Getting through it

The hardest part of this deployment is Hayden. I've done two deployments before, but this is Hayden's first. He definitely knows daddy isn't here, but he's his usual happy go lucky self. I'm used to the feeding and changing and bathing and putting to bed by myself, to carrying groceries and a baby, and all the things that go along with being a parent by yourself. I just feel sad that Jay and Hayden will miss out on each other for this year. He changes so much on a daily basis and does funny things all the time. It's hard to keep up to email Jay about it all but we're doing our best. Bedtime is the hardest. Hayden is used to me putting him to bed, so he goes right down. But as I pick him up from the living room floor and walk to the baby gate, he turns to the couch and waves because that's how he's used to telling daddy good night. It breaks my heart, and I just hope I can make them both proud for the next year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a blessing it was for us to all be together on Thanksgiving. We had anticipated it being our first holiday apart, but it worked out that Jay was still home. We invited our friends the Hatchers over for dinner and I spent most of Wednesday getting ready for the holiday. The tree is up, the house is decorated, and the turkey was thawed.

We had a delightful meal and a ton of fun watching our little boys play. There was more than enough food, and it was definitely more fun for Hayden than last year when he was only a few days old. We ate and ate, played with Oscar and baby toys, and of course watched the boys play Xbox. It was even more fun because I got to use so much of my Polish pottery to cook and serve!

There is so much to be thankful for and we try to remember it every day, but it's nice to have a day to sit back and reflect. And of course, eat all our favorite food!

And just like that, he's gone

I'm behind on the blogging again, it's been a busy week. Yesterday was the zero hour to start our deployment. We dropped Jay off at 245 and hung out on post with him and the ladies for about an hour. He had a day full of preparation and a lot of standing around ahead of him, so Hayden and I headed home to rest and relax. We went back up around 8 last night, picked up a few last minute things for Jay and headed to the motor pool.

As I pulled in to the gate, I saw a bus in the lane beside me and knew that it was one of the buses the boys would be on later tonight. It's a surreal feeling, doing this for the third time. The only way to get through it is to stay positive, so that's what I tried to do yesterday. We hung out in one of the bays for awhile and finally it was time to form up. The commander said a few words and then released the soldiers to their families for ten minutes. We said our goodbyes, kissed our baby and then it was over. I watched him march off with so many other people I care about, and just prayed for the best.

So today is day one, and it's cold and rainy. We're having the girls over for dinner tonight, and we're going to learn how to do this all over again. Oscar and Hayden know something is up, they're acting differently and that's okay. One day at a time, right?

Tradition

As I worked on our Thanksgiving meal prep today, I thought a lot about tradition. As I poured corn syrup over beans and added brown sugar and minced onion, I thought how many times I watched my mom do the same thing as a child. I also thought about that small pan of baked beans that's always at my Mamaw's house because my mom doesn't eat green beans like the rest of us. I thought how funny it is that I'm making a cheesecake because Jay loves it and doesn't eat pumpkin pie. I thought about all the times I watched my Pawpaw carve the turkey when he was still with us, and how my mom always snuck a few pieces despite Mamaw's exasperation.


I'm sure tomorrow when I'm working on the stuffing, I'll think about the pan of stuffing at my other Mamaw's that's spicy, and the small pan for those of us that don't like the heat. And when I use the buttermilk to make my mashed potatoes, I'll think about how I never understood why Cotton would drink it and actually like it.


I hope in 27 years, Hayden looks back and thinks about the things that were always the same at our house during the holidays. No matter where we were in the world or who sat down at the table with us, or even if some holidays we didn't get to be a whole family, there were some things that remained the same. And hopefully, he won't remember that Boston Market made the gravy and mom didn't :-)

Eating machine

I'm alway so excited when Hayden likes new foods. Truth be told, we haven't found much that he DOESN'T like. Today when I picked him up from daycare so I could get a little gym time, the teachers are always so surprised at how much he eats. On today's menu? Broccoli lasagna! He's never had broccoli before and isn't likely to have much at home since neither Jay nor I eat it, but I'm determined to work on it. He loves spinach and I'm a big fan of that so we'll be getting in a lot of that but I will really have to work with broccoli. We've been archenemies for many years but we're learning to get along.

