August 24 = PreK Orientation Day

Liam starts Pre-K in a week!  Today, we got to go see his classroom and meet his teacher.  We just found out what school he was going to a few days ago so I had filled out the registration paperwork but hadn't turned it in yet so he didn't have a folder and name tag.  Everyone else had a name tag and one of the kids wasn't there so he helped himself to one.  Meet Nathan.

After orientation I took the kids to the CDC- it's so good for them to be around other kids their age and we haven't met anyone here yet so the CDC is our best bet.  How cute are they?  They love each other so much!

March 29 = CDC Day

My college roommate came to visit us last night!  She's here until Thursday and I couldn't be happier about it.  Today we went to the gym and then took the kids to the CDC so we could eat lunch and do some shopping sans kids.  We ate at the Breakfast Shoppe- so so good.  And then we went to Target and Home Depot and DSW and Old Navy.  It was so nice to be able to walk around leisurely!  Oh also.  At Home Depot... we went there to get some stuff for our backyard and as we pulled in we saw these two men running through the parking lot with chainsaws.  They jumped in a car and it sped off- like with a getaway driver.  We witnessed the theft of chainsaws from a Home Depot- it was insane.  And thankfully that was the most exciting part of the day.  Alexandra got this picture of the babies holding hands on the way out of the CDC- how sweet!

March 22 = Bowtie Day

So we have these child safety things on Liam's dresser.  They're supposed to keep him from being able to open the drawers but they allow him just enough space to be able to take out about half the clothes in each drawer.  Today, he worked on his top drawer which mostly holds socks but also has this bow tie that we got him around his second Christmas.  We haven't looked at it since but he insisted on wearing it today.  He went to the CDC today and I didn't have the energy to attempt to take it off so he sported it all day.

Today is Tuesday, meaning I'm on my own all day and night so after I got the kids down, I saw this and laughed out loud:

March 17 = St. Patrick's Day/Gramps Birthday

First I'm going to do a little Throwback Thursday and share this gem from 3 years ago:

 

Liam spent most of the day in the CDC today so Malia and I did some shopping.  Here she is in an appropriately colored chair at Barnes and Noble:

 I found these super stretchy hair ties so I decided to try pigtails today since she's grown a little more cooperative:

After we picked Liam up we had dinner at Chickfila.  I'm so proud of myself that this is the only Chickfila trip we've made since Zachary's been gone. 

Also, I had to share this Facebook meme because it's so funny.

And Zachary and his chief and his chief's friend went to a Miami Heat game tonight and he sent me this picture- I was so happy for him that he got to experience it! 

December 15 = Liam Has a Girlfriend Day

Oh my goodness.  So there's this little girl at the CDC who gets so excited every time I bring Liam in.  When we open the door and she sees it's him she will announce it to the class and come over to him to say hi.  I asked her what her name was last week so that I could bring her up at home just to see if Liam would respond to it.  One of the developmental questions I'm always having to answer at doctors appointments and such is "can your child name a friend," and I've always said no because he's never named anyone except for Malia (who he calls Lala).  So I thought maybe if I knew a name it would be helpful.  Anyway- Maddy did what she always does- she's taken Liam under her wing I think.  So I had to ask the front desk lady some questions but when I came out and was ready to leave- I saw this on the playground!  As I was walking to my car, they were going down the slide together.  She went first and then stood at the bottom waiting for him to come down and then they held hands and walked over to where some other kids were playing.  This warms my heart so much to know there's another child in his class that takes care of him and enjoys spending time with him!

November 16 = Playground Day

I am so obsessed with this playground.  Well let me back up.  I had an OB appointment today and Monday is Liam's CDC day.  When I went to drop him off I thought it might be a good idea to see if there was room for Malia there too so she didn't have to sit through my appointment.  Thankfully there was so I dropped her off to and came home and did nothing.  Well I watched TV and messed around on my phone.  I so rarely get to do that so that's what I did in my free time.  Then I headed to the OB and thank goodness I didn't have Malia with me because I had to wait in the waiting room for over 45 minutes.  Now back to the playground.  I picked the kids up and decided to stop at the playground instead of heading straight home because I'm aware that this nice weather is going to leave us soon so I need to take advantage of it!

Liam decided to take on the slide backwards today- he thought he was so clever!

And then he helped me push Malia in the swing.  Such a sweet brother!

October 23 = Malia goes to the CDC Day

Since I got Liam out of the CDC yesterday early for our playdate, I decided I'd both kids in the CDC for a  little while today- long enough to grab lunch with Zachary.  But before I could get to him, I was in line getting on base behind this:

Completely irrelevant but had to share.

We had a good lunch with uninterrupted conversation- it was great.  
And then it was time to pick up the babies!  Malia wasn't too eager to go home with me; she had been having fun!

 Liam was super tired when we got home.  He never ever takes a nap at the CDC so it's not surprising.

September 24 = Train Table Day

Today was another CDC day but Liam didn't go in until 10 so I had time to make some eggs for breakfast- Malia enjoyed them- Liam didn't.

