The Family Update

I thought I'd give you an update of each family members happenings. We'll start with the youngest:

Calvin Lee

He's 6 months and weighs about 16 pounds

Has teeth starting to come in that make him very cranky some days

Can always make you smile with his little grin and infectious laugh

Rolls back to tummy only for 2 months now, but won't attempt or think about tummy to back

Flat-spins and scoots on his tummy to get around. Niran rolled everywhere, Calvin is content with his mode of transportation

Is eating solids. First few bites of every meal he hates, but eventually gets mad at us for not feeding him fast enough

Is starting to sleep through the night. He's still trying to figure out how to soothe himself. If he can get his binky he'll use that, but fingers seem to be for snacking only

He's about ready to sit on his own. He likes to reach for the toy that is furthest away so he folds himself in half

He's a brother's boy!!! He loves Niran so much. He will laugh at him while he's riding his trike or playing with his toys ignoring him. As long as he can see his big brother he's happy

He's still a snuggler! It's wonderful for the most part, until you need to get things done after an hour of snuggling =)

Niran

In 2.5 months he'll be 3 years old!!! I can't believe it and quite frankly I really don't want to!

He isn't quite talking yet, but he can communicate better. You can ask a yes and no question, he'll answer yes or no and give you a subject. "Can put this in your room?" "No, room." He can also say thank you, where are you, what are you doing. Pretty much what I constantly say. It works for now, but he's improving a lot. I can't wait to hear what his stories in English!

He still loves books, in fact he sleeps with a book every night. I've caught him laying in bed reading. Playing with toys in bed isn't okay, but I'll excuse reading for now

He can ride his trike by pedaling!! I worked forever teaching him. Dusty got him to do it in one night. The next day we went to the park and he rode his trike like we've been doing it for years. He rides it everywhere, even when we take Hok outside to go potty, when we walk Daddy to the car in the morning, when he's done watching tv and wants to play. Forget walking, he rides his trike

He has wood puzzles that he's never been able to do, he'd just get frustrated with them after awhile. He put together all three puzzles yesterday without any trouble. He may be practicing by himself since he learns better without someone watching over him

He's working on ABCs. He has A, C & D down if he watching his leapfrog video. He has A down with me and will "sing" them with me

He's working on counting. "1, 2, 3, 6" which is actually 1, 2, 3, 5" He can do better if he as something to count, such as his fingers or cars

He uses his imagination: Builds things, plays with cars & they interact, plays in his play kitchen & makes meals, "Where's your nose?" game (we need to a get video of this game, it's fun to play)

He loves giving kisses & hugs. At dinner he has a do group hugs. And he loves holding, kissing, & hugging his brother

Hok

Yup, we're including him in family updates. I probably wouldn't if it weren't for the fact that we almost didn't have him anymore. Dusty had a 24-hour duty day from Sunday morning to Monday morning. He got off at 9 and ended up spending most of the day awake. That night we all went to bed early, since I had stayed up the same night helping Dusty work on some stuff. 37 hours awake was too much. I rushed the boys upstairs & into bed, Dusty sat outside with Hok for awhile before coming in to say goodnight to the boys. The next morning I went to let Hok outside & no sign of him...anywhere. I replayed in my mind Niran looking under the bed & laughing earlier in the morning, but there was no actual sign of Hok, since I didn't look as well. I searched the house high & low, rang the door bell, & started calling and texting Dusty. "Did you bring Hok in last night?" "IDK, I can't remember." I could only assume he didn't, so the boys & I packed up in the double stroller and headed out asking neighbors if they had seen him. No luck. I decided since it was late enough in the morning and by this time he hasn't been seen in 14 hours I'd call the shelter here on post. I spent time trying to call a building that wouldn't answer their phone & trying to keep Niran from going into a panic over not being able to find his dog. I asked Dusty to drive up the busy street on his way home looking for him on the side of the road. I tried avoided that request since I didn't want to deal with it. Dusty came home for lunch with no sign of him and searched the house as well. Just after lunch Dusty got a phone call from Gilbert Veterinary Hospital in Gilbert, Arizona with the name & number of the lady who had our dog. No, our dog didn't managed to cross the country over night. Once Hok was returned to us, we finally got the whole story pieced together:

Hok did not come in the house with Dusty the night before, instead he went up a street that is behind our house and ended up near an elementary school. The next morning when the kids went inside, so did Hok. He's not a fan of being outside too long. The kids and adults tried to read his tags, but he wasn't going to have it. I'm sure he was stressed, tired and very freaked out. Eventually a Captain in uniform came in and sat down. Hok jumped in his lap and curled up. When he left to go home, Hok tried leaving with him. The family took Hok with them and began locating us. The only tag Hok would let them read was a tag from the vet in AZ. They called them, then called Dusty's sister, who was our emergency contact to get our number and then called us. At first we thought they had got our information from his microchip, but when I had checked that it was current. But the family said they never made it to the vet on post to have his microchip checked. It took Hok a couple days to recover from that ordeal, but at least we know he'll go to someone in uniform.

Kimmy

I've just been mastering the role of a SAHM, Stay at Home Mommy. I have great days where I look at it and say I love what I am doing. Then there are days that I want to just run away. Luckily I end up getting a hug & kiss from Niran or a big smile from Calvin that just melt my heart. Now that the house is unpacked I'm finally finding time to get back in the craft room. I'm currently working on examples of crafty things that I will be able to make & start selling to bring in some extra money to pay off debt. I get to keep doing the things I love & make some money at the same time! I have a couple of friends here now. One I met online while Dusty was at Basic Training & who has been stationed her for awhlie. She has 4 kids which includes a little boy who is Niran's age. Once we can get on the same schedule we're going to plan a play-date. My other friend is the wife if Dusty's team leader (the next person in his chain of command). They have a little boy who is 4 months older than Calvin, but much smaller.

Dusty

My paratrooper is doing great! He's had his battalion jump which makes him an official 82nd All American Airborne Paratrooper! He enjoys his job & coworkers. He's lucky that he's with a unit that is doing work related to the training he spent a year doing. There are some guys out there that haven't been as lucky. He's been very worn out from all the hard PT they do here, but how many people run a 4-mile as a cool down? All his hard work his showing. On his body & all the extra cooking I'm doing in the kitchen to keep up with his energy needs!! He's still playing video games in his spare time & helping to raise a wild little boy!!

Well, there's a summary of our family. Now that we are a little more settled I will do my best to keep this updated. Yell at me if you need to!!