And so the countdown begins...

Since I didn't address Memorial Day in the last post - Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to everyone who serves our country directly as active duty military and indirectly as the families behind them!

First off, my baby boy who was pulling himself up a few times a day into a standing position is now pulling himself up every single chance he gets. He'd be walking right now if he's just walk and not try to run. I was sitting in our cat napper - the recliner - watching Jackson crawl by the stairs. He's never had a fascination with them before, but I knew it was coming. And it did. He's actually pretty good considering. He got up a few before deciding to do something else.

I was told that at 9 months old, children do not understand the concept of "no". However, I think Jackson does. We've been working on the cat food issue for a few weeks. Since there isn't another place for it, Jackson just has to learn not to touch it. Every morning when he follows the cat to his bowls and tries to grab it, I say "no". Early on, I would go get him and walk him somewhere after. Now, I can see him going for it and say "no" and he backs off. It's pretty amazing really. What a genius baby we have!

Jonathon had his "pre op" for his eye surgery yesterday. Poor guy had to be there at 7:45 am. He switched his whole schedule for only one day, which is always hard to do. He came home exhausted, goofy, and he couldn't see. (They dilated his eyes) They should call him with his appointment time soon. He's so excited to not need glasses or contacts, but nervous that they're going to work on his sight.

Jonathon and I have started preparations for him leaving. After thinking about it, as much as I hate him leaving, I'm SO glad he's not going to Afghanistan or Iraq again. I worried so much while he was there, and his job was no easy task. At least in Korea, he'll have steady hours and it will work the same as stateside. I'm also thankful that he is desk sergeant qualified, and his flight chief has some contacts in Korea, and Jonathon could very well get a desk sergeant job there. He would be inside a building all day!! He's excited for that.

We've just planned that he'll take leave mid tour, or around Jackson's birthday, and we'd take a vacation somewhere. I guess that's all the news over here. I know it's not very exciting. Maybe as we get stuff packed and the ball rolling I'll have better news!

Keep on keepin on...

Another week, another post. Our big "win" this week is Jackson is officially pulling himself up to a standing position. He loves to pull him self up to the couch to grab the cat, or the remotes to the tv. I am SO glad our cat is so understanding. To date, we haven't had one incident with him getting angry with Jackson. We're teaching him to be gentle, but I think that process takes time. In the mean time, I love that our cat just lets Jackson pull on him, slap him, etc, without attacking my baby. Poor kitty!

Jackson really loves how much he's able to move around now. He's getting frustrated that he can't walk yet, but crawling will have to do. Our whole downstairs is baby proofed, minus the cat food and water. I love that he can crawl just about anywhere and I don't worry if he'll get hurt or get into something. Currently, he's not interested in the stairs or the bathroom...but those things will change and when they do we'll have to block those off.

Jonathon called me on Monday evening and told me he got orders to...wait for it............flippin Korea. I think I'm still shocked. I'm not sure it has hit either one of us yet - but I know currently Jonathon is very excited to get base of preference when he gets home. Jackson and I will no doubt move to Colorado so that I'm not completely alone here. Where and when is undecided, but it seems like the best option. I have lots of friends with kids near Jackson's age, and with all the family around, Jackson will have so much fun. Lots of people have said that we can visit Jonathon. I'm not sure if I'll attempt that flight with a baby - but I know he should at least get a break somewhere in there. If he's able to leave, it's a quick hop to Japan or China. I guess we'll see!

So, it's time to make a plan and figure things out. It's time to jump on board with this crazy idea and make it work. I'm going to look into Skype so that Jonathon and Jackson can say their goodnights and goodmornings. I'm going to load up on paper so we can write him letters. I'll make friends with the Fort Collins post office again since I'll be back in there 2x a month sending packages. I'll make sure I have the right phone cards to send. I'll make sure to send him videos of Jackson's "newest" thing.

