Graduation Day

I am beyond proud of my husband!  As you can tell from the previous post he wrote, he graduated pilot training on Friday morning.  He has worked so hard the past year and all that hard work paid off!  He received 3 awards.  The AETC Commander's Trophy, The Flying Training Award, and Distinguished Graduate.  But best of all, he received his pilot's wings!  Tanner did so well during the ceremony!  There was only one time where he got a little fussy, and we all soon found out why.  As the commander was announcing the distinguished visitors he let out a HUGE, EXPLOSIVE poop!  Nick was sitting several rows away and heard him.  I couldn't stop laughing, neither could everyone sitting around us.

After Graduation we were able to go check out a C-17 that arrived for some of the guys in Nick's class who will be flying it in a few months.  It was huge!

That's me standing there.  I'm 5 feet tall, so you can see how huge it is!

We had a fancy dinner that night.  It was the first time I left Tanner for a long period of time.  (I am so incredibly thankful for friends!  I didn't worry about him at all!)

The rest of the weekend we just hung out trying to relax a little.  It was a very long and busy week.

I just realized we were all wearing blue.

We have another busy week ahead of us!  We are leaving at 2:30 in the morning to drive to the city to catch a flight home.  We haven't been home to NC in almost 2 years.  My dad and sister will finally get to meet Tanner, as will Nick's grandparents and extended family.  It will be so nice to go home for a while!  At the end of the week, we are going to fly to Tampa to see my grandparents for a day before we head home!


Wish us luck...we're going to attempt to fly with a 2.5 month old and a cat.  Should be an exciting blog post. :)

Blog Hijack

Hi everyone, this is Nick, Lindsey's husband. I'm Hijacking Lindsey's blog for a post so I can say thank you to some people. 

Today, I graduate from pilot training and I'll officially be an Air Force pilot. This has been a tough year and quite honestly I could not have made it through without the help and support of several people. 

My friends and classmates here at Vance as well as their wives have helped Lindsey and I out so much. All the friends that came in to the hospital to see us and Tanner and bring us food and gifts.  And all the wives that have taken Lindsey in and enjoyed time with her during my long days at work. We are very lucky to have all of you. 

Lindsey's family has provided so much support for me as well. Lindsey's mom came out and helped a ton during the last weeks of Lindsey's pregnancy and first weeks of Tanner's life especially when I had my biggest check ride in all of pilot training a week after he was born. Her dad will finally get to meet Tanner for the first time in a few days. And we are so excited to see him again. 

My family has helped a lot as well. My dad was always helpful when I needed advice on pretty much anything. My mom has been my personal driving force my whole life. She's worked her tail off to raise my brother and me. Working two jobs and being a single mom for I don't even know how many years. Whenever I'm having a rough day, I just think about how rough she's had it her whole life and I realize I can't really complain, because, heck, I fly planes for a living. I've always made it a goal to be a positive role model for my brother and I'm glad to see how hard he is working in school and making good decisions for his life. 

To my wife. Lindsey, you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since that day in high school when one of your friends came up and told me you liked me, you have made me a better person. You raised my self-esteem at that low point in my life and you have never stopped supporting me and my goals. You have sacrificed so much for me and I really haven't said thank you enough, but I don't know that I ever could.  I still can't believe you slept on the couch with a 6 day old in your arms just so I could get a good night of sleep before my big check ride.

I'm done now. I'm sure Lindsey will post some pictures of the ceremony and everything when she has a chance. Sorry, but I don't have any new pictures for you right now, but we will soon.  Thanks for reading. 

Snowy Day

We had our first decent amount of snow Sunday night so we've been hanging out inside, staying warm.  Luckily I have a happy baby who enjoys being inside...for now. :)

Mid-Coo

Check out those lashes!

2 Month Pictures Attempt #1

We tried to take a few pictures before I fed Tanner.  Quickly we realized that wouldn't work.

He was much happier once he ate.  But I still want to re-do these pictures with actual daylight instead of using a flash at night.

