the happy patient

 Here's the happy patient. He's already walking around on his cast like it's no big deal. He walked up and down the stairs already. Mr. Independent didn't want any help! His surgery went well according to the dr. His second toe on the right foot is now straight. He's in the cast till feb. 14th and then he gets it off! He actually has a pin in his toe with a yellow ball at the end of it (Gabe calls it a jellybean).

 This is right before he went into surgery. I wimped out of going into the operating room but Daddy was there with him while they put him under. They even let Tiger attend the surgery and have a special band of his own!

 When they rolled Gabe into the operating room all the drs and nurses had the mouth-masks on so Michael called them "pirates". Gabe liked that a lot i guess. He did really well in pre-op, only fussed at the end. He wasn't too happy when he woke up in a cast with an IV and tubes all connected to him! I went down to recovery and he just cried and cried asking for me to pick him up and take off the cast. The staff could not have been kinder and more soothing. I was starting to get upset and they kept bringing things for Gabe and telling me that all kids woke up crying. He scored a lion stuffed animal, coloring book and pencils, play-doh, and a new sippee cup. I was able to get him to eat a purple popsicle too.

He calmed down a bit when he was moved back to his room and Michael & Evie could meet up with us. Michael crawled right into bed with Gabe and read him some stories which helped distract him a bit. I went and picked up his meds. The dr. prescribed a mild narcotic (tylenol with codine) for the first day. He's already off it today and only on motrin. He did MUCH better when we got home and he had some lunch and watched chitty-chitty bang bang.

 Evie giving Daddy kisses! And she rolled over last night! Finally!

 Bacon and eggs for the brave little guy :)

As you can see, he's doing great. Already trotting around the house dumping toys and back to his ornery curious self! We all feel better that it's over, in fact yesterday the whole family took a 3.5 hr nap we were so exhausted! And in bed by 10. Nulkie has a few things to do today and then hopefully is off by the afternoon. Hope you all have good weekends!

 LOVE this baby girl!

 Today Gabe was running around the house driving me crazy so i said forget chores, lets go to the dog park and then have a picnic at the nearby playground. Evie even ate a little bit of oatmeal cereal mixed with water (maybe about a tablespoon) which is a major score. Usually she's impatient and spits everything out, but i think she actually swallowed a bit today. Anyways back to the dog park. So i packed some PB & Js, pretzels, fruit snacks (obvi), drinks and we rolled out. Gabe walked the whole loop and happily pointed out every dog dump "dat's poopies mommy. dat's big poopies". Of course as soon as we arrived he said he wanted to go pee-pee. And yes i took him before we left. So i said Gabe try and stay all dry while we do our walk and then we'll find someplace to go. He's easily distracted and soon forgot needing to use the bathroom when there were dirty sticks and rocks to pick up and throw (which drives the retrieving dogs crazy and earns me dirty looks). He even tried to scoot down the river bank on his butt to follow the dogs in the river--i caught him just in time. By the end of the walk he remembered he needed to go and asked again. I was debating taking him behind a bush when lo and behold i saw a port-a-potty. It was basically the thrill of the lifetime for Gabe to go in the "porterpotti"! He talked about it all afternoon. "we go in green porterpotti mommy, we go in green porterpotti!". Suffice to say it was super-nasty and i should've just taken him behind a bush!

 

 Evie is doing great. I'm just SO thankful to have a little girl of my own. She is too much fun! She's so cuddly and content..a big chunk of happiness as Aunt TZ says! Last night we met Nulkie at headquarters for an FRG meeting. He held Evie most of it and she just cooed at him. She was blowing raspberries and smiling at him the whole 45 mins! I swear she was telling him about her day or something. He even thinks he heard her say "da". We both have heard her say "mama", but it's only in times of distress..like stop forcing this bottle on me!

Here she is with her new sippie cup. She loves grabbing the handles and bringing it to her mouth to chew on. She maybe lets a few drops of milk in but i think that's about it. Oh well i'll keep offering it to her!
Gabe had a great time at the playground. He even ate his whole sandwich (at lightening speed) so he could get down from the bench and play with "wittle boys and wittle girls". He proceeded to throw sand in one little girls hair and i had to make him apologize but other than that it was great. Gabe had a blast, doggies were happy, and it was beautiful weather. Hope you all had nice days too. I gotta get the little guys up now and then start dinner. Beef & broccoli in the wok..yum!

Side note: I'm not privatizing yet. I started too, but realized it's kinda annoying so I'm waiting until Nulkie actually leaves the country. Then i'll work on it.

News

So here we go. Micheal is deploying again. I can't give specific dates and times but he's headed to Afghanistan for a second tour of duty. Most of you may already know this, but for those of you not in the loop...boom, there it is. To say I'm bummed would be an understatement. As an army wife, you always know that another tour is lurking, but you try not to think about it. The whole if i don't think about it maybe it wont happen mindset. I've been trying that- doesn't work. And yes supposedly they're "drawing down" troops over there. Doesn't matter, Nulkie's unit is going. And i am fiercely proud of my solider. He is a wonderful leader and will make an excellent commander. But he's also a rockstar daddy and husband and i don't like sharing him! 

