Countdown to Normalcy

We have 15 days until Daddy/Phil returns home for good, and boy, are we ever ready for that. In August I thought, "Wow, this six-month deployment is really going by fast! I can't believe it's August already and we only have two months of it left!". Now that it's October, I feel like we've been doing this for a year and a half. I am SO! READY! for Phil to be back and our family to be complete again. I hate being apart from him and having him miss seeing the boys everyday. It almost seems weird to think that in a few days he'll be able to stay home and not have to leave again after two or three weeks.

Okay, enough of that. I feel bad complaining because I know a ton of military wives have it MUCH worse than I do. At least Phil is not overseas in a dangerous area right now. Very thankful for that.

Anyway, I've been trying to find ways to make the monotonous days go by as quickly as possible. This is quite difficult, what with trying to be home as much as possible to get a 6-month-old on a nap schedule and not wanting to go anywhere for fear of having both boys (and then me) catch H1N1. I keep hearing how many cases have been popping up in this town and I don't want to take any chances, especially while Phil is gone. Luckily, the weather has been pretty good so we've been able to play outside almost every day.


Jackson found the only little puddle of water that was left after a day of rain and ran and jumped in and out of it - over and over and over.


I'd like to send a special shout-out to Margret and H.A. Rey for inventing Curious George. Jackson is close to having to be sent to George rehab, so I'm trying not to have him watch the show too often, but it really helps me out when Phil is gone. It is the only thing that will keep him still and occupied for a few minutes while I... take a shower during the day, put the baby to sleep at night uninterrupted, give my full attention to Emmett if he's being fussy, etc., etc., etc. He's getting pretty good at playing by himself, but sometimes I need him to be zoned-out and non-needy for a few minutes.


New camouflage hat...


"Cheese!" face...


One morning, totally out of the blue, Jackson walked up to me and said, "Cocoa, please." I stood there wondering how on earth the thought of cocoa popped into his head. There are two CG episodes that we watch in which George talks about his love for cocoa, so I'm guessing that's what made J develop a longing for it, although we hadn't watched those episodes in a while. We didn't have any cocoa mix in the house when he asked, so I just warmed up some milk and put Ovaltine in it. He loved it. He took a big gulp from the sippy cup, looked up at me and said, "Cocoa good!"

These cocoa pictures demonstrate my lack of knowledge of the workings of my camera. This was right after I broke the lens and was trying to figure out how to take pictures in a different setting. Not good. I need help!


Two short videos...