HeckLures' Adventures

"Love" Day cards

2012-02-12T01:00:00.002-09:00

Sometime this past week, the kids and I finally got around to making (yes, homemade) Valentine's Day cards for the kids in Thomas' class. As I've said before, I really do not like those cheap little ones that you separate by the perforated lines and then shove into white envelopes. So, I figured since I'm a stay-at-home mom this year (and I sit around doing nothing while eating Bon-Bons all the time) that I would just make homemade ones instead. HA! Double HA! I'm not the least bit creative. However, I figured we would just go small this year. Keep it simple, right? Well, thanks to a care package from Grannie filled with little V-day craft supplies, I was motivated and energized to do this. Of course the kids were all willing... even Abby jumped at the chance to glue, glue, glue things together!

Here is my awesome assembly crew. I had the hearts already cut out before we began. I think Abby used every glue stick in the container (just because she could), meanwhile Thomas was methodical about pasting all parts of the heart down to the paper.

Yes, Abby is wearing a Halloween shirt.

She could care less what season or holiday it is... if she likes the shirt, she is wearing it. And in her eyes, everything goes with pink pants.

When my assembly crew was done with the first part of the Valentine's Day cards, I set out some stickers (dinos and hearts) and gave them the "scrap" heart papers to decorate for cards that will (hopefully) be mailed soon to loved ones.

Marilyn is the only one sporting some festive gear!

Here is Thomas putting the finishing touches on the V-day cards.

For the finishing touches,

I had him write his name below the word "from" and then I scanned it in the computer.

After cropping it down, I pasted his "signature" onto address label stickers and printed them.

Now, all of his V-day cards to his friends at school will have his signature. I personally thought it was a cute touch. Then all I have to do this weekend is write each friend's name in at the top of each heart card.

And then the final prep for the Valentine's Day party will be to make these yummy marshmallow treats!

The down under view

2012-02-11T15:15:00.000-09:00

Do'in the Potty thing

2012-02-11T15:00:00.001-09:00

As I mentioned about 2 weeks ago, I got serious about potty training Abby. We made sure we had the little potties (one for upstairs and one for downstairs), we had a gazillion pairs of cute little undies, we had Pull-Ups, we had potty training little stories, and we had cupfuls of lollipops as prizes in each bathroom. To start, we used a timer set for every hour and either Mommy or Daddy would sit with her (for what seemed like an eternity) and read books while she contemplated going potty. It was ~~painstakingly long, boring, frustrating~~ all part of the process, right? After a lot of tears, accidents (of course) and unwillingness on Abby's part - I decided that I would ease up on the rigidness of the potty schedule.

When we got dressed in the mornings (the days we didn't have to rush out the door), we put big girl undies on. Sometimes she would sit on the potty, other times she adamantly said no. Either way, we got dressed and went about playing. To my surprise, after just a handful of accidents, Abby started rushing over to me saying, "Pee-Pees" or "Poo-Poo." I quickly caught on that she didn't mean she had an accident, she meant she had to GO! We rushed to the potty, where she insisted on sitting on the big potty (and using the small one to step up/down). Within seconds, or a few short moments, Abby was using the potty. On many occasions too, I'm super happy to report that she has gone Poo-Poo. Even M-W-F when we have to rush out the door to bring Thomas to school and then head to speech therapy, Abby will tell me when we get to speech that she has to go potty. She has just amazed me. Seriously.

I'm wondering if she just didn't want to go potty on my watch but rather when she was ready? It has to be because I've backed off and she has taken off with staying dry, going potty and being quite the big girl!

Friday Night Leftovers (the ear infection edition)

2012-02-10T12:38:00.000-09:00

Hey Friday... there is something about you that never gets old.

My 3 little kiddos have been battling coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and fevers for a few days now. They all seem to be at varying degrees of sick. Nothing seems to really be working so we are heading to the doctors this morning with hopes of some prescription relief. Doctor update... Abby has a double ear infection. Bring on the meds!
The kids & I enjoyed our first playdate + dinner yesterday with a new friend. Hope there are more of those to come.
Anchorage weather has been warm this week... in the high 20s and mid 30s... and I've only been wearing a light fleece jacket. Crazy.
With the "warmer" weather comes melting snow = lots of ice. EVERYWHERE. After I put the kiddos on the car this morning while it was parked inside the garage, I pulled out and then walked around the car to buckle Abby in. As I was rounding the back, I completely did a "feet slip out from under me" move and BIT it big time. Ouch was an understatement! Thank goodness we get free IceMelt because we live in base housing. Needless to say I've been using it like there is no tomorrow.
More than excited and looking forward to Brian coming home later this weekend. I miss my best friend.
Speaking of - whether it is an 8-month deployment or a barely 2-week trip, it is exhausting and tiresome to say the least riding this train solo.
I'm pooped. I do believe I'm going to go lay down for a nap as soon as I publish this post. That is a rarity for sure. The millions of things that should/could/have to get done will just have to wait.

Snow Hike

2012-02-09T07:49:00.002-09:00

If you recalled, last Friday we got a crazy snow storm that left us with approximately 14" of new snow. I tried to be diligent and keep up with the shoveling - before we left the house that day, upon our returns back home, and during nap time. However, I just didn't bother to shovel around Brian's truck. My thinking was it wasn't being used since he is gone and my efforts needed to be on my side of the driveway so I can get in and out easily. That is until I got a citation warning the other day from our Housing Authorities explaining that I needed to shovel the driveway clear of snow/ice per the Tenant handbook. Crap! To me, getting a warning was like getting a speeding ticket. I hate those damn things. Needless to say, I got busy at naptime on Tuesday and got the truck all shoveled out.

I felt like cabin fever was starting to set in the other day so I decided we all needed to go on a snow hike around the neighborhood. As per usual, Thomas was up for it and was decked out in full snow gear. He was ready to climb up, roll in, and throw snow to the cows came home.

And as her usual self, Abby started out excited for the hike; she even decided it was necessary to bring a flashlight. However, she was completely resistant to putting on her snow gear or snow gloves. I guess she was going to take the safe route and only stay on the sidewalk. Figures.

Marilyn got to ride in a kangaroo-like pouch that I rigged up so she could have a front row seat to everything. Actually, I just stuck her in our Baby Bijourn and wrapped one of Daddy's jackets around us both for a little extra warmth. She did look cute and certainly got some looks from passerbyers.

Snow machine tracks

FYI... they are only called "snowmobiles" in the lower 48. I don't know why, it is just that way.

In her usual 2-year old fashion, Abby got upset and shed plenty of tears when she got snow on her gloves (gasp!) and wanted to go home. OHHHHH, my poor princess!

Taking a break

It was a pretty day and a good hike.

And as a added bonus, we all got some much needed sunshine and some natural vitamin D.

Wordless Wednesday - Bedsheets

2012-02-08T21:00:00.000-09:00

Abby decided that this week she wanted SpiderMan to sleep with her Princesses.

Who am I to say no?

TTT

2012-02-06T13:55:00.000-09:00

TTT.
I'm referring to "Tattle Tale Thomas". I realize that this is completely "age & stage" appropriate for a four year old... but my goodness... it is annoying.

So, I realize that children tattle for the same reasons adults do — to exert power, to boost self-esteem, or just to get attention. Pre-K and Kindergartners are notorious tattle-tales — usually about siblings, but also about playmates. I'm sure its because kids can one-up another kid, to gain favor in the eyes of his/her parent. Experts say that tattling also has its positive side (although its really hard to focus on the positive when you hear so much tattling): supposedly it can demonstrate your Pre-K or kindergartner's desire to show you that he understands rules and knows right from wrong and that he also feels secure in the knowledge that he can ask for help when necessary. OK... I guess that is true. So I guess everything has its ups, as well as its downs.

Don't get me wrong, I want Thomas to alert me when someone does something dangerous, but we are still working on differentiating dangerous from annoying. (Is jumping on the bed dangerous, for instance?) In the mean time, I am trying really hard lately to praise Thomas when he comes to me in order to protect Marilyn or Abby - Something like "thank you for looking out for your sister. That will help keep her safe" has been said a time or two from me.

Not only do I want to nip tattling, I also don't want to unjustly punish Abby for her "horrible crime," especially since there is a high chance her offense was exaggerated by Thomas. I'm trying (really, really hard) to refrain from jumping in, with hopes that Thomas will soon understand that some battles are meant for him alone, and that he can be proud of himself when he handles a situation solo. Of course, the other problem is Abby and her 2-year old attitude. Surely you have heard of the Terrible Twos?
I'm currently even trying this tactic - giving Thomas some work to do when he tattles which will hopefully put the burden back on his shoulders. When he comes running to me with news of Abby's "bad" (but not dangerous) doings, for instance, I tell him to draw a picture of the deed and leave it on the table, where I will look at it later. Sometimes he has realized that the time and effort this entails just isn't worth it. If what he wants is my attention, I tell him I'll be happy to listen to anything he wants to tell me about himself — but not about Abby (or Marilyn I'm sure), unless they're in danger, of course.

Meanwhile, as we work through the Tattle-Tale and Terrible Two stage... I just continue to give lots of hugs and kisses, remind myself that this is just a stage (albeit a long one) and that this too will pass.

A prince & his lady

2012-02-05T20:55:00.001-09:00

My house is usually pretty loud. Go figure, there are 3 kids. So as you can imagine, when I was upstairs changing Marilyn and getting somethings straightened up... my Mommy instincts were on high alert when I realized that it was awfully quiet downstairs.

So Marilyn and I headed down to see what was going on (because you know Thomas & Abbigail HAD to be up to something). And just as I had thought... the two of them had decided that it was the perfect time to play dress up. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a great idea. The problem was his costumes (pirate & prince) & her costumes (princess & fairy) were each tucked way back & way high up in each of their closets. Yes, I realize not ideal... but they hadn't really shown an interest yet so that's where they have been hiding. That is until now. Somehow, Thomas was the master mind and got them all down. I'm not asking how just yet.

When I walked into Abby's room, the two of them were trying hard to "dress" each other by straightening and buttoning up the other one. They were a mess. But I had to give them HUGE kudos for trying and having fun. So I helped them each out and then they jumped up on the bed to check themselves out in the dresser mirror. I think they were both super impressed with themselves. Introducing...

... A Prince & his Lady

Cute Baby Bow

2012-02-04T21:05:00.001-09:00

Friday Night Leftovers (the NUKS, more snow & words edition)

2012-02-03T13:37:00.000-09:00

TGIF Peeps. Hope it turns out to be a good weekend for all!

Marilyn is a little stinker... she has learned how to throw her NUK (aka: pacifier) out of the crib. She then follows that slick move with letting out squeals of delight with hopes that someone (aka: Mommy) will open the door, see her gummy smile and pick it up for her. She does this quite often. Unfortunately for me, I have fallen victim to this sneaky move too many times.
Abby has had a really good last two weeks of speech... she has been able to put together a few different sounds to elicit a few recognizable words like - snow, down, pop, hop to name a couple.
Lately, Thomas seems to be word crazy. By that I mean, he wants to know how to spell everything. Some big words. Some small words (not the sight words he already knows). In order to keep up with all that he wants to know, I've been asking him first what letter the word begins with. From there we usually do some sounding out of the rest of the word (a little phonics for ya). He really is enjoying words and spelling which certainly will make any parent (and educator) thrilled and hopefully that he will enjoy reading. I know those days are not far away. And here's Mommy's way of sneaking in a little more "letters & words" fun. All of a sudden, snacktime is lasting a bit longer because of all the learning going on...

It has snowed a ton today - about 8" and it is only mid-afternoon. I don't like to brag but my butt had to do all the shoveling and most likely will have to do much more after the kids go to bed tonight (see picture below). One more reason I love my husband and am missing him being here.

Speaking of Brian... I was a bit jealous as he was packing his suitcases the other night with short sleeve shirts, shorts, and his flip-flops (along with his uniform). 85 degree weather is sure sounding pretty good right now. Well... not sure if being in a 3rd world country makes up for it though. That's just one more reason that he makes me so proud serving our nation and helping others in the world live a better life.
The other night Thomas asked if God lived in Alaska. I love that kid. He just cracks me up!

our 1st snowman

2012-02-02T13:14:00.000-09:00

Meet Tiny.

He is our new snowman.

He is actually our first snowman.

He was built on the whim last night when we got home from dinner.

The weather had warmed up to the freezing mark and the snow was perfectly "wet" for building snowballs and snowmen.

Daddy & Thomas opted for the latter.

