O Christmas Tree

     I was almost convinced by Cayce not to put up a tree this year.  Unfortunately for him while I was cleaning out the storage shed I came across the perfect first Christmas inspiration.  In one of the gabillion Christmas decoration boxes I had not gone through since we moved I found an entire box full of Hallmark Rocking Horse ornaments.  Cayce's Grandma Dib purchased a rocking horse ornament from Hallmark each year for Cayce.  Also in the box I came across a box for an old school instamatic 35 mm camera.  A camera wasn't hiding in the box, but a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament from 1983 was.  It was Cayce's.  So finding all these items lead me to believe a tree must be had.  We had already purchased Lily's 1st Christmas ornament from Hallmark, but were only intending to share it with the family trees at home.  Now we have a place in our own home to hang Lily's ornament.  I like to do theme trees.  I've done nature themed, Americana themed, white themed, etc.  This year I decided what better for a baby's 1st Christmas than a super colorful tree.  Our tree is covered in the rocking horses, multicolored miniature lights, multicolored C7's, candy cane lights, and multicolored garland.  Lily has rolled over under it several times purely for inspection purposes, but everything is too high out of her reach.  I like to think she's enjoying it just as much as me!

Lily's 1st Christmas ornament.

Cayce's 1st Christmas ornament.

One of Grandma Dib's Hallmark rocking horse's.

My favorite!  Bubble lights!

Lily's 1st Christmas tree!

A Day of Thanks

     Cayce and I were stuck here in South Carolina (as usual) for Thanksgiving.  Have no fear though, we did what I love most.  We hosted other family deprived shipmates of Cayce's.  Until we faced our first holiday away from home, way back in 2004,  I never realized how much fun slaving away in the kitchen, setting a table, and playing Donna Reed can be.  We were supposed to have four guests, but one backed out, claiming violent illness, mid-morning.  Oh well, more food for us, right?   

Cayce, Tina, Chief, Suarez

The menu:
Martha Stewart's Perfect Roast Turkey (including a 24 hour soak in MS's brine.  A skill  I believe I have mastered.)
The most delicious and fattening mashed potatoes ever made (Definitely a side only to be consumed once or twice a year!)
*Gravy (Canned b/c you're looking at someone who CANNOT make gravy to save her life.  Plus the idea that gravy is just grease and flour makes me wanna throw up a bit.)
Cranberry sauce even cranberry sauce haters will love
*Dressing (I don't do stuffing)
Mac n' Cheese for grown-ups (Anytime you want to class something up, Martha can help)
Layered Salad (Pioneer Woman's recipe.  Another fat and calorie loaded treat from heaven.  I swapped broccoli for peas since Cayce reacts violently at the sight of peas.)
*Green Bean Casserole (Recipe on the back of a French's Fried Onion can ;-) )
Sweet Potato Casserole  (So delicious Cayce had two helpings, and completely ignored the fact it was covered in pecans! He doesn't like nuts.)
*Rolls (Sister Schubert's b/c it wasn't as if I didn't have enough to make without having to worry about made from scratch rolls turning out disastrously)
Apple Pie (To add a little something extra for looks with about 3 minutes left to cook I removed the pie from the oven, used a pastry brush and covered the top crust with thinned corn syrup, and sprinkled sugar over the top.  Returned to oven to finish cooking.)
*Pumpkin Pie (Refer to Libby's for recipe.)

Cayce, Turkey, and what appears to be one annoyed Chief.

     With the exception of the Mac n' Cheese and Sweet Potato Casserole this is my routine menu for the holiday.  I usually do candied yams, but wanted something different this year.  Sometimes I also do a squash casserole or spinach casserole.  It really depends on who's in attendance.  I also ask our guests to make requests.  Hence this year's Mac n' Cheese.  In order to have everything on the table ready to go for a 5:00 supper I start the day before with my prep.  I have a detailed, down to the minute, schedule of what needs to happen when.  The schedule keeps me on track, and even has built in break times. With the addition of Lily this year I relied a lot on help from Cayce.  He was an excellent sous chef, and washed more than his fair share of dishes. 

