Daddy's Home!!!!

Yesterday was honestly one of the best days of my life. Brian came home the day they said he would, AND he was an hour early!!! :) Here are some pictures from his homecoming:

Yeah so we were there about 1 hour before Brian got there. Lots of hall walking, chewing on spoons, snacks, etc to keep Brady entertained.

Liz, Pearlie, and I with our boys waiting for our hubbys to get home! So much anticipation!!


Is that Daddy?! He was the last one off the bus and by that time Brady had had enough so I put him down to walk.

There's Daddy!! Brady didn't really get what we were doing!

So excited he fell over! (That's the story we'll go with!)

Daddy and son reunited!

He was a little unsure!

Family hug!

Hmmm...I think Brady was a little confused

It was so nice to see him in person!!

Our family back together again, our world is complete! :)

Wait, so you don't live in the computer?!

The fun guy is home!! :)

Brian and Josh with their boys

The daddys are home!!! Steve, Brian, and Josh with their much bigger now boys!

Yay, Daddy's home!!!

Rascal was so excited too!

Rascal missed Brian's backrubs

Some welcome home decor

Welcome home Brian! I don't want to see that tan flight suit ever again!! Ha, I wish!!

Brady thought the flags were cool

Yay someone else to help me chase Brady!! :)

Rascal couldn't get enough!

Brady helping Daddy open his presents...

for St. Patricks Day, Easter, our anniversary, Father's Day, Flag Day, Mother's Day. Ok he didn't really get presents for all of those holidays but those were all the ones he missed.

Brady has been so happy, I don't think he's ever been happier. It's so good to see them together again playing. Brian had to go to work today to inprocess and get his bags, but we look forward to 10 days of leave, lots of family time, and hopefully a trip to Minnesota!! Thanks everyone for their love and support during this deployment, it really meant a lot to us!! Hopefully Daddy will be home for awhile! :)

Play with Someone your own Age!

Mom's got the paranoia thing goin on again.."Brady, your girlfriends are all 20+ years older than you, we should really get you to hang out with people your own age." Whatever Mom, just because I am super mature for my age doesn't mean I should have to hang out with babies. Please! So Mom arranged some playdates and this is what ensued.....

Honestly, I don't get what she's saying. I am completely normal. Completely.

Luke came over one day and he was cool and all but I felt for him. He can't walk! Gosh I remember those days, I felt so limited. I tried to teach him a thing or two.


Hey Luke, wanna go for a ride??

And this is how you go fast....

Super fast!!!

Needless to say, that playdate was over and I was back to playing by myself! Score: 1 for Brady Mom: 0

Now this is who I should be playing with. This dude could play the drums and all the ladies were going crazy for him. I need to get this gig. And fast.

Cool, yeah. Push me in the swing like a baby, yeah that's cool. Real fun!

After my harsh words we went home. Score 2 for the legend, Mom:0.

Yeah no, let's go to the fountains for a playdate, super fun.
Score 1 for Mom. :(

Then I got to hang out with Judah. Yeah he's only 4 months old. He was playing the cute and innocent act. I couldn't trust him, he makes me look bad..

However, I really enjoy hanging out with his mom! Hey, Liz, call me!

So if I hang out with these babies, I get to hang out with their moms too?? Alright, next baby playdate at my place!! Score!!

Patience is a Virtue

Right? I have to keep reminding myself of this daily. Everyone told me that the last few weeks of a deployment are really hard. I never understood this-isn't that a happy, exciting time knowing that your spouse is going to be home soon? Yes, but that's not all of the story. It's also a time-is-dragging, I-have-no-patience-left, when-the-H#*%-are you going to be home, emotional time. I knew that as soon as it was June 1st, we were getting close. I tried not to think about it, but then by June 6 I was thinking, oh my goodness we are soo close! And now here we are on June 13, we are one week closer, and it's only getting harder. We still don't have an exact date of when he will be back and it's incredibly frustrating. We know that the soonest it could be is 10 days from now, but things always happen and it could be much longer than that. It's all that I can think about and even though us spouses are trying to keep busy together, the days are still dragging by. I'm trying hard to ignore the fact that he will miss Father's Day and our anniversary. At the same time, it could be so much worse so I try to remain grateful. My husband is safe, my husband is not gone for 12 or even 18 months, my husband is coming back and not leaving right now, and I have friends around that are going through the same thing and offer so much support. So I will sit here, wait, and be excited for our homecoming rather than be frustrated by the unknowns....

Things I Love

Ok well I've gotten a lot of hate mail in the last week about my last blog. The headlines read, "Brady Ross, such a downer." I don't want to be known as the crabby guy that shines in Omaha, so I am going to try and be a little more positive, so this is my "Things I Love" blog. Shouldn't be too hard since my 3 (yep, count them guys THREE, 3) girlfriends came to visit this weekend, right???

1. Having deep dinner conversations with my girlfriend Alex. Nevermind the fact she dissed whole milk. No, no, not important.

2. Having a triple dinner date with my girlfriends while guys walk by and drool over my ladies. Yep guys, I know you wish you were me. Nevermind the fact that having 3 girlfriends (aka 3 dinners to pay for) gets real spendy. It's ok, I'm the Gerber Toddler to be, it's cool.

3. Red Mango Yogurt. Umm can I get a hell yes? Nevermind the fact that my mother crashed my dinner date.

4. The fact that my girlfriends don't mind that I'm only 2 foot 6. I don't take offense that one girlfriend has to put me on her shoulders while I kiss the other ones so that I am their desired height, really it's no big deal.

5. Reading stories with my girlfriend. I really appreciate my mother being there too with her camera. It is so special.

6. Sharing my toys. I really love that while I am asleep my girfriends and brother feel that it is ok to play with my toys. No really guys, it's fine!

7. Being the younger version of Hugh Hefner. I should've worn my robe.

8. Watching guys talk to my girls. Ha, yeah guys good luck. I think they're more into the puff eating, pacifier sucking, cup drinking kind of guy. Good luck though!

9. Sharing my toys. No guys, play with my sprinkler ball while I nap, it's cool. Wait, did I do this one already?

10. Watching a frog swim in my pool with my godmother. Yeah it's ok, it's not like they have diseases or anything.

11. Being prince Brady in my wagon.

Could we go a little faster please? Thanks

12. Minnesota. God Bless Minnesota.

13. Playing with toys in my pool. Nothing like a dip in the pool after a fun weekend with my ladies.

See, I told you I could be positive!

THE END