Warrior Dash 2011

Today was the craziest fricken day of my life!!!! That is the saying at warrior dash. It is a 3.4 mile run/obstacle course. It is all mud, blood, sweat, and beer!! A bunch of ladies and I, mostly wives from Phillip's unit competed today and we had so much fun!! It was so amazing!! I am already so excited to do it next year and hopefully with Phillip right beside me! The first part is about a mile and half run and then you emerge straight into cold water and swim across a lake to jump over old junk yard trucks. Then run more, to climbing walls, running up tires, rope climbing followed by more running, slip in slides, black holes, mud pit with barb wire, log rolling in water, more running and ending with your glamerous jump over hot flaming fire!! It was so AWESOME!! Every finisher gets a metal, glass water, a bananna, and a FREE BEER!! There is a huge pile of sneakers for people to donate their old dirty shoes!! The band is playing and everywhere you look people are dressed in costumes to go through the race! It is in North Georgia and it is so beautiful up there!! I was so lucky because Nana Cheryl kept Cohen for me and I got a great break. However I had never slept away from my baby boy before and I missed him so much!!! I know he was in great hands. But when I walked in the door and he gave me his great big smile, I just melted and it made it all worth it. Well I am off to bed I am exhausted and my body is beat up!! I hope you enjoy the pictures!! And everyone needs to sign up next year!! I PROMISE you wont regret it!!! :)

 

Real Warriors!!!

 

 Some Spartan men we found! ha!! :)

3/75 RGR Wives!!

Sleeping babies!!

There is nothing more sweeter to me then a precious baby sleeping! Especially when it is your own. I just love to watch them sleep and listen to the noises they make while their little heads are dreaming!! I love their smell and I love to snuggle with them. Cohen has recently fallen asleep in random places and all on his own!! I just wanted to share a few that make me just want to squish him and eat him and smother him up!!!

Smiling in his sleep @ Mindy's Home in RI

Passed out on the floor at my friend Stephanie's House

Taken on my lunch break today at daycare!

Newport!

Ahh!! Newport, always so beautiful, always so much fun!! I just love it there and wish I could live there again!! Maybe one day!! I just have to convince Phillip to move back to the northeast!!! Especailly now that both of our parents are living up there! He just hates the cold weather!! Cohen and I did lots of shopping, we went to Martha's Vineyard to visit family, visted with lots of friends and family, got to have a skype date with Phillip on his 29th birthday with his whole family, and celebrated Easter with both my families together!! It was so much fun and more! Just wanted to share some pictures from our trip instead of boring you with a long message!!

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families!! God is so good!! :)

 

February, March, and April....

I dont really have a particular reason for this blog, but I know I havent updated it in quite a while and I am going to try harder to keep it going! Life just gets so busy and time doesnt stop, even though sometimes I wish it did! I just wanted to share some things that are on my mind and share with you some things that have been going on in our family!!

FEBRUARY: Cohen started daycare at St. Luke ELC and he seems to be adjusting very well and I am very pleased with the center!! He is developing quite the personality and a little additude I must say! I also started working PRN this month, which means I only work like 2 days  a week and this allows me more time to spend with my precious angel. This is so important to me, especially because Phillip is not around to give him quality time. Cohen and I also got to travel to Corpus Christi Texas for my cousin Matthew's wedding. He married a sweet beautiful blonde named Codie. She has a precious little girl!! There wedding was so quaint and beautiful! Very romantic setting!! We had so much fun! We danced and danced and drank wine all night long!! I always love spending time with family! It is so hard because we dont get to see eachother enough!! That night after the wedding my parents, my little brother, Cohen and I drove to Austin so we could be there bright and early to watch my sister run in her first marathon! WoW!! What an inspiration!! It was so motivating!! I am so PROUD of her!! She did an amazing job!! Ashley finished in 4 hrs 17 min!! Not bad at all for her first ever!! She has since then motivated me to run a half marathon in November this year!! As you can tell we have been busy!! But I try so hard to stay busy because it helps the time pass while Phillip is away fighting this war.

