Oh. 2010.

I am mostly very, very excited to see the end of this year.

Like 99% excited.

2011 after all is at least the YEAR that this deployment will end, that my husband will return home, that the kiddos will have their Daddy back. That is a very exciting prospect. At least it will be the right year. And that is something.

2010 though. Wow. You went by so fast. I was up very early this morning with the primary reason why this year has flown by, a little thing I like to call Baby Man. He is also the 1% why I am sad to see this year end. My 4th child, my last little bundle, my sweet precious baby. HIs first year is nearly over. He is going to turn One in a week, and there is nothing I can do about it. I can't keep him a baby forever, unless we stay in 2010 forever. Which I am fairly certain isn't actually an option. But why oh WHY did he have to grow up so fast? I can hardly stand it. I'm just not ready to say goodbye to babyhood for the last time. But every day he gets closer and closer to becoming a toddler.


(Sorry, the sound is bad. It's not your computer. Promise.)

I'm still at my Mom's and my Little Man is sitting beside me "eating" cheerios. I say "eating" because he is, in reality, feeding the majority of them to the dogs at his feet. All the while happily saying "Dog dog dog dog DOG dog dog dog dog DOG dog dog", all the while the dogs dancing merrily about hoping to catch the next falling circle of sweetness.

These dogs are going to be very sad when we leave.

Also, did you catch that my Baby is saying "dog"? Cause he is. A LOT. More than he says Mama. In fact, I would say the ratio of "dog"s to "Mama"s is approximately 100 to 1. I try not to take it personally.

Ok, back to the main point here. This time last year we were hoping beyond hope that I would go into labor and have a New Year's Eve/New Year's Day baby. I spent a few hours in the evening actually timing contractions, but they stopped completely around 11PM and we rang in the New Year slightly disappointed. But certain The Man would arrive soon. We just wanted as much time together as a family, with this looming deployment. Every day counted.

He made us wait 6 more days.

He's chill like that.

We've come a long way in a year. This New Years Eve instead of waiting on a baby I am soaking up every last minute of having my baby BE a baby. My husband is pretty much as far away as he could be, and yet we are nearly to that "countdown" phase. I don't know if I will even attempt to stay awake to ring in 2011. I would rather sleep I think, and let 2010 slip quietly in to the past.

That at least reduces the likelihood that I will cry too much. Tears of joy for a new year, tears that the deployment isn't over yet, tears of celebration that the deployment IS almost over, tears for my way-too-big-kids. You get the picture. It doesn't take a lot these days.

Happy New Year, everyone!