Goodbye Virginia

Moving day is just around the corner (next Friday!) and we'll be saying goodbye to Virginia. We've been here a little over 4 and a half years and there are certainly things we are going to miss (like our wonderful friends) but there is one thing we will NOT miss... the traffic!! This place will always be special to us because it's the first place we moved and started our life as a married couple, the place where we bought our first house and started our family. We made some lifelong friendships and God has certainly blessed us since we've been here. The packers will come on Wednesday and Thursday and the movers come on Friday. We'll head out on Friday after the moving van pulls away and then head down to Pensacola, stopping in AL and MS to see friends and family. We'll be staying in Pensacola a few days and then leaving Grant with my family while me, Mike and Luke head out to TX to close on our house and start unpacking. Whew, these next couple weeks are going to be busy! Pray that the boys will do well in the transition. I still can't imagine how we are all going to sleep in a hotel room together! I'm sure I'll have some stories!

I just realized that I haven't posted about my trip out to TX. It was quite a trip! I flew in to Houston, saving about $150 on my plane ticket, rather than flying in to Corpus Christi. I was told that it would take about 3 hours to get to Corpus but it took me FAR from 3 hours. I arrived in Houston at 5 pm and by the time I got my bag and the rental car it was 6. I'm going to back up a bit... when I was in the air and looking down at Houston I remember seeing this Highway that was backed up with traffic that never ended and thought to myself, "I sure hope I don't have to get on that road." Well, you guessed it, I did. About 7 lanes of traffic went down to 2 (because of construction) and this was in rush hour traffic, if you can imagine. I didn't get out of Houston for an hour and a half. I felt like I was back in Virginia Beach, only I think it was even worse! After getting off on country roads, getting lost a few times and trying to drive with a migraine, I finally arrived at Corpus at 12:30 am! I have never been so exhausted but slept terrible! I had taken strong headache medicine that had caffine in it AND the room was literally an ice box! Apparently they preset the thermostats in the rooms at the BOQ (on base) at about 60 degrees! I got up early the next morning to meet my realtor and we started the house hunting. We probably looked at 20 or so properties and I narrowed it down to 2 houses by the end of the day. It was tough deciding between the 2 houses but after MUCH consideration and a lot of talking on the phone to Mike, I decided. It's a new construction and it's completely move in ready. The pictures are a little unfinished but by the time we move in they will have put sod down, landscaped, a fence in the back, blinds will have been installed and the appliances will be in too. And, the whole house is painted, even the garage! It has a nice size yard, which we are most excited about since we do not have a yard in our house now.

Luke turned 6 months old this week! He is so much fun and such a great baby. He LOVES watching Grant and Grant adores him. I need to download some pictures of him and I'll post them soon. He's rolling over all the time and getting more and more active. He loves his exersaucer but especially loves to be in his bouncer that hangs from the door. He also loves to sit up but still needs some assistance. He looks so much like Grant did at this age. I think they are going to look like twins when they get older. He's sleeping so well at night ( last night he slept from 7-6:45) and is eating all kinds of fruits and vegtables and cereal. I'm about done with nursing. My goal was 6 months so we've reached it. He's doing great with formula and thankfully it agrees with him.

Grant woke up with a cold...probably because the high temp. was 59 degress yesterday! Yep, it's almost the end of May and summer still isn't here in VA! Grant also has Fifths disease. Nothing serious, just a rash that has been coming and going all week. It hasn't bothered him at all so we haven't been too concerned. We took him to the doctor yesterday and finally found out exactly what it was. It's a spring time virus that mainly affects kids. Starts out with a slight fever, although most of the time you can't even tell they have a fever, and then breaks out in to a weird blotchy rash all over his body. But the weird thing is it's been coming and going all week. The doctor said that heat triggers the rash which makes sense because we notice it after a nap (warm in his bed) and then after a warm bath.

It will probably be a while before I can post again. Hopefully it will be before Christmas! :)

SOLD!

