Christmas pictures

These are just a few pictures of our first family Christmas. We had a wonderful time! Matty had so many nice presents. And James and I made out pretty well too. It was just great to be able to all be together. Thankfully, James had Christmas Eve and Christmas off. I just wish that we could have been with the rest of the family this year. Maybe next year it will be possible to see everyone. Well, this is all that I really have time for right now. Enjoy the pictures!

New Pictures!

Here are the newest pictures of the baby and the dog! I will post more later since this is all that I have time for. Quick recap though, Matty is getting his top two front teeth and it hasn't been easy. There has been very little time and sleep for us. Sienna is adjusting pretty well and has stopped freaking out so much. James will actually be home for Matty's first Christmas. YAY! And I am trying to get things done around here. I am sorry for not getting out any Christmas card pictures this year. I forgot about doing them and so we just sent out cards. I promise to be better next year!

Matty with Santa. He didn't cry once!

Matty petting Sienna.

Sienna with her bobo.

Matty standing on his own! What a big boy!

Matty making monster faces. And showing off his new teeth! :)

Crawling!

I apologize for the delay in posts. It has been a little chaotic around here. We have some friends staying with us and we have been helping them find a place to live and get stuff for their house. It has been quite crazy! :) Matty started crawling a few days ago. I don't have any pictures to post since my camera lens is still being repaired. I do have video so if I can figure out how to post that, then I will put it up. I know that the family would especially love that! Matty has also started pulling up on things. His favorite thing to do is to stand in his playpen and "dance". He is quite the character! He also babbles all of the time. Until he starts forming real words, that is how I will refer to it. He is very smart. He can figure all of his toys to some extent and he focuses in the TV and people talking very well. He is such a sweet boy. But he can be so obnoxious sometimes! Oh well, c'est la vie! Well, I have to run. More pictures later!

Our new puppy

I thought that I would add a post about the newest member of the Hamilton tribe, Sienna, our new whippet mix. She came to us from the big island. Poor baby was going to be given to a pig hunter. I won't go into it, but it is a terrible life for an animal to live. Thankfully, she was rescued by a very sweet couple who found us to adopt her. It broke their hearts to give her up, but we are so very happy to have her. She is just a pure love, an absolute sweetheart. We are so glad to have her. Even my "I-don't-really-like-dogs" husband loves her. We had a trainer come to the house yesterday and teach us what to do to train her. She said that Sienna is an A+ dog and that she is very smart. So far the training is going well. Sienna is starting to respond to me as the Alpha and that is amazing. She listens very well and has started sitting and submitting without the commands already. I am very impressed. That will make my life SO much easier. Thanksgiving went well. I cooked all morning and everything turned out to taste pretty good. I am glad since this is only my second time doing Thanksgiving. We had our neighbors Diane, Jim, and Hope over for dinner. Diane was even sweet enough to help me clean up afterwards. I got very motivated and cleaned up downstairs and hung up some more of our pictures. I have to get more picture frames so I can put up more candid pictures of Matty. I have decided that I am going to do big frames full of my favorite pictures of all of us. I am going to have to get some more baby/boyhood pictures of my husband though. And maybe a couple more of me. The house is really starting to come together though. I just have one more room to set up and part of the downstairs closet to clean out. And of course, I still have to paint. These walls are difficult to paint so I have been putting it off a little bit. But we have friends coming to stay with us until they can get an apartment, so I really need to get on the ball. If I really push it, then I can get it all done no problem. Hopefully, I can get my son to cooperate. James is sick again, poor guy. And of course, he gets sick when they are working him with very few days off. Well, this isn't getting my house ready for guests. More later.


Pictures of Sienna:

Teething time!

