It Is What It Is

Apparently I have an acrobat for a son. He's a climber. Climbs everything in sight. In fact most of my day is spent making sure that he doesn't bust his little noggin.
See... Here he is thinking he's Batman, gonna scale the side of his bookshelf.
At least he's a happy boy. This is the face I get to look at everyday, brings joy and warmth to my heart. He can light up my face with a smile in no time.
Riding his Tonka Truck around the living room. He watches to make sure that I'm watching him do it, and if by chance I glance away, He says "Mom" over and over again until I watch him ride it again.
Nana sent new Batman jammies. They are cozy and warm and he loves them. But sometimes I swear that when he wears them, he's extra rambunctious, like he is a little Batman.


Deployments. Ehhh...I'm not partial to them. Don't get me wrong, Jackson and I are getting by just fine. We always do. But it certainly is different now that he is older. He misses his Dad and doesn't understand why. He talks about his Daddy all day long, pretends like he's talking to him on his play phone, sings songs about him, and carts around his Daddy Doll room to room. There's just some things mom's can't do ya know. I try my best. I know I'm not his buddy like his Daddy is. I can't help feeling like Brandon is missing out on so much. Just in the last few weeks Jackson has grown so much. He is talking more, walking more, and of course exploring more.

The doctor once told me that I have a "spirited" boy. It's basically like saying he's very active. Jackson does everything to the tenth power. Which certainly makes for a tired Mama at the end of the day. Sometimes I feel like I'm living groundhog day, my days all blend together and are somewhat the same. We have our routine. Jackson is so smart. Smarter than I often give him credit for. Because just when I think I'm safe, he figures out a way to undo what I did, to climb or reach what I thought he couldn't, and to mess up what I've just cleaned up. I must say the age that he is right now is by far my favorite. I get so much enjoyment out of just watching him. What a happy delightful boy, so curious and spirited about everything in his path. I try as hard as I can to just soak up every moment with him.

It's also the most exhausting age. I'm so ready for bed at the end of the day. And doing it alone certainly hasn't made it easier. I want to share this with Brandon. I'm not sure if it's just the weather, or that it's fall, or maybe that I've had a horrible cold, but I seem to just be dragging by. Day after day, oh so tired. There's nothing to do but keep going. It is what it is. For now we wait. Wait until he comes home. And hope that when he gets here, we're not too tired to enjoy it.

Happy Halloween

Tired from laughing so hard. He had to lay back for a minute, so I caught this quick picture.
Cracking up laughing in his pumpkin outfit.
He hated the hat. He kept taking it off. But all the while laughed and laughed.

Today was Halloween for us in Japan. Jackson is still a little young to go trick or treating. And Brandon isn't home to enjoy it with us anyways. But I still wanted to dress him up and take a few pictures while he played today. Brandon and I were both pumpkins for Halloween when we were kids, so this outfit was quite fitting. We ended up staying home all day. It seems like everyone in Sasebo is sick, and going out to the harvest party on base to be stuck in the gym full of sweaty coughing kids didn't sound like fun at all. So we made our own fun instead. I dressed him up in his outfit and he couldn't stop laughing. He laughed the entire time, I guess he thought it was silly. He played for a long time while he drug his big pumpkin belly around the house with him. I made Jackson and I a great dinner, chicken enchiladas. And we split a baked cinnamon apple for dessert. We colored with markers, which is always a treat for him. He colored a pumpkin picture we got at the grocery store. He had a super fun bubble bath tonight and played with his boats. And then after he put on his jammies, we read his favorite book before bed. Might seem uneventful for most folks, but we tried to make it our own and it turned out to be a great day. Hope you all have a great harvest party yourselves.

Daddy Days

Brandon and Jackson on the ship...Jackson loves visiting Daddy at work!
Jackson's first birthday trip to the Nagasaki Zoo. Daddy and Jackson petting the kangaroos.
Playing in the ball pit together. Brandon gets right in there with him and Jackson loves it.
Visiting the Aquarium at the pier. Brandon and Jackson checking out the big tank together.
Relaxing at home. Brandon and Jackson playing batman.


Jackson is loving having his Daddy home. Brandon's home port visits usually don't last long, so we try and pack in as much quality time as we can as a family. This time around it has been so fun to go on our adventures. Since he's older now, he is just a hoot to take places. Brandon has had the time of his life bonding with Jackson as he grows. What a great Dad he is. I wanted to post some pictures of my two boys together.

