So since it has been a good two months since I last posted - I'll try to keep it brief with some journal entry-type updates and a few pictures.
March
-Busy with the usual: home schooling Kristin, never-ending cleaning, feeding, diaper changing, exercising, grocery shopping, gymnastics etc.
-Very busy working on all of the paperwork for Stanford and the Air Force. Ugh!
-Caleb has his circumcision - and I was a nervous wreck! Everything went smoothly though and he healed quickly (thank you Jesus!). He was waddling around the first day (poor little boy), but then he was off and running around the next day - as if nothing had ever happened!
The night before his surgery...blissfully unaware... ;)
A few minutes before they wheeled him away...still unaware... (poor little boy...)
In the recovery room...he was NOT a happy baby!
-We went to the Riverwalk for the day and walked around, ate at a horrible Mexican restaurant (that claimed it was the very first Mexican Restaurant - blah!) and we played in the fountains by the Tower of the Americas.
Hanging out in the front yard before we left for the Riverwalk
Jason and Caleb
Jason and Caleb
Day at the Riverwalk
-Went to my first dental checkup in almost 4 years...Relieved to find out I only had one root canal/crown and one filling. I was still disappointed, but very thankful that there wasn't more damage (I don't know how many thousands of dollars we spent on my wretched mouth before we moved here from Maryland 4 years ago)!! I don't know how dentists sleep at night (or at least the insurance companies)!!
-We celebrated Katie's 3rd Birthday at Big'z (our favorite burger place) with our friend from medical school and his daughter. Afterward we all came back to our house for some wine and a movie while the kids stayed up late playing with Katie's new toys.
Jason and our little man before we head out for Katie's Birthday
Me and my little cutie-poop!
Katie's 3rd Birthday (cake and presents from us, Grandma Christie and Grandpa Neil, Great Grandma Jackson and Rehanna)
A birthday box from Grandma Capra came in the next day!
-A few days after Katie's birthday, she decided to finally figure out the whole potty training thing! Woohoo!! I was so excited!! We took her to Chuck E Cheese (like we had been promising to do) to celebrate and bought her first undies!! She still wears a pull up at bedtime, but I don't care! I'm relieved for her to be using to toilet!! She was being so stubborn there for a while - I had almost given up hope! She didn't seem to want anything to do with the potty - until we got her this DVD/doll/book (for her birthday) about girls using the potty and she got into it within a day or two! Yay!!
Katie with her potty DVD set (I have the wretched potty song stuck in my head - "Bye bye pee pee and buy buy poop! I've got a brand new potty and I'm going try it too!" Ugh!)
Katie on her potty (thankfully she does her other business on the big potty)
Celebrating Katie being potty-trained at CEC!!
-Kristin, Katie and I made a beignet recipe from the girls' Princess and the Frog cookbook. I didn't think they were as yummy as they looked in the movie (and they definitely didn't look the way they were supposed to look), but Jason really liked them! They were kind of like a doughnut, but not nearly as sweet.
Making beignets
-I started the P90X exercise program (courtesy of my lovely sister-in-law Tish who lent me the DVDs) and I finally got rid of 4 of the 6 lbs I've been struggling to lose! I got bored of it after 5 weeks, so now I've gone back to jogging on the treadmill and going to body combat classes at the gym two times a week. 2 more lbs to go (who knows how long it could take, but I don't really care. I'm close enough to my goal weight, so it doesn't really bother me...too much)! :)
-Kristin lost her 2nd tooth!!
2 teeth down...plenty more to go!
April
-Jason and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary!! My Mom and Dad sent us money for our anniversary, so with that money we got a babysitter and went out for a few hours for drinks and dinner. We tried to go to the Turkish restaurant for Efes beer and appetizers to start the evening (since we got married in Turkey), but the new owners were still waiting for their liquor license! Man! So we left and went to a couple of other places that we had been wanting to go to, but they weren't that great either, so we finally ended up going to our favorite British grill and pub for drinks and the yummiest fish and chips ever! Mmmmm... Speaking of marriage, a couple weeks or so before our anniversary, Kristin and Katie were playing with their princesses and Jason overheard Kristin say, "Do you take this man to be your awful husband?" Hahahahaha!!! When Jason told me, I could not stop laughing!!!!!! How hilarious!!!
