Firsts

I have many blog posts I need to do about the past few weeks of Aaron coming home, Christmas, and family gatherings, but I am to lazy to put the pictures on my computer so those posts will just have to wait. However, since today is the last day of 2011 I thought I would do a small recap of this year. Obviously with Aaron being gone almost the whole second half of this year 2011 was not a normal year for us. Overall though I would say it has been a great year full of firsts for me and my family.
My Firsts:
I dieted for real. Blah.
I lived alone.
I went to Texas.
I flew on a plane with a baby four times. She was a champ.
I went to Arkansas.
I ate smoked turkey.
I made rolls and bread.
I introduced solid foods to another person :)
I called the police. Not recommended as a first or second or third...
I became the wife of a man in the military.
I went to a military base all by myself.
I got a car stolen.
Went to the New Port Beach Temple.
I put all the Christmas light up by myself.
I used a meat thermometer, hopefully I will never over cook chicken again!

Aaron's Firsts (from my point of view):
Fixed both shower heads in our house.
Planted a peach tree.
Went fishing with my brothers.
Joined the military.
Went to boot camp.
Went to the New Port Beach Temple.
Tried Gumbo.
Everything new learned from he military... which is a lot.
I am sure there is more but Aaron is currently working on a car in the garage and the last thing he would want, is me asking about all the first he did this year : )

Daisy's firsts (which are many because this was her first year of life so I will just do the highlights):
Rolled over.
Grabbed toes.
Preferred a bottle.
Stayed in a motel.
Slept through the night.
Ate solids.
Giggled.
Army crawled.
Flew on a plane
Went to Texas and Arkansas.
Gave kisses.
Pulled self up.
Said Mom and Dad.
Pooped in the car seat.
Snuck some cat food... icky.
Went to Pinetop.
Saw a volleyball game.
And much much more...

Nasty November

November was a long month. Since Aaron has been gone I have been keeping myself very busy. I make sure I get dressed and do my hair. I clean and do projects. I try to get out of the house everyday. But once November hit I slowed down. I needed to. After three months of projects, working out, and doing whatever else I could think of I needed a breather. Anyway once I slowed down some of the feelings of missing Aaron bubbled up, which was hard. I was feeling worn out. Aaron must have been feeling the same way though because that's when he called with his Arkansas trip idea. A much needed vacation. So with that to look forward to my spirits lifted considerably. I decided I needed to read a good book so I borrowed my sister's copy of the Hunger Games and yeah its good. I spent the next week shut up in my house with Daisy reading. Because if your like me when you start a good book not much really exists. But as bad luck would have it during this time Aaron's car was stolen. It is a horrible feeling to walk out to your driveway and your car is not there. The night I think it was stolen I heard a car alarm go off for a few seconds and my first thought was some one is steeling Aaron's car. This was a three in the morning. The sad thing was that the car had only been in the driveway for a week. My brother in law had been driving it and had just returned it. When he dropped it off, I had a feeling it wouldn't be there long. So that is probably why I wasn't so surprised to see it gone. Of course I teared up, but figured that wouldn't make the car come back. So after calling my brother in law, I called the police. Our poor car is probably stripped now or in Mexico : ) So that was the beginning of November. It was long and our car was stolen, not great. November did end on a high note though with our trip and Daisy's birthday. Now it is only a few weeks till Aaron is home for good. We are almost done!

One year Old!

Well we made it through our first year. Daisy turned one on Nov. 28th. I am so glad that Aaron got to see her dig into her cake and we were able to celebrate as a family. We may have done it two days early but it counts. I think every mother feels that time goes to fast sometimes. I am no exception. I love my little girl. I love to watch her grow, laugh and play. She has made me a better person. I am so thankful that she was sent to our family and that we get to keep her forever. Even on the hard days I can't imagine my life without her, especially these past few months. She has really been my little buddy while Aaron has been away. Anyway, here are her one year stats.

She is 26.5" inches tall and in the 25 percentile.

She weighs 18lbs. 5 oz. and is in the 10 percentile.

She is so tiny! I love it!

