Recent Happenings

Lots of stuff going on around here, there is never a dull moment.  First, to contribute to Josie's superhero status, Grandma Bubba made the girls their very own capes with hoodies to wear and play with.  This is a big hit because taking things off and putting them on again, plus putting stuff on our heads, is great fun.  Josie loves hers and wants to wear it all the time.  Piper loves hers too (it has frogs on it!), but she wants to take it off as soon as you put it in, then wants it on again.

Also, Blue got neutered last week and has been sporting the "cone of shame".  He walks around with a look on his face like he is wondering what the eff just happened to him.  Also, the girls have been using the cone to their full advantage.  Picture the two girls banging on it and pointing and laughing.  This only contributes to his shame. 

Finally, climbing is quickly becoming an obsession.  Maybe this is normal toddler behavior, or maybe we have a couple of gymnansts, or mountain climbers, or trapeze artists on our hands. 

Sticking it out

Awhile back, Piper discovered her tongue. Since then, she has been a little obsessed with it.  It is ALWAYS sticking out.  Sometimes it seems like she is concentrating on something, and then sometimes I think she just likes sticking it out.  What is this all about?  Does anyone know?  It is pretty cute. But also perplexing.  And the paranoid mom side of me wants to know if there is something wrong with her mouth ...

Captain Jones on the news

MCAS Cherry Point conducts hurricane preparedness exercise

Josh was interviewed for our local news last week for a hurricane preparedness exercise he was in charge of at Cherry Point.  I thought he did a great job.  I told him that I counsel people on talking with the media everyday, and I didn't really have any tips for him on what he could do better.  He seemed like an old pro.  The link above goes directly to both the print story and video clip of the segment.

And here's a recent picture we took of Josh the Marine with the girlies.

Jer, Erika & Riley come to NC

We had a lot of fun over the past week while Jer, Erika and Riley came to visit North Carolina.  They stayed down at the beach with Barb, but Josh took some time off work and we were able to make some fun day trips with them.  Some of the fun things we did:

All of us in our backyard before we had lunch and walked around downtown New Bern.  Josie warmed right up to Aunt Erika and they had a lot of fun together.  

At the beach again

Josh and Jer with Riley and Piper

Riley and Alden spent lots of time looking for critters

Visiting the aquarium.  Check it out - it's a frog!  Piper loved it

Saturday, we went down to Jacksonville for the New River airshow.  Josh got to show his family the Prowler and the kids got to crawl around inside some airplanes.

 Thanks for visiting!  We can't wait to see you guys again soon. 

17 months

I am a bit late posting this and another month has gone by.  Josie and Piper are 17 months.  The changes don't come quite as fast and furious as when I started with the monthly updates at six months, but they are still changing every month.  Both girls now love to use a fork with their meals.  They don't quite have the hang of it, but they think they are so grown up!  Our meal-time routine now is give them a fork, then go over and stab the noodle (or sweet potato, or whatever), give it back to them, so they can then put it in their mouth.  Repeat this process for the entire meal.  And then throw the fork on the ground a few times and say "uh oh!"

Both girls are talking more.  Their favorite words are bye bye, bear, baby, uh oh, Blue, and daddy.  They have also discovered climbing.  I glanced over earlier this week to find Piper standing on the steering wheel of her little car, while balancing with one hand on the wall.  She had apparently worked very hard at this and was pretty proud of herself.  They also love to throw all the toys out of their toy box and climb inside.  Piper has attempted to slam the lid on Josie's head a few times. Not cool!

Here's some video I shot the other day:

Also, our regular storytime before bed has been replaced with a session of tearing around the house at full speed, climbing on the couch, repeatedly falling off onto all the throw pillows, then climbing up again, over and over. Sitting still for a book is definitely not happening anymore!  Here's some video of that:

We are having a lot of fun!  We are also really tired!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a great mother's day yesterday.  Josh planned a nice brunch, I was able to sleep in a little bit (until maybe 6:45!), the girls took a long afternoon nap, so I was able to lay down and read.  It was great!  The only thing missing was my own mom.  We missed you Bubba!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there.  I am so very blessed to be a mom to the sweetest, most beautiful little girls!

Lady of Leisure

This is how I found Piper hanging out while I was getting Josie dressed this morning:

Things I Love Lately

Just a note to talk about some of the things I have been enjoying lately.  You know, to influence this HUGE audience I have.

My BlenTec blender.  Yes, it is pricey, but it is AWESOME!  This thing can blend anything.  We have been blending apples, carrots, celery, making muffin batter, juices, anything.  We all have a green smoothie every day with lots of spinach or kale in it, along with fruit.  This thing blends it up so well you can't taste the greens.

 Some good books lately: Cutting for Stone and The Imperfectionists.  Both read on my Kindle, which I am also obsessed with.  I would recommend these two books to just about anyone.

 The new Panic at the Disco album: Vices & Virtues.  Good for working out.

The Moosewood cookbook - full of vegetarian and low fat recipes, that are delicious.  We have been eating most of our meals out of this cookbook over the past few weeks and they are almost all good.

Big birthdays and Memory Lane

About a month ago, I took a quick trip up to Quantico, VA to celebrate Alison Raper's 40th birthday.  Josh offered to watch the girls, so I left on a Saturday afternoon and came back Sunday night.  We spent a half-day at the spa and had lunch in Old Town Alexandria.  It was a surprise and she didn't know I was coming, nor did she know about the spa day. It was a fun little getaway.

Here's the birthday girl with all of us

 Angela and me at the spa

 Alison and me at the restaurant

While I was there, I took a little trip down memory lane.  We were stationed in Quantico in 2003 from January through September while Josh was at TBS and Initial Flight School.  It seems like forever ago and also like yesterday.  The town where we lived - Stafford - looked like a different place.  There is now a Target!  And a Chili's!  And a lot of other stuff!

Here are some pics I took (with my iPhone, so they are crappy) of our apartment complex.  Not much has changed there.  I picked this apartment because it was the ONLY place that allowed us to have a big, huge dog (what is up with the apartment discrimination against big yellow labs??)

A bit about Superheroes

Piper has her frog, Josie has...a cape?  Okay, whatever works.  Last week, our babysitter Brooke tied a blanket around Josie like a cape.  Ever since, she has insisted we put it on her as soon as she wakes in for the morning and from her naps.  Our little superhero!

Speaking of superheroes, this morning we woke up to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed.  Finally, they got him.  I am so grateful for the superheroes that went in and got him.  This blog is about our babies, not about current events, but someday my girls will read this and I will talk to them about what happened to our country on 9/11, why they were born in North Carolina - so far from our families, and why their daddy is a United States Marine.  I think they will be as proud of him as I am.