Chicken pox, schmicken pox... :(

So yesterday it appeared that I spoke too soon about Leila taking the pox so well. Last night was a disaster trying to get her to sleep. She went to bed on her own really well at 8:30 but right as I was falling asleep at 11 she woke up screaming. I fed her and tried to comfort her, but she just wasn't having it. When I tried to lie her down she would just thrash around rather violently and so I put her in bed with me. I never sleep very well with her in bed and she woke up about 4 or 5 times to eat. Between her waking up so much, and poor Kolt's cough, I just didn't get much sleep at all.

Today she had times where she was her wonderfully happy self, and other times where she would just scream. It really made me appreciate just how good of a baby she is because this was completely foreign to me and honestly, just broke my heart. Poor baby. She didn't scream all day, just intermittently thank goodness. I only hope that it isn't going to get worse. We dosed her up on tylenol for her fever tonight, and some benadryl to help with the itchiness right before bed. Hopefully she'll sleep. She's lying back there peacefully now, I only pray it lasts. If it doesn't, well then I'll be even more tired tomorrow. Kolt is working tomorrow night but then has a four day weekend, maybe he'll give me a chance to nap on one of those days off.

I do think that I really want to at least do a little something for Christmas. We don't have to get an eight foot tree and spend a fortune on ornaments, but I would like to get a little tree and decorate it. My mother in law made a good point in saying that Kolt may not even be home for Christmas next year (a thought that breaks my heart) and so we need to make this first one special. He is working the days surrounding Christmas and Christmas itself though, just like last year :( But hopefully we'll have a chance to celebrate later on that morning.

My other holiday dilemma stems from wanting to get in the Christmas spirit by baking yummy goodies. I am trying SO hard to eat well and lose weight, I don't want to lose my momentum just because it's the holidays. Kolt also has a PT test sometime in December and I'm sure he'd appreciate not being tempted by lots of junk as well. We don't really even have any neighbors to take it to as everyone moved out this past summer. So if anyone has some healthier holiday goody options, I am ALL ears :)

Chicken Pox, weight loss, and the holidays...

My poor little Leila has come down with the chicken pox. Although in actuality, she's really doing just fine. I noticed a few days ago she had what i assumed was just a big baby zit and I didn't think much of it. Then the next day I felt a bump on the back of her head, again not really all that concerned. Then yesterday she had one pop up on her ear lobe and that just seemed odd (I'm glad Kolt didn't let me pierce her ears when we were in Idaho!). So today I called the doctor and took her in and it took 3 doctors to confirm it, but she is in fact, a 3 month old with chicken pox. It took us the better part of the day to figure out how she'd gotten it, turns out our niece has it as well. And after freaking out thinking "Oh my gosh my baby has the chicken pox!" I thought, "Oh, it's just the chicken pox" realizing that especially at her age, it's really no big deal. She has been acting her perfectly pleasant self and if anything is only eating and sleeping a little more. She only had about 5 yesterday but now they're popping up all over her and it's too many to count. My only sadness about this is it may prevent us from going to our friend's house who's deploying this weekend. We'll keep an eye on it and if she's healing then we're definitely going.

I am FINALLY in some pre pregnancy pants!!!!! Granted, they're not the ones I wore directly pre pregnancy as I'd lost 20 lbs before becoming pregnant, but they're not new fat pants and they're not maternity!!!! Mostly I can credit it to an awful stomach bug I had over the weekend. I lost 4 lbs in 3 days. But I have been making a very conscientious effort to eat well. The last several times we've gone out to eat I've eaten from the healthy menu choices, and I'm very proud of myself. I think I've finally shrunk my stomach down and I no longer feel like I'm starving all the time, which of course makes eating well and less much much easier. Hurray for me :)

Everybody keeps talking about how excited they are for Thanksgiving, and how they're putting up Christmas decorations and it just does NOT feel like the holiday season at all to me. I think part of that is we're down here alone with no family so we're not celebrating Thanksgiving (we did have Thanksgiving dinner a week ago with our friends, not to mention the Thanksgiving dinner we had in August, but I think it just doesn't quite feel the same if I'm not home smelling my mom's pecan and chocolate pies.) Kolt does have it off, but I doubt we'll do much else for it since he's "not a fan" of the meal anyways.

