Christmas Time

I love the holidays.  I love lights, Christmas trees, gifts, shopping, food....everything about Christmas time.  Here at my dad's house, we have simplified our decorations because of a certain someone.  Not only does he want to touch everything, but he also wants to chew on everything.  Lately his favorite thing is the telephone.  Home phone, cell phone, it matters not.  He wants to hold it, press the buttons, and has even started pretending to talk on the phone.  He's also started pretending to talk on other things as well...bibs, bath squirt toys...anything really. 

It's been quite a while since I updated this blog.  So, I can't even remember all of what has happened since my last post.  Jacob and I have been settling in to my dad's house.  I took a trip to Philadelphia for the national speech convention, which was a lot of fun.  I started a new job working at nursing homes around the area.  And Jacob has not acquired any more teeth, although I swear he's working really hard at it.  We all caught a 24 hour flu bug...first Jacob, then me, then my dad.  It was the sick taking care of the sick for a while.  It was my first experience with Jacob throwing up, and I was initiated fully I would say.  I won't go into detail but it was a rough experience.

Gracie, my dog, seems to have been drugged or is starting to develop ADD.  It is very strange and driving me batty.  She jumps around crazy like, jumps up on your lap, then back down, then back up...you get the picture.  And if you follow her, she acts like she wants to go outside (even if she just went).  But when you put her outside she sits on the porch and stares at you, or scratches immediately to get back in.  Let her back in, and the cycle starts all over again.  She has also peed several times in the house even though she has just been outside, and she knows it's wrong because once you see her, she runs with her tail between her legs to the door.  So...anybody want a dog? 

I have heard from Jonny sparingly.  He works a lot, and doesn't have much down time.  When he does have time, we try to use skype.  Jonny can watch Jacob toddle around and can clap with him.  It is cute.  I haven't gotten Jacob to repeat me when I say "daddy" yet, but I am working hard at it.  He is definitely understanding more and more every day.  I tell him, "let's take a bath" and he walks to the bathroom.  I say, "let's let the doggies outside" and he walks to the front door.  I tell him, "give this to Grandpa" and he hands it over.

I am not appreciating the cold weather, but I am trying to embrace it as a reality.  I really wish I could take Jacob outside to play.  He is just hitting the age where he can walk around and pick things up (leaves, rocks).  The couple of times I have been able to, he just loved it.  He also tried to eat dirt....or maybe I shouldn't say tried, because he actually did get a mouthful.  And I'm pretty sure he swallowed some.  Oh well.  Boys will be boys.

Goodbye for a Year

Things have changed drastically in the past few weeks.  I have been very busy, and failed to take the time to update my blog.  Now I guess I will give you the shorter version of what has transpired.  The last entry was about us going on vacation.  I can't say this entry will be about anything quite that fun.

Jonny and I spent the few days before he left preparing for him to leave.  It took longer than expected to pack and move things into storage.  We worked really hard up until the night he left, and still we ended up with more to be done.  We made sure to eat at the best places (Las Margaritas, Fatboy and Skinny's, Ranch House, Wendy's) before leaving the state.  The day he was scheduled to leave came as fast as the alarm clock on a Monday morning.  We were thinking, "It's here already?"  I mean, we knew it was coming...we were fully aware of when this was all going down.  But still, it hit us hard.  We spent the day packing and moving things into storage.  Jonny put Baby J to bed that night, so he could hold on to him a little longer.  Afterwards, we continued packing. 

He was scheduled to drop of his first bags at 11pm, then draw his weapon at 1:30am.  A friend from Fort Polk, Tracy, came over to stay with Jacob so we didn't have to bring him with us.  We dropped off his bag, then went to get some fourth meal (Taco Bell that is).  We were both hungry, and knew we would be staying up for a while, so why not?  It reminded me of being in college :)  Then we went to get milk (a necessary evil) and brought it back to the house.  Since Tracy was sleeping on our blow-up mattress, we went for a walk around our neighborhood and did some good old-fashioned swinging at the park.  The time came for Jonny to draw his weapon, so we headed back.  After drawing his weapon, we knew Jonny would not be able to leave.  The scheduled time for families to say goodbye was at 3:20 in the morning.  Really considerate huh?  Now is when it started getting very real, very quickly.  We didn't do much besides cry and comment that we both couldn't believe this was happening so fast.  We knew there was no perfect goodbye...  In the end, Jonny's commander was searching for him, so it was a quick hug and kiss, and a fleeting glimpse of Jonny running towards the building.

