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.