Two Weeks' Worth of Highlights...in pictures

Happy Hallowee...like, for sure.

Hannah lost her second tooth!  The Tooth Fairy left her 80 cents--3 quarters and 1 nickel.
(I think the Tooth Fairy meant to leave her a dollar.)

Carving our jack-o-lantern and taking out the guts...GROSS.
Surprisingly, my girly girl, had fun at this part.

This one (the one, may I remind you, will eat dirt at the playground) refused to touch it, yelling, "Gross!  Dirty!  Dirty!"

Hannah had her Girl Scout Investiture Ceremony.  Now she's an official Daisy!

There's no place like home...

We welcome you to munchkinland...

Happy Halloween!!!!

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple sweetie.  That is the title of this post because I really don't have much to say this week.  I know, right?  ME?  Nothing to say?  There must be some kind of shift in the universe for that to happen.  :)  Enjoy our photos and highlights!

Highlights of the week:

• Airy and I went shopping this week at (Where else?) Target.  Of course!  And it was quite an adventure.  Of course.  She insisted on carrying my basket.  When that got a little heavy for her, she insisted on putting her Big Bird book in her own basket.  Upon check-out, she was inspecting all the enticing goodies while I was paying.  I thought she was being so good, putting things back when I told her.  But after I paid, she ran up with some Rolos.  Delicious, yes.  But sorry, already paid.  Then she pulled a fast one on me since she had already opened it.  So I had to buy it.  Of course.  You win this round, Evil Mastermind.

• Hannah went to her first Girl Scout event.  It was just a small expo showcasing what our area has to offer.  But she still got her first patch so that was exciting.
• For Hannah's homework, we had to decorate a pumpkin as a Halloween creature.  Hannah made hers (with a little help from Momma) the Queen of Vampires. 



He took this off not even
5 minutes later.  :)

• One of my El Paso besties, Vickie, and her son Gannon came over for dinner.  The kids had tons of fun.
• Airy has four new words:  gross, zombie, vampire, and evil.  Queen of Vampires...evil...why are our children into these things? 
• Hannah was able to Facebook chat with her Daddy.  That totally made her night.  We are so lucky to have this technology!  I can just imagine what it was like for miltiary families back in the dizz-ay.



"Chatting" with Daddy!



Hannah and the Queen of Vampires.

And, as usual, I actually have a lot more to say than what I thought.  Of course.  :)

Enjoy your week everyone!

Birthday Wishes

Oh em to the gee.  Aaron would have turned 30 this week.  30!  I can just imagine how this would have been.  He would alternate between lamenting the 3 at the beginning of his age and proclaiming, "Whatever...I'm still fabulous."  This past year would have been a whirlwind of escapades he would have undoubtedly scribbled on a "Things I NEED to do Before I am 30" bucket list.  Ridiculously awesome accomplishments--I'm thinking run a marathon, travel to Europe again, finish school, buy a house, find a way to finally meet Ms Janet Jackson, be on Oprah's last show...among others.  And awesomely ridiculous debacles--I am picturing sneaking backstage to meet Cher, auditioning for a huge Broadway musical, pitching some kind of reality tv show...just to name a few.  One of my favorite things about Aaron is that he was always full of big dreams.  People always thought I was the dreamer; but, without him to push me, I would never have been able to dream as much as I could.  We were a lot closer than most other siblings.  I've never met anyone as close as the two of us.  And I am always grateful that his traits show up in different ways in Hannah and Airy (especially Airy).  Hannah loves fashion, dancing, and singing (loudly) just like Aaron.  Airy is feisty, stubborn, hilarious, and soooo not a morning person just like him.  I hope that I can teach them to dream as big and live as passionately as he did.

Highlights of the week:

• Hannah started at her new dance school.  She is in pre-ballet II and beginning jazz/hip-hop.  She LOVES it!  And I feel like she's already learning a lot more here than she did at her last dance class. 