He isn't big but he is indeed special because he is our first.

8 month old military babies

2012-02-02T13:07:00.000-09:00

Our kids are all too familiar with Daddy being gone.

Most military families are... either Daddy or Mommy or even both.

Unfortunately for us, there have been days, weeks, and many months where the kids didn't get hugs, kisses, alone time, play time, or even story time with Daddy.

However, on the other hand, we have celebrated two homecomings filled with all those missing hugs & kisses. It is one of the most heart-felt, emotional reunions one can possible experience.

For our children there is something about being 8 months old that seems to be a milestone marker in our family...

Thomas was 8 months old when Daddy left on a deployment to Iraq (Feb 2008) and returned seven months later when Thomas was 15 months old.
As you can imagine, Daddy had to miss many milestones.

Abbigail was 3 weeks old when Daddy left for another deployment, this time to Afghanistan, and then returned when she was 8 months old (April 2010).
As with Thomas, Daddy also had to miss many milestones with his baby girl.

That brings us to Marilyn.

She just turned 8 months old this week - however, unlike her brother and sister, she is not dealing with a beginning or the end of a deployment. Instead, she has in large, had Daddy home on the majority of the nights. With the exception of a few short trips out of the country or elsewhere, she has always felt the warmth of Daddy's hugs & kisses saying goodnight or good morning.

Just today though, we had to say good-bye to Daddy at 4am at the airport as he jetted off to the other side of the world for work. Thankfully, it will be short trip (only 2 weeks). As always, he will be missed by all of us... but thankfully it is a far cry from what we have become all too familiar - long deployments that keep Daddy & his munchkins separated and missing the most important moments of their lives.

Sweet Valentine Treat

2012-01-30T22:30:00.000-09:00

Valentine's Day parties have long been a favorite celebration in schools all across the country, with the theme focusing far more heavily on friendship and candy than on love. Most schoolkids bring valentines to school for this party, and the valentines can run the gamut from paper cards to homemade goodies. Almost every Valentine that we got as kids had one of those little conversation hearts included - which you either LOVED or HATED. Personally... I loved the corny messages more than the taste.

Well, the time has come where Thomas has to bring in Valentine's Day Cards to his class party. Truthfully, I've never been a fan of this (even when I was younger), but I guess I need to put on my big girl Mama panties and just suck it up for Thomas' sake. The problem is I just don't want to do the cheap little rip-apart V-day cards that are stuffed in those even cheaper white envelopes. I'm thinking, instead, that I will make a little craft fun at home and make some home-made cards with Thomas for his party. Maybe something simple like this?

If anyone out there has some better, more creative... but just as simple... let me know.

But to kick it up a notch... I think we might also try this fun treat for Valentine's Day. Yummy!

Potty Celebration!

2012-01-29T14:13:00.000-09:00

So I finally got serious about potty training Abbigail. She has been showing interest and her 3rd birthday is not too far away (which to me is when we need to be out of diapers & potty trained).

We hit up my favorite kids consignment store late last week and picked up a 2nd little potty (which is identical to the first one we had... except this one is pink) for upstairs. That was the first thing we did to start getting her excited. The second thing was to pull back out the little girlie undies (complete with all her favorite colors and princesses) that she had picked out a few months ago. One more thing to get her to buy-in to the potty training thing. The third thing was to have an immediate reward that she could have when she put her "Pee-Pees" in the potty - I put together Dora The Explorer cups of her favorite lollipops and strategically placed them in eyesight in each bathroom. He-he! Yes, I am all about the bribery!

We kicked things off on Thursday afternoon when Abbigail woke up from nap time. I tucked the diapers away & out of sight (because we are only using them for naptime & bedtime). I pulled out the Pull-Ups (with Princesses all over them) so we could use them when we left the house. And I set the timer on my iPhone to go off every hour... and for added buy-in I let Abby pick the sound. With all of these preparations in place FINALLY, we started to officially potty train Abby.

OMG... do you know it took a lot of tears (from Abby), a lot of patience from both Mommy & Daddy, a lot of wet undies and pants, a lot of read books sitting on the potty, and a LOT of cheering and encouragement to finally get some Pee-Pees in the potty today? Can we get an Amen? A Hallelujah? Yes, our little girl put her Pee-Pees in the potty and we celebrated. The first time (yes there was a 2nd time too even by lunchtime) it was just a few drops, but by the next trip to the potty she gave a hefty amount and then proudly stood and said "Done!" Seconds later she was requesting her prized lollipop that she ohhhhh so earned.

Wow! Potty training is an exhausting business but it feels oh so good to see Abbigail doing it. Way to go little girl!

Baby Dinosaur Roar

2012-01-28T21:28:00.001-09:00

Video Clip - Just because you are little and happen to be the youngest in the family certainly does not mean you shouldn't be heard... at least that is Marilyn's motto. Here she is at dinner recently making us all laugh & giggle as she does her best to be in on the conversation. Her problem is she sounds like a dinosaur while doing it. If only you had a close up view of her big, gummy smile while she is in action... you would then get the full effect of her cuteness!

Friday Night Leftovers (the We're Only Halfway Done with Winter edition)

2012-01-27T15:35:00.000-09:00

So, just now it occurred to me that we (us folks up here in the most northern of northern places) are ONLY halfway done with winter! What the heck? Yes, it will be warming up however there is still snow on the ground (and sometimes falling from the sky) here up through April. OMG! I think I might be starting to miss the warm,sunny Florida beaches right about now.
On a warmer & more pleasant note, we've seen two moose this week. I don't care who you are... that doesn't get old or boring.
I've decided that people who don't shovel their driveways & sidewalks are just plain LAZY. Don't they realize that it is dangerous (because of the ice) and that people can get hurt (especially their kids)? Dumb. Just dumb.
I've decided that the short bit of time in the morning that I have to myself (as I savor my perfectly blended cup of coffee w/ hazelnut creamer & Splenda whiling pumping milk for Marilyn) is indeed the "Calm before the Storm." All craziness begins the moment the kids are up. If I don't get up shower, pump and get dishwasher unloaded &breakfast started... it becomes a difficult day from the beginning. This is why I get up at 5:15am.
I know its not even February yet, but our taxes are done and filed. Man... that feels good. Especially since Uncle Sam owes us.
Have I mentioned that we are now in baby proof mode at the house? Yep... closets, cabinets, electric outlets, stairs, etc. It just feels like she was born yesterday and now she is crawling. How did this happen?

TGIF everyone. Enjoy your weekend!

Army crawl

2012-01-26T06:39:00.000-09:00

Video Clip - Call her an inchworm. Call her an army crawler. Whatever you call her - make sure you get out of her way because Marilyn is now VERY mobile and is everywhere. Thomas and Abby have already learned a few lessons about leaving their favorite toys just laying around... she will get them & she will drool on them.

Wordless Wednesday: More Moose

2012-01-25T22:01:00.002-09:00

Around the corner from our house...

... was another beautiful encounter of a moose today.

speech apraxia

2012-01-24T07:24:00.000-09:00

There is no doubt that Abbigail is benefiting from her speech therapy with Ms. Amy. She has started at a young age and we have high hopes that through her sessions that are 2-3 a week, our help at home and eventually her help she will receive in preschool - her speech will become even more clear for everyone to understand. For most people, understanding what Speech Apraxia is foreign. Hopefully this might explain it a bit better:

The dogs & the best sled ride!

2012-01-22T15:05:00.001-09:00

Today we got to enjoy something that none of us have yet to experience - riding on a sled that is powered purely by a team of Alaskan Husky dogs. It was pretty awesome. Not only the quiet sound of the dogs mushing through the snow, but the cold air blowing up against our cheeks (because the rest of our faces were covered) and the beautiful scenery around Hillberg Lake (which is obviously frozen). It really was exciting and it is just one more thing that we get to experience with the kids up here in beautiful Alaska! Another thing I got to check off the "Alaska Bucket List!"

We actually drove up to Hillberg Ski Resort (right here on Elmendorf AFB) last night to check it all out and make sure that it was something that the kids could enjoy. And wouldn't you know it... this was the beautiful skyline that we got to enjoy as the sun started to set. By the way - sunset this week is approximately 4:35 pm and sunrise is 9:45am which means that we are almost up to 7 hours of sunlight per day.

The Team

8 dogs, ages 4-6 years old, Alaskan mixed Huskies

Pure adrenaline and power

Guess who was first in line this morning?

Made a few friends while we waited in line

But Marilyn was probably the coziest & warmest out of the bunch.

Unfortunately, she didn't get to ride today...

... but she wasn't the only baby there so she had a little company!

Daddy & Abby went first...

... followed by Thomas & me!

And as a special treat, when we returned home we had this visitor strolling around our neighborhood.

He is literally walking across the street from our house...

... I think he was looking to see if anyone was out BBQing for the big football games today...

... but realized that most everyone was cozy inside their houses so headed home back into the woods.

Under Reconstruction

2012-01-21T22:30:00.000-09:00

As I said recently...

It is time for a new look for the blog.

So consider the "HeckLures' Northern Adventures" under reconstruction

with updates happening regularly.

The Army song

2012-01-21T14:00:00.001-09:00

Thomas has been singing this song for weeks now and I have never really understood all the words he was singing until the other night when Daddy (who can clearly translate some of his lingo for me) informed me of the song's lyrics. Once I knew the lyrics... I now think it is absolutely hilarious everytime he sings it (which is upwards of 5 times a day) because this is just one more example of his Christian preschool having a big influence (which is good) on him. Often times he sings it for Marilyn to make her laugh and giggle and other times he sings it superfast (which is something I think they do at school to have fun with the song). Anyway, I've included the words below to Thomas' rendition of the song, "I'm in the Lord's Army" for you:

I may never march in the Infantry, (march)
Ride in the cavalry, (pretend you're riding a horse)
Shoot the artillery. (clap hands together)
I may never zoom o'er the enemy, (spread arms out and pretend to be a plane)
But I'm in the Lord's Army. (point one finger up to God)
I'm in the Lord's Army, (yes, sir!) (salute)
I'm in the Lord's Army, (yes, sir!)

I may never march in the Infantry,

Ride in the cavalry,

Shoot the artillery.

I may never zoom o'er the enemy,

But I'm in the Lord's Army, (yes, sir!)

Old School Popcorn

2012-01-21T13:46:00.002-09:00

Video Clip - We had a movie night last night complete with "old school" popcorn and drinks. The kids were in awe of our new popcorn machine that made the world's most incredible tasting popcorn! A huge thanks to Grannie & Pop-pop who sent it to us after realizing from their Thanksgiving visit that we have the most awful microwave for making popcorn. So instead of getting a new microwave... this was the next best thing - and it was AWESOME!

Friday Night Leftovers (The pictures that didn't get posted this week edition)

2012-01-19T22:00:00.000-09:00

Hi Friday... I figured I would just get caught up with pictures that didn't quite make this week's blog posts. Enjoy!

Two little ones who are practically as tech savvy as Mommy & Daddy (thank goodness for free Preschool & Kindergarten Apps on the iPhones...

With temperatures holding steady at negative numbers for the last week or so, we hit up a new Arctic Playground and everyone seemed to give it a 2-thumbs up!

After far too long of just sitting around for the last several years, Brian found the perfect place for my "Mother's Day Pots"... they hold my apples and soon to be herb or flower plants.

Darth Vader visited our house this week (ha-ha)! Well... actually Daddy had his Chem gear out for inspection and some little troops got their hands on his mask.

This is what weekly grocery shopping looks like. Fun Times. Do you believe that I'm the norm walking around with 3 kids? Yep... plenty of moms doing this with 4, 5, and 6 kids. Crazy with a capital "C."

Marilyn is not only a self-sitter, but also a pretty strong stander and is officially on the MOVE... she is perfecting the army man crawl and is no longer to be trusted and left alone even for a milla-second. The gate is going up ASAP.

For whatever reason, all 3 of my munchkins think its fun to be in the crib together.

I thought I would start the weekend with a "Friday Photo" of a something that has caught my eye here. More than likely it is going to be something absolutely beautiful - which tends to be the case up here in Alaska. Every thing is beautiful... just like this one of a side road here on base.

