Play, play, play

Macen went to a friends birthday party yesterday at an indoor play place. It was huge and there was alot of things for the kids to do. Macen had a lot of fun and asking to go back to the birthday party this morning. I had to break his heart and tell him birthday parties aren't an every day occurence.

There were tons of riding toys for kids and adults, sectioned off trampolines, ball pit area that had some other things for smaller kids, a huge castle playland with a big, long slide. Macen wouldn't do these activities. He is very cautious and not really willing to try new things. See it doesn't just apply to his eating habits. Nonetheless, he had fun and its a great place to go during the cold months.

Boys will be boys

We were hanging out with some of the neighbors the other day so there was Macen and another boy his age and 2 younger girls. Guess which two found the pool with about 2 inches of water in a single corner and just had to get in?

This funny kid

Some days Macen just amazes me with what comes out of his mouth. Sometimes its way out there and other times its very logical but most of the time it makes me laugh. Today was no exception. James called this afternoon and he talked to Macen for a bit. He told dad he wanted to watch tv (I had been telling him he couldn't) and then he asked James if he wanted to watch tv with us. They finish up and as I am talking to James, Macen tells me dad said he could watch tv. I asked James if he said that and James said no. Macen continues to argue that dad did say he could watch tv. James and I laughed at him. I know kids do this but really, he needs to do this with his deployed dad? Ha ha!

And that wasn't the first time he did that. He talked to Papa on Sunday and was telling on me that I wouldn't let him watch tv. After we got off the phone, he told me Papa said he could watch tv.

Within 5 mins after getting off the phone with James, Macen starts telling me he can burp the alphabet as he repeatedly belts out fake burps. Ummm....where did he learn this?! He did spend some time at hourly care this morning.

And I won't even start on the conversations I've had with him potty training. Let's just say it's enough to give a comedian some goooood material. Speaking of potty training, it's going great. He's pretty much good to go at home minus naps and bedtime. He has went down for a few naps with just underwear and has done fine but since we are barely 2 weeks in I'm not sure he's quite ready. He has even used the potty at hourly care and at his FCC providers home so he is well on his way to being an underoo wearing boy.

Afghanistan Update

Well I've been deployed for two weeks now. Things are going smooth so far. We are getting things set up the Soldiers are coming in and we are signing for the equipment that we need.

I don't have any pictures from Kandahar yet but I'll try to get some taken and get them posted eventually. There is a ton of construction going on here in order to house all of the extra Soldiers that are coming. That said there still isn't enough. I'm currently crammed into a bay with 120 of my closets friends in a building that houses almost 800 people. You really start to get to know someone. Our building is also right next to the sewage treatment ponds for the base so when the winds just right you get a good whiff. I don't think you can ever get used to that.

It is hot here, averaging about 100 degrees since I've been here and it's very dusty. I thought I'd left the moon dust stuff in Iraq but it's in Afghanistan too. I'm hoping eventually we move into a base further into the mountains and there won't be as much of the dust and it will cool off a little bit.

I've started a marathon workout plan just so I can keep myself in shape. When we get more settled some place I'm going to start some strength training to go with it. Not much time to post that kind of stuff on the beer drinker with a triathlon problem blog now but I hope to be able to do that when I get into a rhythm.

I think I've hashed out when I'm going to get R&R but still need final approval from my boss. If approved it means that it will be a little closer to the six month mark than last time. Taking it early last time was not the best time to do it.

It's a small world I've run into guys I've worked with at Fort Riley the first time I was there as well as a guy I worked with at Fort Carson. Another friend from Carson should be here later this summer and those of you who know Brian, he should be here in a couple of weeks. Like I said it's either a small world or that's what happens when you put more troops into a country.

That's all for now.

Well that's it for now

Macen is 3 yrs old

I know this update is a little late but we just had his check up last week. Macen is now 30 lbs which puts him in the 27-29 percentile. When he had his physical done in Feb he was in the 9th percentile. That is quite the jump! He is also 37 inches tall which was in the 40 some percentile. He has done some growing since we got to Germany!

