15-21/52

15/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Playing on the steps at Temple Square.

 16/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Caught a glimpse of his reflection.

 17/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Easter morning! He was so excited about his bubble machine.

 18/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Finally got a some sunshine for a day of picnics and new hideout discovering.

 

19/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Short sleeves have made an appearance. 

 

20/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Still getting a little nervous about these dark tunnels but getting more brave every day.

21/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

Went shoe shopping for walking shoes to wear when we head down south. Someone definitely approved!

a whole new adventure

And off he goes to basic! The last few days flew by! I'm pretty sure I'm still in shock. I have to brag that I kept it together pretty well, at the MEPS building, where we were able to watch Kristofer swear in and say goodbye.

Being there with so many others in my same situation was somehow comforting. I saw the other families and children and felt better after telling myself "If they can do it, I can do it." I literally patted myself on the back for sparing my family from seeing me being a blubbery mess, but I can't say the lady at the little coffee shop I stopped at on my way home, was so lucky. I'm sure she was in utter shock when I just about broke down at the register. She was probably thinking to herself "I just asked if you wanted some cream in your tea, lady. Calm down." I won't be going back there for a long while! We have to pick our battles though, right?

Watching Kristofer get on that bus and drive away made me appreciate the extra time we had together these last few days. We made sure we focused on each other and enjoyed our last hours as a family under the same roof, for a long while anyway. We walked around temple square and soaked in the sunshine. Its funny how the smallest things turn into the best things when you know your time is limited. Watching Liam play with his dad and the relationship they have suddenly seems like it has become 1000x more beautiful in my eyes.

I am so incredibly proud of Kristofer. I am proud to be his #1 supporter and I am even more proud to be his wife. I can't wait to see him graduate and see him continue to succeed. And I definitely can't wait to see him two months! First day of the rest of our lives!

14/52

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

He's finally understanding that it can be just as fun to look through the pages of books as it is using them as weapons or seeing how far he can throw them. Boys, I tell ya.

12/52 & 13/52

  A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

The older he gets, the more I'm amazed by his view of the world. Little things like rolling around and playing on mom and dads bed puts the biggest smiles on his face. He finds joy in everything.

 A portrait of Liam once a week, every week in 2014 

You can see him trying to figure out how to climb over the railing and out of his crib. It's definitely time to lower his mattress, but that's just one more indication that my little baby is growing up.

Here's to the future

As I'm writing this post I can't help but realize my shaking hands. It's been a whirlwind of a week so far and I know it's only going to get crazier and definitely busier! We got quite a surprise of a call on Monday. Funny how one phone call can change everything.

We got Kristofer's official date of departure for basic training. This is great news and we are so excited but we definitely didn't expect it to be so soon. To be honest, with the way things have been going for us, I was expecting to wait until June or so. I'm probably going to get a lot of "I told you so's" since I was expecting a later date, but I honestly didn't think this phone call would happen! But, it did and here we are, scrambling to get things in order, figure out my schooling schedule with Liam, and mentally gearing ourselves to say goodbye for a while.

Now, what does this mean for our little family? It means Kristofer has A LOT of training for the next two years and Liam and I only have about a year left here in Utah. It is terrifying to think we're only going to see Kristofer a handful of times for a long while, but we are ecstatic that things are finally moving forward and that we are starting the life we have been fighting for, for so long!

I have already been offered so much advice and support, and I thank every single one of you! Keep it coming (!!) because I know I'm going to need all of it. Here's to our future!