We dropped Liam off and headed to the library for "Babies in Bloom."  Malia spent the majority of the time were there standing in the middle of the room.  But then the woman brought out bubbles and it was over.  I took a video but this is the best part of it- I took a screen shot of her face when she realized the bubbles were within reach.

Then we brought lunch to Zachary- she got a free ride back to the car when we headed out.

We ran to target and got Halloween costumes (I got an email that their costumes were 40% off just today so duh, I had to go).  Then we picked up Liam and came home.  When Zachary got home, we headed to Anna Kate's house- she had a train table she wasn't interested in anymore that she wanted to give to us.  Liam is a huge fan!

September 21 = Hail & Farewell Day

We started the morning by putting a bow in Malia's hair.  She tolerates these better than headbands even though I love headbands but it's just not in the cards for us.  Anyway! 

We took Liam to the CDC for the day and came home and got to work.  Malia helped me fold some diapers...

I got some other stuff done, Malia napped... and then it was time for me to take Malia to Zachary so he could watch her for me while I had a therapy appointment- have I mentioned, I love therapy?  Well, I picked up Liam first and as we were leaving, we saw our friends, Kam and Anna Kate. Anna Kate is four and she is so sweet.  She's super smart too and her mom is teaching her lots of good things- one being to have a giving heart.  Anna Kate knew that I was Malia's mommy too and she gave me one of her stuffed animals- she had it in her little purse so it must be pretty special- she wanted Malia to borrow it.  So I took it to pick Malia up and gave it to her- she loved it!

After I snapped that picture, Zachary showed me this picture he took of Malia while she as hamming it up at the Academy.

I went home, changed diapers, packed some snacks and we headed right back to the Academy for a hail and farewell at the Commandant's house. I don't have any pictures of us there because Liam and I didn't last long.  Liam thinks all doors should be closed at all times- he gets this habit from us but little does he know, the doors are closed to keep him out.  Anyway, he got very upset when people would open doors that he had shut- silly people.  So he and I headed outside and walked around a bit.  It was so nice outside so it all worked out.

September 10 = Get Caught in the Rain Day

Today was a "Liam goes to the CDC" day.  So Malia and I spent some quality time together and I got some of my chores done and then we went to the Academy to have lunch with Zachary.  We had a little time to kill before picking up Liam so I stopped by the exchange to pick up a few things and while we were checking out, I heard what I was praying was not rain.  Oh but it was.  Hopefully, by looking at the sidewalk in this first picture, you can tell how hard it was raining.

We got to the CDC and the rain had slowed down a little bit so we walked very quickly in and got Liam and walked very quickly out.  As we were going home, though, the rain kept pouring down heavier and heavier.  When we got in the driveway, it was really bad.  It didn't seem like it was going to let up anytime soon so I went ahead and ran out, unlocked the door, got Liam, carried him inside, ran back out and got Malia, and then ran back out to get the groceries.  Liam got the least wet of the three of us, I definitely got the worst of it.  The water at the end of our driveway (where the drain is located for the street), was up to my knees.  So I snapped this real quick to show Liam found my being soaked, so very funny.

August 24 = Sick Day

Monday is CDC day!  I took Liam this morning and then took Malia to Babies in Bloom at the library.  A girl sitting near her had an identical doll to one Malia has so obviously, she thought it was hers and didn't like that I didn't let her play with it.  That resulted in us having to leave the room but I found some cool magazines and we got home a little earlier than we had planned which allowed me to get more stuff done!  I then had to take Malia to the CDC so I could go to my therapy appointment alone this time since last week didn't work out so well.  As I was leaving, this was on our doorstep: Liam's new tablet!

I dropped Malia off without any incidents!  And then I went to my appointment.  I brought several magazines so I didn't notice it was 17 minutes past my appointment- I texted my therapist but didn't hear back from her so after 40 minutes I left and went back to the library to kill time.  She texted me and reminded me she told me last week she had to cancel today's appointment.  Oops.  So then I picked the kids up and we headed home.  Liam was a little sluggish and fell asleep in the playroom.  I woke him up to go to the gym but he was not excited about it- which was weird.  I dropped both kids off in the kids club and went to my core class which I haven't been to in weeks!  Zachary got to the gym a few minutes later and as I was setting up, I looked up at the window beside me and he was creepily staring at me trying to freak me out- we got a good laugh out of it.  About ten minutes later, as I was doing some intense squats, I felt him staring at me again but this time it was because he needed the keys- Liam had thrown up in the kids club.  So we headed home and boy was he in a mood.  He was pushing, throwing, kicking, yelling- it was a rough evening.  He did love the tablet though!