This is not from this week...
But I made this for my friend's
son on his birthday.  I finally
took a photo of it.  :)

• We had a huge sleepover with two other friends whose husbands are away, their kids, and one of my friend's out of town guests.  Picture four women, three little boys (all 3 and under), Hannah, and one crazy demanding diva.  Oh, that would be Airy.  It was so nice and fun to have all of us in one house, laughing and bonding.  Hopefully this will become a regular thing.  :)
• Hannah said my new favorite quote from her.  I must post here for posterity.  "When you're getting dressed, it's not fun to be a boy.  Boys only have 2 or 3 things to wear.  Girls have a lot more fun things to choose from.  I'm glad I'm a girl."  See?  Totally Aaron's influence.




This is how you would
normally find her at the
playground.



• Airy had fun playing in the sand and dirt at the playground...as usual.  One of the other ladies commented, "Look she's already dirtier than the boys."  Another of my friends (a mother to two boys) said, "It's nice to see 2 year old girls do things like that too."  (This is after Airy attempted to eat rocks.  Yes, rocks.  Didn't you know they are delicious?  I didn't either.)  She really is something else.  Hannah did not prepare me for her.  At all. 

Enjoy your week!  Dream big and don't put rocks in your mouth.

Let the Countdown Begin...

Well, here we are again counting down another year.  I have to admit all the anticipation was getting to me...it felt like we've been doing nothing but counting down.  Counting down to the day and now counting down to when it's over.  I've been alternating between food therapy and retail therapy.  I like both but I don't want to end up huge and in the poorhouse.  Now I can take a breath, be there for the girls, and get back to normal person eating and spending habits. 

Highlights of the week:

• Josh and I got to go on a date that wasn't our usual dinner and a movie!  Yay for us being all grown-up and adventurous.  We went to a comedy show at the local comedy club.  We had a great time and it was a fun way to spend time together.



See...almost as big as
she is!

• Airy and I went bowling with Josh's battery while Hannah was at school.  Well, I watched while Josh helped Airy bowl.  She had the time of her life.  It took quite a while to convince her she didn't need to use a 12 pound bowling ball.
• After MONTHS of begging and pleading, Hannah and Airy finally got to go to a place called Jungle Jaks for a birthday party.  It's like Chuck E. Cheese and Circus Circus in Las Vegas had a baby and gave it waaaayyyy too much sugar.  There are bumper boats, bumper cars, a giant slide, a modeling runway (Guess where Hannah spent most of her time?), a wii room, a discotech, a paint-your-own-pottery area, and tons more....  And a gazillion kids hyped-up on high fructose corn syrup and too many lights running around like a tribe of crazy people.  F-U-N times.



Getting made-up to
work the catwalk.



Hannah hitting the
runway.

Airy paints while Hannah struts
her stuff.

• Papa came out for moral support!  We love our Papa!
• We did our yearly ritual of painting pumpkins.  It's still too early in the month to carve pumpkins in this heat.  So we do the next best thing and decorate them. 
• I have been overwhelmed by the show of love and support by our friends and family, here in El Paso and all over.  We girls are so lucky to have so many people behind us. 


Precious Time

Sorry for the brief hiatus...Josh has had the past two weeks off work so we've been getting in as much quality time as possible.  While I've loved loved LOVED the luxury of having him home, I really don't love the reason why.  And I also don't love Airy's disgruntled attitude at having him return to work; she was in trouble three times before 7:30 this morning.  THREE.  Ahh! 

We have had two wonderful fun-filled weeks.  And we will have one more wonderful week before he leaves for the year.  So...I will keep this brief so I can keep on enjoying that precious time with my husband.

Highlights for the week:

Airy is inside that sack.  Yep.  You
read that right...inside.

• Josh got to come to one of Airy's playgroups and mommy and me tumbling classes.  Needless to say, with the help of Daddy, Airy went higher than any other kid in tumbling class.  And Mommy almost had a heart attack. 
• Airy and her little friends had fun chasing a bunny at playgroup one day.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for the rabbit) the bunny was on the other side of a fence.  Earlier that week Airy and I had tracked that same rabbit at the park. 
• We went home to Arizona for the weekend so Josh could get in some "see you laters".  Not only did we see family, the girls and I saw some wonderful and dear old friends.  It's always nice to see that no matter how much time passes, our real friendships always stay the same.  And we got to see my sister-in-law for the first time since she announced she is expecting.  I am so excited I get to be an Auntie!  (And she is so cute...it is almost not fair how cute she is at 16 weeks pregnant.)



Hannah and her Auntie, taken by this almost Auntie!