Jonathon and I have done this before and we can do it again. We appreciate all the support we've gotten and prayers offered! This is our newest adventure.

Kind of late...

A little late, huh? Sorry about my lack of writing. It seems like Jonathon and I have been so busy lately. We'll hit some highlights:

* Jackson went from "Army crawling" to a true crawl, on his hands and knees, TODAY, May 23. I cried. Jon made fun of me.

* He's pulling himself up to the third shelf of our tv stand. He thinks it's hilarious while I have a heart attack.

* The Joint Base Andrews Air Show was a blast! Jonathon worked, so I went with friends and my baby boy. We did meet up with Jackson's dad on the way home. I got an awesome sunburn. Jackson slept through the F-22's because I got him shooting range ear protection. Thank you Dick's Sporting Goods for making my afternoon tear free for my boy.

* My sister, Melanie, is doing awesome in New York with her Christian program. It's a lot of fun writing to her and building that relationship.

* I learned how to make chicken and dumplings. I have always loved when my parents made it, and I finally attempted it on my own. Jonathon ate 2 helpings.

* Congratulations to my cousin, Justin and his wife, Melanie, for becoming parents today! (May 23, 2010) His name is Brian Daniel, after her brother and his brother. He was 6lbs - which is so cute to me because I don't think Jackson weighed that in my 9th month at all. I can't wait to meet him!

* We looked into plane tickets to the Midwest to visit families. WHOA summer prices. Normally the money isn't a huge factor, but apparently going to Nebraska or Colorado costs the same as a California or Las Vegas vacation. What is that?

* I'm already looking into photographers to do J's 1 year photos. I found a few great ones, but I wish I lived closer to Aunt Michelle because she's the best. Such is life. I'll have to find a second best. I can't believe it's time to schedule that! (For an August shoot) I'm hoping to use one of the photos for his birthday invitations. We're also hoping Jonathon can get leave so that we can have a midwest cowboy birthday. If not, no big deal. We'll have fun here, too!

* It was so nice having my mom here as an unexpected surprise. I'm so glad that God blessed my sister with such an amazing opportunity and that I got a couple days with my mom before she had to go back to the kiddos. It was such a short few days, but I'm glad she got to rest up a bit before hitting the road for the 25 hour drive.

* Emilie is done with school! Matthew is done this week. It's so odd not to be there for their summer breaks. I'm so used to hanging out with them. From my understanding, they have great grades and Matt is ready for high school and Em is ready for middle school!! What happened to my LITTLE brother and sister?

* Andrew, Jonathon's little brother - who isn't so little - went to his first prom this year. I'm even shocked by this considering I met him four years ago. Time flies! The pictures of him looked great!

* Due to way too many emails to answer, Facebook is back. Add me as a friend, my account is reactivated. I miss my friends & it's nice to keep up!

Oh no! Baby proofing!

So my baby isn't so much of a baby anymore. I mentioned he crawls, and he LOVES to stand. In fact, his favorite thing is when Daddy comes down stairs when he wakes up and sits on the couch while holding onto J's torso so that Jackson can stand and jump "on his own". Jonathon gets worn out faster than Jackson! J can hold himself up if he's holding onto the couch, etc. I've been putting it off, but Jonathon and I took a trip to Babies R Us and bought a walker.

They only had TWO styles. What the heck? The first one looked like it was from 1990, but we tried it out. Jackson mastered to go backwards in the store. Then we tried the much cooler Jeep version (made by Jeep and looks like a Jeep). It comes with rear view mirrors and a steering wheel. Side note - when we put Jackson in a shopping cart, he holds on with BOTH hands and it's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen. When we put him in the Jeep, he quickly found the steering wheel and pushed himself around. Are you kidding? Where did my baby go?

