Making things right when things were never really wrong...

When Ryan and I got married it was pretty quick, and he didn't have time to save up for a ring; and he didn't have any credit to go towards a big ring. Well, he wanted me to have something, so he purchased as much as he could and it was a modest, but pretty flawless Diamond ring. When he gave it to me he promised that one day he would make it right and get me what he really wanted to get me. I didn't dream it would be after only 2 years of marriage, but he surpised me with this a week or so ago! It is a Flawless 1 ct solitaire, and I absolutely LOVE it! He spent a fortune on it, but you don't see me asking him to take it back! ;) He really does treat me right, and I would have been happy with the other ring, but it really makes me feel special.

It's kindof funny, cause all the guys in his unit were showing off all the new cell phones and gadgets they had gotten, and were driving up in new cars to work. They asked Ryan if he had gotten anything, cause he still had his same cell phone from before deployment, and he was driving our little paid for '02 Cavalier! He sheepishly said, yeah, I got my wife a new diamond ring! Of course the guys had to get on him and make fun of him for being whipped, but if they really knew Ryan, they would know he is anything but... ;)

So, thank you sweetheart! You mean the world to me!

Here is a pic off of Zales.com... My band is a little smaller than this...

Santa's coming to town...

Well, yesterday we decided it was time to introduce Eli to Santa and get the beloved first picture with Santa. I was secretly very excited and I'm so glad I waited for Ryan, so he could experience the fun as well. He was so cute as I sat him on Santa's lap. He looked up at him like, who are you and why did my Mommy leave me with you! Finally Ryan and I got his attention, and we got him to laugh. The elf lady took a few shots, and I went over to check them out. I was thinking of trying for some more when I look back over towards Santa, and Eli is screaming bloody murder while Santa just stares ahead with a blank stare! I wish we could have had a picture of that too, but oh well... :) So, after paying an exorbidant fee for a poorly printed picture, we had our first Santa picture, and we were on our way! We then rented a stroller since we forgot his regular stroller for the 2nd time in as many days! It is really cute though, and it has a little steering wheel, so Eli played with that the whole time. I wanted to get a picture of it, and as I was getting the settings right, a lady walked up and said we better put our camera away because if mall security sees it, they will take it away. So, that is the reason for the poor quality.

Oh well... Hope you enjoy!

I'm such a big boy now!

Well, as most of you know, I have been waiting to give Eli any solid foods cause I wanted Ryan to be here for at least THAT first! :) We have been meaning to do it all week, but we have just been traveling around everywhere, so it kept getting delayed! Well, we determined to start it Sunday night, so after Eli woke up from his late afternoon nap, I warmed up some Sweet Potatoes and got him ready for his big debut! Ryan was armed and ready to get every angle of the first couple bites, so we literally have like 50 pics of the big moment, but figured you would like to just see the highlights! ;) I love the Before/After pics... ;) Babies are too funny! Daddy gave him a bath afterward and put him in his new penguin jammies, so took a few of that too. He had in for Lunch and Dinner Monday and ate the whole thing and fussed a little if I took too long getting the next bite! We're gonna do Sweet Potatos for about a week to make sure he's not allergic, then we'll switch to something else.

Alright, hope you enjoy...

Getting Ready for the Moment of Truth...

Still oblivious...

He was trying to grab the spoon the whole time! ;)

First Time having "Solid" foods, Yay!

I don't know about this!

This is weird Mommy!

I changed my mind... Don't take it away!!

This stuff is actually pretty tasty!

What's Up Daddy?

Yeah whatever...

I'm not messy... I think you're messy...

Before/After!! ;)

Do you think I'm spoiled?

Yay for Penguins!!!

Catching up...

Well, here are some Photos to catch you up a little... Eli is a ham as usual, so I hope you enjoy...

Ryan was having fun while feeding him, so I couldn't resist capturing it...
Mom got Eli this at a Yard sale forever ago, and we finally got a chance to try it out... He was so cute as he tried to jump up and down! He mostly just spun in circles, but he seemed to enjoy it nonetheless!
Here he is just being his adorable self...

The Rest of the Story...