• Hannah got her first Kindergarten progress report.  Satisfactory in everything (which is the highest).  Smarty pants!  :)




Going down the family slide at the patch


• We went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend.  Now, 95 degrees isn't really pumpkin patch weather.  But that's probably the best we're going to get in El Paso.   
• We also went to the Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  We got to meet an older gentleman who has been blacksmithing (Can that be used as a verb?) for the past almost 60 years!  Amazing!  If we go see him again, I will like to call him Smithy. 
• Airy had a repeat of her Hobby Lobby incident.  This time while grocery shopping.  And this time she made it.  Score!

• Hannah told me this week: "Momma, on the ends of our hands, we have phy-langies."  When I said, "Or fingers", she replied, "Yes, but scientists call them phy-langies." 

Y'all betta stay aways from mah cob.



Sisterly love <3



Blessings...name them one by one

It is no secret that yesterday was a precious day for Americans, fraught with importance and significance.  For us, it was no different.  I know some people would say especially since we are a military family...but for me, military or not, September 11, 2001 was a day that changed the face of the world for everyone. 

This year we decided to explain a little bit the significance of that day to Hannah.  I say "a little bit" because it can be hard for a 5 year old to really wrap her mind around what happened.  And it was.  When I explained to her that some really bad people did a really bad thing, her first question was, "What happened to them for doing a bad thing?  Did they get in trouble?"  It is so precious how black and white it was for her; such a marker of her innocence that she felt that since someone did a bad thing they should get in trouble.  It was hard for her to understand that sometimes no punishment can rectify a wrongdoing.  She didn't understand the sheer number of people that tragedy affected.  She couldn't fully understand the heroism of those who gave up everything to help strangers on that day.  And, like all of us, she did not understand why people would want so badly to hurt someone else.

What Hannah did understand were the tears rolling down my face as I told her about that day.  She hugged me and asked me personal questions...like what I was doing, where her Papa was, what Daddy does when he finds the bad guys.  She understood when I told her how important it is for us to appreciate the goodness we have.  She understood what it meant to honor the sacrifice of so many when she told us that we had to wear red, white, and blue to remember 9/11.  She realized that finding the joy in life and America is the best way to commemorate every sacrifice.  Holding tightly to what you are blessed with is the most wonderful way to honor that day.

Two of our blessings.

Highlights of the week:

• Hannah started her actual homework in school, doing something everyday.  Part of it is practicing new sight words every week...and she already knows all of the sight words she is supposed to know for the MONTH.  Yay!
• Hannah started Girl Scouts!  She is now a Daisy.  And guess who gets to be the troop leader?  Me!  We are so excited.  And you all better get excited for some COOKIES!  (And we will also be selling nuts and magazines--random, I know--this month.  Get ready!)




One of her favorite pastimes. 
She can draw for hours.


• Airy has been talking a lot for a while now but I am always so amazed at how much she can say (mostly because her words came a little later).  She has so many sentences and questions.  Always asking, "What sound?"  "What smell?"  "What this?"  And saying things like, "I sad."  "I scared."  "I hungry."  "I got it."  "I draw."  Now she can actually hold a conversation.  Which can be a good thing...or a bad thing.

  

  We picked up a little Hello Kitty
  at Comic Con!

  



Hannah's fave
super hero!

• This past weekend we went to El Paso Comic Con.  Nice.  It was something I never thought we'd go to.  Ever.  But Josh and I were having a dispute over the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and we were able to settle it with the help of the original black power ranger.  No need to say who won.




Airy and her friend.  Aww...


• We also went to one of Airy's best bud's birthday parties.  The girls were happy to play in the dirt and get sugared up on cookies and cupcakes.  I was happy to spend time with some of my close friends.

Enjoy your week and remember to name your blessings! 

 

Exciting (or not) Adventures in Parenting

So...if you happened to be in the Hobby Lobby of El Paso a couple weeks ago, here is what you might have seen: 

A crazy lady literally threw her stuff down on the nearest endcap and told an employee, "Sorry...I'm leaving these here...got to rush to the restroom."  (Really, who does that?  She could have calmly placed her items on a shelf.)  She picked up her child football style and sprinted from the front of the store to the back.  (Was that necessary?  I mean, couldn't they have simply walked swiftly without creating a scene?)  As they were running, dodging in and out of aisles, her child was yelling, "HURRY!  HURRY!" and she yelled, "HOLD IT!  HOLD IT!"  All....the...way...to the restroom. 

