Back on track

I'm sorry I've been so lame in updating. The truth is, I've been busy going crazy. To be completely honest, I'm not sure I could remember everything that has happened in the last 6 months to catch you all up. The long and short of it is, that we are now moved in, not settled necessarily, but in, and busy organizing. We've been busy catching up with family after being out of the country for 3 years, upgrading certain aspect of our new house. Trying to get the boys assimilated, Deciding where we want everything to go. Planning for the future. We are expecting on Feb 20th. We hope it's a girl. But it has created more than a few barriers to unpacking and settling in for me. Now it's time to start getting ready for school, buy furniture, and organizing. We are half way through the storage room, now we have the craft/office room, and the nursery left to do. No problem. ;) We got some planting dne this weekend, and Louis did a fabulous job of building up our firepit. It looks incredible. I promise pictures will follow once I get organized enough to take them and downliad them. :)

tid-bits, and quotes

Just a few tid-bits from the last several weeks...

-We discovered Liam DOES NOT like chocolate milk! Weird, and yet one other thing that sets him far apart from Dar. In fact, he seems to prefer water over regular milk lately as well.

-Liam is, fortunately, doing well in nursery now that he is 'official'.

-Dar has been very spirtual lately. He's very pleased with the fact that he memorized 'Stars were Gleaming' for Primary, and goes around singing it most days. It has replaced popcorn popping as his favorite. He also goes off and prays on his own...A LOT! very sweet and usually redundant things, but I'm ok with that for now. I'll take what I can get.

-My parents sent the boys pillow pets for Christmas, they were HUGE hits. Liam has to drag his around now as well as his blankey. Dar loves his as well. It has replaced his 'magic pillow'. Which was a pillow I've had since my childhood. Most of it's fluff has been strewn across the eastern US over my childhood.

Dar Quotes:

"One snuggly chap, ready for bed!"
"Can someone wrangle Liam, please!"

The 5 ups

The five ups...growing, throwing, gobbling, setting, and gearing...up.

Liam is growing up so fast. So much fun. Well, he'll be a LOT more fun once these last four teeth finally break through. However, he is fun to watch. He isn't talking much yet, but he doesn't seem to have many problems making himself understood. This particular day, he decided to rearrange the furniture. He was dragging and reseting the chairs in the dining area constantly for over a half an hour...

Dar's school was having a Turkey day tea party and wanted snacks from the parents. I decided to go a creative healthy route...this is what I decided to do. Thank you family fun!

Dar's creative skills put to work. :)

Thanksgiving day was a busy one. This was the first year that we did a complete feast on our own. For the past 8 years we've always done a potluck with at least one other family, sometimes more. This year, since Louis is effectively the boss of the office, we had all of his sailors over. 6 total. Theo was the first to get here...so this is what the boys went and did...

We have experienced our first brain injury of all of our children. Dar suffered a concussion after playing roughly with his friends on his upper bunk bed (a major no-no in this house) and falling backwards and landing on his forehead just over his left temple...on our incredibly hard industrial tile floors. This is a picture of the bruise left behind a day or two later. This happened two weekends ago now, and he still has a bruise and a bump. Poor kid. Lesson learned I HOPE!

Liam is a lounger, not a snuggler. Dar loves to snuggle with Louis and I, but Liam only snuggles with me, usually in an upright position, rarely laying down. But he seems to not mind lounging with his sippy and some rocking backyardigans on the TV. Oh, and we can't forget the bowl of snacks that he's already emptied either.

All in all, life is good. We are decorated for Christmas, and I play Christmas music more which requires the TV to be off. Thankfully. The boys are happy, and play well together for the most part. Liam loves holding big brothers hand when we go out...mommy loves it too. :) Dar is enjoying school. Louis is not hating work at least. I am busy with everything else.

We have received news that we will be stationed in Bangor, WA as our next duty station. YAY! We are so excited to be going back home. We have decided that we will buy a house on the mainland in Edmonds, and Louis will take the ferry to work everyday. This enables us to be closer to family, all of our good, and much missed friends back in the seattle area, and stores. After being so far disconnected from everything over here. I don't wish to have a long drive to get to anywhere. I'm wanting convenience. I've been busy house hunting, and getting things lined up for Dar to be enrolled in first grade fall of 2011. (I seriously could do a back flip over that discovery) And getting in gear to de-junk, pack-up, settle down, and expand our family. We hope to be there for a little while. If all else fails, it will be where we retire from the Navy. This will be a big upcoming year for us, and we are excited to get it started.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year. We will see you soon.