August 14 = Sick Day

Well whatever happened in yoga was just a precursor.  I woke up this morning and felt awful.  I muddled through getting ready, got Liam to the CDC and even went grocery shopping but when I got home I immediately put poor Malia down for a nap and laid down myself.  Over the next hour I woke up six times alternating between sweating and shivering.  I texted Zachary and he suggested I see if Liam could stay at the CDC for a little longer so that he could pick him up.  So I called and thankfully it worked out.  Soon after Malia got up from her nap, Zachary came home and got her and picked up Liam.  This was my sweet girl between nap and when Zachary got home:

When he came home from getting Liam he had chicken noodle soup, crackers, lemonade and twix bars.  He said the soup was for when I was shivering and the lemonade was for when I was sweating.  So thoughtful!  Oh!  And he got me a card!  It said "Sending happy thoughts... and get well wishes."  And he signed it "Thank you for always taking care of us.  We hope you feel better and we love you."  How sweet!

So he handled everything for the whole night and as we were going to sleep I said thank you for taking care of the kids today and he said, "thank you for taking care of everything every day."  I hate that I was sick but it felt really good to be so appreciated!

August 10 = Yummy Breakfast Day

Zachary's working nights this week so we took advantage of this and after dropping Liam off at the CDC, we headed to The Breakfast Shoppe where Zachary got his "whole nine yards" and I got one of the specials- strawberry cream cheese stuffed french toast- oh my goodness- so good.

June 22 = Anniversary Celebration Day

Zachary's first real day back after this break is our anniversary- Friday.  I was so excited that our anniversary was on a Friday because I thought it'll be so fun to have an anniversary weekend!  Then the news came that all leave had to be taken before the 26th.  And so, as a military wife knows to do, I adjusted my expectations and we put the kids in the CDC today and had a day to ourselves.  We went to a place we'd never been for breakfast and it was delicious.

And then, Zachary planned a kayaking adventure for us!  We went to Quiet Waters Park and walked down a trail to this kayak rental shack and spent about an hour paddling around.

We saw a snake in the water, a couple of jumping fish and a few ducks.  There were some other people out paddleboarding but it was pretty quiet- it wasn't to busy on a Monday late morning.  Zachary would paddle us along for a while and then invite me to join in and we'd paddle as fast as we could for a few minutes just for fun and then we'd just go with the flow.  We talked about our memories and of course our kids.  We walked through some woods on the way back instead of taking the trail and then we came home and did nothing for an hour and then went and got our adorable little rascals.  It was a great day!

April 17 = Moving Day II

So I took Liam and Malia to the CDC this morning so that I could give 100% to packing and moving.  A couple of weeks ago when we first started dropping them off there, there was a form we had to fill out for each kid and we learned we'd have to fill it out every time we went.  One of the questions is if the child is on any medication.  I thought since Malia doesn't take her seizure medication at the CDC they didn't need to know about it.  Yes, she could have a breakthrough seizure but the only thing to do for her if she has a seizure is to call 911 and that's what they would do with or without my instructions.  Well the second time we took them, Zachary filled out the paperwork and noted that she takes an anti-seizure medicine.  Wellllllllllllllllllll they didn't like that.  So the receptionist gives me a form that I need to fill out.  It's made for kids with allergies or asthma- there are lots of questions that just do not apply to Malia's situation but they don't have a form for seizures so this was going to have to do.  I filled it out to the best of my ability and turned it in.  Well, I get an email the next day saying I had left the physician's signature blank.  I didn't see it.  I also think it's silly that a doctor has to sign a paper saying call 911 if a child has a seizure.  Duh.  I understand you need a doctor to approve if you say stab her with an epi pen or if there was a medication she had to have but the answer is just- call 911.  So I forgot to get the doctor to sign it.  I go to take the kids in today so I can pack and move stuff but I'm not allowed to leave Malia because the doctor hasn't signed the paper.  I take a deep breath, remain very friendly, and chalk it up to getting to give Malia some individual attention.  So now one of my top priorities is getting the printer hooked up and connected to the internet so I can scan and get this paper signed.  Enough of that- here's Malia working on standing in the new place:

And here are the cats freaking out about their rapidly changing environment and hiding where they feel safe in the old place:

I mentioned yesterday that I took a picture of Liam in his room before moving any furniture in.  Well I took a picture of him in his room after moving all the furniture out.  Two weeks short of a year has passed between these two pictures.  Too bad I couldn't get him to stand for this one- the first one was the first time he stood on his own.  It's crazy how far he's come!

March 18 = CDC First Day

So there's this place called the CDC.  Not the Centers for Disease Control but the Child Development Center.  They offer full time child care like a normal day care but they also offer hourly care which is awesome for us.  It is so difficult to get cleaning done with two babies at home so I'm always cleaning after they go to bed which cuts into the time Zachary and I have together and with our new obsession with the TV show Scandal, that's not working for us.  This also provides an opportunity, especially for Liam, to be around other kids his age and to practice different routines like eating at a table, using utensils, taking turns, lining up, etc.  So we've decided to bring them here around once a week to give them some time around others and to give me some time not around anyone!  I can use this time to clean or to just sit in silence- we will see how that pans out.

They did great!  Liam ate all his lunch and even tried drinking out of an open cup.  Malia of course gave the nursery workers no trouble at all.  And Zachary and I got to some more packing and were able to have uninterrupted conversations- what a concept!  But we missed them and I was excited to pick them up.