St. Patty's Day Pics.

I totally forgot to post her First St. Patty's Day pictures.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Just had the shirt so we had to snap some pics.

Even her pacifier has a clover on it! & we've already lost that one!

I just love her cheeks!

For some reason she wanted to keep that stick with her.

"Whats that mom?!"

I don't think she was, but she points to the planes/jets that fly over. We are in the flight path of the base. So we see the A-10s and C-130s fly over all the time!

Jacksonville Florida

I must admit. At first, when we got our our orders to go to Georgia, I was bummed. It was winter in Italy and we had been snowboarding quite a bit...so I was hoping for Utah or Idaho or somewhere cold. I know its just because of the snowboarding. I loved it so much. I wish we had done it sooner! BUT now that we are here, and its super nice outside most days...I love it. AND we are only 2hours from the beach. So since we don't get snow, I'll take the beach..in between though, I would have to learn to deal haha.

While my mom was here on her Spring Break {nursing school} We decided to take a drive down south to Florida.

Oh my goodness. I have been to Jacksonville beach with my youth group when I lived in Arkansas, but that was 10 yrs ago...boy does that make me feel old...

So my main beach visits were Westcoast...and these aren't no westcoast beaches!

White sand. Not crowded....well I mean that might be different come summer....Even so, we've been to the beach in California in the off season and it was still crowded.

Brynlee loved it too. It'd have been better for her if she were walking more...sandy hands aren't fun! She did like rubbing her fingers in the wet sand though..

My mom walked her to the water...and the end of a wave (small) rolled up to her feet...she wasn't fond of that. I think it was because she just wasn't expecting that. Next time we'll introduce it differently haha.

I went with beach pics in mind. My mom did pretty good and we got a few good family shots. My main one was of us 3 walking on the beach...(its on the header of the blog)

All in all it was a successful trip. I definatly want to go back when B is truly a walking fool.

We did come home with sunburns. All of us but B. We kept her pretty slathered with sunblock and she was in her stroller in the shade some too...me however..forgot some parts of my legs and arms...so I was hurting a tad the next day....

I love this picture. Or both these, top and bottom. I think I might frame them!

To end it with the love of my life....I can't believe our 4 year wedding anniversary is coming up next month!

Guess who's one!

Brynlee Krickett

thats who!

What have you been up to?!

*You walk. When you want. Crawling gets you where you wanna go faster.

*You can say Please, Thank you and More in Sign Language.

*You say Dada and Hi and try to say Kodi & Kaci...No mama yet...

*You are around (not exact measurements) 28 1/2 inches tall.

*You weigh around 18 1/2 lbs

*You LOVE to be outside.

*You are in size 3 diapers-when we use disposables.

*You still wear a lot of 6-9 month clothes. Depending on what it is, you can wear 12months.

*You still take 2 naps a day. Morning and afternoon. They are getting shorter though.

*You go to bed around 830/9p and wake up at 830a.

*You absolutely love to read. I find you in the corner in your room reading very often.

*You use your puppies as pillows, Kaci actually lets you, Kodi could care less.

*You are a great eater, LOVES your fruit. Haven't found any you don't like.

*You are drinking your big girl milk from a sippy cup better each day.

*When you hear music, you start to sway or "jump" up and down.

*You like to talk on the phone, sometimes just listen.

*You will sit and watch bits and pieces of Veggie Tales, Elmo, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

*You've been to 5 countries in the first year of your life.

(Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and USA)

*You have been on a plane 6 times already!

I can't think of anything else. I mean there is tons more I can just keep going on about..I'm her mom. Lol. I feel so very blessed to have this little girl. She is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine life without her. Just last night I asked Nick if he could think back that far, even though its only been a year, and he was like not really. She seems like she's been with us forever, when a year is a very short time. I am loving seeing her grow and learn so many new things. She is so smart and cute, hehe. A bad day never stays bad when she smiles up at me. I thank the Lord everyday for lending her to us to take care of for Him. I am excited to see the little lady she will become in the next few years. Even though some days, I just want her to be little and lay in my arms all day.

I love you Brynlee Krickett. I will always love you.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Big Girl Carseat...

We got our big girl carseat today! I am very excited about it. As she looks so much more comfortable in this then her infant carrier.

She hasn't out grown her infant carrier, as it goes to 22lbs...but we rarely take it out of the car now anyhow, so we figured we may as well upgrade now.

