It's Déjà Vue

FFor those following my Instagram and Facebook posts, you may have noticed comments about a TDY, temporary duty assignment. Never a dull moment with the Grant Gang, Matthew is in Atlanta on an assignment....wasn't it just a year ago that Matthew left for two months in quantico?  Why yes it was, almost exactly one year!  What does this mean for the crazy crew left behind?  Adventures!!!!

Originally Matthew scheduled "vacation", you stay at home moms know why vacation belongs in quotes, for two and half weeks starting July 1 until July 17.  During those weeks, we planned a Brandon, ms stop for Fourth of July, a few days for Matthew and I to road trip on a highly coveted kid free tour of Texas while the kids were split along our two families, then time r&r at Gambrell manor. 

All that changed!  Matthew sacrificed his time off work to take this assignment which will be wonderful career development/experience. I am thankful he is dedicated to his career, I know it is not easy to leave your family (well after the first day or too at least 😉).  Matthew started in Atlanta today!  All our plans for where the kids will be when are the same, we just came south early and will stay longer.  He will be gone until September except for one weekend in August where he will be in omaha for us.

Pros

-family time; living 15+ hours from extended family makes vists infrequent but memorable.  This gives my kids time to spend with grandparents, great grandparents and even some with cousins and second cousins.  

-Matthew can visit; as long as I stay in the south Matthew can visit us some weekends

-vacation part one; Matthew and I will spend time in Atlanta together scoping out some neighborhoods instead of going to Texas.  Matthew will be working all day that week of course...WHAT WILL I DO ALONE!!!?????  We will relish the time alone in the evening! Blythe will be spoiled by Mia and papa.  Addison and caleb will enjoy some beach fun in the sun with grandma and grandpa. 

-vacation part two, the grant Gang goes to Atlanta!!!!  We will be staying for a week in Atlanta visiting Matthew.  Again, he will be working during the day but I am hoping the kids will enjoy the hotel pool and some other Atlanta sites.  This is a grant gang first, like...a real vacation!!!  I am kinda nervous, never done anything but visit family during our time off.  It will be fun!

Cons

-vacation time off; Matthew gave up his vacation time, we will have to be sure to do something even more exciting later this year.  He is in use it or lose it status!

-missing daddy; nothing is the same with the leader of the family gone.  Thankfully, the kids better understand his absence this time.  They are veterans now.

-first day of school; while I don't think this is a big deal it's worth noting, Matthew will be away for the start of kindergarten.  We will have a creative way for him to be included.

-opportunities; this assignment may bring some exciting experience or opportunities

The pros clearly out weigh the cons.  I cannot believe we are here.  Again.  Apart.  But, what a difference a year makes. There are new challenges from last year, but overall I feel confident this time, Mostly thanks to supportive and understanding extended family.  Maybe not having a newborn helps too 😁. 

Here's the theme of our lives ..... Never a dull moment!!!!!  

Car ride down south Friday 

Pretending to sleep 7 hours into the 15.5 hours

Blythe and Addison playing

Fun on the manor

Fun on the manor 

Veggie pickin with great grannie 

Veggie pickin with great grannie 

Happy Birthday Uncle Mateo

My brother sure is popular around here.......the kids LOVED celebrating his birthday!

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom {Transportation Services Update:Fluid Definitions}

The saga continues as I attempt to get transportation from my neighborhood to our public elementary school.  Please see my other post related to the matter here: Transportation concerns sent to State Board Of Education

The commissioner of education and his legal council responded to my request for the area to be reviewed. To summarize the very lengthy response, they agreed that they are operating within their policies. The State Board of Education said Papillion La Vista schools defined a major thoroughfare as a four lane road. Hold on?  WHEN are they counting that as their definition?  As you may recall, the definitions have been the following:

• Hwy 370 with one exception on 96th {I responded that I know of a bus crossing 72nd}
• "Oh yeah, we forgot....72nd is too" {I responded with another exception}
• "That's right 370, 96th, 72nd and Giles, sorry those are all major roads" {I pointed out yet another exception to which their rebuttal took longer to return}
• "The road must be four lanes to be a major throughfare"

 The *new* recommended path has us crossing a road that is reduced to two lanes only 100 feet from where they want the kids to cross this "non major thoroughfare".  However, here is the fun part...there is NO SIDEWALK along this "non major thoroughfare" and there is NO CROSSWALK.....UNTIL YOU GET TO WHERE THE ROAD IS FOUR LANES.  Are you kidding me?!!???!

I like how the definitions change to suit their needs.  A policy is not truly a policy if the implementation is inconsistent at best.

I will not rest until this is over! 

The Stats {Addison, 5 years and Blythe 1 year}

Addison is still long and lean; she's growing well!

Height: 3 ft 9 in /45.51 in (93%)

Weight: 42 lb 3 oz (64%)

Bmi: 23%

Bp: 96/62

Blythe is a big big girl just as she has been since the day she was born!

Height: 32.18 in (97%)

Weight: 25 lbs 8 oz (98%)

Head: 46.8 cm (91%)

Blythe is surprisingly our biggest At one year; Caleb was 25 lbs at one and Addison was 21.5 lbs.