Speech Update - Abby's progress & interview

2012-01-19T18:34:00.004-09:00

It has now been almost 2.5 months since Abby started speech therapy. I know that we have seen some positive changes in her verbal communication - new sounds and a few new words are becoming more prevalent. With as much as I have read & researched and also heard from other parents of children diagnosed with apraxia, I feel very blessed on many fronts… Abby has started speech therapy at an early age and there are very good chances that she will be mainstreamed early into kindergarten/school as well as a high chance that in the near future, many more people will be able to honestly understand all she says. Additionally, as a military family our medical care takes care of her speech therapy 100% - I know there are so many families out there who just aren’t in this same situation and it is an enormous financial burden for them. Finally, it just so happens that this year I am staying at home with the kids and I have so much more flexibility & time to bring Abby to speech therapy and to spend 1-on-1 time with her. All of these things are what I am so grateful for.

In terms of progress - although Abby can make numerous independent sounds, she continues to struggle to put the different sounds together to form full words. For example the sound “pu” and then she can also make the sound “shhhhh” but has not been able to put them together to say the word ‘push’. Instead it sounds like two distinct sounds… not necessarily a word. With a few exceptions, Abby's word list still only consist of mainly consonant/vowel (CV). We are hearing “Sentence-like” sentences where she strings together her words with “eh” [and] which is good. There have been surprises though – she will say a word that has a distinct ending sound or she will repeat a full word/phrase that one of us say. It always brings such a huge smile (and usually a wave of emotion) to me. And of course, the praise is always poured on her and she always sits back smiling proudly over her not-so-little accomplishment.

One of Abby’s tendencies when she feels like she can’t or doesn’t know how to say something is to respond with “NO”. Even if she has said the word before, sometimes it takes a little coaxing to get it out of her. What is really neat to see though is how much she loves to ramble on her play phone or when she is talking to Marilyn or Thomas. She seems to seriously be having a conversation, but to anyone else – it can’t be understood. It’s also uplifting to see her join in at the dinner table for our blessing. She “recites” it along with us – emphasizing the words she can say and trailing back softly with the ones she can’t yet say. But she always ends with a loud & confident “MEN!” (for “Amen”)!

She has started to refer to herself as “Bee” [obviously for A-bby]. This is a perfect example of her being able to say each of the two sounds of her name but not being able to put them together to say “Abby.” Obviously we are still dealing with Abby's frequent frustration when she can't get her words out or point across to us… but things are slowly progressing. They are progressing forward and that is what we want for her.

Video Clip - I figured I would "interview" Abby today to give you a small idea of what & how she says some of her colors (as well as some other names). I'm sure you will start to get the idea of where she is with her speech.

Friend Fetish

2012-01-17T23:00:00.000-09:00

Those of you who REALLY know me will not be surprised by what I am about to admit.
I am picky. I think it has something indirectly to do with my Type A personality. Anyway... I am even picky about friends. Who I want to spend my time with is just something that matters. I guess in a weird way, I would rather have quiet time by myself or with my loved ones if someone is just ho-hum. I don't go out looking for friends. If I happen to meet some nice people along the way by accident or opportunity and we hit it off... then great. If not, then that's OK too. God knows how much I hate "dating" Mommies (ie: potential friends) just about as much as I hated the dating scene before meeting Brian... it just is uncomfortable and I hate going through the motions of meeting and making awkward talk (especially if you aren't sure you will really like someone). But in the end, if things do work out, it sure does feel nice to meet someone who I could actually enjoy being around from time-to-time.

I guess part of my pickiness comes with being let down by "potential" friends and feeling like I had to be friends with people despite not having anything in common or really even liking them all that much. Looking back on several instances of meeting people, I just realize that there are lots of initial turnoffs. Again, its very much like dating a guy. You look for certain qualities (personality, confidence, goals & ambition, kindness, etc) and if they just aren't there then why force the potential friendship, right? Well, thats how I think anyway. For example, don't talk too much and certainly don't just talk about yourself or your issues - being a friend is a two way streak. After all, you need (and should want) to let the other person talk so two people can find out about each other; I have to have something in common with a potential friend - kids the same age, her being athletic, hometown, soccer, teaching, etc. Something of substance is key.

Outside of my wonderful group of girlfriends who I met through teaching at Choctaw (some of whom still are there & others have moved on like myself), only a hand full of military spouses that I have met at different assignments have made the cut. These are special friends, Laura S., Camille M., Jess S., Marsha B., and Kim W., who I had an almost-instant connection with and have remained friends despite our many moves away from each other due to the Air Force.

So I met a mama today while shopping in the commissary. Right from the first aisle when her kids and my kids were chatting it up and we were both in "race car" carts... well, she seemed "normal" and nice. Fourteen isles later and many interactions along the way, we met up in the front of the line to go to cash registers. She threw me a compliment about making grocery shopping with 3 kids look easy and I returned the compliment. We quickly said goodbye and went on our way. Fast forward 30 minutes and we ran into each other with our kids at the indoor playground. Maybe being friends was meant to be? We got a chance to chat about our kids, careers on hold, military hubbies and opportunities that each of our families are facing currently. Wow. She seemed so easy to talk with. Again, she seemed so "normal!" After being in Alaska since early August, I think I might have just met my first friend. I guess we will see.

Family

2012-01-16T23:01:00.001-09:00

Just a taste of our studio photo session today.

Although, not everyone smiled (namely Marilyn) and not everyone was cooperative (namely Abbigail), and some complained they were hungry the whole time (namely Daddy & Thomas)... Mommy got her family pictures that she has wanted for a while.

Preacher boy

2012-01-16T18:51:00.000-09:00

I'm in the middle of telling Brian something during dinner tonight and this is how the conversation is abruptly interrupted and then it takes a complete lefthand turn thanks to Thomas:

T: "Stop Mom, did you say Bible?"
Me: Um no. [but sounded more like "Um Noooooooooooooooo" & thinking where in the world did this comment come from?]
T: "Well, if you have a Bible, then God will love you."
Me: I know Bud [with a stunned look on my face].
T: "If you also have a Bible, then you will be able to see baby Jesus."
Me: I know, I know Thomas.
[TEARS are ROLLING down our faces at this point but we are trying to keep a straight face]
T: "Do we have a Bible? Where is our Bible, Mom?"
Me: Yes, we do have one sweetie pie... it just happens to still be packed away in the book boxes downstairs in the garage.
T: OK, good.

[Yes, going to a Christian preschool is certainly having an influence on Thomas... as well as us]

Dear Abby & Thomas

2012-01-15T18:18:00.000-09:00

Dear Abby & Thomas,
The teasing is ridiculous. The whining is out of control. The arguing, the bickering and the tattling is at a new all time high. I know you love each other, play with each other, laugh with each other, and even scheme with each other (like sneaking into each other's room at nap time to play). I need you to know that you have given me a few new gray hairs this week. Thank you. Not.

But I love you none the less & all the same,
Mommy

My Laundry Helper

2012-01-14T18:13:00.001-09:00

With only 2 hands and laundry to carry upstairs to fold...

...Marilyn went for a ride & became my laundry helper today.

wipe down napkin

2012-01-13T15:11:00.000-09:00

Video Clip - Marilyn's facial expressions are priceless here. She seems more than surprised with the tossed napkin but even more proud of herself that she is able to pull it off. I have no idea why all my kids love the "wipe-down napkin" but it sure is cute. Enjoy.

Friday Night Leftovers (The digging out of snow edition)

2012-01-13T14:27:00.001-09:00

Hello from the North Pole! Well, maybe not... but its definitely as snowy as the Arctic. Oh and Happy Friday the 13th too.

In the last week we have dug out of approximately 2 feet of snow. Correction... Brian has dug us out of 2 feet of snow. Love him.
Is it crazy that school, work and stores operated as usual? Everyone here did. And believe it or not, the Heck Family did as well. We are really starting to fit right in.
This weekend might entail building our first snowman.
Have I mentioned that warm, sunny beaches are on my mind?
A certain little baby is on the cusp of crawling and also having her first tooth. Any day now.
Abby seems to be back in her routine with speech after a few weeks vacation - we are hearing some new sounds & new words... more to come on that soon!
Speaking of words - Thomas is spelling all kinds of "sight" words and surprisingly enjoying it. I know he is just going to love reading when he puts all this spelling & word business together.

Here are a few pictures from the week to go along with the snow:

The path way + play area between next door and us. Pete, our neighbor, used his snow plow to give the kids a little fun here.

The entire yard of snow is this high.

Yes... we have a s*%$@! of snow.

Death by ice?

The Mack-Daddy shovel

Who needs a snow blower or plow when you have this thing?

Besides, Brian is always done 10x faster than all the folks with one of those fancy gadgets.

Mommy went snowshoeing with Thomas...

... and somehow convinced me to stop at the playground.

Yes, we were the only ones there.

My little enchilada

2012-01-12T13:33:00.000-09:00

It seems like almost overnight, Thomas has started speaking Spanish. Well, not really... he isn't using sentences, verbs, or even pronouns, but he has quite the list of Spanish words added to his repertoire. I'd like to credit his new preschool for my new bi-lingual child (he-he), however I have a feeling it has much more to do with some of his favorite Nick Jr shows... "Go, Diego, Go" and "Dora the Explorer."

up - arriba
down - abajo
stop - parada
bathroom - baño
quick - rápido
water - agua
friend - amigo
hi - hola
goodbye - adiós
thank you - gracias
you are welcome - de nada
eggs - huevo
red - rojo
cold - frío
hot - caliente
Counting numbers 1-5 (and he can get to 10 with my help)

This list is just off the top of my head. I'm just waiting for him to say enchilada, taco and cerveza too. Seriously... he will either be in the middle of a conversation with you and say, "Mom, that word is ___________ in Spanish," or he will blurt out the Spanish word instead of using the English word. And each new time he does it, I am left standing there in amazement. To me, it seems as if he is learning a foreign language faster than high schoolers learn it and they sit in a 50-minute class 5x a week. Imagine if me or Brian actually spoke another language how quickly the kids would become bilingual? Those little brains are just like sponges waiting to obsorb anything you throw at them.

It's all 20/20 now

2012-01-11T13:45:00.000-09:00

I wish I had known:

completing a graduate degree while newly married and working full time was not easy.
going back to school for a M.Ed with young children, dealing with TDYs, deployments, relocations, working full time and even being a stay-at-home mom was more stressful & difficult than I could have imagined.
how much easier any of the aforementioned would have been had I just stayed on for a 5th year in college when there were virtually no responsibilities. How easy would that have been?

I wish I had known:

having children would change my life in the most tremendous ways.
that when we just had Thomas, it was not busy or hectic; instead, that was a piece of cake.
that when we just had Abbigail & Thomas, it was not busy or hectic; instead that was a party. And Mommy & Daddy were evenly matched.
that having just one more beautiful child, Marilyn, would complete our family in the most amazing ways. And yes, it is busy, hectic, chaotic, & loud. And yes, Mommy & Daddy are outnumbered. But is also funny, silly, joyous, exciting, and moment after moment are filled with so much love.
how much being a Mommy would effect me emotionally, physically & mentally. It is indeed the most demanding thing I have ever done in my life. And the most rewarding no doubt.

I wish I had known:

when I was young that my sister would one day be my best friend.
that my mother was right and I was wrong on so many occasions.
that my dad is entitled to making mistakes too just like the rest of us.
that falling in love can happen from the first time you meet someone.
Love grows stronger every day, every week, every month and year after year.
that my sister is one of the smartest people I know.
that my mom has a huge heart and does everything with love & the best intentions.
that my dad also does everything with love & the best intentions.
that my family would not always be together, but that my sister & I would always be loved by both of our parents.

For the "record"

2012-01-10T12:52:00.000-09:00

The average annual snowfall in Anchorage is 74.5 inches. As of yesterday, we were upwards of 80 inches and it is only mid-January. Holy Cow! We are definately on track to have the snowiest winter on record. On top of that, more snow is on the way tonight...possibly another foot of snow. Another FOOT! Crazy!

(our newest little neighbor)

Girls in the Hood!

2012-01-09T18:26:00.001-09:00

First Abby got dressed. Can you tell that she then picked out her sister's clothes?

These are the "Girls in the Hood!"

Abby did NOT take her hood off the entire day... we couldn't even get her to take it off at the table or when she laid down for a nap. I guess she has a little gangsta in her (she must get that from her Daddy)!

Lots of smiles from the baby gangsta

However, in true Terrible-Two fashion, Abby is pouting & then crying (and really trying hard to work the tears) because we are making her finish her milk at dinner.

Finally, after realizing that she was not going to win, she sucked it up and just drank it. Can you see the pathetic tears still wailed up in her eyes?

Oh her parents are so mean.

Thomas-isms

2012-01-08T09:20:00.001-09:00

Mommy says, "No way Jose!"