We officially have our first tooth coming in! Matty's bottom right incisor has broken through. I will post the pictures below, but it is hard to see. We had a great time with my mother-in-law here. We went to the Dole plantation, drove around the island, saw surfers at the North Shore, went to the Audubon Society's nature trail, and ate at Macky's shrimp truck. It was a blast! I am so thankful for our neighbor's Jim and Diane. They have been great friends and tour guides since we got here. I am so thankful that God put them in our life. They have been a blessing. It has been a little lonely here and I know that I need to branch out and meet new people. I went to a website called Honolulu Mommies, a part of the Mommies Network, and have started introducing myself. Thank you Katie for letting me know about that! I tried to go to a coffee yesterday, but I didn't see any mommies, so I will try again at the next event. It has never been easy for me to make new friends, but I really do need to try. Matty is such a busy baby. He is trying so hard to crawl. He is definitely getting much closer. He can inchworm very well though! His new thing is that he loves to be naked. Whether he is in the bath, getting dressed, or getting his diaper changed, once he is naked, Matty is never happier. He is so funny! He loves to stick his tongue out and it is sticking out all of the time now! He is such a cutie! We have started feeding him baby food in the evenings, on top of breastfeeding. He eats everything like a pro. There doesn't seem to be anything that he won't eat so far. That makes me very happy! James and I are still trying to find the balance to being married and being parents. We have decided that we are going to find a church and also we have bought some books to read to help us in our quest for balance. No one tells you that marriage becomes a lot harder after you have children. You have to carve out time for each other and some days there just isn't any time left. We are grateful that Barb allowed us a night out to ourselves while she was here. It has been months since we have gone out, just the two of us. We have gone out without the baby a few times since he was born, but mostly we were out with friends. It was so wonderful to kind of reconnect and focus on us for a change. I love my husband so much. He is my best friend and an amazing father. I am so blessed to have him. So before we hit dangerous marital territory, we are trying to fix some of the bumps in our road. And we are trying to make more time for each other. It gets hard sometimes with his work schedule and the baby's needs, but we will make it work. :) On a different note, we have decided to rescue a whippet from the big island. This poor puppy is in desperate need of a good, stable home. She seems to be the perfect kind of fit for us. I have been wanting another whippet since my Ace died last year. I had had him since I was 15 and it broke my heart to lose him. I had Bear, but he never really bonded to me. He is a guy's dog and is very happy to be with my in-laws in Texas. But Coco really needs us and we decided to take her. Hopefully she will be able to be here next week. I know that I am probably crazy for having a dog with a baby, but I miss having one and I would feel better with extra company when James is working at night. Well, this is becoming a long post so I will write more later.

Matty's first tooth coming in.

Matty with green beans on his face.

Matty eating his apples and cherries.

James and I on the way to North Shore.

James and Matty at the pipeline (North Shore surfing spot).

Surfer at the pipeline.

James, me, Matty, and Barb at the Audubon.

Matty on Jim's shoulders at Audubon.

Diane, Jim, and Matty at the Audubon.

The waterfall at the end of the Audubon trail.

Dole Plantation

These are some pictures of our trip to the Dole Plantation. I will add more later. For more, go to Flickr.

Been busy

I am so sorry that I have not been updating this blog more! I have been busy trying to get things in order in the house. And my mother-in-law is here this week so we are trying to show her a wonderful time. For our friends and family, the best way to see the newest pictures of Matty is on Flickr. If I haven't sent you an invite, please leave me a message and let me know. I promise to update more in the next few days!

Happy Birthday to me

So now I am 26. It doesn't feel any different from 25. I guess that it never really feels different. We have had an interesting week. We helped a neighbor find her daughter. I am not going to go into detail though because it is private. All I will say is that we found her and thankfully she is okay. I am glad for that. Matty is finally over his cold. And now he is back to his bouncy, silly self. He does have some anxiety now though. He won't go to people other than Mommy or Daddy very well. And sometimes he won't even go to Daddy. He is SO attached to me! I don't mind most of the time, but sometimes I wish that I could have a break. I feel bad having James take him since he is working nights and long hours. But I have to have his help. Our house still is not set up. I don't have paint on the walls or a crib for the baby since they broke his or even a place to put the computer. It is very very irritating. Hopefully it will all get done soon. My mother in law is coming the first week of November. She will be our first houseguest. I am really trying to get everything done before she gets here. Well, the baby is fussing so I need to stop here. Oh, and no, I didn't do anything for my birthday. Why? Because it doesn't matter.

