Shooting Bullets

Oh, how I love to default to the trusty old bullets. It seems I have let another 5 weeks pass since the last post, so for the 4 of you (ha) that actually keep up with my very occasional nonsense, here is a quick catch-up of what we've been up to:

*I took Kennady to the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo again this year & it was a lot of fun. My mom & I made her an outfit that was precious on her, as you can imagine (which you're going to have to, because I'm too lazy to upload pictures...sorry, ha!). She enjoyed petting the goats in the showroom & walked her little boots off before we went into the arena. During the rodeo, she was across the laps of myself, my sister, my mother, & my niece the whole time...back and forth, back and forth. After a little bit of cotton candy (I know, that's ridiculous), totally annoying the people both in front & in back of us, & the funky bull-riding music she liked to dance to, she was WORN OUT! That didn't keep the crazy lady from staying up another hour and a half when we got home...sometimes I wonder where these little ones get their endless energy (and would love to tap into that if I could!).

*We trekked up to Arkansas to visit the hubby while he is at Instructor School. There, we were fortunate enough to visit our great friends, the Webb's, & their sweet & beautiful new addition, Vivian. We went swimming at the extended stay hotel & had a blast riding up and down the elevators everyday (Kennady's favorite things). The only reason we left was because:

*My brother & sister-in-law had their first baby two Wednesdays ago! Our family was so excited to welcome a new baby girl, Liv Jett, to the world! She is wonderful, healthy, & such a sweetie. I was lucky enough to spend about 10 days with them, so my baby fix has been temporarily fulfilled! I LOVE ME SOME BABIES! And I am so excited to be an aunt again! :)

*Within this past week, I have managed to wean Kennady from the bottle...well, let me clarify...the nipple. Ha. I have been worried for a couple of months about the process of weaning my baby girl from her most precious & beloved bottle (ya'll realize that was her second word after 'Mama' & it has been her absolute favorite since), & finally decided that it was time to attack the issue while I was around my family & had excessive backup for distraction during her fits. Amazingly, she handled the transition very well because of a fabulous suggestion made by our friend Leah at Keeping up with the Kopers. She had suggested a bottle that was designed with interchangeable suckers, one being a nipple & the other a sippy-cup 'nipple' so that you can slowly switch between the two and hope they don't notice. ha. Well, she noticed, but she finally realized the sippy-nipple was the only one she was going to get anymore & eventually got over it. Just when things were going so well and we were about 6 days into the process, we were at the mall where another sweet baby had its bottle & was drinking it proudly while laying back in his stroller...she quickly started to bolt over to the little boy in her Runing Frankenstein sort of way while yelling 'bottle, bottle' just as I caught her and quickly apologized to the parents for my child's unannounced attack on their beloved. It was quite a sight. Yay for my stress being relieved though. (Sorry for the excessive 'nippling'...oops, there I go again.)

*I finally did some blog-remodeling tonight...thank goodness, right? That whole uncentered picture without words & mismatched everything was driving me nuts. With a new background, changed fonts & text colors, & a new and improved blog-name, I think we are good to go for a while. I decided to shorten the name from 'Drench Yourself in Words Unspoken' to 'The Unwritten' to save your eyes & my fingers some work...so, you're welcome! :) Also, it's a more grown-up version of this blog because well, I am all of 26 and that's almost ancient...HA...Just kidding. But seriously, it's a classier name. :) A couple of weeks ago, I had made a couple of changes in attempt to update my pictures & change the background that I was getting oh-so-tired of, only to end up with a mess that I couldn't figure out how to undo. I used to use scrapblog to create the cute background scrapbook pages with pictures, etc, until I couldn't remember what order to do what & my computer wouldn't save my scrap as a jpeg (or if it did, I couldn't find it)...so I gave up & made the 4 readers of mine (by the way, I appreciate your time) live with it all jumbled up and crazy for 2 or 3 weeks. Did you know I deleted 5 widgets that weren't even doing anything?! Oh, you don't care??...I should have known...

Well, on that note, consider yourselves all caught up...or at least partially. :)

A few things we LOVE

In the spirit of Valentine's Day (or just because I thought it would be nice to share with you), I have chosen a couple of things that Chad & I have really fallen in love with since Christmas. These are a collection of things both bought for ourselves & given to us from others.