Our Edible Arrangement from Jason's Mom and Dad for our Anniversary
- Katie sleeps with Kristin in her bed now and wants nothing to do with her toddler bed...it's time to figure out new sleeping arrangements (I'm too nervous to get a bunk bed, so we may end up getting a twin with a trundle unless I find something better)... I'll wait to buy something when we get to California.
Little cuties...
Random day at the playground
-We dyed eggs and made sugar cookies for Easter the night before, went to Catholic mass Easter morning (since we were invited by some friends of ours), took pictures in a field of Texas bluebonnet flowers, had an Easter basket hunt before our Easter egg hunt. Later that night we went to our church for the praise and worship service and then we went out for dinner at Red Robin. We had a great day! Thank you Jesus for loving us so much (even though we totally don't deserve it!!!) that you died on the cross for our sins! You alone are awesome and worthy of our praise!!!!
Dyeing Easter eggs and frosting sugar cookies
Easter Day pictures
Texas Bluebonnets
Easter basket hunt (the clothes and majority of Easter basket booty was from Grandma Christie and Grandpa Neil - thank you Mommy and Daddy!!!)
Easter Egg Hunt
-Katie started gymnastics...she has been waiting for over a year now and is only just now old enough! She is SO excited about it - she might end up liking it even more than Kristin (if that's even possible)!
Katie's 1st Day of Gymnastics
-On Saturdays (when Jason isn't working), we take the kids to open mat at Kristin's gymnastics gym.
The kids at open mat
-Rachel (my sweet little sister-in-law) went into labor 5 weeks early and delivered a beautiful baby girl - Charlotte Renee Lee 4 lbs 11 oz - on April 8th! She's doing great! Praise God!! Congratulations Rachel and Nate (or as I like to call them - Nachel)!!
Charlie
-On April 9th, we remembered Jason's brother Tony (like we do everyday)...his daily phone calls with the latest family gossip, his crazy sponge bob laugh, his obsession with eating sticks of butter and most of all...his incredible bravery and sacrifice. We miss him so very much, but we look forward to seeing him again! He was an amazing brother and friend and we're all still SO very proud of him. Thank you for all of the wonderful memories Tony!! We love you!! March 14, 1977-April 9, 2008.
Tony in Iraq
A street that was named after Tony at Eglin AFB, FL
Jason remembering his brother and bestest friend
-Jason was out of town for most of the next month in Dallas on another rotation at a hospital up there. He drove down one weekend and we drove up another and he stayed with at Aunt Shelly and Uncle Jim's the last two weekends.
-For no reason at all, my Mom sent money for me to take the kids to build-a-bear and buy them each a stuffed animal (all because she saw a pony and dragon at her mall and thought they were cute). She's such a cute little mommy...and they're such spoiled grandkids :)
The kids at Build-a-Bear
Our visit to Dallas (pay no attention to the crazy smirk in all of my pictures...I'm not sure what that was all about!) :)
Jason and I were putting out some scary dance moves... ;)
Spending time with the cousins!!
Me and my cuties
-More paperwork for Stanford...(gulp!)
May
-Kristin and I finished up her 1st grade school year on May 1st! About an hour after her last test, she said, "We need to find me a workbook to work on to get me ready for 2nd grade!" Is she a cute nerd or what?! ;)
-We celebrated Kristin finishing 1st grade with a tea party graduation/pajama party with my friend Cami and her 3 kiddies. Kristin had been plotting and planning it for weeks!
All done with 1st grade!!! Yay Kristin!!
-Kristin had gymnastics team pictures
Kristin smiled so much for me, that her cheeks hurt by the time the photographer finally started taking his pictures! Whoopsies! Poor little cutie!!
-Even MORE paperwork for both Stanford and Air Force!!! Will it ever end?!?!?! Yikes! We're in the process of waiting on Jason's orders, so we can set up our movers and everything else that goes along with moving - like turning in our base house, making billeting reservations, etc. Ugh!
