Still Waiting...and, oh yeah, Happy Birthday Noah

So we closed on the house yesterday and we are now proud owners of...an empty house! That's right we are still waiting on the military to bring our stuff, and since they have two weeks to get it here, it could be as late as Tuesday. The joke is really on poor Cy and Carissa since we are staying at their house. They have been really cool though, and are letting us play all their video games. Stay tuned for some funny pictures of Wes playing Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution!

Sadly, today is Noah's second birthday and it seems to be getting a little lost in the chaos of moving. The good part is that he is really too young to know any better. We keep asking him how old he is. We say, "Are you two?" And he says, "I'm three!" with a little smirk on his face. Anything to annoy us!

That's about it for us Shealys...you can click on the McKees blog link to see super cute pictures of our visit last weekend. Noah and Maggie finally got to hang out and Noah thought she was like his little toy doll that he could make do whatever he wanted. He kept telling her, "Come here! Come here!" and would hold his hands out to indicate where she should go. The pictures are really cute. (We would have our own pictures if we had remembered to bring our camera - but that's another story for another day!)

One More Day

Tomorrow is my last day in Florida. The movers came yesterday and in about 3 hours had completely emptied our apartment and garage and driven off. The apartment is empty and clean (except for one final vacuuming in the morning).

Tomorrow I have my final out-processing at 9:00 am and I am officially done with my Active Duty service in the Air Force. It has been a great honor to serve my country and work with so many young people who believe in something greater than themselves. I have been asked more times than I can count, "why are you getting out of the military? Did you not like it?". I look everyone in the eye (no pun intended!) who asks me that and say, "I loved every minute of it". You see, I am not getting out because I didn't like the military or because I am bitter about anything. I am getting out because I want my family to have a home that they can identify with, I want my son to be near his grandparents and aunts and uncles, and I want to use my skills as an optometrist to serve a local community for many years. I want to build and have relationships that are strong and last for a lifetime. I want to have a church that is not a place I attend for three years, but is my family. These are things that are difficult to have with a military career.

Again, I love the Air Force and the military. There are so many great people who are serving to keep America free. There is a lot of debate in our country right now about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter where you stand on the wars, remember that the men and women fighting over there are just that, American men and women. I have seen them, met them, and worked with them. They do their job because they are asked to do it. If you happen to run into one of them, even if you don't support the wars, please thank them for their service and for your freedom.

Tomorrow is my last day in Florida. By the end of tomorow, I will be home...I will be in Charleston.

Packing Day!

I thought I would give a quick update since I am sitting here all by myself in an apartment filled with boxes and pieces of furniture. Today was packing day.

Kelly and I didn't want Noah to be in the apartment when the packers came because when we moved out of our house and into the apartment 8 months ago he didn't do very well with the boxes and chaos of a move! (Something about being out of his routine really bothers him. I have no idea where he gets that! Ha!) So, Kelly and I got up at 5:00 this morning, packed a cooler, changed Noah's diaper, put Noah in the Jeep, and said goodbye. Kelly and Noah drove up to Charleston today and I stayed here to wrap things up. It's never easy saying goodbye to Kelly and Noah, even for just a few days, but it was a little easier today because when I said goodbye I also said, "you are going home!". That's right, home! Charleston has always been the place we have wanted to call home and now it is a reality.

The packers showed up at about 9:45 and got everything boxed up by 2:00. It seemed like they did a good job, but I guess we won't really find out until we unload the boxes and see how many of our things are broken! The nicest part of the day...I didn't have to pack a single box! Kelly and Noah made it to Charleston without any huge screaming fests (thank goodness for portable DVD players!).

Tomorrow the truck comes. Hopefully, the process of loading the truck will be a smooth as the packing was today. Kelly gets to see the house tomorrow as she goes for the final "walk-through" to find any things that need to be corrected. Our realtor has told us the house looks really nice and that there aren't too many things that need to be corrected besides a little caulking here and a nail pop there.

It will probably be a while before we get time for any more posts, but if the chance arises, we will let you know how things are going and how the house turned out.

Noah Does Some Flirting

The other day Wes and I took Noah over to one of the local parks to play while I did a four mile run. It was the perfect place to go because the playground is huge and the trail is really shady (which is essential when it is 90 degrees out!) Anyway, I walked Noah over to the slide and then took off down the trail. As usual, I started out too fast and by the end I was absolutely dying! I have got to learn how to pace myself.

The first time I looped around and passed the playground I saw Wes and Noah waving at me. Wes said Noah tried to run after me. At the rate I was going I'm quite sure he would have caught me if Wes hadn't made him turn around.