The first, was a birthday present from me to Chad. This is what it was:

It's a Cuisinart 1/2 quart Ice Cream & Yogurt Maker that has changed every philosophy we have ever had about ice cream. We are definitely ice cream lovers, my husband even more so than me. The process is so easy & it only takes 20 minutes for the machine to make a 1/2 quart. After a couple hours of additional freezing, you can enjoy some of the yummiest, creamiest, most delicious ice cream you've ever had. We have been very happy with this purchase. So much so that we are giving one to our good friends for a wedding gift & gave my bro-in-law one for Christmas. Because come on, who doesn't love some good ice cream, right?! This product could be yours for only $60 at the nearest Williams-Sonoma. I think this was the best gift I've ever surprised Chad with. He may have been slightly skeptical at first, but he is obsessed now.

The next thing on our list is:

Chad finally SOLD me on getting a MacBook Pro when he told me how cool the photo & video storage and editing software was. His other laptop died during one of his deployments so getting a new computer was a must. We have really enjoyed the capabilities of the MacBook, though I am still learning a couple of the differences between it and my PC. One day (hopefully soon), I can have my own MacBook. Good purchase for sure!

Now, ladies...if you are active & have yet to discover the sports bra from heaven (notice the 5 stars, haha), then here it is:

Made by Under Armour, this bra is sooooo good. I got one for Christmas from my mom. My best friend, Elya, is the one that discovered it initially, right before we ran our Marathon Relay. She raved about how well it held the ladies in & how it takes away the 'bounce' that happens when running & exercising. It's AWESOME. If you work out regularly, then the $50 hit doesn't hurt as bad...I'm telling you...coming from a woman with D boobs, you'll be impressed. They can be found at Academy for $45, I believe...which saving money is always better.

The last thing on my list is the gift I received from Elya & her hubby John for Christmas. It was a year subscription to:

There are so many fun and creative projects & inspirations in the RealSimple magazine. It also has a lot of fun products to buy that are perfect for entertaining & making parties even better. If you haven't ever spent time with this magazine, you should snatch one up at the store & check it out. I've never been given a subscription to a magazine as a gift, but it's a really cool idea! I can't wait to pick a couple of spring & summer projects to fill my time!

Well, that's where my list ends. Share with me a few of your favorite things! :)

Date Night- What, What!

I have one of the bestest besties in the world & her and her husband gave Chad & I a gift when he returned from his last deployment (in October). This gift is something that two young and new parents don't get very often...and that is a nice, relaxing dinner at a yummy restaurant where we don't have to worry about high chairs (& babies climbing out of them), or Cheerios & other small pieces of food being thrown about (leaving an embarrassing mess surrounding said high chair), or disrupting the 'nice and relaxing' dinner that our table neighbors are TRYING to enjoy (but are having trouble because the loud baby next door wants to say 'hi' to them 14 million times)...Tonight will be different, my friends. They gave us a gift card for dinner at Outback & also a gift card to the best movie theatre in town. When was the last time we got to go see a movie in theatre you might ask?? "I can't even remember" would be the answer to that one. So, in other words, we are very thankful to our friends who have provided a night of fun, freedom, & relaxed hubby-wifey time (which is much-needed since Chad will be gone for Valentine's Day & a while after that). Whew! We're excited. Oh yea, I forgot to mention they're giving us free & trustworthy childcare....Saints is what they are, I tell ya!!!...:) Now, I have to go figure out which chick flick I'm going to coax Chad into watching tonight! Woo-hoo! :)

Cupid's Delivery...

I saw these super cute tiny mailboxes in the dollar section of Target right after Christmas & snatched one up so we could have a little fun with Kennady for Valentine's Day. I decided to put the mailbox on her dresser & have 'Cupid' come and leave her something sweet every evening after dinner. I can say, "Kennady...you wanna go check your mailbox?!" and she reaches for her room & leads us right to it. It's UNREAL what she comprehends...such a big girl. (sorry it's sideways, couldn't get it to turn).

