Mirror Talk

According to "Baby Center.com,"if I prop an unbreakable mirror next to Ansley, she will not realize that it is actually her looking back at herself, but she will stare into this new person. Apparently Ansley was so delighted to have a "new guest," that she told this "new guest"everything she knows...

Schedules

I think that a schedule is very important for my sanity and structure for Ansley. I have finally established some kind of a schedule and I thought I would share for those who may be curious...

Lately our little blue-eyed beauty has slept 6-8 hours at night without waking. It makes for a happy mommy. :)

- Once up around 7am, we eat breakfast, (all three of us) Diesel, Ansley and I.

-Then by 8, we all fall back asleep until 10am.

-At 10, Diesel and I get up and I get ready for the day. By the time I am showered and dressed, Ansley is up and she gets some tummy time. Then she gets dressed for the day.

-By noon she is down for a nap and I eat lunch. When I start classes again, I will fit school in after lunch.

-Around 3:30, the three of us go for a walk/run.

-We watch TV or a movie until 4:30 when it is dinner time for Diesel and more tummy time for Ansley. After mommy eats dinner, we play more.

-By 9pm, Ansley gets changed into jammies, we read a book, sing our "goodnight song" and she falls asleep. I pick up the house, if there is any laundry to be folded it gets done, if the dishwasher is clean it gets emptied, and if I need to shower I do so and get ready for bed.

-By 11, Ansley is hungry again and after she eats we all go to bed.

It starts all over the next day.

Once a week we have lunch, usually at the PX food court, with Tina.

Fridays we have done "Friday night game night" with Katrina, Maria, Kyla (now baby Bria), Apryl, and Amy and the girls are invited too.

Saturdays have become an evening with Ashlee.

As our hubby's come home next week (and this week for Ashlee <3) this was the last week for "weekly" outings and will be on hold until most likely the guys deploy. Tina and Maria will leave for the deployment, but Ansley and I have established a good routine and a great group of girls to lean on. Support in this community is what we need. Especially because as a wife, I feel I experience the deployment separation differently (not to say other family members don't have a hard time, we all do). But living here and living this life, surrounding yourself with people who are experiencing the deployment in the same way helps. We all know not to talk about it and we all know its hard. Back home you get people who ask questions and bring it up... which is ok, but here it is an unspoken bond we all have and no questions or words are needed. We just know.

So now, more than ever, a routine will help each day pass. Some days will drag on and some days will fly by, but for me, a routine will help mark time and when the days are long, I will go minute by minute/ hour by hour to manage. When we get to Colorado, our routine will hopefully have the same basic structure. Family and friends will keep us busy and loved.

11.25.12

Ansley Rolled Over.

2 months and 4 days old

Today, January 25, 2012, Ansley has recovered from her 2 month shots and is getting back on a schedule. She will try to sleep in her own crib (the expensive wood her grandparents bought and her daddy assembled) at nap time and at night. Mommy is a little nervous so we will be using the video monitors that we got as a gracious gift. Her 2 month well check went awesome. She is 9 lbs. 13 oz. 22 inches long. :) growing at a good rate. She is cooing, drooling, sleeping and eating on a fairly regular schedule. She smiles when she likes a noise and today she rolled from her tummy to her back. It scared the crap out of her but we will see if she does it again tomorrow.

Daddy is training for his big deployment... the thing we are avoiding thinking of and talking about. We all are managing as best we can but it is clear to all four of us that we are needing to adjust. Diesel misses the rough play, mommy misses the help and hugs, and Ansley misses daddy's smell and he calms her when mommy can't.

Well, Mommy should get some sleep. Big few days getting ready for Grammy BB to come visit, pre-delpoyment brief, and Friday game night with Katrina and new friends Maria and Kyla.

Goodnight.

Ansley Joyce Brown

Catching you avid readers up on our lives!

Ansley Joyce Brown was welcomed into our world on Monday, November 21, 2011 at 5:45 pm. She was 6 pounds, 1 ounce, 18 inches long. The picture above is our first picture together. My new page picture is our family photo in front of our christmas tree. :)

The story of her birth happened so fast. Sunday morning around 10:30am, I started having consistent contractions. With the family on the way, I managed to walk the dog several times. Once Christy showed up, we ate chipotle and walked the dog more. Attempting to be admitted to the hospital several times didn't work. I wasn't dilated enough or the my contractions weren't strong enough. I eventually called Kyle in from the field and the three of us wandered around the hospital from 6-7am. At that time, Kyle walked into the "ship" store to get breakfast and red bull for him I crouched down for another contraction and my water broke. I vowed to keep it together, but with no sleep for 2 days, immense pain, and lots of hormones, I burst into tears. In fact, I became slightly hysterical. It took two tests to confirm my water broke to be admitted to the hospital. At three centimeters for several hours, pitocin was administered and then everything happened so fast. Ansley's heart rate kept dropping and I wasn't dealing with the pain well so I wasn't breathing through the contractions so I had to get an internal monitor for the baby. The doctors didn't want to check my progress too much because of risk of infection so once they finally checked, they were expecting me to be around 5 centimeters; I was already at 9! I was given an epidural and pushed for ten minutes and our precious little girl was here!

Of course I am leaving out several details where things got scary and funny moments Christy and I had walking in the dark or the three of us walking in the rain in the middle of the night with reflector belts on but it was an experience I hope to remember forever!

We are facing challenges daily with how to be parents, control our emotions when we are tired and balance work, family, and personal time. I believe that in time we will get the hang of it.

We are now preparing for Christmas leave. We are going back to Colorado to be with all our family and introduce Ansley to the everyone. More updates to come, but the baby is getting fussy...

Graduate

Hey All! I wanted to report that Kyle Brown is now a Scout Sniper. Here are a few pictures from the Graduation...

Kyle receiving his certificate and "hog's tooth"

The Brown's after the ceremony. It was only 20 minutes long!Kyle posing in front of the Sniper weapon

34 weeks

I am one day short of 34 weeks but I figured it was time for an update. I went to Colorado to visit family and have two AMAZING baby showers. They were both so much fun and everyone was so gracious in gifts.

We got:

-a TON of clothes

-a crib

-high chair

-bottles

-bottle drying rack

-dishwasher baskets that you can put small things in

-cups, bowls, silverware

-blankets

-books, books, and more books!

And I am sure there is more but that is the gist. And both sets of parents were nice enough to mail us all of our new gifts. I immediately opened all the boxes, washed all the clothes that are size newborn and 0-3 months. I washed little socks, hats, blankets, sheets, towels, wash cloths, and all the dish stuff. I put away the books... her room is almost complete.

We went to Babies R Us yesterday and picked up the crib, we bought the mattress, pack and play, the bed set we wanted, a bath thing, and repurchased the high chair. Today we put things together and it looks amazing! Thanks to Kyle for putting it together and everyone for contributing to us getting it all. :)