Congrats Airman Apprentice Grimord

Last Thursday I went up to Chicago to meet my mom and dad to watch Thomas graduate from boot camp on Friday. It was just me this time - we thought about taking Emma and Allen with me, but since Thomas was going to be leaving right for his training school the evening that he graduated, we felt it would be too much to drag a 7 month old to and from. I had a direct flight up there and my parents got up there by car and met me at the airport. We stayed at the Navy Lodge on base near the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes. We spent the rest of Thursday touring around and then met up at one of the local restaurants where a group of the Navy Moms that have all kept up through blogging the last two months met for a meet and greet. We got up really early on Friday only to sit in a long line to get through the gate, but eventually made it inside and waited for about an hour in the big hall where they held the graduation ceremony. It was a good ceremony and I we were all so proud to see Thomas make this accomplishment. Dad wore his uniform, per Thomas' request - my dad has been retired now for almost 5 years so it was a change to see him in his uniform again. Thomas looked great - he lost about 10 pounds, had a Navy haircut and wore his uniform nicely and with pride. Since his division was "grad and go" we spent the rest of the day with him and his division in the airport gate from about 3pm-8pm - it's a long time to sit in an airport terminal, but we didn't have any choice, we were with him and that was all that mattered. He is now in Pensacola, FL where he will be in A-School for about 6 weeks and then we will see where his first duty station will end up. I left Chicago early Saturday morning to come home and enjoy the rest of the weekend with Miss Emma and Allen. She was very good while I was gone - she took good care of her dad!
Enjoy the pictures and have a great week!

Navy Moms at the Meet and Greet

Hall where the ceremony took place

Mom and Dad waiting for the show to start... all we could think about was seeing Thomas!

Navy Band

Here they come....Division 286!

All the families of each division were seated in front of the divisions once they filed in

There's Thomas dead center - second row from the right, 4th sailor from the back (he's looking right at me)

Liberty call

First hugs...and tears of course!

Trying to make plans on where to meet at the airport

Salute!

My brother never smiles

airport pictures...

there's a little bit of a smile!

I am a United States Sailor.
I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America
and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.
I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me
to defend freedom and democracy around the world.
I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.
I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.

Congrats Thomas - we're so proud of you!

Aunt Julie came to town!

This last weekend Julie came to visit us - she arrived late Thursday night and left around lunchtime on Sunday. It was so great to see her and to watch her interact with Emma. We had a great time while she was here - we did a little shopping of course, went out to dinner and just relaxed. Here are some pictures from the weekend...Aunt Julie brought a few gifts down for her goddaughter, the main gift being a tutu, it looked so adorable on Emma. Enjoy!

3 Years!

Today marks our 3 Year Wedding Anniversary. Hard to believe - a lot has happened in 3 years, but we're thankful for every moment of it. Happy Anniversary honey - you make me so happy and I look forward to the many years ahead that we will have together!

Big Girl Chair

We have finally upgraded to a big girl highchair. Michelle was generous to give us the extra one that she had for Blair when they came to visit. Emma didn't do too well the first few times we put her in it to feed her, but in the last couple of weeks she has done really well and now it's part of her routine. We have been expanding her food choices - she much prefers her fruits over her veggies (like her daddy), but she doesn't do too badly with squash, carrots and she loves sweet potatoes. At first she rejected anything green like the plague, but now if I combine it with one of the three above she'll eat it. Just this weekend we bought a container of the Gerber Graduates Puffs in banana flavor (which she loves) and she's doing really well with them - she can actually pick them up herself and put them in her mouth. Oh, and she has one tooth that has come in! Yay! Totally explains why she has been so cranky lately and of course the excessive drooling and chewing.

We have a had a pretty good weekend, nothing too exciting - my mom goes home back to VA tomorrow. Aunt Julie will be coming this weekend to visit - YAY!

Hope everyone has a great week and by the way, a very BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO COURTNEY RAE from the Rollands- hope you've been having a great day, we love you!