I did tons of research and watched loads of videos about whether or not to keep her rear facing or not (technically she isn't even 20lbs yet so she can't be forward) We decided though, that since its becoming a very strong suggestion lately that we'd take the hint and keep her backwards. Youtube Rearfacing VS Forward..you might be shocked.

Here are a few links:

Rear Facing until 2- why not?!

Pediatrics

NHTSA

Article

Anyways. For us. Our family. For Brynlee. We decided this is best for us. She's never known anything else, so why not. It makes total sense too. So, once we decided that we went on a hunt for the right carseat. The car we have now, a Chevy Tracker (I've had this since I was 18! Its time for a change!) It isn't at all a big car. I mean yes its an SUV but its like the tiniest one out there. We are in the market for another car, another SUV...so I wasn't too concerned about it being huge..since they do take up more space sitting backwards. I chose the Britax Roundabout. I am glad I did. Its slim. But yet very roomy for her. I love it. Its also one of the cheaper Britax carseats. I got it on Amazon and free shipping rocks! I looked at so many more, in the store, online and some were huge and bulky and even more expensive then this one. I love that she can be rear faced till she is 40lbs if we choose to do so. She can also be harnessed in this one till she is 55lbs, again...not that we will keep her in that long, depending on her age at the weight of course.

We have yet to go for a car ride, but its all strapped in and ready go. I am pretty excited to go for a ride with it...we will go tomorrow for her birthday!

I think we have a walker....

Today our little girl decided to have the confidence to walk across the living room. Numerous times too! She has great balance and stands a lone all the time. So hopefully now that she realizes she can walk without us, she'll start to do it more and more. I can't believe she will be one this Friday!

The Life

We went to Valdosta's amusement park & wild life park this past weekend. Its also a Water park but it doesn't open till next month. We went ahead and got ourselves season passes, as it will pay for itself after 2 times. They also have concerts every Saturday starting in April. Toby Mac is first...the one I'm looking forward to is Casting Crowns in June! Anyways, since it was just Nick and I, we had to take turns for the rides...here is Nick.

We only rode this one. Just because we mainly went to the opening day just to scope it out. We saw all the animals though. Watched a tiger show, which was awesome. I'll have to post some pics of them in another post.
Brynlee did ride a carousel for the first time. She didn't know what to think. She didn't cry though, so thats something right?! Nick said she looked like she was getting dizzy..her mothers daughter!
This picture just makes me smile! She looks so grown up here. Funny thing, she wouldn't look at me, and obviously it was very noticeable because this guy walks by and whistles and she looks straight at me and grins. So it was very nice! Great picture, I told Nick wanted to go hug that guy cause it came out so cute.

On another note. Brynlee and I are getting back on an airplane...I really didn't' want to this soon. Haha. Feels like we just got off the ride of our life. Its cheaper this way though. We are flying from Jacksonville FL {almost 2 hrs away} to Memphis TN{30 mins from my mom & grandparents in AR}. My mom is graduating Nursing school {May 11}and its a very awesome accomplishment so I decided what the heck, we'll come for the graduation! Then my friend that I went to school with is getting married in June. So the plan is for B and I to stay in AR till the wedding. So we'll be there a month. Nick and the dogs are going to be driving up {10hrs} May 27th. Then Brynlee and I will ride back with them. I am pretty excited. Nick and I haven't been to a wedding since ours, so it should be fun! Also, since B was born we haven't been with family as a family, so thats cool too! My sister is going to be there as well, so we'll get to see her.

My mom is coming here for her Spring Break. She is hoping to be here Friday evening, and stay the whole week. Again, I am very happy about this. She can help me decorate! I think thats all for now. We are loving our house and the area, we can't wait to really explore it!

Only a month to go....

*11 Months Old*

What are you up to these days B?!

*Well you are getting very close to walking...you love to do it while holding our hands, and just started doing it with only one hand. Since doing that your balance has improved greatly. Makes me think it'll be sooner then we know.

*You love to feed yourself. You have even let me put carrots on a spoon and you would put it in your mouth.

*You get so much attention when we go out. People are either ranting about your gorgeous blue eyes, or how good you are! I am very grateful for how you behave in public I must say!

*You say Dada and Hi, a lot. Mostly though, you grunt. It doesn't help that we think its funny and grunt back, so clearly we aren't helping, ha.

*You LOVE your dogs. Kaci tolerates you more but I think you mess with Kodi just because you know it annoys him. & he just gets up and walks away and you follow right after him.

*Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is all you'll watch on TV, sometimes Veggie Tales.

*You like to wave HI and BYE with both hands and smile while looking at your hands, as if you don't know how they are moving like that.

*You aren't afraid of the grass. You will crawl in it with bare legs.

*You love to snuggle your blanket, and you aren't picky. You will pull the kitchen towels down and snuggle them as well. Unfortunately we lost 'fluffy' at the Aviano Hotel....we have to replace it.

*You can sign Please & wave ByeBye

*You can stand alone, but you don't realize it. We've caught you doing it without your knowledge, once you realize you are standing you sit or try to reach for something and fall. You've stood for a good 30 seconds before without knowing you were.

*You love to be outside, just like your mama.

I can't believe you will be one in less then a month. It makes me so happy but yet sad all in one. I know you have to grow up but it makes me sad that you won't always be so little. I'm so proud at how smart you are and when you smile and giggle all else doesn't matter. I love you so much and as much as I want to keep you little, I am very eager to see the girl, young lady & woman you will become.

Whats been going on with us?!

First things first, we have a place to call home! An answer to prayer really. Also a big thing about it, we aren't renting it. We own it! Some may think we are crazy but the way it all panned out was all the Lords work. He's incredible really, lol.

Brand New, never lived in. 3bedroom.2bath.On a little more then a half and acre. On a cul de sac.

Lots of yard! The builder is putting a fence up like the neighbors. And our property is all the way to their fence(they put their fence on the line.)

Here is the actual back yard. We have a lot of those trees....

Real wood floors in the living room. I love them!

Tile and granite counter tops in the kitchen. Lots of cabinet space, deep and tall! Realtor is putting a refrigerator in that matches the stove, dishwasher, and microwave for us, we get it today!

Master bathroom. We have his and her sinks and 2 walk in closets! I'm so excited not to have to switch my closets out for each season!

So thats really the big news.

Our move went very smooth! With 6 suitcases, a pack and play, a stroller, 3 carry on's, 2 large kennels and dogs, and a baby....it went so smooth compared to what I was expecting. Granted we had lots of delays with the flight, but we are here now.

My mom and nana picked us up in Atlanta on Thursday and we drove down here to Valdosta. Its a very pretty city and a lot bigger then we expected. Mom was here to help us with house hunting and I was very glad she was! As we've never done this before she was a lot of help.

Now to make this house a home, we just need our house hold goods. We get our car this week, so that will be wonderful to get rid of the rental. We get OUR internet this weekend too, yes I'm stealing this by sitting on our front porch, hehe.

We are all doing great, not much jet lag. We fall a sleep earlier then normal but are able to stay up all day, lol. The dogs are adjusting well, I am just ready for our fence to be installed so they can run free!

We went to a church this past Sunday and are going back this coming Sunday to Sunday school as well this time. We didnt' have much time last Sunday to stay and chat since we had to be back at the hotel by noon, but it worked. I am excited to go back and maybe meet some people!

Thats all I've got for now. Hope everyone else is doing great!

SnowBoarding

I know I've only been twice, but I love snowboarding. Its very tiring and my bum tends to get sore at the end of the day from falling, but all in all. Its a blast. I love being outside for one, and in the winter, there isn't a ton to do unless you do snow sports. Here are 2 pics from the last time we went. We went to Cortina Italy and it was so pretty.

Nick and I taking a breather before we head down the slope...
Holly and I and the gorgeous view of the mountains behind us. One of my favorite pics of us really.

We are planning on going to Nassfeld Austria in the morning to board one last time in Italy. I am really excited as I've heard great things about this place. I am super glad Holly is coming with us and our friend Terri. There are quite of few boys going so it'll be nice to have some girls to go down the slopes with...since the boys usually leave us in the dust.

I am planning in taking a lot more pictures and hopefully some video's tomorrow too. I do wish we were moving somewhere with snow, Georgia isn't really a snowboarding state. One day maybe we'll get orders to Hill Utah, which is where we would love to go. All in all, we'll have a blast in Georgia, so don't get that wrong, maybe I'll learn to surf instead! Haha!

Seriously?!

Happy 10 Months!

Oh my goodness...this last month has flown by so fast. I feel like I just posted that Brynlee was 9 months old and now here we are, at 10 months already. I know time has flown because of all our getting ready to move and stuff. Which is cool, but I'd like it to slow down now. Haha. I know it won't happen. Ever. Now that we have her. Time will always fly.
She is such a ham now. With her giant 2 teethed smile. Speaking of teeth, she has all four top ones right there. You can see the right two, but the left two actually have broke through. Soon it won't be a 2 tooth smile, it'll be 6!

