Thankful

Wil and I were hanging out in bed together a few days ago after he put Chase down for the night. Wren was with us, dozing off. He said "I love my life right now. It's everything I ever wanted." Couldn't have said it better myself. There are so much to be grateful and thankful for this year. Exactly a year and 5 days ago, my husband was wheeled into a surgery that would last 10 hours. It was the longest day following an even longer month of home care and pain management waiting for the OR schedule to open up. That WAS hell on earth. The uncertainty of his recovery and our future weighed heavily on our minds, which led us to a few important decisions, like trying for our second baby earlier than we had planned, that brought us here this year. And what difference a year make! Wil is healthy and fully recovered. His back will never be perfect and because of that his career path will change, but it's the kind of change we're happy about. Our family is blessed with yet another healthy, happy, and beautiful girl, whom we're all madly in love with. Chase was made to be the most adoring big sister and I can't be more proud of how she has handled this huge shift in her life. My mother being here to lavish my big girl with all the attention certainly makes the transition that much easier. Chase has Yai to go to whenever she likes and they are just the best of friends. I honestly dread the day we have to drop her off at the airport and already feel a heartbreak coming on for the both of them.

Having a baby and moving within weeks of each other is not exactly ideal, but such is a military life. Wren has made this whole process as easy as possible on us by being the sweetest and calmest baby. She worried me at first because she would rather sleep 4-5 hours at a stretch at night instead of waking up to eat constantly (or in Chase's case, about 23 hours/day). Her pediatrician assured me that she was doing well and putting on weight quite nicely, and that we should thank our lucky star before we went to bed for this perfect little angel. I'm just not accustomed to having a baby who wants to nurse a lot on schedule, sleep soundly on her own in her bassinet, and is generally the most relaxed little creature on earth. We're getting more sleep now than we ever did with Chase when she was 4-5 months old. Both of their personalities in utero have held true since we welcomed our girls into the world. I fought for the name Chase because she felt like a hunter, a go-getter the whole pregnancy, and Wren always felt like a delicate little bird from the beginning. I'm honored and proud to have these two babies call me momma and watch them grow up into wonderfully tough and smart broads with kind and humble hearts, who always strive to better their world.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE being a mother of two?!? It's such an incredible ride. Chase loves her sister so very dearly and is so caring. She constantly wants to hold and kiss Wren and will check on her just about every other minute if her baby is down for a nap in her bassinet. Wil and I put both kids down for a nap today and looked at each other like "now what do we do?" This just seems a little too easy, and therefore a little like some kind of a trick. I'm sure the hard part is coming in a few short weeks, so we should just be more thankful for our free time right now.

Hope your Thanksgiving is bountiful and full of love from friends and family. Ours will undoubtedly be since we'll be introducing my mother to our family Thanksgiving tradition of joining the crowd at a DFAC (Dining Facility for those of you non-military). I'm sure she'll be mortified :).

P.S. One last, but never least, person that I'm most thankful for: an incredible Husband. I've said it numerous times before, there's no one else I would rather go on this crazy journey with. To see Wil hold our babies just melts me into a mushy puddle of love. Thank you, Honey, for letting me dupe you into marrying me! I yoveeee you!