Sara and I's friendship is pretty much over. Last month, she came to the door with two bags full of baby food to give us and to say goodbye. Apparently, Chris told her he didn't want to be a father anymore, that he never wanted Ava, and that he wanted Sara to give Ava up for adoption so it could just be the two of them again. Sara said she was leaving that night on a red-eye flight. I hugged her, said goodbye, closed the door and just started crying.
I found out a few days later when I texted her to see if she got home okay that she never left. Didn't bother to say anything. A day later, I saw her back at home. I didn't understand how she could go back to someone who would say such things about her daughter. To each their own, but I don't want to be a part of the drama. I'll still be neighborly, still be there if she needs someone to talk to, but I'm no longer going to make an effort.
Here's Brady with Santa:
And here's a video of him cruising - he started December 15.
We had such a great time on vacation! I had mentioned to George how much I hate the stress of traveling with a baby before we left. He laughed at me before we left Hawaii, started grumbling on our flight to Detroit, and by the time we were traveling to DC, he VOWED we would not be traveling this far for anyone again who does not travel to see us within the next 365 days. I'm ALL for that! He said "If no one travels to see us in PARADISE then the next time we see them will be at their funeral."
That was after a bad flight, but it was still funny enough to quote.
I just don't want to pack for myself and 2 children again. Seriously, George didn't pack his own suitcase until the flight home, and even then I was folding his clothes for him. I hated him for putting the extra work on me. I had to pack 5 suitcases and 4 carry-ons ALONE. F that next time we travel ANYWHERE. He needs to learn, I'm not HIS mother.
So our schedule was this:
Dec 18 - Hawaii to Chicago (8 hour flight)
Dec 19 - Chicago to Detroit (1.5 hour flight)
Drive to Toledo, OH for my family
Dec 24 - Detroit to Washington-Reagan (1.5 hour flight)
Drive to Alexandria, VA to stay with Whitney/visit George's family
Jan 2 - Washington-Dulles to Denver (4 hour flight)
Denver to Hawaii (7.5 hour flight)
Waiting in Honolulu:
ALL of our flights were decent as far as Brady goes. He didn't scream, he only cried when he was hungry or wet (though more for diaper changes. George was REALLY quick to feed him and REALLY lax on diapers). On the Christmas Eve flight, there was a boy in front of us (26 months) and a baby. The boy was decent for most of the flight, but he SCREAMED the last 20 minutes of the flight. Brady was SOUND asleep but George had put him to sleep on the wrong side - B's head and G's elbow were towards the aisle (I was in the middle seat next to an arm-rest HOG) and everyone who walked down the aisle bumped G/B. George had steam coming out of his ears, LOL. Yesterday, we had a 3.5 hour layover in Denver. No big deal, we had agreed to keep B awake and put him to sleep on the plane. We board, get settled and B goes right to sleep, no rocking, no singing, nothing. Of COURSE....we SIT at the gate for over an hour while they "fix a mechanical problem." JUST what you want to hear when you're on board a long flight with a baby. UGH. Our 7.5 hour flight = 9 hours on a plane. Shoot me.
So we're not doing that again. I'm totally okay with that, LOL. For now. Until I miss my mom, LOL.
Everyone in Ohio LOVED seeing Brady and meeting George. They were all so surprised at how big Brady had gotten, how happy he was, how quickly he adjusted to the time difference, how cute he looked in his winter coat. They all also REALLY liked George which was a HUGE boost to George's ego. He was so nervous meeting my family, but he got such a great reception and my great aunt was TOTALLY hitting on him, asking him to pour her more wine. LOL....she's in her 70's, and she loves me and Brady more than anything. She didn't have kids. If she wants to flirt with my husband, it's ok - I told George to play it up. She's rich, I want in on the will.
Brady in his coat, going to see "Lights At The Zoo":
My mom did the smart thing: she told everyone we were in town, got a bunch of food and said "Come over on Saturday ANYTIME. We'll be expecting people between 11am and 9pm." EVERYONE came to us. We didn't have to drive to visit with anyone. I'm SO grateful to my mother for that. It's so much easier and laid back and less stressful to have everyone come to you!
Mom & Dad did give Brady $5,000 in a college fund. George got me the necklace I wanted and wrapped it in a box, in a box, in a box, in a box so that it looked like it came from Mom, Dad, Brady, AND him. He's goofy.
