Mara-20 Months

Wears:  Right now you are in a mix of sizes.  You are wearing 18, 24 and 2T.  Most of your 18 month pants don't fit anymore so you are wearing 24 or 2T shorts instead.  Your shirts are mainly 18-24 months and the few 2T ones you have are doable but a little long.

You are still in size 3 diapers and really haven't gained any weight.

She crawled right up there

First lollipop

Health:  No major illnesses this month to report.  You did have a runny nose most of the month.  I'm not sure if it was allergies or a minor cold.

sporting Mama's shirt

Another one of Mama's tees

Says:  This month you've become a little more vocal.  You sing to yourself all the time.  I'm not sure what song you're singing but it always sounds about the same.

You have added the words "potty" and "snacks" to your vocabulary.  You also say "pee you" and hold your nose after you hear someone pass gas.

You are constantly asking, "What's that?"  You point to everything and want to know their names.  You do this even when you know what the object is.

This girl's style kills me

too cool

Favorite Foods: This month you have gotten a little more adventurous when it comes to eating.  You'll try almost anything and it gets you into trouble especially with Daddy.  He always lets you try his spicy foods.

You're really into turkey this month and are eating a ton of it.  You also like pasta, Asian flavors, potatoes, quesadillas, and raspberries.

I think you're going through a bit of a growth spurt as you are constantly asking for food.  You still sign "eat", "more" and "nursing" when you want to eat.
  

Sleep: You have slept through the night a few more times this month although it's not exactly a habit by any means.  You usually go to bed around 9 and get up sometime around 5.  You will still nurse a bit and then go right back to bed.  We are still doing our bedtime routine and you seem to have really caught on.

Your waking up once we lay you down has stopped.  Thankfully I was right and it was only a phase.

You still take naps on a bed rather than your crib.  We moved you into the guest room for most of the month for naps and you did awesome.  The last few days of the month we had movers and we simply pulled your crib mattress out on the floor and you took naps there.  

cheesing

No worries Mom.  I'll drive

Best Moment:  One of my favorite memories of this month is when you wanted your Twinkle Twinkle Little star book read.  You went and grabbed it for Daddy.  Then you grabbed the xylophone for Mommy to play the tune.  While Daddy read and Mommy played you danced.

My little ballerina

Swinging before church

Milestones: You have to give Mommy and Daddy both kisses when you see us kiss.

You sing to yourself.

You saw Mama paint her toes one day and now want yours painted all the time.

You do puzzles.  Your favorite is a farm animal one.

You know your colors.

You held your first official tea party.  Daddy, Buddy and Mickey attended.

You finally figured out all the buttons on the pop up toy.

You know the names of the rooms of our house.

You know the difference between whispering and being loud.

You pretend play all the time especially with your food and farm set.

You blow your nose.

You put on make-up when mom does.

You know exactly what to do when we're at ballet class.

20 months!

Look at that smile

Loves To:  You love to chase buddy around.

You love to be outside and play at the playground.

You love read books about animals.  You know cows, pigs, geese, chicken, dog, cat, hippo, monkey, bee, gorilla, horse, elephant, etc.

You love test your limits.  You push back every time Mommy and Daddy say no.

You love to collect rocks and other treasures during your time outside.  You usually put these rocks in your mouth.

She was a ball of cheese this day

Favorite Toys: books, mickey mouse, toy kitchen, swing, tea set, music table, Sophia the 1st pillow

Dislikes: when you don't get your way, when we have to go inside, when you can't be picked up immediately, when mommy tells you no nursing, when you get in trouble.  

See what I mean

Goodbye old house!

It's Moving Time!

Well it's that time of year again.  PCS time!! This week we have four days of movers and three total moves.  Since I have only done the move from Kenya I don't think I had a true grasp on how big of a move this is.  It's not as simple as the movers come in and pack everything.  No there's a ton of decisions to be made.  What get's stored?  What is coming with us to Georgia?  What do we need right away?  What will we carry in our suitcases?  I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

We did a lot of work on the weekend and I underestimated how much we had actually got done.  There was still so much on my to do list that Josh and I were working until midnight last night.

But here we are at the end of day 1 and it's moving forward.  All of the unaccompanied baggage is already gone.  The household goods are boxed and sitting at the house ready to be picked up.  Tomorrow the storage movers come and most of our furniture goes away.

The house is looking super bare and it's only going to get worse. Thankfully Mara did amazing today.  She watched too much tv but we made it through give or take a SUPER late nap (ready almost four hours late).

Tonight we have a short break from the madness to spend some time with the unit to say good bye to the soldiers and welcome the new ones.  The to do list will still be there but I hope we can just relax and enjoy this night out!!

Ok I think I'm done rambling at this point.... :)

Mother's Day

Mother's day this year was pretty great.  Josh was around that weekend and we chose to celebrate on Saturday rather than Sunday.  I love when he surprises me and I honestly wasn't expecting anything this year.

The day started off pretty low key.  We had a big breakfast and then were just working on things around the house.  Around mid-day the door bell rang and low and behold there were flowers.  Flowers aren't a common thing around here so it was very sweet.

