And then there were three...

Lt. Smith has left us again for more training out in the field.
This time for only a month.
Is it strange that I was excited to hear it was only a month??
Last night at dinner Jack said, "Daddy leaves so much."
...insert heartbreak here...
Poor guy is getting old enough now to realize when Harrison is gone.
Hopefully one day he'll understand how important his Daddy's job really is.
But until that time we'll make paper chains to count down the days until his return.
Maybe it'll help me too :)

A Post of firsts

Jack made his first trip to the dentist last week. I was talking it up to him all morning trying to get him excited (or trying to get myself excited, since I had an exam too, for the first time in....a long time). And he LOVED  it!  They didn't do much - just got him used to sitting in the chair and showed him what the dental tools did.  The dentist counted his teeth and he was so proud to tell everyone that day that he had "twenty teeth! Ten on top, ten on bottom!"

 

And in late December, Jack made his first visit to a different kind of doctor...in the ER.  He swallowed a dime!  He was sitting at the table drinking chocolate milk, and I was in the kitchen with my back to him, and I heard him kinda mumbling to himself, "money, money, money..." Then I heard a tiny gag - it sounded more like a little cough, and he starting whining a little bit and looked really nervous. I asked what was wrong and he said, "I ate money!"  So using my mothering detective skills I grabbed a bunch of coins and asked him which kind he ate. He picked up the dime and said, "the little one."  I was trying so hard not to laugh at this point (he was fine, people, I promise) and I asked him how he ate the money.  He said, "It wanted to swim in his chocolate milk." Oh boy...

A quick trip to the ER to "take a picture of his tummy",  make sure it would pass through him okay, and a few days later we found this little surprise in the toilet.  Yes, we cleaned it, and yes...we're keeping it.

Mr. Jack turned three yesterday, and I have no idea where time has gone!  He makes us laugh all the time as he comes up with new expressions, phrases, and dance moves constantly.

Happy birthday little man, we sure do love you, and we're so glad you've been sent to our family!

2011 Tribute

If you didn't get our holiday card this year...

..It's because we didn't make any.

It didn't quite make it to the top of my priority list this year.

Having a newborn, I chose sleep instead, silly me.

Crossing my fingers for next year.

But I LOVED getting all of yours.  They are all on my fridge, where they will remain for many weeks to come because I miss you all so much.

2011 was the craziest, most uncertain [at times], challenging, wonderful, most traveled year to date.  

And I loved it.

Our moves across the country looked like this:

We have loved living by nearly every member of both the Smith and Poulson families at some point during this year.

We loved living in Las Vegas and celebrating Jack's second birthday there.  He hit so many milestones this year: potty training, moving from his crib to a big boy bed, learning all his letters, shapes, colors, and numbers; and speaking in full sentences, constantly. He'll be three in just a few short weeks.

The Army then took our little family to Fort Benning, GA - my first experience of southern living.  Once I accepted the humidity and ginormous cockroaches that could fly I absolutely loved it.  We also traveled to Savannah, GA, Tybee Island, GA, Hilton Head, SC and Nashville, TN in the 6 months we lived there.  I still miss the southern summer thunderstorms, the "yes, ma'ams" and the gorgeous greenery.

Harrison completed a lifelong goal of his - Ranger School. 

Watch this video so you know how studly he really is.  Ranger School is one of the hardest schools in the Army and he did so well, I am so proud of him.

While he was there, Jack and I spent a few months with my family as we welcomed the best part of our year, Fisher Vaun into the world. He is such a sweet, cheerful baby.  Harrison missed the birth by 36 hours, but we have seen many blessings come from that experience for which we will always be thankful.

Now we have ended 2011 in our new home near Fort Lewis, WA.  Unlike when we lived on-post in Georgia, we're about 10 miles south of the military base in Lacey.  We are loving it here, and even more excited that all of 2012 will be spent under the same roof.

Fisher's 2 month stats

Weighing in at 14.1 lbs
And measuring 24 inches long.

How do my babies get so big, so fast???

And he shared his cute little laugh with us for the first time tonight:

Side note: the doctor told me yesterday that the recommended age to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat has changed from one year to TWO YEARS OLD.  Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else??

A Poulson Christmas

What a blessing it is to live so close to family during the holidays!

We loved being with the Poulson clan this Christmas for the first time in 2 years.

(and our first Christmas J.W. and Fisher!)

We ate, played games, and watched Christmas movies for ten days straight.

We are sad to be home and back to reality.

Christmas shopping, done right.

This year I did all of my Christmas shopping online.  All of it. Easiest year ever.  Thanks to Amazon, I got everything cheaper than I would have in the store anyway, and they offer free 2-day shipping.  Can't beat that.  Not to mention I get package after package delivered to my house.  Who doesn't like getting mail? I have a feeling I will know the UPS delivery man very well by the end of this week.

Although, hopefully it won't be this slightly creepy UPS delivery man.

Thank you, modern technology.  No crowds, no lines, no bored kiddos, and since Mr. Smith and I are still the owners of only one car, we can relax when he gets home from work instead of hurrying out to find more presents.  Online shopping is the way to go.

Who's with me??

Real Parents Now

Since Fisher joined our family, Harrison and I are always saying, "we're real parents now".  When we only had Jack, we felt like this young couple just playing with this cool kid everyday.
But now we occasionally have early mornings like this:
1am: Me, feeding Fisher/changing diaper
3am: Harrison taking Jack potty
5am: Me feeding Fisher/changing diaper
6am: Harrison trying to convince Jack the sun is still sleeping, and he should be too.

But we love it.
I was a little  nervous about becoming a mother of two.
Because honestly the transition from being a mom of 0 to 1 was a little tough for me.
I went from working full-time to being a stay at home mom 24 hours a day.
It took me awhile a long time to get a routine nailed down to help me feel like a productive member of society again. But this transition could not have gone smoother. Especially considering all the other craziness that was going on simultaneously.

Fisher is such a sweet baby. He is always so content to just hang out on the bed, the couch, or in his swing and let me accomplish things around the house. He is starting to smile all the time, and his nighttime sleep is coming in longer spurts all the time. He made it 6 hours the other night (woo hoo!) Just like his brother though, he won't be little for long.  As of last week, he had already gained over 3 pounds since his birth weight 6 weeks ago!

Jack is loving having a baby in the house.  He's always hugging and kissing him, and saying, "Good morning, Fisher!", "Can I hold Fisher for a second?", or my favorite, "Hi, Smiles!" haha.  And he is a great help to me, getting me Fisher's pacifier, throwing away diapers, etc.  I haven't noticed any sign of jealousy or resentment which I've heard horror stories about when a sibling enters the picture for some kids.  But we do have to monitor how much he loves Fisher.  Like when he threw a ball to him the other day wanting Fisher to catch it...I can't wait until these boys can really play together!

Harrison is loving his position here.  His first official day on the job they made him a platoon leader over 40 men.  Translation?  He's kind of a big deal. He's staying busy learning his new responsibilities, but luckily is home every night by 5:30PM.  Finally a little bit of normalcy.

My bed usual finds me in it by 10pm.  With two active boys and still doing two middle of the night feedings, I am exhausted if I don't go to bed at a decent hour.  This week I think we can say officially say we're completely unpacked and organized.  There are still so many decorating ideas I have (thank you, Pinterest) but those will have to come with time.

I love my little family!