my kids are rockstars!

--kiddos and i just got back from our trip south. we drove 12 hours from va beach to athens, al, on the 19th. we stayed there with my aunt carroll and uncle larry at their house on the tennessee river. the first day we were pretty spent, at least i was. aidan and sierra were so happy to be out of the car, they ran around for a long time after dinner before i had to drag them to bed.

--the next day we went out on the boat on the river. aidan hadn’t been on a boat since he was 18months old…at least not a “personal” watercraft. he’d been on the touring boats out of the inlet in virginia. he loved going “big fast,” which i took as “really fast.” sierra wasn’t too sure at first of the speed, but ended up loving it so much i was holding on the back of her lifejacket as she leaned over to see the water go by. aidan liked looking at the “wave path” (the wake) that the boat was leaving behind us. :)

--we spent another night there, and the next morning we went to the nasa space center in huntsville. since aidan (still) says he will be an astronaut when he grows up, i thought it’d be a great place to take him. they both really liked it. so did carroll and i too…i hadn’t been there since i was about twelve or something. we toured the outside part with all the rockets, missiles, helicopters, etc. sierra climbed on everything that had a “do not climb” sign on it. i guess i shouldn’t be surprised by that, considering i found her this morning sitting inside her top (four drawer) dresser drawer putting all of her ponytail-holders on her fingers as rings…and no other drawers were open. how does that happen?? she must have pulled it out, done a pull up, and climbed right in. and she’s fast. i pretty much came in there right after i heard movement in their room. crazy girl...guess she's enjoying being back in her room?
--after the outside section, which also had a replica of the moon surface, we went inside. aidan and i did a simulation ride of a rover on the surface of mars. we looked at the different exhibits, many of which the kids didn’t care about…unless there were buttons and switches. they got to play in a replica of the space station, and each got to try their hand a landing the shuttle. after that we went to a 3D imax film “fly me to the moon,” about three flies that pack their suits and get in the helmets of the astronauts that first landed on the moon. pretty cute. it was the first film sierra sat through for the most part. she even let me hold her glasses on her head and she jumped nearly every time something came near her and tried to reach the flies. cute.
--after our film, we had lunch in the café and then took off on our five hour drive down to mobile. got there at dinner time and spent time with my mom and stepdad. we spent most of the rest of the week in mobile hanging out with them, my aunt connie, and going to lucedale to visit my grandparents.

--in lucedale we played inside and out, the kids loved the swing set and the dogs. sierra liked telling the dog “no, dog!” although one of the dogs got that from all of us. deedaddy and aidan played baseball, and they all looked at the cows when they came trekking through the first pasture.
--saturday, we packed up and went to dauphin island…the southern-most part of alabama. there’s a fort on the island (ft gains), with a sister fort (ft morgan) in gulf shores, that guard the entrance to mobile bay from the gulf of mexico. the whole “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” thing was at the battle of mobile bay. anyhow, we had a house on the bay side, and three condos on the gulf side…yes, my family is huge, although we still were missing many of them.

--aidan spent most of his days swimming in the pool or beach at the condos, and fishing (he tried to catch a fish for two days) and playing/wrestling with my cousins at the house. he was younger by at least five years, sometimes more, but he held his own,…minus two busted lips. i was glad that it didn’t seem that they were just accommodating him, but actually wanting to play with him and have him around. one naptime during the week scott and matthew showed up at the condo wanting aidan to come out and play. that was cute.

--sierra spent her days getting in and out of the water at the pool or beach, running around the house on the deck, trying to climb upstairs to the big kids, or playing with my cousins’ boy. that was cute. jackson is seven days older than sierra. after they got over their original shyness, they were following each other around and even competing for deedaddy-lap-space…which as a former competitor myself, is know to be valuable real estate! :)

--i spent the time chasing children, but mostly letting other people chase children while i hung out with my family, helped cook, got sunburned, read three books, and swam occasionally. one morning i went fishing with deedaddy and four of my cousins. we didn’t catch as many white trout as the group the day before, but we held our own. they were yummy the next night for sure!!
--after a week on vacation with the smith family, which i haven’t been able to attend in six years, the kids and i packed ourselves into the stuffed car and drove 950 miles home. it took 16hours to get back, but my kids are troopers. i got the occasional “are we almost there?” from aidan, and we had to stop every couple hours, but never a complaint out of the back seat. sierra cried for about 10minutes at around 9pm that night when she woke up and couldn't understand why she was still strapped in her chair in the car. we had been traveling since 7am (eastern time). so, in all fairness, i guess i understood her frustration!