After that, I drove away, sobbing, and thinking about how much different life was going to be without Jonny.  Before dropping Jonny off, we saw 3 deer and a wild horse running through post.  Jonny warned me prior to driving home to watch out for all the wild animals.  Ironically enough, four deer ran right in front of me on my way home. 

The following day my mom and dad flew in to LA to help me finish packing and make the long drive home.  It is a good thing, too, because I needed all the help I could get.  When it came time for my check-out we had things piled on the curb, not yet loaded in the vehicles.  We cut it a little close.  Jacob was a perfect angel on the way home.  He didn't do much crying at all, and seemed to enjoy watching Finding Nemo on the portable DVD player.

I have been in GB for a week and a half, and still have things to unpack and organize.  I am working slowly, sometimes on purpose.  It will be a little too real if I unpack everything.  And, plus it gives me something to do each day.  I have heard from Jonny a few times, but he works long hours and communication opportunities are limited so far.  I miss him very much.

Vacation!

We are back from vacation, and ready to go on another one!  Haha...we wish.   I am so thankful Jonny was able to take leave for a bit.  We used our time to travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It was so beautiful; the leaves were starting to turn all shades of green and red.  Also, we stayed in a cabin which was right on the lake, so every night Jonny and I could spend time outside while baby J was sleeping.  We played horseshoes, did some fishing, took out the pedal boat, and just relaxed on a swing.  It was amazing!  We couldn't have asked for better weather either.  During the day we went to the Mid-America Science Museum (highly recommended), hiked in the mountains, road a duck, toured a historic spa, took old-west pictures, felt some boiling hot water from underground, toured the wax museum, visited the aquarium, and shopped in the downtown district.  WHEW!  We were busy for sure.

The strange thing is, Baby J actually slept more on vacation than at home, and his schedule was much rockier.  He was taking hour-long naps, going to be around 7, and sleeping until 7:30 or so.  We actually had to wake him up two mornings so we could get going....yes, my Jacob, we had to wake him up.  Then, we returned home, and the next morning he woke up at 6 and took two 30 minute naps.  Awesome.  What is the deal????????????????  Oh yeah, we live in Louisiana....hahaha.  Just kidding, but things I have taken into consideration:  schedule, air, sleeping mattress, temperature in the house.  Who knows?

Now we are back to reality.  Jonny and I spent last night painting our dining room with primer.  Next, we have to tackle painting our bedroom.  The smell is just delightful in here today.  :) 

What is Jacob up to you ask??  Let me tell you.  He is taking more and more steps everyday, getting more adventurous.  He is very talkative, especially in the mornings, making all sorts of sounds.  He yells a lot, particularly when he is hungry.  It kind of sounds like "ah, ah, ah," quite loudly.  He still gets very upset when I leave the room.  He likes to take things out of boxes, bags, cabinets, dog bowls, cups, etc....anything he can get his hands on.  He can reach things on top of desks, tables, and he likes to pull them down.  He still loves his piano.  If you give him an option of toys, he will pick any type of ball.  He gives huge, open-mouth kisses, and can be very sweet.  He hates his car seat...HATES.  He resists getting in his car seat, and screams for long periods of time once in it.  This made for a delightful 5 hour trip home from Hot Springs.  Looking forward to the 13-hour drive home in a couple of weeks! :)

Storage

Today, Jonny and I made two trips to the storage unit.  We unloaded things that I won't be able to see for a year or more.  I will miss having all of my possessions surrounding me, especially the pictures.  We took down all the pictures in our house, and now I just look at the white walls and think about what is lacking.  I am not looking forward to Jonny leaving.  He is definitely not looking forward to leaving.  This process is not fun.  I will definitely need the support of all my family and friends to get through this next year, and thankfully I have some great family and friends.  My dad is letting Jacob and I move in with him.  I know he is looking forward to seeing his grandson more.

On a brighter note, Jonny and I are planning a vacation to Arkansas starting next week.  It turns out, Jonny was allowed to take leave for a bit, and we are using the time to go somewhere else and relax.  I found a cabin in Hot Springs Arkansas which is right on lake, and we are so excited about it.  I hope that Jacob will sleep in later than 5:15, which seems to be his new wake-up time.

