Would you look at THAT!

Ladies, is this not the most attractive person you've ever laid eyes on? I would say OF COURSE IT IS! I've posted this picture on my Facebook account, leaving some of you lucky enough to get a double dose of this stud muffin.

This is Derek.

He is in his 9th week of Basic Combat Training (BCT). In the 9 weeks he's been gone, he has become a squad leader, a platoon leader, a buddy to his drill sergeant (by the way, that never happens), and he's baptized 4 people. He has earned the respect of everyone around him, he has been nominated for Soldier of the Cycle meaning the #1 soldier over every single Basic Training soldier at his post right now. He is currently a skinny-winny. His food is rationed and sometimes he eats MRE's while he's in the field. He has a tan line around his neck and wrists from where he wears his ACU's, and around his eyes where he wears his safety glasses. He has earned badges for being an excellent marksman- hitting 40 out of 40 targets from a great distance away. He came in second place in a running exercise against all of the other platoons and companies. The guy who took first place ran Track & Field at Baylor University. He is absolutely nothing short of incredible and I'm so proud to be his wife. Every time I see my last name on his ACU nametape, when I sign my name at the bottom of a check or when I say my last name to someone I've just met- I always do so with pride. Because there is no one in the world I'd rather be than Derek Hargrove's wife.

Toy Story "Betcha Didn't Know"s

It seems that lately the only shows my child will watch are Toy Story...and Toy Story 2. Sadly, he doesn't like Toy Story 3. But it's not my favorite either. I got to thinking about the voices of the characters and I got on Wikipedia to check some things out. I was amazed at all the things I learned! Check it out!

Obviously Tom Hanks is the voice of Woody. And although I want to flick him in the nose for the LDS/FLDS confusion on Big Love (yes I've seen it, it's kind of addicting), he is a phenomenal actor and I love his part as Woody.


Tim Allen plays the voice of Buzz Lightyear. I love Tim Allen. He's one of those actors that I feel like I know. Like, if I met him, I would feel like I'm talking to an old friend.


Alright- here's where it gets interesting.

Don Rickles is the voice of Mr. Potato Head. This man is 85 years old! He has been around so long, he knew Frank Sinatra, and had guest appearances on I Dream of Genie, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Munsters, and Get Smart.


Estelle Harris plays Mrs. Potato Head. She is also old- I would have had no idea! She is 83. She has been in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Ponyo, and played Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld.


John Ratzenberger, who is 64, plays the voice of the piggy bank named Hamm. I think he is the toy with the funniest lines. He played Cliff Clavin on the TV show Cheers, he was the voice of P.T. Flea on A Bug's Life, the Abominable Snowman in Monsters, Inc., and Mack the truck in Cars.


Wallace Shawn plays the voice of Rex the dinosaur. Most of you would recognize his voice from when he played Vizzini in The Princess Bride in 1987.


Annie Potts is the voice of Bo Peep, Woody's love interest! She is Janine from Ghostbusters, which by the way, there will be a Ghostbusters 3 coming out in 2012. I better not tell my husband, because Ghostbusters 2 was what I was watching when I began going into labor! And our next baby is due in 2012...



Ronald Lee Ermey is the voice of Sarge, the main solder from the "Bucket O' Soldiers" on Toy Story. Did you know he is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Drill Sergeant?! Haha. Almost all of his roles in movies are military-related. He was a very decorated soldier back in his day, having received 2 bronze stars and many other awards for his service.


Jim Varney was the voice of Slinky Dog, but he was also Ernest in all of the "Ernest" shows. He died at the age of 50 from Lung Cancer, which was in 2000.


Erik von Detten plays the evil kid next door, Sid Phillips. He was also in The Princess Diaries.


John Morris is the voice of Andy, whose last name is Davis. Who would have known that??? Anyway- he is still the voice of Andy, even as a grown kid in Toy Story 3. Crazy! He was born in 1984 and graduated from UCLA in Theater.


Laurie Metcalf is the voice of Andy's mom, who is only known as Mrs. Davis. She is most popular for her role as Jackie on the TV series Roseanne. She also played Marcie in Uncle Buck, and has played guest roles in Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Life with Louie, Malcolm in the Middle and 3rd Rock from the Sun.