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Just another day in paradise

Hawaii can be so frustrating! It seems like every time you go to buy something that you really need, they don't have it. Or they can't get it. We have been trying to find a desk with drawers that doesn't cost $300. You would think that this would be fairly simple. Not here. They are either out of stock or non-existent. And we have been looking into adopting a greyhound or whippet. HA! The only animals that they really have here are pitbulls and pitbull mixes. This place is so irritating. Oh well. Every place new has it's quirks. I'll get used to it. I hate complaining, I just feel so annoyed. James and I are settling in though. We have met some really great people and the house is slowly becoming a home. I am finally starting to get it decorated. Since Matty's cough is getting better, I am hoping to take him to the play group on Wednesday. I need to start socializing him whether I am ready to or not. I don't want to stunt his social skills. Besides, it would be nice to meet some other mommies. James and I are doing great. I love his days off, even if we don't do anything. Just getting the chance to hang out is wonderful. Right now, we are trying to figure out what our next step after Hawaii is. We have to plan ahead. I think that we may try to head back to the east coast. I am unbelievably homesick. We are going to look into both of us going back to school next week. Online school for me and maybe for him too. I think that I am going to get my degree in English. Or maybe Education. Whichever I can do online since I need to be able to be at home. I am considering trying to find a VERY RESPONSIBLE babysitter if I have to take actual classroom classes. Besides, James and I need some date nights every once in awhile. Right now we are enjoying our late evening, baby's in bed time together. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Especially when I consider where my life could have been. I love James so much. And we have the most precious little boy. Well, it is lunchtime and I am starving! So that's it for now.

Busy day

So it has been a busy day in the Hamilton household. James is still fighting off his cold. And now the baby has caught it as well. Mommy is going to go to the store and get some early defense medicine so I don't get it too. Poor little man, it is the first time that he has ever been sick. I hate having to suck the snot out of his nose with the little bulb. He hates it and he screams and cries and makes us feel like dirt. I am doing my best to make him feel better. This is one of those hard Mommy moments. I just want to hold him and make his cold go away. My poor little baby is still teething too. I am praying that his cold goes away and doesn't get any worse. So I am cleaning the house and trying to disinfect everything so that the germs will go away. And then this afternoon our neighbor's daughter came by to get directions for a friend and locked herself out of the house. So she and I broke in through the window. What a pain in the rear end! Those panes are hard to get out. Not to mention she didn't know how to get the panes out so she broke the bottom one. I hope that her mom doesn't freak out. I showed her how to fix the door so that it won't lock her out again. The good news is that now I know how hard it is to get those panes out. Someone would have to be very desperate to try and break in that way. It makes me feel a little bit safer. Well, I need to try and get some sleep. Matty has been waking up in the middle of the night. On top of that, our neighbors have been celebrating the newest ship coming home. It has been loud around here. Well, good night all.

A mother's prayer

Small Blessings

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Gitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last week's mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I seen then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

Sick days

I am kind of disappointed this morning. I was going to take Matty to a play group, but I am not feeling so well and James came home from work sick. There is always next week. It is an Army sponsored class so hopefully we can meet some new friends. We went to a BBQ this weekend and met some of our new neighbors. Everyone is very nice so far. And James has a friend from the hospital that we have hung out with a few times. He is crazy about our son. Everyone who meets Matty thinks that he is a dollbaby. Probably because he is! I have a million things to get done around the house still so I guess that it is good that I am stuck at home. I really want to get my home all set up so it will be easier to take care of. Just cutting through all of the chores that have piled up is overwhelming. I'll make it though. I have been using the Queen of Clean tips. She gives you great ideas that work and are CHEAP! We have to work within our budget since I am not working. I am hoping to find out about getting set up for school. I have decided on majoring in English since I can do so many things with that. I am hoping that I will be able to do it online since I don't like the idea of putting Matty in any kind of daycare. Once I get the cluttered cleaned up around the house, I am going to try and start writing again. I am slowly learning the balance between being a mom and having a life. I love my life though. I am a quiet homebody. I like hanging out with friends, but I am not a party girl. I love my family and my home. I like a low key life. Well, I am going to go finish some more laundry and play with my son.

