Finally getting settled!

Well, it's been a while, but things are finally starting to settle down. A lot has happened since I posted last, so I'll try to give a little synopsis! The weekend of July 12, we had our much anticipated LeMieux/Hay family reunion. It was a long time coming and we had a blast! Elijah decided that he could pull himself up on furniture. He had only recently started crawling, so he was getting that hang of that fast!

On August 1 we celebrated Elijah's first birthday. I still can't believe he's one already! We actually celebrated with a few parties. We had one in Virginia with my family and some of our friends, then we drove up to Ohio to celebrate with Chris' family and to hit his family reunion up there.

Once we got back from Ohio, I had to pack everything up and head down to North Carolina for good. So that leads me to now. We picked up the keys to our house on my birthday (September 15--my 30th!!! Chris and our friends even through me a surprise party!) and we got all of our stuff on Tuesday. And in true Marine Corps fashion, Chris was gone. So needless-to-say, moving by yourself isn't fun! But thank God my mom came down to help out. Good thing, since Elijah decided to come down with a nice case of croup.

Elijah is doing really well. He's finally over his croup. He got his first haircut!!! How freakin' cute is that! He weighs 24 pounds 13 oz and is 30 1/2 inches long. He is still not walking, but he cruises along the furniture like a champ and when you hold both of his hand he'll walk. But as soon as you let go, he'll stand for about 15 seconds or so and then he's down and taking off. Yeah, he's lazy!

So now we're trying to get the house in order. Not looking forward to that. We've only been in here two weeks and I've already lost my motivation!!! That's pretty sad. Oh well. I've attached a slide show with some random pictures. It's a little long, so bear with it!

Craziness

Yes, that's what life has been like for the past few weeks! I'm still in Virginia staying with mom and dad for a while and Chris has officially checked in with his new unit in North Carolina. Our name is on the list for housing (we're number 7) and hopefully it will only take the 1 to 3 months that they've told us. We'll see. So far we've been lucky that Chris has been able to stay with friends while we're waiting for our house. Our house in Virginia still has not been rented, but we're hopefull that it'll go soon. Once we get settled, we'll let everyone know our new information.

Anyway, Elijah has since turned 11 months old. Wow! It's amazing how fast the past 11 months have gone. Hard to believe that he'll be turning one in just a few more weeks. All of my pictures are still on our laptop, so I haven't been able to download anything. But don't worry, I'll get pictures out as soon as I can!

Elijah's first 4th of July went great. Mom and Dad had a BBQ for their neighbors and we just hung out. Elijah was in bed in time for the fireworks, and he slept through them all. What a good boy! Especially considering that they were right outside his bedroom window!

We're looking forward to the coming weekend because it's my family reunion. We haven't had one in quite some time, so it'll be good to see everyone. I'll post pictures of that too. Once I have some more exciting news to post, I'll do that as well!

Moving

So much as happened since we got back to Vermont! We've tried to get some stuff packed up so the movers don't have to move anything that could be given away or even thrown away. We've been somewhat successful! The movers were scheduled to come on Monday, June 23. On Wednesday, June 18, we were told our move date wasn't confirmed and may have to reschedule!!! What?!?!?! After going through hoops to try to find out what was going on, we were finally able to get it confirmed on Friday afternoon. We never even had a walk-through before the movers got here. (this is important to note because when we filled out the paperwork, Chris had to estimate how many pounds we had. Not having a clue as to what to put, he put 4,000 pounds. Pretty average, right? Well, apparently he underestimated by 2,000 pounds and the movers got a little irritated. But since we didn't have a walk-through, what the heck do you want us to do about it?!?!?!).

Anyway, I've been actively looking for a job down in NC for a little bit, but finally found one that would suit me perfectly. The only problem is that they require a typing test and a spelling test, that must be done in person. Yeah for me. Since I really want this job, we decided that I would drive down there on Sunday night, and on Monday morning, complete the appropriate paperwork and come home. So this leaves Chris alone to deal with Elijah and the packers/movers. Thank God for parents! (I did good on the tests by the way, but don't know about the job yet!)

So now our house is full of boxes, which are being loaded into the moving van as I type (I'm with Elijah at mom and dad's while Chris is at the house with the movers). Now begins the process of cleaning and getting the house rented and finding housing in NC. We're hoping to live on base, but we'll see how that works. Wish us luck! Once we get settled, I'll let everyone know our new information!

Vermont

We had such a great time in Vermont! (check back later for pictures, I'm not sure when I can upload them!!) We headed up there Friday, June 6 and came back on Sunday, June 15. The whole purpose for us going up there was so that Chris could do his residency with Norwich University to do his Master's. While he did that, mom, dad, Elijah and I were tourists!

