Daycare

Mike and Henry started daycare this week. They went Mon-Thursday for a few hours to get used to it. I needed at place to take them so I could go to my dr appts now that Joe is gone. The first few days Mike went right in and started playing. Then out of no where I took him and he started sobbing and saying "no, don't go. I berry love you." It was so sad. I felt like the worst parent on the planet. Henry on the other hand cries everyday I take him. His teacher said on Thursday that he finally was down on the floor playing with the other kids. He usually just wants to play in the crib. I think this is a direct result of his bother terrorizing him at home so he is afraid to be on the ground and prefers to be where he feels safe.
They are extremely professional. Each day they make a report card telling what the kids ate, what time, when they had their diaper changed etc. And for Henry they change his diaper every 1/2 hour. That seems a little excessive but I guess that's what they like to do. They even have internet access so I can go and check on them during the day.
The only down side is GERMS! They have only been for a week and Mike already has croup! We spent 4 hours in the emergency room last night. That was after I had already been at the dr that morning and they said they didn't hear anything wrong. Maybe I should get a new dr! :)
So, the first week without Joe has been kind of lonley. Everyday around 5 Mike starts asking where his dad is. So we go on the computer and look at picutres of the helicopter and the ship.
Joe seems like he's doing fine. He says life is a little boring, but I am thinking he could probably use a little of that. They are starting to plan for their mission now so things should be picking up. He flew last night but I haven't heard how it went yet.
That's it for now!

Father's Day

Father's Day this year was an interesting one! Since Joe got orders on Saturday to leave on Monday, we were busy getting things done for his trip. But we did manage to squeeze in a nice lunch at the beach. He actually left today. I hope he comes home soon! We love you!!!!

Home to Indiana!

Allie's B-day Party






Spencer's Mini B-day Party





Darren's Wedding





The Trip



Our trip to Indiana was packed full of activities. We went to a wedding, celebrated three birthdays, visited with everyone and left way too soon. As usual!

8 Months and Counting!

This week we have hit the 8th month mark. While we were at home visiting we were stocked with girl stuff thanks to my mom and Carey. It's so fun to have girl clothes in the house! Now we are busy trying to get the house ready. A surprise baby means lots of rearranging for us! Joe, being the super dad that he is, offered to give up his "Hooray for Joe Room" so we could decorate a room for a girl. Thursday they might schedule the C-section. We are hoping for the first week of August. I will be posting pics of our visit home soon. We had such a great time but as usual we didn't spend as much time with everyone as we would have liked. We are taking suggestions for names. This time we are having trouble!
Top Picks are:

Clair
Margaret(Maggie)
Lola (mostly to torture Joe)
Elizabeth
Grace

It's a Girl!

Finally! We found out today that we are having a girl. So the next visit we will be scheduling the C-section and will be able to tell you exactly when she will be here!We will keep you posted!

Taxi

Mike has learned a new song that they play on Noggin. He surprises me b/c out of nowhere he will sing songs or say things that he has picked up and I had no idea he knew them.



These are the words just in case he's not quite clear-

Taxi, Taxi
Riding in the backseat
Roll the window up
Roll the window down
Put the money through the slot
See ya later
Thanks a lot
Sure beats walkin' cross town

The month of May

I have been so bad about posting anything. So here are the happenings from most of this month! I can't believe it's gone by so fast. We are going to the dr on Wednesday, so hopefully I will be posting news soon. The boys have just moved into a room together tonight for the first time. This should be very interesting! We will see what kind of funny stories come from this!

Mother's Day!

Our picture from the Melting Pot


This year I got a huge surprise for Mother's Day. First, Joe and the kids got me a watch to wear when I work out. Now that I am pregnant, I have to check my heart rate all the time and it's hard to do without a watch! The best part was that Mike was so excited that he and "dad" had gotten me a present. He was clapping and jumping up and down. He notices every time I wear it.
Secondly, Joe had secretly arranged for our neighbor to watch the kids while we went out to dinner in Wilmington. He made plans for a mother's day dinner at the Melting Pot. It came with flowers and a framed picture of the two of us at dinner. It was so nice and he did such a great job keeping the surprise!

