Goin' On A Trip

Today I am helping Mommy pack for our trip to Cape Cod. I finally get to see all my cousins on Daddy's side of the family. Grammy will be there too. YIPPY!

Uncle Michael (that's Daddy's brother) got back from Iraq a few weeks ago and will get promoted to Lieutenant Colonel tomorrow. I am excited to meet him, he sounds cool. Brady & Hunter Grace and Aunt Drew will be there too! More cousins to love!

Uncle Keith is back from flying fighter planes in Iraq and he will be there too! Aunt Julia (Daddy's sister), Aiden, Kendall, and Claire will be there too! We had so much fun playing together last time they were Colorado.

We are going to do something called a Clam Bake. Not sure what it is, but Mommy bought me a new outfit just special for it. It says "little digger" on it, THAT'S ME! Hopefully I will get to help Daddy and his Uncle Bruce do something with kelp and I think there is lobster too. Whatever it is, we should have fun!

I get to see the ocean for the first time too! I am pretty excited to see big water...not sure if I am brave enough to go swimming though.

We leave tomorrow morning and Mommy seems to be a little stressed out. I have promised to be a good boy, but she is still worried I will cry a lot. I am going to try to be good...really I am.

Talk to you after our trip! Have a good holiday weekend!

Parenting Puzzle???

We had our very first official play date...needless to say it was an adventure! Jackson found a girlfriend. Ella is a seven month old little peanut. I am kicking myself for not bring my camera the two of them were adorable. Jackson LOVED his time in the swings! I had a great time chatting with other mommies swapping stories. It is always nice to talk with someone who talks back in a language you can understand.

Along with the good times I have come along my first parenting puzzle. So, all you experienced parents and those who aren't what do you do when someone else's child is OUT OF CONTROL and the parents are doing NOTHING about it. For example, there are two children, wait make that three, who engage in a whole slew of bad behavior, hitting, BITING, and taking toys from the babies all while the parents are looking on. WHAT??? SO, seeing that the parents are not going to do anything to correct their behavior what should I do?? HELP?? Any thoughts??

L.I.N.K.S.

I just spent the last two days attending a L.I.N.K.S class. The class is put on by volunteer Marine spouses for new Marine spouses. The classes introduce you to the history of the Corps, the ends and outs of the base, the low down on military moves, military pay and entitlements, deployment information, and the career of their Marine spouse. Although I am a veteran spouse to the Corp, it was a great refresher and really motivated me to keep persuing my passion of working with military families to make their lives easier. I believe it all starts with education and that is exactly what this program does.

I have signed up to volunteer as one of the mentors/presenters and will go through the mentor training in September. And the best part is at all the events they provide FREE childcare! Jack loved playing with all the other kids and was the best baby! He certainly got his need for a lot of social interaction from his dad.

Guess What?? I was the participant in the class who has been married the longest! I had no idea five years and eight months of marriage could gain me so much senority and make me feel SO OLD! I am just glad to she the youngans get the information now at the beginning of their marriage!

A Hint Of Fall

It has been raining pretty good here the past two days. I guess all the heavy rain knocked a few leaves out of the tree and we got a sneak peak of some of the colors we will get to enjoy this fall. Jackson wasn't really sure what he thought about the leaves, hence the serious face.

Thankfully, it has cooled of tremendously and we are finally enjoying the outdoors. On Sunday we went to the park on base and let Jackson swing until his hearts content and we didn't even break a sweat!

From what I hear the fall is the most enjoyable and beautiful time of year around these parts. So come visit we would love to have you!

Couch Potatoes

Jackson is going through the oh so fun stage of teething. So consequently, before I descovered baby motrin, he was up most of the night Wednesday night (of course the night Dan had to stay in the barracks). So Jack and I were couch potatoes most of the day. The surprise of all surprise came at 1:30pm when Dan walked in the door early from work. So he joined us couch potatoes. I could not resist taking this picture. Jackson is already learning the importance of the remote.

Settling In...well sorta

I have been here now for three whole weeks! I am still among boxes in some rooms and have started to ask myself, " am I ever going to feel settled in?"

I do have to admit this has been one of the harder transitions for me. Moving so far away from what I know, the heat, the HUMIDITY, and the strange folk of Stafford have been huge adjustments. I am also getting settled into the idea of being a full-time mommy. As many of you know I started my internship when Jackson was 6 weeks old so Dan and I shared the childcare responsibilities, but out here I will not be working so it is me and Jackson from 4:30am til 7:30pm. Jackson is a dream and I could not ask for an easier baby, however, I look forward to the time when he can talk back and I can actually understand what he is saying. Maybe then I will feel like I have had some form of conversation through out the day.

I have been so blessed to have Melanie and Holly here with me. We have taken several trips to Woodbridge and Fredericksburg, those are the two shopping Meccas of this area. Melanie came over last night because the guys had to stay in the barracks for night fire. We ordered pizza and watch a dozen episodes of Sexy and the City. It is great to have a close friend here already. It has certainly made the transition much easier.

I hope to get the house in order soon and take some pictures to post so you can see where we will be calling home for the next 6-10 months.

That is all for now...I am off to install the baby gates. Jack has now learned how to roll himself across the room...so I must keep him from rolling himself down the stairs.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub New Toys in My Tub!

Mommy got me some new cups for my bath tub! I had so much fun last night playing with them! I am finally settling into a routine here and enjoy my outings with mommy and her friends. Daddy works late, but we all eat at the table together then daddy gives me a bath! I love my time on the weekends with him! That's all for now, just wanted to show you the pictures of my cool new bath toys.