Football vs. Election

I am LOVING this political season. Sure, some would call me a political junkie .... and I probably am. For those of you that know me well, I LOVE football - but for once, I'm not sure if I'm as excited about football season as I am about this election season (it doesn't help when the Redskins have looked horrible in their past 2 pre-season games)!! No matter which ticket you support, history is being made - and it's exciting! It's exciting to be a part of such a wonderful country with so many opportunities!! Not to be all "deep", but we really are all very blessed!

Special Delivery

You've gotta love the internet. Thanks to the internet, I received a special delivery this week: flowers from Iraq. Well, not FROM Iraq, but from my husband in Iraq. Not my birthday, not our anniversary....just because! Very thoughtful! :-) They definitely put a smile on my face - Thanks Chris!! (Is it November yet)???

7 months...

Jake was officially 7 months old yesterday. Hard to believe, huh?! This is a fun age, too, because everyday he is trying to do something different. He is so much fun! He amazes me more and more everyday!

What does Jake say about Daddy being in Iraq??

Out of the mouth of a 7 month old.... (for the record, we are proud of Chris for being in Iraq and the work he is doing....He is our hero....we just miss him)!!

TOO CUTE!!!!!!

This is Maddy dancing and Emma playing the piano. It was SOOOOOOOO sweet that I just had to share :-) After a nice week of being with the Ashinhursts and then seeing some of my relatives, it is just a reminder how THANKFUL I am for family!

Cousins!

We were in Richmond yesterday at Aunt Beverly and Uncle Craig's house, and Jake got to meet his second cousins Emma, Ethan, Maddy, and Kyle who had come to visit from Georgia. Susan came into town, too....and Aunt Charline was also here from Florida! Here are some pictures from the day. Jake enjoyed having more people to play with!!

Olympics

The Olympics need to END!!! I am enjoying them too much....and getting NO sleep! I can't believe I'm still up at 12:30am watching beach volleyball!! Well, I can believe it, but I need to be sleeping right now instead! I may be worthless tomorrow.... Go USA!

Trip to DC

Jake has been allllllllllll over the place in his 7 months of life. We went to DC about a month ago with Taniya and Shawn - and also met Aunt Julianne for lunch, which was the highlight of the trip! In DC, we made it to the Washington Monument, World War 2 Memorial, White House, Lincoln Memorial, and of course O'Melveny & Myers (Aunt Julianne's office). Taniya and Shawn are the perfect dates....and Jake and I double-date with them as often as possible :-) Soon, though....school will start and they will have to go back to teaching :-(

"Mr. Man" and me

Night Life

While at the beach, we also have played putt-putt (will have to post those pictures later), and we have been to the Boardwalk. Since Jake couldn't enjoy the boardwalk fries, we went to the arcade...and Jake watched Gram play ski ball (not sure if that is how it is spelled), but you will notice Jake with Gram's tickets around his neck! Then, he also rode in his very first ferrari.....and shot a rifle (daddy would be proud)!

Sand and Waves

Jake and I are with Gram, Poppy, Aunt Becky, and Aunt Katy at Nana and Grandad's house in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Jake has really enjoyed the beach....and has enjoyed the people watching. The beach has provided tons of stimulation for "mr. curious." :-) He doesn't quite know what to think of the waves...he just stares at them as they crash in. Gram even bought him a little pool that he has loved playing in!! It has been a great few days, and I definitely forsee many beach vacations in our future. In fact...maybe we can talk Daddy into going to Coronado one weekend while we are in CA after he gets home from Iraq (wink wink)!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

These flowers aren't to me or from me, BUT.....they are beautiful, huh?! I just want to say Congratulations to Jul for her promotion at work - how exciting!! I'm really proud of you!! (the flowers are from Matt - what a guy)!!

Just for kicks....

In honor of football season about to start, I needed to bring up this picture! We know how Jake really feels about the Eagles (this was taken before Chris left, obviously).

CRAWLING

Jake did it. He crawled. I even have more witnesses than just myself :-) He first did a 360 degree scoot. He has been scooting all over the place lately, but tonight...he actually CRAWLED. He still tries to do more "swimming" than anything (he is going to have some good abs), but tonight....he crawled 2 little crawls. I have it on video, but it's about 10 minutes long, so I will spare everyone. It's pretty exciting....but I also know I better conserve my energy for when he really starts taking off!

Chris update - complete with captions from Chris himself

The Ranch House: This was an abandoned house we used as a CP (commandpost) for a few days. It was pretty nice, you could tell whoever built it put some time and money in it. This is where we were staying when the camels invaded.
The Fort: Another CP for us. This was an old British Colonial fort,probably built 80 years ago and more than likely occupied by a colonial British company back when they were in the middle east. It was pretty rough inside.
CO and XO: This is me standing next to the CO's tank...I'm sure we were discussing some important tactical decisions.