Joan Cusack, sister of actor John Cusack, plays the voice of Jessie the Cowgirl on Toy Story 2.


Wayne Knight is Al from Al's Toy Barn. He looks exactly like his character! He is most popular for his role as Newman on Seinfeld.


I had no idea that Kelsey Grammer from Frasier was the voice of Stinky Pete.


And last but not least, Jodie Benson plays the voice of Tour Guide Barbie in Toy Story 2 and also the Barbie who meets Ken in Toy Story 3. She was the voice of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. After learning that fact and thinking back on the two voices, it totally makes sense! She is also the voice of Thumbelina, and the voice of Weebo in Flubber. Crazy!



Well, I hope you thought this was as cool as I did! My husband taught me the true beauty of Wikipedia! So when we would watch a movie, we would almost always Wikipedia it afterwards and find out all kinds of neat facts. Try it sometime!

Oh HEEEEY!

I love this picture. It's like he's an old man, relaxing while reading the paper. This is T-man at his checkup last week. He has officially grown into himself! He is now in the 30th percentile for height and weight (instead of the 3rd percentile or lower) and he was blessed with the sturdy and large Hargrove noggin, putting him in the 90th percentile for head circumference. Way to go, buddy!


This is me this week. Wednesday, I think. So I was 16 1/2 weeks here and was heading off to the gym. I have only gained 6 pounds now, so I think people were wondering if I was bloated or if I was pregnant. Thursday night though my belly just POOFED out and I think I officially look pregnant.


Titan has almost mastered eating with a spoon by himself. He doesn't have the scooping part down, but he can definitely put it in his mouth and he does great! This is him eating cereal this morning. It was actually quite the mess. When teaching your kid to use a spoon, I would suggest starting with more...solid, less rolly-aroundy foods. We had quite a few Reese's Puffs balls on our kitchen floor. I know. Reese's Puffs. Not the healthiest cereal out there. You pick your battles, people.

So life at the Hargrove home has been better. I feel as though I'm officially slipping back into my role as a stay at home mother. I have been able to have a lot of great bonding experiences with Titan this past week, thanks to pretty much every plan I had falling through. I guess it was a blessing in disguise : ) We miss Derek like crazy and have only been allowed to have a conversation with him one day since actual Basic Training began. It's been the hardest, most challenging thing I have ever done in my lifetime. But with challenging experiences comes refinement and I'm hoping each day to be a more refined individual. More patient, kind, loving, tactful, happy, helpful. Trust me, I wish I could just buy all of those qualities at the store, but I've learned it just doesn't work that way. Thank you to any of you who gave me advice and words of encouragement. Any tips on parenting that you have, bring them on because I feel like the guy in those movies who gets thrown into being a babysitter (like The Rock on The Pacifier) and I don't know the first thing about parenting sometimes! Yet I can't call Mr. Mom. Anyways, that's about it for us! We get to have our Derek back in 3 1/2 weeks, although it will only be for about 24 hours or less. We will take it!

Since You've Been Gone

Doesn't reading the title just make you want to bust out in the Kelly Clarkson song? That's what it did to me. Since Derek has been gone, we've:

Gone to Fort Benning for some pre- Fourth of July celebrations


Watched a lot (and I mean A LOOOOT) of Sesame Street


Eaten over at a friend's house for a BBQ


Worn a heart monitor due to the insane amount of stress and a couple of passing out episodes


Played on the swings and gone on walks almost daily


Indulged in some disgustingly huge homemade breakfast burritos


Caught a plane to El Paso to visit family


Visited the utterly enormous city of Atlanta


Had family come visit us in Georgia


Watched this little one change from a bean to a baby


Taken pictures of ourselves to send to Daddy


Bounced around at a kid's playhouse



Checked out the Kiddie section of the library (which is AWESOME)


Spent time with Jordan and Lindsey



Watched my belly go from THIS


To this


To this


To this


To this


And finally to THIS- I'm almost 16 weeks and have gained 5 pounds so far



Life is still chugging along but we cannot WAIT to have our Derek back.