6 Months Old

TODAY I AM 6 MONTHS OLD!!

I am eating solid food now.

I don't like cereal by itself, but if it's mixed with carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, squash or bananas, I will beg for the spoon like a baby bird.

I am screaming little girl screams all the time.

I am rolling from front to back and vice versa.

I will reach for toys and try to play with Caleb's trucks (which he doesn't like).

I still break my neck to find out what Caleb or Wrigley are up to.

I am chewing on toys and my fingers all the time (mom and dad think I'm teething).

I can't wait to see all of my family in IN in one week and I can't wait to get up to the Pacific Northwest and our new home.

Amelia's 6 Month Check Up

I know that tomorrow is Amelia's actual 6 month birthday, but with all we have going on, her check up got scheduled for today. She was a pro at getting her shots today...just a quick blood curdling scream :o), then her thumb went in her mouth and she was good. She only gained 9 ounces since her last check up, two months ago, so I was a little worried. She now weighs 11.13 lbs and we're going to go back in a week (the day before we leave town) to have her weighed again. The doctor wants me to supplement breast milk with formula to see if that helps. She is not a big fan of formula or a bottle for that matter, so this should prove interesting. I don't know how much weight she can gain in a week, but hopefully it's enough that the doctor's not worried. She is now 24 and 3/4 inches tall and her head circumference is 15 and 3/4 in. Stay posted for more pics and a list of all the things she's doing!

Shawn's Final Flight

Today we got to have some fun at work with Shawn. We got to check out the flight simulator. Shawn flew first and I was surprised at how real it felt. Then it was my turn to fly it. Caleb and Amelia even got to climb in there and check it out. Next we went to watch dad fly in for the final time in Q-2.

Caleb covering his ears since the jet's so loud.

There he is! Dad and his proud family!

Fun In The Sun

We have a busy week ahead of us, so for now, we've been trying to put it out of our minds by having fun outside.

Ahh, The Technology These Days

We decided it was time to sell out and get "smart".

Although, right now I'm feeling pretty dumb.

Our 9 Year Anniversary

16 years and a few months ago, a boy and a girl sat in chemistry class. Prom was fast approaching and neither had a date. Another friend that sat close by suggested they go together. They had been friends since junior high (way before they changed it to middle school) and decided it was a good idea. A day or two later, as that girl drove another girlfriend home from school, she told her that boy really liked her. I...oops, I mean "that girl"...said she didn't really think of him that way and they were just friends. Then came Valentine's Day and a little white stuffed bear. (Said girl still has little white bear packed away:o) Shortly after that, there was a state wrestling meet that we all went to to cheer on our school. Shawn (I figured you knew it was us I was talking about:o) was grounded from driving because he got a bad grade, so I had to drive. The whole time we were at the wrestling meet I kept hoping he would hold my hand. But I got nothing. So much for this boy liking me, I thought. The meet was over and I drove him home and we had our first kiss. I knew after that kiss "the rest would be history". Yes, even as a junior in high school, I think you can know. Prom came and I was so skinny in my short black and white dress and Shawn was so tall and skinny in his red tux jacket. Yes, you read that right...it was RED!

Fast forward 7 years as we FINALLY stood at the alter of my church. We both said I do and walked back down that aisle together. 6 moves, 4 states, 3 kids, a dog and 9 years later, we're still going strong. There's no one I'd rather do this life with and we're looking forward to what the next 9 years has to offer.

Happy Anniversary to us!

I realized I don't know the last time just Shawn and I had a picture taken of just the two of us. I'll have to remedy that soon:o)

SOLD!!

This house.

Our very first house.

Where we welcomed & love to hate one beagle puppy named, Wrigley.

Where one sweet little boy and one sweet little girl were born.

And the one we are getting ready to move out of...

...This house has been signed on the dotted lines by another couple.

This house has been signed on the dotted lines by us.

And we are now officially under contract!!

Praise God!!

And not a minute too soon, seeing as our movers will be here next Wednedsay.