As I posted last week, we are potty training. Somewhat successful. He does run to the bathroom and occassionally pees but mostly its a false alarm or he is trailing pee all the way there. We don't have any carpet downstairs so we are just doing underwear and taking a chance each time. He's not afraid of it or being stubborn about it though.

Macens main interest still revolves around the alphabet. He recognizes both uppercase and lowercase letters, he knows which ones are the vowels, he can write all the letters although not completely legible and he even knows how to spell some words. On top of the words he could spell last fall, he now knows the variations of 'at' like cat, bat, hat, fat, etc. He loves writing these after he writes the alphabet, his name, momma and daddy. It's pretty cute to watch him write and draw monsters.

He loves being outside right now playing in the sand. He hasn't had much interest in learning to ride his bike though. Hopefully we can work on it over the summer but I think he feels the bike slows him down. He can get where he wants to go much faster by running.

Of course his speaking improves in very obvious stages. Instead of asking why about everything he asks "where'd come from" and his catch phrase right now is "wow, this is gonna be fun". He even said it going into the doctors office last week. He has also learned mine and James' first names and he likes to use them to get our attention. His favorite is calling for James when we were out somewhere. It's cute for now but we aren't going to let this become normal.

Macen started going to CDC (hourly care) once a week when we moved here and now he is going twice a week. He loves it! He also starts going to an in home daycare this week. This will be random when I have early morning/last minute mtgs. I have to schedule him a month out for CDC and the times fill quickly so I need an alternative for last minute appts. And if that isn't enough, we will start with a teenage babysitter this month as well. I will have coffees and functions to attend so he/she will be for evening care. Quite the change for us and I'm not completely comfortable with all of it but the time has come for this.

We love you little guy! Thank you for a fantastic 3 years.

Schwimmbad

We went to a local swimming pool yesterday and Macen had a blast. The kids swam and played while us women chatted. The swimming pool and area was really nice and beautiful. There were 3 separate pools within a huge grassy park. First there was the adult pool, then a smaller pool that was about 4ft or so and then the kiddie pool which has some playground equipment with it. The medium pool had a large winding slide to it and Macen loved it. We went down several times and he would have done it all day if I'd let him. I'll get pics of it next time we are there.

We had a great time and will be going back a lot this summer.

We've started...

Finally! In the last 5 days I have cleaned up a lot of pee and other stuff you don't want to know about, lol. He's fairly receptive to it except first thing in the morning. He can't quite get to the bathroom by the time he realizes he needs to pee. It'll come with time though. Good days and bad days, right?!

Macen starts German preschool in September and it's highly recommended they are potty trained by then so we are on a mission this summer. Wish us luck!

Saying Goodbye

We left the house at 3am yesterday morning, taking James to his office and hanging out with him a little before we had to say good bye. Crazy hours, huh?! Guess who was wound up the entire time, lol. I think that big grin gives it away.

We had to say goodbye to James around 5am. I know Macen doesn't fully comprehend how much the next year will be different for all of us but as I mentioned before he does know something is going on.

About mid afternoon yesterday, we were hanging out at home and Macen asked where daddy was and I told him he had to go to Afghanistan to help other people. He responded that he wanted to go too and he was hurt when I told him he had to stay with mom instead. He then said he needed his daddy blanket. He picked up the blanket which has a picture of James on it, held it up looking at James and just burst into tears saying "oh no". I had no words for him and watching that broke my heart so I just cried with him. Thankfully it was a very short emotional breakdown for him and he was better afterwards. Before bed, he did say "I miss my daddy" but he was easier to console this time.

Here is the blanket we had made for Macen. It's small but powerful, lol. James gave it to him about a week ago and Macen became instantly attached. He sleeps with it and his blue blanket for naps and bedtime.

As we begin this year long journey, we ask for your prayers to keep James safe.

We miss you already James!

ETA: James has gotten to Afghanistan safely.

I'm Almost There

I've made it to Manas AFB my last stop before heading into Kandahar. Things have gone pretty smooth so far, so hopefully that stays the same.

It was much harder leaving Macen and Shantel this time then it has been any other time. We'll see how hard this deployment will be on all of bus.

I'll let everyone know when I've got an address.