2 Months

Little man is 2 months old today and 9 weeks old tomorrow!  How does this happen so fast? Seriously.  How?


He had his 2 month appointment this morning.  Of course he had a huge poopy diaper and a completely soaked pee diaper before we left the house.  I know it probably doesn't mean much, but every ounce counts with this guy!  We ended up weighing 9lb 7oz and was 21.75 inches long.  Both are in the 9th percentile.  Dr. M was not concerned because he is proportionate, and eating/pooping/peeing just fine.  His head is in the 29th percentile, though.  Big brain=smarty...right? :)


She checked his head (made sure there were no flat spots), checked his hips, ears, eyes, and gums.  Everything looks great.  She was surprised how he likes to stand up and actually bears a little weight.  She asked us about tummy time and if he has rolled over yet.  I told her he has a few times but we don't know if it was a fluke or not.  She picked him up and put him on his belly and he raised his head just fine and then tried to roll over.  He was so cute.


He was in such a great mood this morning, which made it much worse.  I knew once he got his shots he would be so sad and sore.  I made Nick take him back to get his shots.  3 shots and an oral vaccine.  I could hear him scream from the waiting room.  It just broke my heart to pieces.  He's been really sleepy since.


He did stay up long enough to enjoy Baby Time at the library today.  He sat and watched the big kids dance and read books.  I think he will really like it once he gets a little bigger!


Since this post is pretty long I will post a few pictures from my phone.  Can you tell I love my little sleeping baby?

Nick got his training dates today.  We're going to San Antonio next month until July.  Luckily my friend's husband has training there around the same time too! Her little guy is 3 months older than Tanner.  I can't wait to be in a city where we can do things with the kids!


And since Nick has his dates set...we can buy plane tickets to go home...THIS MONTH!  Nick and I haven't been home in almost 2 years!  I'm so excited! (Not too excited to try to figure out how to travel with a 2 month old on a plane...).


Baby's awake...gotta go!

So Proud

I am so proud of my husband!  He has wanted to be a pilot since he was 4 years old.  He worked his way through high school to get the very best grades so he could go to the very best college to have that chance of becoming a pilot.  The 4 years at the Air Force Academy were very hard, but he made it though with flying colors.  He started pilot training one year ago and has since had 12 hour days at work and even more to do once he got home, all week long, including weekends.  It was a very difficult year but he made it.  I had no doubts.  

On Friday, Nick had his Assignment Night.  This is the night where everyone in his class find out what plane they are going to fly after Graduation from pilot training.  Nick's number one choice was to stay here, in Oklahoma, for at least 3 more years as an instructor pilot.  He would teach future Air Force pilots.  Thankfully, Nick was given his number one choice!  Of course, Oklahoma really has to grow on you.  We are out in the middle of nowhere and 2 hours away from anything.  But the pros to this choice greatly outweigh the cons.  

• Nick will have a ton of flying hours.  And this will look great on his resume once he retires from the military.
• He enjoys flying the T-1.
• He is an amazing teacher. He is very patient and understanding.
• He will be home for Holidays and Birthdays for at least 3 years.  Which means he can watch Tanner grow up.
• Best of all, he will be able to have a chance on getting the plane he really wants to fly when this assignment is over, whatever he decides that will be when the time comes.  

The rose Nick gave me, along with the bottle of champagne, my card, and  Nick's class beer mug.

After Nick got his assignment he was given a bottle of champagne and his new patches. (The champagne will probably be a decoration for our kitchen, as Nick and I both don't like it).  I was able to meet some very nice wives from the 32nd Squadron (Nick's new squadron).  They gave me a card.  It was very welcoming.  

"FAIP" stands for First Assignment Instructor Pilot.

This is Nick standing in front of the plane he will be teaching others how to fly.  It's the T-1A Jayhawk.   Too bad the weather was nasty that day.