We won't be closing until July 29th, so technically, it's not sold until that day. But they have already scheduled their inspection for July 2nd and unless there are any unforseen problems, this house will no longer be ours.

This has been a great first house for us and one we will never forget!

Smiling Faces

I remember days when Caleb would give me that gummy smile and even pose for the camera.

Now it's just frowns, no eye contact and him telling me "Amelia" so I'll take pictures of her instead. But even in his least photogenic moments, I capture those oh so sweet "model" poses.

So, until I am able to get those big smiles from Caleb again, you'll have to just settle for sweet, toothless smiles from Amelia.

Happy Father's Day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!

What do you get for the dad who likes adventures and any reason to get out of the house? You send him on endless treasure hunts....well,maybe not so endless around NC, but probably pretty endless in WA.

If you've never heard of it, it's called geocaching. Basically you need a GPS, a membership to http://www.geocaching.com/, then you start finding where you want to look for your treasure. (Caleb kept saying, "I want to find the treasure". And I kept saying, "What do you think we're doing?") You can hide treasures in tupperware, ammo cans, or anything that seals up tight. It's kind of like the leave-a-penny, take-a-penny thing. They leave stuff, we find their cache, we take something and leave something in return. There's usually a log book in it too, so you can write that you were there. We looked within a 10 mile radius of where we are and there are 65 hidden. We looked in a 10 mile radius of Indianapolis and there are 755 hidden! They are all over the world and it's not only pretty cheap entertainment, but it gets you out exploring. We're all pretty excited about it and think it'll be a great thing to do as a family for a really long time.

Here we are setting out on the trail.

Checking the GPS to make sure we're supposed to get off the beaten path (we were in flip flops and not exactly prepared to get of the main trail).

Dad and Amelia decide to go for it, while Caleb and I stayed back.

Coming back empty handed and with tired, hungry, screaming baby.

We didn't find it this trip, but plan on seeking it out next weekend.

Farewell VMAQ-2

Last night Shawn was farewelled from the squadron (although he's still in it for a couple more weeks). The CO said some really nice things about Shawn and his time in the squadron, which Shawn corrected him from 4 years to "4 and a half years" - emphasis on the half:o). As a wife, you know that they do, but you don't really know what they're doing while at work. It's nice to hear all the good things those above him see him doing and where they see his career going.

VMAQ-2 has been our family for the last 4 and a half years and we'll always remember this squadron.

I dressed Caleb and Amelia in red, white and blue in hopes of a cute photo op.......which, I bet you guessed, never came.

New Luggage

We've been talking for awhile now about getting hardsided luggage. Our old luggage didn't pack well and was getting beat up by all of our worldly travels:o) So, we found a good deal on ebags.com and purchased two of these 30" Samsonite hardsided rolling luggage "boxes" (for lack of a better term - essentially, they really are just an empty box). If we can fit two kids into one side of them, I think they'll work just fine for our clothes.

Walking New Bern

Saturday we headed out for a little walking tour of New Bern. We wanted to get some pictures of all the things and places we love about downtown. It turned out to be a really great day.

The New Bern Town Hall clock tower.

The Tryon Palace and it's gardens.

Caleb's favorite - the bears.

Pepsi Cola.

Do you know how Caleb Bradham came up with the name Pepsi Cola?

He looked across the street to the Episcopal Church and mixed up the letters to come up with the famous name Pepsi Cola.

We love the setting of this old church and the park they have set up for kids.

Mitchell's Hardware Store.

The painted bears.

They have alot of these bears all around New Bern and they are one of Caleb's favorite things to find when we're out driving around.

We ended our tour at our favorite park by the water, Union Point Park.

After our long morning of walking the town, we headed to Beaufort for some lunch at Clawson's Restaurant. We sat down in our booth and looke up to see this on the wall. We weren't sure what it was but we noticed it said "Indianapolis, USA".

We looked up Tucker and Dorsey Manufacturing Co. and found that it was established in 1856 and is still there today. (We think this is a cash register drawer bell).

We had a great family weekend together and are trying to enjoy all this place has to offer before we head out.