• I honestly don't know how much she weighs, since we don't have our scale currently. I'd guess 17-18lbs. She is 27 and a quarter inches tall, I do know that.
• She eats a lot of table food now. I will make her some mixed veggies for dinner and she'll have peaches or apples or banana's with it. Sometimes she'll eat the Gerber Chicken or Turkey sticks.
• We still only eat real food for breakfast and dinner. Lunch is just a bottle. She loves cheerios when she gets them. We've even tried Gold Fish and she likes those too. So far, she still isn't a picky eater. Still doesn't care for mashed potatoes though. We just tried them again. Oh and she likes pancakes.
• She takes 2/3 naps a day. I think she starting to kick the evening one, which I am glad. Its too close to bedtime. Not that it really matters right now, in 16 days we're totally going to screw her schedule up when we move.
• Loves to walk, but still isn't confident to even try without our help.
• Gives kisses
• Talks on the phone
• Loves her puppies
• Her favorite toy is Violet that Holly got her for Christmas
• We're pretty sure she says Hi now.
• So very curious about everything.
• Loves playing Peek a Boo.

She brightens anyones day with that smile of hers. This age is really so much fun. I am excited to see her grow more and learn more but I'd be cool if we paused here for a while. I think thats about it.

About a week and a half ago...

This is what our house looked like. I am standing at the front door taking this picture. So you are looking at the living room/dining room. Oh what a two days those were. It went very smoothly. There was only on guy that came the first day to pack. He packed the entire house except for the kitchen, the futon and our bed(which was nice of him to leave for us to sleep on that night!). Then the next day him and 2 other guys came to finish and load the crates up. I believe we have 6 crates. Crazy. They were awesome and made a wooden crate specifically for our glass kitchen table. Its a big ole square piece of glass and we now have a crate for it, that we get to keep for our next move which is pretty awesome. (storing it will be more fun, ha)

Now imagine that picture above with absolutely nothing in it. Thats how it is now. Well, my friend Holly lent us a carpet for B to play on and we have an FMO couch and table and chairs. So it works. We spend most our lounging time in our room on our not so soft FMO bed. We'll watch movies and TV on the computer so its more comfortable then the couch!

Brynlee is doing well. Pretty sure she doesn't know whats going on or whats to come either. Whatever she thinks, she's taking it all in great! The dogs, they probably know more then she does. Since they do know what the suitcases mean. Granted this time, they are coming with us and clearly they don't get that. Kodi has been very clingy and Kaci just more spaztastic(yes I think I made that up) then usual. They are much better since the movers have left and nothing has changed much since. The next change for them will be moving into TLF(hotel) on the 11th. Then of course the much too long plane ride over the big water on the 16th. Then the hotel in Baltimore for the night. Then the very short plane ride to Atlanta on the 17th. Then the 3 hr car ride to Valdosta, Moody AFB. Then another hotel and hopefully not too much after that a house to call home for a while.

Whew, when I put it all like that it really seems like a lot! I will say that everything is falling in place and I have way less stress then I did a few weeks ago. The hotel in Balt is going to accommodate us on getting the dogs (not so much them but the huge kennels) to the hotel and back to the airport the next day. Then one of the biggest blessings is my mom is going to pick us up in Atlanta! She lives 8hrs away. We wanted to rent a pickup truck since we have the kennels and not sure if they would fit side by side in a van but since we aren't 25 they won't let us. But we can rent a convertible! Haha. How crazy is that. So my mom is driving my Papa's truck up and then we'll drive down to Moody. That will be Thursday. And she doesn't have school again till Tuesday so she'll be spending the weekend with us!

Our car was shipped on the 18th and its on the Ocean Liner as I type! So it could very well be in ATL when we arrive, which would be a huge blessing! Then we wouldn't have to rent a car till ours got there! Oh that would be wonderful.

We have 3 perspective houses. As long as they are still available we will be going to see them. 2 are totally different and I can't seem to make my mind up as to which one I'd want. From pics anyhow, one looks more suburban and the other looks more country. Both have their perks. Ones old, ones new. One has a huge yard, one has a decent yard. I mean seeing them in person will help for sure. We shall see. I just hope they are available so we can see them.

