Playing Hookey

Stevie's mom, Jamie, and I were a bad influence on our kids this week and allowed them to skip school so we could take them to the zoo. It was just such a nice day and we knew the weather was going to get cooler again, so we wanted to take advantage of the warm weather while it was here. The kids had such a great day & were so well behaved, it made it all totally worth it. I also got a chance to try out my new camera (the 3rd one so far!) and I think this one is a keeper. Finally! It's a lot bigger than I would like, but it takes great pictures and it has amazing zoom features. Here's some pics from our day:

Lily & Stevie reading the map for us

Noah loved the turtles

What's a trip to the zoo without Lily's favorite elephants! Giraffes Meerkats

The lions!

(you can see the mom laying on top of the big rock)

Posing for a pic

The kids thought the spider monkeys were hilarious. They stood there & watched them jump around & chase each other forever - laughing hysterically the whole time. So cute!

Andrew thought they were funny too...
Here's Lily's emu...
Lily & Stevie poking their heads up from the prairie dog hole

Lilt crawling on the "spider web"

What a fun day!

After the zoo, we took the kids to a nearby park. Lily & Stevie thought it was fun to throw the leaves up in the air...
Stevie pushing Lily on the swing - what a sweet boy!

What we consider a successful day:

The Good, The Sick & The Naughty

Well, we've had a pretty eventful week! Here's a rundown...

"The Good"

Let's see, Lily had a dentist visit her class this week, which Lily was super excited about. The dentist talked to them about their teeth - things that are good & bad for their teeth & how to take care of them. He also looked in their mouths to see how their teeth look. Before we knew the dentist was going to be at her school, I had made a dentist appt for Lily next week, but this worked out well, because now she is really excited about going. She is also a lot more enthusiastic about cleaning her teeth now and brushes them several extra times a day. The dentist gave all the kids new toothbrushes and minute sand-timers so they could time how long they are supposed to be brushing their teeth, which I thought was a great idea.

Lily also got a haircut this week, which was badly needed. She was starting to sit on her hair in the bathtub again & it was getting pretty difficult to manage. I found a salon just for kids and Lily loved it. They washed her hair in the sink (she's never had that done before) and the chairs they sat in for their haircuts were planes, cars & fire trucks. She had about 5 inches cut off - she has long layers and it's angled around her face. It looks really cute & it's so much easier to manage! The new do:

"The Sick" Poor Miss Lily had a little stomach bug last weekend. She was pretty miserable for most of the weekend. She spent most of Friday night getting sick every hour until about 3 am when she was finally able to fall asleep. Then, Saturday she spent the entire day in her bed with a fever & she slept the majority of the day. Sunday she was feeling better, but we still took it easy for the day to make sure she was fully recovered & by Sunday night I knew she was feeling better with the return of her attitude. :o) However, Monday morning she was saying she wasn't feeling well again. I told her she needed to try to go to school (I had a suspicion she was saying she was sick because she didn't want to go to school - she's been saying she doesn't want to go lately because it's "too boring"), but that I would come pick her up if she still didn't feel good once she had been at school for a little while. Well, I received a phone call from school at 10:30 saying Lily didn't feel good & had to be picked up early from school. By Tuesday she was back to her old self - except her appetite still hadn't fully returned. Tuesday night I noticed she was starting to get a little cough and on Wednesday she started losing her voice! She said she felt fine otherwise and today she seems to be better. SO! Hopefully she is done with all this sickness & she can return to her happy self.

On Tuesday evening I noticed poor Vava had blood in his urine & there were little drops of blood all up & down the stairs at our house from him. I rushed him to the vet where he was examined and they ruled out the possibility of any injuries or trauma to that area. They took a urine sample, which had to be sent out to the lab & they started him on some antibiotics for a urinary tract infection. The doctor said we could wait on x-rays and further tests (to see if there were more serious problems, like kidney stones, tumors, problems with his prostate, etc) until the results of the urinalysis came back. Vader did stop bleeding by the next morning and we got the results of the urinalysis back today - which were negative - no infection in his urine. However, because the bleeding has stopped the doctor said the infection could have been on him rather than in his urine and she said to finish the antibiotics and if the symptoms return we will do further testing then. He seems to be acting normal & he is eating & drinking normally, so we are hoping that it is nothing more serious & the antibiotics will take care of the problem.

"The Naughty"

Now, on to the naughty...we have been leaving Miss Zoey out of her kennel when we leave the house lately because she has been behaving herself while we're gone. However, Lily & I ran to the grocery store last night & Lily forgot to close her bedroom door before we left. We came home to find that Zoey had gone into Lily's room & helped herself to some of Lily's crayons, a paper crown she had made, a page of stickers and 2 stuffed animals! Of course being the diva that she is, she only ate the glitter crayons, which happen to be Lily's favorite! So, Miss Zoey is back to being confined to her kennel when we leave until she can be trusted again...