Life goes on

I have been thinking a lot about how much things change in such a relatively short amount of time. James and I looked at pictures of our son from 6 months ago and compared them to now. Matty has grown so much! It is bittersweet. It is necessary to keep moving forward, but every now and then it is okay to look back and see what has happened to bring you to where you are now. It is a road full of happy memories mixed with terrible heartaches and many bumps along the way. I have been on this earth for a quarter of a century. I have lost many people that I have loved whether they have passed away or we have just lost touch over the years. Everything in life comes full circle at some point. We are now the parents watching our children grow when we once were the children growing. We are now the ones who worry and hold onto the precious moments. I love how college applications ask you what your greatest accomplishment has been. When you are just leaving high school, you haven't had any great accomplishments yet. In my life thus far, my greatest accomplishments have been my marriage and my son. I still try to keep in touch with the people in my life who matter most. I love my family. I don't just mean my parents and brother. I mean MY FAMILY. Everyone from my in-laws to my cousins and everyone in between. When we first came to Hawaii, I thought that it would be so great. And it is a beautiful place full of new experiences. But what I failed to see before we came here was how far away we would be from our loved ones. I barely knew my grandparents when I was growing up. I lost one grandfather before I was even born. And by the time I was eight, I had lost all but one of my grandparents. I want my son to know his grandparents. I want him to have memories with them. I want him to know his cousins. My family is very close. Growing up, I had no sisters. But I have always considered my cousins Heather and Nicole as surrogate sisters. Our grandmothers were sisters and I have always felt very connected to them. I miss them so much. When I was 19, I spent the summer with Heather and her beautiful family to help out with the boys. I should have followed my heart and stayed there, but then I never would have met my husband. I watched her and Donnie and the boys and I knew that was what I wanted for myself as well. Even through all of the heartache that they have suffered, they still find the joy in life. Their faith and love are so strong. The older I have become, the more I appreciate that. My husband is my best friend. Our son is the product of a very deep love. I am so blessed that God brought my husband into my life. I had been told for so many years that I could never have children. And then came my miracle, my blessing from God, my beautiful baby boy. I prayed so long and so hard for my child. He is so precious to me. And I honestly believe that I may have never had a child had I never met James. Maybe I am a bit of a romantic, but I believe that God created one person for everyone. Sometimes we are never meant to find them, but they are out there. Thankfully I found my soulmate. I just have a hard time sometimes because I get so afraid that it will all be so violently ripped away from me. I am learning to let go and give it to God, but somedays that is quite a difficult thing to do. Jacob was not my son, but I love him and his brothers as if they were. And seeing such a horrible tragedy happen to such a good and loving family like Heather's scares me to my core. If something like that can happen to such good people, what can happen to my family. I have noticed that I am afraid for my child more than I ever thought possible. I try to push these thoughts away, but some days they just creep up on me and won't leave. I am getting stronger about pushing them away and relying on God. It is a huge thing to be responsible for the well-being of someone so small and needy. But I would never change it for the world. I love being a mother. I love every minute that I spend with my son. Sometimes my heart feels so big that it may burst. Sometimes I find myself wanting to hold my son or husband when they are sleeping and I am tempted to wake them up. I have no idea why I am rambling on about all of this. It just feels good to get it all out. But my son needs to eat so I am just going to stop now.

Childhood Cancer Awareness

I am reposting this from my cousin Heather's blog. Anyone who feels led to help should try these ideas. I have already written to Oprah and will try again soon. I hope that you all have a blessed day!

