Carlee --- Ms. Carlee made leaps and bounds this year. hard to believe that in January last year, we still had a baby.....she was only 18 months old. Now she's closer and closer to three! That's not a baby.....good grief, where does that time go. As my mother-in-law has said many a time, Carlee is VERY GOOD at being two!!! Her desire to be "big" outdoes her abilities and that puts us in a pickle. But she has the "me do it" attitude down to a T!!! This year her vocabulary has exploded and there isn't much she can't say. As a matter of fact this afternoon she was talking to her baby, ironically named Courtney. She said, "UGH!! Courtney you are wearing me slick....good grief!!!" Don't know WHERE she would hear anything like that........nope, definitely NOT from ME!!! She has mastered putting on her own pants, taking off her own diaper (this can get VERY tricky!! and MESSY!!!). She recognizes her written name, most colors, most body parts (the ankles still get her). She is SOOO incredibly tall she can get into just about anything. And if she can't get into it she can climb on a stool, chair, marshmallow....anything available to get to it. She is quite creative when she wants something. Her affinity right now is chocolate. On Christmas day, while I was sulking, she took the opportunity to eat her body weight in chocolate (that makes me want to go find the chocolate I hid....wonder where she gets it??? Again, NOT me!!!) She loves....no wait... LOVES her babies!!!! Santa was VERY thoughtful and brought her a package of diapers for her baby!! OH she is in Heaven!!! Over all, Carlee is a happy kid, very active and very kind to most.....just not the dogs. They have completely different opinion of her.
Courtney ---- OH MY, Courtney!!! Wow!! My sweet baby Courtney is growing into a little girl....[sniff, sniff]. This year has been a topsy turvy one for poor Courtney. With our move to Germany, she had to leave EVERYTHING she ever knew (well so did Carlee, but how much can you "know" at not even 2?). In March we had a "Mommy and Daddy feel really bad for moving you across the ocean" birthday party. Yes, she was born in April. No, we didn't forget this fact. With all the moving stuff going on, having a BD party in April was just not going to happen. I have to admit that we picked the COLDEST day in March for a party. And the coffee pot got a HUGE work out that day. Ironically not long after, it died. I am just putting that together, oh well! In April, she turned 5....FIVE, that is a BIG number! A whole handful (oh, the irony!!). Her birthday was actually ON Easter this year. That was kinda cool. In May, she joined us on the trek across the ocean to our new home. She is now WELL versed in airplane emergency procedures . In August she was given a firm diagnosis of ADHD and it has been a small roller coaster ever since. We chose to go with meds, since they do help her daddy. She does really well on them, in conjunction with some behavior modification. Oh, sure, she has slip ups, but only the kids on the front of Parenting magazine can avoid those, right?
In September Damon left for his deployment and she started kindergarten, all in 5 days time. What a change...but she LOVES school. I knew Courtney's strength was linguistics, but I never realized how strong she was. Courtney had a HUGE vocabulary at the age of one. By 3 she was learning letter sounds. By four she was reading. So this year they tested her reading ability, and she was reading on about a mid-first-grade level at the beginning of kindergarten. She is unfortunately like me and HAS to be challenged to be motivated to learn new stuff. So we have some challenges on our hands. In December she lost her first tooth....oh the cheers!!! It was DRA-MA. Luckily, our friend "Pink Lady Apple" was the one to rescue us. We are forever grateful.Damon
Well, I guess the biggest thing that has happened to Damon, other than our move to Germany, would be his deployment. It's pretty cut and dry. He is there, he wants to be here. But he's doing his job and doing it stinkin' well. I can't tell you how many times he has said that the CC brags on his "presentation skills" in the meetings. While it's only a 120-ish day deployment, it's still been crazy long for him. BUT, he comes home VERY, VERY SOON.
Gina
This has been the year from....well, you know where (for those who are slow --- it rhymes with "well"). It started with the whole moving thing. We had been in Lousiana for six years. One of my best friends lives there. My sister is only a few hours away from there. I LOVED our church family. I had the BEST job. But God had different plans for us. And who can say "no" when you see how God is leading you elsewhere (I tried, it doesn't work)? I have taken on the role of domestic goddess (HEY! Stop laughing!). I wipe noses, tushes, tables, and toilets. Can't complain though....while it drives me nutty sometimes, I do love my new job. It has just taken some getting used to not being "Mrs. Activity". My days are filled with trips to the school, PTA activities, play groups, story times, gymnastics, and whatever else I can cram in there. At some point I may even start my Master's degree....if I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Unfortunately, my health hasn't been so cooperative in all my delightful plans. Not long after Damon left (seriously within weeks), I started having joint pain, weakness, fatigue, and my neck had a swollen spot. At first, they said I was having allergy issues. Then they thought it was my thyroid. Finally someone had the presence of mind to send me to a specialist (this is after TWO months of feeling bad!!!). At that point I was sleeping ALL the time. I couldn't cook, nor did I want to eat, so Courtney was making meals (cereal, sandwiches, etc) for herself and Carlee. I couldn't move my hands and my toes felt like someone ran over my feet. I was so hoarse I couldn't talk, and the buldge on my neck was PAINFUL. It took one visit for the Rheumatologist to say "Duh, you have Rheumatoid Arthritis." He put me on steroids and MAN, do those help! He has me on a drug called Methotrexate which is a "disease modifying" drug. It is meant to stop the progress and reduce the symptoms. So far, it hasn't been too successful, but patience grasshopper. It takes time. I have another appointment in about 3 weeks and if I still am not any better then we will move on to the "big boys" of the RA drugs. But they are more intense on how they can break down your body, so my doc is hesitant (and also not feeling the pain I am in, so he CAN wait!!) My biggest hope is that I can get back to 85% of my old self. I used to be quite the busy little bee, so maybe slowing down isn't so bad!
Here are some of my favorite pics (that are on this computer --- Damon has Jan through May on his computer)
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