Soooooooooo behind...

Well, I guess I should maybe post an update since it's been 3 months and I haven't really posted about anything that has happened since Joel deployed.

Thanksgiving
Griff and I flew out to Idaho and spent Thanksgiving with the Roberts family at my parents' house. It was so nice to be there with all my siblings and nieces and nephew. Torrey and Lana weren't able to make it, but everyone else was there (except for Joel). I also stayed with Don and Tracy in Boise for a few nights and had a great time with them. Tracy was nice enough to stay at home one night after Griff went to bed so I could go out to dinner and shopping with my friend Melissa. It was awesome to have some girl time and eat a big steak without being interrupted. Joel had a Thanksgiving dinner at the cafeteria with other soldiers he was working with. He said the food was good, but I'm sure he missed being home.

Christmas
We flew back to Idaho. I know, crazy pregnant lady with a toddler making 2 cross-country plane trips within 3 weeks of each other. What was I thinking? Despite the horrible flights it was worth it. I rented a car this time and that made it so much easier to be able to come and go when I wanted to and not have to burden other people with asking for rides or borrowing vehicles. Christmas was great. Torrey and Lana and their boys came from Missouri and Tabrina and her boyfriend J.R. were there too. I love being able to see my siblings and their kids. And my parents and grandparents of course. I love going up to Gramma and Grampa's and visiting with them. I don't take it for granted anymore now that it only happens once or twice a year. Tabrina and I got a little goofy on Christmas eve and thought it would be fun to do some gag gifts. The boys thought we were crazy, but we had so much fun. Lana helped us come up with a funny gift for Triton. I'm not going to say what we did in this post though because as I started typing it, it just sounds ridiculous. But, here are links to the clips of him opening the gift on YouTube if you want to see. Clip 1 of 2 , Clip 2 of 2. It was a can of clam chowder in case you really want to know. We did one for Gage too. Christmas Day was nice opening gifts and seeing Griffith discover his stocking. I was sad that Joel wasn't there. It just wasn't the same without him. I was surrounded by people but I still felt lonely without my husband there. I'm sure he was even more lonely though. I stayed at Don and Tracy's for about a week this time. I had so much fun chatting with them in the evening and had a great time going out to dinner with my siblings too. I don't get out much these days with Joel being gone and I had such a good time with them. Tracy and I also had a shopping date one day and it was so fun spending time with her and going to lunch. The time went by way too quickly! I also got to see my Katherine and her kiddos, Melissa, Laura, Megan and their kids. Melissa even helped me change a flat tire I got on my rental car on the way to Megan's house. That was fun. Looking back now I laugh, but we had no idea what we were doing (Melissa knew more than I did). Fortunately a nice man pulled over and seemed to be an expert on changing flats. He taught us all kinds of things and changed it for us. And as a bonus, on our flight back to North Carolina we were stranded in Salt Lake overnight due to a snow storm. It turned out to be a great opportunity to see some friends again. Brittany came and picked us up from the airport and we stayed the night with her and Brady and got to see Dan and Michelle and Ethan too! It was a great trip. But, I won't be flying on my own again if I can help it. At least not from North Carolina to Idaho. Too long with a toddler!

New Years
We partied at Don and Tracy's with yummy food and sparkling cider. Torrey and Lana were there too and Beana and J.R. stopped by for a while as well. We played xbox kinect and had a great time together. I got to talk to Joel that night too. No New Year's kiss though :(

After the holidays - January through April
Reality check. I just moved to North Carolina and Joel is gone? And I'm pregnant with a toddler and no family nearby? What was I thinking!? I was unsure of our decision for me to stay in North Carolina for a few lonely weeks. Then I started to make some friends and Griffith got back on a normal routine. I got used to spending evenings and weekends alone and going to church alone. Now it's just life as we know it. Fortunately it's not permanent. My friend Lucie (whose husband is also deployed) and I started doing Friday night dinner together every week. It gives us both something to look forward to and helps the weekend not to be so lonely. It's a bit chaotic with two toddlers and a baby and two tired moms, but we make it work. I started walking with some girls from my neighborhood and got to know them better. It's nice to have something to start the day with every morning and to know that I am going to talk to an adult at least a few times a week. I have an awesome visiting teacher that has really become more of a friend. She has a daughter Griff's age and is expecting a boy around the same time that I am. We usually get together once a week. Griff and I go to the children's museum and the park and of course errands and shopping. Sometimes he's good about the errands and shopping and sometimes he just does not want to do it. I've been busy working on a nursery for the baby too. It's so much fun to be able to have a room and get it ready for him. I didn't get to do that for Griffith and I am really enjoying doing it this time. I've also made Griffith's room look nice for him. We actually have 2 nurseries because I never did one for him before and I wanted him to have one. So, both boys have cribs. We'll probably keep Griff in a crib till he's 2 or 3. He doesn't seem ready to get out or like he minds being in there at all. He's kind of a wild sleeper so I think he'd fall out of a bed a lot. I've had fun decorating the house we're in too. It's the nicest house we've lived in so far. I just wish that we'd be able to settle down somewhere so we could buy our own house. Maybe someday we'll be somewhere long enough that it'll be worth it. In the evenings I usually clean the house, eat something, maybe watch some TV or work on a project for the baby, and talk to Joel on skype. Oh yes, and I've found a good sitter. I use her a couple times a month and it's nice to have a break once in a while.