Thomas overhears it and repeats, "No way hose day!"

Daddy says, "Pain in the butt!"

Thomas overhears and repeats, "Peanut Butter butt!"

1st try at Snowshoeing

2012-01-07T13:19:00.000-09:00

Daddy & Thomas got adventurous this morning - they strapped on each of their new snowshoes, got a handle on how they worked (apparently pretty simple) and started trekking around the neighborhood. They even headed over to the sledding hill (no was on it) and figured out how to go up & down stepping sideways so as not to fall.

Daddy's report was that he did pretty good (especially for a Florida boy). But as with all new things Thomas has been trying, it's fast & furious with him and from time-to-time needs to be reminded to slow down to learn the basics. Maybe the boys will try to get some snowshoeing in each day this coming week for some good practice and then Thomas might be a little more ready for his next winter fun... downhill skiing. Maybe Mommy can take the reins on that one and enjoy a little outdoor fun with him on the hill.

Friday Night Leftovers (spring semester edition)

2012-01-06T13:12:00.003-09:00

Happy 1st Friday of the Year peeps. I got a ton of random thoughts running in my head so here it goes...

Just realized that this is going to be a long final semester of coursework ahead of me. And when it's all said and done in early June, I will still have to complete my internship. Problem is that right now I don't have a school. Choctaw... one more reason I am really missing you.
This spring semester will also be important (and emotional) because we will be registering Thomas for kindergarten. *sigh* *sniffle* Not sure if I am ready for all that.
Abby's in a funking phase right now. It's either the Terrible Twos rearing their ugly face or possibly Middle Child Syndrome or even possibly she is tired of Christmas break with everyone at home and no individual attention given to her. Hmmm. Maybe by next week she will be back to herself?
I think it's so funny that the kids all look similar to each other in many respects in the face yet we have 3 different combinations of hair color & eye color: BR/Brown, BL/Blue, and BR/Blue.
Now that we are past the winter solstice & the holidays, we are gaining more daylight hours each passing day... 3 extra minutes a day to be exact.
Still searching out a new look for this blog.
I have not had a haircut in 6 months. I guess this means I'm growing it out long again.
I know I have mentioned this before but it has been a while. I love, LOVE the kids consignment store here in town. Where else can I bring in my gently used children's clothes and leave with a ton of new (gently used) clothes for each of my kids? It's almost like shopping for free.
Thanks to a recent Groupon purchase, the Hecks have family portraits scheduled to be taken in less than 2 weeks. Very excited.
Thomas asks everyday when can he learn how to snowshoe, snowboard and also ski. I'm not sure who is more excited about him learning... Mommy & Daddy or him. Soon enough my Daniel-son.
Finally in closing, just a huge shout-out to my hubby who won SNCO of the Quarter for the 673d CEG. Way to go babe! We love you.

Little truths I've learned along the way

2012-01-05T19:19:00.001-09:00

It has taken a complete relocation from Florida to Alaska for me to learn these little truths:

Within moments of being outside when it is below zero, boogers in your nose will freeze.
I now understand how important it is to wear under layers in extreme cold weather.
I think all cars should be designed and built with autostart, seat warmers and automatic doors. Oh wait, mine does. Thank god. Brian is not so lucky at this point.
Dry air sucks. Static hair, touches that shock, dry & rashy skin, workout clothes that stick to you, nasal and sinus congestion. I never thought I would miss humidity.
Fresh snow is one of the prettiest things that Mother Nature has ever created.
Despite the long dark days, the canopy created by the snow clouds & the fresh snow reduce the area that light can reflect. Basically, fresh snow makes it look lighter outside.
Bundling three young children up in winter gear to leave the house is a pain in the butt. Sometimes I do it once a day; sometimes it happens 3 or 4 times a day. Boots, zippers, gloves. Boots, zippers, gloves. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
The kind of snow shovel that you have does make a difference. Seriously.
Never would I have thought that less than 6 hours of daylight would be OK. Life is still the same; we are still busy; it just happens to be a little darker while we are doing it all.

Wordless Wednesday: The peek-a-boo hat

2012-01-04T13:39:00.000-09:00

This is Abby's favorite hat - not only because it is pink (her signature color) & has a cute flower...

... but also because she plays peek-a-boo with it all the time!

Santa Hats

2012-01-03T13:24:00.000-09:00

Despite the holidays over and done with, I just couldn't resist making these little "Santa Hats" for a dessert last night. I got the easy recipe from an old friend of mine who is a Pampered Chef consultant. I had a feeling that these would be a hit, but I had no idea that both Thomas and Abby would devour them like they were the yummiest little morsels in the world. This recipe is a keeper for sure for years to come!

Abby was all about the strawberry hat...

... and Thomas practically tried to fit the whole thing in his mouth at once!

Tweeking

2012-01-02T19:10:00.000-09:00

Sorry if the blog looks a little funny - I'm in the midst of change.
Problem is I'm just not sure how & what.
I figured when we moved up here to the arctic (aka: Alaska) that the blog name should reflect that - which is why I added "northern" to "HeckLures' Adventures."
Now, I just want a bit of a different look.
Be patient.
Be prepared for ongoing change while I continue to edit & tweek the look & format.

Have a great first week of our New Year!

Thomas' funnies

2012-01-01T17:15:00.000-09:00

I laugh everyday at something that Thomas says. Seriously. He absolutely makes my day. I really wish I could remember to write down all the funnies that come out of his mouth... you would all pee your pants laughing just like I practically do. Enjoy!

T: Can we celebrate Hanukkah, Mom?
Me: No bud, we don't celebrate Hanukkah... we celebrate Christmas.
T: Oh. Well, why not?
Me: The people who celebrate Hanukkah believe in Jesus too but they have their own holiday - it's just different.
T: Well, what are those Hanukkah people called?
Me: They are Jewish.
T: Are we Jewish?
Me: No, bud, we [cut off]...
T: That's right, we aren't Jewish - we are Alaskan.

Getting our attention

2012-01-01T14:39:00.000-09:00

Video clip - This is how our youngest gets our attention. WARNING - do not turn speakers all the way up...

A year of change & reflection

2011-12-31T18:00:00.001-09:00

I'm in awe when I stop and think about what 2011 had in store for us. I'm also so happy that this last year we have had more family time together than we did in the first few years of our marriage & having kids combined. It has been a long time coming and we have tried to enjoy all the cherished moments, learn from the difficult and stressful ones, and remember that the time we have with our children is only once and that the memories we create with them will last a lifetime.

This year we saw Thomas celebrate his 4th birthday, Abbigail her 2nd and we welcomed our youngest, Marilyn to the family. We got to watch Thomas play on his first soccer team, Abbigail enjoy her first tumbling class, and Marilyn grow by leaps & bounds from 8 lbs to 18 lbs. We said a bittersweet goodbye to family & friends in Florida and went on an adventurous 2-week road trip through Canada ending at our new home here in Alaska. Thomas started preschool, Abbigail started speech therapy, and Marilyn has become mobile with rolling and inching in all directions. I have been blessed to use the last few months to stay-at-home with the kids and come closer to finishing my M.Ed while Brian has started a new job, doing something completely different but using all of his career experience to move a squadron forward.

We are excited about our time here in Alaska. There is so much that we want to experience with the kids, and some that we will do just as a couple. But any way we look at the next 2.5 years it is family time filled with new and amazing opportunities for us to enjoy together.

Merry (belated) Christmas!

2011-12-30T13:36:00.065-09:00

It was indeed a white Christmas for us as we enjoyed every bit of our first Alaskan Christmas.

The kids were spoiled with presents from Santa, Mommy & Daddy and loved ones. And probably the most precious gift that I could have asked for was family time and with Daddy home and enjoying it all with us.

'Twas the Night before Christmas

Stockings stuffed and presents wrapped & delivered

The kids quickly found the note that Santa left behind after enjoying his snack.

I couldn't take a picture of every present that was opened but here is a glimpse at some...

We even ventured downtown on the day after Christmas to check out the deals and do some shopping of our own. Look at who we got to see just walking down the main street!

At REI, we picked up our first hiking backpack for Marilyn (which we will surely get at least 2 more years use out of). She sure does have a great view from up there!

We also picked up hiking backpacks + new water bottles for Thomas & Abby.

As a side note, we may have to rent another hiking pack to carry Abby this next summer... I guess time will tell how big she is and how motivated she really is about doing it on her own. But needless to say, they are both excited about their new stuff and both want to know when the snow will be melted for us to start hiking (ha-ha-ha). In addition to hiking stuff, we also got some snowshoes for Thomas & Daddy and we will head back soon for some light rainjackets/panchos for the kids as well as some hiking shoes for all of us and maybe even some camping gear.

I will have to tell you the story about the orange whistle clips that are on the front of their backpacks later.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone!

The crazy BIG icicle

2011-12-22T14:30:00.000-09:00

Look at our crazy BIG icicle hanging on the front of our house...

Marilyn - 7 months old

2011-12-22T14:10:00.000-09:00

Marilyn had a well-baby checkup this morning and the stats are in... she is growing like a weed (or rather a beautiful flower) and absolutely healthy and adorable! Of course, we did know this already but it is always a good feeling when the doctor tells you these things! The downside of today's visit was a trip to the immunization office for a flu shot... only a few tears though & lots of kisses from Mommy!

Height - 26.75 in (77th percentile)

Weight - 17 lbs 12 oz (77th percentile)

Yes... as you can tell by Marilyn's chunky rolls... she is a good eater!

Marilyn is such a happy baby. She smiles and laughs a ton - whether it is at Thomas & Abby playing with her or when Mommy & Daddy peek in on her while she is in her crib awake. It will make anyone smile back at her. She is also babbling up a storm. It's like she wants to be in your conversation and give her opinion as well. There is a ton of drool EVERYWHERE, but there are no signs of any teeth just yet. Soon enough they will be here which is when I may need to rethink breastfeeding. Speaking of mouth, everything goes in her mouth that she can get her hands on. I've warned Thomas & Abby but they have not taken me serious and found out the hard way when their trucks, dolls, or any other toy ends up yucky wet from Marilyn sucking on it. BEWARE of the drool!

Marilyn is certainly becoming mobile with her rolling and the 360 circles she can do to reach her toys. She also has managed to get her knees tucked up under her butt a few times but that is it - no crawling yet. I'm not hoping for this anytime soon because I remember all too well that once that happens, its a whole new ball game after that. We are going to start baby proofing the house once again though... starting with gate at the top of the stairs. Another first for Marilyn is she just started to take a bath with Abby. The two of them both have so much fun just playing. She watches Abby do big girl stuff and Abby (I think) really likes being the bigger and older one in the tub for a change. It really is fun to watch them together.

On the eating scene... Marilyn just started trying some finger foods (little baby snacks) & even has tried a few macaroni's, noodles and mashed potatoes. New foods, new tastes and new textures is what it is all about now. She has even started to hold a sippy cup. We put water in it and usually give it to her after she is done eating. She is a hoot with it and yes, she has figured out how to get the water out. Not too bad for a 7-month old.

Finally, Marilyn is a really good sleeper. Actually, all the kids have been good sleepers as babies. Usually about 75% of the time now she will sleep ALL night long. When I say "all night," I mean 7pm to 5am - definitely a good 10 hours. And almost always after a quick diaper change and feeding, she is back to sleep for another hour or two. And just this week, I found her like this one morning... FLIPPED over and still sound asleep!

Wordless Wednesday - A look back on Christmas

2011-12-21T17:39:00.001-09:00

2007

2008

2009

(Daddy is deployed here)

also 2009

2010

2011

Hiccups & Glitches

2011-12-20T21:33:00.000-09:00

Due to ~~this stupid computer~~ some minor hiccups & glitches, the birthday video will not be seen. If I can figure out why YouTube and my internet connection don't like me very much... I will post it later.

Meanwhile, I thought I would share some funny, silly, and precious quirks from the kids this week -

Thomas told us he got to see the movie, "How the Grunch Stole Christmas" last week at his Christmas party.
Abby has now added "Purple, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Orange" to her word list. Listening to her it sounds like, "Puple, Rerrow, Geeen, Boo, eh Ooran."
"Mommy, I am starving and I have an appletite." (not to be confused with appetite)

Birthday boy

2011-12-18T18:36:00.000-09:00

We treated Daddy to a homemade cake made almost entirely by the kids today. The video is forthcoming tommorrow complete with egg cracking, mixing and the wipe-down song. We think the finished product looked pretty good (considering a 4-year old & 2-year old decorated it)... and tasted absolutely delicious.

