Josie at 7 months

My little Josie toe-sie, you are getting so big!!!  You are still the sweetest, smiliest baby ever and you have cheeks for days.  EVERYONE comments on your cheeks and I spend the majority of my time kissing them.  Between that and your fat hammies – they are the most squeezable things ever.  They’re like my little stress reliever balls.  It’s not wonder you’re not mobile or rolling at all.  I hold you quite a bit and squeeze you all day long.

So you still aren’t rolling all the way over.  You roll on to your sides and that’s about it.  If you’re sitting in the boppy pillow sometimes you can sit yourself back up if you fall into a reclined position.  You bounce like crazy in your bouncer and will put weight on your feet but don’t even attempt walking yet.  You have been a little constipated at times so we’ve backed off the solid foods a little bit.  You’re funny because you are so interested in what we’re eating, but if we try to give you a tiny bite you get this disgusted look on your face and spit it out immediately.  You’re a little better at keeping purees in your mouth, but you don’t love food like the other 3 have.  The ped said not to worry about it too much.  You are sitting up pretty well unassisted and you love to watch everyone around you.  You cry now if someone walks out of the room and leaves you there.

We got you caught up on your shots this month and you weighed around 18.5lbs.  You’re in 6-9 month clothes still but some of them are getting tight.  You drink around 25oz of formula and are still in size 3 diapers.  You love going for walks and I’m starting to put you in the stroller without your car seat and you seem to be super happy that way.  You have been taking a while to get to sleep at night.  I have to make sure you’re REALLY asleep before I put you down otherwise you’re fussing within a few minutes.  Usually you sleep until at least 630 and sometimes 730 if I’m really lucky.  Your naps are still kinda random and you like to nap in your swing.  I need to get you out of that habit because it barely moves with you in it now.  I haven’t gotten you to successfully nap in your pack n play yet, but I would like to get you doing that soon.  Sometimes you will nap on our bed if I lay with you, but I’m afraid you’d decide to roll then and roll off of it.

Overall, you’re the best baby ever.  We all fight over you constantly, and mostly your siblings.  Abbie forever wants to haul you around like you’re her baby doll and the boys fight over you pretty much ever hour they are awake.  If I could freeze you at this age forever, I would!

Valuing relationships

Lately I have really been feeling like I put more value in certain relationships than the other parties do, and it sucks.  There are a few friendships I’ve really been feeling like I put much more value on the friendship than the other people do, and it’s a tough pill to swallow.  More often than not, I feel like I’m the one asking people to do things, or I’m the one keeping in touch with people.  The transient lifestyle of a military spouse really plays in to this.  I know most of the people in this small town have been here for years.  They all know each other and I am the outsider.  Some of them have been very accepting and welcome me in to their already well established circles, but most of them don’t.  And then there’s some that you think welcome you in but really aren’t.  Those ones hurt.  I am hoping and praying that we can grow much deeper roots in NY and that we won’t be the “outsiders” there in a few years.  That we can grow lasting friendships with people that put as much value into the relationship as we do.

(My aunt and uncle did make the trip to CO to see us and it was great to see them.  And my dad was cut off in the group picture.. He was next to Mark.)

But what sucks even more than friendships, is when you feel this vast divide with family.  We recently drove to CO to give my parents our dogs during our move.  We drove 12 hours (not including stops) with 4 kids and 3 dogs.  I asked one of my extended family to drive 4 hrs to see us so they could meet some of our kids and we could meet theirs, but they couldn’t be bothered to drive that far.  That hurts.  I would LOVE for my kids to have cousins that they could play with or see once a year or so, but we’ve never lived near anyone of our relatives that have kids.  We’ll be within driving distance of some of Mark’s cousins once we move so hopefully we can plan some meet ups with them when we live on the other side of the country.  Mark’s family seems to just plan their trips with just them.  They go to Europe together and rent lake houses together and never once suggest that we all meet in the middle to include us, or even invite us to join them in their trips.  Of course we couldn’t go to Europe with them, and we wouldn’t go all the way to where they live with 4 kids, but I feel bad that Mark’s pretty much been ostracized from his own family.  He says it doesn’t bother him and that he has his own family now, but it’s got to be a little weird for him to see them all getting together and going on trips together when he’s never even invited.

My hope is that my kids will try to keep in touch with each other when they are older – that their kids will all be friends and that they’ll be able to see each other more than once or twice a year, if that.  I am thankful for all the opportunities the military has afforded us, and all the friends we have all over the place, but it is hard to not have people physically close to you to develop deep relationships with.  And as soon as you do develop a deep relationship with someone, either you move or they move.  We are looking forward to the guard side of the military for sure.