She eats really well and pretty much whatever I place in front of her. Hopefully that lasts forever : )

When she is done with her food she throws it on the floor.

She can say Mama and I am sure she knows its me.

She loves books and will look at them all day.

She's fast. She is my little army crawler and can move. However, this very morning she started to crawl normally. Maybe she will be walking soon?

She can walk when I hold her hands, but she prefers to run. She will kick her toes and legs up too like a rockets dancer.

She pulls her hair and scratches herself. Yesterday at her doctors visit I asked if the scratching was anything I needed to be worried about and he said she has dry skin. I felt kind of bad, guess that means we need to lather her up more.

She loves to play on the couch and just recently had her first big fall off of it. She was fine, but a little rattled.

She is soooo wiggly. I never get to hold a still child. Daisy wants to see everything and be in the middle of it. So she is a girl on the go.

She now drinks whole milk... YAY no more formula.

She likes her grandpa Steve, in a crowded room she will find him over anybody else.

She likes to chew on her blanket.

She is a good sleeper.

Her hair is long enough for braids, but she doesn't sit still long enough to put them in.

 We love our girl!

More Arkansas....

Here are more pictures! Just for fun.

Please ignore my crazy eyes. This was just after Aaron arrived, our first picture in months.

Jill, John and I went and saw Breaking Dawn. It was pretty horrible, but I laughed alot so it was worth it.

Jill's current house is right by a park with a stream and a great walking trail. We strapped these girls in one day and went for a walk. Just a funny story... One night Paisly my little niece was kind of upset about Daisy being there. Her Dad asked her if she wanted Daisy to go home and she said yes haha. She eventually got over it and I think she liked having a "baby" to play with.

It took us one year to get to a swing. This was Daisy's first time swinging and she had a good ride.

Me.

She got this messy all by herself.

And the fun ended... : )

Our Trip to Arkansas!

So this Thanksgiving we were lucky enough to make a trip out to Arkansas to visit my oldest sister Jill and her family. It was Aaron's idea. One day a few weeks ago he called and was like so do you want to go to Jill's for Thanksgiving and see me too? And I said YES of course! Aaron has been at tech school finishing out his military training and it just happened to be close enough to Arkansas that he could drive in for a few days. I loved this vacation! I loved Arkansas. I loved seeing Jill and her family. I loved seeing Aaron.

I love her little smile.

 This is Jill and John after we went shopping for Thanksgiving. Just a side note my brother in law John makes the best turkey. He fries one and this year he smoked one too. Both were pretty awesome. Jill also is a great cook and made a very tasty dinner with a white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake that was sooo good.

I miss my sister. Its strange that she lives so far away now. I am so glad that I got to go see her new home and her life here. Plus I loved seeing her kids. Before I was married they were my little buddies. Its fun to see how they have grown into kids.

 I am not going to lie that the highlight of our trip was Aaron. We have been missing our dad and I have been missing my best friend. It was the best to spend even a few days with him! ( I don't really know what Daisy is doing with her face, but she sure was happy to be with her dad ).

Us.

I loved all the trees that surrounded everything in Conway. I miss living in trees, they make life cozier. Anyway this is Daisy experiencing nature : )

She wouldn't put her feet on the ground. So cute!

She loved playing with her Dad. She loved this.

The other nice thing about going to Arkansas was that Aaron got to celebrate Daisy's first birthday (two days early, but whose counting ) This is right before cake.

I wonder what she was thinking?

I know what she was thinking here... YUM!

Quinn haha...

CAKE!!!!

When I have more time I want to put up more pictures. I had such a good time visiting Jill and her family. I also thought Arkansas wouldn't be that bad of a place to live. More than once Jill drove me around her favorite neighborhoods. The homes were beautiful. Living here in the desert I forget every home around the world isn't covered in stucco.  All of them were movie homes, with brick and wrap around porches, big colonials. Plus each street was lined with big trees and grass. I would move there if I could live in one of those homes, but don't get your hopes up Jill : ) I can't wait until we get to out there again. I miss Jill and her family. It was a much needed vacation to see my family. And thanks Jill for having us and taking me to the dollar jewelery store.



Projects...