Dropping off Daddy

--the kids and i spent a good family day with billy before we took him to the ship. we all got to go onboard and see where daddy will work and live while delpoyed. aidan and sierra enjoyed all the hatches and ladders, twists and turns, helmets, hoses, and lights.
--we helped billy take the last bit of stuff to his stateroom, and got a tour of the spaces he uses day in and day out, and the view off of the deck. then we had our sad good-bye and left daddy to "defeat the bad guys."
--his ship email is: suppo@ddg75.navy.mil; and he can receive mail/packages at:
LT BILLY HUNT
SUPPLY DEPT
USS DONALD COOK, DDG-75
FPO, AE 09566-1294
--will keep everyone posted on any happenings.

June 09

--short and sweet: with june came LOTS of company. we had a good visit with grandma and grandpa, grammy and poppy, and paw-paw and joy with emily and jordan.
--we had sierra’s 2nd birthday three times, and she opened LOTS of presents, and sang “happy birthday” to herself for over a month…in fact, she’s still singing it these days. “haaa birrrday ah rarah, haaa birrday ah me!” she also got her ears pierced. i always swore i wouldn’t make a baby get her ears pierced, she at least had to ask for it. she has really been into my earrings lately, and said “for me?” so i took her. she did great. she got scared when i had to hold her still…that’s reminiscent of getting shots, which she fights with all her might. she cried at first, but as soon as i got to let go of holding her head, she was fine. she didn’t like me cleaning them at first, but she put up with it. and she looks precious. she called them her “pretties” for a while, and now calls them “earwings.”
--she can say anything she wants these days, and lately all i write down are long and/or interesting phrases she comes up with. some include:
* “dee end. i get a-no one” = the end. i’ll get another one. (book)
* “i see a airpane!” = i saw an airplane!
* (did you have fun outside?) “no. ew, ew. i see a bug. it bite da finger. yuck!”
* “one two free” / “fie sit” / “a nigh ten” = her counting…not in order, but those sequences are right
--aidan is a water boy these days. and he swims now. we went to the pool with asha and yogi early in the month, and he decided he could swim. he jumped off the side and swam!! he swims underwater, but has to stop and rest, so as long as he can reach the bottom he’s good. (next we’ll work on treading water.) after that, at the beach, he barely comes out of the water at all. he goes out to waist/chest deep and rides the waves in or jumps over them. granted, he gets swept away and has to continuously come trotting back to be in front of me so i can watch him…but he’s having a ball, and he just gets better.
--billy joined his ship (uss donald cook) and has officially taken over as the suppo. they were super busy with inspections and are now prepping for a july deployment. i think he’s excited and nervous all at the same time…though he’ll do great, and he seems to thrive at sea with the always-involved-environment, that suits him.

