Fire House Tour

I have a friend (also a former elementary edu teacher) who started a mommy and me weekly book club during the summer.  Each week has a different theme accompanied with a children's book, craft and snack.  This past week she arranged a fire house tour.  Needless to say, boys and trucks go quite well together!

We hope and pray this is the only time we see this piece of equipment Hayden is holding.

 They were surprised at how heavy the helmets felt.

 And for a snack, they made fire trucks using graham crackers, icing, mini oreos and pretzel sticks.

Cuteness!

Here are a couple of recent pics of Owen.  He is a baby on the move and is getting into everything; as he's suppose to at this age!  He is desperately trying to pull himself up to standing but hasn't yet.  It is fun to watch him move, think, explore, problem solve and try to keep up with his brothers.

Hayden tried his batman mask on Owen.

Logan

Here are some pictures that I took of Logan in the tree last week when capturing Hayden's 6 year old pictures.

Our Planner

Logan's a planner. Without any prompting, every night he takes time to lay out his clothes for the next day.

  Notice how each article is so carefully and purposely placed.  When he wakes up, first thing he does is put on his clothes and then greets us with a smile!

Calling All Super Hereos!

At Hayden's request his birthday party was at the FunPlex!  It lived up to it's name, the kids all had a blast!  The room was full of bouncy houses/slides/obstacle courses etc.  Lots of energy was left there! :)  We invited his friends from school and our neighbors.  A mother from his class has planned a different play date each week during the summer which has been great our (sparse) social calendar and has kept the kids in touch!

The big boys were up early but stayed quietly in their room.  I peaked in and found them on the bed looking at the Spider Man comic book together while sporting their Spider Man socks...already in super hero mode!

Ryan decorated the cakes which resemble Capt. America's shield.  Lots of love and attention went into it.  Our party favors were a frisbee wrapped in a super hero cape. 

And yes, my true identity is now relieved. :)

The best part is, all our super hereos are now worn out!

Hayden's Birthday @ Home

We had a quiet birthday for Hayden.  I took all 3 boys to the splash park.  When we arrived, we learned that it is closed every Monday for cleaning.  No worries, they had their suits on and the splash park is on the sound so they could swim in the water and play in the sand.  Though, the fun was tainted by 4 big dead fish that were floating towards us as shore.  Plan C, play on the playground equipment which was also there.  Unfortunately, after about 15 minutes a thunder storm rolled through.  I gave up and we went to our pizza lunch at 10:15 in the morning followed by groceries.

That night, we had spaghetti, at Hayden's request.  Hayden opened his presents from family and we all enjoyed cake (except Owen).  We gave Hayden a Capt. America costume, spy gear,  Sid The Science Kid soundtrack and an Imagination Movers DVD.  He was a happy kid!

These are Hayden's spy glasses which allow him to see behind him.  Hence, Ryan holding up two fingers.  I told him Moms have built-in spy glasses which always allow them to see behind them.

Happy 6th Birthday Hayden!!!

Today Hayden turns 6!!!!  On Saturday I told him that tomorrow [Sunday] would be his last day being 5.  His expression changed and with quite some seriousness, he said, "Boy! I'm going to miss 5, are you?"  In that moment, our hearts sank with the realization that he's growing up, fast!

Five has been a great year for Hayden. He flourished with the additional year of preschool.  At conferences the teacher's first mentioned (both in OH & FL)  how much they and the other children love him and what a good friend he is to both boys and girls. 

Hayden is very sentimental!  He has such a warm, kind heart and really cares about things, people and animals.  He wants to save every trinket, befriend every kid and nurture every animal.

Hayden is inquisitive.  Just the other day while getting a haircut he asked the hairdresser at least a dozen questions about another costumer who was getting her hair colored:  "What are all those silver things? "  "Why are they in her hair?"  "Why are there so many on the floor?"  "What color is her hair going to be?"

 Hayden is also extremely observant.  He is usually the first to notice and comment on a new shirt I'm wearing or if my hair looks extra nice (or extra 'crazy').  If I've changed a picture in a picture frame, he's sure to notice right away.

Hayden is tender. He LOVES to hold hands while sitting on the couch or cuddling in bed in the morning. 

Hayden is creative!  His famous words remain, "I can make something out of that!"  He loves to dig through the recycling.  Daily, he is coloring, cutting and gluing--almost in a fury trying to keep up with the ideas which race in his head.

Hayden loves books!  He has a remarkable attention span for listening to stories and now enjoys chapter books.  He especially appreciates non-fiction (yes, accompanied with plenty of questions).

Hayden is enthusiastic!  He gets excited about going places, staying home, playing with a friend, eating lunch at school, a new pair of socks....you name it!  His imagination and creativity typically keep him (and Logan) entertained.  At times, there will be a lull between ideas and he instantly feels 'bored'.  Rest assured, a few moments later inspiration will strike him again. 