Well I have done more to my house these past few weeks than I have since I lived here. And now I am all crafted out! Anyway here are some of the things I have done while Aaron has been gone. You might notice that apparently I like painting everything my favorite shade of white right now : )

 

This was how my kitchen looked a year ago. I am still kind of amazed at my carpentry skills that produced these cabinets.

Don't they look better white! And the blue back splash is actually raised wallpaper. It looks really good, but the picture doesn't show the details. My kitchen is always a work in progress... my whole house is. I want to replace the window curtain with roman shades, do something different under the sink, but like I said I am all crafted out. 

I don't have a before picture for the bed. The wall used to be brown, the bed spread green, no headboard, and the night stands were wood with a Navajo flair. This a work in progress too. I think the wall needs to be different, its too bare. I also have some picture frames that will go above the bed with that YOU&ME I saw on pinterest. The bed needs more pillows and maybe a throw blanket. And the lamps need new shades. I got the bed spread at HomeGoods, its a little girly and different colors than I usually like, but I liked this one. I got the headboard for free it just needed a coat of paint and some crafty love. My mom found the night stands at St. Vincent's a few years ago and made a gift of them to me. I finally redid them and they turned out way good. Thanks Mom for thinking of my newly wed furnitureless house. I also got bed raisers from Walmart and I love having the bed farther from the ground, its like it fills up the space better.

This chest of draws was a 20 dollar Goodwill find. Lately Goodwill has been way over priced, just saying. Anyway I had this out in our front room until my Mom's piano needed a home there. So this got moved to our bedroom.

And now its yellow! I really like the way this turned out. I don't normally branch out from the colors I am used to decorating with, but the bed spread I got had a fun yellow in it so I decided to paint the dresser to match. It added a fun pop of color to our bedroom.

I like doing stuff to my house and making mine. Sometimes I get caught up in looking at all the beautiful homes and rooms in those homes that creative women decorate so beautifully, and trying to copy them. But when it comes down to it I like what I have and feel blessed to have what I have. Even if sometimes I wish that my house looked exactly like every room in Country Living Magazine. Maybe someday it will... but until that day I will keep painting and trying to make my house a home in more ways than just decorating it.

Halloween!

I have to be honest, I was not very enthused about Halloween this year. Most years I can at least summon up the spirit to carve a pumpkin, but not this year. I didn't even want to make Daisy a costume, but I knew if I didn't I would regret it. I saw some cute costume ideas on pinterest, my new favorite thing. I was going to make her a little witch, but I never found a hat. I also wanted to avoid the inevitable costume of being a Daisy. But as the day drew closer my sister convinced me to just make her a Daisy and I am so glad I did. She was a perfect Daisy and the costume was extremely easy to make and cheap, the best kind of costume. I was also bummed that Aaron wasn't here to see in person how cute she was. This was the first Halloween in the past three years Aaron and I weren't together. Our fist Halloween was the night my volleyball team lost in the region tournament my freshman year. After the last game Aaron took me to a tiny little pizza place near GCC. I remember having so much fun that night. I popped a bag of ice I had for my knee on Aaron's lap. He didn't think I would do it, but I did. I guess I was testing him to see if he would stick with the girl who poured freezing water on his lap : ) He did and even bought me pizza. That was the first night he mentioned wanting to do something in the military. Little did I know. The next Halloween we had been married for a few months. I made pork chops that night. I also asked Aaron to come look at the pumpkin I had carved. But while looking at the pumpkin, we locked ourselves out without phones or spare keys. So there we were locked outside with all the trick or treaters, while my pork chops cooked on the stove. Luckily one window was unlocked and we got back inside before the house caught on fire. We finished the night with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Last Halloween I was very pregnant. We watched all the Halloween town movies per Aaron's request. It was a fun night we handed out candy and then when the trick or treaters stopped coming, we went for a walk in an attempt to kick start labor. This year was fun to have Daisy to dress up, but we missed our Dad. I loved Daisy's costume, but I have to say my favorite was one of a little boy who was dressed like Russel from UP! He was in his wilderness attire with balloons. Definitely made me smile.

October Ramblings...

