Back in Action

We are home, I survived driving over 2000 miles with a 6 month old and a 2 year old. Really, I think I'm crazy. I wouldn't have survived the return trip if it hadn't been for that little wonder, the portable DVD player. I was hesitant using it, I know my daughter she would ask to watch her bebbies (veggie tales) every time we got in the car. I broke down and turned it on. Wow, what a difference. She was no longer whining or crying or throwing a fit over something. She watched happily for hours on end, giving my poor nerves a little peace.

We had quite the adventure. It was great seeing friends and family. There are so many we didn't get to see. Poor Leah got the stomach flu shortly after we arrived in Utah. She spent a day throwing up, a night in the emergency room hooked to an IV and the rest of the trip with diarrhea. No fun for Leah and no sleep for me. Charlie is a trooper. He was so good to sit there while I held Leah on my lap with a popcorn bucket in hand to catch the puke.

Fun stuff that happened.

1. Leah learned the joys of bouncing on a trampoline. I learned all about the fears of her jumping right off and breaking every bone in her body.

2. Leah learned how to do the chicken dance. Thank you Mitchel, really, it's hilarious. She spontaneously came up to me at my friend Michelle's house and said "chicken, bock, bock while flapping those little arms of hers. I nearly died laughing.

3. I was able to spend 2 weeks without the rain. I could walk on the grass in my socks, sit on the grass, lay on the grass with Charlie. Seriously, I never realized how much I missed the dryness of the high desert. I'll take it any day over Washington wet.

4. Charlie has learned how to pull himself around the room to objects he desires.

5. I was able to see the magic of the Cricut in action. I really need to get me one of these someday.

6. Leah was able to play in a huge yard with chickens, a sand box and swing set. She loved it.

7. Leah and Charlie got to meet their Grandpa, my dad, for the first time. They both adored him.

The pictures of all this fun are still on my camera. One of these days I'll get them online.

Other news. Charlie cut his first tooth on Sunday, finally. I think his second is soon to come. He's been grumpy today.

vacation

I'm on vacation visiting family and friends right now. Derek's home holding down the fort. He will probably have lost weight by the time I get home, no one to cook for him and all. I'm sure I'll have more stories and some great pictures when I get back. Stay tuned!

where does the time go?

Where does the time go? I was checking out blogs and realized it's been 4 days since my last post. I swear it was yesterday. I've been busy getting ready for our trip, cleaning the house, running last minute errands and trying to take care of my kids. They have been very good and I'm grateful for it. I've been a bit under the weather the last week or two. I had an eye appointment yesterday and the doctor couldn't finish the exam because of an eye infection. I knew something was wrong, just not what. Nothing serious, a viral something or other that needs to run its course. He did talk to me about this Paragon CRT as apposed to Lasik or PRK. I'm really going to look into it. I'd love to see clearly again and love even more if it was a non surgical approach. I can't really be out of commission with my kids.

We are heading out this morning for some fun at Lattin's Country Cider Mill. They have all the baby animals out for the kids to see. Leah can really identify her animals now and I think she's going to love it even more this time. It's a little cold and wet, but when isn't it? I am hoping it warms up a little before we go. I'll take pictures and post them later.

Random pictures for you photo junkies.

Constant Motion

This is our Easter picture. I forgot to take one until after I had changed Charlie from his Easter clothes into PJ's. This is one of my attempts at capturing motion in my children. I've been doing some reading and realized that blurry pictures are not always bad pictures like I've previously thought. Some of Leah's best pictures are captured when she is on the move.

Don't Bother me, I'm Eating

I've been changing the way I take pictures. Instead of one or two from a point in time. I'm starting to do more of a series, so a story can be told. Charlie is so good to sit and play on his own. I throw him a couple of toys and away he goes. This day, he found his way over to Leah's play food and started munching away on a plastic hamburger bun. It was so cute I had to capture it. I did have to shake a rattle to get him to look up at me. He was very intent on getting that bread in his mouth.

Dressing up Leah

I downloaded, finally, the pictures off my camera. I'll have more to post later. I have to do it in shifts or the kids start freaking out!

Leah has proven time and time again that she is not your typical girl. Maybe it's because she has me as a mother guiding her away from "girly" pursuits. Either way, she, when given her own choice, gravitates in the direction of the tomboy. When she plays with her friends, she plays with the boys, she roughhouses like the boys and in true tomboy fashion, she makes the boys cry. While Derek was packing up, Leah found his hat and had to wear it. She has a thing for hats, she'll make anything into a hat, a box, the laundry bag, any bag she can find. Daddy helped her strap the hat on. The thing is so heavy, Leah could barely hold her head up. It was so funny we decided to dress her up more, She donned the gloves and we tried to get her in Daddy's Kevlar vest. It weighs more than she does. She's not to happy with the last addition to her dressing up and decided the hat and gloves was enough for the moment.

Deployment

Derek left today for Iraq. It's a short deployment, thankfully. I'm planning on keeping really busy while he's gone so I can keep my sanity for my children's sake. So far today was a good day. We went grocery shopping and to the park today. Tomorrow we have a breakfast and nature walk to fill our day. I'll try to remember my camera so I can take some pictures.
Speaking of pictures, I do have some from Easter, but as usual they are still on the camera. I'm terrible at downloading pictures. Actually, I'm terrible at taking pictures in general. I'm trying to get better because I know I'll wish I had done so when I'm older and all I have are my memories (hopefully!) to keep me company.