Deployment Ceremony & the beginning of block leave

I'll admit it, we're the busiest family on the planet. I'll also admit that it's self-inflicted. It may have something to do with an upcoming deployment and my attempt to keep it off my mind... Ah, anyway. :)

On Thursday, Ellie and I did some organizing and online work-- apparently my taxes will be a great deal simpler if I track my business expenses, etc, ahead of time. She mostly did this while I worked:

Seriously, she is awesome. Other than being hungry or in need of Naked Baby Time, she is always sunny and sweet.


On Friday, we all hit the ground ruuuuuunning. EB & I dropped Andrew off at work and stopped by a forum friend's home [for those that are interested: armywivesforums.com/forums]. Megan is about 4 weeks from delivering Xander, her first son, and EB and I went over to help her clean a little... being 36 weeks pregnant ain't no joke, people! Then we headed to Papa's Deployment Ceremony. For those that have never been to one, they are extremely moving and taking part in it has helped me get into the deployment mindset. It's a process.

The Marine Corps band playing- the Army band is deployed with Division.



This was, obviously, very thrilling for those under 5 months of age.

A word on having a deploying spouse... It sucks.

After the ceremony, Andrew was OFFICIALLY ON BLOCK LEAVE. Yay for 2 weeks off! Yay for fun! Yay for relaxation! [An extra yay for having our tax refund direct deposited earlier that day!!] We celebrated with lunch... Ellie celebrated with beret wearing.

Then we headed home and enjoyed some tummy time and leftover Chinese.

Until around 7:00... this is when Ellie starts her nightly whinefest before bed. She's really sensitive and hates to sleep when she thinks ANYthing exciting could be going on without her...

So, now we're on block leave. Thank goodness. We have many, many exciting plans-- including a week-long visit from Andrew's parents, siblings, and grandparents. Blogs ahead!