Last night Hayden woke up while we were still awake so I heated up some milk and discovered that he finally likes it! I don't know if it's because we just kept giving it to him or that I finally got the temperature right, but he gobbled it right down. It's so much fun to see him morph from a baby to a boy right in front of our eyes. Unfortunately our picture-taking has drastically slowed since Hayden's first birthday, but the holidays are right around the corner and we'll have plenty to share. Hopefully soon we can get some steps on video as well!

Working momma

I am officially employed! Well, I have a job. But it starts in January. Maybe I should back up a little.

I have been thinking about going back to work for some time. I started the application process in October, which is confusing and frustrating over here and I do not much care for it. So two weeks ago I asked a friend if they were hiring at the bank, and she told me they were. I printed out the resume that's been ready for months, and gave the manager a call. He told me I could come in anytime to drop it off, so I called my friend Amber to see if she'd watch Hayden for a few minutes. Nothing says low-maintenance employee like someone who comes in with a one-year-old clinging to her legs and demanding attention, right?

I went to the bank and met with the manager. I handed him my resume, he asked me a few questions and said he'd like to set up an interview. He went to speak with someone else and quickly returned saying, "Well since you're here and unprepared, let's do it now." Rock on. Let's do this. So I had a short interview with the two of them, and felt pretty good about it. But I've been here long enough to know not to get my hopes up. They assured me I would hear back from them before Thanksgiving.

So imagine my surprise when, after the weekend, I ran into said bank manager who told me to come in to fill out the paperwork. I was hired! I will be a customer service representative for Community Bank, which is a division of Bank of America that's set up overseas on military posts for American citizens. My job starts in January and will require a two-week training that's about two hours away from here, but we're working on the logistics of that. The best part is that all bank employees start out as part time, which will be a great way to transition to "back to work" for me and Hayden. I also have some time to figure out what kind of child care route we'll be taking for little man, but for now I'm SO excited to be employed again!

Dear Salem College, thank you for teaching me how to construct a proper resume. Thank you for reminding me how to be professional, how to dress for an interview even if it's not supposed to be an interview, and not to wear perfume to an interview. Thank you for telling me to write a thank you note after an interview, to make eye contact, have a firm handshake and to speak openly and honestly about my job experience and characteristics. This job's for you ;-)

Updates

Well Hayden is one, and big things are happening! He took his first steps for Jay on November 9, but is far from actually "walking". He will get into a groove, taking a few steps back and forth between Jay and I. It's a lot of fun to watch, and he is definitely more interested in walking when dad is around. Crawling is just so fast, so he seems to prefer that. He has also turned into our little climber and therefore our little daredevil. He can now get up and down the couch in no time, and has a blast climbing over anything in his way. Sometimes that happens to be Oscar, which does not please Oscar but he deals with it.


We started giving Hayden milk in his sippy cup about two weeks ago to mixed results. After a few tries, he definitely prefers whole milk once it's been warmed. He's still not in love with it, but he is making excellent progress. As a result, we're washing and packing up the bottles this week because he is no longer interested in them! This was a huge relief, as the bottle seemed to be a great source of comfort to him for a long time. I guess he's ready to move on to bigger and better things!

Food is a ton of fun for little Mr. Hayden. He loves to eat whatever we eat, which can include Thai food, avocadoes, whole wheat banana bread, pasta salad, anything on our plates he seems to think is fair game. He is such a good eater and is surprisingly on the "skinny" side for his size, but he burns a ton of calories with all that playing! He is having a blast with all his new birthday toys, and we're going to have to clean out some of the old ones to make room. I still owe you a blog about Austria; I got a little behind there for awhile but we're working on getting caught up!