Team G: 2013

Where did 3 months go? Hailey Grace is 3 months old as of the 31^st. Happy 3-month birthday Hailey!

These photos are from a 6-week photo shoot (Amanda Courtney Photography)

Our little gal keeps us on our toes. It’s safe to say that she is not our most easygoing baby. I was warned that girls can be a handful! Her first few weeks with us went fairly well but then she settled into a consistent fussy routine. She seemed in pain at times, wailing and arching her back. The only way to keep her happy was rapid movement so we spent a lot of time on our feet. Brian would cradle her and literally run laps around the house to help settle her cries. We had moments where we felt truly helpless and I won’t lie, the crying drained all of us. New Year’s Day when she was 2 months old, I made a decision to take her in and find out what was plaguing her, because surely it had to be something more than basic colick. They quickly got us in for an appointment that following Monday and Hailey was diagnosed and treated for acid reflux. This is not uncommon for wee ones but we had never put an infant on medication before so we were hesitant.

Well, it was amazing how fast the Zantac changed her life, and ours. She went from crying 90% of her waking hours to being a typical, happy infant. Instead of being miserable after her feedings, now we see a smile. She still spits up a lot but not nearly as often as before. Overall, she’s a brand new baby and the last four weeks have been such a joy, seeing her grow. She has a beautiful smile that lights up the room and has such big alert blue eyes. She loves to watch her brothers and her favorite pastime includes viewing their antics from the comfort of her bouncer. (Thanks Angel and Brandee for that awesome gift!) I still hold her quite a bit because that’s what she got used to during her acid reflux fits. Breast-feeding is going great and she’s got chubby little legs! She outgrew newborn clothes around Christmas and we’ve had her in 3-6 month clothes since. She falls into the 100 percentile for height so I don’t think she’ll be in these clothes long! I do enjoy dressing her in cute outfits and bows, so thank you to everyone who contributed gifts and gift cards. I have strived to get thank you’s out but I know I’ve missed some.

We recently tested Hailey for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. We have no concerns but wanted to know for sure. If she tests positive, we can start her on therapy soon and better help her retain strength. I’ll let you know when we get results. I truly hope the only challenges she will face are her acid reflux. Oh, and two rowdy older brothers!

The boys were an absolute joy for the holidays this year. At 3 ½ and 6, they really understood what Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were all about. They begged Santa for Lego Star Wars sets and so now we’re drowning in about a million Legos which I spend at least an hour a day picking up and stepping on. What a great past time though and it’s something both Brian and I enjoy as well. I like to tease Brian that I’m faster than he is. He won’t let me assemble some of the Star Wars ones because he’s just as excited as our kids. Boys will always be boys.

The best part about Christmas of course was that Brian was here. He missed all the holidays last year and Christmas season holds such special memories. It was really nice and low-key to spend the holidays in our own home. The boys were able to wake up on Christmas morning with both their parents and enjoy the magic that all of us remember from childhood. Brian put lights up on the house and enjoyed helping me shop for the gifts. He did a Lego Advent calendar with the boys every night and I did the 25 days of reading with them. They decorated cookies, a gingerbread house, and various other Christmas art projects. I baked 9 different batches of Christmas goodies so we lived off cookies for weeks. Needless to say they all loved it, Brian especially. It did not help me kick the lingering post-baby weight though, ugh!

On that note, I have not gotten back into a solid running routine yet but Stroller Warriors launches next Tuesday so it’s now or never. We’re anticipating 130 members at our first workout. I’ve been working on gaining nonprofit status, starting some new chapters, and ongoing admin work. We currently have eight chapters worldwide and our numbers are approaching 2,000. We were honored to be featured on the cover of the January issue of Military Spouse Magazine, helping to encourage fitness and goal-setting in 2013. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! One of our own members and a good friend of mine Amanda Courtney snapped all the photos. I think the photos were a beautiful representation of the organization I’ve built and care for so much. The 2013 Military Spouse of the Year competition is currently ongoing and I’m excited to see who carries on the torch. It truly has offered amazing opportunities. I included some photos of the boxes of Oprah gifts. So fun!

I am thankful for Stroller Warriors activities to gear up because frankly, I feel like I’ve been living in a bit of a cave. Going from two kids to three has been a jump for me. It definitely takes a lot more time to pack up and go somewhere, especially with hooking up and loading Cole’s trailer and wheelchair. I have learned how and where to park in public and I’m even getting pretty sharp at backing it into the driveway. Every time we leave the house, Cole verifies that I have brought his chair with. He truly adores the freedom. We recently ran into an issue where our renovated church was not accessible . This was a shock to us as we could not imagine how many people this would hinder. There are a large amount of exceptional families at Camp Lejeune, not to mention Wounded Warriors. We were very fortunate to gain the help of some powerful individuals and by the following Sunday, Cole was able to drive his chair through the expanded door. I’m glad I spoke up as I cannot imagine how many people would feel truly shunned and never return.

Caden is thriving in kindergarten. He practices reading every night. I catch myself staring at him in thinking, he is really reading. He received an award last fall for his efforts in P.E. class. He says his favorite “special” is computer class, he loves doing centers, and looks forward to recess. I have been helping for a couple hours on Wed morning while a sitter stays with Hailey and Cole. I like seeing him interact in the classroom. He’s so obedient and listens well. He refuses to try school lunch so I pack his lunch every morning. I’ve seen the school lunch though and I’m not sure I can blame him! He gets a kick out of riding the bus and I must admit, it’s convenient as the bus pick-up and drop-off is right by our house. I wish he would remember to bring his lunch box home from school but for the most part, he does a fantastic job following instructions. He’s received 100% “happy” stamps this year and Mrs. Spann speaks highly of his behavior. His report card was satisfactory across the board. He recently started CCD class on Sundays and soccer will reconvene in a week. When he’s home, he spends most of his time playing with his Star Wars Legos or asking to his Star Wars video game. Needless to say, Star Wars is the big deal around here! He says some pretty humorous things sometimes. Lately, I hear, “You’ve gotta be kidding me” when he’s frustrated with something.

