Family Pics

Yesterday afternoon we went and had our pictures taken. Oh my gosh. That is very exhausting with a 2yr old. Mike was good for about the fist three minutes. Then, Joe and I were chasing him around like chickens with our heads cut off! These are just a couple that the photographer posted on her blog.

The Griswalds'

Today we finished getting our Christmas lights up. That's right, I said Christmas lights. Joe was out in full "Clark Griswald" mode. At one point I went outside because I was sure I heard the ladder on the roof. He was doing all kinds of unsafe things, but he made it through without incident and the house looks great. I think our neighbors think we're nuts, but hey! We travel so much during the holidays we have to decorate early in order to make all the work worth it! Our next door neighbor is just shy of 9 months pregnant and her husband is deployed. I think Joe is doing her house next weekend, so by then we won't be the only crazy people on the block! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVERYONE!

Marine Corps Ball 2008

Last night was HMH-461's Ball. It was at the Hilton in Wilmington. We had a great time. Hannah watched the boys for us. Joe was the commander of troops. I took a video so hopefully I'll be able to get that posted later on today. The group photo is of the flight line shop. Those are the guys that work for Joe. They are a rowdy bunch that's for sure!

Henry's Stats

Henry went to the dr this week. He's growing fast! He weighs 13.8lbs and is 24 inches tall. Everyone will be glad to know that his head circumference is in the normal range(for now). So he's gained 2 1/2lbs and grown 2 inches since his visit last month. Today he has come very close to rolling over. We will keep you posted! Mike has become quite the little helper. When he hears Henry crying he tells us to give him a bottle. This morning, he just got the bottle himself ane popped into Henry's mouth. It was pretty funny.

Hanging Around

Joe has been working some long and late hours, so he hasn't been able to see the kids very much. Finally on Saturday we all got ot hang out at home with nothing to do! And as it turns out, that is our favorite thing to do!

Halloween!

This year Mike was Spiderman for Halloween. He thought it was very cool, but didin't wear the mask b/c it "tickled". We went to the Halloween party at the squadron and then over to the Snyder's house. All the kids were dressed up except for Henry, but he was still very festive in his glow in the dark shirt.

Dad's Visit....

Here are some pictures of my dad's visit. We had a really good time. We just hung out at the house most of Friday and then we went to visit the beach and the base on Saturday. Sunday they headed home, and as usual the visit was too short!

Henry-

Henry is almost 8 weeks now. I can hardly believe it He's already graduated to size 2 diapers. He eats like no child I have ever seen. My Dad was amazed at the time I spent feeding the little piglet. This picture is from my Dad's visit. My Dad, Wendy and my grandma came. I will post more pictures, but I wanted to post this one of Henry since I think it shows how big he's getting.

Mike does not love the dr-

Mike is one of the most social kids I know. He says hi to any and everyone. That is except for the dr. We had to take him to the ER today b/c he had an ear infection. He screamed like he has never screamed before when anyone came near him. He kept saying "no doctors, no doctors." I'm not sure where this fear of drs developed, but oh my gosh. Even when I was in the hospital with Henry, he told every nurse that came in the door, "NO!". He did not want any of them to come near me. So anyway, he came out with every medicine under the sun. That is matched with Henry's medicine for Thrush. He had to go to the dr earlier this week for that. And now after discovering that the drs have left soemthing behind after my C-section, I will be going in to get that taken care of this week. I hope we can narrow these visits down to well baby check ups and be done with the doctors!(wishful thinking!)

Butler

Yesterday we went to watch Butler play at Campbell University. Mike was of course entertainment for everyone. He was cheering and dancing his little heart out. So our little celebrity will be featured on the Butler parents website this week. You can see his photos at www.butlerfootball.org later in the week.
Joe was also a hit at the game. The assistant athletic director asked him to go to the press box where he was interviewed for the radio show. I'll post where you can find it later this week.
It was a good time. Henry slept the whole drive there, through the game and the entire way home. I think that had to be some kind of record. We left at the third quarter. Butler was winning by a landslide, so unless something went seriously wrong, I will assume they won the game.
Wish we could have been there for Lily's b-day party. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY!

1 Month Old

Henry turned a whole month on Friday. He's doing great. He's learning to take the rough stuff from his brother now too. Mike just about smothers him when he tries to kiss him, but so far, Henry is tough and doesn't seem to mind too much!

Sleepy Head

Hank only sleeps in his car seat. It's wierd, but hey if he'll sleep, I'll take it! Today he was sleeping very soundly and was looking very cute. He's getting bigger by the day. His face is a lot fuller now and the clothes we have are starting to fit. I can't wait for him to meet everyone!

