So Much to be Thankful For...

Wow! Thanksgiving came and went in a blink of an eye! We had a great day, hosting Thanksgiving at our house, celebrating Kael's first turkey day, plotting our black friday routes, and enjoying a 4 day weekend. Sadly, I must admit... I felt as if I didn't get to fully enjoy the day as much as I was hoping for. I was cooking or cleaning from sun up to sun down (well, even longer since we only getting about 6 hours of sunlight right now). Thankfully, we have definitely set some new traditions, including a few recipes that were to die for! I also learned my lesson, and now know better for Christmas.

So since the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving has passed, I am finally finding the time to sit and write. I have so much to be thankful for this year, it is overwhelming. More than ever, I am taking a step back and looking at the little things. The things that I take for granted everyday, and the things that I complain about the most. In this holiday season I am always reminded of those who are less fortunate, and it always helps to keep me grounded.

So here we go, my "list" of all the wonderful things in my life!

• First of all, I am thankful for living in Kodiak. Although it has been a huge adjustment and I feel like I hate it at times, it is where Kevin and I have been the most successful- financially, fertility wise, my employment, and Kevin's advancements. This place has been good for us, and even though we can't wait to be close to family again, this has brought 'our' family closer than ever.
• I am thankful for our health. Something so simple, yet so life altering.
• I am thankful for our beautiful baby boy. And more importantly- his health as well.
• I am thankful for our tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment. It may not be ideal, but we have a roof over our head, beds to sleeps on, and food at our table.
• I am thankful for our 2005 Pacifica that we bought used and are still making payments on. It may not be fancy or new, but we have a reliable family car that gets us to where we need to go.
• I am thankful for our jobs. There might me times where we wish we made more, but in times like these, we are lucky to have a job at all.
• I am thankful for our student loan payments. As much as they suck us dry every month, they are a constant reminder that we have our education- and that is something that can never be taken away.
• I'm thankful for technology. Even though we live thousands of miles away, technology makes it possible to see our family face to face during the holidays (and every other day as well!)
• I'm thankful for amazing friends, far and near. The kind that you can not talk to for weeks or months, but once you are able to finally catch up, you don't even miss a beat!
• And of coarse, I am thankful for my wonderful husband and perfect son. I can't imagine life without them!

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season, had a great Thanksgiving, and have a very Merry Christmas!

7 Months (only 2 weeks late...)

Wow... I have been working on this post for TWO weeks now. It has been sitting in my edit folder for days, and every time I sit down to finish, I find something else that seems to need my attention right away. But here you go (finally!)

It is getting harder and harder to get a good picture of him...He just wont sit still!

Where is the time going? It sounds so weird to say that Kael is 7 months old. It just doesn't seem real... how is it possible? It feels like just yesterday I was feeling him move in my belly, and now I am chasing him around the house!

This past month has honestly been the most fun we have had so far. He is getting to that age where he is just FUN. He has such a big personality, and I love getting to see him shine through. We did a lot to take in and enjoy Fall (since November typically brings snow in Alaska), and to prepare for his first Halloween.

This past month has been a HUGE one developmentally, but more than anything, he is recognizing the people around him. We dealt with a little bout of stranger anxiety and are still dealing with separation anxiety (he wants mom ALL.THE.TIME.) He is very aware of the people around him, and it takes him a while to warm up to new ones. He loves his teachers and greets them every morning with a huge smile. They really are like extended family, and I'm so thankful for those girls (they are some of the best friends I have here). He is close with them, and loves sitting in their laps to read books or to just get a little extra attention. He knows who his mommy and daddy are, and gets VERY excited to see either of us. The best feeling in the entire world is walking into the house after leaving him with Kevin, and him crawling up to me as fast as he can, laughing the entire way. He is genuinely excited to see us when we have been gone, and gives the best hugs and kisses once he is picked up.

A few random tidbits on eating:

*He is still breastfeeding, and I'm pretty sure we will stick it out the entire first year. There are days I want to throw in the towel because it dictates my schedule so much, and I keep thinking about our vacation in January, but I know those are selfish reasons, and could never give it up for that.

*He has ZERO teeth

*He is eating like a champ. He has tried chicken and turkey purees (mixed with veggies), and really likes it. He is also feeding himself. We started with mum-mums, which to this day are his favorite. He also feeds himself puffs and yogurt drops, and really enjoys those as well!

