The big "reveal"

Pete has wanted to cut Pres' hair for weeks. I've been fighting it as I love his baby curls. I decided that while he was gone (and I had Chrissy who knows how) I would give Pres a nice little buzz cut to surprise my hubby with. It was quite the experience with Preston having an absolute fit about the whole thing. Once it was over, he was completely happy and kept giggling at his new reflection! The amazing thing is that I had noticed his roots were coming in blond. My auburn haired baby boy is now a full blown blonde!

The "before" shot. He had a bribe of a Little Debbie cake and a Thomas video. He had no idea what was coming!


The "during" shot. He looks as if he is being tortured, but all of that crying didn't seem to stop him from eating his cake!


All of his curls...gone...a little sad for this mommy!


Here is a good "after" shot. It was taken the next day. He looks like such a big boy!


Pete was so pleased with his hair. It was worth all of the effort to make both of my boys so happy! Pres loves not having to wash his hair like before and keeps rubbing his head saying "soft" and Pete loves that his baby boy and he have the same hair cut! Here's a shot Pete took of Pres in his boots with his new hair cut.

Chrissy's Visit

Chrissy finally made it home last night after a one day delay. I owe her big time for putting up with small town airports!!!!! Anyways...we had a great time. It's amazing how quickly the time goes. It felt like she was only here for a quick visit when in fact it ended up being 11 days! We spent our days extremely busy and yet not really doing too much. I was able to play with Asher and watch Chrissy play with Preston. In short (and because my time with her is special and I'll keep it in my heart) we stayed up too late talking at night, had lots of yummy dinners, did a lawn project (owe her big for that one too!), and got acquainted with each others' kiddos!

Thank you so much for coming Chrissy and give that big 'ole hubby of yours a hug for me for missing you and Asher for 11 days! (Also Ry...Riverwood or bust my friend...this time was like a big teaser for what could be!)

Here are some pictures of the visit. We didn't take too many because we really just spend our time enjoying the moments instead of worrying about capturing them.


Perhaps another future rock star in the making?!

Preston deciding he wants to be the baby for a bit!

The "high chair posse"...these boys get to grow up together and now I have pictures to embarrass them with in their teenage years!

Pete was able to spend two days with them as well! Asher was in full missing daddy mode and was glad to have a scratchy face in the house! This picture is so near and dear to me because Asher's expression is so much like his daddy's! I have a picture of Pete and Ryan coming home from Afghanistan and you could substitute Asher for Ryan...it's amazing!


A BIG P.S. We did one more thing while Chrissy was here with Preston...the big reveal as to what it was is coming later in the week!

Florida

Preston and I snuck down to Florida for about a week. When I say snuck, I mean with a capital "S" because my doctors would be none too happy to have me far away. Oh well...Pete was leaving, I needed to try out my new meds and couldn't be alone...after all, I am supposed to be resting. I didn't really have any other options. Luckily my mom came and drove me down and then will be driving me back on the 7th.

Here are some updates:

Tried the new heart meds and did not tolerate them AT ALL! I was stumbling around like an old drunk man! I went back down to my old dose and am doing okay. I'm having some uncomfortable tachy moments, but nothing too severe.

Pete is in SERE school. We miss him-especially Pres. My little guy is having MAJOR separation anxiety and won't let me out of his sight right now. He asks for daddy as soon as he wakes up from nap and bedtime and it gets a little hairy as I remind him that daddy is away at school but will be home soon. I hope this will taper off in a week or so as he gets used to the routine again with just me. Sneaking to Florida has helped as my dad is helping with lots of snuggles for Pres. This means that either myself or my dad has Pres nipping at our heels all day long. As for myself, it sucks being 9 months preggo (tomorrow!)without the hubby.

Chrissy and Asher are coming to visit!!!!!! I am so excited! For the last 10 days that Pete is gone my BFF is going to come and be with me! Woo-hoo!!!!! If I can't have Pete with me then Chrissy is the only person that can come close 2nd(sorry Chrissy...I think Pete is cuter or you'd probably be my number 1!) I also get to meet that beautiful baby boy of hers and I CAN NOT WAIT! She will come and boss me and make me rest and that is why I love her! Not too many people have the balls to put me in my place but Chrissy is one of them!

