A Challenging Weekend

So, Landin decided to test the boundaries this weekend. The first boundary, he learned his lesson from. On Friday night, he came out to me while I was making dinner and said that he had swallowed some money and that it hurt. I was a little thrown off by it, because I thought we had gotten past that whole scenario with him. I would have expected it from Ashlynn, but not him. So I called the nurses line on the base and asked them what they suggested, which lead us to the ER. The ER took an X-ray and then determined that he needed to go to Children's Hospital in Seattle, where there were specialists for this situation. So Josh took Landin down there, and I took Ashlynn home. Landin ended up being admitted because the specialist had already gone home for the evening. The next morning, Ashlynn and I woke up extra early to go down to the hospital because the procedure to remove the money had been scheduled for 8am. So we got to the hospital, where Daddy and Landin had only had a few hours sleep, and we waited for the procedure. Landin was sedated, and the money got removed safely. Unfortunately, that whole experience was all for a penny. Too bad it wasn't a quarter!!!

On the next day, it was just after naps so that everyone could catch up, I started to smell something funny. I went into the kids' room, and what do I find? Landin is POURING powder on Ashlynn. I was fuming at first...until Ashlynn turned around and I saw what she looked like. I started cracking up. I couldn't help it. I was trying to scold Landin, but I just couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. Could you have helped it after seeing this face?

Busy Busy Day

On the same day that we went and cut down our Christmas Tree, we also went and visited Santa. So cute! It's the same cute little Santa from 2 years ago when it was Landin's first Santa picture. Ashlynn did really well until the end, then she started to cry.

After visiting with Santa, we went to Chuck E Cheese for some dinner and fun. Landin had a blast playing with Daddy, and Ashlynn loved just climbinb up the stairs to the little kiddo area.

It didn't take too long after getting home for Ashlynn to fall asleep, but before we knew it, Landin had also fallen asleep, cuddled up with Daddy. So cute...

Cutting Our Tree

We took a drive up to the base in Jim Creek to cut down, for the first time, our Christmas Tree. It took us a while to find the right one. We were cold and starting to get wet from climbing through the trees and bushes. But finally, we did find it, the perfect tree, and it looks great here at our house!!!

Hurricane Ridge

While we were in Port Angeles, we took a drive up to the top of one of the mountains to get a look at some real snow and let the kids play. It was a blast!!! Landin was SOAKING wet by the end of it because he wanted to roll around in the snow.

Port Angeles

While we had family in town for Thanksgiving, we took an overnight trip to Port Angeles. It was GORGEOUS!!!

The Beginnings of Black Friday

So you know how all those good deals come out for Black Friday. Well, one particular store decided to start their deals a little early. This is how everyone felt after a big Thanksgiving dinner...

Daddy's New Toy...

A few years ago, I made a promise to Josh that he could get a different sports car, if he sold his '99 Camaro SS (which he LOVED). Up until now, it just hadn't worked out to fulfill that promise. During this deployment, we were doing our homework on fulfilling that promise, and Josh changed his mind from another sports car to a motorcycle. So, surprise....here you go Baby!!!

Mission Accomplished!!!

Halloween Adventures

Our Halloween was awesome! We started out at the church carnival and played a bunch of fun games and then came back to Grandma's for the traditional Trick or Treating. Landin was Optimus Prime from Transformers and Ashlynn was a Lady/Love bug (can't quite make up my mind which one it is). They both looked adorable! Landin was so excited to go and get candy and Ashlynn of course could care less. She camped out in the stroller and was passed out by the time we got to house number 5 (it had been a very long day for her) lollipop in hand. Landin got a ton of sweets and made a few people laugh. He would tell us to not come to the door with him, for us to "stay here... I'm going to do it by myself". Mr Independent!!! The first of the best laughs, was at a house that had several older kids in the front yard wearing masks and trying to scare the older children. Freddie Kruger came up to Landin trying to scare him to which Landin reacted saying "Stop scaring me right now or I'm going to spank you!". It was hilarious! The second of the good laughs, was when he went to a door, collected his candy and the gentleman told him to not get a tummy ache from all the candy. Landin comes back to us waiting on the sidewalk holding his tummy saying "I have a tummy ache and it's driving me nuts"!!! So funny! It was a good night!

Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin and had a blast! Landin loved the bounce houses and riding the pony and Ashlynn just loved being held by Daddy. We couldn't do much other than that because it was so muddy, but it was still a fun time and we got a great pumpkin (too bad we didn't' carve it)!!!