This is Nicks last week of work here in Aviano. Crazy to think. He is pretty excited to start working on the A-10 though. And be back on the flightline. I am definatly ready to go. Only thing left to do is say our goodbyes, which I am NOT ready to do!

Good till the end..

First time!

Ouch, thats how my muscles feel right now. Quads, biceps, calves, wrists & knees are the majority. Yes, I went snowboarding for the first tome this past Monday. It was a blast. It was just Nick and our friend Chris and me. Nick has gone only once before, but he at least knew what he was doing, Chris has been quite a few times before. So I was the rookie. Nick was awesome. He didn't rush me or push me to do this or that. He just kept encouraging me that I was doing great. Which helped so much. I didn't cry once! If you know me, thats a huge feet right there! Haha.

We went on 6 runs total. We went to the peak as well. That was the last run and by that time I was so tired that I fell a lot because I didn't have enough strength to keep my toes up! I did take 2 huge falls. One was falling on my bum, on more of an icy spot then fluffy and I hit so hard it kinda knocked the wind out of me and make my eyes go fuzzy...yeah. The other, well I wasn't even boarding! Chris and I were on the lift, which is by far the worst part of the whole deal, and I was all ready to get off and my board hit the snow...and stuck (my fault though) and BOOM I went face down. They had to stop the lift and all that fun stuff because I was on the ground in the way. Oh man. Nick was on the lift behind us and he was like " I saw you, and then I didn't!" Chris and Nick were cracking up for quite some time. And I know, according to Chris, I won't live this one down.

We are planning on going this Saturday to another mountain a little ways away hoping for some better snow. I was perfectly fine with just going up the mountain here(30mins away) for my first time. This time my friend Holly is coming with us, and I am super excited. I just need to still find a sitter for Brynlee, haha. Clearly she can't come. So as long as I can get someone to watch her, then we're good to go. Otherwise I think Nick and some boys will just go.

On another note, tomorrow is when our house gets packed up. Nope, I'm not ready for it. I haven't even packed our suitcases yet. I know I know. This morning is full already. We had to meet Nick at the gas station this morning to pick him up because he was dropping the Tracker off to get cleaned for shipment. Then we had to take him to get his car from Pass and ID and then we have to go pick him back up to get the Tracker in an hour and take that to the shipment yard to get it shipped out.

So once we are home for good today, I have to pack. Should be fun. The dogs are staying at Holly's tonight so that they aren't here when all the movers are here. Kodi would love them and Kaci is scared of people, especially Italian's so I'd rather not worry about them. My friend Terri is watching B in the morning so she is outta the way too. Yes yes, busy day! I'm ready for it to be over!

Thats all I have now.

Little Reader

The love I have for books has most definatly been pasted down to Brynlee. She gets so excited and kicks her feet insanely when I take a book out and start to flip the pages. I love it.

For Christmas my dad and sister got her quite a few books. My sister got her 5 hard ones that she can read on her own and my dad got her two Disney storybooks. One of classic Disney tales and the other of all the Princesses. They are longer stories, so her attention span on one page doesn't last long enough just yet, although I am excited to get to read those to her!
She is reading Minnie's Ballet here. Of course my sister got her a bunch of Mickey Mouse books, with her 8 months she spent working at the Disney World Resort, how could she resist!
I just wanted to share how big my baby is getting and her love of books, which I am not complaining about! At least they are less bulky then toys, since soon we'll have to pack up all the toys she got for Christmas, none are small, and pick few to pack in the suit cases with us. Good thing she's easy and will play with a piece of paper! Haha

*Once again, prayers for our upcoming move. Our house hold goods will be getting packed up in 2 weeks and then we'll be living out of a suit case. Our plane leaves Aviano on February 16th. Once we get to Georgia, we'll be living out of a suit case for at least another month, hopefully not much longer then that!

*Say a short prayer for the dogs. I am super nervous about Kodi flying. He HATES his travel kennel. He's great in the metal one that isn't so confining. I wish we could ship him in that. He has bad anxiety and I'm going to be a nervous wreck for that 9 hour plane ride. We plan to dope him up with Benedryl, Calming tablets, and Pepto. Hoping some of that helps him sleep more then anything. I'm not too worried about Kaci .She only freaks out when he freaks out. She is calmer too.

*Then of course say a prayer for me. This has been my life since I was born, but goodbyes never get easier. You think they should, but they most definatly do not. At least we know, the Military is really a small world of people, whom we may very likely see again one day!