Please pray for a family member. They are not doing well and it looks as if they won't be with us for much longer.

Last and certainly not least, Ashlyn is coming soon! I can't wait to meet her and I also can't wait to not be pregnant! I look forward to the days when I have two beautiful children, normal size hands, feet, and face and no more porn star boobs...oh and a heart that beats like a normal persons!

Makes a Father Proud (and want to puff out his chest)

Aunt Chrissy got Pres these great pj's that read "FUTURE ROCK STAR". After bath we put them on and Pres ran in his room to play. He was making all kinds of noise so upon further investigation we found him in his room with his microphone singing "la la la" and dancing!


My little rock star!

Happy Birthday Chrissy!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday to the wonderful woman whom I have had the privilege to call my best friend for more than six years now! (Can you believe you've been stuck with me this long?!)




Happy Birthday Glitter





Thank you for always being a true friend and telling me what I always need to hear (even the tough stuff!)


P.S. For those of you reading can you believe that she is 7 months preggo in this picture?! So not fair that she looks that good!

Piggly Wiggly, Cotton Fields, and a sign that read "Sausage Breakfasts is here again"...

...Sweet Home Alabama!!! Greetings bloggy world from Enterprise, Alabama. Pete and I are up here this weekend to find a home. It was an adventurous trip with everything from a blown tire to the house we had driven up to see having already been rented!

We left last night at about 7pm EST and got into town about 2am CST. It was a long trip, but my baby boy was good. He didn't sleep much with all of the excitement of the trucks and tire exploding, but he was good. We checked into our room and all fell fast asleep. I got up to go to the bathroom at about 5am CST and I heard Pete talking. I assumed that Pres had woken up and was surprised when he handed me the phone. It was Chrissy letting me know that she was in labor!!!!!!! Sweet baby Asher was born at 5am AZ time this morning and is absolutely beautiful. My kick booty friend had a completely natural birth! Go Chrissy!!!!! After all of this excitement I was awake, so I played the waiting game for my boys to wake up. We got up this morning and headed out to look at houses. It was a big pain in the neck with everything from lost appointments to losing our rental. We finally found a cute little house in the nearby town of New Brockton. Now it's the waiting game to see if we get the house- competition up here for rentals is fierce!

The move is coming up quickly and it looks as if we'll be in Alabama in November. It's your typical military town with lots of pawn shops, Chinese buffets, and barber shops by the dozen! The cotton fields are just beautiful! I told Pete when we saw them that now I really feel like a southerner!

We spent some time on post today and it too is like all of the others. Lots of woods, slow speed limit, and bald men everywhere! It's fire safety month and the Fort Rucker fire department was at the Exchange with their big truck, balloons and plastic fire hats! Needless to say, Pres was in heaven!

We are back at the hotel now and Pres is finally napping. I should take a snooze myself, so I'll end this post here!

Pres likes his infant seat...15 months too late!

My dear friend Chrissy is about to pop any day now with the birth of her first son. I can't wait for him to get here. I've had tons of fun going through all of Pres' old toys and passing them along. It's a blessing to know that these things that Pres loved will now be able to be loved by baby A! Slowly but surely we've been sending everything out. This week the last items were sent. The stroller, car seat, and cradle.

Pete had them set out in the dining area so he wouldn't forget to take and have them shipped the other morning. I was making Pres' breakfast and didn't even think that he would be interested in the items. After all, the car seat has NO special memories for Pres. He hated that thing from the moment we put him in it and only slept in it when he had exhausted himself screaming! Having said this, imagine my surprise when I go to get Pres to feed him breakfast and I find him like this:


It was too much and I stood there taking as many pictures as I could. After all, I don't think I have any of him actually in it when he was little-he was always screaming!

Canada

I would like to give a big thank you to all of the Lawson clan for making me feel so welcome. Guy and Judy (Ryan's parents) were so sweet and I had a wonderful time in their home.