MARCH: This month was a little slower, but not by much!! I continue to work and spend lots of time with my sweet baby boy who is growing everyday more and more!! This month I celebrated my 26th Birthday. I am getting old I tell you! I treated myself to an hour long massage and hour long facial. Then Phillip bought me some easytone reebok shoes (which I love). They really give your calves a work out. They are perfect for nursing since I am on my feet all day long. My friends, which God has blessed me with took me to Atlanta to go shopping at IKEA and eat dinner at a resturaunt called Dantes' they have the best fondue ever!! Then my mom and brother Zachary came down to visit me during his spring break. Uncle Zachary just loves Cohen and vice versa!! Bath time was a whirpool with an ocean of water outside the tub!! We went to the airshow one day and Zach played in every jumping thing out there. Cohen loved the airplanes!! He now points to the sky whenever he hears one in the air! So cute! I was just a little disappointed because I didn't get my annual turkey leg (boo). Mom, my friend Veronika and I went out for St. Patricks Day and we had a blast! Even though the comedy show at the Loft was the worst I had ever seen. Then to end the month I went to Destin, FL on a RGR Wives retreat! It was so nice. They put us up in a hotel for $20 at the Hilton Sandestin Resort for 2 nights and had beach front view. My maternal grandparents traveled from Texas to help watch Cohen while I was in the confrences. I couldnt have done it without them! It was a fun filled weekend with lots of sun, shopping, fabulous dinners, and good time with family and friends!!

APRIL:  April showers bring May flowers!! Boy have we had some thunderstorms this month! One of them was so loud and scary it would make you pee your pants!! I also got Phillip on April Fools Day. Of course I told him I was pregnant. But it could have been true, the timing would have added up. But its NOT!! But all the matters is he fell for it!! There hasnt been to much going on this month. I have just been working a lot, trying to pick up some extra shifts because Cohen and I are going to Rhode Island this week for 2 weeks to visit family!! I am so excited!! I love to get away and be with friends and family. Plus it is just one more thing to help the time pass by. My parents are actually moving to CT this week as well, so I will get to see them too! It will be nice to have both Phillip and I's family 1.5 hours apart. It will be especially nice during Phillip's block leave/vacation time. No more splitting holidays!!! Last Friday Cohen took some Easter pictures with real bunnies!! They turned out so cute. He just loved them and was not afraid at all. However I felt horrible for the torture my son put the little rabbit through, he was grabbing them by the ears and throwing them. This month I also started playing softball for a church team! And I love it! I love the team and the exercise! Although I am just not the same as I was in high school 10 years ago. Wow..saying that does make me feel old!! We also got to skype with Phillip last week and Cohen showed his Daddy how big he was by walking and calling him Dada and giving the computer screen a big wet kiss! Phillip loved it, however I think it made him miss him that much more!! Oh and April 7 he got 2 more teeth, so he now has a total of 10 teeth! Def enough to do some damage!! Stepping on my soap box for one minute, but the most recent crazy thing that got me in an uproar was this government shutdown! Not that I dont have money and hints why it is important for people to have a savings account. And def helps when you have 2 incomes. But come on! My husband and many others are putting there lives on the line everyday, day in and day out. And to not pay them is just beyond me! Yes my husband and many more are on a mountain top in Afganistan or patroling in Iraq for our freedoms and now the one thing (family and bills getting paid, ect.) they shouldnt have to be worried about they do. I also didnt enjoy having to call other wives (as key caller duties) about this sistuation and make sure they were going to be okay, because we have all been there, but  for some of them they live pay check to paycheck! And the question becomes what do I do. And it just pisses me off more then anything that we would have to worry about something like this. Its hard enough worrying about your soldiers saftey all day long.

I know this blog is a little long, but I feel it gives you good insight into how we are doing. I am really excited to be going to Newport and that traveling there will take me to the end of the month and ready to start a new one. I am always looking for visitors and things to do! So feel free anyone to come visit!! Hope everyone elses lives are going well and as entertaining as mine seems to be. If we dont see eachother or get to talk as often as I would like please know that I havent forgotten you and that I do love you! Some people I would like to ask  for you to keep in mind and in your prayers would be of course my husband Phillip for his protection and safe return. My parents and brother Zachary as they make a big move across country to a new place and that they all settle in well. My sister in-law Nicole and my good friend Caroline who are both Pregnant (Thank God) and due very soon. But who have both had some heartache and losses with previous miscarriage and stillborn. I just want to pray for them to have safe happy healthy deliveries. I want their baby's to come out kicking and screaming!! But also for their continual healing as they will always miss the sweet ones taken to soon from them. I could ask you for a whole lot more because God knows I need them and have them, but these are the ones closet to my heart right now!! Hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful week!!

Balance

It is so hard to find that perfect medium, that balance between being a great mother, a wife and having a career all at the same time! Because I want to be the best mom Cohen could ever ask for, I want to be the best wife my husband could ever ask for and be the best nurse anyone could ever ask for! However I am quickly realizing that I cant be perfect all the time! If anyone knows how or what the magic trick is, please feel free to share. I can use all the help I can get. However, I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know God is on my side. I am so excited because I start PRN status at work next week. I will only have to work 2 days a week. That leaves the other days of the week I can spend more quality time with Cohen, keep my house clean, cook dinner for my husband and have it ready when he comes home from work when he returns from deployment, exercise and have time for myself!! At least this is my idea anyway, but will see how well my plan works. Hardly ever do plans turn out the way that you want them to be. I just wish I had more girlfriends with kids that I could vent with and talk to about raising children and having a life. I also wish my non parent friends knew what it was like to raise a kid, work, be a single parent while their husband is deployedand and not be able to go anywhere on the drop of  a dime. Having children changes your life. For me definitly for the better, but it is still a huge adjustment. I have definitly learned who my true friends are and the ones I can count on. Let me just tell you what I thought was 2 hands, is really more like 1 hand. This has just been on my mind lately and I wanted to share my feelings!

