Tough Week

This week has been a tough one, as far as weeks go.
I was woken up from a nap at about 3pm on Monday afternoon (Tommy had the day off for President's Day and was sweet enough to let me catch up on some much-needed zzz's) by my mobile phone ringing. It was Mum. I knew it couldn't be good, as it was only 6am in Brisbane, and she was calling instead of emailing.



My Granny had died.

I tell Mum that I am coming to London with her, and she tells me not to. To wait until she gets there and get some accommodation sorted out. Finally, she gives me a day to come, and I can't get a flight until the NEXT day, meaning I would miss Gran's funeral. And I would only be there for four days, which would be very hard on Wesley, especially with the 5 hour time difference.

So I'm not going. :o( And I feel guilty and sad every minute of every day that has past since...

It's Sunday here, right now. A week since Gran died. The funeral is tomorrow. I'm just plain old sad.

Jonathan, Tommy's brother, and Alyssah, Tommy's cousin are here for the weekend. It's good, it's nice. I went to the movies with Aly last night, while the boys stayed home and played video games and drank beer while Wes slept. It was nice to get out of the house, and out of my head for a little while. We went and saw Confessions of a Shopoholic. I've read the entire series, many times over, and loved all of the books. And, whilst the movie wasn't a replica of the book, it was an enjoyable, funny movie.

Wesley is doing well. He slept through the night last night, which was nice. He hasn't been sleeping through for a few weeks. He;s been waking up at about 3am to play. We don't indulge him. When we hear him, one of us goes in to check that he isn't hurt, sick, that he is alright, then we leave him. We don't pick him up, play with him, talk to him. We just see that he is ok.

We wondered why he was waking up, especially seeing as we don't indulge him - and from the billions of things I have read, it is completely normal for babies around 6 months old, who are on the cusp of crawling (and then babies who are on the cusp of walking, too) to wake up and be restless. Apparently they have extra energy during these times, and would rather practice their skills, then sleep. I would rather sleep :oP

But, he slept through last night, and his naps have been longer, too, the last few days, which makes us both happier :o)

And speaking on Wesley, he currently sitting across the table from me, in his high chair, throwing all his toys on the ground, then crying for me to pick them up. He likes this game. I don't. So, I guess its time to go.

I just wanted to quickly update. I love you all and miss you bunches.
I'll always miss you, Granny.

Work is work...

So it's been a bit since I've added to this so I figured it was about time. Things are work are going well. I'm slowly but surely getting into the run of things and starting to have a little fun.

I'm training under an HM1 at the moment and I'm learning everything she does so that I can take her spot come July. Soon I'll be the LPO (Leading Petty Officer) and be the head person in charge. It feels a little weird because there are other HM2's there that have been there much longer, but they belong to a different part of the section. It's kinda complicated without going into the details, but details have to be left out for reasons. :)

So, it's a bit of a boost to the ego since I'm being chosen over the others. My Chief and HM1 and even our LT seem to be really impressed by me and that makes me feel good. They are giving me a lot of responsibility and little overseeing. Now I just have to make sure that I don't screw it up, lol. Shouldn't be too hard though. I just have to be ready for when the other HM2's or the junior sailors to get out of line and attempt to challenge me because I'm not "one of them" or I'm "the new guy so why did they put you in charge" stuff. I don't think that I'll really have that problem, but I'm gonna stay on the alert for the next couple months anyways.

So I'm learning all of the little things that make the job what it is. I'm taking over a bunch of collateral duties that will keep me busy, not to mention help with my eval. I'm already the President of one committee, and that was within the 2nd week of me being there. I turn and burn baby! :D lol

All in all, things are going well. I'm excited to be working, but also being in a leadership position. That's all for now!

HM2 out :D

This Bites.

3am. Cue inconsolable screaming.

3:10am. Cue parents who don't understand why their son is screaming like they've never heard before.

3:31am. Dad come back to bed after some tylenol and 20 minutes of rocking. Dad says, "If he wakes up screaming like that again, we're taking him straight to the ER." Mum and Dad are both worried about baby, and unsure as to what just happened.

11:34am. Mum sees tooth number two. Right next to tooth number one.

Ah. It all makes sense now.

Playing at the Park

That Cute Baby

Here are a few snap shots of that cute boy of ours. He's such a happy baby, and he is learning to smile for the camera, which is so fun!

He is growing up so fast, but into such a handsome, smart boy.

Toofers.

Interesting development.

Yesterday I was talking to Mum on Skype, and Wes was melting down. He was screaming, so I gave him some tylenol for those teeth that weren't through, yet. But he was still quite upset and easily irritated.

When Tommy came home I told him that Wes was especially cranky and especially short tempered. I told him that I thought his teeth were bothering him, so he put his finger in, and pulled it back saying "Ouch! There is something sharp in there!"

So Tommy held Wesley and I looked in, and sure enough - his middle left tooth on the bottom is through.

He was VERY upset after dinner, so we gave him some more tylenol, and some night time bonjella (oragel) and he fell asleep easily.

He did, however, wake up, SCREAMING, at 12:30 (exactly 6 hours after he went to sleep) so we gave him some more tylenol and bonjella and he was back asleep after just 15-20 minutes.

Poor guy. He's growing up and it's hurting us, both, apparently.

February is here!

Can anyone believe it's February? I know I can't. Time is really going by SO quickly. Quicker every day!

Everything is going along nicely. We're still looking at houses. We're broadened our search from just Virginia Beach to Norfolk as well. We can get more house for our money in Norfolk, which is certainly enticing! We live very close to NAS Oceana, now - but the traffic lights and what-not make the commute about 15 minutes in the afternoon, and as much as 30 minutes in the morning. (And about 7 minutes at any other time!) However, should we move to Norfolk, which in terms of distance, is longer - but Tommy will just jump on the expressway, and by doing that will only take MAYBE five minutes longer to get to work. Maybe even the same amount of time in the mornings.

Wesley is doing great. He has almost weaned himself from nursing, despite my desire to keep nursing for longer. He is only nursing in the morning and evening before bed. In fact, he has very little desire for milk at all (formula or breast) He prefers real food, but obviously we still push the milk, as he needs it!

He is drinking so well from a sippy cup, working really well on feeding himself, talking up a storm (ba-ba-ba, wa-wa-wa, da-da-da) smiling and laughing. He is just such a happy baby. Of course, he definitely likes to have days where he tests me, but I know that's normal, and it's teaching me patience, which can only be a good thing! And those days are few and far between if I work to keep him in his routine. (Breaks in routine usually result in a cranky day the next day!)

Well, that's about it for now. Hope everyone is keeping well, we miss you all so much! xxx