Another one bites the dust for 2022. Gracious, the year is half over already.

This month has been just about as busy as they come.

We started off with a Mommy & Me photo shoot (though technically that happened on the last day of April).

The photos, as always, were great. We had a lot of fun in the more urban setting. As confident as I felt, I hate to say I’m not thrilled with my appearance. *sigh* The skirt did some funky things to my shape and my cute rope-style belt didn’t sit properly, nor did my bangs cooperate. But! I am pleased with the overall quality (as if I could be upset with our fabulous photographer!).

My Gramps had his big surgery on 6 May. It was a very extensive surgery that lasted about 8 hours. It was a tough week or two with some scary setbacks. Thankfully, he is on the road to recovery and as of this writing, he is doing well. He’s been transferred closer to home for his rehab and is doing much, much better.

Meanwhile, back in Tennessee…

The first weekend of the month, we participated (as we usually do) in Free Comic Book Day at our local comic shop. We ended up needing to pick up our monthly pull box so it was far from a cheap day.

The Mister had staff duty on Mother’s Day so celebrating didn’t happen. While I don’t particularly mind not celebrating things like that, it’s still frustrating to not feel a little appreciated that day. Can’t even say we celebrated another day because we didn’t. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I got to hang out with Little Man, though, so that’s all I needed.

Then, we took Little Man to see his second in theater movie — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He did fantastic (mostly because I think he slept through half of it). He actually sat still and watched the film, even pointing to things on screen.

The Mister had more staff duty so Little Man and I hung out one on one a bunch this month. We made the most of it with lots of outside time.

On the 24th, the Mister and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. We went to Outback for dinner to celebrate actually being in the same place for it (I think this is only the 2nd or 3rd anniversary we’ve spent physically together).

I spent the rest of the month deep cleaning most of the upstairs rooms in the house. I’d gotten really behind with my toddler tornado following me and we were anticipating company from the in-laws. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it last minute, but hey! Now my house is a little more manageable. There’s still a lot left to do but I don’t feel so overwhelmed about it now.

Speaking of being overwhelmed…I finally received one of what I’m calling my “grief purchases” from Audie’s passing. On the day we took him to the vet, I ordered a custom stuffed animal that was promised to look like him. The original took about 8 weeks to receive. I was disappointed to see the face was wrong and the eyes were damaged/the wrong color.

So, I took the chance to have the company remake it while they were fixing the damaged eyes, as it was going to take 6-8 weeks anyway. Boy, was it worth the wait!

I couldn’t be happier with the way the remake came out. I cried seeing it. It’s brought me a lot of comfort and closure.

We finished off the month with a four day weekend for Memorial Day. The Mister completed the “Murph Challenge” with his unit in honor of the men and women of the armed forces that have lost their lives in defense of our freedom.

In other news…

Little Man is set to get his 2 year vaccines after his birthday. How do I have a nearly 2 year old?! He’s grown up so much, so quickly. We just finished breastfeeding over the last week. He’s not happy with it, but it’s an important step. Next we’ll work on sleeping in his own room and talking more.

He is saying some words, but he doesn’t like to repeat them on demand. I’m sure we’ll hear about it when we go to his appointment. Until then, I’m not worrying. His needs are met and that’s fine with me. He’s too busy for words!

June is going to be a busy month. Little Man’s 2nd birthday/party and the Mister’s formal hearing for his med board decision are just two of the highlights. My parents will be visiting for the birthday party so we’re excited for that. While I’m not ready to have a 2 year old, I’m excited to see where the next months take us.

Until then,

Cheers!

– A. xoxo