We accepted an offer on our house last Friday (my posts are about a week late)! We got a full price offer so we were thrilled. They want to close the end of May so we just set up our move with the Navy. One nice thing about the Navy is that they will come and pack up our whole house and move us. The day our furniture leaves will be May 25. SO, we need a house to move in to! I'll be flying out to TX by myself May 7-10 to find a house. I'm going to have to find a vacant house so that we can have a quick closing and be able to move in the first part of June. SO much to do and think about between now and then! Mike is officially out of the squadron and I have him all to myself until he checks in to his new squadron mid to late June.

Have a great weekend!

New Happenings

There's so much going on with us I don't know where to begin! A couple posts ago I told you that we were given orders to Meridian, MS. They were actually "verbal" orders, which come before the written orders but are usually just as reliable as the written ones. WELL, for some reason we happen to fall in the small percentage of people who were given verbals but then told, "sorry, you can't go there, we need you somewhere else." We were actually told that Meridian wouldn't work out late February but we didn't receive our written orders until a couple weeks ago and found out that we will be moving to TX. Yep, TX. We were so looking forward to being just a hop, skip and jump away from our families but nope, we will now be in TX. Actually south TX! Corpus Christi to be exact. Mike will be stationed at a jet base in Kingsville, TX (about a half hour drive from Corpus). As far as housing and shopping goes there is a lot more to choose from in Corpus and most of the instructors live in Corpus. It's nice to finally know and start preparing for the move.... since it will be a short 2 months away!! I will be flying out there by myself to house hunt the middle of May. Mike only has less than 2 weeks left in his squadron and then has a TON of time off. I believe it's like 50 days to be exact. Woo hoo! So, now our focus is on selling this house. Unfortunately the Navy hasn't given us much time at all so we don't have the luxury of waiting for the house to sell at a price we want to sell it for. We put it on the market the end of January and have already had to lower the price 3 times. We hate to do it, but we just have to sell it quickly. Although we were disappointed to find out that we'll be in TX (only because we'll be so far from our families) for the next few years we have heard some good things about Corpus and I know that it will probably turn out to be a great place for our family. We are keeping in mind that God's putting us there for a reason.

Mike got home last Thursday from being gone almost a month. Hallelujah!! It's been wonderful having him home and getting a much needed break. He was able to fly in so we met him at the flight line. I don't know if I've said this before but Grant LOVES airplanes. I wonder why? Anyway, he was in heaven seeing all those jets lined up and waiting for his Daddy. He was a bit speechless and waited so patiently. While all the other kids were running around Grant just stood and watched and waited. So sweet to see. And then he ran out to Mike as he was walking to us. I tried to take a picture of him running but I was clicking and clicking the camera only to realize I hadn't turned it on! Ughh.. So, by the time I turned it on Grant had already reached him.






This is the T-shirt I bought for Grant for the special occasion. I told him once what it said that he did not forget it. It's now his "Daddy super hero" shirt and is his favorite, of course.

On another note... the boys are doing great. Luke turned 5 months old on Monday!! He's finally taking a couple bottles of formula a day so I'm loving the freedom of not having to be the only person who feeds him and occasionally I'm able to leave the house for more than an hour at a time!!! We discovered on Monday evening, after a very fussy day, that Luke is cutting his first tooth. I don't remember Grant having too tough of a time with teething but Luke has turned in to a different baby. Last night he was crying so hard and for so long that Mike was convinced that something else was wrong with him and that we needed to take him to the Doctor. We've been keeping him on Tylenol and loading him up with teething tablets hoping to give him some relief. Today he seems to be better. Thankfully he's taken 2 good naps so far, so that a good sign that he's relaxed.

