Cali bound!!

This morning, Madison and I will be flying out of Japan!! This is obviously Madison's very 1st plane ride, go figure it's around the world :) Well, I have to keep it short and simple to make sure we get on that flight. We cannot wait to meet everyone! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Sprouting like a weed!!

Today marks 4 months on our journey through Madison's 1st year! Words cannot express how happy she makes me. She keeps me strong when I feel like giving up! Everything seems so small with one look of her gummy smiles.

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On that note, my prayer for a miracle worked in my favor. I wasn't granted terminal leave, but I was authorized annual leave for 12 days. When I return to Japan, I will automatically processed out because of my adjusted End of Active Service date (EAS). This wasn't a bad deal because although I am not out yet, I will be home this weekend with Madison for 12 days! I am super excited and cannot wait for everyone to meet her! Unfortunately, we are unable to go to Texas until December, but it will be here sooner than we know it.

Little black rain cloud

Today has to have been one of the worst days I have had in a while! My terminal leave papers were supposed to have been signed, but come to find out they aren't! The Marine who has them, has had them since Tuesday and never submitted them up the chain of command. Now, my mini-vaca home this weekend is postponed until further notice. I should get them by close of business tomorrow, but in the Marine Corps we only have snail mail. This whole day was a kick in the face and a stake through my heart. I am still going home, I PROMISE! I am going to take a nap a pray for a miracle..

Fish out of water

What an awesome day! We were almost going to be lazy the whole day in jammies, but then my friend Sherry came over to say hi before they headed to the pool. After she left, I wanted to take Madi to the pool because she has never been in a big pool before. We had bought her a little pool to put on the balcony, but all she did was scream in it. This is the reason Ben didn't want to go with us, so he didn't have to hear her scream. Needless to say, we arrived and got Madi ready for pool time. I got in and Sherry handed her to me. I slowly put her deeper into the water and she loved it. She started paddling her legs when I put her on her tummy, it was the cutest thing ever. We have a video clip of it, but our camera sucks. Her very first trip to the pool was adorable.

Craft my ♥

This morning I woke up feeling sick. I stayed in bed for the first half of the day and it was such a waste. I finally got up and felt a whole lot better. I decided to be crafty and make a sample of one of the party hats I will be making the kids for Madison's 1st birthday party. Everyone keeps asking me why I am planning her party so early, so I will clear it up now. Since we don't have all the ammenities as the states, I need to order things online, make things and get everything ready little by little to ship back to the states. Her birthday party is going to be on April 24 and her Baptism will be on the April 25. We will have a little dinner after her Baptism, nothing spectacular. Her birthday party is going to be a whimsical polka dot tea party at Happy Hallow Park in San Jose, CA. The colors are brown, hot pink, fuschia, light pink, purple, and green. I bought her a dress (size 12 months, hopefully it fits her then) with these colors and absolutely adore it. She is of course going to have a second outfit for when she starts to eat her own perosnal cake. She is going to have a 3-tier mad-hatter style cake which I will be ordering when I am back home next weekend. Here is a pic of her dress and the sample hat I made, it came out really cute actually.

Why can't every day be like this?!

Today was a little out of the ordinary. I woke up, ate breakfast, played with Madi and started the day. I checked my e-mail and had a message from Ben who sent me my W95 orders! I was stoked and didn't know what to say or do. All I could think about was getting out of the service and get this, I had to wear my service Charlie uniform today (I can't believe it fit me after having Madison). So, Monday will be my last day and I will be home on Saturday. I will be on PTAD (which bumps our category up to 2) so everyone cross your fingers. Not to mention all of the stuff my cousin Jen is going to temp loan us for Madi to use while we are back home, we are truly blessed!

Tonight we decided to go to this place called Mike's Tex Mex. It's funny because the first time we went there, we were amazed they would have a place like this in Japan. They have decent food and we enjoy the atmosphere. This time, went with our friend's Sherry & Jim and their two children Abby-Grace and Ayden. It was fun and very delish!

When it's hot outside, have coffee!

Today I decided to go have coffee (water for me) with a few of the ladies from an online forum I am on. I got Madi dressed and everything was going well up until we walked outside! It was so freakin humid and sticky. Poor Madi was getting sleepy (like she always does when it's hot out) and I vowed to stay no more than an hour. I snapped a picture of her on our walk there because she looked so cute. When we arrived there, I had Sherry take a picture of us because I love taking pictures with my angel. This might sound nasty, but while we were there, my shirt was soaked with sweat. It was then I decided it was time to leave so Madi wouldn't have to be out in the heat. Before we left, Madison started blowing bubbles of spit and it was so adorable so we snapped a couple more pictures. She is such a wonderful baby!

Starting a new chapter

I finally decided to create a blog!! I think it will be a great tool to keep family and friends back home updated, especially now that Madison is here. I will try to post as often as possible and post new pictures of Madison so everyone can see how fast she is growing. I am almost out of the Marine Corps and I am proud to say that I served my country, but it is now time to start a new chapter in this wonderful thing I call my life. I am packed up and entering MOMMYWOOD.