Cole has been excelling with physical therapy, gaining more strength than we have ever seen. He has an appointment with his neurologist Dr. Frank next Monday in Norfolk and I cannot wait for him to assess his progress. Cole has recently become disgruntled with wearing shoes, socks, and even his braces so I do want him to look at his toes. They sometimes overlap each other and I don’t know if that is related to the way he walks and crawls. He still receives therapy twice a week and does a lot on his own. He can walk 150 feet at a time with his walker. Mass on Sunday is not just for our souls, it’s for Cole’s legs too! He spends most of mass standing next to the kneelers. Nothing stops that kid. He is totally potty-trained now, thank goodness. We did not want TWO in diapers. He forms complicated sentences and we can understand everything he says. Lately he’s been asking us a lot of questions, mostly regarding where things come from. “Where do apples come from?” “Where do Legos come from?” “Where does God come from?” They’re good questions and he usually follows up my response with another question. He often looks at me with his big blue eyes and says, “Mom, do you love me?” He does it to get a kiss and hear me assure, “Of course I do!” Lately everything is “super” also. Super fun. Super hard. Super hot.

Brian has a few trips coming up with work and continues to stay busy. We have a couple more years left here at Lejeune with no plans of moving any time soon. We’re not sure exactly when the next deployment will be (yes, there will be one!) but for now, we’re enjoying stability. He was not selected for a promotion this year but should be a shoe-in next year. He’s running an off-road race this upcoming weekend. He’s in great shape right now but has been battling some back pain. He turned 33 on January 25^th so I just tease him that he’s old.

We have enjoyed visits from both our parents since October. Brian’s parents spent Thanksgiving with us and then my parents visited again over Caden’s birthday last week.

Caden turned six on January 21^st. He insisted on a Star Wars birthday party (mind you he had a Star Wars party LAST YEAR too.) We invited over a handful of his friends and thanks to beautiful weather, they ran around the back yard swatting balloons, shooting Nerf guns (mostly at Brian) and pinning the light saber on Luke Skywalker. He received some more Legos. I think we should have bought stock in Lego by now. On his actual birthday, all he wanted to do was play with his Legos and eat at McDonalds. There’s something about a Happy Meal that he adores. Mom and Dad rented an affordable yet beautiful beach house on base that week so we enjoyed some days at the ocean in January! Just wished they lived there permanently. They left our place this past week and flew to Florida for a vacation in the Keys. I’m so glad they are able to get away and do fun stuff like that before farming gears up for the year.

I guess that’s all for now! It’s a school night, Brian is out of town, and it’s time for bath so I’ll finish adding photos later. The photos are honestly what takes me so long to blog so I apologize that they are not mixed in as usual. I plopped them on the end simply to save time. And time is so precious! Seems I have very little, between the kids, the house, and SWs. There are so many projects that go undone, with photos, scrapbooks, and some house upgrades. But…there’s always time for that later, right? I’ll just hold my daughter for now. Much love to you and hope all is well in 2013! I loved receiving all your Christmas cards and letters by the way. I had them all over our pantry doors and just took them down a few days ago. We miss you.

Boat wars

More boat wars

Oprah has arrived

King of the Mountain

Now what?!

Stroller Warriors hosted a Viewing Party

The USO was kind enough to let us use their facility

The great O herself!

Papa Pat snuggles with his newest grandbaby

The boys were never far from Papa. And apparently the dog too!

Snug as a bug

Obsessed with donuts

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brian, beer, and baby. Life is good.

Papa = jungle gym

Best friend Erin lovin' on Hailey

Showing off her strength to Grandma Pam

Nice pic, Cole.

Loves his Grandma

Cole and his best buddy Miss Chris (his PT)

Pink meets Darth Maul

Caden, your mission was to decorate the TREE

Matchbox car wash

Brian don't quit your day job

Candy architects

The first smile we caught on camera!

Christmas traditions...Lego Advent calendar and 25 days of Christmas reading

We sold our couch and "camped" for 4 weeks before the new one arrived

My dear friend Susannah's last SW workout. :( She's now in Yuma. Miss her.

Stroller Warriors featured in Military Spouse Magazine

The inside spread...

Can never kiss her enough

Gunny Claus

Gunny Geraghty meets Gunny Claus

Christmas mission debrief

This is what most meal times look like

This is almost TOO cute.

Buddies

Nothing sweeter than a sleepy baby

Date with Daddy

Painting Santa's sleigh

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Some great playmates

Light sabers a Geraghty daily staple

Visiting Santa at the Aquarium with Erin and Jackson

Cookie decorating, er, eating mostly

Yikes. Who wants the sprinkle infested cookie

These boys are nuts

Another almost too cute picture...she's just so adorable!

An attempt at a family pic at Christmas Eve mass

Christmas caroling to Erin and Jackson's house

Her expression says it all

Mom, why must we do these fashion shoots daily

He put this together entirely by himself!

YEAH! Mission complete Gunny Claus. Thank you!

Merry Christmas kids!

Our two look-alikes

Jackson and Caden horseplay

Fashion shoot #2078

Cole's potty-training treat, the Darth Vader Lego Minifigurine! $10 for that tiny thing. But worth it's weight in gold for the lack of diaper purchases and cleanup!