Grant is so much fun. He's saying new things everyday. He is becoming very independent and we hear "my do it" a lot these days. He also is likes to be silly and is noticing funny things around him. He laughs and says, "my funny" or "mommy funny." He can finally reach the pedals on his tricycle and is loving that. Hopefully this weather will warm up soon so he can be outside and ride it more. I'm complaining about this cold weather now but I know I'm going to be begging for it once we are down in south Texas!! Another one of Grant's favorite things to do is sit in Mike's truck and pretend that he's driving it. Right now they are both napping, a rare occasion, so I better try and get some more things done around here.

Guess that's all, for now!

Happy Easter!!

"WOW, Daddy airplane" -Grant

I thought I'd share some pictures that were taken of Mike yesterday while flying around the ship. He didn't say which jet he was flying, but he's in one of them. Notice that "little" ship in the distance and that runway... yep, that would be the one he lands on! You know I've always thought that my husband had a challenging job but when I see pictures like this it really hits home how tough it really is. It also makes me aware of what a great pilot he is to be able to do what he does!! He really is a talented pilot and I am very proud of him. We are ready to have him home... he's been gone a week and a half and will be gone another 2 weeks!

4 months

Sweet baby Luke is 4 months old today! I took him to the doctor yesterday for his check up and shots. He weighs 12 lb. 11 ounces, a bit small but, considering he was almost a month early, his growth has been steadily climbing up the chart and the Dr. was pleased. He's still nursing about every 3-4 hours during the day and despite my best efforts to sneak in a bottle of formula every now and then, he won't have it! The doctor said he was probably ready for some solids in a week or two so we'll be trying that soon. He's sleeping so great at night. Last night he slept from 7:45 until 6 this morning. He's the happiest little guy, full of smiles. I can already tell that he loves Grant, watching him so intently when he is nearby. Grant loves to give him hugs and kisses and can't wait to go with me to get him up from his naps. He often says, "hold him" and wants me to put Luke in his lap... so sweet. Luke has been rolling over for a couple weeks now and is getting stronger and stronger. He really enjoys his Bumbo seat and also likes his bouncy seat and swing. I'm so thankful that I can leave him for a while and he'll be happy. He doesn't like to be on his back too much, unless the fan is on. He is the best baby and I can't thank God enough for giving me such a healthy and happy little guy. I know we are blessed.

I better go clean the house.. it's getting shown 2 times today! We are praying it sells soon!

Moving!

We recently found out that we will be moving to Meridian, MS in May! Mike got orders to be an instructor, which he is really looking forward to. It's orders that he wanted, which isn't always the case, so we are thankful. We are very excited, for many reasons. Mainly because we'll be so much closer to our families... about half way between Pensacola and Memphis. The thought of jumping in the car and driving a few hours to be with family is wonderful! I also have an aunt and uncle who live in Meridian as well as a few very close friends. Mike and I met while he was in pilot training in Meridian so there is definitely some happy memories of the time we spent there together. I'm also going to love being so close to Tuscaloosa and being able to see dear friends and hopefully being able to get to enjoy some Bama games at Bryant-Denny! So, things are about to get even more busier as we are preparing to put our house on the market next week! There is so much to do and the kiddos allow us so little time to do all that needs to get done! Mike leaves for the month of February on yet another trip so the boys and I will be heading down to Pensacola while he's gone. We'll be leaving next Friday. Please pray that the plane ride will be smooth and there will be no major breakdowns and most importantly, that we are surrounded by nice, understanding people!! I'm a little nervous but hey, we'll make it down one way or the other!