So, Jeep wins. It was $30 more than the other - but hey, he loved it! Then we went to a steakhouse where Jon got salmon and steak. I got queso - but they brought out a plate of steak that was cut up to put inside the queso dip. It honestly looked close to ground beef it was cut so small. Jackson had a taste of that *loved it* and loved the rye bread. Jackson's pedi suggested we give him real food, and I've been chicken in the past - but he does so well with it. He loves his juice in his sippy cup and his "mum mum's" (rice rusks, it's a real thing).

In other news, we had a NFL draft party. How Jackson slept through 8 guys in my living room is beyond me. They had a blast and looks like some good picks were made!

Jonathon and I are working on our outdoor storage tomorrow...fun... Jackson has outgrown so much gear that it's time to pack it away for another day. It's one of many projects we need to get done and probably the least fun. Time to knock it out!

I also got such an amazing phone call from my dad. Congrats to my "Dade" and I'm so happy prayers were answered! Praise God.

Nuke Summit DONE!

We're finally done with that crazy work schedule of Jonathon's - which in turns makes my schedule also pretty crazy. Now it will be back to normal...normal and uneventful is music to my ears!

In unexciting news, Jonathon found out there is a Buffalo Wild Wings in Bowie (a town we frequent for most restaurants). I've never been there, but he seemed excited in telling me the story on how he found out. This was at 1pm, he leaves for work at 4pm. I told him we should go before he has to leave for work. I don't think I've ever seen him get ready for work so fast!! It was actually actually a pretty good choice, although somehow we got the worst waitress in the place. Such is life. He was excited about it, and now we have a new place to go.

Jonathon's name got lifted off of the "has to be in Maryland list". He was so happy about that. He hates Maryland, I think way more than I do, and has been trying to get out of here for a while. It was decided the best route for that is for him to go on a remote tour. For the record, I wasn't a fan, but I also know it's extremely rare to do a 20 year career in the military and NOT do a remote tour. May as well do it when Jackson won't be able to remember him being gone. In doing this, he'll also get to choose his base for when he gets back. His goal is to choose a place that doesn't deploy 6 months on, 6 months off. He talks about Colorado Springs being a good choice. Something my Aunt Laurie told me when I was looking at colleges is, "whether you're a 4 hour flight or a 4 hour drive away, it's still 4 hours". I've always remembered that and as long as Jon is safe, it doesn't matter much.

Whatever base we're at next needs to be an important choice, because Jackson will no doubt start school there. (Let's not even think about him being that old) So we'll do some more research. I'm secretly hoping orders drop for a great base without the remote tour, but I'm realistic in those odds.

Something Jonathon and I have recently implemented is Saturday as chore day and Sunday as a family day. Now that our Baby J is on a good schedule we know what we can expect and that makes planning a lot easier...obviously. So, 2 Sundays a month we'll be able to do something as a family and hopefully we can get some home projects knocked out on Saturdays. Growing up, I LOVED Friday nights (still my favorite day) because I got to stay up late and it was our "pizza and soda" night - but I dreaded Saturday mornings because my parents and sisters were busy til the afternoon with chores. I mostly played and acted busy (don't tell anyone I admitted to that) but now that I'm old...Saturday is back to being my nemesis.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not yet, but Jackson officially "army crawls". He uses his forearms more than his hands to crawl and it's actually quite efficient. He always gets to where he needs to go. His favorite toy happens to be our $1300 computer. Great. We only have a warranty for another year, so he better get it out of his system. I don't actually "let" him play with it, but he loves buttons so much and he's so gentle and doesn't pound on the keys...he taps them. The second I put it down, he races to get to it just to touch it. He also loves remotes and phones. Buttons; who knew?!

I guess I'm in a writing rut, and my posts aren't very organized or build up to a point - but this is what's going on in our very busy house!

He's a big boy!

I don't feel like anything really exciting has happened this week. Jonathon has been working his tail off, so Jackson and I have been trying to organize, clean and of course play to our hearts content.

