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Thursday, November 21, 2013

365 days flew by....

Yesterday our lil man became a 1 year old.  I know... I don't know how that is possible.  Here are some pictures take throughout this amazing year. 
Birthday - 11/20/12
                                          Easter Day Brunch at the Officer's Club on Base

                                                                      8 weeks old

Easter Morning
Ski Trip to Park City, Utah


Chillax in the grocery store parking lot

                                                                   Halloween Night
11/20/13 evening walking to go take his bath
Monday, September 23, 2013

Miles' New Fashion Accessory


So we picked up a new "fun" accessory last week for Miles.

Miles has plagiocephaly and in lay man's terms that is a flat spot.  You see Miles' noggin has been in the 99% since 6 months when it grew considerably from 4 to 6 months.  During this time he wasn't rolling over yet, which I think was associated with the head growth.  I was afraid to let him sleep on his belly until he was rolling over on his own more frequently.  Hence... we have a flat spot which is thankfully directly center in the back of his head which means that his face is still symmetrical. 

He's doing extremely well with it, which makes this mama's heart feel so much better.  Yes,  Miles now 10 months old, and the optimal time to get a helmet for plagiocephaly is 6 months...but we can thank Tricare for that gem.  I was questioning peds on base about this since 4 months.  I have been concerned about it but they always shrugged it off.  At 9 months I was adamant about it and we got referred out. 

If anyone knows anything about Tricare, you know we got denied to cover the helmet.  I knew it going in so I wasn't shocked.  I think that's part of the reason the base wasn't pushing for it.  They knew it would be denied and my doctor always reminded me.  They view it as purely cosmetic, only covering it if it was a result of a surgery.  Thanks for nothing military insurance. 

We picked up our helmet on Thursday and he's doing great.  He has slept like a champ in it and even loves to play with it when he's not wearing it. 

He's such an amazing lil guy.  He makes his mama so proud. 

We decided if lil man was going to have to wear a helmet we might as well make it the toughest looking helmet you can find and chose the skull design.  Obviously we'll be working this into our Halloween costume. 
Monday, September 16, 2013

Miles @ 9 months

 
 
While Daddy was here Miles turned 9 months old...yes I don't even know how that is possible either. (He'll be 10 months this week...tears)
 
 Since we have been spending so much time apart, I thought it would be great to get a family photo shoot and its our last summer in Idaho.  I had planned to go up to one of Mr's favorite running hills outside of town.  Its amazing and you can see out for miles and miles.  It would have been beautiful, except its fire season out here and the whole area was burnt to a crisp....as was my 2nd option.  This was my 4th option thanks to a freak rain and hail storm we had 2 hours prior to this photo shoot.  Gotta love Idaho. 








For those interested... his shirt is Osh Kosh and his shorts are from H&M.  I purchased the tee-pee from this Etsy site.  It's custom made and it got here amazingly fast. 

And yes, I didn't realize that my hair tie was around my wrist and yes it annoys the crap out of me too. 
Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My Special Force

Several weeks ago I was asked to preview a new book coming out.  This offer struck me initially because it was written by a fellow military wife but then after reading more about the book, it hit me down to my core as a wife and as a mother.

The book is My Special Force:  The Warrior Who taught Me the Meaning of Life and Love, written by Heather Means. 

There is a certain kinship you feel as a military wife that others really don't understand, not because they don't want to, just because they can never truly know what it feels like until you've been there.  As I read Heather's words I have felt almost every single emotion she has felt. 

We both fell in love with guys we hadn't expected to.  These are men that can make us laugh uncontrollably, want to crawl under the table because of their antics, and be in awe of their shear unwillingness to quit.  Its these types of men (and women) that make up our armed forces and its these types that get sent out to do the work that needs to be done. 

I know what it feels like to send a husband (the special guy up there) to war.  I know what it feels like to have a husband that has a dangerous job.  I know what it feels like to be alone during your pregnancy.  I know what it feels like to raise a child alone.  I know what it feels like to sit at a funeral for a friend who lost her husband and the father of her children after a jet crash.  I know what it feels like to shed a tear every time I see a huge American flag flying.  Like I said... there is a kinship there for sure.

The book is a love story.  It tells the story of Ryan and Heather Means.  It gives you snapshots via emails, letters, stories, etc. in the world of these two souls - how they met, fell in love, and the impact Ryan had on the lives of everyone he met, even four years after his death at the young age of 35.

To quote Heather, "Ryan was fearless, funny, and deeply patriotic. When his lifelong friend, Adam White, died in WTC attack in 2011, Ryan, a Southern boy loving his life in New York, left the city life to join the Special Forces... Though he was almost a decade older than most other recruits, Ryan's drive and ambition pushed him to earn his place in one of the nation's most elite fighting forces:  the Green Berets."   