     Another new treat this year was my Grandmother's dishes.  Cayce and I have had the same dishes since we married.  For some reason this year 3 have bit the dust.  Random droppings, and I think one crazy incident in the kitchen sink left us two plates and one bowl short.  I've had my Grandma's Frankhoma dishes sitting in a couple of boxes in our garage since we moved into this house a year and a half ago.  Since Cayce moved in while I was still in OK (with the Frankhoma) Cayce put our dishes into the cabinets.  I never took the time to correct the arrangement.  Well since we're moving (again), and our dish set is no longer a "set." I decided to take out Grandma's dishes and finally put them back into use.  We did this a couple weeks ago, and our old "set" found a new home at Goodwill.  Grandma's dishes really added something special to our Thanksgiving table.  It's also nice to eat off of them b/c as corny as it sounds it's like Grandma's there with each bowl of cereal, plate of spaghetti, and slice of pumpkin pie. 

     We thoroughly enjoyed our time with friends.  There was lots of laughter at the table, and it made the two days of hard work most definitely worth it.  Lily was so excited to have company, and miss busy body refused to go down for a nap.  She had to be a part of all the action.  She loves company, but to her detriment.  FINALLY after becoming clearly grumpy Cayce was able to lay her down for a short hour long nap... just before supper time.  Poor Lily missed most of supper.   Once she did wake up she ate the ENTIRE sweet potato I saved for her.  ENTIRE.  Those things aren't lacking for size.  I put the whole mashed thing on her plate thinking she'd maybe eat half of it, but in case she wanted more it was all on the plate to keep anyone from having to get more.  Apparently she enjoyed it. 

Where Lily would be if she was awake... see she even has a napkin.

There she is!  Check the sweet potato mash on the plate!  It all ended up in her tummy!

 

 

     We wraped up the day with Tina having the joy of giving Lily a bath (That is not sarcasm.  Lily loves bath time.) while I rested and Cayce worked on the kitchen.  We then had some pie, the guys played video games, and then we decorated the tree.  Yes we have a tree.  I decided I could not spend Lily's first Christmas treeless.  Cayce gave in, and sweetly picked out a beautiful 6' Fraser Fir.  I'll admit it's not as big or as ostentatious as our normal tree, but it's colorful and makes me happy.  But that's a blog for another day. In the end we sent home pretty much all the leftovers, and all that was left was a bit of cranberry sauce and pie.  This Thanksgiving was great, and above all things we are thankful for Cayce and I are most thankful for our sweet baby Lily.  She's brought a whole new wonderful world to us, and each day is something for us to be thankful. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pickles Dada!!

Lily likes pickles!  YAY!  While watching the game today (Chiefs won), the waitress asked if she could bring some snacks for Lily.  She brought out a bunch of oyster crackers and one lonely pickle spear.  We went for it, and the verdict is in.  Baby likes pickles!

Decimating a delicious spear while cuddling with Chief.

 

 

She's finally showing some interest in crawling.  Lily's figured out how to get up on all fours, but she only knows how to go in reverse.  It is so exciting!  Hopefully she'll be crawling by the time we head home for the holidays.  Won't everyone be in for a treat!  If she's as busy crawling as she is rolling no unblocked space will be safe! 

While this baby has been working her vocal cords to the max with Mama and Baba this morning she showed off and added to her vocabulary.  Lily can proudly say dadadadadadadada.  We'll take that as Dada. Of course it's no surprise she's finally saying Dada.  Her favorite afternoon spot has a front row view of Daddy pulling up in the driveway.  The dogs aren't too thrilled to have lost their spot, but they've finally agreed to share the view. 

Just waiting for Daddy.  Choco asking me why in the world that baby is in her spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, fine, we'll share, but Daddy better give us kisses first!