Little Liam

Sorry, our camera is on the fritz again. For some reason it's having trouble focusing. Yesterday, I made lunch for the boys, and Dar didn't want to close out his Lego Harry Potter game because he hadn't finished the level and nothing would save, but he couldn't figure it out. So I got them eating, finished the level for him. As I'm turning it off I look over and this is what I found. I knew he was tired, and I didn't realize until I saw him that he had been unusually quiet. But this is a first. This is what happens when he wakes up at 6 four mornings in a row with a lot of interruptions. We don't know if it's his last 4 teeth to come in for a while, growth spurt, or what...but man! As soon as my heart rate drops for my first sleep cycle, he starts crying. It's pretty much rough for the rest of the night. So if HE'S feeling this tired...imagine how tired I was. (I took a nap too as soon as I sent Dar to school)
Friday was the Father sons camp out. Dar was so stoked. The weather is chilly enough so they wouldn't swelter, and warm enough during the day so they weren't freezing. It was perfect. I of course was packing them up while Louis was at work. So I started hauling things into the entryway, so they are ready to go. (I knew they would be leaving during Liam's nap time, and I didn't want Louis hauling everything and being noisy from our bedroompast his) Anyway, I was so impressed with how free I was to do anything I needed to because Liam was COMPLETELY occupied. Talking and singing to himself, and generally lounging on the bedding in my kitchen. :) It was hilarious. I tried to take pictures of him several times, but he caught me because it was taking forever with the focus issues on our camera. I finally got a good enough one.

First visit from the tooth fairy

Dar lost his first tooth! Three days ago he woke up and told me he broke his tooth. I'm thinking he chipped, it. So I investigate and say, no you didn't it's fine. But he says it's loose. So, as it dawns on me, I explain he's going to loose it. He has friends who have lost teeth and he knows that it is so his adult teeth can come in. He consequently gets excited, asking all sorts of questions. "will I be an adult when all my new teeth come in?" etc... Then he eats lunch, and starts crying because he's biting too hard. It starts to bleed. And every meal for the next two days is a huge ordeal. We've told him that it will probably be 2 weeks before it comes out, so he needs to learn to chew more carefully so he doesn't hurt it. Yesterday morning he wakes up and says, Mom look at this, I can flick my tooth. He consequently flicks his loose tooth with his upper teeth. It was actually pretty funny. But I was definately surprised that it was that loose that quick. Ok, so I guess we have to revise that 2 weeks deadline. I tell him it will probably be out by Sunday. He gets pretty excited about that. 2 hours later, he's eating lunch, I'm in the kitchen, getting lunch ready for Li and he screams...MOM My Tooth just came out! Sure enough...He was stoked the rest of the day about the tooth fairy's inevitable visit last night. And sure enough. When he woke up there was a silver dollar in the cup where his tooth was, and the tooth in a container for him to keep. (The silver dollar is exchangable for 2 dollars that he can spend at his little hearts content.) And so it begins...my little boy isn't so little any more.

While Dar's teeth are falling out, Liam is just getting the rest of his in. He has 4 more left, and we are done for a little while. Although, I haven't checked this morning. Last night I think might have brought one more through.

Were did we get these??

Yesterday, I asked Dar to get dressed before he went to play at a friends house. So he goes into his bedroom and comes out with pants on...I look at him and he's wearing capris. "Where did these come from? You don't own any capris." Dar, "They were on my table, I don't know I just put them on." Me, "well, you don't own any capris...Did Grammy send you these?" Doubt it. "Did school get your clothes mixed up with one of the girls in your class?" Check the back pack...No. I check, and they fit him great, they just stop right below his knees. What the heck? "Well, ok Dar take them off and let me look at them." He obediently takes them off, and I look at the tag. 18 months. I bust up laughing. "These are Liam's pants. Remember when he took his pants off in your room last nigth? I bet Dad just threw them on your table when you two picked up your room before bed." Dar busts up too. It was a great laugh, and absolutely hilarious. Finally I get him in his own proper pair of pants. The sad part is, this has happened before, but not with pants, with a blue camo shirt. Dar put it on and it barely reached his belly button. I was surprised he was even able to get it on. I guess I should have taken a picture. My big boy trying to shrink back to my baby. :)

Too cute to spook! and Party time!

After we got back from doing our trick-or-treating, the boys took up candy duty while Louis and I made dinner. They LOVED this. However, it was funny, Liam was initially in the elmo chair, but he wanted Dar's chair. So he gets up, grabs some candy out of the cauldron, throws it in the hallway, and when Dar goes to get it, he steals his chair. Hilariously classic. He may not be able to talk yet, but he is a cunningly intelligent kiddo. They played that game most of the night.

He WOULD NOT wear that little devil costume of Dars. Oh well, he was cumfy, and didn't complain. Not to mention his entertainment...one for each hand.

We go all the way to Hawaii and bring back the stormtrooper gun because they didn't have it here. And what's in the store the day after we get back...yep you guessed it. That stinkin' gun. Grrr. That is always the way it works here.

Liam, being sneeky and playing with Louis' blackberry. Surprisingly enough he some how managed to set an alarm...and Louis had it password locked. Amazing what kids can do with less than 30 seconds on today's technology.

CSO and her Hubby Jim. Louis REALLY wanted to see her play that accordian. He thinks she was waiting for everyone to get a little more drunk, or herself, beforehand. Sadly we left before that happened. So we haven't the slightest idea if she ever played or not. :(

The Ladies

Cowboy and indian. Boy am I glad we decided to go with can-can girl.

Some of the males

Most of the males

Louis & Capt Owen alas...the leader of this base

Command Master Chief...a.k.a. Alice

The lawyer couldn't resist being the Outlaw for halloween. :)