Day #18

I hit an all time record today...I changed 6, yes 6, very dirty diapers (3 for each boy). The most depressing part about all of this is that Charlie is no closer to being potty trained than when you left. Boo got him another toilet, this one fits on top of a regular toilet. He seems to like this better. He even hopped up on our toilet at home without it. He has begun to think that sitting on the toilet is a fun new game, even without any other results. What I really think it is now is a great way to postpone his bath.

Today was another duesy (sp?). We made one round-trip to Round Rock this morning for playgoup and another trip to Georgetown to shop this afternoon. Charlie is at the stage now where he wants just about everything he can recognize on the shelf. Tonight I carried Will and had Charlie walk in Target because I had to grab just one item--this was a big mistake. Charlie ended up picking up a new sippy cup when we were in the baby section and a briefcase full of toy building magnets. With both hands occupied he couldn't grab anything else, so I was happy. You should have seen him carry that briefcase around the entire store. He started to struggle after a little while so I asked him if I could help him carry something. He handed me the sippy cup, but wouldn't let go of magnet set, so I had to buy it. It was a $40 set! Needless to say I kept the receipt and will have to slip it back to Target when he's not with me.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was on TV tonight. It is so funny to me how Charlie had absolutely no interest in it last year, but was glued to the TV this year. He is beginning to get the whole Christmas thing. He can just about sing all of Jingle Bells, Rudolph, and Frosty. Rudolph has too many "reindeers" in the song which causes him to skip around on the verses.

I better head off to bed now. Love, Chris

Day #17

I still haven't taken our new digital camera out of its box, but Chuck e mailed some pictures today, so I took the liberty of posting them with this entry.

Another busy day here. We still aren't unpacked from our trip to Houston. I went with the boys to the termite inspection in Austin. Looks like there is structural damage, but nothing major. As long as the owner agrees to the repairs, we have ourselves a new house. We stopped to see Monique and the boys on our way back to Salado. Monique offered to have us stay for dinner. I probably should have taken her up on the offer because tonight it was a bit challenging getting both boys fed, bathed, dressed and down within a half an hour of each other. We did it, both boys were down by 7:45! I can already see a routine beginning to develop, I just hope it gets a bit smoother. Chris

I still haven't taken our new digital camera out of its box, but Chuck e mailed some pictures today so I will go ahead and post them here.

Back to a humdrum world

Well, Chris and the boys are gone and it's pretty boring without them. When Charlie stayed here he was up every morning and running down the hall to get us going. He could not go down the hall without running. It's hard to imagine Will getting to that stage but I know that he will. He will probably drive Charlie crazy getting into all his toys and "stuff". The painters are at Gigi's house and will probably be done by the end of the week. Then it will be time to get the house on the market. Susan called and announced that she got an award at work with a nice citation and the top monetary award of $500. She was pretty pleased. Chris called and said that things seem to be going along with the house deal. I think they are making the inspection today. Hope the flying is going well. Know that you will be as safe as you can be. Love, Cappy

Day #16

Charlie did it again tonight. I said, "Charlie do you have anything else to thank God for?" and he said, "AAAAmen!" I will send you a funny story about Will soon. Love, Chris

Day #15

"The J3 Cub Yellow Airplane"


Cappy showing Charlie the ropes

Hi, not much new to report. We're just recovering from the holiday and vacation here in Houston. Charlie seemed to really enjoy his visit to the hanger. He is so proud of his ride in the "J3 Cub Yellow Airplane". He was funny tonight when we went to bed. We have started a habit of saying prayers every night before we go to bed. I usually just talk about the day and what we are thankful for. I asked him when I was done tonight if he had anything else to thank God for and he said, "yep, Amen". Love, Chris

Chuck-E-Cheese

Finally figured out how to put a message along with the pictures. It's going on 8am and Charlie has been up for an hour playing with his toys. Gammy has him pedaling his tri-cycle around the living room. He is a very busy guy and easy to have around. Last night we were down in the hanger and he managed to get just about every toy down from the shelf and onto the floor. Today it's raining so instead of the Zoo we are going to McDonalds for lunch and play. We also had Charlie watching C-Span about Global Warming. So if he spends time with Gammy, he might at least turn into a Libertarian. Love you, Mom - Oh, Kathy said the bad game for Vince was a good thing for the team.

Charlie and Will during Iraq 2005-2006

It is the day after Thanksgiving and I am feeling MUCH better rested. Will slrpt through the night last night! He went a full ten hours without eating. He went down around 7:30, and was having a little trouble staying down. Finally at around 9:00 I flipped him on to his belly and he fell soundly asleep. Boo spent the night in his room, but didn't hear a peep until 5:00 am. He ate then and then was back to sleep until around 7:30. I guess he is going to have to start sleeping on his stomach!

