3 MONTHS

Her inquisitive look

Audrey is 3 months old today!!

I can't believe how fast time has gone. I always heard people say how important it is to cherish the time because it goes so fast. They were not kidding. It has flown by. It has been so fun and so challenging. I wouldn't change anything about it!

Always looking at the ceiling fan

LOL the flash scares her

Audrey's third month has been full of firsts. Her daddy left for deployment, she had her first long trip with 2 airplane rides, her first time meeting all of her family, first Halloween, and first time rolling over! Wow!

Audrey rolled over 3 times on Halloween, but hasn't done it since. I guess that wore her out and she has had enough for now. Everyone tells me what a good baby she is, and she really is, but she has her moments. Night time has been pretty smooth since about 4 weeks old, but now she is getting a little crazy again. I have been bad about letting her sleep with me since Brandon left so I decided to try to get her to sleep in the crib. She does fine until about 3 am then decides she needs to sleep with me. We have dropped her night feedings though so that's nice.

Audrey is such a blessing, I can't wait for more exciting "firsts"!

-Size 2 diapers this months
-Still in 0-3 months clothes
-Eating 4 oz every 3ish hours, except at night
-I won't know her weight until 4 month appt, I bet she weighs around 11-12 lbs.

IOWA

I haven't posted in a while! Life has been a whirlwind the last few weeks. Audrey and I are back in Iowa for the duration of Brandon's deployment and it is so wonderful being home again :) So lets start where we left off last time shall we?

After Brandon left I started getting ready to head home. I had to wait on Audrey's passport and paperwork from Brandon's commander so I could fly Space A. After all the paperwork went through I was able to sign up for a flight. I was very lucky and was able to make the first flight I tried to get on! The trip home was very long and exhausting, but it could have been much worse. Audrey slept through 90% of our 8 1/2 hour flight to Baltimore. She didn't fuss once. I couldn't believe it. Once we landed I only had 1 hour to get through customs, get my bags, check in at Southwest, go through security, change Audrey, and get to the gate. It was quite the challenge. At baggage claim there was plenty of returning airmen willing to help me get my bags on the luggage cart. I tried to get them myself, but with Audrey strapped to my chest, it didn't work. When I got to the main part of the airport they had tons of people with the USO clapping and cheering saying, "Welcome home!" I felt pretty silly because I know they were there for the returning deployed airmen, but it was still pretty cool. Everyone was smiling and saying how cute Audrey was. After I got passed my little military community of people is when it got hectic. I had to run with a baby strapped to me to the complete opposite side of the airport to check in. I got charged a 50$ baggage fee for my bag being THREE pounds overweight. I tried to play the "poor me" card...husband deployed, traveled from Germany by myself...they weren't having it. Rules are rules I guess. At this point I was bawling because I was so tired and frustrated. Once I got to security I put my bag through and they had to rip it apart to inspect it, of course. Then they gave it back all jumbled, people were trying to rush past me, I was crying and probably looking like a crazy person. Traveling with such a young baby is NOT easy, but we made it and that is all the matters :) From Baltimore we flew into St Louis and my family met us there. It was SUCH a relief to see them and know that I had made it!

Keilan and Audrey on Halloween!

Since being home we have visited with lots of friends and family. I have had so much fun showing off Brandon and I's little lady.  I am so sad that Brandon can't be here to experience all the firsts, but it is nice that I can share it with my family. They are an acceptable replacement for the time being ;) It is also nice being in America! Ah! I had my first night out last week and realized I have turned into one of those people that goes out and can't talk about anything other than my baby. Ugh. It was a fun time though, love seeing people from high school! It made me feel like a normal person again ;) I struggle with feeling guilty when I leave Audrey, but that is normal...I hope.

The first week I was home I did not work out or watch what I ate at all. After the first week I got back into my workout routine and started watching my diet again. I am determined to get this weight off! I need to feel good about myself again. Being home has really helped me feel like myself again though. I haven't seen much progress yet, but I will get there!

Brandon has been gone for almost 1 month now, only 5 more to go! I am missing him so much, but it seems like he has gotten into his routine and seems to be doing well :) We email everyday and skype at least once a week. Thank goodness for Internet! I would go crazy waiting for a letter.

Trick or Treating!

Picking pumpkins

Audrey will be 3 months on Saturday! I cannot believe it! Time really does fly!

Deployment

Daddy snuggles :)

 As you all know from facebook, Brandon left for his deployment yesterday. It was a sad day. The longest time we have spend apart is 6 weeks at a time, so 6 months is a big difference. It is nice to have school and Audrey to keep me busy though.

We waited at the terminal for about 4 hours before they called Brandon's flight for boarding. We got to sit with him the whole time, so that was a big plus. Sitting there waiting was the worst part....knowing that the goodbyes were coming. Brandon hides his emotions very well...he knew how sad I was and breaking down would make it worse. Bless his heart, he is a great fella ;)

I <3 my airman

This is how I try to look at the time apart. There is no sense in pouting about it. Deployment comes with the territory. We knew it was coming and prepared as much as you can for something like this. Complaining about the situation is not going to make it better, in fact it will only make me miserable. It could always be worse! The air force is relatively safe and it is only 6 months. It could be much longer. SO, I plan to make the most out of this time and be as positive as I can. It is selfish of me to whine and complain when Brandon is the one sacrificing so much.

I have a few goals that I plan to work on while he is gone....

1) Get in awesome shape so we can compete in Tough Mudder in May
2)Get our home decorated how I want it....been slacking since we moved while I was very pregnant.
3) Get rid of the excess. Our storage room in the basement of our building is FULL of crap. Time to get rid of the stuff we aren't using and get organized.

But for now, I am allowing myself ONE day of full out lazy complete with ice-cream in bed :)

Month 2

Audrey is 2 months old today! 

These past 2 months have seriously flown by. Audrey is changing so much! It is so fun to watch her grow and do new things.

Audrey's second month has definitely been much smoother than her first month. She is on a pretty set schedule now. She goes down for bed at 9:30 and wakes up between 3-4 am to eat. After she eats she goes back down until about 7:30 then is up to eat again. After she eats, she goes back to sleep. If I am feeling lazy then I will go back to sleep as well, but usually I get up and use this time to work out and get things done around the house. She is up again around 10 and that is when she takes a bath and gets dressed. From about 11-6 she takes a couple short naps and plays and eats in between. Around 6 she wakes up for a couple hours, eats, plays, then back down for bedtime! This schedule works great for the both of us and is much better than the erratic schedule she was on the first month!

Audrey has started interacting much more and has become more vocal. She makes such cute baby noises :) She also smiles and giggles quite often! I like to think that she recognizes Brandon and I but I am not so sure. We had her 2 month wellness check today and she is very healthy! Woo! She had her 2 month shots and though she has long forgotten about them, I still feel so sad for her! Ridiculous, yes. Brandon had a PT test so I had to go by myself....never again! She had just woken up from a nap so she was smiling and giggling at the nurse, then BAM. Poor baby was so unsuspecting. Her arms flew out and she looked at me like "WHYYY!!!" then just screamed like I never heard her scream before. It was so heartbreaking. She has been very sleepy since then.

 
STATS:
10.5 lbs
21 inches
Size 1 diapers
Some newborn clothes still, but pants are too short, starting to wear mostly 0-3 months
Eating 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours

Hanging out after her doctors appointment. She wouldn't let me put her tights back on.

Still smilin!