Memorial Day Weekend!

The pool is open! Hooray! We went to the pool on base Saturday. Mike had a blast. He played with some other kids and had lots of fun pretending he was a submarine. Henry had fun, but after about an hour we had to leave b/c even with SPF 70, he was getting burned. Only my kids can get a sunburn with SPF 70. Must be that Irish blood. Just not made for sun. Joe has the worst burn I think I have ever seen. He thought going to the beach for the first time without any sunscreen would be ok. He's hurting now! The kids had a great time at the beach on Sunday too. The actual ocean was really cold, but there were puddles left from high tide that were really warm. They both played forever. Henry was a challenge b/c he wanted so badly to eat the sand. We stayed for a record 2 1/2 hours!

Goofing Around

Joe has been off work due to the holiday. As these boys get a little older, the rough housing seems to become more and more constant. Henry, even as small as he is, has been finding his way into the craziness. Sometimes on purpose, and sometimes because he is just caught in the crossfire!

I love these guys!

These two keep me so busy some days I think my head might spin right off! But, I love em!!

Bath Time!

Well, it has started. These two are going to get into more trouble than I ever imagined. I can see it already. Tonight in the bath, Mike was splashing like a maniac. I of course told him to stop, and right after that Henry started laughing. Well then Mike just started putting on a show and Henry kept right on laughing. And that was it. I was out numbered. A small introduction to what the future holds no doubt.

All the things I can do!

Henry has taken off! All of a sudden he can sit up, crawl, and hold his own bottle. He also says "mama" and "dada" discriminately. He's moving right along! In a few days he will be 8 months old. That is really unbelieveable to me!

Videos

Happy Easter!

Today we had a very relaxed Easter. We got up, hunted for eggs and went to church. The church was filled with more kids than I think I have ever seen there before. We got there just in time to get seats in the quiet room. Ironically enough, the quiet room is anything but quiet! I don't think anyone in there heard a word that the priest said. After church we went to McDonalds. Joe gave up fast food for lent and was super excited to eat a big mac!
Mike thought the Easter baskets were great. He looked for eggs for a couple minutes. He thought the Peep's that Joe got in his basket looked yummy, but after he tried them he thought differently and spit them out. Henry got some goodies in his basket too, but he was interested in getting ahold of the wrappers on the floor. We missed being at home with everyone, but it was a great day.

SOD!

Our yard has been the thorn in our new home buying experience. We put seed down last fall only to have it washed away by a tropical storm. Since then it has been a big sandbox. So now that spring has come we decided to put sod in. This has been such a huge job. Joe and two others have been working around the clock to get it all laid by the end of their Easter 96. So far they have logged a solid 20 hours and they aren't done yet. They are working their tail ends off, but the yard is looking great. Mike is having a blast too. He has been hanging out with the guys "helping dad" and in the process getting to have a ton of fun!

What a Week!

The whole clan came down to visit us over their spring break. It was so great. Everyone helped with the kids, mom cooked for us and mom and Roger gave us a lot of help and advice with our yard! I was so sad to see them go, but I think Mike was even more sad than I was. He kept saying he wanted to go with them to their house! We had so much fun. We went to the beach and out to Mike's Farm. The kids played with Mike the whole time. It was such a great time, I can't wait until they come back again.
The icing on the cake was our visit from Matt. He was able to come and eat dinner with us one evening. Mike thought he was the coolest! It was so nice to see him and what better way to show it than to put him to work! Joe roped him into helping us put in a shelf under the tv. As you can see, it was a group effort!

The Guys

Baby News

Today we went to the doctor to find out what we are going to have. Unfortunately the results were inconclusive. The baby was moving like crazy and the cord was in the way. The tech said she thinks it's a girl, but she couldn't be 100%. So we have to wait until the next appt. to try again. That is scheduled for April 28th. We will keep you posted!

Potty Training

Michael has been begging to get some "cars" pullups. So today while we were shopping we bought some. He loved them so much he tried to put two of them on at once. Then he wanted each of us to wear some too:)Hopefully this will help motivate him!