Hopefully next week will be a little calmer around here! :o)

Stevie's New Ride

Stevie got a new Corvette Power Wheels - Here is a pic of him taking Lily for a spin in his new ride.

Some Surprising Orders

Brian received a call on Friday from one of his Sgt's saying that his company received orders for him to go to recruiting school and become a recruiter for the next 3 years! They are Department of the Army orders and his MOS would change if he does become a recruiter (meaning he would no longer be a mortuary affairs specialist during his recruiting years). Brian has to be interviewed by his Commander & submit a packet of personal information which will be reviewed & then a final decision would be made deciding whether Brian is eligible to become a recruiter or not. If his packet does get approved, he will be leaving for recruiting school on May 26th in South Carolina & he will be there for 7 weeks. He would find out where they are going to place him in his 2nd week of school (we could be sent anywhere in the United States). If he does become a recruiter he would have to work very long hours, including weekends, but at least we would have the peace of mind knowing he would not be deployed for those three years. This was a big surprise for us, but I think we are all just about ready for a change of scenery and I think Brian would make an excellent recruiter. I'll keep everyone updated once we find out more information about all this.

Baby Update

Well, I had another ultrasound on Friday & the doctor was able to tell us for certain this time that it is definitely a boy!! I knew he was just waiting for Brian to be there...already showing favoritism to his Daddy :o) We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little guy!! During the ultrasound we saw the baby yawn, which was really cute & you could also see him pushing back on my stomach where the dr was pushing with the ultrasound machine. Too cute...We are still trying to decide on a name for him - still haven't found anything that we both agree on. I'm sure we will find something soon, or one of us will give in to a name the other likes. ;o)

The doctor said everything still looks great and the baby is developing right on schedule. I, on the other hand, gained 9 lbs (YES, NINE POUNDS!) since my last appt! Someone is going to have to tell this baby to stop craving all the sweet stuff! :o)

I am officially in my third trimester now - 28 weeks on Sunday! Here are some developmental facts about the baby:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can open and close his eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before he's batting those beauties at you. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He now sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were born prematurely. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on.

Valentines, Ice Skating & Brian's Birthday

Will you be my Valentine?

Lily & Brian on Valentine's Day

Lily & I headed back up to Dover last week for Valentine's Day & Brian's birthday.

I also bought a new camera since mine has been on the fritz lately & I figured it was time for an upgrade. We took Lily ice skating to see how the camera worked (since we always had trouble with pictures coming out well there), but unfortunately it seems like this camera took worse quality pictures than the old one! I think I am going to take this one back & try a different one...





Here's a couple videos of Lily ice skating - she goes really fast now!! and she gets better every time we go. She is still attempting to skate without the cone every once in a while, but for the most part she just skates around with the cone.





Lily helping me make Brian's birthday cake - for his birthday this year I guess he wanted a chocolate coma because he requested a chocolate cake with triple chocolate fudge chip icing! :o)
Lily sampling the mix while the cake was baking...

I don't know how she always manages to get it on her nose...silly girl!Our finished product - very fancy, I know :o)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, BRIAN!!!

Fun at the Park

We finally had a couple days of warmer weather while in Dover, so we took advantage & brought Lily to the park.

Big Girl Gets Her Ears Pierced!

Miss Lily has decided to overcome her fear of pain & get her ears pierced. (She's been saying for a long time she wants earrings, but she was too afraid that it was going to hurt.) Amazingly, after Mimi told Lily she had some special earrings to give her when she got her ears pierced, she seemed to get over the fear pretty quickly. :o) Brian & I took her this weekend while we were in Dover to get it done.

Pretty excited waiting for them to get done.

Lily was extremely brave & only shed a few tears, which were quickly forgotten with the promise of ice cream...

Enjoying her ice cream...

Her new earrings!

Lily keeps saying how happy she is that she got her ears pierced & she keeps asking why other people are not noticing them. I told her that they don't know she just got them done & when she gets back to school she can show all her friends. She's being very responsible and reminding me when we need to clean them & turn them. She looks like such a big girl now that she has earrings!

Promotion Ceremony

Lily & I drove up to Dover for Brian's promotion ceremony that took place on Friday. The Lieutenant Colonel from the Dover mortuary, where Brian is right now, performed the ceremony. A copy of Brian's promotion orders were read as his Sgt - Sgt Soto - pinned him with his new rank.

Lt. Colonel, Brian, Lily & I beginning the ceremony

Lt. Col., Sgt Soto, Brian, Lily & I as the orders were being read

Sgt Soto pinning Brian

Congratulations after the ceremony

Family pic post-ceremony

Brian & Lily with his Sergeant gifts - a new Sgt hat & a plaque of the NCO Creed - from Lily & I

"The Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer"

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army."

I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watch-word. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind--accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain tactically and technically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers, leaders!