Serious spectator & future player

Make no mistake... Abbigail loves the soccer ball too!

As of now, she is our serious spectator but will be a future player no doubt!

 

My little athlete

Soccer season has officially begun!

Our first practice was fun, filled with lots of playing (parents included), running and kicking!

Coach Katie even told us our team name is the HORNETS (we had to explain to Thomas that was a bee).

Our busy little athlete had a great time and is (thankfully) talking about going back next week!

 Thomas announcing "I win" when he kicked the ball into the goal!

 Although moments later he got upset when his new teammate (little red head boy) kicked away his ball and continued to run down the field to the other goal with it.  Oh well, first defensive lesson - protect your ball.

 Team huddle

 Running fast down the field

 Ending the evening playing a little 1-on-1 with Daddy!



The Planning is under way

The big move to Alaska is still several months away, but the planning is already under way.  We both have checklists (that are constantly being revised).  Brian has his check lists for handling all the military requirements of out processing, securing orders, financial allotments and getting us from Point A to Point B.  I have my checklists that include everything related to the kids (medical, school, daycare) and me (job opportunties & medical). 

There are still many uncertainties about what we are doing with the house - sell or rent? Which route should we take while roadtriping up to the most northern frontier state? What should we plan to stop and see along the way?  But one thing is for sure... this will not be a road trip like any other.  It will look nothing like this:

Instead, the reality of our roadtrip will be 2 adults, 3 kids, 1 dog and we have decided to roadtrip with both vehicles (as opposed to ship the truck and put everyone in one vehicle).  Yes... it will be quite a bit of driving for each of us, but the plan is to take our time.  We will stop and enjoy the sites, do things the kids can run around & get fresh air with and just enjoy the fact that it is Uncle Sam who is paying for our move and we should enjoy the views along the way.  The details will work themselves out in the coming weeks (hopefully not months... we like to have our plan in place much sooner rather than later).

Hand-Me-Downs

I love hand-me-downs.
I especially love hand-me-down toys that were once Daddy's or mine.
We have an old horsey rocker and a Pinocchio jacket hanger that were all Daddy's as a baby.
We also inherited a gorgeous train set that we set up at Christmas time that also was Daddy's.

But last weekend we headed over to Nana's house for dinner and got a chance to dig some of Mommy's old toys out of the attic and clean 'em up and pass 'em down to Thomas & Abbigail.  For Thomas... an old train set that runs on wheels as opposed to track.  This was a huge hit, especially when he realized that animals (or whatever) could take a ride in the individual train cars.

 For Abbigail... Nana held on to Mommy & Aunt Jen's Cabbage Patch dolls plus accessories.  Abby, too, was in heaven especially when she realized that the baby bed could hold lots of babies at one time.  There was a moment when she insisted on getting in, but I had to put my foot down and tell her it was only for baby dolls - not big girls.  Apparently I sounded convincing.

 There was even enough room for Winnie the Pooh + 3 babies.

Thanks Nana for holding on to these special toys for all of these years.  As much as I couldn't understand why you would want to... the smiling faces of your grand babies quickly told me why.

Ready to take the field

Cleats?  Check!

Shinguards?  Check!

Socks?  Check!

Ball?  Of course!

Now we are just waiting for the phone call to tell us when and where soccer practice is.

There is a little boy who is very excited! 

 And I know there is a little sister who will be right behind him wanting to play soccer too!

First Dentist visit

We have been talking it up for weeks.

And this week was Thomas' first dentist visit.

Lots of things to check out - Lots of tools to figure out.

Likes the water squirter (for rinsing).

Hates the dentist toothbrush.

 But a great report none-the-less!

And a new toothbrush (with a soccer player on it)!

Way to go Bud!



A cold winter run

Last Saturday, Daddy ran in the Pensacola 15K Bridge to Bridge Race (9.3 miles) and we (along with some other friends) were the cheering section!  As you can see by the picture below taken shortly before 8am... it was COLD.  But nothing stopped these pint-sized spectators from cheering on their daddies (other friends ran too) after their 1+ hr race! And yes, those are lots of bananas behind the kids - that and lots of other post-race foods and beverages were set out like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the runners.

 Thomas asked several million times, "Is that Daddy?  Is Daddy coming yet?  Is Daddy running fast enough?"  Needless to say, when Brian did come across the finish line... it was all smiles for a little boy who felt like he just waited an eternity!

 Daddy & his little girl staying warm together (and enjoying snacks).

 It was actually a bit warmer when we went down to the post-race headquarters (so Brian could have plenty of liquid refreshments) - they had HUGE outdoor heaters that definately took away the frost from how cold it was feeling.  Congratulations again Daddy for a good race!

Down side to the race morning?  Mommy got a speeding ticket on her way there.  Haven't had one in a very long time and my pregnancy hormones got the best of me... I broke down as soon as the cop walked away.  Not a good way to start the day at 7:30am.

Recap... after 2 long weeks

I'm still alive.

Still keeping my head above water.
Sorta.
I'm sorry that there has been no posts or pictures in 2 weeks.
Life is busy - extremely busy.

