Jude's First Christmas

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Mama's Boy

We spent this Christmas and New Years with our family in San Marcos and Kyle. This area of the state is better known to us now as "Grandparent Triangle" as I like to call it. All three Grandparents and a Great Grandparent reside within 10 minutes of each other. It makes for a great way to see all of them in one weekend (as we often do), but also makes for a very exhausted mom and baby! We love how close in distance they all are to us (just an hour) and to each other, but trying to visit everybody every time is becoming a little overwhelming. However, the thought of spreading them all out and doing one each weekend would occupy a month and would leave us with no free weekends of our own, so we opt for one hectic swoop! We also were able to see Uncle Chris and Aunt Sonia, Aunt Anna, Uncle Ben and Aunt Kelly and Noah, Uncle Ted and Tanner and Thane (Chris' twin cousins). Lots of love to give and receive! However, I did come to realize that my smiley, giggly, silly, and general happy little boy who I see everyday disappears when we visit all of our family! At first I couldn't figure out what was wrong with Jude, why was he crying and so upset...teething, sleepy,sick? No No...as it turns out he is just the world's biggest Mama's Boy! At home, mom's group, and visits to the grocery store is where he spends his days. I am even complimented on what a cute and happy baby he is! But oh wait, it's because he is ALWAYS with me! The few times he is not, he spends with his Grandma Becky (my mom) and surprise surprise guess who is the other lady he does not cry with? Yep, with the exception of my mom and his Aunt Rikki, Jude does not go with anybody else but Mama! I can only blame myself as a stay at home mom this year (though I wouldn't have it any other way) and perhaps his father for his absence too. But really, I'll just blame the Army for sending him off to Afghanistan. Yes, the Army has caused my son to become a Mama's Boy:) It started at around 8 months as we visited Chris in Seattle. Now the clinging is at an all time high. I forget about it on a daily basis, but am reminded when anyone else tries to hold him. It make our visits a tad stressful because Jude is either crying the entire time or I am having to hold him in order for him not to cry. He won't even let me put him down to play. There were little moments when he did play and seemed OK to go with others (especially when I was out of sight and out of mind), but if he heard me or saw me he would start crying again. I'm not sure what to do about this except hope that he grows out of it, but I'm afraid it will only get worse. There will be a time when his Dad will come home and he will be in some sort of childcare setting, but until then, he will proudly wear his Mama's Boy t-shirt (given to him by his Nani)!

Girl's Night Out #2- The Lion King

Ana, Rikki and I had our second girl's night out. We ate at The Houston Street Bistro next door to the Majestic and they had fun entrees named after Broadway musicals. The Lion King was amazing. I've always loved the music and story, but the costumes absolutely blew me away! It's my new favorite show. Thanks girls for another fun night out!

The Traveling Twosome

The past three weeks we have been traveling across Texas. First to Houston for Thanksgiving. Then to Austin for a visit with my mom and Aunt Anna. In Austin, I was also able to visit my group of girlfriends from college...we've been friends for almost 10 years now...wow! I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like, but when I do it's a guaranteed good time. We drank wine, ate some fajitas and fondue and watched Texas scrape buy with a win at the last second.
This past weekend was our trip to Dallas. We were in Dallas for two reasons. I was attending a Yellow Ribbon Program (Army Family Event), but really it was just a great excuse to see my best friends...The May Family! I hadn't been to Dallas since we were honored with the title of Godparents to Gabriel and attended his Baptism. That was almost a year and a half ago! It was a great visit and I got to see how much both Molly and Gabe have changed and grown. Gabe is almost exactly a year older than Jude so when I look at all that he is doing it's a bit like looking into Jude's future! Although we've had so much fun on all of our trips (and not the pictures to prove it...sorry!), we are done for a while. Traveling has begun to take its toll on our heath and this week we find ourselves battling colds and pure exhaustion. Thank goodness that it's the perfect cloudy cold weather to stay inside and just be at home...at least until we're on the road again next week:)

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was not the same without Chris. We still had lots of fun in Houston to see Jude's Great Grandparents, Great Aunt Anna, Great Aunt Annie, and Great Uncle Rudy...it was GREAT!

Jude was geared up for the big Texas vs. Texas A&M game. He is a total momma's boy in his burnt orange attire. I had to get him dressed up while I had a chance, this may be the last year before his dad has him in some Aggie overalls or a mini corp uniform!

Hanging with Grandma! She's the best!

Chilaxing in his pajamas....notice my Grandma's burnt orange carpet...yes it's true....70's time warp or true Longhorn spirit?

Jude was able to eat a lot of yummy new foods...he especially liked his Mom's cranberry sauce!

Walked to the neighborhood park. Jude's first time in a swing. He loved it!

It's official....family+football+food+fall weather+fun= A Happy First Thanksgiving for Jude!

Thankful

The other day I was very much feeling sorry for myself. I was tired, sick with a stomach bug, my house was a mess and I was missing my husband. He called and I gave him the woe-is-me spill (yes, even though he is the one at war)..."life sucks right now" I said. He stopped me very quickly. "No Melissa, don't say that, your life doesn't suck." He reminded me of all my blessings, especially compared to some of the people in Afghanistan. So this Thanksgiving I reminded to see the blessings in even the things that I complain about daily and to know that God has a plan for me, even if I do not know what it is.

I am thankful for….

My dirty house and the endless bottles that I am cleaning because it means that I have a home and a child to make it dirty.

My long and exhausting days as a stay at home mom because that means I am financial able to not work and to enjoy my son and watch as he grows, changes, learns and surprises me everyday. It means I am able to raise my own child in the 21st century.

My busy life of being a FRG Leader. As much as I complain about the work and the constant phone calls and emails that bombard me everyday… It means that I have something to occupy my time during this deployment while helping others who are going through the same thing.

My husband being in the Army because it means that I married a man who is honorable, brave, strong, smart and a leader. I married the man who defends his country and our right to be free. I married someone who is doing his best everyday to learn more about the world and the best ways to bring it peace.

This deployoment. It makes me a stronger women. It makes my marriage stronger too...if we can survive this, we can survive anything. It makes me appreciate life in a whole new way. I don't sweat the small stuff (well usually) because I am doing bigger things and so is my husband. This deployment forces me to take a step back, think about the world we are living in (as opposed to "my" world that I live in)...think about the past and the future, but only for a second because I have to live in the moment in order to survive this year.

I am truly blessed and truly thankful for all that I have. I have the most important things in life…friends, family, health and love. There is nothing more that I could ever want.

Jude's First Halloween

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