a real deal walker

Some of you know the saga of Ronin's adventure in walking. It just seems it has taken a very long time for him to be confidently and consistently walking. A couple weeks ago, I could finally say that Ronin is walking! Here's a video as proof for you skeptics!

blenders and sponges

If you have ever been around a toddler you know that you only need to say something twice for them to soak it up and spit right back at you. You may have even heard a parent call their little one a sponge. This is true 100%! It's why it's so imperative during those language learning years that you're not spouting off words that don't sound appropriate coming out of children's mouths.

A recent discovery is that if toddlers are sponges, then kids are blenders. The sponge principle doesn't work anymore. Everything is definitely going in, loads of it, but if you push the right button at the right time, everything comes exploding out. This is what seems to be happening with Davis lately. He may hear new words: "appetizer" or "introduction" and he'll just toss them out randomly in the middle of a sentence where they don't even fit. It is entertaining to see him trying to make a smoothie out of his mess.

theology on a bumper sticker?

In fact, if it was supposed to be theology, it was a poor attempt. The bumper sticker read "My Way IS the Highway. -God" And if theology doesn't work, how about a political viewpoint: "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam"? These bumper stickers were among the few things that really sparked my thoughts (and possibly a little anger) on our road trip to Lubbock. Has anybody else seen some quality bumper stickers lately (no profanities please)?

cherry tomatoes and an awesome park

I'll be really honest, I don't like to eat tomatoes by themselves. But when I was offered one from the Farmer's Market at America the Beautiful Park, I thought, "Why not?" After taking a handful, I decided to get my own bag for 3 bucks. In the picture, probably a third of them have already been eaten. After scoping out the Farmer's Marker, we went to the playground. It just might be one of the coolest I've ever seen. Everyone enjoyed it, especially me. They have these little spinning seats, first I spun Davis and nearly propelled him off of it (not realizing how fast it goes). I decided I needed to take a turn, so my friend Kristi did the honors of spinning me. It was so much fun! I was going so fast that I couldn't even pull myself in. It was a great reminder that all of us should enjoy the simpler things in life, like spinning seats! Well, maybe not all, like those people who get sick from spinning.

9 months

Today we are officially nine months into this deployment. It was nine months ago today that Kevin left for Iraq. It's also now 185 days 'til the end of tour, just for the record. You can be sure we are counting down the days in our home!

fun Davis quotes

Davis says funny things everyday, but sometimes they stick with me, these are a few that did just that:

one~~We were at Panera for breakfast and there were some men who had huge blueprints on a table. Davis, terribly curious, wanted to ask what they were. I gave him permission to go ask, and he did. He thought it was amazing and on our way to the car he told me he wanted to be a worker like them. I assured him he could be whatever he wants to be when he grows up, and designing homes would be very cool. He thought about it for a minute then said, "Umm...no I want to marry a princess."

two~~Davis was playing with Ronin, giving him zerberts on his belly, rolling around with him, and helping him walk. But then, he comes to me and says, "Mommy, I'm gonna grapple him...soft." Kevin will be so proud.

three~~A friend of ours has two dogs that love to play fight (Lily and Pauli). We were at her house when the dogs were in the back doing just that, but it started to rain, so she let them in. To our shock, Lily was bleeding badly from one of her paws. We couldn't figure out what had happened. My friend suggested maybe Pauli did it. In the midst of cleaning the carpet, the kitchen floor, calling for some help, cleaning and bandaging Lily's foot, Davis said, "I think Pauli won."

only in the home of a Soldier

This morning Davis asked me to give him directions to where he was supposed to go in Iraq. He puts on a "soldier uniform" and pretends to be one of Daddy's soldiers. Ronin does too (says Davis). He gets in the airplane and flies to Iraq with his poom-poom (gun). Strangely, we could not pretend to go and find Daddy, seems that he knows it's not possible, not even in imaginary land. I haven't heard of many others whose sons pretend to go off to war, but we imitate what we love. Davis loves his Daddy and time has only increased his affection for him. Somehow (by the grace of God) time has not stirred up resentment in him but only an ache to see his Daddy come home.