Kolt and I have only put up a Christmas tree one year, our first year that we were married and in our own place. It was a tiny tree we borrowed from his sister so we've never bought one. I love the easiness of artificial trees with the lights already strung in them, but I truly don't want to mess with storing one and carting it all over the world. We may look into getting a real tree (especially since disposal would be easy because our garbage company rocks). It just seems like now that we have a daughter, maybe it's time we start decorating a tree and establishing some traditions of our own. Kolt argues that Leila has no clue that it's Christmas so there's no point in doing it this year, which is true, but I really do long for that Christmas-ey feel. If it were colder than 60 outside I think that may help as well. So we'll just have to see. Celebrating, or not celebrating the holidays away from family is definitely one of the hardest parts about being in the military.

Daisey

I feel like the worst person ever. In my last blog I mentioned that I thought there was more that I wanted to talk about but couldn't remember....well Daisey was one of those points. Kolt got Daisey when he was 16 years old. She was a sweet yellow lab who wanted nothing more than to please others. She loved to swim, fetch, run, hike, and just BE with us. She spent a lot of her 14 years living with Kolt's parents and a few with mine because we didn't have a place for her. It was a very difficult thing to leave her behind in Idaho when we left because we're only allowed to have 2 pets on base and splitting up Rex and Reina was not an option. She was a great dog, a sweet heart and she will be thoroughly missed.

Kolt's mom called us about a week before we left for Idaho to let us know Daisey's health had taken a sudden, dramatic change for the worse. She had been quite healthy and happy right up until then. Whatever it was came on hard and fast. We barely made it up to Idaho in time, but we did make it soon enough to see her one last time and take her to the vet to be put down. I've never had to do that before, put down an animal, and it's not something I want to do again any time soon. She looked so helpless and miserable, and while it was awful to see her like that, it reassured us that we were doing the right thing. We both loved that dog so much. When you wait to have kids like we did, animals become like your children and it hurt to let her go. But it was the right choice. She lived a long healthy life, 14 years is almost unheard of for a lab, and was loved by all who knew her.

Rest in peace Daisey, we love you.

What a short trip!

Well, we're home and Kolt is back to work. I can not believe how fast two weeks goes. Maybe it was because we drove it all, and then drove a ton once we got to Utah/Idaho, but man it seemed like it was over before it even started.

Leila was AMAZING on the drive. She pretty much slept the whole way up there and most of the way back. I couldn't have asked for a better little traveler. Even the dogs did really well, even though they were in the kennel the entire drive. In that aspect we were very lucky.

Everybody loved Leila and it seems like I hardly got to hold her at all while we were there. She's so lucky to have so many people who love and care about her. Everyone who was invited came to her blessing and we just had such a good time.

Being home made me realize just how much I miss living there. It's funny, before we left I was dying to leave and now that I'm gone I wish we could go back. I suppose that's usually how it goes. Moving around as much as I have my whole life, I tend to get bored after 3 or 4 years in one place, but there's just something about the Wasatch Mountains and the Cache Valley that feels like home in way no other place will.