Your mom took Charlie last night, and may keep him again tonight. Charlie was unphased. I made a big deal of saying goodbye to him, by saying "do you want to stay here with Gammy and Cappy?" He looked at me and said, 'mommy is leaving, bye-bye mommy, I have my toys!' So I said goodbye and left, and never saw one tear.

Charlie really had a big time taking his airplane ride yesterday with your parents' neighbors. The pilot stepped out of his plane and said, 'I have time for one more ride, who wants it?' Well, Charlie was already on his way running to the airplane and just about climbing in on his own. Your dad gladly offered to take Charlie up with him. They had a ball! I'm not sure who had more fun. Your dad said that Charlie was his usual inquisitive self, and could have kept flying if the daylight had continued.

It is only 9:30 in the morning, and I feel like I have missed the best after Thanksgiving sales. I called Circuit City to check on their sale copy of The Incredibles, and they said they sold out over two hours ago. It is crazy. Sam's opened at 5:00 am this morning. I have so many other things I need to do besides shopping, so I'm not sure that I'll even go out. Shopping does sound like more fun though. I hope you are doing well and have been able to track down Derek. Thanks for your Thanksgiving comments. The game starts in one hour. Go horns!

Love, Chris

Thanksgiving from Cappy

Hi

Just checking this out for ease of operation!!!!!!

Day #11

Even Pete helped out today by feeding Will his baby food













Charlie thinks he is a pilot, Granddad is just trying to hear the TV!

It was so nice to be able to talk to Chuck again today. It sounds like they are really beginning to make some progress towards their mission. Today the boys and I slipped out with my parents and Uncle Pete to Lupe Tortilla. It was a nice, warm day and Charlie had a great time playing in the sand.

We are still having a few sleep issues with the boys. I was so fed up with Charlie today that I got the Pack N Play back out. He ended up in it for his nap and bedtime. However, he has now mastered climbing out of it, too. So of course we still played Jack in the Box even with it. Will continues to be quite the chow hound and gobbled up sweet potato baby food today. The only way he seems to be getting much sleep these days is to sleep on his belly. So much for our fear of SIDS, at some point everyone just has to get some sleep!

Love, Chris

Chuck's Update

Chuck called today and said that he is pretty bored. Bored enough to hit the gym and play a game of "Risk" earlier. His spirits are good, and I think he is looking forward to making it to his final destination. Here are some pictures he sent today.

Day #9

Thought I'd start off this entry with a picture of the two of us. See how happy we are!

Well, we had another horrible night last night. I was up multiple times with both boys. I am just hopeful that they will make up for their missed sleep tonight. It is 8:40 and they both went down without a problem, so keep your fingers crossed.

Will continues to do well with "solids". Today was his third day in a row to eat squash, and once again he ate the entire jar. Tonight I even think he cried when it was all gone. He doesn't seem to have any evidence of allergic reaction, so we may try another vegetable tomorrow. I know these vegetables are necessary, but I personnally can't wait until we can start the fruits. I really can't wait to start finger foods, it really makes life much simpler.

Have a good day! Love, Chris, Charlie, and Will

Day #8

'I'm like a cool pilot!'

'I'm Buzz Lightyr'

'To Infinity an Beyond!'

Today was an uneventful day with the kids. Will had a good night last night, he slept until 3:30 am and Charlie is doing better in his big bed, he made it until 5:00 am all by himself. I caught up a little on my sleep, so I decided to drive into Houston to see Kristi and Mike's new baby, Oliver Hill. He sure was cute and they couldn't have been happier. It was so nice to have some time to catch up with the two of them. Charlie and Will stayed behind at Boo and Granddad's. Here is a picture of Baby Oliver and his mom. Looks like Will has a new playmate.

Sorry these pictures are not "touched up". I just wanted to get a few up online so you'd have some to see. I will work on perfecting this soon enough. Please let me know what you think about it.

Love, Chris

Week 1

Wow, it has been a busy week! Chuck left last Saturday, November 12. It was hectic his last week in town, and that has continued. We put an offer in on a house the day before he left, and were working on our counter-offer on the way to the base. This week has been filled with showing our family and friends the house, completing our inspection, and getting estimates for flooring, counter-tops and painting. I had plenty of help this week from Monique and Sally. We are scheduled to close on December 16.
Charlie did really well saying goodbye to his dad and has done well ever since. He says that daddy is at work on a long, long trip. Our communication with Chuck has been fairly good, however, I suspect that he has had to wait in some long lines. I know he is looking forward to getting settled at his final destination.
I just wanted to get things rolling now that Chuck has been gone for a full week. I hope to post a few pictures soon.