6 Months Ago

Samuel turned 6 months today! It's hard to believe. And even harder to imagine that he'll be a year old in another 6 months! I love this age. He's so funny. He loves to laugh and is totally smiley. And Benjamin loves to make him laugh too.

6 months...which reminds me of when we first found out that Don would be going to Iraq. I was 39 1/2 weeks pregnant. We were on the phone and he said "I have good news and bad news." And that is just not what you ever want to hear from your military spouse (especially when you're less than a week away from delivering their baby). So, he says "The good new is that I'm not going anywhere until June or July. But the bad news is that I'm going to Iraq for about a year." My heart just sank. But somehow I managed to tuck it far away in the back of my mind. After all, we were getting ready to embark on one of the happiest days of our lives...meeting our new lil man. So, the next week I went to a doctor's appointment on a snowy icy-day (the boys' Aunt Nancy Ford's birthday, actually). And they admitted me. Don met me at the hospital...straight from work. And within hours we welcomed Samuel Thomas into our world. I think I can speak for both Don and I that it was one of the happiest days of our lives.

Now his deployment is reality. But we had a few short months for it to sink in and to adjust. And now I can't tuck it in the back of my mind. It's here and we just take one day at a time. And sure, some days are more difficult than others but then tomorrow comes and it's a new day. New challenges, new excitement and new precious firsts to rejoice in with baby Samuel. Our boys have been such a blessing in our lives. And I'm so very proud of my husband. The first month has gone by fast. Let's just hope that time continues to race on by!

Overall, today was a pretty uneventful day. I decided we would stick around the house after Benjamin cried out from bed around 4 a.m. Just loud enough to wake Samuel up. ugh. So, Samuel and I spent some one-on-one quality time very early this morning then he went back to sleep until 9 a.m. Benj was up around 6:45 a.m. for the day and woke up as if to say "I am Captain Crabbypants...hear me roar!" ugh. But after much drama about nothing he calmed down and I was able to catch a lil snooze on the couch before Samuel woke up. I was just thankful that I didn't have to work today.

Here is a photo I snapped this morning right after Samuel woke up. Benjamin really wanted to hold him so he ended up helping out a lil bit too.

It seemed like the morning really raced by after that and after lunch it was nap time. Samuel and I both managed to take naps but Benjamin fought it today (which is unusual for him). But after two attempts at tucking him back in for a nap he ended up playing with puzzles, books and colorforms in his room for about an hour while I snoozed. Gosh, I sound lazy today! I guess I was playing catch up from the past two nights. With Samuel traditionally being such a great night time sleeper these wake up calls are really throwing me for a loop.

After Benjamin's playtime and my restful time we went out to get the mail together and low and behold a post card from Daddy-O! Benj was so excited. We sat at the bottom of our stairs outside and read it and examined it closely front and back. Then we brought it inside and Benjamin proudly added it to his collection on the fridge of Army postcards from Daddy-O!

This afternoon Benjamin's friend Abby came over to play. They had a great time painting, playing with blocks and then we all went outside for a couple of walks around the block and some time at the playground. They all had a great time. Then home for dinner, bath time and bedtime. Phew! Now back to work tomorrow...which really helps break up my week.

Don did e-mail that he received the first package I sent him. I couldn't believe he got it already. I just sent it last week. He did remind me NOT to send anything that may be sensitive to the extreme temperatures until November when it shouldn't be so miserably hot. (I sent him circus peanuts...he loves them and Benjamin and him often enjoy them together...but apparently they turned into one big mass of goo. oops. He said they were still edible...just rather disgusting to look at).