Orders are In!

We knew when me moved to Hawaii that we would only be here 18 months. It seemed like we had just gotten all settled here when we started discussing our next set of orders. This tour will be a 2-year shore tour, and we were really hoping to get orders to the Pacific Northwest so we could be close to family for a couple of years. Sadly, when the list of available positions came out, there was nothing at all in Washington state. Therefore, we had to start thinking about where else we would go for our next adventure. There was a position in Copenhagen that Kelson would have loved, but I wasn't very excited to move to Europe. (Everyone has been telling me I'm crazy not to have jumped at the chance to spend 2 years in Denmark.) I was all for spending 2 more years in Maine. We loved it there. The best positions for Kelson's career were mostly in San Diego and Virginia, so we had to seriously consider those. In the end, we had to submit our top 20 choices (which was a lot!) and then wait for a few weeks to hear. In the end, this is the news we received:

Kelson will be working at the Navy Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia, which is about 20 miles west of Washington, D.C. We will be moving some time in March. I will admit that I was not very excited about this news. I was hoping we would be moving closer to family, but we will be just as far away. However, I am getting more excited the more I learn about all of the things to see and do in the area. It will be a fun adventure. After all, we can't really call it moving if we don't travel at least 3000 miles, right?

Sarah's Nursery

I realized recently that I never shared pictures of Sarah's nursery. I had so much fun decorating it, and I love how it turned out. We moved into our house less than 2 months before Sarah was born, and I was in full-on nesting mode. The nursery had to be completed so the baby could come (at least, that is what my pregnant brain was sure of). I sewed, painted, and thrift shopped till I had it just right. Our theme was vintage nursery rhymes.

 I bought the crib used, and it was in perfect shape except that the rails were all chewed up.  Rather than re-paint the whole crib, I just painted the rails yellow. I like the colorful accent. The pictures over the crib are vintage nursery rhyme illustrations.

Possibly my favorite find for the nursery was this antique Hey-Diddle-Diddle mobile that I picked up for a dollar at a thrift store. It is perfect! I was sad when Sarah learned to stand and I had to take it off the crib.

 I painted and stenciled a dresser and made some colorful bins to go in my awesome Craigslist hutch. Cute fabric is scarce here in Hawaii, so I had to get creative. The crib skirt and the pink bins were made from an old dress my mom picked up at a thrift store.

 A nifty vintage clock from my mom, an antique baby book from Kelson's mom, an adorable book of nursery rhymes, and Sarah's tiny hand and footprints.

We found these posters of Mother Goose illustrations at a yard sale for a nickel each. Score!

Sarah likes her bedroom too. Decorating it was so much fun!

Hurricane Sarah

Hurricane Sarah has made landfall. She used to be content to play nicely with her toys in one general area. Then came the day that she discovered she could leave the room she was currently in and go exploring. This, coupled with her new skills of crawling, standing, and opening drawers and cupboard doors, has made for some grand adventures. You can pretty much tell where Sarah has been for the day based on the messes. Of course, if it is not a toy and it is somewhere Mom doesn't want you to go, it is automatically more fun. (Disclaimer: I do actually supervise my child. I don't just let her run around digging through cabinets and closets.)

 Mommy's room is a great place to start the day. There are all kinds of fun things under the bathroom counter, and towels are meant to be pulled onto the floor.

 Dad's dresser drawers needed some reorganizing.

 Silly Mommy left a pile of folded laundry on the floor. What a great place to play!

 Diaper bag!

 Attacking the trash can is a favorite pastime. Daddy had to tie it up to keep her from knocking it over. We're still working on getting her to stop chewing on it.

 Hmmm...kitchen cabinets...what is mom hiding in here?

 Pot lids are fun!

 The pantry is another favorite spot. To make things even better, there is a door stop on the pantry door that makes a great handle for baby to open it, so there is no keeping her out of there. 

She pushes all of the furniture around the house. By the end of the day, all of my chairs, stools and end tables have found new homes. It keeps things from ever getting boring.

It may make more work for me, but I figure that allowing her to make messes and keep herself entertained is worth a little extra cleanup. She keeps me nice and busy.

