within this bay.  Pretty smart huh?)

Future Camera Toting, Bus Delaying Momma

Ahhh, the first day of school.  Kids getting on buses, backpacks bouncing down sidewalks and parents frantically trying to get in just 'one more' picture before their child is late for class.  Thank you dear lord for it not being me yet!  We have a couple more years before I will be that frantic Momma begging for one more hug and toting my camera to the bus stop only to delay the route with four posed pictures every foot closer to the bus....

We can all look ahead and say that won't be us.  We won't be THAT parent.  Oh stop kidding yourself!  We will ALL be THAT parent when Kindergarten comes.  Let's just hope we won't be the only one doing it still in JR High....

So for us Momma's and Papa's who still have ones to young for school, we get to relax a little while longer before the 'back-to-school' rush applies to us.  Let's enjoy these years whether we are all under the same roof, or all huddled in front of computers saying our "I love you's" and "good nights".  We can let that stress, pride, joy and sorrow come tomorrow; today we will hug our babies and send them off to full day daycare instead....Wait....Someone tell me what the difference is??