Hayden is adaptable!  He truly was inspiring during this last move.  After all, he turned 4 in NJ, 5 in OH and now 6 in FL.  That's a lot of change!  He had to switch schools close to the end of the school year.  After being in FL for only a week we drove him to his new preschool.  He was only slightly nervous--but hardly noticeable.  He walked right into the building, calmly said good-bye to us and proceeded to join the class.  He transitioned with such grace!

Hayden is athletic!  His motor skills have been impressive since he was little.  He's also fast!  Hayden loves to play sports and watch them on t.v.  Since he was 2 he will observe the professional athletes and then try to mimic their skills.

Hayden is sensitive!  He still will not watch most children's movies, including, Winnie The Pooh.  He is very empathetic of the characters and I can remember when he was 4, he'd run out of the room in anticipation of a character (in Little Bear) bumping his head while looking for something under the bed. 
Hayden is thoughtful!  The other day he said:

Hayden:  Mommy, guess how much I love you?
Mommy: How much?
Hayden: As long as it's been since dinosaurs were alive.
Mommy: [heart overflowed]

Ryan and I are so proud him!  While we will miss 5, we will savor the memories and look greatly forward to enjoying 6!  We all love him to the dinosaurs.....and back!

Stars & Stripes

Our 4th of July was a nice family day.  I'll admit, we were a bit lonely not enjoying the holiday bbqing with friends/family.  If we were in NJ I know exactly how the day would unfold--full of parades, friends and food.  In OH, a parade and potluck with neighbors/friends.  We are meeting wonderful people in Florida, but haven't become close enough to share a holiday yet.

Never-the-less, we had a festive, lovely day!  It started with buttermilk blueberry pancakes, sausage and hashbrowns.  Hayden still had a swim lesson so we headed to the pool.  We swam for a couple of hours and had a picnic lunch.

In the afternoon, the big boys decorated their bikes with ribbons and pinwheels.

Bananas, strawberries and blueberries

Ryan put on a little firework display which the boys loved! 

We grilled dinner and had a special dessert made by Hayden, Logan & daddy.

Of course, the day is really about freedom.  A gift born from sacrifice.  We are thankful that we could spend the day choosing freely how to celebrate.

Ten Months!

Owen is ten months today!  This past month he started sitting up from laying down, scooting backwards on all fours and just today, crawling!!!  I was taking pictures of him for this post when his rocking motion finally led him to move his hands and crawl! Both big brothers were there to see (Owen did it again for daddy when he returned home) and it was difficult to tell who was more excited!

Life will never be the same....

Finding The Light

I love this tree.
I love to look at the branches
How they twist, bend and turn;
Always reaching for the sun.
Always trying to find the light
Accepting at times, that they must grow sideways
Understanding when to bend
Knowing when to turn
Yet, always growing towards the sun
Always changing to find the light

Such a metaphor for life. We grow one direction when suddenly our vision is clouded.  We can't thrive unless we alter our course.  We won't grow unless we accept change, bending our ways to find the light again.

Ryan's orders for Hurlburt, Air Field, FL were for the 6th Special Operations Squadron.  Upon arriving in April, we learned that some changes were brewing within the unit.  It seemed the unit would be elminating the helicoptors (therefore, their pilots) and most likely moving north to Duke Air Field which would change Ryan's commute from 16 miles to over 60 miles each way.  In the beginning of May Ryan began Combat Aviation Advisory training (a future post about this) taking him out of the office for 3 months.  Certainly, we could sense change was in the air, but we weren't aware of all the details.  The training includes personel from other units as well.  The winds shifted over a week ago when we learned that many more cuts were going to be made within the unit.  We weren't sure which side of the line Ryan stood. 
Fast forward a week, and we found out that Ryan's position, as logistics support, will no longer be a part of the 6th.  In fact, there might not be a position open anywhere for him here at Hurlburt.  There is the strong possibility that we will be moving. Again. Soon.
I'll admit the news hit me hard.  I know this is military life.  I know we signed up for military life.  And certainly, others are facing much more difficult tasks.  But, we moved twice in 20 months.  We just got settled here in Florida.  Logan just stopped asking to return to Ohio every day and even referred to this as home.  We've been a part of a soccer team, part of a lovely preschool, found a great church, are involved in a weekly couple's bible study, joined MOPS, I've been asked to be a table leader at MOPS next year, I've been asked to join my neighbor's ladies tennis group, we're involved with regular swim lessons.....  We did a lot of research before arriving here to help us integrate more quickly.  We've also been willing to put ourselves out there but God has also blessed us here.  We miss family.  We miss friends.  We miss traditions of past. We miss so much about life in NJ & OH.  While we don't want to make Navarre our forever home, we feel at peace here. 
Yet, once again, we find ourselves waiting. 
We'll [try to] accept gracefully that we might have to transition to a new area; that we must grow sideways before we'll find the sun.  Before a move there's always a fear that it will be difficult to feel happy in a new location.  That the initial loneliness might not fade.

But, like the Oak's branches, we'll learn to twist, bend and turn,

in order to keep growing. 

In order to find the light.