She loves it and she will like it even more next year when she can have more than a small piece of chocolate & gets toys & conversation hearts too. It's fun! :) We LOOOOVEE this baby girl...

Happy early Valentine's Day everyone! :)

She's a Rambler...

As usual, I don't have many organized thoughts, but I know I'm a pretty good rambler, so here goes nothing...

Chad & I are highly considering the purchase of a Dreadmill...oh, I'm sorry, there was a typo...what I meant to say was a Treadmill. Oh, how much I LOOOOVE running on a treadmill...HA. How this came about...well, we are both participating in a half-marathon in 25 very short days & he has noticed how hard it has been for me to train under our current lifestyle. I can use the base gym which has a small 'mommy & kids' area, but there are only 2 treadmills in there and Kennady likes to climb on all of the bigger kid toys which makes me a nervous wreck while I'm TRYING to get a workout in. Plus, running 4 or 5 miles takes me an hour or a little less and that is a LONG time for a 13 1/2 month old to sit and play with unfamiliar toys in an unfamiliar environment...and don't even get me started on if there are other instigating kids to mess with! Anywho, we figure we will use it a lot more conveniently if we have one in our home...and only time will tell on that one. :) Any suggestions of good ones for minimal money??

One of our baby monitor's battery died & I need to find a place that will replace it. I was thinking maybe one of those Battery Plus stores, but I've never been into one, so we shall see what comes of that.

My brother and sis-in-law's baby shower is this coming Saturday and I am so excited about it. I am a hostess for it and I can't wait to have everyone together and to see all of the fun stuff she gets! I made her a super cute bow hanger for baby girl Liv, but I have to wait to post a picture of it until after the shower. You guys are gonna like it. :)

I got some killer deals today at Ross & Old Navy. Ross had to really cute sleepers, one fleece and one cotton, each on clearance for $2.50. DEAL!! These are Carter's brand which usually range between $16 and $20, so I thought that was a steal! I also found a pair of cute gray flats (duh, she's a baby :)) with a cute pink bow on them for only $1.50 and IN HER SIZE too, which is a miracle these days. For some reason, no matter which size of shoe we seem to be in, it seems that they are often out of it. Never fails, right?! Then, Old Navy had some super-soft fleece sleepers on sale for $1.99, so I bought the only one in her size and was excited about it. This baby may have nothing to wear for clothes during the day, but she will be styling while she is at home, asleep, not being seen by anyone else but me and daddy...but whatever. They were well-priced and I WIN...end of shopping story. (Though I would love to make a side-note that The Children's Place just really hasn't been doing much for me lately...I REALLY wish we had a Gymboree & a Baby Gap because I would be going crazy all up in there if we did...:))

I went to play bunko on base with the spouses group tonight and out of only 8 people playing, 5 won money, but ask me....were you one of the five, Kelly?? The answer is NO. As usual, I played a mediocre game that left me with my hands empty and a $5 hole in my pocket...ha. Oh well, I guess it was worth the time I got to laugh and mess with the other ladies. I'm just gonna have to change my strategy somehow I guess.

We filed our taxes the other day and both had a huge smile on our faces for the rest of the day. It's going to be a good tax year for us and we are happy about that. It seems that money just gets away from you sometimes, and we are happy to put it back where it belongs. Plus, we get to buy the dreadmill (potentially) with some of our return...yippee!! :)

I have noticed that although baby girl is still the most beautiful and photogenic baby I have ever encountered, that since her first birthday, I have really started to suck at keeping up with taking her picture. I don't know what it is (maybe that her daddy is home and I don't feel so obligated to get it on film), but we have just been lazy camera people lately. Her 1 year memory book is going to suffer because of me.....ha. Maybe I'll rectify the situation these next couple of days...:)

I think I am coming down with another head cold and I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT. It's the mucous that only fills your sinuses when you lay down at night (which leads to needing nose spray), makes your throat sore from drainage, & causes that stupidly annoying chest tickle that forces the deep cough. Sudafed is my friend these days, along with some Afrin, & hot tea. Still, I want it to go away for GOOD!