May 2009

--may was busy, but not. billy was gone pretty much the entire month, until memorial weekend. we did, however, drive down to athens, ga, to see him for a long weekend. it was cool to be back in athens, which is where we got married, and wander the town. it is very walkable, and we love the main drag of shops and restaurants. it was great to see billy, though the kids didn’t understand why we couldn’t go back (another 9hours) to see him the next day after we got back!
--i read a book called outliers, about successful people. it was very interesting, but what i took from it concerned the way americans learn math, versus aisan cultures. because of the counting system used, the typical american four-year-old can only count to 15, while the japanese/chinese/etc four-year-old can count to 40. that basically means that by age four we americans are already behind in math…and it just compounds throughout the rest of the school years. didn’t really like that, so the next day i asked aidan to count as high as he could. he got to 15. who wants to be “average” anyway? so during our long morning walk, we memorized one through 20, using our weird counting verbiage. the next day we went to 30. he did great once he figured out the pattern…and the day after that, he went to 40. so, (after six months of pre-school, where aidan maintained his average-ness,) in three days, we had aidan all caught up with the asian four-year-olds! ;)
--more aidan progress: he used to have trouble singing along with something (tv/radio/me). the words he knew, he’d say at his pace, no matter how far behind the real melody he got. now, he hums the words he misses along with the song, and sings the parts he can with it. it’s pretty funny to listen to…but at least he’s keeping up!
--sierra’s vocabulary is incredible. she talks all the time, and it’s pretty clear what she’s saying most of the time. it’s rare that i have absolutely no idea what she’s saying. her latest sentences include:
* “ha fun, day-dee, otay?” = have fun, aidan, okay? (when we’d take him to school)
* “where day-dee dough?” = where’d aidan go?
* “i go aaaa-go ni-night!!!” = i’m going night-night in my diego (dora) sheets!!!
* “hurry, hurry, ess dough!” = hurry, hurry , let’s go!
* “ahh-mow home, mama!” = almost home, mama! (as soon as we’re on our street)
* “one, free, one, free” = 1, 3, 1, 3 (her counting practice)
--for the past few months, she has been potty-training herself. i’m not pushing it, and i’d actually prefer that she wait, but i’m not deterring it either. i just know in a month or so, we’re going to be doing lots of driving…road trips south and north…and i’m not sure i want to hear “i potty, mommy,” and stop all the time to avoid an accident. so, i’m keeping her in diapers, but taking her when she wants to go. she rarely lets me change her pants without first letting her sit on the potty. she always goes before her bath, and she tells me when she’s already gone, sometimes even before she goes. i’m just letting her do it if she wants to, but there’s no pressure to get out of diapers…i’ll start “training” her after august.
--when billy came home, we had friends (rob and justin) come down again for the long weekend. we went to a pool party, where aidan swam around the pool in a life jacket (cause after a day at the beach, nobody wanted to get in with him), and even jumped off the diving board. we thought he might get scared, cry or something, but he jumped off before anyone was ready with the camera! he obviously did it over and over after that.
--that same weekend, we had our own memorial weekend party. invited nearly everyone we know…cause, yeah, we go all out! started at 2pm and went until nearly 2am…cause, yeah, we go all out!! not everyone came of course, but those that did, i’m pretty sure they had a good time. and as we went nearly 12hours, not everyone was there the whole time or all at once…so it worked out. it was lots of food, friends, and fun.
--the next weekend, as “hotel hunt” had officially opened for the season, more friends (mike and leslie) came down. we had another great weekend at the beach, mini-golfing, a concert on the beach, and with another mini-gathering of our regulars! more food, friends, and fun!!