It ended up being so good that Abby preferred hers straight out of the pan with her finger.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The birthday happenings & stories will be included in tomorrow's post.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

2011-12-17T19:29:00.000-09:00

Finally! The Heck household is starting to feel a lot like Christmas. We were a bit behind this year with everything, but we are rebounding and getting ready for the big day with just 7 days to spare. There are tons of the white stuff outside, plenty of hot chocolate inside and more decorations that I can remember ever having.

Here is Marilyn getting ready for her 1st Christmas...

Little elves hard at work decorating the tree. I think their favorite ornaments are the ones with their pictures on them from years past.

Although cold and crisp... it really is beautiful outside. These next few pictures were taken as the sun was setting around 3:45 in the afternoon.

Whenever we head up to the sledding hill, the whole gang goes (obviously... I can't leave anyone behind). Abby has made it very clear that she is not interested in sledding. She prefers to sit on the sideline and just watch. When she is cold, she also has no problem letting me know that and insists that we need to go home... right then and there!

Abby now insists on wearing her snowsuit + her winter jacket. She really looks like a pink Pepto marshmallow now. But if it keeps her warmer and she is comfortable - who am I to say no?

However, on the chance that things are good and she is having fun... I get to see her and Marilyn enjoying the snow together while we watch Thomas tackle the sledding hill himself.

As the Mommy-pulled-sleigh heads back home, my youngest passenger gets a little shut-eye rest...

... and remains asleep even after I lay her down on the bed and take off her snowsuit. Poor little tired girl - I guess all that fun in the snow will do that to an almost-7-month old.

Santa

2011-12-16T13:58:00.000-09:00

We had an impromptu visit with Santa last weekend when we were out shopping. With no waiting lines and 2.5 kids (because I'm not sure about Marilyn) brewing with excitement & giddiness... we seized the moment. A quick "hello" and wave was all the kids could muster up when it was their turn. Their eyes were glued to him, especially when he pulled out candy canes for them.

We were certainly not dressed in our Sunday best, nor our holiday gear to say the least (case in point is Abby who is sporting heart pants with a polka-dotted shirt)... but that made no difference.

We got the Santa picture -

with no screaming children.

Friday Night Leftovers (Not much daylight edition)

2011-12-16T02:00:00.002-09:00

Hey Friday. Hey peeps.

I have been behind with everything relating to Christmas this year - tree, decorations, shopping, wrapping, cards. I hate being behind.
Is it weird that I'm now used to the 5 hrs and 30 min of daylight here? Yep... sunrise at 10:10am and sunset at 3:40pm. Wierd.
I'm also surprised at how quickly I have taken to snow/ice driving. I am quite cautious but it just seems like common sense. Slow down, brake early, proceed slowly. Yet everyday there is new snow, there are always at least half a dozen cars in the median.
Just finished an M.Ed class last week. No sooner did I turn my final project in, there was an email from my new instructor for my current class that started the following day. No breather at all.
It's a birthday weekend in our house - Daddy is one year older and one year wiser and we are hoping for lots of fun & good food!
Speaking of weekend fun... it might possibly involve a dog sled ride, snow machine rides and some tubing at a local ski resort. Fingers crossed.

Speech Therapy - the diagnosis & progress

2011-12-15T14:49:00.001-09:00

I have been really reluctant to talk with anyone about this. I think in large it was because I was still in shock that there was actually a diagnosis. I also didn't have the answers to the questions that people would start asking if I shared what was going on with Abby. I am not hiding from what we found out, but I am certainly trying to come to understand it better so that Brian and I can be the best possible advocates for Abby now and in her future. I guess in my eyes, putting a label on it made it that much more real and that much more difficult to accept. Having a diagnosis meant that our gut feelings were right all along and all of those people who chalked it up as being a late talker, or a 2nd child syndrome were just wrong. For Abbigail's sake, as well as for Brian and me, though I have finally decided it was time to talk about her speech therapy that she started attending in late October - the diagnosis & the progress she is making.

Abbigail was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. For reasons not yet fully understood, children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech. Apraxia of speech is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or verbal dyspraxia.

I have had many feelings and emotions in reaction to the news. At times I feel quite fearful about her future; other times I wonder how this happened to her or even if I did something to cause Abbigail to have apraxia. I even feel sad sometimes when I think that she may have to work harder than other children to do something that seems as natural as learning to speak.

The average expressive vocabulary for children aged 24-28 months is 200-300 words. It is also expected that children in this age group will have names or labels for preferred objects, toys, pets, etc. At present, Abbigail's expressive repertoire contains only 20-25 words and does not include a variety of labels. The use of 2-word utterances typically emerges between the ages of 18-24 months. At this time, Abbigail does not use 2-word utterances with the exception of "no more." Abbigail also does not refer to herself using her name, although in the last week or so has added the word "me" to her vocabulary and uses it quite often when she is talking about herself or her possessions. Furthermore, for children in this age group, the use of CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant) words and other syllable structures with final consonants are used. Presently, Abbigail's words have a beginning sound (depending on the consonant) but do not have an ending sound.

Expressively, Abbigail demonstrates many positive behaviors - she is engaged with others and uses eye contact appropriately when she interacts; she is very willing to attempt to imitate sounds; she already has positive pragmatic language skills and she is VERY expressive in other ways (body language, etc).

So for the last 6 weeks, Abbigail has attended private, individual speech-language therapy sessions 2 times per week with Ms. Amy. Starting in January, we will increase this to 3 times per week. Not only have we seen some very positive changes in Abby's verbal expression, we have also learned some of the techniques & verbal cues that are very helpful for Abby to see and hear when she is trying to say/learn sounds and words. We are hopeful. No one can totally predict Abby's ultimate success at becoming a verbal communicator. The act of learning to speak clearly is typically long and challenging for children with apraxia of speech, but Abby can and will make great strides and much progress with speech therapy. But with all of that said, she is improving. Making small steps. Adding more sounds. Saying more words.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T13:48:00.000-09:00

Just a few pics of the kids from the last week or so staying busy and being pretty cute...

And the last one is of Brian and I at his Christmas party a few weekends ago.

Christmas Questions

2011-12-13T14:08:00.003-09:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Although gift bags are easier and I use them for other occasions, wrapping paper for sure with Christmas. The fun is watching people (especially the kids) open a gift that is wrapped. Even Santa has his "own" wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I really thought this first year in Alaska was going to be the year we went back to the real deal. Nope... we are still artificial. Maybe next year.

3. When do you put up the tree? I'm embarrassed to say that it is still not up (and neither are decorations). Seriously... we didn't plan on it this way.
4. When do you take the tree down? Well, we should really get it up first before talking about taking it down. But my rule is it needs to be down before everyone goes back to school & work right after New Year's.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes I do. I even like a little yum-yum (aka: Rum) added to it.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't remember many of them but I'm sure there were many "favorites."
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes... it is a small one that Brian had before we were married. Every year Thomas wants to see "the baby" which is ironic that he is just learning about Baby Jesus at school.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My mom. She just is. She seems to have it all already.
9. Easiest person to buy for? The kids, for sure. All year long I find it (too) easy to buy for them.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. There is just something about opening a Christmas card with the hopes to find a picture and read a holiday greeting.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? As a kid, my sister and I would get hand-me-down gifts from a person who received them from their students. Auughh. We knew every year that it would be some awful version of the year before.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a tie... Polar Express and Elf.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually after Thanksgiving but closer to December. The real question is when do I finish? Usually the day before Christmas.

14. Ever recycled a Christmas present? Yep. So there.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mother-in-law's peanut butter fudge. Not sure if I'm gonna get to eat any this year unless it arrives in the mail (hint-hint).
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? White lights. I like a classic look.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Anything that Bing Crosby sings
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We stay home, mostly. If and when we go anywhere, it's local. No traveling with the kids. And starting this year in Alaska... we certainly will be staying put.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Um. well. kinda. actually no.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Everything on Christmas morning. However, as a kid we were allowed to pick just one to open Christmas Eve.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Everyone thinking that you have to get everyone something. Really? Even the mailman?
23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? My favorite ornaments are the ones we got to mark the kid' births. They each have their own unique ones and they are beautiful.
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? I already got my Christmas present and I was completely surprised and blown away to say the least... gorgeous diamond earrings from my husband.

Unexpected Snow Day

2011-12-12T19:08:00.000-09:00

It has been rather warm lately up here in the arctic frontier - by that I mean in the upper 20s & lower 30s. Actually one day it even made it up to the mid-40s. I thought I was going to have to put on my shorts and flip-flops for a moment. So, imagine our surprise when we woke this morning to see 6-7" of fresh new snow covering our neighborhood. Brian and I didn't think much of it - he got to work on shoveling the driveway while I got breakfast and coffees ready.

Some short time after he left for work, we found out (via email from the school district) that schools would be closed today due to deteriorating conditions on the roads. Here I thought that snow days were so few and far between. So, I quickly called Thomas' preschool to find out their status (only open for emergency essential parents to drop off kids) & to let them know that he would not be there today. Following that, I called and cancelled Abby's speech session. Here we were... about to enjoy our first snow day with no school.

It started with the GingerBread Choo-Choo Train

(lots of candy was eaten by my 2 little helping elves as they decorated it)

We headed outside to shovel and enjoy the fresh snow.

Abby stood guard, as she usually does, as the supervisor...

... while Thomas & I shoveled the driveway and sidewalks

(another 2" fell after Daddy left for work)

Someone claimed he was pooped afterwards.

And then we loaded up in Daddy's meat sled and hooked it up to Mommy...

and it became a fun ride around the neighborhood. And yes, I said "meat sled." Apparently it is a must for any hunter. Who would have known it would come in handy for my 3 little munchkins.

It really was a good day with the kids. I even got a great picture of the kids for the Christmas card.

Wish I could share that one right now... but that will have to wait until it comes to you in the mail.

A cold & white first-Alaskan Thanksgiving

2011-12-11T02:12:00.001-09:00

I realize this is a tad late in posting, but... better late than never, right? Actually, I already gave a glimpse into the start of our holiday celebration a little while back when Grannie & Grandpop first arrived. It's hard to believe that they were up here in cold country for a total of 10 days... it really did just fly by with all the fun that we had.

A certain some one's First Thanksgiving.

Yes, she did get to have a taste of mashed potatoes... but she quickly told us that she was not about the texture & thickness & apparently - taste.

What is Thanksgiving without a homemade pie... or two? Because my sister was not here to create her famous piled-high apple pie, I baked my annual pumpkin pie PLUS I tried my hand at peeling & slicking apples and baking up an apple pie (it had been quite a few years). I don't want to toot my own horn, but it was pretty good. Not sure if it can beat out a Jen pie, but a close 2nd is certainly doing good.

The boys shortly after their turkey dinner.

Just moments after this picture, Daddy was slumped even further in his chair with glasses sliding off his face as the turkey enzymes took full affect.

A little extra dessert compliments of Grannie. By the end of the evening, half the turkeys had several missing legs & feathers because of some little thieving candy hands.

At some point that week, new sleds were bought and some much needed sledding ensued at the nearby sledding hill.

On our way to have some fun!

Mind you the black sled that Daddy is pulling Abby in is actually a "meat sled." You know... a hunter puts his deer, moose, etc in there so he can pull/drag his prized catch out of the woods. Interesting. We just drag the kids around in it in the winter time and it works perfectly.

This red racer was quite the find... super-duper fast is what Thomas realized right away!

Can you see our little boy airborne as he and I race down the hill?

Oh yes... his little red sled beat me by a mile!

Back in the coziness of our house that day...

... left us lots of family time!

And as they always end up doing,

Thomas & Grandpop were on the floor with trains, tracks, and blocks everywhere...

... just having a good time with one another.

What a wonderful way to spend our first Thanksgiving here in Alaska - with loved ones who travelled so far and were willing to brave the snow & negative numbers all for the sack of their grandchildren (and us).

(New) Preschool News

2011-12-10T18:11:00.000-09:00

As many of you know, we have not been happy with Thomas' [on base] preschool. From the beginning, it just didn't feel right - meeting teachers & staff, lack of feedback, no clear signs of any real learning, a mixed group of 3-5 year olds in one class (and most were young 3s), Thomas not excited to go to school, lack of structure and discipline, etc, etc, etc. The list really was pretty long. To me, the "preschool" seemed more like a place for kids to socialize & play with other kids. While that is great and we want Thomas to have fun at school... it wasn't the only reason we wanted him to be in preschool this year. Hello? Kindergarten is next year. And although I know Thomas is smart as a whip, he still has much to learn before next August when he heads off to big school (*sigh*).

