Oh Bachelorette!

I have never been a part of "Bachelor Nation."  I have never watched an entire season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  I love reality TV and it is right up my ally but I usually miss the premier and once you are one 2-hour episode behind, it is hard to catch up, especially now with a baby at home.

With all of that being said, I was determined to watch this season of The Bachelorette.  I love Kaitlyn and was praying that she was chosen.  I probably still would have watched if it was Britt, but I am so happy that it is Kaitlyn.

Now I have been keeping up my commitment, to myself, and have watched every episode thus far and let me tell you...it stresses me out!  And come on Bachelorette producers...quit dragging things on each and every episode!  As a new audience member I am not liking this "To Be Continued..." each episode.  I thought we started each episode with a new week and ended each episode with people going home?  Instead we are sending people home in the beginning and then have to wait until the following week for another results show....ugh!  Not liking it at all..

But let's talk about this drama that I love and hate all at the same time.  Without giving away too many spoiler alerts in case you haven't caught up yet, what is this girlfriend doing???

I want Corey, Jonathan and Ryan to go. They seem pointless and like they have no connection going on.

I hate JJ, who doesn't?  I can't believe he was ever married before and has a baby.  But I guess that is also why he is divorced?  LOL.

I love Shawn!  He is my favorite for her.  He seems to love her so much already and it breaks my heart to see him so sad about not getting more time with her.

I also like Joshua.  He is so sweet and cute.  But how has he never been in love?  At least thought he was in love before?  Good thing he is a cutie, but I think he has a little bit of a jealous side that is going to come out very quickly.

I like Jared, but don't like him at the same time.  Maybe it's his hair??  I mean, what is with everyone's hair on this show?  They all seem to have the same weird haircut.  Is that in and I am just really out of the loop?  Should I convince my hubs to get out of the military so that he can grow some luscious locks and have a swoop hair style too?

I am seriously annoyed with the twist that they threw in this week too.  It is annoying and I get why the men are upset as well.  But at the same time, that's what makes good TV, right?  I hope that you all know what I am talking about, but since I really hate spoilers I'm not going to say it.

Now if you love recaps as much as I do, then you must, must watch Jordan Page's Bachelor Backtalk each week.  Her and her husband, Bubba, watch the show and film their reactions and give their opinions.  It is hilarious and genius all at the same time!

Well I doubt I will do another recap anytime soon, but make sure that you check out Jordan's videos for her weekly recap.

So We Are Back In

So I have been meaning to write this post for 3 months now and have yet to do so.  Here it goes.

On February 9th we had fulfilled our commitment to the United States Army California National Guard.  It was a huge moment for our family.  Ryan joined in October 2007, just 5 months after we graduated high school.  He was stationed in Missouri for a year, deployed to Afghanistan twice and changed jobs/units multiple times.  We spent a solid 6 months prior to our contract ending trying to decided if we would resign, get out completely, switch branches....it is a stressful thing.

On one hand, the additional income doesn't hurt.  On the other hand, Ryan is gone for a minimum of 1 weekend a month and with our busy lives and a young baby at home it was something that was really annoying at times.

We made the decision to get out and not renew our contract.  Ryan kept doing his research and keeping feelers out.  We kept discussing options and possibilities and we kept coming up with the same conclusion.  We should get back in.

As of April 10th, Ryan is a member of the United States Army Reserve.  We are back in the Army Life!!!  :)

Now I should have written this 3 months ago when this happened because of course, now, we are trying to decide again what is best for our family.

Let's back up to April.  Ryan is back in but not with the National Guard.  He is now in the Reserves and if you don't know the difference, don't feel bad because I didn't either. LOL.  Basically the easiest breakdown of the difference is that the National Guard is a state entity and the Reserves are a federal entity.  Both are part of the Army and the military as a whole.

So Ryan got back in and has been commuting to Mountain View once a month since April.  Mountain View is 151 miles from our house and this new unit he is with always puts him up in a hotel which is awesome.   WE I am loving having the commissary privileges back.  It's honestly the only way I have ever grocery shopped my entire life.

