Mavericks game

Last night we went to a Missouri Mavericks ice hockey game. They are new to the city (this is their first or second season) and so it was the first time we've been. It was super fun!

Dad was soaking up more Belle cuddles while Jackson hung out with Julie!

The noise level was at about a million decibels at any given moment in the arena-- but went up to about a kazillion decibels when the buzzer went off after the team scored a goal. Jackson appreciated Grandma covering his ears!

In the meantime, Derek enjoyed his nachos-- and these weren't just your typical sporting event nachos! They were delicious.

Hanging out with Dad!

Belle pretty much just slept the entire time. I had to hold her close as I never knew when the buzzer was going off and I would need to hold her ears. I didn't mind. :)

Forrest got a great picture of her during the few minutes she was actually awake... could she be any cuter?!

It was a great family outing! At only $14 a ticket and free parking-- it wasn't even a costly night out! The game started out rather slow, but got very exciting in the second and third period! We had to have the guys sitting in front of us explain some of the rules and calls. Next time, I will definitely be watching The Mighty Ducks to brush up on my hockey knowledge... I'll take any excuse to watch that movie. I had the biggest crush on Charlie my entire childhood! 

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today's Papa's birthday and we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. The food wasn't very good, but we had a nice time! Jackson loved the fish on the booths, the playground outside, and the music-- he showed off his superb dancing skills for the other restaurant patrons!

Crab cakes and cuddles!!

He looks happy because he's holding Belle, but it's really just because he made me promise not to tell the server it was his birthday!

Love you, Dad!

One Month

Belle is one month old today! It seems as if she's "grew up" more in the past week than she did in all of the first three weeks. She's trying to hold her head up, looking around everywhere, staying awake for longer periods of time, and look- we even got a smile!!! 

(click on the picture to view it larger)

The best part of being an Army Wife

Without a doubt, The best part of being an

 Army Wife is the pride. 

I swoon with pride every time I see him in his ACUs or his Class A's. I am reminded of what a great man that he is and the hard work he put into earning the privilege of wearing it. And even when I see just anyone wearing a military uniform, I just develop a mad respect for them. I can't help it!

I was already filled with a such pride first when Derek enlisted, and second when he graduated from basic training. That pride has only increased as he's worked hard during his additional training. He graduated from AIT today; he completed the final training in his path to becoming a soldier!

Not only did he just graduate- but he graduated as the Distinguished Honor Graduate from his class. Soldiers can earn the title of Honor Graduate by achieving a 90% gpa throughout the training. However, the Distinguished Honor Grad title goes to the top student of the class and requires 95% gpa. Derek finished with a 96.21%. Here's a tidbit from the certificate he received:

SPC Creason's impeccable military bearing, professionalism, and attention to detail are keeping with the highest traditions of military service and bring distinct credit upon himself, the 447th Signal Battalion, and the United States, Army.

Yeah, he's pretty awesome! Here's a few more pictures of the day:

Derek's Aunt Judy drove down from North Carolina to attend the graduation too! She was very excited to meet and cuddle lots with Belle!

 It was Derek's turn to be proud! He was super eager to hold his baby girl! I totally love this pic.

Seriously, this is the kind of attention that Belle draws everywhere she goes!!

These two just belong together! It's one of my favorite pictures from the day!

I'll leave with the words I wrote as Derek graduated basic training. I loved what I had to say about him and I just wanted to share it again. It is still so very true. 

Words can't really describe the amount of pride I felt watching my husband graduate that day. Less than 1% of the United States population will volunteer to enlist and make it through basic training-- furthermore, these soldiers volunteered while our nation is at war. I have been a proud wife since day one because of the loyalty, discipline, and integrity that Derek beholds. But none of that even compares to the sense of pride that comes knowing that Derek worked so hard during the 10 weeks prior to that day earning the title of American Soldier. Stripped of all privileges, he crawled through mud, slept on the ground, ran miles upon miles, completed obstacle courses, among the many other unpleasant tasks that were required of him to earn a warrior status. Surpassing all expectations, he completed this challenge. And I am so honored to be his wife.

We made it to Georgia!

With a little under five hours of sleep last night, Belle and I headed out this morning for our trip to Augusta! Grandpa drove us up to the airport, but not without a quick stop to get a Coke. I definitely needed some caffeine. Jackson insisted on a million kisses before I left the car, so after I kissed his cheeks, eyes, ears, nose, chin, arms (I called it quits when he wanted me to kiss the car)... we said our goodbyes and headed inside!