We left on Friday afternoon and drove to NJ to stay the night at my aunt Linda's house. We didn't get a chance to really visit with her because we had gotten there so late and wanted to get on the road at a decent hour, but we still had a good time. And this is where Elijah started crawling! Go figure, we have 2 cats, but the minute he sees a dog, he takes off! We checked into our hotel on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday we checked out Ben and Jerry's and the Trapp Family Lodge (yes, the von Trapp's from the Sound of Music!!!). We had to drop Chris off at school Sunday afternoon and on Monday we decided to hang around the resort for a while and go to the pool.

On Tuesday we went to Burlington and then took the ferry over to Plattsburgh, NY to visit some family. Of course, there was some severe weather and tornadoes, and they shut the ferry down! It took us 3 hours to get home that night, but we got to see the Canadian border, so I can't complain too much! On Wednesday we went to St. Johnsbury, where my dad lived for a few years growing up and we got to get some maple syrup, and we toured the Cabot cheese factory. Chris had Thursday off, so we spent the day by the pool and then we had to take him back to school because the graduates got their master's "hoods". It was a pretty neat ceremony.

On Friday morning we checked out of one resort, then into another, then we drove back to Norwich so we could see the graduation. It was very hot where they had the ceremony, but it didn't last as long as we thought it would. I'm so proud of him! He worked so hard to get this and it's finally over!

We left early Saturday morning and drove back to NJ to stay with my aunt again. This time we had time to spend with her! We had a great dinner and we got up early again on Sunday and made the drive home. Overall we had a great time and we can't wait to check Vermont out again some other time! Now we just have to wait for the movers!

We have a crawler!!!

Elijah has officially crawled!! What's so funny is that he looks like he's drunk! He'll go about a foot or so and then fall down, but he's getting the hang of it. But he'd rather just sit and scream! He started crawling on Saturday at my aunt's house in New Jersey. We stopped there on the way up to Vermont (another post on that later!) and I guess he just needed a new environment. He's crawled a little since we've been here in Smuggler's Notch, but not that much. So now I get to look forward to keeping a better eye on him!

Ten months old!!!

Wow! Elijah is now 10 months old. I can't believe how fast the past 10 months have gone. (Why can't Chris' deployments go this fast?!?!) I haven't weighed Elijah in a while, but he's about 23 pounds and in size 4 diapers. Yes, he's a chunk!!! But I love it!! He's doing great. He has two teeth (and working on a few more, which is making my life miserable!) and he's rolling all over the place. Notice I did not say crawling all over the place!! He's still not doing that, but he gets to where he wants to go by rolling. And sitting up. Chris and I have figured out that's one of the reasons he isn't crawling. He's fasinated by the fact that he can put himself in a sitting position from laying down, so that's his new favorite thing! So as you can imagine, it's not fun changing his diapers! Not that it ever really was, but at least the most he did was kick his legs. Now getting him to stay on his back is a major challenge! He's also very vocal, always saying something. The only thing we can really distinguish is 'da-da' and 'ba-ba'. And he loves to blow raspberries and try to bite. Not fun, since those teeth are pretty sharp!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day has special meaning to me now. I guess being a military wife, certain holidays tug at your heart strings more than they did before, and Memorial Day is one of them. Memorial Day is a time to reflect and remember the sacrifices that the military gave us. It's also a time to remember the sacrifices that military families give as well. There is no doubt that while the active duty member certainly sacrifices a lot, the families they leave behind have their fair share of trials as well! We have to live every day life without our husband, wife, father, mother, son or daughter. Bills must be paid. Taxes must be paid. Houses must be cleaned. Trash must be taken out. Cat litter boxes must be scooped. Lawns must be mowed. And the list goes on and on and on. Then you have to add it the extras when children have arrived. Diapers, school, tests, after-school activities. We become single parents until our spouse comes home. Not something we like to do! And of course, it never fails that whenever your spouse is gone, something major has to happen. The car breaks down. Your child breaks and arm. It's never ending. Like I said, life goes on.

This Memorial Day we decided to visit the Fredericksburg National Cemetary. In July 1865, three months after the restoration of peace between the states, Congress authorized the establishment of a National Cemetery in Fredericksburg to honor the Federal soldiers who died on the battlefields or from disease in camp. The site chosen was on Marye's Heights, the formidable Confederate position which had proven so impregnable to repeated Federal attacks on December 13, 1862. The cemetery contains the graves of over 15,000 United States soldiers. Most of them are Union soldiers who died in the battles and camps around Fredericksburg. About 100 soldiers are 20th century veterans including at least two spouses. Over 80% of the soldiers are unknown. (I'd like to tell you I came up with that on my own, but I didn't! I got that information from the Battlefield Information Center! I'd hate to be accused of plagerism on my blog!) Each Memorial Day Weekend, the Boy Scouts light 15,000 luminaries to represent the 15,000 soldiers buried there and place an American flag at each grave. It's a breathtaking scene and I highly reccommend that people check it out if your ever in the area.

Just an interesting side note: only United States soldiers are buried in this cemetary, since it's a 'National' Cemetary. Soldiers that fought for the Confederate States are buried in the Confederate Cemetaries in the area. Since they did not fight for the United States, they are not allowed to be buried in a National Cemetary.