Heather met Ryan by chance while vacationing in North Carolina the summer of 2005.  Their love was fast and furious.  For years, their relationship consisted of long distance phone calls, emails, relocations, and 2 pregnancies while Ryan was deployed in Iraq.  During their 2nd pregnancy and Ryan's deployment, he became ill and was given only 30 days to live. 

The book truly honors the life of Ryan Means.  Its a beautiful and heart-wrenching story that makes you want to cherish this glorious life we've all been given but reminds you to live each day to the fullest.  Ryan was a true patriot.  He loved this country and everything it stood for. 

At the end of each update email he wrote to his friends and family, he signed off  "Keep on Rocking in the Free World".  Its because of men like him we can do that.  Thank you Ryan Means. 





Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of the book when it becomes available October 15th.  Its an important and beautiful story.  I was honored to be asked to read it.  I think you will be too. 

Friday, September 6, 2013

How much fun can we pack into 4 weeks....

So the Jetplanes have been busy lil bees for the past month or so.   Daddy came home for a full 4 weeks and we soaked up every second. 
Here our my 2 big guys meeting up at the airport.  Love those 2.

Mommy had to fly to Pcola for work, so we packed up the newly reunited family and headed to Florida for a few days.  Daddy hadn't gotten to fly with Miles, like Mama has.  He was in for some adventure. 
Here are some snapshots from our trip. 








Unfortunately it rained in the entire weekend but it was nice during the week while mommy was working, of course. 
We came back for a few days.  Daddy and Miles ran their 1st 5k and got 2nd place.  Pretty sure most underestimated Daddy since he was pushing a stroller.  I guess Miles was laughing at everyone as they passed them.  They weren't expecting a guy with a stroller smoking them. 
Since we're moving to Vegas next year and we will no longer have a large, lush, green yard we decided to sell our John Deere.  Daddy decided that we needed to give lil man a ride.
 
He also spent plenty of time at the park near our house.  Do you think he likes to swing?


We then packed up the whole family again and headed up north to McCall, Idaho for a long weekend.  We have spent a lot of time up there during the winter months but never during the summer.  We rented a cabin in the woods and really enjoyed ourselves. 




As with all good things, they must come to an end.  Daddy left to go to a new training course for the next few months.  We dropped him off early in the morning last weekend. 

We sure do miss our Daddy.  But hopefully we'll be able to swing a weekend visit in the next month or so. 
Monday, July 29, 2013

Round these parts...

Miles turned 8 months on July 20th.  This was the morning of the 20th.  He was mesmerized by something on the television.  I couldn't help myself but snap a picture.  I remember those adorable cowboy pjs arriving at the house and I couldn't believe that someday he'd be big enough to fit into them.  They are 9 months :(
 
 
 Mr. Jetplane has been gone for a training program since March.  We have gotten to see him twice since he left, both for long weekends.  So, as you can imagine, we miss Daddy a lot.  We Skype with him every night, but that's just not the same.  Lil man is growing up so quickly, it breaks my heart that Daddy isn't here to witness these changes first hand.  He is coming home on Saturday for about a month.  We can't wait!!! 

 
Take a look at that face... I'd like to say he gets that from his Daddy, but I'm pretty sure that dirty look right there, that's mine.  He was busy playing on his piano and watching cartoons and he wasn't happy about Mama interrupting his "ME" time. 
We started Baby Led Weaning (BLW) at 6 months.  Its going really well.  Admittedly we still do some baby food but he's doing really well.  We tried Cheerios this weekend.  I have no idea why I didn't think of them before, probably because I think they're nasty...but he seems to like them. 
 
Some food that we are big fans of - sweet potatoes, carrots, red/green peppers, mini bagels (he gets about 1/4 of one), peaches, kiwi, strawberries, watermelon, mangoes, and rice cakes. 
 
I have started buying bags of frozen fruit.  They tend to be thawed out by the time he has interest in them and its easier, lasts longer, and I think cheaper in the long run. 
Thursday, July 18, 2013

Miles' Nursery

So, as always, I have the best of intentions in blogging.  Honestly I do, but it just seems like I can't get back in the swing of things.  I realized that I never shared Miles' nursery with the blog world, so I thought it was high time I did that. 
 
 
 
I had a lot of different ideas when it came to his room.  Initially I had envisioned a woodsy, forest-like room.  I had already purchased a stencil to mimic the expensive ass wallpaper I really wanted and you have seen everywhere.  I had the room painted gray long before we got pregnant.  I always had that stencil in mind and thought, girl or boy it would work.  When we found out Miles was a boy and I actively started looking at fabrics...I threw everything else out the window. 
 