FIRST STEPS!!!

Jacob took his first independent steps yesterday (Sept 19), and I am so excited!  He has been cruising around, holding on to things, and pushing his walker back and forth across the floor, but this is different.  Jonny and I were enticing him to walk back and forth to each other.  Mostly he would just lunge, or sit down and crawl.  But one precious time he decided to take three, teeny, tiny, wobbly steps straight towards me....and he was crying the whole time!!!  He didn't want to do it; he wanted me to just pick him up instead.  It was momentous, and both Jonny and I were there to see it which makes it even more special.  I am going to make this a short blog, because he is awake from his nap, and I need to go get him.  But I just wanted to get this in writing!!

Word to the Green Tower

In case you were wondering, there is an interesting explanation for how I chose the name of our blog.  While Jonny was stationed in Iraq, communication by telephone was sparse and not reliable.  There was a huge delay, and randomly it would cut out.  There were times when Jonny could hear me, but I couldn't hear his voice, only him pressing buttons.  This resulted in a new communication system, whereby Jonny would press buttons to relay answers to my questions.  During one such conversation, I said something to the effect of "bird to the screen hour" and Jonny repeated "word to the green tower?"  In reality, neither of us remembers what I originally said, but we both remember "word to the green tower."  This saying has stuck with us throughout the years, and inevitably ends up in greeting cards and love notes.  Following the incident, I sent Jonny a Christmas ornament and recorded my voice telling him "Merry Christmas.  I love you.  Word to the Green Tower."  Some soldiers overheard, and started contemplating what I possibly could have meant by the saying, and one finally spoke up, "Duh...word to the green tower....the green tower is a Christmas tree!"  HAHAHAHAHA....this is still funny to me, because, darn it, that actually makes sense.  This upcoming holiday season, we should all share this greeting, "Word to the Green Tower!"

Bowling

Today was a laid back day.  Usually I don't favor this type of day, but today was good.  I am more the personality to have a schedule and plans and pack as much "doing" as possible into my weekend, especially when Jonny is around to help execute.  Today, however, we really just went bowling.  And it turned out to be a lot of fun. 

We used to go bowling a lot, but once baby Jake made his appearance we stopped going.  We have tried a couple of times, and really regretted the decision.  You see, Jacob is what we consider to be a "sensitive" baby, if you will.  And previously taking him to a place like this turned out to be no fun, because if we didn't want him to scream we had to pass him back and forth, back and forth, while trying to entertain/bounce him.  Now, he is crawling and pulling up on everything, so you would think the bowling alley is not such a great place to be.  We had our reservations.  But we trudged on.  Jonny made his entrance into the bowling alley looking like a pack mule, carrying a diaper bag, a bag full of toys, two bowling bags, AND a pack and play.  Yes, we brought a pack and play to the bowling alley.  And to our surpise, it actually worked...minus some whining in the beginning.  By the way, Jacob's whining sounds like he is saying "mama" over and over again, but I am not convinced yet he is purposefully saying my name.  Anyways, he happily played in the pack and play for approx. 45 minutes....which is astounding. 

The rest of the day we chased Jacob all around the house as he attempted to grab everything in sight...Jonny's sunglasses, dvd's, the Wii, Mama's hair....the list goes on.  He is 10 months now, and his energy level is always surprising.  If I exercised everyday the way he does, I would be able to run a marathon.  Somedays I feel like I ran a marathon after chasing after him so much, but then when I try to run I know that this training program has not been effective.

My goal is to upload a picture tonight.  If you see a picture, you know I have succeeded.  If not, then I will try, try again....some other time.

Newby

Thanks to my friend, Amanda, I have decided to try blogging.  I would like to stay in better contact with family and friends, but there are only so many hours in the day.  This is my way of trying to make up for all the time lost...mostly due to the Army...and having a baby...and two dogs...and a husband who requires his underwear to be ironed....HA just kidding.  I wanted to make sure you were still reading!

Well, for now I will keep it short and sweet.  I am actually staying up WAY past my bed time trying to figure out how this all works.  Oh, and I spent about 30 minutes just trying to come up with a name that wasn't taken.  I came up with "twodogsandababy" and someone had that already.  Really?  Someone else thought of that already?  I thought I was being so creative...