Last Video

Last one of the day....

It's long. Just to warn ya. But super cute.

2 Videos -- 1 more coming later today

I took this video in June. And then promptly forgot about it. The house is VERY messy and laundry needed to be hung (what's new?). The video is sorta long, about 4 minutes, but still cute. I was focusing on getting Alex's new words on video so that's why it seems like I'm avoiding Kairi... sorry about that.






And now a video of the house. It's still not completely unpacked, a little messy, and such, but this should give you an idea. :)




Video of the kids coming later today -- have to edit it first.

Animal Post

Post one of at least two today -- videos coming
(Clickable pics)

First, the other morning after feeding the kids bowls of oatmeal and then walking into the other room, I came back to the dining room to see Aslan sitting like this:





That's MY seat at the table. And there he set, expecting his food to be served there. For the record, he's never been fed at the table, and never will be. But obviously he considers himself royalty and tried to demand it that morning.




And now for Zoe. Remember when we first got her she was much smaller than we expected:



Then the next pictures of her where these:







And now .... Here's her this past week!




Zoe is sitting a foot or so behind Alex, even though you can't tell it in this post, but it's still a decent comparison shot ... And Alex is cute. :)

A Conversation I'm Tired of Having

The screaming in Kairi's bedroom had calmed down after being sent there.

M: Kairi, come down stairs please and talk to me.
K: Coming Mommy! sobbing
M: Kairi, what did you do to get in trouble?
K: I yell at Mommy.
M: Are you supposed to yell at Mommy?
K: Nooooo.
M: What happens when you yell at Mommy?
K: I get a spank'n.
M: And what else?
K: I go to bed.
M: Do you like spanking and being sent to bed?
K: NO!
M: Kairi, remember, don't yell, not even when answering my question. Now, when Mommy tells you to do something next time, are you going to yell at her or are you going to say yes ma'am and do what you're supposed to?
K: I'm going to do it.
M: Thank you, Kairi, that would make me happy. I don't like spanking you.
K: Love you Mommy. Hug?
M: I love you too Kairi. And then we hug.


Repeat entire scenario in about 20 minutes.


I'm TIRED of it.

While cooking lunch today

I turned around to see



on my floor. Next to it was a puddle of pee that I didn't take a picture of. (You're welcome.) I immediately grabbed my camera and then went searching out the naked butt it belonged to.

This is what I found:





At least it's a cute naked butt ... right?

Are You Coming Too Daddy?

I'm not sure I've shared this here yet, but we're moving. I think most of you know this. About a month ago we were notified by a realtor that our house had been placed on the market. And while there is no reason for us to HAVE to leave until the property has been sold and we would still then have 30 days before we would have to leave, we wanted out as soon as possible. So we set out and found a new place.

We originally wanted a house for a yard for the kids and dog, but after realizing that we could have a nicer place while paying less we agreed to look at condos as well. And we found the perfect place. My only regrets are 1)no yard, and 2)we're moving away from amazing neighbors, but that would have had to happen regardless.



We've been talking about this around the kids, but had yet to actually address the situation with them. Don't get me wrong, they saw the houses with us -- but Kairi seemed to think we were just visiting lots of new places to play. So last night we decided to specifically tell Kairi about it while we were eating dinner. The conversation broke my heart. Here's how it went:

M: Kairi, how would you like to move to a new house?
K: Ummm...
M: You would get a new bedroom and a new bathroom and you would go up and down stairs everyday!
K: Stairs! Yay! I like stairs Mommy.
M: I know you do! It'll be fun!
K: But Mommy, you comin'?
M: Of course baby girl.
K: In a squeaky, almost scared voice, looking seriously at Daddy -- we could tell she was worried.Daddy, you gonna come too?
D: Yes Baby! I'm coming too!
M: Kairi, we're all going. You, me, Daddy... We're all going.
K: Oh no! You not leaving Alex!
M: No! We're not leaving Alex. It'll be you, me, Daddy, and Alex. We're all going.
K: Poor Zoe puppy.
M: What's wrong w/ Zoe?
K: She don't get to go.
M: Yes she will! Kairi, you, Alex, Mommy, Daddy, Zoe AND Aslan are all going to move to a new house. TOGETHER. We're moving together. We all get new bedrooms. And stairs to walk on. And a new living room. And a new kitchen.
K: Ok! I like stairs!
M: I know you do baby. And this is going to be a lot of fun.
K: But Mommy ... what about my house? Where it going?
M: It's going to stay right here. We're going to take our things out of it and move them to our new house.
K: My poor house. Mommy, it gonna miss me.
M: Baby, it'll be ok. And we're going to get a new and more fun house!
K: But my friends are gonna miss me Mommy. Referring to the neighbors I'm sure.
M: Kairi, your friends are going to come see us in our new house. And we'll go see them. I promise.


The conversation went on and on and on like this. Usually she was happy about the stairs and would tell us that she wanted to go up and down the stairs a lot. But then suddenly she'd get concerned -- most of that time it would revolve around making sure that Daddy was moving with us. We frequently heard "Daddy, you wanna come with me? I'm going to a new house. Wanna come? Please?"



Navy life sometimes takes a toll on a child that has a hard time dealing with change. One change and she's suddenly terrified that she's going to lose her Daddy. I hope that moving with Daddy helps her know that he's not leaving her...