Us at "Christmas" (December 21) at my parents:
Brady got tooth #7 while we were there. He also figured out how to do stairs. Mom and Dad have a sunken living room with one step. Once Brady mastered that, he went right over to the stairs and started going up them! He's totally incredible seeing his little brain working!
The airport was hard - Mom and Dad drove up with us (our 4 suitcases had become 5, and we had an additional carry-on - they got us a video recorder and travel bag). Mom and Dad had time to say goodbye to Brady alone while George and I looked for my expensive Versace sunglasses I'd left on our Chicago to Detroit flight (no, they didn't have them - GRRR! Damn gay male flight attendants took them!). Mom put Brady in the stroller, looked at me and lost it. She told me she misses me, I told her I miss her every day while we're apart...I had to walk through the security line crying. George didn't really know what to do except put his arm around me while we were in line and then hug me when we were waiting for our plane to board.
Christmas at my in-laws was much better than I thought. Lynda made 2 blankets for us - one with pictures of George and I over the last year, one of Brady over the last year. Both are so sweet and sentimental...I really didn't expect things like that. She also got George an 8GB Nano and me a 1GB Shuffle and I got a Dooney & Burke purse! Lynda & Mike really spoiled us.
Brady was excited:
I didn't get to see any of my girlfriends while I was home (other than Whitney & Mandi). George had some beef about spending time with family, not friends. What he doesn't realize is that growing up, before he and I were married, and while he was deployed, those girls WERE my family. Some of them have been my friends since I was 11. I'm waiting for the guilt trips to set in, but in my defense, I told EVERYONE the days I was going to be in town and what days I was available and no one got in touch with me either.
We bought tickets for this hyped event in DC. What a fucking waste of money. It was OVER sold, so why even bother ticketing the event? You couldn't walk anywhere - you were hearded by the masses, like lemmings. Of course, I stupidly wore beautiful 3" stiletto heels so my feet were hurting about 1 hour after we got there. I HATE crowds like that though, and I get claustrophobic. I never thought it would be as bad as it was. We were waiting in line at the bar to get drinks (which you had to get 2 at a time and step to the back of the line so that by the time you finished BOTH drinks, you were able to order more) and I FLIPPED out. I could feel people pushing me, putting their hands on me and I turned around and yelled "STOP FUCKING PUSHING, YOU AREN'T GOING TO GET ANYWHERE FASTER AND YOU'RE PISSING OFF EVERYONE IN FRONT OF YOU." Some cheesy dude then goes "man, this is New Years, have a drink and lighten up." I wasn't talking to you dip-shit, I was talking to the blonde bitches behind you, but now YOU've made the shit list as well. Whatever. I was totally over it. I walked out of the bar and waited for George, Whitney, and Craig to come outside, then in near-tears, told them that they could stay if they wanted, but I was taking a cab home. They made a joke that it was a long cab ride "home" (to Hawaii, haha) and hailed the cab with me. George was pissed off that I "ruined" his first New Year's back and said that I "knew what it was going to be like because I'd lived in DC for so long." Uh, no, if I'd known it was going to be like that, I would have saved us $88 each, thanks.
We looked hot, though! I was super confident in my outfit, I just wish we could have gone somewhere more fun so that I could have spent more time in it.
George & I:
Whitney & I:
Since we've been home, it's been pretty quiet. Brady got his 8th tooth and we're still watching him cruise all around our furniture. He has not gotten brave enough to take a step on his own, but he has stood for a few seconds on his own at George and I's prompting. I'm getting ready for Brady's birthday and for Whitney's visit. It looks like George is going to WLC in mid-February, so he'll probably graduate from that right after Whitney gets here. We're still getting boxes in the mail from back home/Christmas. Whitney got Brady the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Table and he is obsessed with it! He also loves the Laugh & Learn Vacuum that my MIL got him. I can't wait to see him move around with the walking/push toys - they get here on Monday.
I've decided that it's time for me to start focusing on losing the rest of the weight I want to lose for 2 main reasons: 1) When I start training for the marathon, I want as little impact on my knees/ankles as possible and the less I weigh, the better for my joints, and 2) I want to be able to enjoy the lack of weight for a while before George and I decide to have our second kiddo. I've got a fitday.com page - if you'd like to join and get in on it, I totally recommend it. It's helped me see where my empty calories are and where I need to improve my diet.
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=armywife117
I hope everyone has a blessed year! I am shocked at how quickly the last year of my life has gone by - shocked that I've been married for a year already and that I have a little boy who is almost a year old!
GO PATRIOTS!!