He has mastered crawling, and is ALL OVER the place now! I thought we had the house baby proofed, but boy was I wrong! I have had to say so long to my candles, a good amount of picture frames, and all my nice knick knacks around the house. We have tried to hide every cord imaginable and besides vacuuming every night, I am having to stay on top of sweeping/mopping and now dusting (since his little hands and mouth are on every piece of furniture we own). And as if the crawling didn't keep us busy enough, he has now masted pulling up to stand AND getting down. He seems to enjoy teething on our entertainment center and end tables as well...

Kael had his first school picture day this month as well. Kevin had been in Anchorage for a training, and was able to stop by a mall and pick up a few things for Kael. I actually gave him the freedom to pick out Kael's picture day outfit! :) The picture came out pretty funny (he was pretty confused by the whole process, did a little crying, and would not smile) so we did a mini photo shoot at home (it wasn't much better).

He had his first trip to the park in our beautiful Alaska fall weather.

And we enjoyed lots more time outside while the weather was still nice. We also had lots of fun with pumpkins!

We enjoyed his first Halloween this month as well. First, he participated in a costume parade at school, where he got to show off his lobster costume (thank you Nana and Popdaddy). After school, we stopped by the gym to check out the CDC party which included a bounce house and some other fun stuff that was just a little too big for him. We went home and changed into our warm Superman costume, and walked around the neighborhood with two other families for trick or treating. He didn't last too long, he was ready for bed and it was pretty chilly, but overall it was a great experience. Sadly, Kevin had to work that day so he missed out on it all. The joys of being a military family...

We also had his 6 month photo shoot the day he turned 7 months. We had some scheduling issues, thanks to Kevin's schedule (surprise surprise!) but regardless, I am so excited to see them. I have only seen one picture so far, but I know they are going to be amazing. I'm hoping to get them all right before Thanksgiving. He was such a handful, considering he doesn't sit in one spot for longer than about 2 seconds, but Amy Earle with Simply B Photos never fails to amaze me with her talent and patience!

Look at that cute naked body!! :)

Forgot What That Felt Like...

Today Kael is 7 months old. I should be working on his update, but I really just don't have the energy to upload a bunch of pictures and sound sentimental and excited about him growing up. The truth is, I wish he would stop growing so fast. It makes me sad. I feel like I never fully got to enjoy the "baby" stages because he blew right through them. But most of all, I am TIRED. This boy does not sleep anymore and it is killing me. I have to struggle to stay away when I'm at work, and I cringe the close it gets to bedtime because I know that no matter how hard I pray, I will still be getting up every 2 hours.

But the real reason I am writing this post is because I experienced a feeling- an emotion if you will, that I haven't felt in a REALLY long time.

WARNING: this is a little TMI

After trying to have a baby for so long, it has really been pretty weird to try and prevent from having another one. I'm not on birth control because I have never been, and just don't want to open up that can of hormonal worms. We have really been careful, but there was one night where we slipped. We let our "emotions" get the best of ourselves and didn't use our best judgement. Of coarse, we immediately regretted it, and I have since then been convinced that I would somehow, by some sort of ironic miracle, get pregnant.

For the past two weeks I have been calculating in my head how old Kael would be, how we would make it work in our 2 bedroom house, what we would name it if it was another boy, etc. I really would feel pretty sick thinking about having another one so close in age. I know I want more kids, but I feel like if I were to get pregnant now, I would be taking away so much from Kael and in a way, forcing him to grow up. I want to cherish this time with him, and I would like to be able to sleep through the night for a while before giving those up again.

Well, today my period decided to arrive. Right on track. And my first thought was, THANK GOD! And then I thought... WOAH! I can't remember the last time I felt that way. I remember constantly thinking "Damn You!" whenever I got my period, and now I am rejoicing. It is so bittersweet. It makes me wonder if it will take us as long to get pregnant the second time, or if my first pregnancy has somehow "fixed" whatever problem we faced before.

Any who... I will get to Kael's update, more than likely this weekend. We had his 6 month (even though he is technically 7 months) photo shoot tonight, and I am so excited to see how the pictures turned out! I got to see a few right on her camera and was breathless.