So now we are waiting for Nick's dates for training.  We will be going down to San Antonio for 5 months or so so he can learn how to be an instructor.  We are hoping we can figure out a way to get our cats down there so Tanner and I can go with him.  

Nick will graduate on the 17th of this month.  He will finally have his pilot's wings!  I hope to have a few pictures from the cermony and dinner that night to post here.

In other news...

Tanner is wearing his pocket diapers!  He can pretty much fit in the Smartipants (with a lot of adjusting around his skinny thighs).  He doesn't fit in his Kawaii yet, though.  I love them!  I'm so glad I bought them and picked the colors I did!

This is the first pocket we put on him.  It looks huge in the picture, but it really looks better in person.

My favorite color diaper...black!

Tanner has his 2 month appointment tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how long he is!  But he's getting his shots too. :( I'll update again tomorrow.

Almost 8 Weeks Old!

I know, I've been a blog slacker!  Sorry!


I'm just absolutely enjoying being a momma!  My heart is so full of love for my little man!  He really is growing up so fast!  I couldn't really tell if he was getting bigger until I held my friend's adorable newborn last week.  And now, it's obvious.  I'm excited and sad at the same time.  I look over at Tanner now, falling asleep in his swing and I want to cry because of my love for him and knowing he's not going to be this little for long.  I'm sure the sad country song on the radio isn't helping that though...

We have a great routine going on so far.  Little man usually wakes up around 7am to eat and occasionally takes a quick 30 minute nap after that.  Then he's usually up until he eats next around 10am.  We've been trying to let him play for a while before he naps again, because he used to sleep all day long, but that's changing.  He will typically eat every 2.5-3 hours during the day (and I will pretty much enforce that until his next appointment next week to make sure he really is gaining weight appropriately-although he has been telling me when he is hungry). We are slowly getting better at our adult meal times.  For a long time he just knew we were eating and would wake up fussing and acting like he was hungry.  No matter what, he knew we were eating.  It was funny...for a little while. He will eat before dinner is ready and again around 8:30-9pm.  We will cuddle and play until it's time for us all to go to bed.  We usually get Tanner ready around 10-10:30 and I will nurse him again in bed to "top him off".  Then we put him in his pack n play and he either is already passed out or he will stare around for a little while and then fall sleep.  And for the past week and a half he has slept 6-7 hours until about 5am.  It's been great!


Nursing has been incredible.  I am so thankful everything is working out now!  We have been shieldless for a whole week today! And ever since Tanner has become more proficient at nursing and only takes 15-20 minutes to eat versus the 45+ minutes it was before.  It took a long time and a lot of work to wean from the shield but it was so worth it!  I believe because of the shield he has a fantastic latch and I have no pain. Ever. And I think it really helps us bond too.


Sometimes when he's done nursing and burping at our early morning feeding, I will lay him in my arms and rock him in the glider.  He stares at me and smiles.  It melts my heart every.single.time.


Tanner's favorite thing right now is still the mirror on the activity mat.  He loves staring at himself!  He also loves going for walks in the stroller.  The weather has been beautiful for winter and we have been able to go often.


I also think he's starting to teethe.  He will eat and immediately when he's done he starts chewing on his fist.  He's drooling a lot and is slightly more fussy lately.  I can see two little tooth buds right at the surface of his gums in the front bottom of his mouth.  I can feel them as well if I rub my finger on them.


He has his 2 month appointment on the 8th.  I'm looking forward to seeing how much he weighs and how long he is.  He is starting to make some of his footed sleepers uncomfortable because he seems so long.  But he's still a skinny little guy.  I'm NOT looking forward to his shots though.  It's going to break my heart, I just know it!


That's enough blabbing for now, here are some pictures I took this morning!

Doing so good holding things!

Cross eyed

Happy baby!

Starting to tolerate tummy time.

Still a little small for this cute outfit. (Yes, Dad.  I said "outfit") Haha

There goes this outfit for today.  This is what usually happens with his clothes.   We change him  4+ times a day most days.

Mommy & baby time!