Mitchell is quite the drooler! (sp!) Oops! His hands are always wet and cold because they are in his mouth or at least trying to be. He is also so serious once I start taking pictures. One more thing for him to focus on.

So Justin is off to the first of many trainings that he will be attending this year. He's only gone 2 nights this time, so really not bad. There are a few that Mitch and I will go to since they'll be in cool places, but we decided to stay home for this one. So yesterday Mitchell started pulling himself up into a standing position when he is holding onto my fingers in each hand. I get him started from laying on his back and then he pulls himself up into a sitting position and then on up to standing. He loves to stand and look around. He's such a big boy! At least he seems to think so.

I talked with a friend of mine this morning who has an 8 week old little boy. It's so much fun to have so many of my friends having babies also. I really pray that all of us will stay close so that our children will learn to know one another.

Base House

So here is the house! Nothing special except for maybe the palms out front. They are kinda fun to brag about especially since it is the end of October and still in the 90's outside. We also live right on the golf course, so no pesty neighbors looking in my back window! I've met a few neighbors and one even brought us freshly baked blueberry muffins! She is married to the Head of Security on base. I feel oh so safe now! They also have two kids, one of whom is 10 months old. I'm sure he'll be a playmate of Mitchell's soon enough!

Photo session

I was trying to be artistic, but it just isn't in me. Plus my camera is pretty basic. Anyhow, here is little Mitch. He is getting to be quite the character with the sounds that he makes as well and the faces. He already makes certain noises when he wants to get my attention. Smart kid! It's pretty cute to watch Justin play with him. I have 2 pretty special boys!

Finally here!

So we have finally all arrived together again here in Tucson, AZ. It has been a long summer and I am looking forward to finally moving into our base house on Monday! I just picked up the keys this morning and will post pictures later. It is small, but it will do. Justin will have less than a mile commute to either the clinic or the squadron, maybe even less than 1/2 mile. We have been staying in the TLF's(temporary living facility) for about 4 weeks now with a brief stay in a different hotel off base due to lack of availablity on base. And now, finally we have wireless internet back up and running once again. That was a huge frustration for me as I was trying to find a house to rent off of the base. I am not a Calvinist but I guess that was God's way of saying that I just needed to accept the housing arrangements that he had for us. I guess that I just am really struggling with the idea of being a military wife and mom. I realized last week when we went to a party for the helicopter squadron, that I don't really fit into any one specific place like most of the wives. Justin works with 3 different squadrons and so I will have to try extra hard to meet people from all three groups. Not what I really expected. Oh well, just one more new trial to work through in this adventure.
The next time that I blog, I will warn you, will most likely be a major whining fest. The movers come on Monday and I have been warned that most of my things will be broken!

Sleeping through the night!

At least one of us is sleeping through the night! I finally decided that he could let off some energy and cry for a bit when he wakes up at 3am. After 5-10 minutes of this, I will give him his pacifier and he will calm down and then continue sleeping for a couple more hours. Every night is different of course, but at least I am getting better at this mothering thing!
We are doing the same thing with his naps. He has been crying after only 45 min of sleep during his day time naps. I read somewhere that this could last a couple weeks. Well, it's been at least a couple of weeks, so I am doing the same thing. I stand there, helping him with this pacifier and wait until he stops crying. It seems to work every once in a while if I catch him at the right time. I tried to let him cry this morning while I was finishing getting my weekly shower in, and it only got worse. I gave in after 15 min. of crying and fed him. It's kinda nice to feel as though I am getting a handle on this sleeping thing, though after we travel this weekend down to Arizona, I have a feeling that we are going to have to start all over again. Every time that we travel, his schedule gets all messed up because he hates his car seat and will cry and cry until I take him out. Justin would have a fit if he knew how much I pull him out of his seat, but we'll deal with that when we are all in the same state!

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I've definitely had my ups and downs in all areas of my life. Right now, I am super excited to see my husband after being away from him for almost 7 weeks. I now am realizing that when he gets deployed, it would be 5 more weeks until I would see him. I am grateful that I am pretty good at living in the present because otherwise I would really have a hard time knowing what it feels like to be away from Justin for so long. Justin just called me and said that he was back from his survival training. He said that he had broken his leg and would be out for 1 1/2 months. When I asked him where and how he did it, he said that during the POW training they were only allowed to break his fingers and that the interrogator got really upset and broke his leg. It was then that I knew he was kidding! He then let me know that they were let go early because of the incoming hurricanes. Leave it up to Justin to tell a story like that!

I just want to tell everyone just how much I miss my husband. I feel extremely blessed to have family that I can stay with while my husband is away, but I would much rather be at a home with Justin and our son, enjoying these first few months together. Enough said, I am grateful that Justin is not deployed, yet, and that we are able to talk on the phone and email daily. There are so many wives whose husbands are away and can not communicate at all. I am really trying to embrace that fact and know that we will be settled in Tucson soon enough.

So I won't bore you with all pictures of my son but this one was just too telling of him. Anyhow, today I had a realization that not everyone is as open about the harsh reality of being a mother. It is a complete life change and I think that most people think that it just happens and you embrace it. No, not the case. I have been staying with my bro and his wife for over a week now and it has been great. I have a little niece who is 6 days younger than Mitchell. It has been a true blessing to be able to spend time with little Elliana and her mother, Sonja. There is nothing like sharing the joys and struggles at the same time, knowing just what the other is going through.

Here is my precious baby boy. My husband has referred to him as "the wudge" since day one. Why? I believe it's because he looks like a little woodland creature, but I'm really not sure. Mitchell Jack Bremer is thus far living up to his name. We'll get more into that later! He is quite the character already at 7 weeks old being born on June 25 weighing 7lbs. 12oz. and 20.5 in.

Reality is setting in!

I recently became a mother. And not when my son was born, but when I really decided to let go of life pre-baby. Yes, I have been through a lot in the last two months. Moving across the country a couple days after Mitchell was born, and my husband being gone for almost 5 of the first 7 weeks are just what was happening around me. While internally, I was a wreck but not sure why. I had known for a long time that we were moving and that Mitchell was going to be born at the most inconvenient time possible, but I had accepted the reality of the upcoming chaos. What I had not been able to do was let go. Let go of everything.
It all started with the move. The movers came the day after we brought Mitchell home from the hospital. I wasn't able to supervise and it was killing me. I was sleep deprived, staying with my neighbors and having to trust my mother and husband to do everything for me. That was just the beginning. My mother and I then drove from Michigan to Colorado with my six day old son. That was the easy part. Once we arrived is when it really hit me. Old friends, and family were stopping by which was great. I thought. I was constantly having to go to my room to either nurse or change diapers or anything else that Mitchell needed. I just thought that I was having a hard time because I was still sleep deprived, staying with family and my husband was in Arizona for a week. No, not until a friend of mine asked to pray for me because Mitchell was having his evening crying spells, did God give her the words of "holding on". At the time it really didn't mix with me though the thought stuck with me. Later that day, the flood gates opened. I was still holding on to my pre-baby life.
That is why I say that I recently became a mother. Just within the last week or so have I really started to enjoy this new found life. Yes, I have been a mother since the beginning of Mitchell's life, but did I accept it. No one really preps you for these specific changes. You just think that the baby will just sort of fit right into the mix of your life and that you will adjust also. So yes, it has been a daily process, and we are doing much better. I have come to realize what the specific things are that I am holding on to and am working on each one with the hopes that God will honor my desires to be fully devoted to being a mother to my son, Mitchell.