Sandstorm Coming: I know this picture isn't the best, b/c of the dust...but the large cloud you see is a sandstorm coming in from thewest. This one wasn't even that bad in comparison to a lot of them.

Picture Perfect

Not to be all sappy, but this is really just a picture perfect moment. This was taken right before Chris left. I can't wait for him to get home, so he can enjoy many more moments like this with Jake - and me!

There is a first - and last - time for everything

So, I had this great idea of putting Jake on my shoulders today. It provided for a great picture opportunity. The problem is.....that I'm not very strong. Don't worry, Jake is fine. He looked confused for the majority of the time - and then started smiling and laughing. Even when I got him down, he started making these noises as if to say, "again, again." BUT, there won't be an again....at least not from me. He will have to wait until Chris gets home. My neck hasn't been the same since. At least I learn my limits - even if it is the hard way :-)

Hail to the Redskins!

These are my Redskins season tickets!! This is a BIG deal to me. First of all, I have loved football (and esp the Redskins) my whole life. There is not too much that is better than when football season starts. I love the weather, the sounds, the lights, the smells..... Anyway, last year was my first year to get season tickets. I remember the call like it was yesterday. I had been on the season ticket waiting list for 10 years!!!!!!!! 10 years - and my name had finally been reached. I wasn't able to go to any of the games last year, b/c we were out in CA (and I was pregnant), but this year....I will be at probably 4 of them! :-) The last reason this is a big deal is because there are 150,000 people still on the season ticket waiting list!! So, these tickets are like gold (well, to Redskins fans). I also have to add that my husband is a very good "sport", b/c he is a huge Eagles fan (I don't hold it against him)....BUT he is understanding of the importance of these season tickets in my life! :-) I think he's just glad that I'm the one calling DirectTV to order Sunday NFL ticket!!

More of Chris in Iraq

(Yes, those are camels in the background)

I can't believe the average temperature is 130 degrees!! He did say it gets "cool" at night and is in the 90s. I guess that would be a relief from 130-140.

Promotion in Sandstorm

This is Chris getting promoted from Lt. to Capt. in Iraq....in a sandstorm.

Clever

3 Reasons Raising Kids is like being in a Casino:

1. You're sweating every second until someone hits 21.
2. Your colicky baby puts on a can't-miss late-night show.
3. Every time your child smiles, you feel like you've hit the jackpot!

(Parenting Magazine, August 2008)

Dada

I'm pretty sure Jake is saying dada. He's looking at a toy, so I'm not sure if I can count it as his first word, but definitely his first sound....that makes sense :-) Pretty cute!

Have you ever wanted to put your big toe in your mouth?

The definition of flexibility (adj) is 1. capable of being bent or flexed 2. capable of being bent repeatedly without injury or damage. The second definition is my favorite. I never thought Jake was going to be able to put his big toe in his mouth. I just didn't see it happening. Not only did I think he was going to be too big or long, BUT mainly because Chris and I can't even TOUCH our toes standing up (yes, that is true). We would be the opposite definition of flexible. So, as I watch Jake continually put his toes in his mouth...and do it without injury or damage...it amazes me! I keep telling him that he better enjoy it while he can, because he doesn't have flexibility in his genes.

In case you haven't heard

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,399128,00.html

Are you ready for some football??

Like Father, Like Son.

When it comes to eating, the two men in my life are extremely similar!! They want every LAST bite. All of it. Leave nothing behind. I am a slow eater - they both are REALLY fast. So, the other night, I was feeding Jake carrots and oatmeal. Carrots....watered down, runny carrots. He finished all of the carrots AND then all of the oatmeal (he still had a bottle to take), but before he even showed interest in the bottle, he wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving any of the carrots behind. So, as you can see from these pictures....Jake was licking the remaining carrots (that had dropped from his bib) off of the tray!! I think I can remember times where Chris has "licked" his plate, too! I just don't have a pictures - yet. :-)

Long hair

This is Chris with long hair. I know that probably sounds funny to everyone, because it's really not THAT long, but it's LONG for Chris. In fact, in the 17 years that I have known Chris, I'm not sure if I have ever seen his hair this long :-) As of now, he has shaved it again. The others in the picture are the CO of the company in the middle and the 1st Sgt on the left. In this picture, not only is his hair long, but at this point, it has probably been about 40 days of not showering. Lets just say I probably wouldn't look AS good if I had gone that long without showering. Hopefully Chris will be able to send more pictures soon, and I will post them as soon as I get them!

Swimming anyone?

Jake stayed with Gram and Poppy and Aunt Katy tonight while I went to dinner. Among the fun things he did, he got to enjoy some time in the pool. He loves bath time, so this is the ultimate bath tub for him! And..... you gotta love the mohawk (he's thinking...."thanks for making me cool Aunt Katy")!!