Good News!

Nick called last night, and he had finished his final day in his sector in Dora, Baghdad! He spent the day with his troops going door to door and saying goodbye to the citizens they had become close with. It sounds like it was an emotional day. There has been so much good change in his neighborhood, and the citizens are truly grateful. These particular Iraqis are very sad to see Nick and his soldiers leave. I also spoke with Nick's Iraqi (Kurdish) interpreter, Neo (sorry I thought it was Neil all this time), and he said that several families were crying and begging Nick not to leave. Needless to say, we are very, very proud of Nick and his guys!

Nick has mixed emotions. Of course, he is so excited to come home, but he is also sad to leave. They have made so much progress in that area, and he is worried that the next group of soldiers won't appreciate their sacrafice and hard work, and will never really grasp how bad the area was just one year ago. One third (about 30) of Nick's soldiers earned the Purple Heart, and five lost their lives. Please remember those families in your prayers. Al Qaeda no longer has a place in Dora!

Nick plans on keeping in touch with his friend Neo, and also several of the Dora families. He is also coming home with lots of Iraqi treasures. Many of his new friends gave him farewell gifts! A tea set, clothes for the kids, a painting, a statue and a pipe to name a few. I am curious to see them!

We are anxiously awaiting his return within the next two weeks. Nick has some work to do on the FOB (Forward Operating Base) and still has lots of packing to finish. When they are done they will head to Kuwait to out process, and eventually head home. Thank God that Nick is returning! We can't wait!

Funny faces and funny hats....

I know that I have done a similar blog post before, but I thought these pictures were too funny to pass up! Big Pa is here for a visit, and while I was at the doctor yesterday he took all of these photos of Ben. There were about 10 more, but I think you get the idea. We have a lot of hats! Benny just loves to dress up and use his imagination (and he has a good one!). I wonder what Sophie was doing the whole time.....

It's Spring!

It's spring! Although it feels like winter here today in Kansas. We had a pretty nice week, with the last few days nearing 70 degrees. Today was our church's Easter Egg Hunt, so of course it is only 40! I bundled the kids up and we had a great time! Sophie spent the time all wrapped up in her stroller. She was happy to watch the other kids search for eggs. Benny loved finding the eggs, and true to Benny style, he passed on all of the candy. In fact there was so much candy in the grass, the parents had to start picking it up and putting it in the kids baskets!

Benny was happily surprised when we arrived to find his friend Emma already waiting for the hunt to begin. We were sad to learn that Emma will soon be moving. Her daddy has orders for Fort Benning, GA. So is life in the military!

Earlier in the week, we spent the day at our tiny mall waiting to meet the Easter Bunny. We arrived just before lunch only to learn that the bunny was not arriving until 3. So we had lunch, did a little shopping, and threw lots and lots of pennies in the fountain. Finally at 3, we headed over to meet the bunny. Benny spent all of 20 seconds on his lap, but was happy to do it. Sophie wasn't sure what to think, but she didn't cry!

I have been enjoying the warmer weather and have been working in the yard while Benny plays outside. My crocus bulbs are up and flowering, but they didn't want to open very far today in the cold. The daffodils are up a few inches and so are my daylillies. I can't wait for summer! (And, yes, that is a dandelion weed by the flowers, I have some more work to do.)

On a final note, I am sure most of you have noticed Benny and his Cabela's hat. If you take a quick look back through our blog, you will find that he is wearing it in every picture posted since early February. That's because he wears it everyday and it's always just a bit cock-eyed! It's on before breakfast and doesn't come off until he lays down in bed. There are few exceptions-church, bathtime and sometimes while we eat. I am not sure what his facination is with that hat. He has several hats and they each have a specific designation. For instance, baseball, tennis, soccer and pool. The Cabela's hat is his 'pool' hat because we bought it while on vacation for him to wear in the pool so his blonde head wouldn't burn. Right now, it is the only hat he will wear. Maybe it is his security object, or maybe boys just like hats!