Unfortunately our well visits turned sick when we confirmed suspicions of  ear infection and pink eye.  Shes on omnisef for  the ears and we are waiting to see if the pink eye gets better without drops.

Blythe Juliette {1 Year Old}

I find this post surprisingly difficult to write....

It has been one year since Blythe Juliette blazed her way into our lives and caused the hearts of our entire family to expand 10 fold!  Our lives are richer because of her, Happy First Birthday to the bright light of this family, Blythe Juliette Grant.

• Weight and Height:  We find out officially next week, but for now shes around 25+ lb
• Clothes:  18-24 mo/2t depending on brand and type of clothes
• Diaper: 4, but she needs five....I am putting it off as long as I can.
• Feet:  Do not care until she walks :)
• Teeth:  Four, but there are several popping thru.
• Breastfeeding:  I am proud, and shocked, we made it to a year!  She is trying to wean herself because she loves her almond milk in a cup.  The only reason we are hanging on is...well....me.  I do not even love nursing, but to think this is the end for good is hard for me.  It is not a feeling of relief at all.
• Food:  I can tell she is developing some preferences, but she still eats great.  Oatmeal is not her favorite along with any other concentrated fruit. She loves almost any veggie I can give her but clearly likes some more than others.
• Talking:  I do not think she will be as chatty as Addison and Caleb, but she is still learning new words well...dada, mama, piper, cracker, bub (as in caleb-bub), paci, please, dog, baby.
• Signing:  I LOVE SIGN LANGUAGE; she learns and uses new signs everyday!  Eat, water, milk, please, help, thank you, banana, more, all done, dog, bath, play, various body parts.
• Independent playtime:  Overall, she does fantastic with play pen time for up to 20-30 minutes daily or 15 minutes twice a day.  I started working on blanket time, but decided I would wait until she walked like I did with Addison and Caleb.  I started daily blanket time around 14-15 months with them and they both caught on and followed the boundary quickly.  I totally believe in boundary training....it is an essential transferable skill!
• Major motor:  She crawls fasts and has just recently started to cruise.  I think she will be walking by the end of May, which is EARLY to me---the other two did not walk until 15 months!  My kids are usually a little behind the curve in this area.
• Fine motor:   Good pincer abilities, tries to stack objects, turns pages in books easily, can manipulate velcro and clips.
• Separation anxiety:  Despite having regular date nights with our baby sitter and co-op moms and church, she still struggles.  When Addison is around, she is much more comfortable.
• Words to describe her:  Independent, opinionated, fairly serious, curious, active, sweet, daddy's girl, NOT snugly AT ALL, content
• Loves......her daddy, her snuggle blanket, Caleb, Addison, eating, self feeding, exploring, looking at books, climbing, people watching, singing, copying
• Does not love.....applesauce, pineapple, cuddling when it is time to sleep, nursing, waiting for food, getting ready for sleep, diaper changes, oatmeal

Looking back on the last year.......I have enjoyed her first year so much more than the first two children; I can see the forest, not just the trees this time.  We also proactively prevented the PPD this time, that was HUGE.  I truly relished so many moments and milestones this go round; I knew from AJ and CA that it would fly by in a blink.  However, those two LONG months without the leader in this family, Matthew, were some of my darkest moments.  I am not proud of how I handled it, but it made me realize a few things 1) I am so thankful we have a godly leader in our house who provides, loves, leads and cares for this family, 2) I am thankful our family has a father/leader in it 3) children are far more impacted by the absence of a father (who is just unavailable vs passed away) than I ever thought possible 4) children are emotionally resilient  5) my mother is a saint (I already knew this but it was made even clearer) 6) I cannot do it all and must ask for help 7) my husband is absolutely the most amazing human being I have ever met in my entire life.  If I remove those two months from the last 12, this past year with Blythe in our family has been so rich, full and blessed and as close to picturesque as possible.  

To my joyful survivor:

As silly as this sounds, each time I think of you I feel as though I could explode because of how fiercely I love you.  This family is smitten with your big green eyes filled with wonderment, your contagious squnichy nose smile, your laughter which you carefully select to use, the constant curiosity and your angelic voice.  My heart is so full when I see you look at your brother and sister with admiring eyes.  Blythe, you are so blessed to have a brother and sister who love everything about you and love you more than anything.  And your Daddy.....there is not a better one around.  Truly. 

I thank the Lord for you everyday.  I claim the scripture hanging on the wall in your room...

Numbers 6:24-26“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’

I am honored to mother you.  You will always be so special to this family; God was so gracious to daddy, Addison, Caleb and me when he let us be your family.  There are still many days I wonder what it would have been like to have you and your twin Olive here.  Sometimes when you are nursing and I day dream I can almost see our other crib in that room.  In that same moment, I squeeze you extra tight knowing that while we lost one, we were give you and you baby...you are wonderful.  I cannot wait to watch you grow and watch you become the person God called you to be.  I crazy, fiercely, big, squishy love you my "Blythe-y".  Always.  Always.

Its all squishy nose smiles these days

Yoga

She hugs every stuffed animal...just like Caleb does!

Loves that bear

I can hardly breathe when I see this picture......

Big Brother letter her pull is hair :)

She can do no wrong in his eyes

I love that we can never get a perfect picture of the trio....because that is life, imperfectly perfect!

My three as one year olds :)