We are doing well out here. I'm so glad I made the choice to come out here. Being near my parents is irreplaceable. They love my kids more than anyone besides Todd and myself, and everyone is being rewarded with richer relationships and time spent with people we love and don't usually see much. I love that my kids know they're cared for fiercely and it's not all on my shoulders.
The house is ... amazing. It has changed our lives!!! :) I don't know if I can go back to a small place ever again. Part of it is just that they're getting older, and part of it is that I'm more busy with Gemma and can't actively play with them as much, but Hazel and Jack are just blossoming in the way they play with each other, and I love it! Having so much space gives them the option to not be under my feet, and they're learning to play so much more independently. Hazel will feed Jack lines, and the two of them go off into wonderland together and it's really fun to hear their dual laughter through the vents and know they're bonding and it isn't forced.
 |
| first sibling sleepover!!! |
We're in the backyard every single day. Unfortunately, it isn't fenced, and we're on a busy road, so I'm always out there if Jack is, so it's not quite as dreamy as it could be (I had daydreamed about sending them outside while I made dinner, etc) but I love to be outside, so it's not too much of a burden. We bought a tramp and have used it every single day. It's tons of fun. Who knows if we'll ever again have enough space to use it after we move again... but for now, at least, it is awesome.
Hazel is intense, as always, and packed full of imagination. She has stopped wearing dress-ups all the time and has gotten more interested in things that feel older to me: she likes to create projects with paper and tape, she does dot-to-dots, just recently she has discovered how beautiful she can look if I curl her hair and she loves it. She is still obsessed with cheetahs and loves to pretend to be one, and asks me to paint her face to look like one sometimes. She's gotten interested in listening to me read chapter books, so we've been blowing through my collection of Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House.
 |
| "mouse moustache" |
 |
| too impatient to wait for paper |
Jack is speaking in full - and long - sentences. For example, a couple nights ago he asked me, "Can I hold my own toothpaste while you brush Hazel's teeth, if I stay in the bathroom?" He blows me away. This week he is obsessed with the word "exactly." I think it's because he'd ask me these big, long sentences asking precisely what we are going to do next, and he's already said everything I would have added on after his original question, so I must have started answering him with "exactly." It's really cute to hear him say it. He has picked right up on Hazel's pretend play and runs around on all fours growling and curling his fingers into wild animal claws as he stalks her. He's a total copycat and will run after Hazel, repeating every word she says and every sound she makes. He loves to play outside - ride his bike, jump on the tramp, blow bubbles, play at the sand table. He will also do long stints downstairs in the play room all by himself, mostly "baking" at the play kitchen or imitating real life at the doll house.
 |
| eating broccoli for the first time! tiger face paint |
 |
| getting interested in dress-ups |
Gemma is four months old now. She is still amazingly good-tempered. She smiles and coos at just about everyone, and it's fun to make her laugh. She's started the loud screams and other voice experiments lately. She's noisy and always happy. She's sleeping like a champ, through the whole night almost always. What a gift. She always wants to be sitting up. The second you lay her on her back, she starts doing crunches. She hasn't bothered to try rolling over - it's always sitting she's working on.
Todd has been in Afghanistan for about two weeks now. Communication has been choppy as he's traveled, but I think we'll be back up to FaceTiming or texting most days. So far he hasn't done any real work - no missions. They've just been waiting for people to arrive and doing organizing. I like it that way - keep him on the ground, on the base. He's going seriously stir-crazy though, and I don't blame him. It IS such a rip-off to be away from family and home and job and not even be doing anything productive.