This past month went by way fast, which I prefer because that means we are one month closer to having Aaron home. The days go by slow but the weeks fly by, as my Mom put it. The begining of the month began with my 22nd birthday. It was a good day. I got a pedicure (thanks Rena!) and to do a little birthday shopping. I bought boots. I have always wanted a pair to wear with skirts and jeans. I like being twenty-two because now I am not twenty-one. This month has been better than the past few months because I get to talk with Aaron everyday. He is no longer at boot camp so he has actual free time to call every evening. It has been such a relief to be able to talk to my husband even if there is nothing new to report. I also get to send videos and pictures of Daisy talking, crawling, climbing and whatever else she is up too. Aaron will be home the week of Christmas. We are getting closer! Yay! My sister Heidi also had her newest little girl Piper Jane this month. I love holding a newborn. It is weird to think that Daisy was that small less than a year ago, now she tries to stick her fingers up my nose : ) Daisy is eleven months old. She is longer, faster, stronger and smarter. And her two top teeth popped through this past week. I am glad to get rid of the vampire smile even if it was the cutest thing ever. She is losing her baby feel more and more. It makes me sad, but I love how much she is growing. I just got back from Pinetop this past Sunday. I am glad that I made it up there this past month. October up there is real fall, where leaves change and you wear sweaters because you have to, not just because you want to.

She discovered my wallet...

Little Piper : )

Due to my little girl being a master arny crawler she wore a hole in her pj's.

Don't we look good in the morning?

Just Some Fun Pictures...

10 Months Old...

Its weird to me that Daisy is ten months old now. In two months she is going to be a year old! Time flies by so quickly. In the past month Daisy has started to lose a little bit of her baby look. She is still very much a baby, but she's probably grown at least and inch. Her cute little neck seems longer. Every month her personality shines through a little more. I love it. She is still army crawling. I am pretty sure the reason she won't take off on her hands and knees is that army crawling is so much faster. Most people who see her crawl always comment on how fast she moves. She has started to pull her self up half way (on her knees). Since she's an army crawler I think it took her longer to make the connection that when your on your hands and knees its easier to get up than compared to being on the stomach. She also plays more. I chase her now, she screams with laughter and crawls away from me, then turns around to make sure I am still after her. Like all babies she has the talent of finding the one small object on the floor that she shouldn't have, like a button or one nasty incident a dead cricket, that was gross. She also plays peek a boo. When we were in Texas with Aaron I put a cloth napkin on her head and then pulled it off and yelled peek a boo. She was having a good time. It got old though so I stopped, but she wasn't done. She grabbed the napkin and put it on her head and continued to play pee a boo by herself. It was the first time she had really played with us. She loves books. She will point to all the pictures and talk. She has picked up a lot more phrases too. I can tell she is learning more sounds. My favorite though is when she whispers. Most mornings I will pick her up out of bed and she will be talking oh so softly. I don't know why but she loves to whisper, its so cute. She is not a cuddly baby at all. She is all wiggles and wiry, but she has started to squeeze my neck when I give her hugs : ) She can still fit into all of her 6 month clothes. She is getting longer but not chunkier. She has started to have favorites too. She loves her soft blanket and will pull it up to her cheek at bed time. She also loves her stuffed animals. She will drag them around the house. She and I literally spend everyday all day with each other. There's no Dad right now so I am her main influence. Hopefully spending all her with me won't be a bad thing : ) So far though it has made her a pretty big mama's girl. She is always excited to see me, which I'm not going to pretend I don't like. She is usually really good to be left with others. Although the second I return she acts like life is horrible and needs me to hold her even if she hasn't made a peep the whole time I was away. My sister Heidi has been my main babysitter when I need a baby breather (thanks Heidi). Daisy likes to be over with Bode and Laine, I can tell. I am glad that she gets to be around kids. I think it will make her a good big sister some day. When she gets mad she pulls her hair and tugs on her ears, I have no idea why. And no its not an ear infection... Since we have been back from Texas she has been a bit of a stinker. She really enjoyed being held so much, since there was really no place for her to crawl and play. It has been a long week of tiny tantrums because she isn't being held 24/7. At this very moment she is pulling all the cards out of my wallet... that might not be the best thing for her to be doing, oh well : ) She is very smiley. Sometimes I wonder if she knows another expression, but she does. She makes good faces. I was so happy that Aaron got to see her even if it was a short visit. I am so thankful I get to stay home with her. Even on the hard days I look at her and she makes me happy. Oh she also clicks her teeth together to make noise. It kind of grosses me out. She has four teeth the two bottom and the her eye teeth. She also likes to crook her jaw to one side so she makes a lot of popeye expressions. When ever she tries a new food she crinkles up her nose and squints her eyes. She is a great sleeper so far and loves her crib. Some days she will play in there forever. This is kind of an all over the place post but I wanted to right down everything Daisy and everything Daisy is kind of all over the place.