Chiefs Nation

For those unfamiliar with my husband there is one thing that has the potential to veer our marriage into rough waters.  No it's not another woman, no not drinking (unless you count a mean diet soda addiction), no, not even video gaming.  Cayce's sun and moon rise and set with football.  Now I could be silly and whine and complain that our Sundays for about 24 weeks out of the year (when you add in pre and post season) are permanently scheduled *game at 1:00, game at 4:00, game at 8:00* etc, or I could be a mature adult and embrace it.  I quickly learned to embrace it. (It's fun half the time anyhow) Cayce loves, Loves, LOVES the Chiefs.  LOVES.  They have a love hate relationship, and the Chiefs are more often than not (since we married) squashing his little heart and leaving him feeling empty inside.  However, Cayce takes the abuse and refuses to stray.  I have no *true* loyalty to any one team.  I'm more about who's on the team.  Love me some Payton Manning.  Ooh, and now that Tebow's on Denver I quietly cheer for them...*clears throat* him.   I tend to support Oklahoma State players who land themselves in the NFL... often curse the OU players (unless you're Adrian Peterson... such a sweetie), but you get the idea.  I wasn't born and bred to love or hate a team, so I go with the flow.  However, in support of Cayce I wear the Chiefs' gear, and this season has been particularly fun now that we have the human doll known as Lily to gussy up for game days.  We like to go to a local watering hole, The Office, to watch the games.  For some reason *rolls eyes* Chiefs game are rarely the nationally televised game.  Anywho, I don't complain I get to dress up Lily and have adult conversation with other people.  Win win for me!  Are there any pictures of Lily in her gear you ask.  Why, of course there are!  Please do enjoy!

Dressed up in her NEW CAR SEAT Cayce's dad purchased for Lily (we now have one for each car!) ready for the game!

Playing with the settings on the new camera Cayce's dad gave us

Daddy in a good mood... currently winning.

Let's get the show on the road Dad!

Go Chiefs!

I promise there is Chiefs gear under there.  We were chased out onto the patio due to some super annoying screaming kids and a cranky baby wanting to sleep.  Yes, I understand how ridiculous it is to complain about Lily not being able to sleep from the noise in a bar, but she can sleep through the normal noise, but not screeching toddlers!

See.  She fell asleep sitting up in Cayce's arms the following week.  Unfortunately Daddy's in bad mood b/c the Chiefs were losing... they lost.

Cuddle baby.

Holiday Rush

Geez.  Before I could even get around to getting Lily's Halloween photos posted we headed to Sears last night and had Christmas photos taken.  So before Fall turns to Winter here they are!

Pumpkin Carving!

Proud Artist!

The traditional pumpkin!

Cutie p'atootie!

Posing with Oma next to Daddy's Jack o' Lantern.

With an a'nautrale Mommy and Daddy.

Lily may be saying "I'm Done!" but Mommy and Oma are happy and proud!

Hope you enjoyed!

Cayce and I have made the fiscally and time conscious decision to live in base housing in Norfolk.  There are so many factors that go into choosing a house in Norfolk, safety (crime is a huge issue), commute, space, value for dollar, and overall "cuteness" of the home.  I've been soliciting the oh so generous help of some fellow Navy wives up in Norfolk in this house search.  However, every time I find something I "love" there is some fatal flaw.  A lot of homes will only accept one "small" pet, or the commute would be bumper to bumper traffic for an hour one way, or no fenced yard, or there seems to be a den of sex offenders in the neighborhood, or once the crime blotter is checked the neighborhood is rife with larcenies, burglaries, vandalism, and even a murder or two!  That was only going back to the end of September!!!  So I have been very stressed on this search.  We kept flipping back and forth between whether or not we would be able to take the time and money to travel to Norfolk for searching in person.  It was going to be a stretch, and finally, after speaking with another Navy wife up there I just decided to take a hard look at our finances.  After some manipulations I figured out we can forgo our Basic Allowance for Housing, and opt to live completely on the Navy's dime.

