Happy Birthday, DW!

Also, DW turned ONE YEAR OLD this summer.

So much about our family has changed from point A to point B since one year to the next.  Last summer we had just gotten settled into our home in Louisiana.  HW hadn't been home from deployment yet for even a year and was just getting the hang of being dad to an 20 month old.  And then bam we had two!  And then before we knew it we were moving again...getting settled into life in Kansas as a family of four...and now here we are just eight months in Kansas and already gearing up to move again in three short months.  Military life is really a whirlwind adventure and finding your footing as a new family can be tough when you are constantly changing locations and support systems.  But it's what makes our family us.  It's what makes us unique.

Here's our little DW on his "birth" day.

I know, it's so cliche to say how fast the first year of baby's life goes.  But I'll say it again.  It goes by fast.  Well, it does in a sense...you begin the year with this little squishy nobody and in the course of 12 months he becomes this sitting, crawling, walking, talking, laughing, hugging, kissing, adorable SOMEBODY.  Somebody you could never have dreamed you could live your life without.  So while a year of crying, no sleeping, rocking, bouncing, shushing, carrying, nursing, and holding can seem very, very long it is amazing how quickly your little baby changes...and your family changes...in just one year.

Love you little buddy!

Summer summary. (part one: June)

Well, folks, it was a busy summer here at Ft. Nonsense.  But summer's over and it's time to get back to writing!  I'll try to summarize the last three months for you quickly in the next three posts:

We took a road trip from Kansas to New Jersey with a stopover in PA.  Two and a half days of driving.  Just me and the boys.  No we are not insane.  We are a military family.  This is just par for the course for us.

The boys were actually really great for the trip. They slept 90% of the ride and did little to no crying.  Logistics were the difficult part.  Try checking yourself and two small children and several pounds of baggage (because you need EVERY toy, blanket, snack, and baby gear gadget in your arsenal to make it through the night) into a hotel with no help as the hotel clerk just stares at you from behind the very un-busy counter instead of lending you a hand.  Tip:  Find a luggage trolley and load everything, including the kids, onto it.  Don't worry about the weird looks you get.  

Whew!  We made it!  Now pack the kids all back into the car because you need to get dinner at the Cracker Barrel...

The long drive was worth it though because we arrived on the East Coast safe and sound. We had fun with grandparents spoiling the kids. 

We ate bagels.  Real bagels.  They only exist here.  So if you haven't eaten one in the NY/NJ area, I'm very, very sorry for you.

We had a dinosaur tea party. 

We went down the shore.  Which is what people from NJ say when they go to the beach.

We ate cotton candy on the boardwalk.

And real pizza.  Same deal as with the bagels. For having been born on the west coast, it's apparent that real pizza connoisseurship (yes, I think I made up that word) is handed down via genealogy not by birth location.  AW knows good pizza.

We got DW baptized.  He liked it, really, he did.

We saw lots of family and friends, ate lots of great food, and had a swell time.  Then hit the road again.

  

Back to the midwest!

Summer summary. (part two: July)

After our trip back east we stopped at a lake resort in Missouri for some "down" time.  Only...staying in a very small hotel room with a baby and a toddler after a very long two weeks already on the road is like...well...like being locked in a room with two rabid, sleep-deprived, foaming-at-the-mouth escaped lab-experiment animals.  It was, in fact, the very opposite of this very peaceful picture of the sunset on the lake.

The resort was great for the kids though and they loved all the fun things to do.  We went to the pool.

Took a paddle boat out on the lake.  

DW fell right to sleep on the boat of course.  Couldn't do that in the hotel room though...

Went fishing.

Actually caught a fish, though we followed zero of the rules about fishing, actually, AW did the opposite of all the things one should do while fishing.  

Saw some lake creatures.

And enjoyed some 4th of July fireworks.

Summer summary. (part three: August)

After our vacation it was time to head back home.  HW had to get back to work and the rest of us had to get back to...well, whatever it is that toddlers and stay at home moms do all day...

We went shopping.

Took long walks.

There were bounce houses

 and pony rides.

We bought a snake.

Played.

Watched the LEGO movie Ten MILLION times.  Everything is awesome!

Went to LEGOland. 

Ran our first family 5k.

And had so much fun we just passed out wherever we put our head.