Water Blob!!

I saw this idea on pinterest a while ago and finally got around to trying it out.

All you need is some clear plastic sheeting, duct tape, and a water hose and you can make your very own water blob too!!

It cost less than five dollars to make and it was fairly easy to put together. You fold the plastic sheeting in half (I doubled mine up because I thought for sure it was going to be to thin to hold the water but surprisingly it held fine) and then duct tape all of the sides together (again I doubled the tape!) leaving an opening just large enough to fit a hosepipe in. I added star confetti and a few plastic bugs, filled it with water and then taped off the last little bit and voila.... 

I'll never underestimate the power of duct tape again!!

This little girl loves to paint!

(ps: please ignore the yucky leftovers from her dinner on her highchair. every time i turn around i feel like i'm washing her seat cover again and again and again. she's definitely not afraid to get messy!)

ice and spoons

Some days the preschool teacher in me begs to be let out!!

Today we did a little sensory experience with colored ice.

(by the way I was way more stoked about it than she was!)

She would have been happy with just the bowl and her spoons!

heartwarming and heartbreaking

For the past five and a half months this has been our routine.

I sit the iPad up and my precious little girl gets so excited-

 it's Mayson Pearl and daddy time!

Seeing them together,

interacting, "talking", laughing and playing- 

is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.

I feel blessed that Gregory is deployed to a location where he is able to skype with us almost daily.

Blessed that this technology even exist.

Blessed that we get to start our mornings with him, while he ends his day with us! (that's what a 13 hr time difference gets you!)

Blessed that he's been able to see Mayson growing up.

Blessed that Mayson is still able to hear and therefore recognize his voice.

Blessed that I get to see them both so excited and happy to see each other.

And while I am daily trying to count my blessings, its hard not to long for the day when we finally get to have our favorite guy in person.

I know that throughout much of this deployment I have kept this blog fairly superficial.

I've really tried not to delve into my feelings and if I'm being honest I haven't really had to many of them.

I've been sort of numb and keeping things buried.

But as deployment winds down I feel like I can finally start letting things to the surface.

Because there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel!!

My little family is finally going to be whole again and that's the biggest and best blessing of them all!

 

Homecoming?

Wanna know when the hubby is coming home?

Ha! Wish I knew!

We know the schedule for the various flights back but they have yet to assign who is on each flight. And the not knowing is beyond frustrating.

He could be home as early as a couple of weeks from now or not until early June.

I want to be able to start counting down the days.

I need to start planning our move back to Jacksonville and figure out where we are going to stay if he comes back before June 1st.

I need to pack.

Get a haircut.

Shave my legs and wax my mustache!

Buy a new outfit for his homecoming.

And I'm finding it hard to start on my to do list without having a date for his return.

With the military you can't count on it being real until u get the official date (and even then it can change).

I don't wanna get my hopes up and then be disappointed.

So i'm simply trying to pass the time, waiting for them to assign him a flight and give us a date.

Because Mayson Pearl and I are dying to know when our favorite guy will be back in our arms to stay!

dollhouse fun

Grandma bought Mayson her first dollhouse.

We pulled it out for the first time today and I couldn't get over how BIG she looked while playing with it.

Where, oh where does the time go!

missing out

It's funny how the littlest things can make you sad.

I was going through the basket of cat toys the other day and came across one of Mayson's pacifiers. At first I laughed because I'm pretty sure that Greg's crazy cat probably knocked the paci down from somewhere and was playing with it and then dropped it into the basket when she was done. (seriously his cat is weird... I've found pens in the litter box, my underwear in the water bowl, Mayson's toys in the food bowl... she's crazy!)

Instead of washing her pacifier off I just threw it away. Its been over a month since Mayson has even taken a pacifier so I didn't see any reason to keep it, but for some reason as soon as that pacifier hit the trash can I suddenly felt like I was going to cry.

Gregory wouldn't know that he could simply throw it away.

I hadn't told him that she had abandoned her pacifiers months ago.

And suddenly I couldn't help but think of all of the little things about Mayson that he doesn't know...

like how she growls at you when she isn't getting her way.

or forgets she has teeth now and occasionally bites her fingers so hard she makes herself cry.

that she loves hanging upside down or being held way up high.

that she almost always "talks" with her mouth full,

and makes the most disgusted little face with her first bite of food, no matter what it is, but then goes on to eat the entire bowl!

he hasn't seen her bob her head to music.

or hear her laugh hysterically anytime her mommy tries to dance.

he hasn't got the chance to let her walk up and down the hallway by holding onto his hands

or blow raspberries on her belly to hear her giggle...

there's just so much that he doesn't know

part of me feels like I've failed him by not remembering to tell him every little thing

and part of me is angry because I know relaying ever little detail is an impossible task.

he'll never get to experience her when she was learning to sit, 

or eat,

or roll over.

He never got to be with her when she was three months,

or four,

or five,

or six,

or even seven. 

Why in the world a silly pacifier found with the cat toys brought all of this to the forefront of my mind is beyond me.

I'm trying not to let these thoughts get me down because soon (oh so very soon!) Mayson's daddy will be home and I won't have to fill him in on all of the little things about his baby girl because he'll be able to experience them for himself. 

And for a little shameless shout out to the guy that we love.

(because I know you read this!)

 Gregory- there will never be enough words to thank you for the sacrifices you make to take care of your little family and to serve your country. We can't wait until you are back home where you belong! 

 

We have been busy...

Painting

Playing

Sipping

And angrily crawling... backwards!

$39.99 well spent!

Mayson Pearl hated her baby swing.

She hated her bumbo.

She hated me carrying her in the baby sling.

But...

 She has always loved her play mat.

(I guess she just likes being free!)

When she was a newborn she loved staring up at the lights and different toys.

And she loved listening to the music play.

It made tummy time more tolerable.

And provided Maysie hours of entertainment grabbing and batting the toys around.

 She's had so much fun with it that I'm kind of sad that its almost time to retire the 'ole playmat.

She still loves playing with her mat but now she wants to STAND when she does.

 

She's not able to pull herself up to standing by herself yet, but when she figures that skill out it will be time to pack her first ever favorite toy away!

 And that will be a sad, sad day for this momma!

Thank you, thirty nine dollar and ninety-nine cent plus tax, Fisher Price play mat.

Not only were you quite budget friendly and affordable but Mayson loved you so much that this momma could take fifteen to twenty minutes at a time to either relax or get stuff done while you entertained her... and that is why I will be sooooooooo sad to see you go!

Puffs!