So as a teacher & as a parent, I talked to his teachers (because that is always the first step) but quickly realized that there really wasn't going to be any kind of change. So, as any concerned parents would do... we started to talk to other people who had young children and find out what kind of experiences they were having either at the same school or different school. After only a short time, we had many glowing recommendations about a Christian preschool (which is part of a larger K-12 school) just off base. With so many different people telling us wonderful things about this preschool, we quickly checked it out.

LOVED it. L-O-V-E-D it from the moment I first walked in. Honestly, the reason it felt so right from the beginning is it reminded me so much like our daycare ("school") back in Florida. The director was warm and welcoming and the kind of lady who just wants to give the kids hugs and make sure they are loved (just like Ms. J back home). How can you not love that? After a quick tour of the school, even the building felt like the kids' Florida school... a little tattered on the outside, cozy classrooms on the inside, loads of learning going on, age-appropriate classes, structure mixed with discipline, smiling faces at every corner and teachers who said hello to all of us by name. BY NAME. Again... it reminded me so much of what & who we left behind in Florida. And it just felt so right to have Thomas at this school.

Fast forward about 6 weeks, and Thomas had his first day at his new school a little over a week ago. Brian and I both were able to bring him and pick him up that day. I remember when we were pulling out of the parking lot that morning, Brian looked over at me, sighed and said, "This is much better. This really does feel right." That afternoon (and every afternoon since), Thomas doesn't want to leave. He so looks forward to going to school now and it warms our hearts. He recants his day without us even having to ask. He can't wait to share what he learned, what his favorite part(s) of school day was and what he did out on the snow-covered playground each of the 2 times per day they go out. We get some kind of feedback every day along with handwriting & Phonics, readiness skills, and language work that was done each day.

On a related note. We don't belong to any particular church. I grew up Catholic & Brian grew up Lutheran, but we haven't joined any church nor have we had our children baptized yet. Right or wrong, we don't attend church on Sundays and (formal) religion hasn't really been a part of our every day. From time to time (namely Christmas & Easter) we have attended a service, but that really is the extent. Now tie this into the fact that our son is now attending a Christian school (complete with private tuition cost) where religion is very much a part of the school day (Bible time, prayers at meal/snack time, ABC Bible verses, etc). Talk about a new change for him (and us). I say "us" because we now have some new conversations happening in our house that we never before considered. For example, the other day:

Thomas: I learned about Baby Jesus today at school.

Me: Really? Tell me about him.

Thomas: Well, he has a mom and a dad and was born far away in a tower.

Me: A tower? [As I look up and catch Brian's eye across the room where he is trying desperately to not let out his laugh]

Thomas: Yes.

Me: Do you mean far away in a manger?

Thomas: Yes, I think so.

Me: So what do you think of Baby Jesus?

Thomas: How come he wasn't born at the baby doctor like we all were?

I'm sure this will be the first of many, many Jesus (and religious) questions that we will have to field. I'm gonna have to dust off the Bible myself just to keep up with my 4-year old soon. We are just happy to report that Preschool has taken on a whole different feel and we are very happy in deed.

Sorry for the (blogging) intruption

2011-12-09T13:25:00.000-09:00

I guess by now most of you have figured out that it has been a while since I posted any blog entries. Reason? Um. Ah. Well... I don't really have any good reasons other than life has just been busy & crazy and blogging just has to take a back seat to all of it. When I have stopped to remind myself that there has been a blogging interruption and I need to get back on the horse and start posting pictures, recanting stories about our 3 munchkins and sharing my insight and perspective to all of it... well, I am disappointed in myself that I have just let it go for several weeks now. I mean, this really like a scrapbook & memory book that I have going here and I eventually want the kids to be able to read it and have these memories of their childhood. That is my motivation.

I really do have a lot to share about Thomas' new preschool, Abbigail's speech therapy, Marilyn at 6 months old, our Thanksgiving visitors, getting ready for Christmas and what the new year possibly has in store for the Hecks. Gosh, I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the backlog of blogging that has happened. And funny thing is, many of you out there have let me know (oh so kindly) that I need to get with it also because you don't know what is going on with the HeckLures. Thank you (I think) for the gentle reminder. Ha.

Anyway, hoping to get a chance to start blogging soon. Really. Hopefully soon.

Our first visitors

2011-11-20T17:08:00.001-09:00

Grannie and Grandpop arrived a few days ago and the kids have been enjoying every second of their visit. There definitely has been no shortage of smiles & laughter by all.

For Thomas & Grandpop, it was especially sweet to see the two pick up like they just saw each other last week - playing, being silly, even taking a nap together (that is until Pop fell out of bed). Here they are playing with a new Cars 2 toy... Finn, the secret spy car... which was a present from a recent shopping trip they all went on (can you say SPOILED?).

I'm sure this made Grannie very happy... talking to her son via Skype.

Daddy is due home from his short deployment tomorrow afternoon - just in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with all of us and the rest of the week with his parents.

Girls in pink

Would you believe that these three are looking at one of those darn toy catalogs that arrived in the mail?

Who knows what they are scheming...

Gym Rats

2011-11-19T14:02:00.000-09:00

I mentioned last week that we have a FREE Arctic Gym/Playground on base. Although we go weekly, from time-to-time I actually get to workout there as my kiddos play and have a good time. My workout is usually not very long, maybe a 2-3 mile run on the treadmill and some Ab work on the mat depending on how busy and occupied the kids are. Of course the great thing about this place is how relaxed it is. I don't have to worry about people getting upset that the kids come over to me when I'm on the treadmill or if I'm down on the mats doing crunches or push ups... kids are everywhere and that is just the accepted thing here. I have a juice box and a small snack for them on the stroller that they help themselves to and also plenty of little toys for Marilyn while she hangs out with me. Here is a glimpse at my gym rats with me last week:

Not sure if they are working their Abs or not?

Friday Night Leftovers (Is it really almost Thanksgiving? edition)

2011-11-18T12:27:00.000-09:00

Holy Cow... is it really almost Thanksgiving? Like one week away, right?
For the record, I'm not quite as bad about buying "stuff" for Thanksgiving as I am for Halloween. Halloween candy I usually buy the day OF but I think I'm going to buy the turkey and fix'ins this weekend... you know, a few days ahead of time, to get a head start. Ha-ha.
This is by far the coldest Thanksgiving week I have ever experienced (highs = single digits, lows = negative 9). Brrrrrrr!
Grannie & Pop-pop arrived in the middle of the night last night. We saw them early this morning and all had a wonderful time revisiting and having fun. So much fun that ALL (with the exception of Mommy) are fast asleep before noon. Can you say "exhausted"?
Just a random thought here... is putting 3 kids (ages 4, 2, and 6-months old) in the tubby all at the same time too much? Is that a nightmare waiting to happen or the most efficient idea I have ever had? Ha... I think the first is more like it.
When ever Brian is gone TDY/deployed, I always resort to the "most efficient" way to do things as a mother of multiple kiddos. But this idea is probably a bit over the top, right?

Nicknames

2011-11-17T14:20:00.000-09:00

For the record I'm OK with nicknames and shortened versions of names. I, however, never had a nickname because my mother refused to let anyone call me by a shortened version of "Michelle", namely "Shelly." Auughhh... doesn't that just sound awful? Thank you Mom for standing your ground on the name issue.

I admittedly do have a bad habit of shortening people's names when I get comfortable with them. It's old habit. It's who I am. I do it with my children, my hubby, my family, my students, other people's students and almost anyone else that I have daily/regular contact with. Again, it's out of habit. If you are one of those people who have inherited a nickname because of knowing me, I hope that is OK? Well, regardless if its OK or not, I'm sorry if you don't like it.

As for my own kiddos and their nicknames, its hit or miss. They all three have them but for very different reasons.
For Thomas, being our first, we wanted to call him by his given name: Thomas. We didn't want Tom, Tommy, Tom-Tom, TJ (Joseph is his middle name) or anything of the like. The only person who has ever called him something else was Ms. Deborah at his daycare. She lovingly called him "T" and he took right to that name." With as much as Ms. Deborah loved on Thomas and taught him... she can call him anything she likes. But "Thomas" is what he is called by everyone else. However, his mama also calls him Goose (for silly goose), Bud, and Thomas Joseph.

For Abbigail, she seemed to earn a new nickname every week. Don't get me wrong, we call her Abbigail a good chunk of the time, but her other names are abundant too. It started with Thomas being able to say "Abby" and then even that got shortened. Throw in all the nicknames from daycare and you have quite the laundry list: Abby, Abbers, Ab, Abbu, Abbilicious, Sweet-pea.

For Marilyn, despite only being a few months old, she too has earned a nickname or two. Abby calls her "May-May" but the rest of us call her "Mear" (rhymes with Bear) or even "Mear Bear." Poor girl. I really do try and say Marilyn so that she doesn't have any identity issues later in life.

PS... For my "Thankful Thursday Thought"... I am thankful my in-laws are flying up for Thanksgiving today. It will be so nice to be around family for the holiday. They are our first guests and we certainly hope they have a great time with their grandkids. I'm sure the next 10 days will be filled with lots of pictures and stories.

Wordless Wednesday (Hello Big Girl Tubby edition)

2011-11-16T02:00:00.002-09:00

Gett'in her roll on - Part 2

2011-11-15T03:00:00.000-09:00

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 2 months since Marilyn took her first roll (from tummy to back);

Today she figured out how to go the other way... the harder way... from back to tummy.

She has been trying to perfect the feet grab, the look-back-while-on-your-side, the tucked arms & leg-over swing and finally... the landing on your tummy.

When you give...

2011-11-14T06:59:00.000-09:00

Have you heard of some of the silly, kid-favorite stories of "When You Give A Moose a Muffin, ... A Pig a Pancake, ... A Mouse a Cookie"?

Well here is what happens "When You Give A Kiddo a Camera" in our house:

(Photographers are Thomas & Abbigail)

Sorry Daddy... the picture was too funny not to post!

Size 3 - The upside?

2011-11-13T11:07:00.000-09:00

As I mentioned earlier on Friday, potty training is a very slow process with Abby. S-L-O-W. So, meanwhile she is wearing size 3 diapers (and periodically some Pull-Ups).

On the other hand, we are squeezing Marilyn's chubby & chunky tush into the last of the size 2 diapers. When I go to the store this week, I will be upgrading to the next size. That would be size 3 diapers.

So... is this the upside to one daughter not being potty trained yet and the younger one growing like a weed? They will both be in size 3 diapers starting tomorrow. Not sure if this will save us money or not, but it sure will be more convenient. Wow. Didn't see this one coming.

Arctic Playgrounds

2011-11-12T14:50:00.001-09:00

It's no secret that the winters are cold, dark, snowy and long here in Alaska (at least that is what I have been told). Although we have enjoyed many afternoons on the playgrounds, going on runs & bike rides, the winter weather is officially here and I'm quite certain we will not be seeing any grass or bare sidewalks for many months to come. With that said, you can only bundle up your 2-year old & almost 6-month old girls so many times to go out play with your 4-year old son in the snow & to sled down the hills around our neighborhood.

Introduce the Arctic Playgrounds that seem to be a popular choice all around Anchorage (including a FREE, yes FREE one here on base). They range in size, price, the kind of play equipment and toys they offer. However, there are a few things that all of these indoor playgrounds have in common.

kids have a great time on them & expend some built up energy playing.
moms & dads alike get a small break while they enjoy watching their little kiddos run around like crazies.
the playgrounds have some kind of coffee shop, snack bar, sandwich place all located either inside or adjacent to the playground. This of course makes it even more inviting.
If you are like the Hecks, who like to bring their snacks with them to the playground... all of the playgrounds welcome that.
There is always free Wi-Fi (although I'm on my iPhone)
Everyone stays warm & dry while they are playing & having a good time.

With the snow falling once again this morning, I knew we needed to get out and blow off some energy. So we checked out a different indoor playground not too far from base. It wasn't too bad given that we almost had the place to ourselves for the first hour. There wasn't as much climbing equipment as I would have liked, but the kids LOVED all the toys and were busy the entire time were there (2 hours). Matter of fact, they even passed up on snack time just to keep playing.

Isn't the license plate quite fitting for Abbigail?

As I said before, arctic playgrounds come in all shapes & sizes. Here is the one we are lucky enough to have on base & the one we visit at least weekly for FREE. As you can see, lots of things to climb, slide down, swing from & crawl through. Usually Thomas is off running & playing with other kids his age as Abby usually plays by herself or trys to keep up with her brother and all he is doing.