Sweet smile

Luke is really starting to smile. It's precious to see and I couldn't believe that I actually got some shots! They are the very first pictures of him smiling. : )

My "new" life as a mother of 2

OK, I know what you all are thinking... I'm the mom of a new baby and I haven't posted anything about my sweet little angel! I just want you moms of ONE baby to have another one and see how good your blogging skills become! :) I really think about blogging everyday and don't even know where to begin! Luke really is a good baby. The first month he literally slept and ate. He never cried. I mean never. If he let out a cry we ran to him because something had to be terribly wrong. The only thing he'd do when he was hungry was grunt over and over. Mike and I were worried that at night he would be grunting forever before we finally heard him! When he was about a month he decided to wake up and was a tad bit fussier, mainly in the evenings and also because he was having some gassiness. He's been sleeping like a champ. For weeks and weeks he's been only waking up once a night. For about a week now he's been going 6 and sometimes 7 hour stretches! He usually nurses and goes right back to sleep. Grant has really been doing great with Luke. When he cries he tells me just what he thinks he needs... he'll either say, "Mommie's milk, paci, swing, chair." Oh, but before he says anything he says, "Baby Wook MAD." Grant really knows the routine around here. I had to laugh at him.. yesterday he took one of my breast pump shields and lifted up his shirt and put it on his chest! He is so funny. He keeps me laughing at the things he does and says daily. I didn't think I'd say this but age 2 is the best.



So, we live in the house. Going out is a MAJOR feat! For example: Yesterday I had to go to Target with both boys because Mike's out of town. You see, before now I wouldn't even tempt the trip with both boys because I would have Mike watch them, or at least one of them. I had to get a birthday gift for a party that we are going to today. I woke up dreading the trip but knowing I just had to do it. By the time I got myself ready, both boys dressed, fed and took their naps and found that perfect window of opportunity, it was 3:30! I just fed Luke thinking he would be a happy camper. Got to Target and I pulled out the gigantic double stroller, which I can barely maneuver, piled the boys in and in we went. We got to the toys section and Luke started crying. I was worried that Grant would be fussing for all the toys but thankfully he was a good boy. Luke didn't stop crying until we got to the car. Everyone was looking at us in the stroller that took up almost a whole isle and I could feel my face getting redder and redder. Then I got to the register and the lady said, "Someone is hungry." I nicely said, "I just fed him before we came" but really I wanted to say "How do you know what he wants!" Then she said, "Well, I guess he wants more." No comment. I was thinking to myself how crazy I was for attempting this and that I would never, EVER do it again! I should have just wrapped up one of Grant's toys!



Here's some more fun facts... Mike is out of town and now Grant and Luke are sick with bad colds and as of this morning, me too!



So, for all you who are thinking about having 2, I suggest you wait until your first one is at least in college! :)



Here are a couple recent pictures of the boys. They really are so sweet and I am so blessed to have them.

Grant is a fan of Santa. Not an ounce of fear when he sees him and this year he was especially excited to sit in his lap. Here's Grant with Santa pictures from last year and this year.

Merry Christmas!

Here's our picture for our Christmas card this year.

I know I am WAY overdue in writing an update but I will very soon!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, full of love and joy.

Surprise!

Luke Mitchell arrived early Thursday morning!! It was certainly a surprise... he was almost a month early! Thankfully everything went smoothly and Luke was a healthy 6 lbs 13 oz. We came home from the hospital last night and Luke is doing so well. He's nursing so well and also sleeping great too. Grant has had his moments of jealousy but he's getting better and better. I'm actually starting to think he likes his baby brother "Wook." He's already tested out his paci and infant car seat! :) My mom flew in yesterday and has been a huge help and is loving every minute of her time with her 2 grandsons. Here's a couple pictures although more are sure to follow. I'm going to try and set up a Flickr account and I also need to change the name of the blog!

Growing what??

I just read the title of my blog "Growing Grant" and thought to myself that that's certainly not the only thing that's growing these days! My belly is growing by the second. Some moments I think I can really feel the skin on my stomach stretching! It's not a pretty sight and I will probably not post anymore preggo pictures... sorry. Things are certainly starting to heat up around here as my due date approaches, although I feel like I could go in to labor any day. I'm contracting a lot and every time I have a weird sharp pain I can't help but think it might be time. Mike left for Key West last Wednesday for training and will be back on Saturday. My aunt flew in from MS last night and will be staying with us until Mike gets back. I'm so glad that she's here and she's certainly giving me peace of mind should I go in to labor this week. There has been a lot of change happening around here recently and Grant has been handling everything so well... most importantly the switch to his new room and new "big boy bed." Apparently Mike and I were much more nervous about the transition than we should have been. He really loves his new bed and has actually asked on several occasions to go to sleep in it. When he wakes up he calls for me to come get him and thankfully doesn't get out until I get there. I'm so proud of him and his behavior really has me optimistic about his adjustment to the arrival of his new baby brother!