I'm going to try and recap in a very brief way (no promises) and hit the highs.  I'd like to think of this as the Cliff Notes version of life in the Heck household:

• My M.Ed class I'm currently taking is demanding - time, energy, brain power, analytical thinking... my brain is hurting again just typing about it.  The two upsides are that I'm doing well in it and we are at the half way point.  This really has been the major reason I have had not time (and no creativity left in me to blog). 
• My two munchkins are good.  We have all returned to business as usual - funny stuff every day from them; plenty of Abby tantrums which then result in Abby time-outs... she is learning though.  Thomas has been spelling practically every other word that he comes across - I'm loving that he is intrigued... I hope reading is the next big step.

• We are 24 weeks pregnant this week - well past the half way point and fast approaching the 3rd trimester.  We actually had a Level II ultrasound done this last week... apparently the military docs thought my "AMA" (Advanced Maternal Age) + inconsistencies of an earlier ultrasound sparked a reason to send me to the High Risk Perinatal docs in the civilian sector.  Thank goodness we got excellent news back from the visit... all looks super with Baby Girl Heck... fluids, size, heart beat, organs.  Now if we could only agree on a name for her.
• Two Saturdays ago... Grannie stopped in for some milk & mini-donuts one morning.  As always... they were a hit and both Thomas & Abbigail had a great time with her.

• We have been trying to encourage Abby to "sit on the pot" each evening when we start the bedtime routine.  She loves to run to the potty anyway when anyone of us goes to use it, so we thought we would have her sit on the training potty (and/or the big one) and try and go potty.  Other than the fact she is having a good time, we have had no luck with pee-pees in the potty.  However, we have had several accidents in the bathroom (seconds after getting off the potty) and on the carpet in her room.  Figures.
• What I did find hilarious is this last Saturday morning...

•  Poor Ziggy has been stink'in to the high hills lately.  We couldn't stand the thought of giving him a bath outside with the temps being as chilly as them have been.  So instead, Daddy decided we would use our shower as the K-9 tubby center.  Thomas & Abbigail thought it was great that Daddy & Ziggy got to shower together.

... they were in charge of getting the towels ready for drying him off and for dry place for Ziggy to stand once he got out.

• On a final note... wanted to share the exciting news about Brian.  He has been named the SNCO (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer) of the Year for the HORSE... looking forward to celebrating at the big shin-dig in early March up at Moody AFB where the 9th Air Force will host the big event!  Congratulations!  We couldn't be more proud.
• A few things on the horizon, but I'm just not sure when I will have the next opportunity to blog... could be tomorrow, might be 2 weeks from now:

1. Thomas starts soccer in less than 2 weeks... I'm super excited about being a soccer mommy and cheering him on from the sidelines.
2. Daddy is running in a 15K on Saturday... we are the cheerleaders & support system.  Hope to take pictures & have some tales from the morning.
3. Thomas' first dental appointment is next week... fingers crossed that things go well, he doesn't freak out from the new experience (although we have been talking it up) and we have a good checkup.

OK... until next time (whenever that may be)... enjoy your loved ones around you.  Tootles.

Friday Night Leftovers

I feel like I've been blogging all week (at least with pictures) so I don't know if I really have much... I'll try though and see what I can come up with for the "leftovers"...

• If you haven't noticed... I'm experimenting with a new header look for the blog. Thanks to my college friend, Jen, she showed me how to upgrade and have some pics of the kids at the top.  I might continue to sweek the look but I'm definately like'in the new look!
• Abby has finally turned the corner on sickness, although she will still be on medicine for another week.  Side affects though have been her waking up (way too early) in the AM soaked from a wet diaper.  This never happens so we are convinced that the medicine is making her PEE more.  Is that possible or am I being stupid?
• I feel run down this week.  Not because I'm getting sick, most likely because my FAT but is going non-stop.  I was walking up the stairs this morning to class and I got to the half way point and was winded.  "Damn" I thought... its just too early for me to be running out of steam.  I hope this changes after a weekend of rest. 
• So it is tax time and the Hecks like to get this done as early as possible each tax season.  Tomorrow is judgement day - yeah!  I say that simply because we have continued to be on the big ++ side the past few years.
• Speaking of taxes... I picked up a copy of our 2010 total paid for daycare today.  I almost had a heart attack.  Seriously.  Sure, I write a check every week for my 2 kids to be in daycare but I never give much thought to what the total over the course of a year will look like.  That is until tax time.  Who in the heck pays more than $11K for daycare?  We do.
• Daddy & Abby have long had their flu shots taken care of this season.  Today, Thomas & I finally took care of business.  I haven't meant to put it off so much, but in all honesty, it just hasn't been convenient or easy to fit in a stop to the medical clinic.  But today we did it and I'm extremely happy to report that a certain 3 year old had no tears, no worries and was all smiles when it was all done.  I was so proud of him!

 

Abbigail - her professional looks

Of course I want to post the "real" emotions of Abbigail from our photo shoot last month, just as I did the other night for Thomas.  The difference between Thomas & Abbigail though is Abby takes quite a while to warm up (to anyone) and it is reflective in the photos Drew took.  She never seemed to take her eyes off of him or where he was or what he was doing.  You can tell she eventually finds the "stranger" to be harmless and she goes about her play & enjoyment.  But she is certainly our cautious one...

 Starting to let her guard down and her true colors personality shining through!

 Determined and excited about doing it herself on the slide!

 A short break with Mommy

 Swinging in Daddy's hands

Never really letting her guard down (especially with Daddy there to guard her)