Old and New

Over a year ago I wrote a post about where I was at in life. I read it recently, and feel like I am a different person, and I'm at a very different place in life. I have decided to re-post the older blog and then write below each statement how I feel I have changed over the course of the last year. Maybe this is for my own benefit over anything else, but feel free to read along.

Blog Titled: My life as I know it. Posted August of 2008
Things I'm learning about myself and about my life. Good and Bad. Some things I like. Some things I don't. But it's where I'm at right now.

-I hate being alone. And even more so hate being without Brandon.
~ I am now more comfortable then ever being alone. Maybe because I have to be so often. I will never enjoy being without Brandon.

-I love change, but am terrified of having to be outside of my comfort zone.
~I don't even think I have a "comfort zone" anymore. Most likely because I have lived outside of it for so long.

-The things I love most in life are what I fear losing the most. Turns out they aren't things at all.
~ This is still very relevant in my life.

-I am stronger than I thought.
~I know exactly how strong I am now, and just what I'm capable of doing.

-I don't like people as much as I used to. They disappoint me far to much for me to put any energy into them.
~I still feel like this, a lot more than I would like to.

-I am horrified at what American culture has become, yet I am still proud of where I come from.
~I am very patriotic, but still feel the same way about Americans today.

-Sometimes I think I am Super Wife. Could I get any better at it?
~ Not only am I Super Wife...I am now Super Mom....and yes, sometimes I amaze myself at how super I really am. ;o)

-I want people to change, but don't want to be the one to help them do it.
~I am more willing to help now a days, but get frustrated at the first sign of laziness.

-God really is in control.
~Amen

-I love to travel, but have decided that living in another country is not for me.
~I have come to the conclusion that home really is where the military sends us. Japan is my home. And some day my home could be in Texas or in Italy, and I am ok with it.

-Chocolate milk can always make a bad day good.
~Amen to that!

-I pick my nose way to much.
~Still do. I watched Dr. Oz one day and he said that it's dangerous to pick your nose, I was so bummed out, and tried not to do it. I think I made it a whole day and decided that it just wasn't worth it, I just had to pick it.

-I need to have my own life outside of being married, but don't want to. I'd rather just spend all my time with Brandon because it's comfortable. I can be me all the time.
~I am living the life. With and sometimes without the husband. It's all good to me!

-I need to learn not to organize everything. It takes the fun out of it.
~Still working on this. I need organization. But I am more than ok with my son making messes to fuel his curiosity and help his imagination grow.

-Painting my toes will always make me smile.
~Someone else painting them makes me smile even bigger!

-I'm sometimes honest to a fault.
~Still very true. I will always tell the truth.

-I am independent only when I have to be.
~Wow, not sure who that woman was....whoever she was, she hadn't taken care of a newborn baby in a foreign country by herself yet, and she certainly hadn't taken an 11 month old on an international traveling spree. Nothing makes you feel like you are independent more than being a mom.

-I'm capable of doing just about anything, including take care of myself. But I don't want to.
~ I am a champ at taking care of me and now everyone else, all day everyday. Bring it on!

-Immaturity is my biggest irritation. I can rarely tolerate people from the age of 15 to 24. There are a few exceptions, but not many.
~Still my biggest pet peeve. People that think they've got it all figured out and act like they are still in high school. Get over yourself.

-Moving to Japan was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. For more than one reason. It's still hard. But I'm so glad that I did it.
~I am sooo glad I did it. But it doesn't make it any easier.

-I am addicted to Starbuck's Bottled Frappuccinos. I drink one every morning, and even then I want another one.
~ I have cut this habit. I still love me some coffee, just not everyday, and lower in calories.

-I hate being pregnant, but can't wait to meet my son. I will be a much better mother than I am a pregnant woman.
~My son is Amazing! And all I want to do is be the best mom I can be. Pregnant Me will have to wait a few more years, I'm so not ready to do it again yet.

-I wish I could see myself like Brandon sees me. The way he looks at me sends me to the moon.
~I love that man! And Lord knows I'm still over the moon for him.

-I love the military, but don't like what we fight for anymore.
~ What do we fight for again? I think that most Americans don't even know.

-I never cried at weddings until I got married.
~Still true. Watched my friend Brittany get married this summer and cried like a baby while she recited her vows.

-I still get butterflies when Brandon smiles at me.
~Boy do I ever. We've been married for over 5 years now.