My mentality is this weird combo of obsessive planning, moping, frustration and resignation. I can't ignore that it's coming (although i really really want to) because i have to game plan what to do about Gabe, Evie & I while Michael is away. Trust me I've been debating back and forth of whether or not to go home to NY or ride it out here in Colorado. Some of you would probably say, "that's easy, i'd stay in my house". Well my home in colorado, while wonderful (Nulkie could not have given me a more desirable home), doesnt feel like home when Michael's away. It just doesnt. Call me needy and pathetic but after Michael leaves it feels like i'm just reminded of him constantly in our house- oh this is the last load of laundry i'll do for him in a year (9 mths) or this pan was his fav to cook omelettes on, or he loved woodworking in the garage ..etc that just make me meloncholy. It's this huge void that i can't possibly fill no matter how many play groups i'm a part of. Now a lot of wives stay in their houses and they do great. A lot go home and do great. In fact, the number one question i was asked at our recent deployment fair was "are you staying or going home"? Michael & I have prayerfully discussed it at length and decided the kids & I should move back to NY for most of the tour. Yes were leaving our house where i have my own bathroom and Gabe & Evie have their own rooms. But to me that is just stuff. The loneliness overwhelms those conveniences (at least for me).

I read this quote in a book, "Out of the slough of loneliness sometimes grow rare and beautiful characters, but more often that slough produces only blighted and bitter personalities. In most cases...that early depression passes away..., but in the meantime there is much needless heartache."

That sort of describes why i choose to go home. I'd rather spend my energy on my kids than being lonely. We  haven't found a church here or made many close friends. Needless to say it's been a hard move. In Ft. Leonard Wood we were friends with neighbors on either side and across the street. We had a wonderful church family. I've told Michael if we were still in Missouri and he was leaving i'd probably stay. But i just don't feel that connection here. I haven't even met our next door neighbors. The MOPS group I'm in is 40 mins away. We actually feel pretty isolated out in Ft. Carson. So i ask not for your judgement, but for your prayers for us. You can't imagine the emotional pain when you're separated a very long time from your spouse. When you're afraid when the doorbell rings in the evening. I am so thankful and blessed i have a family that is willing to disrupt the patterns of their lives to take my family in and help us! There are many other reasons that contribute to this decision, but the long and short of it is:  when Nulkie leaves, Gabe, Evie, Bella, Winston & I are schlepping our stuff cross country to become extended-stay residents at the Pilon bed & breakfast :)  Anyways, eventually I'm going to have to privatize my blog for Nulkie's protection. So i'm not sure who all reads this, but if you want to continue reading the adventures of the Incredible Nulks let me know so i can add you to the allowed to read list.

Alright that's the end of my deployment rambling. Another tidbit is that Gabe is having toe surgery this Thursday. Please pray for him- that he's not scared or in pain, that everything goes smoothly and heals correctly. It's supposed to be an easy surgery and recovery, but he still has to go under anesthesia and he's only 3! Thanks for all you're support!

Crusty Butts

 Excited to have some family visiting!

 kissing camels at Garden of the Gods

 Vacay! Boo-ya!

 Family dinner at Ft. Carson!

 Scenery on the drive to Crested Butte. Ah-maz-ing!!

 Hiking in Crested Butte. Note: I have no children with me. Also note: TZ is the cutest dresser/hiker ever!

 View from our Condo. Crusty Butts doesn't allow franchises so it maintains that rustic, small town charm. I wouldn't mind living in one of those houses either.

 Evie had fun in the condo. She's working hard at trying to sit up,

 Taking Gabe sledding on the slopes!

 Typical V & T pic.

 We got to sneak away one day for a hike. Evie has made it a bit difficult for me to leave her with anyone. That whole not wanting to take a bottle/soilds deal is tricky! Were still working on it.

 We love Aunt TZ!

 It didn't snow the whole time we were there till the morning of departure. The guys got in a few hours of skiing on fresh powder in a blizzard!

 Where are the mtns?

We took this trip over MLK weekend. McGregor organized the whole trip...great job! We had a pet-friendly ski in/ski out condo. What did i do you might be wondering? Well i did get out for a few walks, but i was mainly housebound with Gabe & Evie. I had to suffer by the toasty fire and read a book :) It was fun, a little tricky with babies that can't ski. But super-gorgeous. Nulkie & i are already planning on coming back in July to see the wildflowers! Thanks for the great trip everyone!

Happy Birthday Gabe!

 Happy 3rd Birthday to my lil' buddy! You are such a big boy now!

 You are: enthusiastic and loud!

 you are happy and willing to try new things

 You are creative: you love to play pretend.

 You are affectionate: you love to sit on laps and give hugs and kisses

 You are: a stinker at mealtimes! You do not like to stop playing to sit and eat!

 You are a total goofball! You are also very smart, clever and a bit sassy (a lot sassy) at times!

 You are: the most handsomest, adorable little boy i know!

You are a wonderful big brother! You help me out my talking to Evie when she's fussing. She lights up when you pay attention to her!

 You are curious about everything. You love to try/touch everything everyone is doing.

 You are a ham! You love an audience.

 See that smile on his face? Pure joy! We were singing happy birthday and he was just ecstatic!

We love you Gabe! You are the best son, brother, grandson, nephew and cousin! Everyday is a new adventure for you and we can't wait to watch the next year as you continue to grow and learn! Thanks to all our family and friends that love on our little boy! He is one blessed guy :)