Update 7/31/11

Things are going well, or as best as can be expected. I am working longer and harder than I ever thought that I would be as a Recruit Division Commander for Navy boot camp. It is challenging and rewarding at the same time.

Declan is almost two years old and Chris and I could not be happier. Chris spends a lot of time with him while I work these long hours and I am just glad that he is able to make up for some lost time from his deployment when he was so young. It is neat to watch the both of them play around. Declan is into just about everything all the time, very active and looks like we might have a runner on our hands in a few years. He starts out with wanting to go for a walk...then about 10 steps into it he desides that he wants to "run" and takes off in a sprint (well as much as an almost two year old can sprint).

Our family has grown over the past few months. We have two dogs, Stewie and Murphy and now we have three cats...Pandora, Sweet Pea, and Abby Girl. It is nice to have some more girls in the house. Jethro the bird is still alive and kicking...not able to handle him as much, but he still knows how to repeat a few words.

Just trying to make it through the next two years before we move on to our next assignment. We are hoping to go back to Virginia, but I guess that we are going to have to wait to see where the Navy is going to take us.

We have two races lined up. One next month, the Crim in Michigan and the other is the Fort to Base run here in Great Lakes...both races are 10 miles long...well, the Fort to Base is 10 Nautical Miles (11.5 running miles), we are both looking forward to running some races together, just have to find another baby sitter for Declan.

That is all for now...will try to update more frequently...

So much for every day

So, I guess that I am not much of a writer like I thought that I was. I decided to break out the I-pod Nano and take some short videos of Declan and send those to Chris, it is a lot better than talking/writing about what he is doing or how big he is getting.

Today, however, it was almost 50 degrees outside when I went outstide. I decided that I was going to take Declan for a run...he could not keep up so I decided to push him in the stroller. I did 2.25 miles, the most that I have done in awhile. I hope to do a little more this week before the weekend. Maybe if I can swing it, I will try for 2-3 miles on Wednesday, and then 4 miles on Saturday. It is going to be along road to the half marathon next month. I think that I will manage, but I am sure that it is going to be hard to walk afterwards.

My mom is going to be here that weekend and Declan's Godmother, Amy. I am looking forward to seeing the both of them again. I wish that Chris could be here so that we could run together. I think that I miss that the most, it was one of the first things that we did together after meeting over four years ago.

Anyway...he will be home soon enough I guess. We are almost at the one month down, I only wish that more months had 30 days and not 31 in them. February is a bit of a tease...but it helps time move quicker. It has been days since I have checked the counter, it does not seem to be working properly, or time is just going slower than I thought it would be.

I really miss Chris today, it would have been nice to have him with me on the run, and then we could have taken one of the dogs, and he could have pushed the stroller a little bit.

Ok, time to think about getting Declan ready for bed....I know that it is early, but maybe if I let him bounce a little more he will sleep better...oh, and if I give him some warm formula, too! Maybe that will work?

Volunteer Day

Today was Declan and Mommy's first day volunteering at the Church to watch children while their parents attend Mass. There were about 12 kids there and tons of activity. Declan was poked and prodded several times, many of the children thought that he was a toy to be played with. I had to remind the kids several times to use soft touches. It was interesting to say the least.

I am looking forward to doing it again, hopefully not over the weekend that I have duty again, it was rough and I did not get a lot of sleep this weekend. I would give just about anything for 3 straight hours. Soon hopefully, maybe tomorrow I could get a nap in.

Declan has his doctor's appointment tomorrow. I hope that all goes well, and I will make sure that I post the results.

There are always better days ahead

Today, Declan was a lot better. We had a repeat performance of a few nights ago when he bounced himself asleep. I managed to post a picture of the final product, but there was nothing like watching it again. he is starting to smile a little more and more each day, but still showing no signs of wanting to crawl or even be on his little tummy. Maybe in the next few weeks he will start to progress that far. I am afraid that this little kiddo is going to walk before he ever crawls!

I wish that his stomach issues would get better, but I am not sure how to fix it for him. I hope that they can figure out what it is bothering him. I think that all of this will get better over time.

I keep thinking about how big he is getting every day and wish that Chris was here to see it. I know that today is an especially rough day for him on the ship and I only hope that things are going to get better for him as the days go on. There still is not a set date on when he is coming back, but I hope to figure it out soon so that I can have a countdown date to look forward to.

Yesterday in the ER

Declan spent yesterday evening in the ER only for them to tell us that he has Colic. Yup, tell me something that I don't already know! I just wish that his tummy would not hurt so bad. I know soon we will come up with something or he will at least be able to tell us what is wrong with him. Sometimes I really wish that he could talk, and all my friends with kids tell me to let them take their time with talking because their favorite word is going to be "No" anyway.

The dogs are bouncing off the walls today, can't wait until Declan is big enough for running around with them to help burn off their energy. I think that he would also sleep better. Speaking of that I hope that tonight goes better than the past week. He has not been sleeping well at all.

On a happier note, he is 17 weeks today! Already!

Bounced himself to sleep

Declan can be a bit of a challenge at times. Today he was just fussy at feeding time. Momma had to polish her shoes for a big meeting tomorrow so I placed him in his bouncer. Poor Decky bounce himself to sleep. I wish that I could have pulled out the video camera for it. He would bounce a little and his eyes would slowly close...then he would suddenly open them to start bouncing a few more times. I felt bad taking him out but could not let him sleep that way. It was too cute. I was able to finish up some things before I did put him to bed.

We are trying cereal in the bottle now and it seems to work well. I have heard mixed things about it, but if it keeps him happy then that is fine with me. I am just careful in the even that he might choke on it. Ms. Marney (his daycare) says that he does great with it.

I miss Chris dearly, but I know that it will all be over soon. I miscalculated his return and am further out than I first thought. Today, however, is two days down. It feels like about a billion more, but I am sure that I will be fine. Friends who have been through this before said I will settle soon into a routine, I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Well, if Declan is sleeping, then I should sleep...or is that just when he is a newborn?

Over 200 days to go

Declan and I got up this morning to take Chris to the ship for his seven month deployment. I was not happy that we had so short of time to say good-bye, but sometimes quick good-byes are good, other times I think I would have cherished another 45 seconds!

Declan has proven to be a little bit of a handful today. Seems to be fussy most of the time, but I think that we will manage. I have him in the bouncer now and he seems to be doing a little better. The little guy doesn't want to be on his tummy at all, I am afraid that he is going to skip crawling and go right into walking! Maybe I will try more and more tummy time.

Poor little Declan won't realize Daddy is gone right now. Well, maybe when he realized that he has to wait another few moments before Mommy wakes up at night. Chris was awesome with those late night feedings and diaper changes. Now it's all me!

I am going to try to keep up with this...and chronicle Declan's adventures at least every other day. I am sure just the two of us will be fine.