Our drive home was rather interesting. We didn't get as far as we'd hoped to in the first day, only to the half way point of Albuquerque, NM. This lead to a LONG second day that was even longer than necessary. As Kolt and I were driving along in the middle of NM, we were about 50 miles outside of Roswell when I make the comment, "Geez, it seems like we're never going to get out of this state." Not one minute later a tire blows out on the camp trailer we were towing. Fabulous, now we have to stop and change the tire. Only problem is there is no wrench or jack in the trailer to do so. I called the Outdoor Rec dept on base where we rented the trailer from and asked where we could find it, and the genius says "Well I imagine in the back of YOUR car. Use your own wrench." Well that would be fine and dandy if our wrench fit those huge lug nuts, which it didn't. So we had no way to change the flat. We called our roadside assistance company and apparently no one in Roswell (which is the closest town) will change a flat on a trailer, so they have to send someone from Santa Rosa which is 90 miles away. All in all we spent about 4 hours on the pit stop. The only good thing that came out of it is they refunded us all of our money for the camper for the inconvenience.

It seems like there was a lot I wanted to write about the trip, but it escapes me. So I'll finish with some pictures. (I have yet to figure out how to format the pics and actually insert them where I want throughout the blog, so that's why they're all at the top....)

Headed Home

We leave for Idaho in T-minus 39 hours and counting! This trip is going to be a whirlwind of running around trying to see everyone we want, but I think it's going to be so much fun. We are so excited to go home, it's been 7 months for me and almost a year for Kolt. I can hardly believe that it's been that long already. So much has happened in the last 12 months, we're a totally different couple now.

Leila rolled over for the first time yesterday!! I'm not sure if it was a fluke or not though. I put her on her tummy and she kept her head up 90 degrees. Well, she kind of lost her balance and her head that high up made her fall over to her side, and then she kicked herself the rest of the way over. I tried to catch it on video, but I was too late. She hasn't done it again yet, but she will :)

This week has been pretty crazy getting everything ready to go. We've been making lists like crazy to make sure we don't forget anything. Kolt has a small pile of stuff in the living room going. Short of packing our clothes and toiletries I think we're pretty dang close to ready.

We may be taking a camp trailer with us. The base rents them out for about $100 per week for the tiny ones, so I'm going to check it out in a little bit. It all hinges on the trailers ability to hold Kolt's new hard top for his car. He bought one from a guy in SLC a month ago and we're picking it up while we're home, but it's kinda big and awkward and so it might not fit in this tiny trailer. I'm meeting up with one of his friends who has a hard top and he's going to take a look at it to see if it will fit or not. I'm kinda ambivalent about it, while it would be nice to just pack our stuff in there and not stuff the Touareg, I'm afraid it'll be a pain in the butt to haul it around when we're driving around SLC and Idaho. We'll see how it goes.

Alright, this may be my last blog for a few weeks as we'll be having a blast with all our family and friends. We'll be taking a lot of pics and I'll definitely post them when we get back.

Lots going on!

So we're in the middle of our October awesomeness. My sister Piper just left, we had our 8th wedding anniversary, and Kolt got promoted to 1st LT today. We're leaving next Thursday for Utah/Idaho, yay!

Having Piper here was wonderful. She's had

kids since I was 10 and I realized before she came that we've never really gotten to just hang out without having to run around and take care of her kids. Of course Leila is here now, but all you do is snuggle her, so she's easy :)

We went shopping and spent time with some of her old friends and just got to BE together. It made me realize just how much I miss her, and all her kids. Taking her to the air port today wasn't too hard because I know I'll see her again soon, otherwise I'd have been a mess!

Monday was our 8th wedding anniversary. Piper watched Leila for a few hours on Sunday night and we went for a drive and out to dinner with one of Kolt's S200 buddies. To be honest, I have no clue what he was doing there and it wasn't the most romantic date we've been on (his friend has ADHD something fierce though and he was rather entertaining to hang out with haha), but it was nice to just get out and be alone. I had a hard time leaving Leila though, I cried when we pulled away. I was also very anxious most the 2.5 hours we were gone, but Aunt Piper swears she did great and so hopefully the next time I leave her I won't worry so much.