St. Luke Lions

It is always hard making important decisons, but it is even harder when you are making decisons concerning your children. Right before Phillip deployed we got a phone call from St. Luke's Early Learning Center informing us that Cohen had been accepted and could start February 7th. People in Columbus joke that they put their babies name on the waiting list for St. Luke when they find out they are pregnant. I put Cohen on the list last fall and in just a few short months he got in. I could not believe it! I felt it was a sign form God.

But first we wanted to tour the facility and meet the teachers and faculty.  So the next day we had a 10am appt. Phillip instantly loved it which is not like him to make such a quick decison, usually that is me. I had way to many questions to be answered, I think its partly the nurse in me, but def my motherly instincts shining through. However, over the long holiday weekend we decided that this would be just what Cohen needed. It would help him grow and build social skills. The class will never have more then 8 students and he has 2 teachers. Lots of attention and interaction. It is just a sad/hard adjustment for me because the last 11 months we have had a sitter come to our house! But I am definitly keeping the advantages in mind.

Cohen started this week and so far he has had a pretty good week. He eats all his food and plays well with the other children. They said the first day nap time he woke up twice screaming. Today he did not, so we are making improvement. We had taken Cohen to St. Luke 3 times prior to his first day and he loved it and loved the toys and especially all the kids, but the past 2 days I have dropped him off he cries when I put him down. Poor thing, I think he associates my blue uniform with leaving him. So, I have to sit down and play with him until he gets distracted enough that I can slip away.

I have had no issues so far and I am loving his teachers! One of them even called me today at work to ask me which way does Cohen prefer to sleep. I was very impressed and glad they thought to take care of my individual babys neeeds. The only issue I am having is with the daycare itself in that once he turns a year old they drink whole vitamin D milk! Which is fine, but he has never had it before so I cant just switch cold turkey. He has to adjust first so that his poor tummy doesnt get upset!

Ok, enough rambling, I wanted to share a few pictures of my baby playing in his new daycare! I believe and I am continuing to pray that Phillip and I made the best decison for our sweet baby boy!! Definitly a tough and important decison for any parent to make! So here is my St. Luke Lion!! Go red and yellow!!

 Cohen and I on his first day!

 Playing with friends!!

Sleeping on his little mat!! Oh this one brings tears to my eyes to see my sweet baby sleeping at daycare on mats with all the other kids!! He is growing up to fast!

Heidi<3

Cohen's 1st Birthday!!

We celebrated Cohen's first birthday party a month early, so that Daddy (Phillip will be deployed on his actual bday) could be part of his special day. It was soo much fun. We wanted to go all out. I know he will never remember it, but I know Phillip and I will forever. I went CrAzY on the decorations! We had 20 balloons blown up for the living room and the kids ate them up! Cohen's highchair was even decorated and ready for his smash cake experience. Our house was packed to the brim, we had about 50 people here and I felt like we were in a bar!! The cold weather kept everyone inside. I told Phillip I think we need to upgrade our house!! hehehe!! But it was def cozy and fun! Nothing like celebrating with good friends and family! Phillips brother Chris and his wife Jenna (who is expecting in May!! :)) from Alabama even came down for Cohen's big day!! Cohen had soo much fun with all the kids and he is soooooo soooooo spoiled. He made out like a bandit! My house now looks like a toysrus aisle! I think first birthday party's are more for the parents/adults. Their not quite big enough for planned games or even able to pick out there own party decor. But it was soo worth the memories! All together the party was a sucess! Pizza, Beer, Cake, Good friends and family, and Birthday BOY make out for a wonderful night!

His cakes were soo cute! I love Columbus Corner Bakery!!

Happy Parents with the Birthday Boy!!

He got sooooo many toys!!

Love this little hat!! (Thanks Estrellas)

YUM YUM!!

Girls from work and there kiddos!

Some of Cohens favorite Rangers!!

Good Friends!!

Thank you to everyone who came and helped make my baby boys first birthday party a sucess!! Goodnight everyone!! We love you and hope you enjoy our new blog!! Though it would be a great way to keep friends and family near and far update on the Paquette Family Household!!! xoxoxo :)

Heidi <3