Lacy's visit
My big sister came to visit us in March for 5 days. We celebrated her birthday while she was here. Griff loved having her here too. I wish she could have stayed longer, but she has her own children and responsibilities to take care of. We did a lot of shopping with and without Griff. We drove to Raleigh one day and ate at a Brazilian restaurant and took Griffith to the Life and Science museum. It was a nice day trip. We went out to dinner one night at a Japanese restaurant. It was a fun time, except she ate my California rolls. Not nice. On Lacy's birthday my sitter came for the whole day and Lacy and I went shopping and out to lunch. We had some nice talks and it was just fun to be sisters. We got pedicures too. She helped me pick out some things for our house and hang them up too. It was so nice to have a second opinion and help figuring out where to put things and making sure everything was hanging straight. We were sad to see her go. Griff looked around for her for a few days after she left, like "where is my 2nd mom?"

Griffith
He's now 18 months old! I can't believe how fast my baby boy has grown. There are days when I think, "He'll always be my baby and I want him to always be my baby. Don't grow up!" And then there are days when I think, "Hurry and learn how to do things on your own because you're going to be a big brother!" I'm just trying to enjoy every moment I have with him and hold him close as much as he'll let me. I'm sure I've messed up a lot trying to do this on my own since Joel left, but hopefully I haven't ruined him for life. He's such a sweet boy and I just love him so much. He's very good at figuring out how things work. He loves cars and balls and water. He's not into sitting still and eating at all. I pretty much have to sneak food into his mouth to get him to eat enough. He's also infatuated with shoes. He likes to drag them allover the house and has recently started to try wearing my shoes and walking in them. He says a few words, but definitely needs a translator. He understands most of what I say to him though. He has not loved nursery as much as I thought he would. I have been staying in there with him the last couple of Sundays. I'm hoping he'll adjust after 2 or 3 more weeks. He's a great sleeper as long as I make sure nap time and bedtime happen at the same time every day. If I'm not sleeping at night it generally has nothing to do with him.

Pregnancy the 2nd time around
This pregnancy has been a breeze. If Joel were here it would be really easy. I just can't believe how different it's been this time. Getting pregnant was not even anything we thought about this time. I didn't have to do those awful progesterone shots for the 1st trimester like I did last time. I was barely nauseous. I did have major fatigue in the 1st trimester, but as soon as Joel left that went away. I am only slightly uncomfortable now and it's just getting harder to move and I'm 35 weeks. The only complaint I have that I have not come up with a solution for is having to pee all the time because my babies like to move down low super early and leave me pretty much no room in my bladder. And the insomnia which has been a problem since I was pregnant with Griffith. I never really got back into sleeping for a full night even after Griff started sleeping through the night and now I get up at least twice a night to pee. Sometimes I can't go back to sleep, but I'm just used to being tired from lack of sleep now. I do get to lie down during Griff's naps if I feel like it during the day. I don't fall asleep often during nap time, but it's nice to be able to at least lie down and rest. Other than the sleep and constant peeing it has been great. And as long as this baby keeps away from my ribs like he has so far I think I'll make it to my due date without getting too impatient.

Joel
He is doing pretty well. They transferred him from his first location in January so he's been considered the "new guy" for most of his deployment. That has been a bit frustrating, but I guess it's expected. His team only goes out on missions every few weeks. It's nice to not have to worry about him constantly, but frustrating that he's not always doing the job he's been trained to do. He gets to read a lot so I'm expecting him to be very smart when he returns. He's also been working out a lot and says his muscles are much bigger now. I may be in trouble for writing this. We get to video chat on skype every day unless he's on a mission or his internet goes down and he's not able to get to the phones. That doesn't happen too often though. I really think we've been blessed in the way the communication has worked out. I don't think I could handle not being able to talk to him or see his face like some wives do. Some of these military wives really amaze me. Also, he was supposed to not come back till the end of July. But, by some miracle they are letting him come back a week before my due date and he doesn't have to return to Afghanistan after that. We are super blessed and lucky. This is a rare occurrence. I feel guilty sometimes because I know there are so many other military families where the wife gives birth by herself and the husband doesn't meet the child for a long time. I just think the Lord knew that I was not up for doing that by myself and made things happen for us so that Joel can be here. He is due to return by June 1st! So just one more month!

That's the gist of our life since November. I'll try to do better and post more often. I can't promise anything though.