April 2009

--april’s showers bring may flowers, right?? well, we definitely had some showers, but we just sort of skipped the nice weather and went straight to 90degree temps. granted, that’s cooled down a bit (along with some more rain), but i don’t remember actually having spring. even without the weather, we went ahead with easter and spring school performances. we also drove down to athens, georgia, to see billy. he is down there for five weeks before reporting to his new ship in june. we had a good time touring around athens again…lots of fun shops and restaurants. (and billy is doing well in his class…as expected!)
--aidan’s class had an easter party. they had an easter egg hunt and then bunny-inspired snacks. siblings were invited, and sierra enjoyed being totally overstimulated by the classroom…and of course the cookies. after snack-time, there was a little time left before school let out, so the kids came back to the classroom and sang all the songs they’ve learned this year. aidan really likes going to school…he talks about the things he does, counts and knows his colors in spanish, sings songs (ALL THE TIME), and asks if today is a school day.
--his class also put on a show for all the whole school and parents. it was a prayer service, and the three-year-old class did the singing. it was really cute. some of the kids got really into it…mostly the girls, and some of them were really out of it. one girl was running up and down the stairs of the chapel, and one boy was hitting himself in the head. i got it all on film too, it’s great! after the first song ended, sierra screamed, “YAY!!” all the parents thought that was funny.
--the easter bunny left some goodies for the kiddies, and an indoor egg hunt. both of them were having a ball finding eggs. and they just looked adorable in their easter outfits…got some great pics!
--here are a few of the fun things aidan talks about these days. the second one, we were driving home from athens (a 9hour drive), and he spouted off this crazy story…what an imaginiation! i grabbed my pad and tried to write what i remembered down, then asked him to tell it to me again. he did and (it was exactly the same and) i filled in the gaps in what i wrote down.
* “why does my teacher love me?” (she loves all children.) “but she doesn’t know everybody’s name!”
* “sometimes sun booms into my land at the right spot in the fence, and a door comes in my backyard that takes me to a land with wolves, a unicorn, and trolls, talking sheeps, and tiny indians on my nose. i have a pet komodo dragon that helps me hide from the trolls and i ride on the unicorn. he runs because he doesn’t have wings. the trolls are faster than me, are really bigger than me, but i can defeat them. they won’t be dead, i just push them back under the bridge, but they will come back. all the animals and the tiny indians watch me defeat the trolls.” crazy, huh?
--sierra’s still all over the place. she’s constantly getting on top of a table, climbing stairs, opening doors, climbing out of bed, throwing things in the sink, taking things out of the garbage, picking flowers, singing songs and dancing, calling everything purple, and sitting (or standing) on the arm of the couch.
--latest verbal accomplishments include:
* “um ear, day-dee, ess dough” = come here, aidan, let’s go!
* “i shoe on, mama, ah white” = i want shoes on, mama, alright?
* “ree” = green
* “boo” = blue
* “pup-pul” = purple
* “horry, day-dee” = sorry, aidan
* “rarah” = sierra
* “shoe on, mama, pea” = please put my shoe on, mama
* “i go run” = (what she says as she runs in circles trying to make herself dizzy)
* “ha-huh” = ah-huh (as in ‘yes’)
* “hep me” = help me
* "wah-chow" / "buum" / "pah-chew" = her fighting noises ('buum' = boom)
* “ahh don duice peas, mama” = my juice is all gone, can i have more please, mama :)