We again got busy with stuff around the house.  Before I knew it it was close to dinner and I was ready to start cooking when Josh said we had to leave to make our reservation.

Josh drove and I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled into Mash House Brewery.  We haven't eaten there in forever and man a nice steak sound good.  We indulged and then headed home.

Overall it was pretty low key but special.  It's always nice to feel appreciated and loved and Mara and Josh definitely did that.

My Thoughts on Moving

Well we're in full on moving mode here. It's that time of year again and we are off to our next adventure!  I know so many people wonder how military families do it.  How they pick up and move their lives every couple of years.  Heck I wonder the same thing before it became my life.

Of course it's hard.  You make friends, really good friends.  Military friends who get it.  Whose roots are also shallow but know how precious time is.  You dive in hard and don't look back.  You know that PCS time will be here before you know it.

You start to love the area.  You explore the beach and the mountains.  There's never enough time to see it all.  There is always going to be the one vacation you didn't get to.  That place you wanted to see.  Next time you'll tell yourself.

But then it's moving time.  A new adventure awaits and you're excited.  New things to see and do.  New people to meet.  In fact sometimes you secretly like the moving process.  You complain yes but there's a part of you that appreciates the fresh start.  It's a time to purge, rearrange and start again.

North Carolina has been great but we're starting to feel that itch again.  It's time to move on.  Sure we maybe back but for now it's time to leave.  I'm sure someday down the road I may feel different about moving but for now I enjoy it.

Last Dives and Home-Grand Cayman

On our last diving day in Grand Cayman we did two shore dives in the West Bay area.  Our first dive was at a mini wall at Cobalt Coast Resort.  We had a great dive.  There were a lot of small fish and even had a larger fish follow us for most of the dive.

The second dive was a bit harder as there was a large current.  This site was called the guardian and had a large Neptune statue at the beginning of the wall.  It was a pretty decent dive despite the current and we ended up staying down till we had used most of our air.

milkshakes for dinner!

That afternoon we headed to the beach and Mara got to enjoy the sand and ocean.  She loved splashing in her pool float and dug herself into the sand.  We basically had sand everywhere which is probably classified as a successful day.

Josh did a night dive in the evening and us girls went out to dinner at a local dinner called Eats Cafe.  It was just casual enough for a quick bite and then we headed back to the hotel.

Our last full day in Grand Cayman was pretty casual.  We headed to Georgetown to check out the craft market and some of the other stores.  The craft market wasn't what we thought it was going to be so we headed just out of town to another souvenir store called Pure Art.  This was a fun eclectic shop with lots of different things.  I ended up getting a necklace.

fountains with daddy

We headed to lunch at a great Asian place at Camana Bay and Mara slept through most of it.  She woke up afterwards and we let her run around in the fountains again.  She loved having her daddy run around with her!  We ended the afternoon with some time in a local bookstore where Mara was more interested in the toys than the books.

these two

For dinner we enjoyed a beach bbq.  There was hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and ribs.  Mara quickly ate and then decided she enjoyed playing in the sand.  There were a few other children on the beach and Mara went over to play with them.  The three of them spent the rest of the time running around and burning off that extra energy.

my little maestro

On the day we had to leave we had a slow morning.  We went back to Eats Cafe for breakfast and then just drove around the island while Mara had her morning nap.  Then it was onto the plane and back to the states!

We had an amazing time in Grand Cayman and only wish we were able to stay longer!

Daddy this is my jam

Stingray City-Grand Cayman

On Thursday we decided to check out the famous Stingray city.  It's a sandbar off the coast where dozens of stingrays swim along your feet looking for squid.  The water is only waist high and you can hold and feed the rays.

Petting the sting ray

They made us do it

We were told that it would be a good trip for Mara and are so glad we took her.  She loved riding on the boat out to the spot and did great in the water.  We put her in her pool float and just let her hang out.  One of the guides did pull a ray out of the water for pictures.  I was super impressed that she wasn't scared just kind of confused.

holding the ray

The second stop of the trip was a snorkeling spot.  Here the water was a little deeper so Josh and I took turns holding onto Mara.  Again we just put her in her pool float and held on to her.  The water was super calm and she loved just floating.  The snorkeling spot was great and we saw a lot of small fish and another ray.

A sting ray massage

Mara was curious

For lunch I made brats and we all took a breather.  It was great to nap and just relax.  In the afternoon we decided to go to a distillery tour.  The Cayman Island Distillery makes Seven Fathoms Rum which is the only rum that is aged in barrels at 7 fathoms underwater.  We got to tour the factory and try all their flavored liqueurs.

ice cream break

Later that night we enjoyed sunset on the beach and Mara made a new friend.  Again she loved the sand and really enjoyed playing with her new friend's sand toys.

For dinner we splurged and made reservations at a fancy seafood restaurant, Royal Palms Hotel.  We got a cabana on the beach.  Mara loved being in the sand again and Josh and I loved the scenery.  We ordered the sea bass and lobster risotto and split it.  Amazing!

Daddy's pooped but Mara wants to play

Mara 18 Month Photos

Mara turned 18 months on March 30th and we were able to take some pictures a few weeks later.  Josh is amazing with his camera and got some great shots of our girl one Sunday afternoon.