This Space For Rent

Sep 11, 2012

So long, Farewell...

There's a saying, "There are no goodbyes in the Army...only see you laters." Well, no matter how you slice it--leaving sucks. It's always hard to leave a place where you've made good friends and it's even harder when you leave a place with family close by. The movers come next Tuesday and our final inspection is Thursday. I can't believe how soon it is! I sometimes feel like we just moved here. I definitely wasn't this sad about leaving Fort Drum but can you really blame me?

I said my goodbyes to some of the girls in my natural moms group last week. I've learned so much from this group about cloth diapering, natural birth, gentle parenting, you name it! It's also how I met my doula. I hope the crunchy moms group I joined for Fort Rucker is just as sociable and fun. I'm going to miss these ladies!

We said our goodbyes to Shannon's family at the last last weekend and on the way home I said to Mike through tears, "Why are we leaving again?"Remember it was our choice to leave--Mike re-enlisted for Fort Rucker. All week long I was dreading saying goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and the twins. Ugh.

Shawn, Shannon, Arthur and Sadie came down from Seattle one last time this weekend. No one talked about us leaving until the very end. Shawn LOVES our dog Zero and he got choked up when saying bye to her. Once I saw him crying I lost it too. We're going to miss having them close by SO much! Mike and I feel like we're abandoning him here--we'll be back within driving distance of the rest of the family and he'll be out here all by his lonesome. We'll miss the babies growing up together too. Sigh. Mike and I were so bummed after they left! We tried watching Big.Bang.Theory. to cheer us up and when that didn't work we just went to bed--it was barely 9 o'clock!

Before we moved here I hadn't lived near my brother since I was in 2nd grade so it was really great getting to know him as an adult. We've had so much fun living here the past 2.5 years. Countless trips to Seattle for Seahawks and Sounders games, beautiful scenery, lots of beer drinking and tons of time with my brother and Shannon. It was great to have someone to commiserate with during IVF and pregnancy and new parenthood! We're going to miss them. I think my heart belongs to Seattle and the west coast now and I can definitely see Mike and I living here again some day.

Like I said...beer drinking.

Zero at Tolmie State Park

Hiking at Tolmie State Park

Shannon and I getting ready to go on a kayak adventure around the lake

Michael Franti concert


Zero's first time in the Pacific Ocean


Camping at Ocean Shores


Mt. Rainier on Veteran's Day

Tailgating before the Seahawks vs Saints playoff game


St. Patty's Day Dash


Mariners game


Seattle Sounders vs Manchester United


Leavenworth


After more beer drinking in Leavenworth

Is there any place more beautiful?

Camping at Canon Beach, OR

I know it's a good decision for us--Mike won't have to deploy or even go into the field while we're at Rucker. We'll be closer to family and will see them more often. We're planning a trip to Disney World with my sister's family in March! It won't rain all the time and it will be better for Mike's career. Still...I hope we end up back here some day so I can see these three cuties together again.

Sep 10, 2012

One Month Old!

I can't believe it's already been a month since you this beautiful baby girl came into our lives. It's amazing how quickly they change--Hazel doesn't look like a newborn anymore! I think Mike and I are finally figuring out her quirks, likes and dislikes. She still has does her monkey cry (it makes everyone who hears it laugh!) and she's starting to make a lot more noise, particularly in her sleep. She does this adorable thing when she sneezes--she'll sneeze twice and then give a huge sigh like, "That felt good!" It's the cutest thing ever. She is growing so fast and doesn't fit in any newborn clothes anymore but most 0-3 month clothing is still huge on her. She's starting to make eye contact more often and I can *almost* get smiles on demand when I give her raspberries or kiss her neck. She's happiest in Mommy's arms or in the Ring Sling but Dad's arms are a close second. It's hit or miss if she likes her swing and bouncy.

Breastfeeding is still amazing. I have sustained another life for an entire month already! It's a powerful feeling. She's not nursing quite as often anymore but I know she's getting more than enough based on the rolls that she's starting to form. Well, that and her diapers. Who knew little girls could be so explosive?!

Speaking of diapers, cloth diapering is going great too! We are using mostly prefolds and covers at home. I like the Osocozy prefolds over the Green Mountain Diaper prefolds and I love the Thirsties covers. Those double gussets have saved us from blowouts more times than once! I have one Bummis cover that is still a bit too big for her but I don't think I'll like it as much since it doesn't have those double gussets. We have some Alva newborns and Thirsties Duos and have alrwady had to go to the next biggest snap setting! No, shs can't be growing that much already! At night time we are using pocket diapers just because they're easier to put one when we're half awake and I also think that the micro suede helps to keep her feel dryer longer since she's not getting changed as often at night. So far we've only had leaks when she's gone too long without being changed. Since we bedshare, I often wake up long enough just to get her latched and I often fall back asleep before I change her diaper and sometimes we get leaks. I have enough diapers to wash every other day but I normally end up washing every day just because. We do need more wipes though so I'll be sending the remaining of my flannel stash to my friend Allie who is going to make me more. We're going to do disposable diapers and wipes on our upcoming move though. I hope we don't have any issues with diaper rash or blow outs!

Mike went back to work last week so I've had a few days where it's been just the two of us--I've even gone out with her by myself a few times. One time last week to say farewell to some of the members of my natural moms group and once today to say bye to some ladies from the infertility support group I started who are now pregnant or mommies.


Look at all the babywearing mamas!

Since we moved to Washington, we have spent the last two Labor Day weekends at my sister-in-law's mom's lake house up north. The first year we went Mike had just blown out his MCL and PCL so he wasn't able to do much except sit there and enjoy his vicodin. Last year I was recovering from my laparoscopy and this year we had our new baby girl with us! Shannon's family has become a second family to use over the past two and a half years so the weekend was bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to them. Hazel and the twins got lots of snuggles from everyone!