Mike's Farm

Yesterday we went to a very cool farm not too far away from our house. It was similar to my mom's operation, but a little bigger and they had a HUGE resturant. Everyone has been telling us how great the food was, but I'll tell you-my mom's is better. Even Joe said so. Mike LOVED it there. They were having an antique tractor show and he was in heaven. Some of the owners were nice enough to let him sit on them. Then we went to see them animals and picked out pumpkins. They runn through the holidays with hayrides that go through christmas lights and live nativity scenes. We will be going back for sure!

Henry, almost two weeks

I really wish these kids would stay babies for a little longer. Henry is only a little over a week old, but already he is changing everyday. He's eating major amounts of food, so I'm guessing he'll be growing out of these newborn clothes any day now. Mike likes being the big brother, but he still loves to sit in the baby's seat to watch tv.

Just Like Dad

Lately Mike has been very interested in everything his Dad is doing. He loves to do push ups with him to get "tough" and when Joe is at work, Mike uses the perfect push up handles just like Dad. His new interest is in Joe's boots. He tries to walk around in them all the time even though they weigh as much as he does. It's very cute.

Weekend in Atlanta

This weekend we went to Atlanta. One of Joe's good friends from college was getting married so we decided to pack up the kids and head over. The drive there was good. The boys were both really well behaved, but the 6 hour drive took us 9 hours. We can't blame the kids for all of the delays. We did get stuck in a traffice jam for about an hour, but all other stops were related to diapers and feeding. The way back was a breeze. We stopped once and that was it. They were both so good, I couldn't have asked for anything more! On Saturday before the wedding we took them to the Aquarium. Mike thought it was the coolest thing and told all of Joe's friends about the fishies. Henry slept the whole time which was great. Then we didn't have to stop Mike's tour to feed or change diapers. The wedding was nice. The reception was at the top floor of the hotel overlooking Atlanta. It was very nice. So, while I thought we were out of our minds trying to take them both on a 6 our drive, it turned out to be a great weekend. Joe is going back to work tomorrow which is sad. We have had so much fun having him home with us. Mike is going to start going to the child development center on base twice a week. I think he will love it. He loves other kids and could stand to have a few lessons in sharing with others! It's kind of hard to teach him when he's at home with me and there isn't anyone for him to share with!

Hank is Here!

Henry Bryan "Hank" Haley was born at 9:49am on September 3rd. He weighed 8.2 lbs and was 21 inches long. We all spent Wednesday and Thursday in the hospital waiting for Melissa to recover from her surgery. Both Mom and baby are doing fine and they are home now. Michael is very protective of his new baby brother and of his hurt mom. He would push the nurses away when they'd come in to treat Melissa. Granny Leturgez got Michael a "I'm a big brother" shirt. Hank looks a lot like Michael did when he was born, but there are slight differences. See for yourself.

The Days Prior to Hank

Melissa's mom and grandma drove down to visit and help with Michael when it was time for Henry to come. It has been a huge help having them here. In the two days before Henry was born, we laughed at Mike while he played in the sprinklers, we let him crawl around on Dad's helicopter, and we all went down to the beach to see the big waves before TS Hanna hit the coast. Melissa's belly reached an all-time record for hugeness. Mike used it to shield himself from the rain! And then it was time for Hank...

Joe is Home!

Well after days of delays Joe finally made it home! He arrived on a bus at New River on August 3rd at about 1am. It was so great to see him! Everyone was super excited to see them all returning. Because of the late hour Mike didn't get to see him until the next morning. They are like two peas in a pod now. They are doing all kinds of manly things like putting together lawn mowers and going to lowes.
The Haley's were here visiting when Joe returned. Unfortunately everyone came down with some kind of stomach virus. Not a great welcome to be at home sick for a few days, but everyone is better now. Carey and the kids were the only people to avoid the illness, although Mike did vomit all over me at one point, but we are still unsure of the reason behind that incident. It was pretty funny though. Carey did happen to snap a picture of that, but iu haven't seen it yet. Now we are just trying to put the house together. In a few more weeks baby #2 will be here. Because of the plague hitting the house, I didn't get too many pictures. I will work on that the next couple of days.

OH MY GOSH!

Well I can tell you this-I severely underestimated the amount of work we would have ahead of us when we started this move! It has been a non stop week of working to get things to NC, out of storage and into the house. Whew! I couldn't have done this without the help of the family. The kids have been helping with Mike 24/7 and Mom and Roger have done all of the hard moving and hanging. They are leaving tomorrow and we are going to MISS them like crazy! Mike likes his new house. Whenever we drive up he claps his hands and says "house, house." He really likes the deck. We bought a pool just like Popo's, so he's having a blast with it. The neighbors just moved in yesterday. They are very nice. They have a 4yr old, a 2 yr old and the wife is pregnant with her third one right now! Everything is coming along nicely. Joe will have plenty to do when he gets home, so he didn't miss out on everything. We are so excited to see him and to have everyone come to visit. Since Joe has our computer and I have been using the family's, I will be without one until he comes home. They will be taking theirs back with them of course! So, if you email I won't get it for while. See you soon!