She found some yummy chocolate at Aunt Heidi's. No wonder she was so quiet for so long : ).

Aaron's Graduation

He's done with boot camp! Aaron graduated this past weekend. I am so proud of him!

After seeing where he has been for the last two months and what he has been doing I am very impressed with what he has accomplished. From what I understand Boot Camp is pretty much horrible. You are pushed to your limits physically and mentally, with no break, ever.

 The graduation kicked of with the Airman's Run. Each flight group ran past all their family singing those songs you see soldiers singing in the movies. (Aaron told me to think of Forrest Gump in Vietnam when he was explaining what he was learning at boot camp) His flight Group's mascot was a Knight. This is a picture of his flight group he is the eleventh guy back in the front row. When he ran by he looked at me and smiled and I was so happy to see him I forgot to take a picture... So this is the best one I got.

This is later in the morning and at this point we still hadn't been aloud to see him. This is the coin ceremony.  The Air Force gives fancy coins to their members to honor their accomplishments. It was very humid and hot. Some of the Airmen receiving their coins had to be taken to the first aide tent because they were going to pass out from the heat and stress. Even though it was really hot I was so pleased to be there and see Aaron get his coin. I also realized that even though our government is being lead by individuals who do not honor the constitution, the military does. I loved that each ceremony was opened with a prayer and that these men and women have sworn to protect the constitution.

Here we are after two months! We were a little sweaty and tired from the morning, but happy.

Aaron said Daisy was huge. After the coin ceremony we were aloud to go and find our Airman. I had the general idea of where Aaron was so I set off to find him while Steve and Daisy waited in the crowd. There were so many reunions going between family and friends, there were people every where. I couldn't find him! Anyway I ended up walking in a circle around him while he was just laughing at me. I was so glad to see him after being apart for so long.

At first Daisy didn't seem to remember Aaron one way or another. But after a day or two she

 must have remembered that this guy holding her was her Dad. She was really fun and I was so happy to see them together.

Daisy and Grandpa Steve. I don't think I could have made this trip alone, it would have been extremely difficult to travel with Daisy by myself. Thanks Steve for everything!

This was Friday morning at the final ceremony. This was where the Airman took their final oath.

I love the way he is standing it so handsome... hehe.

We were able to see Aaron's dorm. He showed us how neat and orderly he has had to live for the past two months. Everything had to be in its exact spot and equal. His bed was so tidy and perfect.

I made him take a picture with his groups mascot.

Since Lackland Air Force Base was close to San Antonio were able to got to the Alamo on Aaron's free day. I've always wanted to see it since the seventh grade and now I have.

We also went to the Riverwalk. There were tons of restaurants and we had a tasty lunch. If you don't know what the Riverwalk is watch Miss Congeniality. The scene where they have the swim suit pageant, thats the Riverwalk.

Funny Face.

This us after church. Aaron said church was the best part of boot camp because it was the only place he was aloud to take a breather. He said that everyone walks into the chapel after their first week and just tears up.

Aaron and his Dad Steve.



Now Daisy and I are home agian for the next two and half months while Aaron' does his technical training at Shepard AFB. This time though Aaron is actually aloud to call me everyday. I am so thankful for that. I think not being able to talk to Aaron was one of the most frustrating things about the past two months. I am so thankful that we were able to see Aaron even if it was only for a few days.