The trip went super smoothly. Not surprisingly, Belle captured all sorts of attention. Everyone oohed and ahhed and told me just how pretty she was! One teenage boy even said, "I like your baby!" Ha. The flight attendant on the first flight asked to hold her so I could get my bags and she showed Belle off to every single passenger we passed!

Belle practically never opened her eyes on either flight. We just cuddled the whole time-- it was probably the most comfortable I've ever been on a flight! She's just so snuggly. (ugh- look at those bags under my eyes! I even used make-up to try to hide them!)

I opted to use the same strategy from when we traveled last fall-- use the stroller for the luggage, not the baby!

And I decided to wear Belle. Have I mentioned how I looooove my Moby wrap?! I use it all of the time.

She was the perfect lap baby! This was pretty much how she spent the entire flight. She didn't even make a peep!

This super cute pug was our seat companion! The dog can sense when her owner is going to have a seizure and will go get help anywhere between one minute to one hour before it happens. How amazing that the dog can do that! The cuteness factor in our aisle was through the roof!

So, now we're just chillin' at the hotel! It's been a good day. I've really gotten the chance to cuddle and enjoy Belle all by herself, without several other things to attend to. So, I've gotten touch her super soft skin, play with her head full of hair, and listen to the coos I talk about her daddy. We can't wait for Derek's graduation tomorrow!

Weekend with the Fam

I have a flight that leaves in less than 11 hours and I am totally not even packed. Why am I sitting down for a blog post? Well, because tonight's bedtime experience was a bedtime straight from you-know-where and I need to sit and chill before I can even focus. I had high hopes of deep cleaning the house and stocking up the fridge of Derek's favorite foods that he could come home to-- but that just isn't going to happen. Getting stuff accomplished with two children is HARD, especially when the hubs is several states away! But that will all be changing THIS WEEK. Derek's coming home on Thursday! WOO HOO!!!

I spent the weekend up at my parent's house. It was nice to chill and spend time with the family, and I won't deny that getting a full night's rest while my mom was on baby-duty was very nice too.

We enjoyed a nice walk (it was more of a "run" for Jackson) on Friday night.

And on Saturday, we went to the Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City. You all know how much I love living in KC and this was just another fun thing to add to my list of the fun things to do!

saying "hi" and "bye" to every single float that passed by!

Grammy enjoyed the parade while cuddling little Belle.

My sister Laura came home from college for the weekend. She loves hanging out with Jackson-- and loves taking tons of pictures almost as much!

Finger chips

We have a new favorite food in our house... finger chips (or as some might call them by their not-as-fun-to-say real name, Bugles). 

The cone-shaped chips are the perfect size for toddler fingers!

The funnest part, of course, is eating them!

I have my mom to thank for all of this fun. I remember her putting the chips on my fingers as a little girl and always asking her to buy more! I had completely forgotten about them until Mom sent a baggie home with Jackson awhile back. It's a yummy and entertaining snack!

Three weeks!

Belle is three weeks old tomorrow! I love her more and more every single day! She  finally hit the 7 pound mark when we took her in to get her weighed today after falling to 6 lbs 4 oz last week. She is still so very tiny! Her newborn clothes are still swallowing her, but I love to dress her each day. We never leave the house without a bow! 

Check out the shoes!

Belle is such a good baby. She's a good sleeper and a she hardly cries. After we got her jaundice taken care of, she became a champion nurser. She eats about every three hours and will eat about 3 ounces. I pump before bed and she gets bottles during her nighttime feedings. We had a constipation issue earlier this week and I to give her a suppository. I won't go into details of that grossness, but I can assure you that it was not very ladylike! She is most alert in the evenings from about 6-11ish and we get lots of chances to check out her pretty eyes!

Her umbilical cord stump fell off this past week and so Belle got her first bath!! Her hair was all fluffy when it dried- so cute!!!

Look at these little baby feet!! Remember seeing them here?

Maybe they're related?

More than I've heard about Belle looking like either Derek or me, I've heard people say, "Wow, she looks like Jackson!" I have to agree. Same nose, same chin, same eye color. The eye shape is a little different and Belle definitely has more hair. 

One thing is for sure-- We make good lookin' babies!