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Evie swingin with Daddy

Evie loves the swing! She was giggling at Daddy while he made kissy sounds to her.

Today was gorgeous weather- 60s and sunny! So we went to the dog park and then took Gabe to his favorite park across the street. It was really fun to be out. Especially since we've been inside the last couple days. What's super inconvenient to get when your husband's deploying really soon? A cold. Yeah Michael, Evie & I have been snot buckets since Thursday. This includes 2 late night runs for cold meds. Grrr. I think Michael & I are finally on the mend- Evie's taking a little longer to recover. 

 

   In other news Evie had her 6-mth well baby checkup on friday morning. She's 21 lbs and 27 inches long! Chunk-a-saurus Rex! The pediatrician was thrilled with Evie's development, she even complimented us on what a pleasant baby she is :) The best part of the visit was discussing my breastfeeding issues. I know, i know. very exciting topic. I mentioned i wanted to wean Evie to the dr. and she was like "oh we have a lactation consultant on staff- you should talk to her". So we did and it was great! She gave me some tips on decreasing my milk production and totally supported my decision. She was like, I've had mastitis so i completely understand where you're coming from. It was refreshing because a lot of lactation consultants are all "you should breastfeed till your kid's 5". Soooo it was very encouraging to talk to her.

   Later on Friday we had another ortho appointment for Gabe. We've been concerned about Gabe's right foot because ever since his cast came off he's been limping and walking on the side of his foot. Considering his club foot history Michael & I were feeling like he's completely regressed. But the doctor allayed our fears-apparently most kids do this after surgery. The toe is still sore so they put pressure on it, find it hurts and change their gait so it doesn't hurt anymore. It's just a comfort thing- not regression. Were supposed to give him a solid month of walking around however he feels comfortable and then start encouraging him to walk normal again. If that doesn't work we can get an AFO for his foot that forces it flat. But i guess that's usually unnecessary. Today he ran around the park like a nut so we feel much better about the whole situation.

 That's our weekend so far. Were knocking off a lot of tasks on the checklist which feels good. Just trying to enjoy our last family time for 9 mths! Pray for us...this next weekend could be tough and i don't want to freak Gabe out by being all emotional. Hope you all have nice weekends :) 

Pray for Sonja

Hey Everyone!
 Just wanted to pass along this link. It's my friend Sonja Darrel's blog and she gives a heartfelt description of what's happening in her life. Basically she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. She had the tumor in her colon removed yesterday and is in recovery. The surgery went decent- but had some complications. Just please please please pray for her and her family. She has a beautiful 6-yr old daughter Brianna and sweet husband John.  Unfortunately she's not done with her medical struggles yet- the cancer has spread to her liver. She will be undergoing at least 3 mths of chemo depending on her body's response. Sonja was in my wedding- we've been friends since 8th grade (i think?) She's 26 and the most caring, sensitive, beautiful loving person you'll ever meet. Just wanted to spread the word. The more prayer for her the better :) She has a great attitude about the whole situation and i deeply admire her courage. In fact, i talked to her on the phone a few days ago- and she was feeling bad for me because of the upcoming deployment! Little stinker! That's the kind of person she is- always putting others first. So lets put her first and pray pray pray for her body to heal! Thanks a lot everyone.

On another note, we are very close to the deployment. Were doing well, getting packed and finalizing plans. Keep Michael in your prayers as well- he's heading into a pretty volatile location. Thanks for all your support!

Family visits

 Mary & Vince came up to the Springs for a visit this weekend. It was fun! Saturday we went to the park...it looks warmer than it was.

 Were gonna miss having Daddy around for playground dates :)

Riding "Gabe's dog" Clifford. I think that was max capacity with Daddy riding double!

 The bros and their girls! I could NOT get Sophia to look at me..or smile. You have to really earn smiles from Sophie!

 Cousin hugs! Evie's thinking..."can i eat it?" Hmmm

 We had a nice dinner at Brian & Christina's house!

Evie scored one of Nana's sugar cookies!

 Brunch at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort...swanky!

 Sitting in a high chair for the first time. And sucking on some melon!

 I love Daddy!

 Evie can get Sophia to smile!

 twins!

My stud muffin :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

 All swanky for the Battalion Ball! Note: This dress is from 500th night (Mike's jr. year) at West Point! I also attempted a chignon in my hair. I was somewhat pleased with the results. This is the longest I've ever left Evie and i was a bit apprehensive (miss i-refuse-to-take-a-bottle) but she did great! Ate a whole bowl of baby food and went to bed without a fuss!

 I made this headband for Evie. I was inspired by this look.

 Michael had yesterday off so while he was out taking care of some errands he stopped by a florist and picked up some roses. Evie received her first red rose! She was so excited she tried to eat it.

 blueberry eyes

 LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!

 I scored a dozen red roses myself. And we went on another date! I know, 2 in 3 days? Shocking! It's like Nulkie's deploying or something. Michael took me to McKenzie's Chop house (amazing) and then to see the Vow (decent). Evie did great again. Still won't take a bottle but will settle for baby food. It's wonderful!

 My two lil' valentines

I can never get the two of them to coordinate smiles! If one smiles nice the other is looking off in another direction. Oh well. They're still super cute. And you can see Evie's chunk has increased exponentially since we've introduced solids. We need to put her on baby weight watchers or something. Oh and she's 6 mths old now! She is just the most delightful baby...these 6 mths have certainly flown by. It's so fun to see what a sweet little lady she is becoming. 

And Gabe gets his cast off today! Hooray! I promised him a super-long bubble bath afterwards :) 

Denver Aquarium

I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm an aquarium junkie. I blame this solely on my mom. If there's an aquarium in a nearby city- i have to check it out. I've been the to Boston one about 4 times. Even the lame one in St. Louis. And the Baltimore one is awesome. Or the Oregon one- i saw the Kayko (free willy) there- only celebrity I've ever met in real life. I hear the  Monteray Bay aquarium is phenomenal-it's like the holy grail of aquariums- I've yet to go. It's on my bucket list. But i digress- so Nulkie had this Friday off, i discovered Denver had an aquarium, and boom- that was immediately our plan. Also, could i say the word aquarium more in one paragraph? I don't think so. Anyways, check it!

 Gabe had a blast. Got to run around looking at fish!

 At the tiger lookout. Unfortunately all 4 tigers were sleeping.

 Did Evie have fun at the aquarium? I take that smile as a yes!

 Evie's valentine's outfit. Daddy picked it out for her.

 indoctrinating her at a young age with love of the sea

 They had real live mermaids! Gabe was awestruck!

 Full body smile after the mermaid encounter! Yay Mama!  I want to be a mermaid when i grow up!

 We ate at the aquarium restaurant. Totally awesome. This was our view. And there was a mermaid show- i mean can you beat mermaids and fish swimming by while listening to the Little mermaid soundtrack? No, no you cannot. It was awesome!