And this crazy lady was ME.  And, yes, everyone was looking at me.  Ah...the adventures of parenting.  (By the way, she almost almost made it.) 

I mention this story because sometimes being a parent can be ridiculous.  But these are the stories you take with you.  Because sometimes ridiculous is just what you need to make you smile. 

Highlights of the week:

• Hannah had Open House/Greet the Teacher night.  It seems kind of early to me but it was nice to see her classroom.  And it's always nice to hear the teacher compliment your child.  :)
• Airy has a new word:  MYSELF.  However she pronounces it "I-self".  Needless to say, this has tested my patience a lot this week.  Especially when it's super hot outside and she insists on buckling herself into her car seat "I-self".  I do love seeing her independence though.  She's our little firecracker.
• I said something at the dinner table that I've never said before, "We do not stab people with our forks."  Please tell me that is normal dinner conversation.

This week has been pretty uneventful...which can be nice.  It's always refreshing to have somewhat of an easy week.  Hopefully you all enjoy refreshing and easy weeks too!



Yes, that is Josh on Hannah's bike.



Relaxing at home.


Josh's adventures in
parenting this week...

And...WE'RE BACK!!!

Okay, okay...so you are probably wondering where we've been for the past few months/almost a year.  We have been busy!  (Remember those Matchbox Cars commercials from the '80s with the guy that would talk super fast?  Please read this next sentence in the same voice...just so you can really get a feel of the whirlwind that has been our busy-ness.)  Josh got orders for us to move, Airy was having some health issues, she had minor heart surgery (she's okay, thank goodness), we went to El Paso to look for a house, Airy got sick, we were packing, we were moving, then it was Christmas, we were unpacking, getting used to a new home and new culture, making friends, super busy with Hannah having only half-days at school, Airy had a birthday, then it was summer, Hannah had cheer camp, we went home, my computer broke, Hannah had acting camp, we were potty training, then my parents came, then getting ready for school to restart...  Whew!  But now we seem to be settling in and I thought, "Maybe people are wondering what is going on with us?"  So we are back.  I am sure you are all jumping and crying with relief and joy.  Josh has come down with deployment orders yet again so I wanted to have this up and going again for him as well.  :)



Hannah's Annual First day Pic.  This year she wants to be a Dancer when she grows up.  (If the chalkboard were bigger it would also say teacher, model, singer, doctor...and everything!)

 Hannah started school again last week.  She is officially a Kindergartener!  (And she is already telling me how excited she is to start First Grade next year.  What?!  We have agreed to get through this year first before we even start thinking about First Grade.)  Seriously, how did this happen?  I mean, wasn't she JUST looking at me with her baby round cheeks, holding my hand to keep her steady while she learned how to walk?  I am not quite sure how I feel about this whole growing up thing but I am quite sure how thankful I am to be a part of it.  So far she loves her teacher, her class, and her friends...basically she just loves school.  Which, of course, is a wonderful thing. 

Airy misses her sister but I think she is happy to have her own Momma time back.  The other day she wanted me to pick Hannah up around noon.  She yelled, "Uh-oh!  Momma, Sissy!"  So maybe she doesn't enjoy our alone time as much as I think.  Okay, I know you are really waiting for some pictures.  Just a few highlights from the week and then it's picture time.

Hannah's highlights from the week:

• On the first day of school, Hannah's teacher told me she is a natural leader.
• Hannah actually has real homework now.  She is really excited for it.  I give it just a couple more years before this love affair ends.

Airy's highlights from the week:

• She has become a potty training master, making it to the potty 99% of the time!  Yay for her!
• Airy can identify her first letter: A. (She can even write it!) She can also identify another letter:  E.  Of course, now every letter is an A or an E.  But at least she knows the difference between letters and random lines and scribblings.  Big deal to me.  :)



Nothing like a delicious breakfast to start your day!  You can probably guess by the look on her face that Airy is SO not a morning person.

 



We ended the week with a picnic at the park.  Look who has just as much fun at the playground as the girls!