Is it November yet???

The Democratic National Convention is going on right now. The Republican Convention is next week.

Blah. Double blah.

They really should space them out more. One can only handle so much self-righteousness at a time.

Favorite Things

J,

One of the things we do daily, usually over dinner, is talk about our favorite things that happened during the course of our day. I tell you my favorite part of the day, and then I try to guess what your favorite part was. On Thursday, for example, my favorite thing was helping you learn how to put together your fire engine puzzle. And I think your favorite thing was watching a bunny eat his dinner while we were taking a spin in your cool red car. On Friday we both had the same favorite thing...playing in the sprinklers! This little routine is a really good way for me to make my Mommy report card. If the best thing about our day is pointing out the fans in Home Depot, I probably need to do a better job tomorrow!

Last week was one of my favorite "favorite thing" moments EVER. You and Judah and Timmy were all playing at the park, and Judah decided to climb up onto a big tree stump. You think Judah is just about the coolest person you know, so of course you followed him up onto the stump. You gave each other this gigantic hug, and Judah said, "Buddy!" Awwww. A cute moment already. Well, then you both lost your balance and went tumbling off the tree stump, still hugging, and Judah still saying "Buddy!" Timmy saw all of this transpire and decided he didn't want to be left out of the action, so he ran over to you boys and fell down to the ground with great enthusiasm. Now every time I need a giggle I think, "Buddy!" and the image of you three monkeys flashes into my mind. So cute.

Freedom...officially

Today I received my discharge paperwork from the Air Force. I have not been a member of the Active Duty for the last four years, but I was still connected to the Inactive Reserve to complete my military service commitment. That is just a complicated way (the military can invent nonsensical terminology for just about anything) of saying that I didn't have to go to work every day, but if they needed me they could call me. Even though it wasn't part of my daily life, I still "belonged" to them, so to speak.

There is an ever-present lack of control over one's own life that military service members learn to live with. They don't get to choose their jobs, decide where to live, plan work around a family live, or even become pleasantly plump! This isn't a complaint, by the way. I signed up for eight years of service, and I happily completed it. It was an honor to simply be a part of the same organization my Daddy and so many other individuals I respect...Gen Smith, Gen Twitchell, Gen Clem, Capt Jack, David Eastis, Alan Estis, Uncle Don, Mr. Noneck, TC Coon, your Daddy, both my grandfathers, both my grandfathers-in-law, and so many others...made so great.

So it feels both freeing and odd to no longer be a part of it all. For the first time in my life, I won't carry a military ID card. Forever more, my hand will be over my heart instead of in a salute during our national anthem. I won't put on my uniform again. No one will call me "Captain". I probably won't be called ma'am very often, for that matter! But I will always remember fondly my time as a servicewoman...as an airman...and be proud.

An Intervention

I must stop drinking so much Diet Coke! I came to this conclusion after finding myself on the receiving end of a Diet Coke intervention, courtesy of my handsome little friend Judah. Judah's Mommy was unloading groceries, and she turned around to see Judah holding a Diet Coke bottle while exclaiming, "Seebs!" Pretty sad when an 18 month old associates you with a soda bottle.

For you, I choose organic fruit, whole great bread, and free range eggs, yet I pump those nasty chemicals into my body at the rate of 2 liters/day. Yikes! If I am still doing this by the time you learn to read, I give you permission to nag me incessantly. They have pills to help people quit smoking; maybe I should look for something to help me out.

Just so you know, I am writing this with a full glass of my favorite aspartame/caffeine combo right in front of me. I will quit...but certainly not today!

Your First Haircut

Today you got your first haircut. We went to a special kids' barber, and you got a special certificate marking the occasion. Instead of a chair you sat in a cool car, and Ernie was taking a bubble bath on television with rubber ducky. You were impressing everyone there by shouting "Ernie!" "Ducky!" "Bubboo!" At the end you got a special balloon and I got some locks of your hair. All for the low price of $25 (note sarcasm). Brilliant.

Here is your before picture:













During:













And (da da da dummmm) the after:

Movie Quotes

Your daddy has this really annoying habit of quoting movies and tv shows. All the time. Okay, it used to be annoying, but now I actually understand his humor (scary, I know) and think he is hysterical most of the time. I'm sure you will think we are both dorks, but that's okay.

He wanted to make sure I included some of his favorites in my blog, so here is one that came up in conversation last night:

"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

---Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986)

Perfect Weekend

Well, it is Monday. Poo. We had such a fantastic weekend and Monday had to come around and spoil things. I wish you could remember how much fun we had!

On Saturday we went to Sesame Place. Oh my goodness. Despite my initial opposing arguments, your Daddy lets you watch Sesame Street in the mornings before I wake up. While I still don't love it, that extra sleep is far too precious to protest very loudly. You've become pretty attached to Ernie and Elmo during the course of these early-morning Sesame Street viewing sessions.

Well, let me tell you, seeing Ernie and Elmo (and Bert and Mr. Noodle (who I really don't trust...he looks like a child molester to me...) and Oscar and Mr. Hooper's store) in person was almost too much for you to take in! You were beyond excited.

To top it all off, you got to have your buddy Judah (and Judah's Mommy and Daddy) along with you! The two of you watching the Elmo's World show brought Mrs. B and I to tears, you were both so awestruck.

You boys also got to ride the carousel (twice), take pictures with Bert & Ernie (a tiny bit scary), eat at Elmo's Eatery (pizza & chicken strips) , go on the teacups (dizzy), and drive trains (very cool).

I think my favorite moment was you and Judah consulting the map to decide the agenda for the day. It was very serious business!



Then on Sunday you and Daddy and I had a great day playing, having lunch at your second favorite place, Panera, and going to the pool. You are such a big boy now. You can stand up in the kiddie pool all by yourself, and you love going under the waterfall.

So, a great weekend from start to finish. Monday came around way to quickly!