March 2009

--march was pretty full. we had grandma and grandpa visit, then went north and visited grandma and grandpa, and grammy and poppy. billy had his major supply inspection and after passing with flying colors (again), was farewell’d from his shore command (acu2), and is now prepping for his ship tour (uss cook). while we were in yankee-town, i went on a yoga retreat for a few days, and billy and the kids went to the museum of natural history and spent time with grandparents.
--grandma and grandpa enjoyed taking aidan to school and picking him up while they were in town. aidan LOVES school…he asks nearly every day if it’s a school day. he brings home projects he does in school and even sometimes brings home instructions for us to do a project together. (help with homework starts pretty early!) to celebrate dr. seuss’s birthday, we picked out a favorite book and designed a book cover for them to display in the front hall of school. aidan chose the tooth book, and his idea for the cover was “a clown doing juggling balls.” not sure where that came from, but that’s what we made, and aidan said his teacher liked when he talked about his cover.
--aidan has been talking about his dreams lately. he’ll come out of nowhere with these conversations, too, so it’s kinda random, but they’re interesting. “i had dreams about animals and mans. i turned into a butterfly. a man maked me turn.” / “why do i have dreams? (god tells you a story while you sleep.) what does that mean?” / “there were animals and spiders in my room. (did you like your dreams?) yes ma’am, i saw a hippo.”
--billy aced his smc (supply management certification: major supply inspection). each command has one every two years, so since he was at this command for three years, he actually had to go through two of them. last time, he got a 95.5%. his score was the highest on the waterfront that year, and also the highest acu2 had in recorded history. this year he got the same score. he’s somewhat worried about his new ship, which only passed theirs at an 81%, because it means he’ll probably have his work cut out for him, in addition to learning and being in charge of more aspects of the supply department at a command that will be underway at times. i tell him that’s why they selected him to go to that ship…who else could get it done, and have them in “ship-shape”?? :)
--the yoga retreat was interesting. it was at sivananda ahsram in woodbourne, ny, in the catskills mountains. (http://www.sivananda.org/ranch/index.html) it was still a little barren since spring hadn’t really sprung by then, but the views were still awesome. i was supposed to go with leah (billy’s sister) but she had to fly to seattle that week for work, so i had to go by myself. still it was nice. i LOVED the yoga part…we did two hours in the morning and two in the evening. part of it was breathing exercises. and it wasn’t sweaty yoga…more relaxing. and i gained some major flexibility while i was there and even got into poses and headstands i didn’t know i could do…so that was really cool. the food there was good, but it was mostly vegan, though they did have a few “just” vegetarian dishes. now i could never be a vegan, but the veggie meals were creative and surprisingly filling. (we only ate twice a day.) we also meditated and chanted twice a day, once at 6am and once at 8pm. their meditation was something i wasn’t used to. i meditate, and have tried the “real” meditating, but could never get into it. but when i read meditation made easy, i realized i had been meditating for years. i don’t follow the strict protocol of “cross-legged position, eyes closed, no movement, focus on OM, and empty the mind.” i’m all about zoning out with my cup of tea and think or not think. so anyway, this was different…and hard to get into, cause you feel like if you scratch your leg you’re going to disturb someone else. and have you ever noticed how loud swallowing sounds when you’re in a silent room full of other people, or that the urge to move is directly related to the amount of movement you’re supposed to be doing? plus, i’d inevitably get the loud stomach rumble going on. still, it was interesting, a lesson in “control,” and i did get better at it. i was eventually able to sit completely still for thirty minutes (in the dark without falling asleep), though i couldn’t OM that long. the chanting…that was a completely different thing. it wasn’t monotone, which i was grateful for. it was more like singing…singing in a strange language though (sanskrit). the part i didn’t like was that it was a bit too hindu for my taste. invoking deities and the shrine to krishna…not really my thing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna). plus, the most experience i had in saying those kinds of words came from karate kid, when daniel picks up the floor sanders (“sand da floor”) and bangs them together singing “hare krishna, hare krishna.” the hindu part was about the only aspect of the ashram life i didn’t really like. i even liked the karma yoga…selfless work to “help” out. we had kitchen duty after meals, and i spent hours in the garden with paul, the old guy who’s been there for years and years. overall, it was a cool place, and i enjoyed my time there, and met some cool people. i’d like to do another yoga reatreat one day, though i doubt it’ll be at an ashram…maybe more like an intense yoga spa or something. ;)
--sierra…what to say. besides the vocab advances which will come below, here’s what i wrote down this month about her. we’re definitely in the anal stage…she’s all about the potty. wants to sit, tries to go, has gone a few times, and she even tries when she’s not on the potty…to not-fun results. she de-robes when she’s in the bed, stripping down to nothing and then proceeds to pee and/or poop on her pillow. needless to say, they (and the mattress) are waterproofed and sheets are washed much more often than i’d like to! she tells me when her diaper is dirty and tries to take it off herself, so i really have to pay attention to what she’s saying.
--she’s also a dipper lately. in addition to the normal dipping of fries in ketchup, she dips green beans in salad dressing and even dips salmon in ketchup. i would be grossed out a bit, but whatever helps her eat her non-favorite foods i’m all for!
--latest sayings:
* “ah-da man” = spiderman
* “ess dough” = let’s go
* “yay eat!” = yay eat!
* “ha dirday” = happy birthday
* “bom-pah” = grandpa
* “ram-mah” = grandma
* “yay eat nack” = yay eat snack
* “hey dopp!” = hey stop!
* “dough dabba dabby” = yo gabba gabba (still the only show she’ll sit and watch…though she’ll sit longer for whatever’s on if there is a big bowl of popcorn in her lap!)
* “i faw, mommy” = i fall, mommy
* “yuck” = yuck
* “hi, baby…nummy (slurp)” = hi, baby (feeds with bottle)
* “shear, eat” = please share what you’re eating
* “teak-ah” = tickle
* “ear tum” = hear i come (hide and seek)
* “mear, day-dee/dog” = come here, aidan/dog
* “dip” = dip
* “yook, day-dee” = look, aidan
* “i sit” = i’m sitting
* sings songs (constantly) and on command…she sings all songs to the “twinkle twinkle” tune. most words are the same every time she sings it, though she may start with “row row” (for “row row your boat”), and throw in “haaa dirday” (for “happy birthday to you”) and you can even tell when she’s saying “star” and “how i.”

