To the Pier We Go!

I can't believe it has been almost three months since I gave a Green Perspective. I love sharing the stories of our day to day life so I need to remember to set aside some time to capture those moments. One of these days I'm going to have this blog printed into a book so Mason can read all about life before he came along, the hilarious stories about how silly he is, and so I can look back and see just how far Mr. James Howard and I have come.

And boy do we have stories, some hilarious, some not...but it has been such a busy few months for us. You will have to forgive me this morning, this blog post will have a tinged of...I'm not sure what the emotion is quite yet. We got some news last night about the USS Roosevelt that is surely about to change the day to day aspects of life as we know it. As most of you know, the carrier has been in Newport News being overhauled at its midlife mark the past couple of years. We found out last night that in August all of that will change. James has sea trials for a couple of weeks beginning August 12, and then on August 23, with the TR sailors manning the rails in dress whites, it will finally pull into port at Naval Station Norfolk. As James explained all this to me last night via Facebook message (ahh, night shift has begun again) I just sat in bed in the silence of our bedroom trying to process what this meant for our family. We've been so lucky to have James home the past year and a half, and that was a huge blessing during my pregnancy, Mason's birth, and his first year. But once the Roosevelt arrives in Norfolk, it is officially part of the fleet again and has been deemed operational. What does that mean? It means pre-deployment workups (leave for a week, come back. Leave for two weeks, come back), it means deployments on the schedule...in non-military terms it means we will be saying goodbye far more than we've had to in the past, and far more than we're looking forward to. Don't get me wrong, when James works nights I go days without seeing him and I know what the load is like alone. What is different is that he is still here. It is a very different thing to process that very soon, the Roosevelt will be out in the middle of the ocean!

I'm sure lots of people are thinking "Well, he's in the Navy. Duh. You knew this would happen all along." Yes, we did. But when that time arrives it is a very different feeling. I've been apart from him for months at a time before, but having Mason in our life now just makes everything so much different, and so much more deeply felt. So just keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we prepare for James to take his first rides on the Big Stick! I will admit, I'm excited to watch it pull into port in full dress with all those white uniforms manning the rails. It's a beautiful ship, and I'm proud that James is on it and that it (and he) are finally getting to do what they are meant to do.

Our patriotic little Mason at 11 months old

So what else is new? Well, we have a walking, talking, curious, hilarious, independent, dramatic, and always hungry little boy who in 3 weeks will be having a first birthday. I can't believe it. On June 22, at 10 months old with James and I both home (THANK GOD) we watched him take his first 3 steps. All I could do was cry and laugh at the same time! He's so smart, he's so silly, and we just have the most fun with him. He loves to point at people in pictures now, he claps, gives high fives, and is officially no longer eating baby food.  I can't believe how much he has changed. I hear he is starting to look like me a little bit, I'm not sure if it is true or people are just being nice :) I love seeing his personality coming out and I love watching him figure out new things every day. I was on the phone with my Mom the other night and I said "It is so funny, when he was a baby he was James Green. So mellow, so chill, nothing really upset him, he just liked to sit and look around and observe and them BAM. At around 7 or 8 months old he woke up and was Julia Hardison. SO BUSY, so so so so busy. He does not ever want to be held, he doesn't like to snuggle, he wants to be moving, getting into something or climbing on something. He still pretty rarely gets upset (unless he's Hangry says Aunt Annie, hungry + angry) so I think he's the perfect mixture of both of us. I do love hearing James in the nursery though. "Buddy, please just stay still." or my favorite from the other night "Night night buddy, you make me tired."

We spent the 4th of July in Dunn with the Greens and Mason got some cousin time in with Molly and Jackson which always makes us happy! And last week we were in Ocean Isle with the Beasley's and had the BEST time catching up with all of our family. Mags and her crew were here from Kentucky, Doug and his crew came up from FL, and of course all the NC crew was there. James wasn't able to make it due to work...but it was still a wonderful week with some pretty awesome memories. It was so fun to reminisce on the trips we all used to take when we were little and that now 20 years later there we were!

So friends, we've got a busy couple of months ahead of us. Work for me is so busy but so fun and I am still loving every minute of it. We have 12 territories operating in 8 states, so Mosquito Joe is growing and I'm extremely proud to be a part of it. We are planning our sweet Mason's first birthday, trying to spend as much time as we can with family and friends, and just enjoying life. Below are some pictures from our beach trip and time in Dunn. 

4th of July with his cousins Molly and Jackson!

GiGi and Granddaddy took Mason to Sherry's Bakery for the first time, and this is chunk devouring his first donut hole. Such a proud moment :)

 

 

At the pool at the beach with Uncle Will and Aunt Annie!

Granny time.

He is such a beach bum! Love it!

Early morning talks with Uncle Lin

Takes after his Mom, loves the water!

Come see us! The weather is hot and perfect for a dip in the Chesapeake Bay! (And with Mr. Green gone I always love visitors!!!!) I promise to be more diligent in my blogging!!

 

Until next time,

James, Julie, Mason, and Silly Lilly