By the time I was finished and back at the playground Noah was no longer interested in me or my run. He had made friends with a little girl on the playground and was in the process of stalking her. You know, generally following her around everywhere and calling out her name and speaking to her in gibberish. It was really funny. She of course would act simultaneously intrigued and annoyed by his attention. (Ah, the dynamics of flirting show up at an early age!) If her hair had only been longer she would have flipped it over her shoulder and sauntered off to the slide leaving Noah standing in awe - and a puddle of drool. Not to worry though. By the end of our time at the park he had won her over with his wit and charm!

Needless to say, Noah did NOT want to leave. In order to entice him to the car Wes tried to give him a ride on his shoulders. But Noah said, "No Daddy. Mama do it? Pease?" I obliged his request, as he had flashed his most charming grin while asking, but was thinking the whole time: Great. I'm almost dead and now I am carrying twenty five pounds of squirming toddler on my shoulders to the car! I guess that flirting game works on adults too!

So we headed home thinking of all we had accomplished. I practiced my running skills, Wes practiced his chasing Noah around skills, and Noah practiced his flirting skills. A very productive afternoon!

Here are some more pics from our afternoon:

Walking - or rather, skipping - to the slide.

Climbing the steps to the big slide.

Re hydrating on top of a picnic table.

We love our little grinning geek!

Why I Love My Son

Well, we made it. Wes is home from his trip and Noah and I are both excited to see him! But, I'll tell you, having Noah by myself for so long was way easier than I thought it would be! I think part of it is that the older he gets the easier it is to communicate with each other. Also, and let's be honest, he is just more fun than he used to be. Here is my list of the top 10 things I love about Noah:

#10 - He is so organized. He always picks up his toys and loves to put everything in a straight line. A child after my own heart!

#9 - He has a mind like a steel trap. He only has to hear something once and he has it down. We have been learning colors and he can name the color of every car that drives past us in traffic!

#8 - He gets really concerned if he thinks someone is hurt or upset. Even if it is a total stranger or a character in a movie. It is really sweet.

#7 - He says "later" instead of "bye", and sometimes calls people "dude"

#6 - He likes to help me do things: sweep, load the dishwasher, etc. If only that would last into the teenage years.

#5 - He has become a huge fan of the beach. I believe we will be having a lot of fun there together this summer.

#4 - At bedtime he says "ove, you!" (love you) and blows me a kiss.

#3 - He is a total flirt with girls - which I may not love so much later in life - but right now it is pretty cute!

#2 - He loves anything that I love. For instance he will watch running events with me on the computer (because they are never televised) and cheer on all my favorites......

and...#1 - This morning, while watching distance runner Shalane Flanagan (who is young and blond) break the American record for the women's 10,000m he looked up at me with a huge grin and said: "Its Momma runnin!" Could he be any sweeter! Confusing me with someone who can run 6 miles in 30:34? Well that definitely gets him an extra cookie at snack time!

Surviving

So, it is Saturday and Noah and I have not killed each other yet! Actually, things have been going really well so far. We've been playing at the park and gone to Chick Fil A. And last night we went over to my friend Linda's house to play. (All the husbands in our church were at a men's retreat, so some of the girls got together for a girls' evening - with kids of course, which makes it not quite as much of a girls' evening but oh well!) Anyway, Linda's daughter Rachel is around Noah's age and they play really well together, and Noah's girlfriend baby Sydney was there too, so he was set for the evening!

On a side note, here is why I question how my child will turn out one day. Observe the following conversation,

Mother 1: Oh yes, Sydney loves me to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It".

Mother 2: I know, Rachel always loved the "Itsy Bitsy Spider!" It always made her smile!

Group gives a collective "Ahhh...how sweet!"

Kelly's Head: When Noah was little he really liked Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback".

Yikes.

Anyway, Noah and I have big plans for the day. A run in the jogger for him, followed by a significant amount of playground time to bribe him for not screaming during my run. Plus we will most likely visit the mall tonight so he can walk around and look at all the cars on display by the food court. It doesn't take much to amuse the kid!

Here are some more adorable Noah pictures - none are actually from this weekend but when

does a single parent have time for photography?!

Here is Noah chillin while he watches tv. He really prefers to drink water out of regular water bottles and is actually pretty good at it.

Here he is playing with play dough. He likes the blue play dough and the star shaped cookie cutter - he likes make one long (obsessively straight) line of blue stars across the table.

Who knows what he is doing here - sadly I'm sure it has nothing to do with potty training.

PS - I apologize for the way this post is spaced. I know it looks totally weird but Blogger won't let me fix it - because, believe me, I have tried. I was right in predicting I would pull all my hair out this weekend, I just didn't think the it would be because of the computer! Step away from the computer Kelly!