First Steps

I wasn't sure what to call this post. Technically, Sophie took her first steps sometime before Valentine's Day. Over the last month I have occasionally caught her taking 2, 3 or even 4 steps. It seemed she just couldn't get up the courage to go farther. Over the last few days, I have suspected that she was taking more steps, I just couldn't 'catch' her in the act. Well, tonight I think we will call it official and mark it on the calendar. She's walking!
It was hard to take the video of her. We practiced several times. First and I to stand her in the middle of the living room where she didn't have anything to grab on to, and then I had to quickly back up and start shooting the video. This was the best one I could get. When she falls down, Benny and I cheer her on and she belly laughs. She must be having fun (or at least think we are silly). Now, this all transpired just before a late bedtime tonight. Maybe she will do some more when she is more rested tomorrow. I only wish she could have waited for Daddy.....

A Day of Birthdays

Today we were lucky enough to attend not one, but two fabulous birthday parties! First we headed a few blocks over for our little friend Jackson's first birthday party. He really has a reason to celebrate. Jackson was born 7 weeks early at just over 3 pounds. He has made leaps and bounds this year, and does everything a 'normal' one year old should do. He and Sophie play at least once a week, and have become good buddies. We plan to do a combined 1st birthday party for this little duet when their daddies come home next month. Today still had to be commemorated with cake and silly hats though! The kids really enjoyed the yummy apple cake Jackson's mom Piper made. No unnecessary sugar for these two (we'll save that for the big party!) Neither of them got very messy, however, I was trying to keep Sophie relatively clean for party number 2.



After Jackson's party we headed to Manhattan, aka the Little Apple, for Ben's friend Emma's 5th birthday party. Her party was held at a gymnastics center. The kids had full run of the gym, but spent most of the time in an enormous pit of foam blocks. I was too busy with Sophie to take pictures inside unfortunately. After the party ended we headed to the parking lot where Emma's brave daddy, John Paul, held the pinata for the kids. Apparently, there was no place to hang it inside. The kids had a lot of fun whacking the pinata, but it took a college aged cousin to finally break it.


Emma's party was cowgirl themed and she handed out great goodie bags (Ben's favorite part) at the end. He was busy the whole ride home sifting through his treasures. When we pulled in the driveway at home, this is what I found in the backseat! Benny was wearing his sheriff's mustache and one of the eyebrows. (This reminds me a little of Big Pa in the 80's, sorry Dad!). What a fun day!

Bikini Babe

As promised here is a photo of Sophie in her bikini! She loves the water so much, and I am excited to get her swimming this summer. My biggest challenge lately has been how to swim with two kids in the pool, since neither of them can be left alone. Reason 956 why I can't wait for Nick to come home!

Tops

Well, I wasn't sure we could top Sophie's hair do from the other day, but we have surpassed it by all accounts. The photo on the previous post was taken after she ran her sticky banana covered fingers through her hair. The photo on this post was taken after her nap yesterday. I had washed her hair the night before and I guess it was still a little, ah, fluffy for lack of a better term. I had to wake her up early to go pick up Benny from preschool, and this is what I found waiting for me! Luckily for us, it was only in the 30's so I slapped her winter hat on her. I am anxious for her hair to grow a little more so it behaves!

The past weekend, we decided at the last minute to get away to Kansas City. We went with our friends Jennifer and Christian, and their daughter Taylor who soon turns 8. Benny and Taylor have been playing together for 2 years now, and behave like brother and sister. We shared a big suite at the Embassy Suites in the posh Plaza District. The Plaza is a newly revitalized area of the original downtown. There are lots of shops and great restaurants. I was very excited to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, which I haven't done since we lived in Kentucky. We didn't have any plans for the weekend, since our trip was so last minute. When we woke on Saturday morning, we found that the weather was on our side, and that we were going to have an unusually warm day. So, we decided to take advantage of the sunshine, and we went to the zoo. It ended up reaching the low 70's. Sunday we went shopping at an outside mall also in KC. I was so glad we could enjoy the warm weather, because it has already passed and actually snowed on Sunday night!

The big highlight of the weekend, was probably the hotel itself. It was very nice and had a great pool for the kids. I do not have a picture yet of Sophie in her swimsuit, but will post one when I get one from Jennifer. My mother in law, Kim, bought her an adorable, ruffly bikini. It's really quite ridiculous, but actually quite cute to see her big belly hanging out! I swear she won't own another bikini though until she is 20. Sophie loved to play by the pool and watch the other kids, but once she got in the water, all she wanted to do was fall asleep. It must have been very soothing to her, and it was past her bedtime. We will try again when Nick comes home. Benny is not very adventurous at all in the pool. I'm hoping to get him in some lessons this summer so he can enjoy the water more.