Long Overdue!

I recently realized that I haven't blogged in a very long time. Its kind of hard to do when you're chasing around a toddler. Lately when it comes to the internet, if it can't be done on a smartphone I don't do it anymore! Well, I could blog from my phone but it would take a ridiculous amount of time. (I thought motherhood was supposed to teach you patience?!) At any rate, I don't have to be at work until 11, dropped the baby off at day care early, so here I sit enjoying a rare moment at the computer with a big hot cup of coffee. :)
When I read the last blog I wrote, I felt sorry for the person writing it. That person and the person writing this one seems like two different people now. Then I was a post-partum, under rested and over stressed, sad, scared woman who felt like there was no hope apart from the baby I just had. Today I am different. Yes I am still in Texas, but I am getting used to it. I miss my family and friends as much as I did before, but I have met people here that I have grown to love. I don't feel totally alone like I used to. I actually met a fellow Michigander here, another Border Patrol wife... who actually knows my cousins near Flint Michigan! Small world huh? She has been a blessing because now I have someone who knows EXACTLY what we are going through. We get along very well. She also has a young child, a little boy who is only 3 months older than Isabella. So now Izzie and I both have a friend. :) It is very nice to have her here, our families usually get together for holidays so we don't celebrate them alone. It makes them a little less lonely for all of us.
I am now fairly convinced that God didn't want me to get pregnant until we got down here because He knew I would need the pregnancy and Isabella to keep me sane. The days and weeks speed by so quickly with working and being a mommy that it is a little easier for the time to pass. I can't imagine how horrible this would have been without Isabella. That little stinker drives me nuts sometimes but she is the best thing that has ever happened to me!
Speaking of Izz, she is now 20 months old, and very happy and healthy. She is tall and slender like her father, and smart and talkative like her mother. ;) At her well baby checkup last week she was in the 67th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height. She is 26 pounds and 35 1/4 inches tall. She is currently cutting her upper incisor teeth which make her grumpy at times. She seems to learn a few new words a day! She has shown me time and time again that she learns quickly and has a very good memory. She will remember games we played or books we read months ago and will refer to them in her own way. I am so proud of her! She has a pretty good vocabulary going. (Mommy, Daddy, baby, Bella, dog, Bear, Harvey, more, please, thank you, boogie, [she will say this whenever someone blows their nose lol] sky, tree, owwie, yes, no [a favorite of hers] red, blue, green, yellow, purple [ she can also correctly identify these by either pointing to the color when you ask where it is or by picking up something that color and saying it] juice, apple, nana [banana], yay, wave, baba [bottle], night-night, pillow, pamper [what she calls diapers, learned from day care], book, milk, and I am sure there are more that I am forgetting. It's hard to keep up with it when she comes up with new ones all the time. :)
The next subject is still pretty fresh. I am not going to go into it too much. Aaron and I had some marital problems. I am hopeful that we'll one day be the couple we were before but it will take time and regained trust. The normal day to day life seems like it did before but the issue definitely rears it's ugly head as soon as things don't go smoothly. The reason behind that is simple- I am hurt. I try to not bring it up often because I know if I don't try to leave it in the past we have no chance at a future. All I can say is life by yourself is hard enough. If you fall in love and decide to share your life with someone the difficulty increases. Marriage requires work, and we aren't giving up on it.
Having said that, in light of many discussions Aaron and I have decided that life is too short to be away from family and friends, being sad and lonely. In November we decided to try to go home, even if that means Aaron taking another job and leaving his current career. With the help of family and friends he has applied to probably about 10-15 different jobs in the Metro Detroit area. Our fingers are crossed that maybe we'll get a bite soon and get to move home.
I would probably blog more but I am currently addicted to the Hunger Games Trilogy and I have to read some more before I have to go to work! Thanks to Erica and Jenna for getting me hooked! Love you girls! (And the rest of the familia too)