100 Posts

Wow. 100 posts? That's a lot of pictures.

I just wanted to let you all know how we're doing.

We've heard from Jarrod a few times since he has been gone, and he seems to be doing pretty good. He sounds like he's in good spirits. His graduation is going to be in the middle of March, and we have already bought our plane tickets to fly out there to see it. We'll be staying with Steve and Anne and it will be extra nice to get to see them. It's been awhile! I am sure Hayden and Mary will make for an interesting interaction. After Jarrod's graduation, it's tech school and then we'll know where he'll be stationed (for good!)

As for me, the doula thing is going great. I'm officially "doula-trained" and just need to complete a few more things before certification. I have 3 births lined up (one in early March, the others in April) and am looking forward to how emotionally rewarding the career will be. I have already bought a few birth balls, massage tools, music - all the goods. I'm excited =)

Hayden is also doing well. She is about half-way potty-trained. She'll use the potty regularly about every other day. It's a start though. Her vocabulary is still amazing and growing fast. It feels so strange to compare her to Vincent. She was once that small and he'll someday be as big as her. She's grown so much and continues to grow (physically and mentally) each day. Once she is completely potty-trained, I think we might put her in a karate class. She's shown general interest in it and they start taking children at 3 1/2 years of age. It's hard to say too much, though - because our moving situation is still up in the air when it comes to the when and where.

(I'll do an update on Vincent when I post his '4 month old' pictures in a couple days)

I hope everyone is doing well.

Quick Update

I probably won't be able to post pictures for awhile. The kids and I have been extremely busy and I haven't been spending too much time on the computer (which is for the best, I am sure!) I have tons of photos that I have taken over the last couple of days, but it might be some time before I can upload them.

I just wanted it known that we did (finally!) hear from Jarrod. He sounds great! His graduation is on March 20th, so I am looking at plane tickets to get us out to San Antonio. He really does seem like he is having a good time though. He was joking with me and laughing a lot. I think the military life is going to suit us just fine.

A few people have also asked about where we are going to be stationed. We don't know yet. We will not know until around mid-April. The recruiter showed us where people with Jarrod's job tend to be located, which included 2 bases in California, 1 in Alaska, and 2 in Europe - but it's all speculative. We'll know more when Jarrod is in tech school.

A Jarrod and I Update

Just to let you all know what is going on with our lives as well (and, I promise, a Vincent update soon).

So, first off, a Happy New Year's to everyone. I hope you can enjoy the moments you had in 2008 and, if not, then I hope 2009 is off to a better start. We've had quite a few things happen to us this year, including the new baby, moving in (and out of) our own place, getting married, and more. It's been a good year though. I hope the next is a good year for us as well.

Secondly, I've actually had a few people ask me about my camera - so I am just going to answer it here on my blog because it's easier. I use a Canon 40D. I usually just use a portrait lens, which is difficult to shoot with but makes for a gorgeous picture. I still do photo shoots from time to time for my company (CJ Photography), but lately being a stay-at-home mom has consumed a lot of my time. I have a photo shoot coming up on the 11th for some co-workers of Alice and another for my friend's newborn baby, but I don't have the motivation or the time to promote - so I simply don't. It's more of a hobby anyway, as we don't need the money. I have my focus set on other things now.

I am currently training and studying to become a doula, certified by DONA. I've been planning to go to school to become a CNM (certified nurse midwife), but I honestly don't have the time for that much school. You do not have to be a registered nurse to become a midwife, but I'd prefer to segway into that when the kids are older. So, I am becoming a doula. I'm pretty excited about it and should be finished with my final seminar sometime in March. I hope to be able to work with the midwife on the AFB.

Oh - and anyone in Minnesota - I am flying out there with Vincent on January 8th and leaving on the 11th. I'll be staying in Shakopee and I'd love to see some of you...

As for Jarrod, he is officially an Airman of the United States Air Force. He will be leaving on January 20th to go to Lackland Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas) for his basic training. That will last for 9 weeks. After that, he goes to Sheppard Air Force Base (in Wichita Falls, Texas - about 2 hours north of San Antonio) for job training. He is going to be a load master. Don't ask me what they do, because I still don't fully understand. I know he'll be flying a lot and makes sure the planes not too heavy... After that, we figure out where he gets stationed. The kids and I are going to stay here in Glendale until we get housing on base, then we'll move to be with him. It's exciting, but a little bittersweet as we have never been away from each other for that amount of time before.

Jarrod hopes to get in some classes while we're living on base. He hasn't decided what he wants to do yet, but hopes it somehow involves physics.

I'm going to go get a start on Vincent's updates now =)