Adjacent to the big playground is this toddler-size one which Abby really enjoys.

A rock wall for the little kids (and they have a full scale rock wall for the big kiddos)

Let's just call this the Mommy Side.

Lots of mommy's can be found here (me included) with their strollers, snack bags, playmates & workout shoes all while watching over their own kiddos while they get their sweat on.

Friday Night Leftovers (Happy Veteran's Day edition)

2011-11-11T20:24:00.000-09:00

Happy Friday. Happy Veteran's Day.

My "Thankful Thought" (because I missed yesterday AGAIN) - Thank you to all the men and women who stand up and fight for our great nation. We are free because they are brave. We owe our deepest gratitude to each of you, both past & present. Thank you.
Speaking of our military hero... we are missing ours while he is 1/2 way across the world serving this great nation. We love & miss you Daddy (Brian).
Marilyn is doing the butt-up, toe-pushing, sometimes-going-backwards attempt at crawling this week. It's precious.
Abby is ho-hum about potty training. She loves sitting on the potty as long as I'm right there with her reading books. She loves her "princess" pull-ups and panties. She, however, is not a fan at all about going pee-pee or poo-poo in the potty. She has done neither. Can you see where this is going?
Despite the slow progress, I know it will happen eventually. Thomas was fully potty trained before he was 3. There is time.
I'm sure there are days that every parent feels like this but my day was today. I feel like pulling my hair out because of what my kiddos are doing or in some cases, not doing.
I have a full appreciation for my hubby's snow shoveling duty over the last 2 weeks. Almost daily he shoveled before work in the morning, sometimes at lunchtime and often in the evening. With him gone, guess who is stuck (sometimes literally) with the job? I can assure you it does not get done nearly as frequently or as thoroughly. But it does get done.
I'm at the half way point in my current M.Ed course that I'm taking now... and I can't wait for it to be over and for our holiday break to be here. I'm just not feeling it.
Exciting news... before he left the country, Brian made room in the garage for this Mama's driving machine. Yes - I am parked in the garage people. This is indeed a first.

Wordless Wednesday: The Homemade Pizza edition

2011-11-09T17:25:00.001-09:00

Yum Yum!

A whole lotta "I wants & I needs"

2011-11-08T13:55:00.000-09:00

It began about 2 weeks ago... even before Halloween.

It happens almost every time there is a toy commercial or he sees the not-so-well-hidden catelogs.

It starts with, "Mom let me show you this that I really, really want..." and usually ends with, "and I need this and this and that one too."

It is really starting to get annoying.

We have started to remind him that Santa only brings toys to boys and girls who have been kind & good... ALL YEAR LONG. That he is watching you from the North Pole (which isn't far from here you know) and wants to know that boys and girls have their listening ears on... ALL OF THE TIME. That he would like very much for you to pick a few (key word "few") toys that you would really enjoy having and write them down on a Christmas wish list (with Mommy & Daddy's help of course) so that he & his elves can bring a special present to you on Christmas morning.

One day this week, shortly after we had endured a round of Time-Outs with Thomas & Abby for snatching, pushing and crying, I reminded them about Santa, presents, kind & good, etc. Thomas turned to me and said, "I am trying to be kind & good Mom but she just keeps fighting me. She is making it really, really hard to always be good."

So there you have it from a 4.5 year old... its his sister's fault.

The snow is here to stay

2011-11-07T19:19:00.000-09:00

Watch'in it fall

Knee deep in the white stuff

Off road'in with the girls

On the way to the "big hill"

Gett'in himself psyched for the ride down

Marilyn sport'in her snow 'jammies

Abbigail join'in the fun with matching ones...

Halloween Bag Parade

2011-11-05T20:31:00.002-08:00

A week or so before Halloween, Thomas' class had a "Halloween Bag Parade." The directions were to decorate a paper grocery bag for Halloween, then cut holes for the arms & head to wear.

When we asked Thomas what he wanted his bag decorated as, he didn't hesitate to tell us

Tic Tok Croc from Peter Pan. Of course, what this meant for Mommy & Daddy was that we needed to figure out how to come up BIG for our little boy and do a good job drawing/coloring this Disney favorite.

Here's the result:

And the girls, Daddy and Mommy were there to see the Tic Toc Croc (and all the other Halloween bags) in action as they paraded through the school hallways.

Friday Night Leftovers (Thankful Thoughts edition)

2011-11-04T15:17:00.001-08:00

Hey November. Hey Friday. Hey Peeps.
I thought since it is November & I traditionally do my "Thankful Thursdays" in November (and because I forgot to do it yesterday), I would make this week's FNL the "Thankful Thoughts" edition.

#5 - Autostart on my car. Very Thankful. Freezing cold mornings = Freezing cold car.
#4 - Snow tires. Just in time for the snow this week.
#3 - Inside playground for the kids complete with workout gym for Mommy. What a perfect combination.
#2 - Lunchtime with Daddy. Everyday at home.
and #1 - Being a stay-at-home-mom this year. Our little children are growing so fast right before my eyes and I’ve been busy with them, trying to cherish every moment. I'm wonderfully blessed that I am able to do this and that Brian works even harder this year to provide for us while I am at home with the kids.

PS - answer to yesterdays blog is (left to right): Marilyn, Abbigail, Thomas.

Who is who?

2011-11-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

All at the same age of 5 months old, can you guess who is who?

5 month stats

2011-11-03T13:19:00.002-08:00

Last week, Marilyn had her 5 month checkup. The doctor said she is healthy as a horse (I'm not sure why we say that phrase) and is doing extremely well. She started rice cereal when she was 4 months old but we have since added some veggies & fruit to her diet as well. Marilyn's a big fan of sweet potatoes, peas, bananas & apples. However, she has several times refused the carrots. I can't blame her - I tasted them and they are gross. Same thing with the baby peaches. I'm just not a fan.

Marilyn's 5 month old stats:
height - 25.75 in (67th percentile)

weight - 15 lbs 12 oz (61st percentile)

On the sleep front, she is not quite the rock-star sleeper she once was not too long ago, but I really can't complain too much. She still has a nightly feeding, but on some nights she is feeling really rebellious and wakes up several times just to see how fast Mama will come running. At first, like with all of my babies, I give in and rock her, and sometimes even nurse her back to sleep. HOWEVER, that got old real quick. I came to my senses and realized that she has been playing me. Now, the night-light is repositioned so she can't see me coming in the shadows and all I do is pop the NUK back in her mouth and disappear. After a few short minutes of fussing, she is back to sleep.

Marilyn loves to stand (with us holding her of course). She literally will stand for up to 10 minutes. It is crazy how strong her little legs are. She hasn't yet figured out how to roll from her back to her belly, but she already goes the other way... belly to back. She also sits all by herself although I can't help but tuck a pillow behind her for the occasional tumble.

My goodness she is growing up fast.

Halloween Leftovers

2011-11-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

In all my hast to get some (belated) Halloween pictures posted, I forgot to include some snippets & stories from our eventful evening:

As I do every year, I bought my candy the day OF Halloween. The primary reason I do this? I would graze on it everyday leading up to Halloween. I just try and be proactive, not reactive to the candy.
I couldn't believe how much Abby refused to put on her Tinkerbell/Princess costume - she loves everything to do with Princesses. Thank god we had a backup Floppy-Eared Doggy costume stored away. In my opinion, she made an adorable puppy dog as did all the neighbors.
Both Thomas & Abby were in full Trick-or-Treating mode this year. As we made our rounds through the snow-filled neighborhood, the kids said "hi" to everyone. Thomas must have told every other kid he saw, "Hey, you look awesome in your costume!" Mr. Social Butterfly.
In addition to him throwing out all the compliments that night, when we returned back to our house (after only 30 minutes because it was 28 degrees outside), Thomas & Daddy handed out our candy to the trick-or-treaters. Thomas kept the door open (in our arctic room foyer) and yelled to all the passerbyers, "Hey, Happy Halloween you guys - we have great candy over here at our house!" You don't think this is a sign he wants to be a used-car salesman? It actually took all we had not to bust up laughing each time.
Last year, Abby rode in the wagon as we made our way around the neighborhood and only got out to go directly to the door. This year, Abby was keeping up pretty good with Thomas as he tried to race from one door to the next.
I think Abby got more candy than Thomas did this year. I think it was her cute, adorable, floppy-ears that let her bring home the prize.
Marilyn slept almost the entire time we were trick-or-treating. And it was 28 degrees outside.
I have a rule in my house - Halloween candy must be gone after one week. Because I don't have students to bring it to this year, in 4 more days I will be throwing out a lot of candy. And for the record... the kids get a piece after lunch, after nap, and 2 pieces after dinner. To me that is as much "sugar monster" as I can take each day.
In base housing, no one is allowed to put out any real pumpkins until Halloween day. The rules also state that all pumpkins must be brought in or discarded by the end of the night. Apparently bears, moose and foxes like to eat pumpkin.

Belated Halloween Pictures

2011-11-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

Let me start with a disclaimer - the pictures are not great. I'm a bit disappointed because we were a bit rushed getting out the door for Trick-or-Treating and I just couldn't get the settings right on my camera... so, there are limited pictures with everyone in their respective costume.

Thomas decided that he wanted to be a prince. He actually ended up looking much like a knight, but he wanted to be a prince that could save everyone and defeat the dangerous dragon with his sword. Regardless of what he actually looked like or was dressed as, he was certainly the most handsome little guy on Halloween night.

Marilyn was not happy at this point that I put the pumpkin hat on her...

As we walked out the door to go and get a few treats, I got the only descent picture of the night...

Abbigail changed her mind and decided that she wanted to be a shaggy dog; Marilyn is dressed as a ladybug (underneath all those blankets) and Thomas is looking less like a prince and more like a Ninja with his ski and face mask. Oh well, they had fun and were bundled up to stay nice and toasty warm.

And yes, everyone has snow boots and snow gear on underneath their costumes.

Post-Trick-or-Treating

Old School Halloween

2011-10-31T02:00:00.001-08:00

Happy Old School Halloween everyone!

circa 1981

Michelle is Raggedy Ann & Jennifer is Minny Mouse

(Thanks to my sis for sending the pictures!)

Fun in our first snowfall

2011-10-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Almost like clockwork and just like everyone said it would, snow fell last night just in time for Halloween. It wasn't much, two inches at best, but it was white, it stuck to the ground and later in the day we would have fun playing in it. However, the first order of business (in addition to doing our weekly grocery shopping) was to buy a shovel. Isn't that ironic?

Once shovels were in hand (we bought 1 big one and 2 small ones) , Thomas couldn't get enough of it. He shoveled our entire part of the sidewalk (with a tiny bit of help from Daddy).

Once Daddy pulled out the new sledding saucers however, it was all over and the shovels were thrown to the side. We knew we needed to find a hill to test the new sleds... and to see how the Florida kiddos would do now that had their Alaskan gear on.

So we headed over to the neighborhood sledding hill and decided to see if the kids were up for some down hill action. Of course, by the late afternoon, you can tell the hill had been used & abused all day and the snow had worn thin in a lot of areas... but who really cared, right? It was still slick, fast and fun! I'm sure the faces tell it all...

Meanwhile, baby girl & Mama were the sideline spectators (and photographer).

Despite the cold temps (a steady 31 degrees), she remained all smiles as we watched the sledding action.

Abby finally had enough of the hill, however she wanted nothing to do with the paparazzi. When I asked her to smile for me, she quickly put on her pouty face and gave me a "NO."

And as we walked back to the house, I looked down in the stroller and realized Marilyn was fast asleep.

It's hard work watching all the sledding action from the sidelines.

More snow is expected tonight. Of course, more snow is expected through March or April. I guess it is officially winter now.

A change in (pre)schools

2011-10-30T03:00:00.001-08:00

Admittedly, I have not been a fan of Thomas' preschool from the beginning. At first I thought it was because I was trying to compare it to his preschool/daycare that we had sadly left behind in Florida; I also thought that it was because it was part of the base "system." Then I thought it was because the staff was not very professional at the orientation; the uncertainty continued as we realized that Thomas is not being challenged at school. He is in a mixed preschool class of 3-5 year olds... the majority are 3 year olds. He has known his alphabet, and his 1-20 numbers since he was 2.5 years old and yet these, along with some other things, are already "learned" and yet class time is spent relearning them. He often comes home unhappy with some of the kids in his class explaining that they weren't nice, or used bad words, or this or that. And mind you, Thomas is the kind of kid that gets along with everyone. Days & even weeks go by when they do not go outside and play on the playground, yet stayed inside with little physical activity. We just feel like Thomas needs more out of a school...