Ashlynn's Walking...and Other Progress

So she is a little behind Landin's milestone of walking, but that's okay because she waited until daddy came home to show her new talent! She had been attempting to make the steps, but wasn't quite confident enough and I didn't want to push her. Sure enough, the day after Josh got home, she starts walking!!! She is almost a pro now... still a few tumbles and a little shakiness every now and then (and even a black eye from a failed attempt), but she's doing it! Such a big girl... I can't believe it, but I am so happy that she waited for Josh to come home!

Also, she got her first hair cut! No longer bangs hanging in the face, she is now a super cute little girl!!!

Daddy is Finally Home

Josh left Texas on January 11, 2009 to leave for schooling and training in preparation for this deployment. The kids, Mimi (Josh's mom) and myself flew out to see him for a weekend in March in which he left the day we did. So after leaving home, and being away for the better part of the year, we are happy to say that DADDY IS BACK HOME!!! Josh returned home on Wednesday, October 28, 2009, sooner than what was originally expected, but a VERY welcome early homecoming!!! He flew from his location overseas to Washington DC where he was supposed to then fly to San Diego then Denver then Dallas. Thankfully, he found a ticket agent that was willing to help him get home sooner, so he was able to fly straight from DC to Dallas. The kids and I tied yellow ribbons in the front yard, and hung the banner that we had made a few days before reading "Welcome Home Daddy". We even wrote on "the big truck" that same phrase. It was a frantic morning...very very hectic, but we all got ready and went to pick him up at the airport. Landin was so excited for him to come home and Ashlynn hesitated only for a few minutes and then was perfectly content in Josh's arms. It was an awesome and exciting day. The countdown is over, thank goodness, and Josh is home for a good long while now!!

Welcome Home Daddy, we love you and have missed you like crazy!!!

Ashlynn's Birthday - The Big 1!!!!

Yesterday was Ashlynn's first birthday, and we did our best to make it special despite keeping it low key until Daddy comes home. The day didn't exactly start the way that a birthday should, because we went to the doctor for her 12-month wellness check and got some shots...but she was okay as soon as she got her bottle. She checked out at 30inches and 25.10lbs. She is still solidly holding her spot in the 90% for height and weight. She is cruising easily along furniture and she's trying to build up the confidence to take a step on her own, but she's not quite there yet. I'm hoping she holds off until Daddy comes home. So we saw the doctor, had a short nap in the car and then the fun began...a few hours later anyway. We got a delivery of beautiful flowers from Daddy (they are absolutely gorgeous!). We had balloons for decorations, hotdogs, mac & cheese, olives and tomatoes for dinner (kid finger foods) and then came the cupcake. We sang, with Daddy on Skype, and bubby (Landin) helped blow out the candle...then came the true fun. The cupcake became a smash cake. It as fun watching her, and I'm so glad that Josh got to see it as well. After she had her fun with the cupcake, she got a bath (equipped with Dawn dish soap!!!), and then we got to open presents. Landin was so funny because he just wanted to open the presents, and that's really what ended up happening because Ashlynn was so tired...she wasn't so much into the ripping of the paper. Ashlynn got some very fun presents, perfect for the stages that are to come.

We can't believe that she's 1 already. She is such a VERY big girl and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her. Happy Birthday little girl...Mommy, Daddy and Bubby love you very much.

Before and After

These speak for themselves!!!

Fun PJ's

I know it's early for these, but they are just too fun that I have to let them wear these pj's!!! They glow in the dark!!!

Parks and Fun

We've been hitting up some parks around here and have been taking some great pictures. Landin loves the park and Ashlynn likes to be in the sun. There's a park attached to the elementary school a few blocks away that we walk to that's really fun and has a double slide for both the kids. Then there's another park that is a little further, but it's a nice wagon ride away. That park has ducks that we go and feed. Unfortunately I haven't taken pictures of the feedings, but it's quite entertaining watching Landin let the ducks eat from his fingers, and Ashlynn just watches and squeals in amazement.

Ringling Bros Circus

So one thing that I haven't posted pictures of that we've done is the circus. I've just been lame and haven't downloaded the pictures. Auntie and I took Landin to the circus, along with our friend Kaisa and her son Colten. We took the train to Dallas, down to the American Airline Center. Landin LOVED the train! It was so funny how excited he was for us to get on a train. When we got there, we had to wait for a little bit for it to open. But finally, when it did open we went down to the floor to walk around the circles and see the different clowns and such. Landin liked watching the clowns and the elephant painting. When it was time for us to go take our seats, we went and bought fun souvenirs for the kids and went to sit. The show was FABULOUS!!! It's the best circus show that I've ever seen and it really did grab the kids' attention. The songs were fun, the clowns were hilarious and the animals were amazing! It was a way awesome trip!!!