 I found when I thought was the most adorable fabric.  Its Michael Miller and I bought it on sale thru Fabric.com.  It has all my favorite colors in it and it just spoke to me.  I knew then I wanted a circus theme but not too in your face circus themed. 
 
My lovely mother came out to visit and made all the bedding except for the crib sheet.  That is from the Land of Nod but was on sale via Gilt.  I also purchased the changing pad cover then as well.  Surprisingly it matched the other Michael Miller bunting themed fabric.  I purchased all the fabric excluding the solid fabric (including the lovely clementine color) from Fabric.com, the rest was from Joann's.  It was only around $2.99 a yard with the sale they were running. 
 
 
 The bunting hanging on the wall was made by a friend that used it as decoration for our baby shower threw by our squadron.  She used all the left over fabric I had already.  The large M wasn't what I initially wanted on the wall but it was an easy and cheap fix.  I bought the M from Joann's on major sale and painted it with Martha Stewart glitter paint, sadly the glitter doesn't really show up as I expected it to. 
The gallery wall was a labor of love and something that is constantly being updated/changed.  The framed animal prints came from here. I adore them and bought more since they were on sale.  I had the last picture of Milo and Charlie blown up on a canvas.  The picture is from when we were announcing we found out Miles was a boy.  We lost Charlie 2 days later.  I love that picture and it will be with us forever. The lion sleeping was purchased quite some time ago from 20x200 and I had it matted and framed at Michael's.  The mirror was on sale at Hobby Lobby and the jet is a gift that every family gets from the squadron.  It has all of Miles' stats on it. 
 
The dresser is from Ikea and knobs from Hobby Lobby (on big sale).  The cart is from Ikea and I knew from the moment I saw it online that I had to have it.  Its perfect and one of my favorite things in the room. 
 
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the chair situation.  I knew I wanted a comfy chair that rocked.  On one visit to Babies R Us I saw that they were now carrying various types of rockers and gliders in stock.  I saw another style of chair in this color with brown piping.  I liked the look of the chair but it wasn't comfortable at all.  I found out that I could customize the stock chair that I liked but in the color I wanted (which is my favorite color by the way).  When I was placing the order I asked the clerk if he thought it looked like Chairy from Pee Wee's Playhouse.  Not that I cared...because I loved that show, but still... 
 
 
He didn't get it... oh well.  I love this chair.  And the answer is YES....its looks like Chairy and that makes me love it even more.  The ottoman looks like an expensive one from the Land of Nod, but I got it online from Target for around $17 on clearance...SCORE. 
 
 
My mother made the curtains as well.  I bought white ones from Walmart and we added the fabric to the bottom.  The baskets are from TJ Maxx and I seriously adore them. 
 
Now onto the real labor of love... the shelf.  Let me back up a little bit.  There was one thing I knew I wanted for my child's nursery long before I was even pregnant.  I wanted a Jenny Lind Crib.  I spotted this shelf at a thrift store.  It was being used to display various things and I asked if it was for sale, which is was and was quite reasonable.  It was a nasty orange-maple color that I quickly decided needed to be turquoise, my favorite color.  I loved how the spindles mimicked the look of a Jenny Lind crib.  The color is weathered glass Eddie Bauer from Lowe's.  Its one of my favorite colors, I used it in my home office in our North Carolina house. 
 
This pregnant lady worked on this shelf for in the summer in her garage with a face mask on...Dear Lord so many coats of primer and paint. 
 
The rug is from Overstock, its a large circle and very chunky.  Milo loves laying on it which is great except its a pain in the ass to try to get dog hair out of...like its not possible. 
 
The large Zebra Storage Bin is from 3 Sprouts and I bought from Target.com. I bought the elephant one as well and we use it in the living room.  I love this brand and have found that Target online has the best pricing.  Most of the knick knacks throughout the room are from thrift stores, Target, or things we collected over the years. 
 
On the bottom shelf are 2 coin banks that my husband was given by his Grandpa Freeman who Miles Freeman is named after.  The Bolt dog is a gift from our squadron since we are the Tbolts.  The striped baskets are from TJ Maxx and the pug bookends were bought on OneKingsLane. 
 
All of the white frames are from Target and the Silver frames are from Walmart.  I love these silver frames and have them throughout my house.  Our local Walmart no longer sells them but you can buy 2 packs of them online in various sizes.  I find them to be rather nice frames for the price.  I refuse to spend a ton of money on frames. 
 
Overall I'm pretty happy with Miles' room.  I'll be sad when we move next year but such is the life of a military wife. 
 
 

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