-Friends have their own life.
~Yes they do, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

-My brother is grown up and can make his own choices. But I still wish he would do what I tell him to.
~I have never felt more strongly about this than I do now.

-I am turned off by selfishness.
~In a big way. Especially now that I put my needs behind someone elses every day. But that's what being a mom is all about, right?!

-I have wanted to do a million different professions in my life. All are different and they change on a day to day basis. The only things that stay the same are that I want to be a good wife and mother.
~I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. But whatever it is, I am more than content with what I'm doing now, Being a Wife and Mother.

-Sad songs always play when I don't want them to.
~Very True. Always when I drop Brandon off on the pier and say goodbye and get back in the car.

-My parent's get cooler and cooler as I get older. I don't tell them enough how great they are.
~ I tell them more often now. But I'm pretty sure they are cooler now then they were when I wrote that.

-Brandon really is my other half and my best friend. I am amazed that God made him just for me sometimes, and what a good job he did. He's everything I ever wanted.
~Couldn't have said it better myself.

-I really could eat my Grandma Dot's orange salad every day until I died.
~I think of her when I eat it. I think of her everyday anyways, the orange salad is just icing on the cake.

-I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams, and am fully satisfied with my life. But I still want to be a better person.
~I am a better person since I last wrote that. I still want this for my life, I think everyone should.

My New Car

Took pictures from all angles. This is the Driver's Side.
The Back. Has tons of trunk space. Will fit Jackson's stroller and groceries and have room for more, something our other car couldn't do.
The Front. Brandon is waiting for me to "get in the car woman". When we sit in this car our shoulders don't touch, like in the other car.
Passenger Side. It's super cute, and drives like a dream!


Finally got a new car. The little Suzuki Wagon R that we have is just not quite big enough for us. Imagine a metal lunch box on wheels with the motor of a moped.... So today we bought a BMW 320 i. It has the extra room that we need and was a great price. It will be perfect for us for the rest of our tour here in Japan.

Phone Nazi

Jackson has an interesting "Lovey". Different from most kids' blankies or stuffed animals. Jackson loves the....Phone.

Since Jackson was just a few months old, he has known about the phone. His Daddy has been away often in Jackson's short life, and the only way for them to stay connected was by using the phone. I would hold the phone to Jackson's ear and let him hear his Dad's voice. And for a long time, that's all he knew about the phone, was that it was his Daddy. Whenever the phone would ring, or he would see the phone, he would say...Dada. Now that we are home, he gets to see his dad a lot more often then he did before.

But now there is a new person at the end of the phone line. His Nana. So his love affair with the phone is far from over. Jackson will carry the phone around with him all day. In fact we let him play with the old house phone, so that he wont use the current house phone to dial strange numbers. For some reason he knows the difference. He wants the phone that I use. He will bring it to me and say...Nana. So I will call her so that he can babble into the phone and listen to her voice with the phone pressed against his ear. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

He also gets very upset when we hang up. He will cry and hold the phone to his face. He thinks the phones are his. He gets upset when I take one from him and use it, even though he has 3 more to play with. He must have the phone within his sight at all times it seems. He wants to play with all of them at the same time, he loves my cell phone as well because he gets to talk to Daddy at work on my cell phone. He holds all of "his" phones on his lap and one at a time will press buttons and hold it up to his face.

I know that all kids have their attachments, but this one just makes me laugh. It's not the only thing that he likes, it's just the thing he like most at the moment. It comforts him for some reason. And since it's so silly, I thought I'd share it with you.

12 Months

Jackson playing with his Tonka Truck in his playroom....


I just realized that I hadn't posted about Jackson's latest stats. So here are a few things that he's been up to. He just turned a year old last week, and has grown like crazy lately. He is now weighing in at 24 pounds and is 30 inches tall. What a busy boy he is, always playing hard, but never seems to wear out. He loves to eat, and I have yet to find anything that he doesn't like. He is a vegetable lover, which I am pleased with, and isn't so hot about sweets, which I am even more pleased with. We are currently working on his reading skills, using the "your baby can read" program, and he is doing quite well so far. He's really soaking things up like the little sponge that he is. And his vocabulary has doubled since last month. He is super attached to his dad and wants to spend every second he can with him. He loves playing with his trucks and plastic animal figures in his playroom. He also loves "helping" me in the kitchen get out all of the things I need out of drawers and cupboards. He is constantly in a joyful mood and loves to laugh, I find it contagious. I am loving this age on him, it's so much fun just to be with him! How blessed we are.