Jackson did hit a few milestones this week. He took a "big boy" bath on Friday night. His tub can still hold him, but he slips off the seat, so we tried it in the big bathtub and he LOVED it. I was a bundle of nerves at first, but he did so well. He liked putting his hands under the shower head and he laughed when I had to rinse off his back with it. He's such a fish, it's too precious.

He also grabbed his bottle of juice and fed himself! I have never seen him do this before as he has zero interest in holding his bottle of formula at night time. But he is all about independence during the day, at night he's a momma's boy.

J is loving that he can stand steadily as he holds onto things. He did it for the first time in his crib today and it took him all of 3 seconds to start chomping on the crib railings. We'll have to pick up some plastic barriers.

He's been in a crabby mood the last few days. I'm pretty sure he'll be working on those top 2 teeth, if not now, pretty soon. Good thing we have teething tablets!

Even though Jackson and I didn't do anything too special, I have felt so busy. I never seem to have too much time left in my day. I did feel homesick for the first time in a very long time tonight. Jon was at work, and my family was heading to church. I miss church and I'll be excited to find a good one at our next base so that even when Jonathon is working, Jackson and I can have some Holy time. He hasn't been formally dedicated, but I still pray with him before bedtime and I know he'll be a great instrument for Jesus' work.

Jon and I made a deal we wouldn't eat out for a month. This may end up killing us seeing as how we live at restaurants. So far, so good! I honestly will miss our nights out, but Jon likes my cooking so as long as he's happy, I'll be happy.

Here are some pictures from J's "big boy" bath.

Happy Easter!

Jackson and I both thoroughly enjoyed Jonathon's week off. It was a great surprise to find out he would be home for so long. Although his case of poison ivy is pretty unfortunate, this also meant he didn't go to the gym so we took advantage of the time and ended up preparing an Easter party.

I spent a majority of Easter Sunday cleaning and cooking. I made the ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs (or angel eggs as Emilie calls them) and a strawberry/jello/cool whip mixture and it actually turned out great. I made salsa earlier in the week and we got a platter of cookies to serve as well. Who knew everyone would say that it was all great...without lying?! Jon has about half of the 9lb ham left and he's excited since we don't make ham often. Jackson got his Easter basket. It included TWO different kind of puffs (which he loves), a Toy Story beach towel for summer swimming, Toy Story Band-Aids, and two summer outfits. It will be so much fun as he gets older and can get real toys and treats. The boys also dyed eggs which Jackson thought was kind of cool, actually.

It was nice to meet some of Jon's coworkers that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before then. They were all nice, but I have to admit it was so funny to hear a couple of them ONLY refer to my husband as "Sergeant Bayliff". I understand they were lower ranking and it's a respect thing, but still funny to me. They all wanted to play with Jackson. He doesn't have that "stranger danger", he just wanted to keep playing with someone new. Jon's troop even said she wanted to babysit.

Now, Sergeant Bayliff has to go back to work. :( He has to work about 11 days straight. I'm not exactly sure why but I may have heard something about an air show coming or something. He said he thought it was next month and he wished he would have known because he would have sent me home since he'll be so busy, but we're fine being here at OUR home and there is always stuff needing to get done. Preparing for our Easter gathering, laundry took a back seat and I now have a good pile waiting for my attention. Plus, Jackson and I would miss Jonathon too much. It's nice to have family time without interruptions, or a holiday that takes a lot of work - just focusing on our little unit.

Jackson is growing and growing. He is getting bored in his exersaucer, even if we switch up the toys that are on it. I tried putting it off, but it looks like he's ready for a walker. Each morning, Jackson and I come downstairs and he insists on being put on the rug where he can sit up, roll around and have a mountain of toys beside him. Blue's Clues, Praise Baby or Toy Story is on as background noise and we start our day. It's just so hard to believe he's going to be mobile! I'm waiting another 6 weeks or so for the weather to get to the point where it's warm everyday and then we're going to get a baby pool. They make them with overhead shade now and Jackson is already such a fish that I think he'll really enjoy it.