That brings us to today. Listening to several recommendations from trusted sources, we visited a new preschool this last week. I was won over quickly. The staff & teachers were welcoming. The preschool which is also part of a larger K-12 Christian school has many wonderful resources, is well structured, has age-based classes (ie: only 4 year olds in class), and has a curriculum that will surely challenge Thomas intellectually, and also allow him to make new friends & enjoy himself. We were blessed to find out that they have an opening. I'm hopeful and anxious for him to start in early December. Instead of going 3 half days like he does now, Thomas will go 3 full days at his new preschool. I'm not quite sure how we are going to tell him about the change, but I can tell you that I don't think he will skip much of a beat; when we visited the school, he was engaged & so interested in everything they had going on there. We just want to give him every opportunity now so that he has a great start to school when he enters Kindergarten next year.

Sisters... especially my sister

2011-10-29T03:00:00.004-08:00

My sister, Jennifer, sent this to me the other day and, in true Michelle colors, I cried. My sister is my best friend. She is the one person, other than my dear husband, that I will tell a secret to. I will tell her what is really in my heart, what I worry about, what I stress about, how I feel about things & people, & what I love. I ask her to edit my work, do me favors on a whim, drive to see me (when I lived in Florida), be my maid of honor, be in the delivery room for the birth of my first child, and keep my secrets until I'm ready to release them. I know she loves me for me. We often argued & bickered growing up, but I always knew I had her to play with & be with when there was no one else. Mom told us that we would be great friends when we finally grew up. She was more than right. I love you Jennifer.

So with that said, I thought I would share some pictures of the Heck sisters. I know they will have the same kind of love that Jennifer & I have. But by the looks of it, they are off to a great start:

Friday Night Leftovers (the Potty edition)

2011-10-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Almost-Halloween Friday everyone! Sorry about the lack of blogs this week... I knew adding my next M.Ed class to my schedule would make for less blogging time. I will try and fit in a few extra where ever I can.

Anchorage Weather Report - no snow on the ground yet, however lots of frost, ice and freezing temps. When I say "freezing," I mean 21 degrees when I'm getting in the car at 8:15am. Brrrrrrr!
It's getting really old (and expensive) having two little girls in diapers. Size 2 and size 3 respectively.
Because I'm ready to have only one child in diapers now, we have begun the potty training process with Abby. And Mommy is serious about it. We have LOTS and LOTS of big girl undies ready and currently being used. We have Pull-Ups for when we leave the house. And we have diapers for night time. And of course, we have the little potty. Let's do this!
I'm quickly remembering how time consuming potty training is. Auuughhhh!
Potty training is almost more time consuming that breastfeeding and pumping is. Geeezzzzz.
This Mama's van has now been outfitted with snow tires and is ready for the white stuff to fly!
Thomas had his first parent conference this week & his teachers said that he is doing fantastic. In fact, Ms. Michelle said that one of his biggest strengths is his curiosity & imagination and is such a joy to have in class. *Tear* Proud Mama moment. More to come on preschool news later though.
Marilyn has pretty well gotten the hang of sitting up by herself. We still tuck some pillows near her for the occasional tumble, but she is really strong and doing great. Monday we get some new stats on her when she goes for her 5-month checkup.
Abby had her first two speech sessions this week and has taken to them beautifully. She will be with Ms. Amy 2x/week for the next few months. Immediate goals are working on vowel sounds like |a| |e| |o| and adding a final consonant to the end of words such as "P" at the end of "help." I'm hopeful we will see some great strides in the coming months.
I haven't had a haircut in 3 months and it shows. My hair looks awful. If I could wear a hat 24 hours a day, I would.
I haven't had a pedicure in 3 months and it shows too. I'm not sure there is enough lotion in the world to help bring my feet back to life at this point. Maybe that will be my Christmas present to myself. Alone time with my feet.
Days are getting shorter & Nights are getting longer. Case in point, here is a picture taken this morning at 9:35 am when the sun finally made it over the mountains:

The First Big Cut

2011-10-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, at the ripe old age of almost-27 months old, Abby just got her first haircut.

Or maybe I should say her first "real" haircut by a professional. She has had a smattering of hair trims in her young life, but nothing at all that took away her rag-tag, sometimes morning rat-infested looking, never straight, always in her face looking hair. The only exception to the raggy look she has been sporting is when I put her piggy tails in, but even those didn't stay in for more than a few short hours.

So... without further delay... the results:

BEFORE

DURING

(and believe it or not she was quite excited about it all)

DURING

(as she takes it all very seriously)

The NEW look

(complete with side braid & bow)

It actually kinda looks like a little bob but that is so the sides and the back can catch up to one another.

It certainly has a bit more shape now & looks a lot more girlie! Yeah!

Thomas, on the other hand, got the worst haircut of his life.

Seriously.

I look up for one minute and the lady is taking the shears to his head.

Poor kid looks like he just enlisted into the military.

It's shorter than his summer haircuts in Florida ever were.

I guess he won't be getting his haircut there anymore.

Oh well...

at least he wears a hat everyday we go outside because of the cold weather.

Wordless Wednesday: A-swing-N-a-jump!

2011-10-26T14:14:00.001-08:00

Video Clip - Here is Abbigail on the "high" bar doing some swinging & then of course ended with her infamous big jump. Sometimes she swings for awhile, other times she tries and gets her feet up on the bar next to her hands (as if she might hang upside down) ... but today it seemed that she just wanted to focus on her big finale jump!

She used to be a sideline-spectator but is now a semi-active participant in class too!

Wordless Wednesday - Gym Jumps

2011-10-26T14:08:00.000-08:00

Video Clip - Here is Abbigail in action at gymnastics today. She is getting more and more confident each week she goes and I think this video clip really shows that. Her climbing & jumping (from big heights) are "like its nothing at all" and it seems each week she is looking for bigger and better things to try. I'm not sure if that should worry me or not at this point but I'm enjoying watching her try lots of things, sometimes with great ease & other times it takes a lot of tries, falls, cries, & then she gets back up & wants to do it all over again.

Rap Star Dance

2011-10-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

Video Clip - Not knowing I was watching (until about 1/2 through), Thomas is in full effect as a Rap Star trying to make his baby sister laugh and giggle. I would say he did a pretty good job as Marilyn seems to be his #1 fan. No, he didn't get these dance moves from me or Daddy and I know he is not watching "Yo MTV Raps". Who knows... but it was funny to catch him in the act

All at the same time

2011-10-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

It started out with just the girls sitting together and having their picture taken...

Then Thomas joined the photo session and while I thought I might be able to get a nice picture of my 3 children looking at me and smiling all at the same time ...

Well...

It took a lot longer than I thought...

... but they were all so cute...

That I finally decided this was probably going to be the best I was going to get.

Cold Weather Girl

2011-10-22T19:02:00.001-08:00

Would you believe our next door neighbor is a professional photographer?

Yep... I think I will be having her take our Christmas pictures this year.

I am becoming my mother

2011-10-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's official.
I am becoming my mother.
That is not a bad thing at all, except I'm doing things I swore ~~when I was a teenager~~ I would never do to my own children.
Mom... I love you for helping me become who I am today, especially the mother I am. However, I am now doing the following:

calling out every wrong name in the house for the person's attention I'm trying to get. I sound a lot like an insane person. "Thomas, uh, Marilyn, uh, Brian, UH... Abbigail come upstairs now please!" and it is usually followed by, "Whatever your name is please come upstairs I said!"
Many times over I have caught myself doing the-lick-the-thumb-and-rub technique to get whatever is stuck on the side of the kids' face off. I used to hate that as a kid, but now I realized it is far too convenient to pass up sometimes.
I'm quite guilty of using the famous one-liner, "Don't make me stop this car!" Yep... guilty.
Trying to make the weekly grocery shopping trip as painless as possible for me + 3 kids often times results in me rushing through the store and not always paying close attention to the labels on the item I hastily grab. I have come home and discovered on several occasions that I have bought the wrong item. Worse yet, it ends up being something that I hate to eat, not just Brian and the kids. See... "haste does make waste."
Finally, I have caught myself a few times (more than I'm proud of) answering the question "why can't we go/do/eat/have somewhere/thing with the response, "Because I said so that's why!" Auuughhh.

And there you have it. Michelle is becoming her mother. I couldn't be happier. I only hope I can do half the job she did with my sister & me. Love you mom.

Halloween Tutu

2011-10-16T17:50:00.001-08:00

Look who is getting ready for Halloween!

Friday Night Leftovers (School is in Session edition)

2011-10-14T13:47:00.001-08:00

Hi Friday! Hi Folks!

So I no longer feel like a "free" woman. My next class for my M.Ed has started and any "free" time that I did have is now gone. Hello late nights, researching, writing and editing all for the sake of higher education. Hello School.
Thomas has come up with some very interesting questions this week for me and I have no idea what has prompted them. Case in point - "What is a burb? Do mosquitoes sleep at night?" just to name a few. I'm really hoping this does not lead to "Where do babies come from?" I'm just not ready to take on that conversation yet.
The weather forecasters LIED about snow last weekend... there was none. In actuality, that is "A OK" because I still do not have a snow suit for Thomas. Mother Nature must be on my side for once.
We decided to sign Abby up for another session of tumbling class because she is enjoying it so much.
Me & the kids are riding solo starting last night for a few days while Daddy is off pulling some pretty long days & nights with "work" stuff.
I'm a little anxious for Marilyn's next check-up at this end of this month... I can't imagine how much she has gained. To me she is heavier than 2 sacks of potatoes and she isn't even 5 months old.
I'm also anxious (but not nervous) for my screening interview with the school district at the end of this month. Not that I'm trying to land a job next month teaching, but I will certainly entertain the idea of going back at semester time (if offered) although next school year is for certain. I'm even considering applying to a very successful Christian School for a teaching position. Maybe then God will forgive my lack of church attendance on Sunday mornings...
I just got word from one of the grandmas that peanut farmers had a rough, hot summer and the crops didn't do too well. This in turn will be leading to a HUGE price increase in peanut butter. We will be stocking up for sure in our house.
With Halloween fast approaching, I'm a bit worried about how much candy I'm going to need for the big night. In Florida, I was lucky to hand out a total of 10 pieces of candy. Usually all the leftovers were brought to school for my students the following day to enjoy. However, rumor has it that here each house will hand out a 1/2 ton pickup worth of candy on Halloween night. I don't doubt it with all the kids living in our neighborhood. Do you think I would be a bad neighbor if I just turned out my porch light to save some money? Jeez....
Speaking of Halloween, we need a pumpkin. However, I was not thinking straight when I thought I could wait until October to plan a pumpkin "picking" trip for us this year. October = freezing and all the Fall Festivals happen in September. Apparently October is already winter time, whereas September is the one "Fall" month. Note to self for next year.

Have a great weekend peeps!

Sweet Potato Queeny!

2011-10-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

It might have looked a little daunting at first...

... but look who likes her sweet potatoes after all!

Not too shabby for a first timer.

Look out Thanksgiving - here we come!

What do moose eat?

2011-10-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

The car conversation this morning on the way to school:

Mommy: I sure do hope we see a moose on the way to school.
Abby: [she nods her head in agreement.]
Thomas: Mom, do you think it is too cold for the mooses to be out?
Mommy: No Bud, definately not. Their fur keeps them nice and warm.
Abby: [she nods her head in agreement.]
Thomas: Well if they are out walking around, what do you think the moose is going to eat for breakfast?
Mommy: Umm. I think that moose like to eat berries and grass for breakfast.
Abby: [she nods her head in agreement.]
Thomas: No Mom... that is so silly. Don't you know that moose like to eat muffins for breakfast?
Abby: Yeah! [while she nods her head in agreement]

I guess our reading has been paying off?

Ha-Ha!

Big sis & Big stuff

2011-10-12T13:51:00.002-08:00

"Love" is what I see in this picture

This one too. I just love how Abby is pointing to all the important things for Marilyn to look at.

Abby really is a very lovey, caring and helpful big sis!

Ms. Miriam introduced the rings today in tumbling class.

I wasn't sure if Abby was really going to try them...

... until she took off and was swinging like a monkey.

Even Ms. Miriam was pleasantly surprised at Abby's willingness and then her eagerness to try, try and try again!