How To Help

Hello friends,



Since this is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - we have to work together to do all we can to raise awareness. As a parent of a child with cancer - we are the voice for our children. Our children are too young to express the need for more funding - so we have to do it for them!

Many of you have asked what you can do to help . . . and we can ALL do something. Here are some ideas for those of you who are passionate about getting involved . . .

1. Write to your congressman and support the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. The budget for Childhood Cancer Research has been cut by the government and we need to let our government officials know that this is not acceptable!

2. Write to Oprah, The View, Morning Shows or your local news and newspapers and let them know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and encourage them to do a show to help us raise awareness. If they get enough e-mails - they are bound to listen!

3. Encourage your schools & churches to participate by having a coin drive to benefit pediatric cancer research.

4. Support the Pediatric Cancer Foundation! Most people and companies budget each year to give to charities . . . why not make PCF your benefitting charity this year?? This organization is truly making a difference in the fight against childhood cancer - but they need your help. If you can't afford to give - then save your change for 6 months - it adds up!

5. Visit your local pediatric oncology hospital. Take some books or treats to the kids and let them know you are praying for them. Once you meet these brave, innocent children - you will want to do all you can to save each one. Every life is precious!

Life in Hawaii so far

This place should come with a disclaimer. It should read: Hawaii, a beautiful place to visit, a pain in the ass place to live. It has been one thing after the other since we got here. I have a headache that won't go away. It is just a bunch of stupid little things and very lazy people that combine to make one big mess. It is just too much of a pain to even get into. Matty is doing great. He says "ma ma ma ma ma" to everything now. He has great conversations with his dragon and his feet. My son is so adorable. He ate his first baby food the other day. He loved it of course. He is very amused by blowing raspberries, burping, and gasping very loudly. Matty loves the color red and will follow anything red with his eyes wherever it goes. We watched Cars the other day and he was so cute! He was squealing and laughing and going "brvoom". No joke. It was the cutest thing. He is definitely his Poppie's grandson. James has started his night shifts in the ICU. He seems to like it, but it is hard work and he gets very tired. He tries so hard to spend time with us. I hope that he is getting enough sleep. As for me, I dread opening the boxes and find yet another thing that the movers screwed up. And now the doctor is telling me that my thyroid levels are the worst he has ever seen. Not that I haven't heard this before. But it does explain why I have been so utterly exhausted. Well, James has the next three days off so hopefully we can get some things done around here. I need to get these boxes unpacked. I will post pictures of the house once we get it all put together. Hopefully, I can get at least a couple of the rooms painted in the next few days. We'll see. Well, I think that I am going to pass out now. Good night.

Matty's First Baby Food- BANANAS!!!

Childhood Cancer Awareness

Who Matty looks more like

Pictures

These are the newest Hawaii and Matty pictures. Enjoy!

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WE HAVE A HOUSE!

So we finally have a house. We got Navy housing! YAY! It is older housing, ca. 1973, however, we chose it because it doesn't use our full housing allowance. So we get decent housing and we get extra money every month. Hawaii is beautiful! We took Matty to the beach on Sunday. He loved it. We only put his feet in the water though. I have never seen such blue water and white, soft sand. Needless to say, I loved it! The water is like stepping into a warm bath. And everyone has been telling me that stateside the temperatures have been reaching the triple digits. Here, we have been in the mid-80s. I love it here! Matty figured out how to completely roll over onto his stomach. The only problem is he has trouble rolling back. He has been doing it for a couple of days. I can't find the video camera charger so I don't have any video of it yet. He is also sucking on his thumb a lot more now. It is what he uses to soothe himself. James and I are thrilled to be here. We hate being so far away from our family and friends, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we had to take it. James seems to like his new job. And the people he is working with seem very nice. Well, duty calls.