Sarah: 11 months

Happy 11 months, Sarah! It is incredible to me that I am planning my baby's first birthday party. This has been a big month. She is changing so fast! The photos this month aren't quite as good as some previous months because she never sits still. Keeping her in one spot to pose for a photo was highly challenging.

 What's up with Sarah this month:

• Our toothless wonder finally got her first two teeth. She is having fun chomping things with them, including Mom and Dad.
• Pulling up on everything, cruising around all of the furniture, and crawling like a speeding bullet.
• Has all kinds of wonderful new talents, like opening cabinet doors and unrolling toilet paper.
• Makes lots of fun sounds, and will repeat back if you blow raspberries at her or making a roaring sound.  She loves to roar.
• Absolutely loves dogs-real dogs, pictures in books, and dogs in cartoons. She giggles every time Clifford comes on the screen.
• Loves talking to Grandma on FaceTime.
• Dance parties are still a favorite.
• Fell asleep on her own for the first time! We are still working on making this a habit, but it is a step in the right direction.
• Her adorable, curly hair is finally long enough to put in a barrette! 

 She wants to stand up all the time. Always. On everything.

 This is pretty much how this photo shoot went. Why would she want to stand still when there are places to go and things to stick in your mouth? Notice her characteristic bear crawl.

Such a happy girl!

Take Your Wife to Work Day

I had an awesome opportunity this week to go on a family cruise on Kelson's ship for the day. I have never been under way with the ship before, and it was great!

 We started the trip with the tugs helping us pull out of Pearl Harbor, which was a pretty cool process to watch.

 The base historian joined us for the trip and narrated the transit through Pearl Harbor, telling us all about the historical events that have occurred there. 

 Behind me you can see the USS Missouri and our lovely Ford Island home.

 We sailed out of Pearl Harbor, along the coast of Oahu past Waikiki and Diamond Head, and then over near the island of Molokai and then back. What a way to see the island!

 Kelson took me all over the ship, and I got to see up close what the damage control teams do. These are some of the guys that Kelson is in charge of. I walked through a passageway full of fake smoke. It was dark and scary and made me glad I don't work on a ship. 

 I was actually pretty nervous in this picture. I was rather unsteady on the ship while it was moving, and then they handed me a very sharp, pointy axe. Don't worry, no one got hurt.

 The whole time we have lived in San Diego and Hawaii, I have been dying to see a dolphin. Kelson comes home and brags about all of the dolphins he sees all the time, and I am very jealous. We were in Kelson's room relaxing and watching a movie when they announced that there were dolphins near the ship. You wouldn't believe how fast I hopped up and hurried outside. There were three of them playing near the ship.  Excuse my dorky voice in the video.  I was so excited!

Kelson's shipboard career is winding down, and this may have been his last day at sea. I am so glad that I got to spend a day with him and get a little glimpse of his Navy life. I was very nervous leaving Sarah with a friend for the whole day, but she did just fine.  Thanks to the Benroth family for taking her so Kelson and I could have an adventure! 

Sarah: 10 Months

Sarah is 10 months old! Her little personality is coming out more all the time. We love her!

Sarah this month:

• Weight: 21 lb 8 oz (75-90%)  Height: 28.25 inches (50%)   Head: 17.75 inches
• Learned to pull herself to a standing position and pulls up on everything within reach.
• Crawls all over the place, but usually has one foot hitched underneath her. 
• Has an instinct for finding everything she is not supposed to get into.
• Loves having dance parties, riding on Daddy's shoulders, being outside, and swimming.
• Struggling with a little bit of separation anxiety. 
• Wants to do everything herself, especially eating.
• Starting to grow up and slim down, but she is still utterly squeezable and kissable!

Sarah: 9 Months

Our sweet girl is 9 months old! She is turning into such a big girl. I can't believe how much she grew up in the last month.

 What's up with Sarah this month:

• She can sit up on her own, army crawl, and even crawl on all fours occasionally. If there is something she wants, she will find a way to get it.
• She can stand on her own if she is holding on to something and takes steps if you hold her hands. She is really much more interested in walking than crawling.
• She has several new sounds, and she is rarely quiet. Her favorites lately are "guh" and "ung"
• She is in to everything now that she can reach more things.
• She loves anything she can feed to herself, including cereal, baby puffs, broccoli, melon, bread, and pancakes.
• Our baby is going to be a toddler before we know it!