-If Jason gets his orders on time and everything works out the way it's supposed to, we should be having our household goods picked up around June 20th and into billeting by the 21st where we'll stay until we leave San Antonio July 1st.
-Trying to get the house in order to get ready for our move. Going through everything to find things to throw out, sell or give away. I'm preparing us for our transition to an even smaller house/apartment (if that's even possible)! :)
-Trying as best we can to save up enough money for a deposit and first month's rent on our new place in California! We were cutting it close enough as it was and then I just found out yesterday that Jason's military housing pay won't even kick in until a month after we move from here!!! Eek!!!
-We're considering (once again) trading in our Highlander Hybrid for a minivan...we're going back and forth and back and forth with the idea, but can't seem to make up our minds. Mostly because we know we won't get squat for our trade-in and we'll be in the hole...again... Rrrrrr... When we finally do make up our minds - it'll probably end up being either the '10 Honda Odyssey or the '11 Toyota Sienna. We may wait to see what Honda puts out for their '11 Odyssey (whenever they decide to put it on the market), but I don't know if I can wait that long! I've tried long and hard to avoid The Minivan...but I want something bigger and I don't know if I can handle a large SUV that hogs gas like there's no tomorrow! It's just too difficult to imagine - especially since we've had a hybrid these past 3 years! A minivan is going to be a bad enough transition!
Anyways - enough of my whining! I have a lot I need to be working on, so I need to go!!!! I'll try to get on here at least one more time before we move - which gives me about 6 more weeks!! Based on my long history of being way behind, the odds are stacked against me - but I can always surprise myself! Right???... ;)
May
-Kristin and I finished up her 1st grade school year on May 1st! About an hour after her last test, she said, "We need to find me a workbook to work on to get me ready for 2nd grade!" Is she a cute nerd or what?! ;)
-We celebrated Kristin finishing 1st grade with a tea party graduation/pajama party with my friend Cami and her 3 kiddies. Kristin had been plotting and planning it for weeks!
All done with 1st grade!!! Yay Kristin!!
-Kristin had gymnastics team pictures
Kristin smiled so much for me, that her cheeks hurt by the time the photographer finally started taking his pictures! Whoopsies! Poor little cutie!!
-Even MORE paperwork for both Stanford and Air Force!!! Will it ever end?!?!?! Yikes! We're in the process of waiting on Jason's orders, so we can set up our movers and everything else that goes along with moving - like turning in our base house, making billeting reservations, etc. Ugh!
-If Jason gets his orders on time and everything works out the way it's supposed to, we should be having our household goods picked up around June 20th and into billeting by the 21st where we'll stay until we leave San Antonio July 1st.
-Trying to get the house in order to get ready for our move. Going through everything to find things to throw out, sell or give away. I'm preparing us for our transition to an even smaller house/apartment (if that's even possible)! :)
-Trying as best we can to save up enough money for a deposit and first month's rent on our new place in California! We were cutting it close enough as it was and then I just found out yesterday that Jason's military housing pay won't even kick in until a month after we move from here!!! Eek!!!
-We're considering (once again) trading in our Highlander Hybrid for a minivan...we're going back and forth and back and forth with the idea, but can't seem to make up our minds. Mostly because we know we won't get squat for our trade-in and we'll be in the hole...again... Rrrrrr... When we finally do make up our minds - it'll probably end up being either the '10 Honda Odyssey or the '11 Toyota Sienna. We may wait to see what Honda puts out for their '11 Odyssey (whenever they decide to put it on the market), but I don't know if I can wait that long! I've tried long and hard to avoid The Minivan...but I want something bigger and I don't know if I can handle a large SUV that hogs gas like there's no tomorrow! It's just too difficult to imagine - especially since we've had a hybrid these past 3 years! A minivan is going to be a bad enough transition!
Anyways - enough of my whining! I have a lot I need to be working on, so I need to go!!!! I'll try to get on here at least one more time before we move - which gives me about 6 more weeks!! Based on my long history of being way behind, the odds are stacked against me - but I can always surprise myself! Right???... ;)
