Spanish

We are planning on going to Guatemala for Christmas... to spend it with Silvia's family. I don't speak Spanish very fluently but I know basics. I thought it would be nice if the kids also knew some basics... so every once in a while I practice some words and phrases with them... I'm hoping some of it will stick by December! I took a video of Jake today during our practice. Every time I asked him to say something he always made me say it first. At one point he fell off the couch and now he keeps asking me to replay the video for him and he cracks up at that part. LOL, it was kind of unexpected. And apparently I am teaching them incorrect Spanish... I guess that's what happens when a beginner tries to teach others! I was saying "me llama" when it should be "me llamo". Oh well! At least we are trying!

And then he wanted me to take silly pictures of him... so here are a couple!

Daddy's birthday and more

Happy Birthday to Luis... on Friday. But we celebrated on Saturday night since he was leaving on Monday. He of course requested snowball cake, which is an angel food cake/coolwhip/pineapple/mandarin orange cake. He got a few items earlier in the month that I considered to be for his birthday so he didn't think he was getting anything. I surprised him with a dvd "Thou Shalt Laugh 5". It's a series of Christian stand up comedians. We have all the other ones. We love stand up comedy but it's hard to find clean comedians. So we love this series. He took it with him to training... he should get some good laughs out of that. Speaking of that... he left for training after work on Monday. He went to Kansas City for a health event on Tuesday and is currently driving to Fort Worth, TX where he will stay tonight and tomorrow night at a Navy base lodge... a nice military perk. He is going to work remotely to get a few more hours in at Boeing. Then on Thursday morning he will report to Fort Sam Houston for training. I've been sick so yesterday, my first day without him, was a pretty lazy day. Frozen pizza and movie... early to bed. I miss him but I'm feeling optimistic... I sent him away with a package/envelope to open every Sunday while he is away. Some little things that I hope makes him feel special!

 

Today Jackson had a dentist appointment to fill 2 cavities and they used oral sedation... we went in at 7:45am and they gave him some meds to drink. After an hour they took him back and went to work. The dentist said he was GREAT! No fussing or wiggling! Thank goodness for sedation! The main reason we went that route is because of his fear... and not being still enough to do more than a check. And we just wanted to give him a good experience at the dentist to start building good, non-frightening memories of the dentist! He won't remember any details about the filling at this visit! Mission accomplished!

 

And this picture below was just cute. Jake wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night and just wants to be with me. I was sick and not feeling well this night and so I told him he really had to go to bed. He was so sad but told me that he didn't want to get in bed... he wanted to sleep on the floor. Cool with me! As long as I got to go back to bed! I put his pillow on the floor and covered him up! He fell right to sleep and stayed that way! I took this pic in the morning! Cute!

The start of a humbling journey...

I am beginning to realize that being involved with the military is going to be a very humbling experience. Lately I have a renewed feeling that the decision for Luis to join the Army reserves was the right decision for us... interesting considering he is leaving tomorrow for 3 months of training in San Antonio. I should be feeling the opposite!!! I am definitely not looking forward to being apart... but I can see what this is doing for Luis. When he talks about what he is learning so far in drill and how it feels to be a part of this... it just feels right. I am proud of his commitment and I can honestly say that he is doing this for the right reason. After his first weekend of drill he told me some things the other reservists said... how they were surprised he wasn't there for the money, etc. He is there because he wants to serve the country and be ready if he's called upon. I know there are others like him, but apparently a lot of them kind of sit around during drill. It is so cute to see Luis so anxious to learn. I know he will go far! A few humbling experiences... for me to hear about and even more so for Luis to experience, I'm sure. During his first weekend at drill a group of them (in uniform) went out to lunch. After they ordered a worker let them know that someone in the restaurant had paid for all the soldiers' meals. Then, during drill this weekend, a military support organization came to his unit and did a presentation and brought with them donated items from their warehouse, food, clothes, shoes, school supplies, etc. The soldiers went through and got some things. Luis said that when he said thank you to a worker she said something along the lines of, "No, thank you for serving." The donations are a sign of gratitude for the soldiers. I get emotional just hearing things like that because up til now I was on the other end of it... now we are part of it. It's just great to see how much support the soldiers and their families have. The organization is looking for volunteers and I am hoping I can help. So, I am on my own for a bit... hoping I can stay positive during our separation. I am setting goals and there is a lot I want to get done while Luis is gone... I think staying productive is going to be important. My neighbor's husband is deployed right now, and we are good friends, so it's nice to be around people who know what you're going through... and everyone at church is very supportive. It helps to know Luis won't be anywhere dangerous and that he will be having fun learning a lot. But... if anyone wants to come visit while he's gone... that would be awesome ;)

Hilarious midnight behavior

Last night we were up late watching a movie. Jackson woke up and was very disoriented. I wish I had a camera. He came out of his room, stumbling all around. We told him to go potty and then back to bed. I got up to help direct him to the bathroom... but before I could get to him he found his own potty... the bathroom trashcan. It was hilarious. By the time I got to him he was mid-stream... so I couldn't move him without making a mess... I was just cracking up and let him finish peeing in the trash can!!!

Jake needs structure

I love being home with Jake during the day... but I feel like he has become really needy lately! I think I hear "Mom" about 10,000 times a day. He pretty much starts every sentence with "Mom". That sounds like an exaggeration but it doesn't feel like one to me. I posted the video so you could see... The video is less than 2 minutes and I counted 11 times that he said "Mom". Here's an example... I was doing the dishes yesterday and I told him that I was doing them and couldn't play with him right now... and I explained that it is hard for me to hear him with the water running... So as I was doing the dishes I could hear him playing with his toys and talking to me the whole time... He would get kind of frustrated though, when I didn't respond to him. So I told him that I hear him talking but don't know what he's saying. He said "Just say yes" I didn't get it at first but then I realized he just wanted to know I was listening! He wanted me to say yes, uh-huh, yeah... etc... just to know I was there! It was very sweet. So he rambled on, voice drowned out by the running water, and I would say the occasional "yeah?!?!?" and he played on, content and happy!

So........ all of this "Mom"-ing has led me to think he needs more structure. Jackson and I had a nice schedule and I think it's time for Jake and I to get on a schedule. So I made one up and told Jake about it and he was so excited to have his own schedule! Plus, it will help me be more consistent with his school time. I've been really lazy about school time with Jake, and he needs to keep up with his smart big brother!

My Soldier

Luis had his first Army drill last week. It usually will be one Saturday and Sunday a month, but they skipped December so he had to go Thursday thru Sunday. He comes home every night... the Army unit is only about 30 minutes away in south St. Louis. After that weekend and the week that followed... we were so ready for this past weekend, where we could all actually relax! Luis is such a cute soldier! :) So handsome in his uniform! We had plans for him to go to BOLC which is essentially basic training for officers... I think... in July. It is 11 weeks! But... we decided it just works best for everyone's schedules if he does it in March. So he will be reporting to Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio on Feb 27th. So we are going to celebrate his birthday (Feb 28) early this year... since he gets to spend it with the Army now. I'm going to miss him so much!!!