One Year

Yesterday was our one year anniversary. And what a year it has been! I have never been as happy as I am with James. The Army can be trying at times, but it is the life that my husband lives, so I happily do so as well. People have asked if we find it has been difficult for us to be together considering the disadvantages that we have had. We don't look at his being in Iraq or having our son so quickly as disadvantages. They are what have helped shape our very happy life together. And now we are getting ready to embark on the next new journey: Hawaii! We have cleared post and we leave in just a few short days. It is exciting! I am really happy. I am so glad that we have made it this far. We have a wonderful marriage and a beautiful little boy whom we both adore. I am so very glad that I am married to my best friend. We are each other's greatest support system. I have no idea how we would get through this life without each other. So, in conclusion, I love my husband with all of my heart. And I don't care who knows it!

Sitting in our hotel room

So they have packed us in paper and are moving us away. Our packers were so efficient that they had my upstairs packed before I had our suitcases packed! I was going crazy on Thursday!!! Now we are sitting in our hotel room watching the Democratic debates and trying to cut through the crap to figure out where they stand on the issues. It is a trying time for me. I hate moving. And trying to keep our 4 month old entertained with no bouncy chairs and few toys is quite frustrating. Plus, I have not been sleeping very well so I am completely exhausted. James is having a great time. He and our friend Lt. Read have gone golfing this morning. What am I doing? Entertaining our son. I am going to have to venture out for food soon. At least we had a very sweet little boy and he is usually pretty calm. I am so excited for our cousins, the Duckworths. They are getting closer and closer to being able to bring their little girl. Allie, home from Guatemala. They are such great people! I am rambling in this blog, so I apologize. My thoughts are very scattered. My mom confided in me that they are thinking of leaving their church. It is becoming more and more like a business. Trying for mass, more secular appeal to try and bring in more people, yet the whole time starting to lose the members that they had. I can appreciate wanting to bring in more people, just don't lose sight of God. God is not a fad, He is a constant. Don't try and make Him cool, He is cool. You cannot entice people to follow God. People have to be lead. They have to see by example the good that God does. So instead of focusing on gimmicks to attract people, we should be doing more good works to spread His word. It just frustrates me when churches start moving away from focusing on God. Well, my son is being needy again. Time to eat.

Matthew and Jacob

I said that I would post some new pictures of Matthew and here they are.






This is Matty with his faux hawk hairdo. He still doesn't have a ton of hair so it is kind of small.




Matty playing in his new exersaucer. Look, he can even turn the pages!!!




Matty pressing the buttons and making it light up and sing.

Matty sucking his thumb. He has really just started doing this. Isn't it adorable?!

This morning my son did the cutest thing. I laid him down on my side of the bed next to his dad so I could get dressed. James really wasn't awake yet and Matty started kicking his leg into daddy's leg and looking at him like "Come on, get up and play!" It was so cute. I wish that I had gotten it on camera. Everyone asks me where Matthew's name comes from. So I tell them that the Matthew is from his father. It is James's middle name. And the Thomas comes from my baby cousin Jacob. It was his middle name. It was my way of honoring the little boy who was one of the first to steal a piece of my heart. It is hard for me to talk about Jacob without getting choked up. For those of you who do not know, Jacob is one of a set of triplets. And he was the only one to be diagnosed with cancer. There isn't anyone who met Jacob who didn't think that he was special. Like my son, he could light up your day with one of his beautiful big smiles. I write this as a way to get my grief out. I have held onto it for such a long time. Heather has posted so many beautiful memories and thoughts of Jacob on her sites. It is time that I expressed what I have felt. I was the nanny for the boys when they were about 13 months old and Kyle was 3. It was the best summer of my life. I saw the boys a couple of times after that, but I could never bring myself to go and see them after Jacob got cancer. I know that this seems terrible. I just couldn't bear to lose another one of "my kids". When I was 16, a little girl that I used to babysit died in a terrible car accident. I went to her funeral and swore that I would never go to another child's funeral again. She was 2 and the loss of one so young just tore my heart out. So to lose Jacob was an awful blow. I am not sure why I am writing this now after so long, I just feel compelled to do so. It hurt so badly to lose Jacob. That and the fact that James had come home on his short R&R from Iraq are the reasons that I did not attend his memorial. During that R&R, we conceived our son. It was not long after we lost Jacob. I had a dream shortly after we were told that we were having a boy in which I saw Jacob kiss a baby and send him to me. When I woke up, I knew that my son's name would be Matthew Thomas instead of Matthew James. It all just seemed so right. And that is how I look at it. God let Jacob hand pick a child for me and they sent me just the right one. And whether or not it sounds crazy, I choose to believe that. Well, my little angel is cranking at me because he wants to play. So I will just add this: Heather, if you read this, I love you all and hope to see you soon.