Well, we finally have internet and sort of have cable. It is giving Ryan fits, where it won't play any sound, but it looks like he may have gotten it to work, and he is rotting his brain as we speak. He has a lot of rotting his brain time to catch up on seeing as he is about 14 months overdue on those fun, time wasting activities that most of us take for granted. :) Anyhow, we have the house mostly set up and maybe in a day or two I'll post a few pics of our little mess of a house.

Anyhow, here are the pictures that I promised you that came from my camera of Ryan's Homecoming. These were taken mostly by Ryan's parents, but I did take a few...

Hope you enjoy... (Warning... There are a lot!)

I worked hard on Eli's T-shirt. Everyone loved that it had his Daddy's Picture on it!

Sign that I made for Ryan... That is his Unit Patch.

Eli with his Gramma Leigh-Leigh with his, "I'm here to pick up my Daddy" T-shirt. :)

Waiting for Daddy...

Mommy trying to keep me entertained!

The most kissable kid out there!

We can't wait to see Daddy!

The aforementioned row of buses. (The 3 guys come whenever troops come back from war to make sure they are honored)

Daddy and the other soldiers marching toward us!!! (Getting teary again thinking about it!)

Daddy's real first moments with Eli

So happy to be with his boy!

Like I said, Eli wasn't completely feeling it as you can see... ;)

Spoiled Boy wanted his Mommy...

Awww... Daddy isn't so bad!

Our Family finally together again!

My favorite boys around...

Coming Home is so much sweeter...

Well, sorry that I have been so remiss on posting, but I have been a nomad for the last while and I finally am sitting down for a moment. I don't have time tonight to write all about the craziness of the move, but long story short, Ryan walked onto that Parade field and back into our lives on Thursday around 4:45 PM! They had loud music playing as we were waiting for the soldiers to arrive and they played every conceivable happy "man coming home" song that you can imagine! ;) Every once in a while they would make an announcement and the first one was something to the effect of, "Well folks, your soldiers have landed at the air field... They will be here shortly!!!" Of course everyone goes crazy and honestly I still can't talk about it or even write it without tearing up. It was such an immeasurable relief to know that he had landed and that he was no longer in danger. About 45 minutes later they announced that they had done all they needed to at the airfield and they were on the buses to come to see us. Again, tears welled up at the thought of seeing him in 15 minutes. Thankfully I had sunglasses on or all of my pride would be gone! ;) Then about 15 minutes later, the sweetest words were uttered... "Folks, take a look to your right and you should start to see the buses with your soldiers heading this way!" Of course everyone around me is screaming and cheering, but all I can do is try to hold the tears in at the prospect that all of the waiting is finally over. (I was severly unsuccesful at holding them in if you're curious!) There were 4 buses parked about 75 yards in front of us and one of them held my husband. It was everything I could do not to run out there and find him. They then unloaded and formed up taking what seemed like ages. Then to the song from the Army Strong commercials they marched in unison toward us until they were but a couple yards in front of us. (It was like a scene from a movie. They really try to bump up the drama!) I tried hard to spot Ryan, but he was in the middle, so I never did find him. A General then got up and said a quick prayer, said to be safe and to be thankful for those that weren't able to come home and those that are still in Iraq. And now... Go get your soldiers! Ryan was very clear that I was to go to the tree to the right of the stands, so that we wouldn't have a problem finding us. I knew that this wouldn't be a problem considering there were only like 160 soldiers returning, but still I walked in the direction of the tree as I scanned the dispersing soldiers. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I will never forget the moment I "found" him in the crowd. He had found me in the crowd right after he marched over, so he was dashing in and out of the other soldiers to get to Eli and I. It was so beautiful as we collapsed in each other's arms knowing that the wait was finally over and we could truly begin our lives together. Seeing him reconnect with the son he hadn't seen in over 5 months, was wonderful. Eli wasn't very into it since he was about 40 minutes overdue for a nap, but it was still a wonderful moment. Here are a few pics off of his parent's camera. My computer still isn't hooked up and I keep forgetting my memory card reader when I come to Ryan's grandparent's house. I have a bunch more that I will post as soon as possible, but hopefully these will hold you over. :)

So much more to share regarding all the drama with the move and finding a house, which I will hopefully be able to blog about later.

Hope you enjoy the pics...

Daddy trying to hold back tears...

Happy Eli

Don't know what Ryan and I are looking at, but Eli seems unphased!

This makes me look fat, but I still think it's cute...