8 months

It's so hard to believe I'm 8 months pregnant. This pregnancy has flown by! I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that Grant keeps me so busy and gives me little time to focus on myself. I have a scheduled C-section date for December 6th. My due date is the 7th and I'm just hoping that the baby will wait until then. It is certainly cutting it close especially knowing that Grant came 10 days early. I was really hoping it would be scheduled sooner but I don't think there is much I can do about it now. My mom will be coming in town on December 2nd so as long as he doesn't come before the 2nd then we'll be OK! We're getting excited!

"Thank you" & "Hold you"

Well, really it's "Kank Koo." For a while now we've been teaching Grant to say "please" and "thank you." He's been saying "please" (actually "peas") for some time now but just recently has he been saying "thank you" after we give him something... usually food. Today for lunch he must have said it 10 times after every piece of food I gave him. It was very sweet and of course made me so proud that we have such a polite litte guy. Let's just hope it continues!!

Another precious thing he says is "hold you" when he wants to be held. I'm guessing that he picked that up because I've said, "Do you want mommie to hold you?" Even when I'm in the middle of making supper or busy cleaning, it melts my heart when he says, "Hold you mama, hold you" and I will usually stop and pick him up.

His vocabulary is really exploding. One day last week I started writing down all the words he's saying and I literally filled an entire page! Of course there are many words that are only understandable to Mike and I!

Spaghetti with a twist!

I thought I would share this yummy recipe that I found and made for supper tonight. It's something a little different than the ordinary spaghetti sauce and it turned out to be delicious!
I wasn't sure what Neufchatel cheese was so used regular cream cheese and I used the regular Zesty Italian dressing, what I had on hand.


Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese (I found it on Kraftfoods.com)
Prep Time: 10 minTotal Time: 30 minMakes: 6 servings

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup KRAFT LIGHT DONE RIGHT! Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp. PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese
12 oz. spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high. Add meat; cook, stirring frequently, until browned. Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 15 min. Remove from heat. Stir in cream cheese until well blended.
MEANWHILE, cook pasta as directed on package.
SPOON sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Whoops!

Sorry... I gave the wrong web address for the Julian family in my last post...

http://julian-family.blogspot.com

Baby Max

My heart is so heavy today for my close friend, Kelly. I won't go in to detail in this blog but please read this blog... http://jullian-family.blogspot.com and keep the family and baby Max in your prayers as they are all going through this difficult time. Please pass along this link so Max can have many, many prayers being lifted up for him.

Grant new fascination is with airplanes. He calls them "maymaaaaines" and points to the sky. They are all over the sky where we live so he sees them a lot. We go to base every week to meet Mike for lunch and go swimming and once we start getting close he's constantly saying "maymaaaine" and "daddy." I know he can't understand that his daddy is a pilot but he's definitely associating his daddy to airplanes. There is an outdoor airplane park on base and I love watching his face light up when we pass it. I guess it must in his blood with both his daddy and grandpa as pilots. Of course all this thrills Mike to death!

This is Mike and his 3 best friends from the squadron in front of his "maymaaaine."

New word

Well, I knew it was only a matter of time! Not that I'm proud about this one but Grant's new word of the week is "no." He's not really saying it in the right context, although he knows that it gets my attention. I'm trying to not respond when he says it but I know it won't be long and he'll get it right and I'll be hearing "no" for everything. Oh the fun of raising a toddler!!