I traveled to Canada with Chrissy for her "baby party" as Jaima (who I'll introduce later) called it. We had a looooooooong day of travel to get to our final destination, and an eventful trip. On our first flight into Maine, we were stuck on the tarmac for 1 1/2 hours! This doesn't sound like a lot, but when you have the only two tv's that don't work on the plane, screaming kids in front of you, and a strong desire to get going so you can get your iPod video going; it is excrutiating. The flight itself was interesting. We had two obnoxious kids and their even more obnoxious parents in front of us, a poor old woman who peed herself in her seat thus thus leaving Chrissy and I between feeling sorry for her and being really grossed out by the smell, and a landing that was like an amusement ride when the pilot decided to tip ALLLLLL the way to the right.

We finally arrived in Portland, Maine and had a 4 hour drive into Canada. It was on this long drive that I realized I didn't have my passport. I was panicked. I think everyone was a little concerned. Little did we know that our tax dollars are going to great use with trained professionals who are not only a bit bored with their jobs, but are guilty of profiling. Guess I didn't fit the "terrorist" profile and really had no difficulty going back and forth across the border.

We arrived in Woodstock around 2am local time and were greeted by Ryan's brother and his cutie girlfriend Jaima. She was adorable. You would think after all of that, we would be exhausted, but we were pretty keyed up and she and I spent a hour or so giggling like school girls in Ryan's childhood bedroom. I had a blast nosing around at all of the pictures. All I have to say about that is MULLET!!!!!! ha ha ha!

On Friday we were taken out of the house by Ryan's brother Brad and his girlfriend. I think they had strict orders to keep us out of the house while all of the festivities were being set up. We went across the border to Holton, Maine. This was when I really noticed the profiling. Poor Brad was harassed on the way out and on the way back in! It was the 4th of July, so not much was open. We quickly headed back to their house and began to get ready for the party. Judy would not let us help AT ALL, so with not too much to do, Chrissy gave me a maternity fashion show as she decided what to wear.

That night about 40 strangers all converged to the house. It was the biggest group of strangers I have had to meet in a while. Everyone was so gracious and kind-especially Cindy and Phyllis. Those two made me think of apple pie! Chrissy got a ton of wonderful gifts and it was fun. Here's some pics from the party.

Chrissy and I as the party was winding down. I think you can see that our lack of sleep was catching up with us!
Chrissy, Ryan's Grampy and I. He was the cutest man. He wanted even more pictures taken!
Chrissy, Ryan's Grampy and Jaima-isn't she a cutie!?
Chrissy and Brad-poor Brad. I dragged him inside where the ladies were under false pretenses and then preceded to embarrass him as a "Ryan" substitute for a "Baby Features" game. He was a good sport and sat down to be scrutinized!







The next day we crossed the border again and went to this beautiful lake house in Maine. It was gorgeous. The water was fresh water and you could see all the way to the bottom. I had a fun time throwing water balloons using a giant sling and ate a ton of good food. We left that night and had a rest and then headed over the Ryan's Grampy's house (he lives one house down from Ry's parents). I got to see some really cool pictures of Ryan as a toddler and he was adorable with chubby cheeks and curly blond hair!

Sunday was our travel day and we had an uneventful travel time, but with the same strange landing. Maybe it's Jet Blue's planes or something. We came home to my six year anniversary party already in progress and boogied the night away at my house!

Thank you Chrissy for such a fun time. As always, I enjoy every minute with you. I have even more silly memories like Mandy the cat stalking you!

Here's a pic minus one FF gal

I snagged this off of Chrissy's baby website. It's a pic of Ab, me, and Chrissy. Jax wasn't in town yet, so we'll have to get together again soon to take a pic of us all! Isn't Chrissy a hottie pregnant?! You probably couldn't even tell if I didn't mention it! We are at the St. Louis Zoo. We had tons of fun despite the downpour and all enjoyed looking at the animals with soggy feet! My favorite was the polar bears!