February 2009

--in february, we actually had several days where it was warm enough to play outside…the kiddies loved their new outside toys we were able to pull out. we also had some friends visit and went visiting ourselves.

--great peoples shannon and jesse with kids jarah, isaac, and baby#3 were in town for a few days, stopping over for jesse’s schooling, on the way to moving to california. we had a few fun days with them, including playing at home, the mall, and at chuck-e-cheese for birthdays. (we met sandra with ella and gabriel at the mall for lunch, time in the playroom, and a ride on the carousel.) it was cute to see the kids together again…they were always such good friends. and really, if i believed in arranged marriages, we could be family one day! :)

--i took the kids with me to my sister’s house in blacksburg (va tech) for a weekend to visit emily, my mom, and my aunt joan. we had a good time catching up and playing and watching movies and eating yummy food.

--by the end of the month, i had sierra back in a crib…the toddler bed didn’t last long! every morning if i didn’t get into their room in time, or at naptime if she didn’t go to sleep right away, she’d destroy the room. she’d take every single baby wipe out of the package and “clean” the floor with it, after dumping all the diapers out. she’d unload all the books off of the bookshelves. she’d empty out every single piece of clothing from their chests. so, instead of dealing with that daily (or even twice daily), i put the rails back up on her bed. i guess she forgot she knew how to climb out, cause she hasn’t tried to get out again.
--sierra likes to keep aidan company during time-out. she runs over and sits by him while he’s in trouble. (she’s been spending some time of her own in time-out…she gets in trouble when she does something on purpose that she knows she’s not supposed to…usually right after being told to stop.) she also likes to “read” these days. she obviously loves to be read to, but she likes to read by herself too. she doesn’t just look at pictures, which she does do while she names what she sees, but she likes to sit and tell the story in sierra-language. it’s really cute.
--speaking of sierra-language:
* “i’m ow” = time out
* “bye-bye, dada” = bye-bye, dada
* “no day-doo, mommeee” = no thank you, mommy
* “wa-wa” = water
* “ett-toe” = echo
* “dough dabba!” = yo gabba gabba (the ONLY show she will sit through)
--aidan is a chatter-box and a half these days. he talks about anything and everything…and he sometimes gets so excited that he can’t get what’s going on in his head out of his mouth, that he usually has to start over a few times. his memory is impressive however (when he WANTS to remember, that is). he’s learned the real names of several dinosaurs…he’s progressed from land before time names like “long neck” to knowing the difference between a brachiosaurus and seismosaurus.
--and he talks about space daily…he’s going to be an astronaut when he grows up. he has stopped saying “when i grow up” and now says “when i’m an astronaut.” he asked me the other day, “are asteroids from the mysterious beyond in outer space? (i guess.) and will people run if they boom to earth? (i assume so.) i will not run fast enough, you will have to hold me, right?” how funny is that!
--he comes home from school with even more to say. several things, we’ve talked about before at home, but it seems he either remembers (or pays attention to) it more coming from a teacher, or he enjoys whatever situations he’s learning in that he really learns it. the hardest topics to answer questions about are the religious ones. for one thing, i’m not totally sure how it’s being explained to him, but i try to get the idea simplified down enough that i hope i’m helping and not confusing him. some things he’s said/asked are:
* “jesus died on the cross, and at easter he will be alive again.”
* “why did jesus die on a cross?”
* “sharing, is serving jesus.”

* “if god came to my house, i would give him a hug.”