Walking

We have another walker in the Mik family, and she sure is proud of herself. Little Lettie suddenly thinks she is just so big and is always trying to keep up with her big sisters. She has been close to walking for a while now, but just as she has done with all of her milestones, she took her time and waited until she was ready to perfect it. At 13 months she is our latest walker so far, but I appreciate her calm and careful attitude toward physical activity.

It's amazing that she learned to walk when she has her escorts all day

Watching her learn to walk brought back memories of her big sisters walking, and I have a distinct memory of each of the 3 girls on the day they really "took off". All of them were walking along furniture and taking one or two steps when bribed by an excited parent or a toy, but then there was a day when all 3 of them just decided to take off and walk halfway across the room.

Belle was 10 months old (always my overachiever), and we were visiting our friends L and P. We were sitting in their living room talking and Belle decided to show off her walking. She just took off across the room ready to perform for everyone. She has never been shy.

our first little walker

Bug was almost one and decided to be true to her mischievous little streak when she walked. I had just gotten her and Belle out of the bath,  put some slippery pjs on Bug, and put her down (so she could crawl out of the bathroom while I hung up the towels), but my trouble maker decided that footie pjs on the ceramic tile floor was a great time to "take off", so she just walked out of the bathroom while I gasped and then cheered for her.

Then little Lettie has clearly been capable of walking for weeks, but my cautious little girl didn't want to let go. Nana and I have tried for weeks to bribe her into walking more than 2 or 3 steps, but she would just sit down smiling. I've had my video camera constantly ready to capture it for her Daddy, but then two weeks ago I was at the table coloring with the big girls and my sneaky Lettie decided she was ready. I turned around and she was halfway across the room just so proud of herself but not willing to perform for her Mom or sisters. I said she is just a sneaky little girl, but the Officer said, "she's just too humble to show off for everyone" (ha she has her Daddy fooled). Now she is walking everywhere all the time, and we love to see those chubby legs waddle around the room.

She is all over the place now

I love new baby walks, and I'm so happy that I have these distinct first time walking memories for each of my girls.

Country living with lightning bugs and starry nights

The girls and I are currently living with the Officer's parents out in the country. I'm not a huge fan of the long drive or the lack of internet and phone reception, but I do enjoy the quiet relaxation, clear skies, and the lightning bugs. The girls have loved looking out the windows every night before bed to see the lightning bugs, and last week one night we took them out to catch some.

I remember catching lightning bugs in our yard on summer nights when I was little. I loved it, and it was so nostalgic to watch the girls have the same fun. Their Nana and PawPaw got them ready with some jars, and we all headed outside. Bug promptly filled her jar with grass and rocks, so the lightning bugs "could have a snack" (we Miks are really good at taking care of animals).

Of course, we headed outside about an hour early, because this Mama was desperate for something to do, but the girls did not mind spending an hour running around the yard in their pajamas waiting for it to get dark. Lettie enjoyed playing out there too, but my sleepy little girl couldn't hang with us long enough to make it to dark.

Then it got dark and the real fun began! Their PawPaw ran around the yard and was able to catch some lightning bugs for each of them to put in their jars for a few minutes. The girls ran around the yard screeching and chasing the bugs, and I just walked behind them laughing and snapping some pictures. it was one of those magical nights that I hope the girls remember for a long time.

A few nights later we took the big girls out again to watch the meteor shower, which was another great memory for them. We loved looking at all the stars in the beautiful clear country sky, and we were able to spot a few shooting starts, but we couldn't stay up late enough to see too much excitement. The girls enjoyed finding the big dipper, and they made up some of their own constellations like a house. It was so fun to see the starry night through their eyes and to just sit on the deck talking to my sweet little ladies. There definitely are a few perks to living out in the country.

Vacation Bible School

Last week Belle had Vacation Bible School at our parish, and it was wonderful. I have such good memories of my own VBS when I was a kid, and I think Belle loved it (even if she didn't get to wear a uniform like she had hoped). There is something so wonderful about kids spending a week in the summer at "school" doing religious crafts, playing outside, and eating sugary snacks.

She wore this awesome sheep mask the entire car ride home, and I laughed every time I looked in the rearview mirror

Right as I got to the school to drop Belle off on Monday morning I realized this was the first time that I was ever just leaving Belle somewhere without me (other than family babysitting her). It would be the first time I wouldn't know every single detail of her day, and I felt a little sad. My BIL pulled his car up with 2 of my nephews at the exact same time, and he offered to sign Belle in, so I wouldn't have to get the younger 2 out of car seats. So just like that Belle jumped out of the car without a care in the world, and she ran into school with her cousins without even a hug or goodbye for her Mommy. I love that happy independent girl. She heard me telling the Officer that on the phone, and she said "Sorry Mommy, I will say goodbye to you tomorrow."

The 3 girls were happy to be reunited in the afternoons.... plastic high heels and everything

I was nice to hang out with Bug and Lettie in the mornings. Bug dealt with her separation from Belle really well.... she only asked me about 15 times the first morning how soon we were picking up Belle. It was also really nice to have my MIL watch the younger girls one morning, so I had 3 glorious hours to myself.

We spent most mornings playing with Lettie's best bud in the entire world and cousin

Belle seemed to have a great week, and Bug is looking forward to being old enough to go next summer We were all busy, so the week went by very quickly, and now we have gotten through 2 weeks without the Officer. I finally joined the iPhone world last week, so we were able FaceTime him some, which has been great. Four more weeks until he comes home for a weekend visit!

I'm hoping if I keep sending him pictures like this I can convince him to come home sooner :)

1st week without the Officer

On Monday the Officer left for his 6 months of training for his new job, and we have survived one week without him! I'm not even going to think about how many more weeks we have to go.... just going to think about the days we have behind us.

goodbye hugs

So far it is going okay. We miss him like crazy, and on day two I had my first big cry session. That day I found out that his training doesn't finish until mid-February, which actually makes this training 6.5 months, and I guess those extra two weeks just put my pregnant emotional mind over the edge. I also realized that he has terrible phone reception there and no internet in his room, so my hopes of skyping almost every day were ruined. The first night we talked on the phone for about 15 minutes and our call dropped 3 times. So that was all the difficult stuff the first week that caused me to cry for 2 hours on Tuesday night.

little picnic to cheer us up

Since that 2nd night I have been much better. I'm not thinking about February anymore.... just taking one month at a time. We also started planning some visits, so I'm just going to think about the next visit each month. Right now, we are hoping that the Officer will be able to come home for Labor Day weekend.... that is only 5 weeks from now.  I can do 5 weeks! We did skype for the first time yesterday, and it was great to see the Officer. It was heartbreaking to watch Lettie though... she blew him about 30 kisses, laughed, smiled, said "Dada", and then cried as she kept reaching for him to hold her. I know he must miss her hugs big time.

the little heartbreaker

I don't know how military wives do this- and without the hope of some weekend visits. Wow some women are just incredible.

The girls and I are keeping busy, and hopefully the weeks will fly by. We visited a friend one day last week, visited my family this weekend, and next week Belle is doing Vacation Bible School all week. The girls have been awesome so far, and that makes my days easier. We are in a good little routine while we are living with the Officer's parents right now. I know we will get through this time apart, because we have no choice but to get through it, and in the long run this job will be great for our family. We miss you Officer Mik and love you!! We are so happy to be one week closer to seeing him again!