MIA

Sorry we have been MIA all week. This has been one of the most challenging weeks for us. Aaron has been doing a lot of sneaky things lately. This week he started peeing anywhere but the potty. I caught him behind the chair in Lauren's room and he did it on the playground at school. We have changed gears a little to try to get through this and it seems to be working. We have focused on all the positive stuff and lots of praise, rewards and special time with Mommy when Lauren is napping. We have not had an incident since Thursday, so everyone cross their fingers.




We had a great time at the zoo Friday morning with some of Aaron's friends. His new favorite area in the zoo is the lizards, frogs and turtles. He keeps asking to see the chameleon.




On Friday night we went to a friend's house for dinner. Dinner time is one of the hardest times when Kyle is gone. Sharing it with other parents and kids is really uplifting and so much fun. We had a great time. So thanks for the great food and great friends!




Saturday we went to a birthday party and had a great time. They had this guy there that made the most amazing balloons. Aaron saw one of his friends getting a race car that looked like Lightning McQueen, so he wanted one like The King. The boys had so much fun racing around all afternoon. He also had fun bouncing in the bounce house, hitting the pinata and seeing his friend Jayda! We are so glad that they are back.

Lauren is finally getting some more teeth. I am glad to see the top front teeth coming in. But I will truly miss that toothless grin. She is saying lots of words now. Her favorite right now is saying "Mine.Mine.Mine." well clutching something to her chest. I can't imagine where she learned that from!

The Aftermath of Valentine's Day

On Thursday, Aaron had a Valentine's Day Party at school. They had quesadillas, beans and rice. When I picked him up the teacher handed me his plate untouched. Big surprise. But he had managed to eat a cookie, cupcake and a cup of punch. He also had a big bag of valentines.

When we got home, we opened up the bag to find lots of candy. Aaron really wanted to try one in particular that I did not want him to have, but it was from a friend. So Aaron had his first experience with licking and dipping. It was one of those packets that you lick the stick and then dip it into the colored sugar. Aaron thought it was the greatest thing. It was pretty funny seeing him eat it.

Here is the after picture.

Happy Anniversary Kyle!

I know this is a day late for Kyle, he is on the other side of the international dateline, but Happy Anniversary.

It has been 12 years and one week since you proposed and 12 years since we got married. Every year just gets better and I look forward to all the years to come. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband, a great Dad and my best friend. We miss you and can't wait for you to come home.

I took myself and the kids out to Chili's tonight. I ordered a steak and had dessert. The kids did great. I was a little nervous about taking them out by myself. The only hard part was when Aaron had to go potty and I had take the whole crew to the bathroom. I was worried the waitress would think I was trying to skip out on the bill.

We've come a long way!

Hair Cuts and Valentine's

Aaron really needed a haircut. But I really like that it is growing out. So this time I used the longest blade on the clippers and the scissors and away we went. He did really good this time and I think I did a pretty decent job. At least it saved us $20.

Before

After

Aaron really enjoyed making Valentine's for everyone this year. He was really into it and picked everyone he wanted to make one for. He made one for one of his friend's mom and wanted to use letters on it. So I asked him what he wanted to say and he said "I like your hair." So we did.

We celebrated with having our friends Kristin, Kaia and Layla came over. The kids played, we ordered pizza and ate cupcakes and cookies. Not a bad way to celebrate.

The kids doing "cheers" with their cupcakes.

The Streaker

First off, be glad that I do not have any pictures to go with this story. This will be the story that is told to Aaron over and over again. He will hate me as a teenager for telling this.

We went to McDonald's for supper tonight. This has become a weekly ritual since Kyle has been gone. We pick a night when I need a little rest from the chaos of dinnertime. We had a nice supper and off went Aaron to play. He was up high in the play thing, playing inside a little fire engine. I could not see him, but every few minutes I would yell up to him and he would yell back that he was fine. This should have been my first clue that something was not right, he was staying still.

After a little while., my phone rings. Kristin can testify to the fact that all was normal for about 2 minutes and then I hear Aaron talking and I turned around. The only thing left on him was a button down shirt that he had tried to get off, but was still hanging on his neck. No clothes to be seen.

For whatever reason, McDonald's was so crowded tonight, we had to share a table until one opened up. All those people got way more than they bargained for.

I fixed his shirt and then I sent Aaron up to get his clothes because I could not crawl up there with Lauren. Though at that point, I would have liked to crawl up there and hide! The first trip he came down with pants and one sock. SOoI stuck those on him and sent him back up for the rest.

I admit I laughed, a lot. Probably not the best way to express to him that he should not be doing this. But this is SO out of character for Aaron. I asked him what he was doing up there. His first response was that he wanted to get sprayed with the fire engine hose. The hose is on top and had no water, so I asked again. He replied "Because nobody could see me." This has been the reoccurring theme over the last week. If I can't see him, then in his mind it is OK to do naughty things. I thought I had gotten a handle on it today, but apparently I was mistaken.

We will not be going to McDonald's anytime soon.

Crazy times

So the weather has been crazy here this past weekend. It has been pouring and the backyard has turned into a giant puddle. But today has been so windy. Then tonight after we ate dinner, it started to hail. It was just pea size and only lasted a few minutes. But Aaron was so excited. He wanted to go out and play in it. He kept trying to reach out the door and grab some to eat. I did catch some and show the kids. Weird weather.

We are all finally feeling better. We enjoyed a Valentine's Day Party with our fab friends. The kids were so cute sitting in a big circle as we passed out valentine's and goodies. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon with some of the wives from the ship. Today we went to a little birthday party/play date and had lots of fun.

Here are some pictures of our time spent indoors playing blocks.

Random Stuff

The kids have been pretty sick the last couple of days, so we have not been up to much around here. Aaron had to stay home from school yesterday, so hopefully tomorrow he can go. Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. Enjoy.