Our current contract is only until October of this year so we will once again be needing to make decisions as to what we are going to do after that, but as far as I can tell, I'm sure we will be staying in.

Once again, I am an Army Wife :)

My Dearest Little - 9 Month Letter

My Dearest Little One,

I honestly cannot believe that another month has passed us by.  I still feel as though you were just born and we were just staying home together while Daddy went to work.  Now we are 6 months away from those days and you are growing up so much.

This month things have changed, progressively!  You are such a growing boy!

You are now mobile!  On Wednesday, May 27th, you crawled forward for the first time!!!  We were there watching you play and all of a sudden you went forward!  You had been moving backwards, under our couch mostly, for a couple of weeks with no success of moving forward unless it was going into the sitting position.  But on this Wednesday, you decided it was the day you would venture forward and we are so proud of you.  We clapped and gave you praise.  You had no idea what you had done but loved all of the attention.  Since then, you have not stopped moving.  I know people always say we will wish for the days of you being immobile back, but right now we are loving it.  You can go get your toys and not just sit there and scream when they get out of your reach.  You can come find us if we so rudely left you on the other side of the kitchen island playing.  You can now leave your room when I go to find you clean pajamas in the other room because you think we left you once again.  I am loving your mobility and I can't wait for you to get better at it.

Another huge change this month is pulling yourself up!  You have been trying to a while, but this month you actually succeeded.  You were hanging out with your Mima and when she went into the kitchen and returned you were standing.  You are such a big boy!  We, luckily, don't have much furniture around our house that can harm you if you pull up on it - mostly because we only let you play in the living room and it only has a couch and ottoman in there besides allllllll of your toys.  You aren't super confident in this new trick and don't do it that often as of right now either.  I'm sure as time goes on more you will get more confidence in this trick and we won't be able to leave you around stuff at all. lol.

Walking.  You aren't walking, but you love to stand on our feet and walk with us.  I have been doing this with you for a couple months now to get you used to the feeling of moving your feet at different times and how you can move from one spot to another.  I don't think you will be crawling for very long if you can get a hang of this whole walking thing.  We are working on your shoes hatred more now though because you are getting close to this stage in life.  As much as I hate wearing shoes also, it is mandatory for shopping and being outside playing with big kids.  ::slow down Sara, he's only 9 months old::

Food is still your favorite.  You are still not picky and I love it!  I want you to learn to love food and all types of food.  I am still making probably 80% of your food and you are loving it.  We are working on chunkier purees now and eating with our fingers.  You have now tried beef, chicken, cheese, yogurt and pasta.  You have loved it all except for the beef, which is fine.  We have plenty of time to find a way that you like it.  You absolutely love beans and rice - a boy after my own heart and pregnancy cravings.  You love berries and summer fruit just like your Mommy and Daddy which we love because that means that we can eat them now too :)  This next month we are going to try more varieties with meat and cottage cheese.  I want you to have healthy protein and limit your processed food intake, as always.

Speaking of food, your life of eating is about to get a lot easier because YOU GOT YOUR FIRST TOOTH!!!!!  On Sunday, May 31st, while feeding you some bread I felt a tooth!  A sharp little dagger on your bottom right gum :)  This would explain all of the slobber and snot we have been dealing with more then usual for the past month but we are all so excited for you!  I can't wait until you have more and can really start learning to chew and what not.

Caleb Tyler,
You are the best thing that has ever happened to us.  You continue to amaze us with your growth and abilities.  We can't wait to see how you grow more this next month and the rest of your life.

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy.

**********************

9 Month Stats:
Weight: 22 Pounds.  I think you no weight was gained this last month because you started moving more.
Height: We didn't measure again.  SLACKERS!
Clothes:  Mostly 9 month for onesies and all 12 months for pajamas.  You are a tall boy and the length is what gets us on most clothes.



And now, your photo dump. :)