Moving

Okay, so the movers are coming to pack us up starting on Wednesday. So that leaves the rest of today and tomorrow to get the whole goods sorted out from everything else. Then Thursday they are coming to pack up the household goods. And Friday they come for storage. I am getting stressed out. There feels like there is so much left to do!!! Thankfully, Sgt. Wilson is being kind and James is done with work unless they need him for a couple of hours tomorrow night. That means that he can help me out with the baby and the packing. We had to go buy some more luggage so we could pack up everything. I have no idea how we are going to get everything into the airport to get checked along with the stroller and the baby. I hope that they have a little trolley or something. We will have six suitcases and three carry-ons. Ugh! I still have to try and make sure that all of the laundry is done. I also need to sort our stuff into the three shipments and get rid of what we don't need. We don't clear the house until August 3, but I would like to try and clean as much as I can before then so I am not overwhelmed. I still need to look into renting cars in St. Louis and Honolulu since we have to drop the van off early and have no idea when it will get there. But enough of the moving woes. I read the new Harry Potter. It was the best of all seven. I will not go into it for fear of spoiling it for others. Matty has started sucking his right thumb. It is so adorable. I will post some pictures of that when I get a chance. He can also "stand" on his legs longer now. And he pulls himself up on your fingers into a sitting position. He is so cute. He wiggles and coos and laughs so much now. He is such a joy! He just grows so fast!!! We have to take him to the doctor tomorrow to have his thyroid checked. I am sure that we are right on track. I love that little boy so much!!! He is the light of our lives. Well, enough wasting time. I have tons to do!

Well, we got back from our trip to Texas and Georgia late on the Fourth of July. We had a really good time. It was just a REALLY LONG car ride. I am so amazed that our son complained as little as he did. We tried to drive at night to make it easier on him. James and I are still trying to catch up on our sleep! It was good to see everyone though. And to see Jeff and Leann get married. I think that they were glad to see us as well. Besides, we both ran around like crazy people trying to help them set up for the wedding. It was nice though. And they both looked so happy. Then we got home and started setting appointments and all for our move to Hawaii. I am starting to feel the pressure now. The movers are coming to pack up our house July 25. The next day they are coming to pack our whole baggage (what we will need when we first get there). And on the 24 they are coming to take out our fence and Matty has a doctor's appointment down in Louisville in the morning. We still have no idea when we are actually shipping out. So in a little over two weeks, I will have no furniture, an empty house, and nowhere to sleep. They said that we could get to Hawaii as early as August 3, but we still don't know what we will do until then. I guess we can stay with friends or in a hotel. I would like to see if we can clear post on July 27 and leave from the Atlanta port. We might actually get to celebrate our anniversary that way. Yes, our first anniversary falls right in the middle of this move. August 2 it will be a year. We'll see what we can do. Hopefully, we can find out more today. We really need to schedule our flight. I am going nuts. And on top of all of this, my son has hit yet another growth spurt and is now in his 6 month clothes. He is a solid baby so he isn't fat, but he is really long. He is over 25 inches long and over 17 pounds now. He is so much fun though. He grabs things, laughs, smiles, talks all the time! He is such a blast! And the absolute best baby. We are loving it. Oh, one more little thing before I go. If you haven't played the new Nintendo Wii yet, you should. It is such fun! We just got one and are having a great time with it. Yet another way to get your kids (and husbands or selves) to exercise. I am still a huge advocate for playing outside, but this is a great alternative on a rainy or cold day. Just a thought.