I actually feel so much better about this.  Now that Cayce is returning to a ship he will be out of the home often, and safety was my number one concern.  While in Jacksonville I gave some thought to safety, but now that Lily's here I want to live in a home where I don't need to worry about who's living down the street.  I want to be able to sleep at night not worrying about what craziness is going on outside our door.  This way Cayce will also have a minimal commute, and we'll have better access to all the amenities and services on base.   All of the homes have fenced in back yards, and electric and water is covered.  There are tons of different housing communities on and around all the different bases in Norfolk.  At this time we have no idea where we'll be living.  The only downside is that we may get stuck with a 2 bedroom.  :-P.  We do still plan to go to Norfolk and tour housing simply so I can have some sort of an idea of what type of home we'll be living in.  I am so excited!!  It's kind of fun to get surprised the day we arrive in Norfolk.  We'll drive in, show up at the housing office, and they'll hand over the keys to our brand new home.  I'm looking at the bright side here!  I could hyperventilate about the lack of planning I can do not knowing where we will live, but I'm choosing to think of it as a mystery and one of the many fun parts of military living. :-D

Wish us luck!

Pod Baby

On October 19th (I know For-Ever ago) Lily reached 7 months old. 

A week prior I made the incredibly stupid decision to schedule Lily's 6th month check-up on that day.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

There was no celebrating Lily's milestone.  We showed up at the pediatrician's office in the morning, and Lily spent some time slyly watching another baby deciding whether or not to make contact.  Just as she made the decision to converse with said baby we were called back.

Lily clocked in at 16 lbs (I still don't believe that weight, she looks so big [and feels it]) and 27 1/2 inches long.  She had a great visit with Dr. E.  He's just pleased as punch with her progress.  She sat pretty for him, used her new found vowel sounds, and let him poke and prod all over with nary a whimper.  Then came the nurse.

We chose to go ahead and get Lily the flu shot along with her normal 6th month vaccines.  Unlike the normal trip for her vaccines Lily lost her little mind!  She was barely consolable.  It took many minutes to get her calmed down.  Once she was down to only sniffles we headed out.  Lily and I returned home to my visiting mom (!), and I thought we'd just get the normal grumpy baby following shots.  Not true.

The flu shot (I found out later) creates some super drama in babies.  I totally do not regret our choice to get her the flu shot.  A few days of grumpiness is much better than losing our baby to the flu.  As much traveling we will be doing this Christmas, and with the move to VA in January getting her protected was a must.  However, it was not without some cost.

Lily could not sleep.  She refused to bend her legs (her shots are given in her thighs).  She didn't want to be held.  She didn't want to be alone.  She fussed while eating, and was all together someone else's baby.  The second night after the vaccine was the worst.  She was in bed with us sometime in the wee hours of the morning just flailing her arms and fussing.  The only time she would sleep is if I was rubbing her back.  She wouldn't even nurse.  OMG.  It was a rough 2 days.  Thankfully, once day 3 rolled around Lily was back to her super duper adorable self. 


We didn't get around to taking her picture until a week later.  We were very busy with my mom here.

Playing with Oma on the couch.

Lily's dexterity is through the roof!  She is all about picking up EVERYTHING, and putting EVERYTHING in her mouth.  Lily has a little bag of light plastic toys.  She loves digging in the bag picking out a toy showing it off, and then finding another and banging them together.  In it she has measuring cups, baby doll bottles, squeak bath toys, and other different shaped and colored items. 

She's finally figured out how to feed herself solids.  She's had melba toast, graham crackers, and her favorite, rice cakes.

Yum yum!

She's developed a taste for water.  She loves drinking out of a straw.  At restaurants we have to be very careful because sneaky likes to swipe the drinks, she's successfully covered me with tea.   She's figured out her jumper.  She LOVES jumping.

Lily's mean mug!

Hey Mama watch me go!

Look at those big beautiful eyes!

 Lily's started saying "ma ma."  Who knows if she's saying it with purpose, but she does tend to bust it out when she's tired or hungry.  So we'll say, yes.  It's adorable, and it makes my heart melt to hear it.

 We've had a very busy couple of weeks.  I'll get around to posting about it.  It's going to be getting a bit crazy around here preparing for our move.  We have an inspection on the house next week, and then we need to (hopefully) find a way up to Norfolk to find a home.  In the mean time we must must must clear out clutter in preparation for the move.  The movers will be here December 13th to pack, and they'll haul away our lives on the 14th.  Tick tock, it's the final countdown!  WOO HOO!

7 Months

Just checking out some new reading material!  (Thanks Cindy!)