Today was Kolt's pin on ceremony for his promotion to 1st LT. It was great to go up to the army hospital and watch it happen. I got to pin on one bar and our friend Capt. Annie got to do the other. We had Kolt's mom on the phone so she could listen in since she couldn't be there. Even though this promotion is a given and he's still "just" a LT, I'm so proud of him. Watching him raise his hand in front of the flag and swear to protect and defend the constitution just sends chills up my spine. In a time where most Americans in my opinion take for granted the freedoms we enjoy as citizens, it's nice to be reminded of how those freedoms came to be, courtesy of our military past and present.

Fun weekend

I haven't been lazy, just busy! I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to do my normal Friday blog until late on Thursday and by then it was too late. No biggie, but it's funny with 10 days goes by and you have a hard time remembering everything that was worthy of blogging.

This past weekend we went to Laughlin AFB in Del Rio to visit our friends, the White's. Leila slept in the car the whole 3 hour ride there, and the whole ride back. This leaves me VERY encouraged that our trip to Idaho should go pretty well. She really loves car rides so hopefully we can make good time.

Kolt and Stephen competed in a 3 gun competition while we were there and Kolt finished 5th over all. He had a blast and is hopeful at the next one with his own shot gun, and some more practice, he can do even better. It was really fun to watch him compete even though Leila, Emily, and I had to stay in the car to protect Leila's ears. A few times we stepped out of the car though and shots were fired and Leila never even flinched. LOVE that girl's ability to sleep.

While we were in Del Rio we had a bit of an accident that may result in some unwanted puppies. Reina is in heat and we've done a really great job and keeping Rex away from her (we haven't had a litter in 3 years), but we got distracted at our friends' house and sure enough, nature took it's course. Now that we're home they are not allowed out of the kennel at the same time and we're hoping that just one mating wasn't enough to get the job done. I have no clue how I will deal with puppies in this small house, and with a new baby. The chance of successful breeding with only one shot at it is 40%, and I'm just really hoping that we're on the 60% side of that. We've wanted to breed Reina again, just not yet. We should be able to figure it out in 3-4 weeks so now it's just a waiting game. Ug.

Leila has been sleeping better. She's been giving me anywhere from 3-5 hour stretches and it's been so nice, but she's still a little restless in the mornings which some how seem to negate the long stretches. Of course, this morning she slept GREAT after we took Kolt to the shuttle, but this was a morning we had to wake up so I couldn't even enjoy her extra sleep.

I swear Leila can almost roll over. I've read that they're supposed to go from tummy to back first, around 2-3 months, and from back to tummy at 5 months. Well, she has all but rolled over from her BACK to tummy :) This to me means she's highly advanced, which surely mean we've got a little genius here. I tried to video it but she didn't do it, and I'll keep trying. Hopefully when she does do it, I'll catch it on video!

Kolt seems convinced that if he holds Leila, she screams, that I'm the only one who can console her and keep her happy. I keep trying to tell him that she's fussy for me too (she's actually crying right now in my arms as I type this), and the only way to get her over that is to keep TRYING. I hold her most of the day, every day and so she's getting used to me. It's almost like he's afraid to hold her now or something. This is something that HAS to change. I want to be able to leave for an hour or two if I want/need to. I'm really hoping to go to the gym and lift some weights and exercise, and just get out of the house on my own occasionally, or take a shower/bath longer than 20 minutes. I'm not sure what to do about this or to how to help him feel more confident when he takes care of her. The only solution may just be to do it. If I can't leave her at all for the next year, I may go crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love her more than anything, but every mom, especially a new first time mom, needs a bit of her own space.

My sister Piper will be here TOMORROW!!!! Late tomorrow night, but she'll be here, hurray! She's staying for about a week and honestly, it couldn't come at a better time. With Leila potentially becoming clingy to only me, it'll be nice to get Aunt Piper here to mix things up a bit. Also, our 8th anniversary is next Monday and she volunteered to babysit so Kolt and I could go out to dinner. I just might have to take her up on that offer, the thought of going out to dinner with just the two of us seems so weird at this point.