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Big baby

So we took Matthew in for his check up for his hypothyroidism. The doctor weighed him, measured him, and checked him out. Matty weighs 16 lbs. 10 oz. and is 25 inches long. My son is huge!!! He is only 3 months old! The doctor said that he is in the 97% for both height and weight. My son is going to be a linebacker or rugby player or something like that at this point. He was in his 3-6 mos. clothes at about 2 1/2 mos. And some of those are already getting too small! And when the doctor put him on his belly, Matty lifted his bottom in the air and made himself look like a little triangle. She said that if he could figure out his arms, he would probably start crawling. My baby is growing up too quickly!!! It is so sad to me. He can interact with us really well. If we mimic his noises, he will have a "conversation" with us. It is so cute! Matthew is such a happy baby. And his new favorite song is "Pop Goes The Weasel". He is such a blast! The nurse at the doctor's office said that babies grow this fast to make room for the next one. I said that we are not ready for that yet! I would like to have more time before we even try for the next baby. And after we have number two, we are going to start the adoption process. We both decided that is something we really want to do. I think that we are going to try for a Russian baby girl. Odds are that the next baby will be a boy as well and we would like to have a little girl. But that isn't going to be for another couple of years yet. For now we are just thoroughly enjoying our beautiful baby boy. I love being a mom!

Finally!

So we finally got our orders for Hawaii and are on the waitlist for housing. Yea!!! I have also made reservations at the inn down there so that we have a place to stay until we get a house. Hopefully, it won't take too long. At least the Army pays for it all. Now, all we have to do is go to a few briefings and figure out what is going to happen with all of our stuff and our car and whatnot. There are still a ton of headaches awaiting us I am sure, but at least we have started the process. Moving with a baby is going to be quite a feat! I am starting to really look forward to moving to Hawaii. I love the beach and where we are going is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It will be an adventure. I am just glad that I am doing it with my best friend. I know, that sounds so cheesy, but it is true. There isn't anyone that I would rather go through this with than James. Matthew is doing well. I think that he may be starting to cut teeth a little bit. He has gotten fussy and he constantly has his hands in his mouth. Who knows for sure though? He is still a really great baby. Well, enough for now.

Update

Well, it has been a busy month so far! We have been running around getting things done so that we can officially get the orders to Hawaii and be put on a wait list for housing. It has been a royal pain in the butt. I have also been helping James prepare for his promotion board. He passed with flying colors!!! YEA!!!!!!! So in the next couple of months he will become a sergeant. I am so proud of him. Matty is doing great. He is growing like a weed and sleeping through the night. He chews on everything that goes near his mouth! I am not sure if he is getting ready to cut teeth yet or not. I hope not! He is growing up too fast as it is. He is such a joy though and I don't regret staying home with him for a minute. As for myself, well I am just trying to get the house in order. I am trying to start packing up the things that we will be leaving behind in storage and at my parents' house. I am also weeding through what I can and taking it to Goodwill. The less stuff that I have to pick up, the better! I am also trying to figure out how we are going to fly that far with a four month old and still have everything that we need when we get there. I have been told that it can take up to 60 days to get our belongings sent to the house. I really hope that is an exaggeration! This whole move is already pretty stressful for me. I just keep telling myself that everything will work out okay. I hate that we are going to be so far away from all of our friends and family though. I really want Matty to grow up seeing his grandparents more than I did. Well, the little one is waking up from his morning nap so I need to wrap up now.

Maiden blog

Hi everyone! We really don't have too much to share for the moment. Matthew is still growing like a weed. He is about 2 and a half months old. He is tons of fun since he smiles, wiggles, and reacts to the world around him. We are getting things in order to be fully ready when the time comes to leave this awful place and head to our new tropical home. James is working hard at the hospital and I am running around the house trying to keep up with all of the cleaning and our son. Life is busy these days. Hopefully we can update this blog fairly regularly. Until next post, enjoy our little slideshow glimpse into our life thus far.