..Three Peas In a Pod..: August 2013

Ok, I feel like I am on the side of the road, with a huge smile on my face, waving obnoxiously, goodbye to the age of 27. You know, the year of the golden something or another - when you turn the age you are (27) on the date you were born (August 27th)... well, whatever it was..it kind of stunk. It was just one of those years of lots of changes (moving, friendships, motherhood) that were kind of draining and overwhelming. A year ago I went through this kind of "1/3 life crisis", where we bought a house that we absolutely loved, almost our dream house.....so beautiful...acres of land....peace and quiet..so many pros, and then realized that it just wasn't the right purchase for us at this moment of our life. It is too far away from Luke's work, it involves too much driving, and just isn't kid friendly, in a neighborhood aspect. Anyways, the realization of this mistake put me into a hugeeee slump. I just couldn't believe we had this beautiful house at our fingertips, yet I was waking up with this overwhelming guilt of making a hugeeeeeeeeee mistake. Luckily, Luke so badly just wants to make me happy, that he agreed to let me find a realtor and stick a big 'ol FOR SALE sign in the yard. Well, here we are almost 11 months later with that big 'ol FOR SALE sign still sitting there (except now it has weeds growing up and around it). Countless showings, three offers that have fallen through...and still a whole lot of guilt. Why am I rambling about this? Well, because it is pretty much why I haven't been blogging for the last six months. It has taken a lot out of me..both work, trying to keep up with a two year and a show-ready house..and made me emotionally fragile. We just keep praying, and hoping that it will sell so that we can move on with our life. IF/WHEN (a little glimpse of optimism), we are planning to move onto Fort Eustis - the actual military post. The housing there is beautiful (on the outside, not so much on the inside), and we are excited to say farewell to the driving, and inconvenience and "hello" to more time with Luke (breakfast, lunch hour and right after work!), a grocery store a mile away AND sidewalks! The process has really sucked the life out of me. However, I am ready (tryng) to bring in 28 with a new attitude and what better way to start than with a birthday blog!

Where shall I start?

How about with how ridiculously cute that kid(^) up there is? But, don't be fooled...this picture should really look like this:

O.M.G...what a little fire cracker he is. Someone once told me.. "You know, if he is that sweet of a baby..watch out for when he is a toddler..you'll pay"...I remember thinking "yeah right, I could NEVER see him being naughty!" Um, they were right. Jack is a very, very opinionated fellow. He knows what he wants, when he wants it, and doesn't stop until he gets it. He repeats things over, and over, and over again until he is completely satisfied that we understand where he is coming from. What a handful!

On the flip side, he is a kind, kind boy. He LOVES to play, and jumps into any and every opportunity to have fun. He is not shy by any means, and is such a little jokester. He and Luke have such a great time rough housing... He keeps up with the big kids, and will run until his little legs can go no more. He is constantly laughing and making sure his little friends are having fun, too. I know his sweet, little, soul is just buried beneath that terrible two behavior. Needless to say..Momma is exhausted! On my toes at all times..it is scary when it gets quiet in our house because it means he is up to no good...he is either sticker-ing, drawing on, using deodorant and or chapstick to color the walls with, ripping or destroying SOMETHING when it is quiet. My heart skipped a beat the other day when I was making dinner and realized I hadn't heard him for a minute. I rushed out of the kitchen to find this:

And thennnn my heart melted. There is my little guy going through every book in the basket...reading each one to the tune of Eric Carle's Brown Bear :"brown bear..brown bear..what do you see?", but interchanging the words for whatever the picture was ("dump truck..dump truck..what do you see?"...) And THOSE are the very moments you realize that being a Mom IS the greatest job in the world. Kind of how when you go up and check on your sleeping child, and see how sweet and peaceful they are and it makes you just love them so much! (Let's get real..mainly because they are sleeping and are peaceful and you know you have 8 hours of uninterrupted time to think, shower, pee..whatever you want to do in peace.and.quiet ).

We have really had a summer filled with fun, though! We live in the coolest area, ever! Who can say that they have weekly playdates at Elmo World in Busch Gardens, or spend Monday mornings at Water Country USA riding the lazy river, or running alongside the beach? We are super thankful for this area..it has been a BLAST with all it has to offer...no matter where the Army takes us, this place will leave us with a lot of special memories. We have really tried to embrace the opportunities, and I am so happy that Jack has been able to experience all of these fun things. I've made some awesome friends here, all with young kids, which makes

Jack and his best buddy, Maddie who is 3!

weekdays so much fun! We meet up a few times a week, at different parks, or houses and just let the kids exhaust themselves, yet at the same time relate about our crazy, military lives. It is positive therapy! You are always "supposed" to make a "Battle Buddy"-someone who can be like your family away from home- or two when you move..to 1. help with your sanity and 2. be there for you during emergencies. Thank gosh I have found that here, or else I would really be a hot mess! Luckily, one of my dearest friends, one of the nicest, kind hearted people you will ever meet, lives right down the street from us. She has four kids, 2 of which they adopted (if that doesn't tell you how loving she is!), all of which LOVE Jack. He calls them "da kids".. "wanna go see da kids"..and his face just lights up when they all pile out the front door! If we do eventually move, we will surely be back over here for 2 reasons..1. Autumn and "da kids" and 2. Chic Fil A! :)My other BFF, Joni, lives right on Fort Eustis, so I might be leaving one fantastic neighbor, for another! Joni is Jack's friend, Maddies, momma and what a lifesaver she is! Jack never leaves their house hungry or thirsty, and neither do Luke or I. She'll feed anyone who walks through her front door. She made Luke stop by after work today to pick up her homemade eggrolls that she made specially for my birthday. AMAZING.they.were! Def. a keeper of a friend!! :)

Because I have been on such a hiatus, I really wanted to share some pictures with our families because our sweet, chubby cheeked baby is now a rambunctious, full of life, daddy's boy!