Friday night Chad, myself, & most of my family are going to go two-steppin' (for the first time in FOREVER) at Graham's to see Jack Ingram play (he is a 3rd cousin to me). I have seen him in concert several times before, but it's been a good while and I am excited to hear some good country music while dancing with my hubby and my pops. It should be a lot of fun! And only $10!! WOO-HOO!!

Well, I think that's it for tonight. Goodnight moon! :)

More thoughts...

I thought of a couple more things:

*Kennady is walking really well...just not very consistently. She still feels & knows that scooting her booty gets her there faster! It's cute to watch her take her little grandpa steps though! :)

*After a year of living in this wonderful house, Chad & I have finally got the garage cleaned out enough to fit both vehicles into it. That is a HUGE accomplishment for us. Only a couple of touch-up & organization things to finish up this weekend and it will be perfect! Yay!

*We transitioned from formula to whole milk at the one-year mark and that was yet another very successful transition with her. About two days after the switch, she was fine to have it all of the time. She is so good to me. Now, I just have to figure out how to get her transitioned from the bottle to the sippy cup and I am SOOO nervous about it. The doc said they like the babies to be done with the bottle at about 15 months...that's only about 7 weeks from now. I know that every baby has their own schedule and nothing is in stone, but I would like to get it done and out of the way sooner than later (much like the pacifier), but she LOVES LOVES LOVES that bottle. Any suggestions from those who have had success or terror transitioning stories?! Everything helps! :)

*Chad & I are going to be spending quite a bit of time in Arkansas in these next 6 months and I'm feeling anxious about it. It bothers me that even though he is in the states (which is so much better than him being deployed), that we still can't just live our lives like we like to and on our own terms...I know, it's the AF life and we both signed up for it, but I had to vent for just a second. :) Moving on...

*I am highly considering doing something called the Warrior Dash with a group of other spouses from the squadron. I would definitely have to get really serious in training because it looks to be something that is ridiculously brutal & difficult on the body. The idea of doing it is taunting me, so I think I might just have to give in to my gut, sign up, and face it & have a blast doing it! It would be so much fun. Check it out here: www.warriordash.com

*Well, I'm headed to bed so I will add more later. Goodnight! :)

The worst ever...

Me at being a blogger, that is. It's embarrassing that it has taken me 5 months to come back to this. In the past 5 months, so much has happened that it would be impossible for me to catch you up without a novel, so I'll try my best to crunch it up into a quicker bullet post:

*Operation No More Paci went off without a hitch! I did it cold turkey and she seemed to miss it at first, but the bottle became her replacement and that worked fine. Two days later, she acted as if nothing happened and went along being her happy, sweet self. Whew! 9 months proved to be a good time to cut out the paci...note to self for our next kiddo. :)

*Kennady began speaking so well. She can now say "Mama, Dada, Bottle, Bye-Bye, Hi, Mwah, Lala, & More". (that's all I can think of right now anyways)

*She eats everything we eat & plays for hours a day. She loves to swing in her swing outside, ride in her wagon, & play with all of her crazy toys.

*We have finally reached the point where she sleeps for 10-13 hours a night and it is GLORIOUS!!

*Chad came home from his deployment in late October & it was so nice to have him home. It was a little challenging for Kennady, but we have returned to normalcy & we are hoping no more deployments are in our NEAR future.

*We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, did a lot of traveling, & have really enjoyed our house here...especially the fireplace this winter.

*I was so sad to take down our Christmas decorations...my house seems so boring now! Anyone else have this problem?! haha. Now I need to go buy some new curtains, pillows, mantle decor, etc. Taking down Christmas is no cheap task!

*Chad & I are signed up to run a half-marathon in Austin in late Feb. I haven't been doing very well training lately, so I'm really having to jump on the training wagon ASAP.

*I am happy to report that I am under my pre-baby weight & I have high hopes of making that even better this spring. Maybe I'll be in shape enough to put away the mommy one-piece & jump back into that bikini again, before I get to old to be able to, haha. We'll see! Wish me luck!

Well, that's obviously not everything that has happened in 5 months, but I'm tired of thinking, so I'll come back to this some other time. I also want to take this naptime opportunity to read up on the last month or so of all of your blogs, so adios for now! :)