Christmas in Feb!

Thanks for all the Christmas presents we just got. Joey loved having Christmas in Feb! I was trying to shoot videos and take pictures and help Joey with the presents, so I didn't get nearly enough photos. The videos show his excitement a little better.



Playing with his new shaving bath toys.

The Curious George rocker was fun for him.

Peeking in the bags.

Happy about the Thomas the Train ramp.

Can't wait to open the Cars craft kit.



Here are the videos of him opening some too.







If you don't watch any of these but one, you have to watch this one:

Angie's visit and new fishies!

I have so much to update about, and I'm sure I'll forget most of it. Joey still isn't interested in potty training--I'm not forcing him yet. Maybe soon he'll be ready on his own without me rushing him. We had such a fun visit with Angie this past weekend. I'm sad knowing we're going to be moving this summer and then she'll be deploying later this year, too. About our move: we still don't know where yet, but it should be late May, early June that we go, depending how fast we find a new house.

Our big flat screen TV has been broken for a month now (we just got it replaced last night). This is how Joey had to watch movies^ on my laptop. We had a back up TV, but it's old and we didn't have the remote or any way to get it in "AUX" mode for the DVD player.

She doesn't let me take many photos of her, so I have to sneak them sometimes, or hound her till she gives in. I took a photo of her doing my dishes because I didn't think my mom would believe me if I told her Angie did that.

Trying to do her reading for work, and I'm pestering her.

I think this was our shopping day this weekend. She's trying to get ready, and I'm snapping pictures and Joey's playing in the bathroom sink (his new favorite place to play).

Getting slightly annoyed at me^

Getting a little more annoyed at me^ But she's so pretty! Who can blame me for taking her picture? :)

^Fell asleep, missing one sock. He's so cute!

He thinks I'm crazy.

Joey and Earl matched on this day.

^Think Earl's looking slimmer? He lost 22 lbs the past 2 months. He has really strong will power. If only I did... :)

He's had a really bad cough this past week. Most nights he coughs all night long, then lets me get some sleep in the wee early hours. One day, he took a 4 1/2 hour nap because he got no sleep the night before (or the following night, since it was a late nap). He seems to be better today.

Kmart was having a nice sale^ so Joey got a new Diego sweatsuit, among other things that added up to way more than we intended on spending that day.

Joey is still taking pictures. He's kind of obsessed with shadows now. He got a new Thomas the Train book that came with a flashlight, so you can shine it onto the pop-ups and see their shadow.

Joey's friend, Zoey, is moving away to CA in about a week (they're the best neighbors! we're going to miss them so much), so she gave him her goldfish. Everytime Joey was at her house, he'd run straight to the goldfish tank and watch it endlessly, so she knew he'd love it. We bought a tank for it, and bought a friend for him, too. Of course Joey named the goldfish Bradley. We bought a betta for his room, and he named "her" (actually it's a male, but don't tell Joey) Angie (she harrassed him until he started naming other toys after her, so it was in his mind I guess...he he, kidding, Angie. It wasn't harrassing, it was just, well, pathetic begging, really.) So then when we got the new goldfish to share Bradley's tank, Joey tried to name that one Bradley too, until we explained how that would be confusing. LOL Then he named it Orange.

I took this today^


So now we are the proud owners of 3 new fish. I didn't have a picture of the betta yet. I'm going to try to set "her" up in a bigger bowl/tank.

Orange is actually black and orange, and Bradley is the big orange one.

It was thundering the other night and Joey had just gotten in bed when it started. He called me in there to say he was afraid. So he got to come sleep in our bed. (Thor and Lars and Kiwi are also afraid of thunder and usually we have all of them on the bed during storms, too. But on this night, it was just Lars and Joey).

I was sure I had more stories to share, but they've slipped my mind. I have photos of Joey opening some late Christmas presents, so maybe I'll remember by the time I post those later.

In our free time...

I took Joey to the park last Sunday after church:

Joey's still playing with my camera:

Joey took this picture of his daddy.

He took this picture of himself

Aunt Donna mailed Joey some tattoos! He couldn't wait to put them on.

Adam, Ryleigh, Joey and Mackenzie at playdate last week.

Mackenzie, Garrett and Joey

The kids having too much fun.

My sister Angela is visiting with us this weekend, and we're having a blast. Me and Earl got to take our own Sweetheart Ride on the motorcycle today while she kept Joey. (It was supposed to be a Sweetheart Ride with the Harley Davidson, but we skipped the group ride to the grill and did our own ride.) And Earl watched Joey while me and Angela went to a movie (He's Just Not That Into You). I wish I had tons of pictures of her and us and Joey, but she's not into humoring me and my camera-happiness. We hope to find out in the next couple weeks where we will be stationed for sure when we move this summer. We're just eager to know, so we can stop wondering and start planning.

Beach Day in Feb

One day was pretty sunny and we took the kids to the beach just to play and run around. Of course the sun went down by the time we got there, so we froze our butts off. But the kids had fun.

Joey and the Day girls^

Mackenzie, Allie and Adison, and Joey

Joey giving Adison a hug.

I imagine he's contemplating the meaning of life.^

Christina

Joey giving Mackenzie a hug.

Me, Christina and Angela.

We're so very sad that Angela's moved to Quantico, but I know we'll run into each other again soon. The Marine Corps is a pretty small world, in the big scheme of things.

Gunny Roberts

Today was Earl's promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (Gunny). Me and Joey went to watch, and I got to pin on Earl's new rank. If Earl had his way, it would have been a very small get together, inside, with no audience. But the fellas had a different idea.
Earl's Captain and 1st Sgt reading his promtion. Earl's Battalion Commander actually took the photos of the ceremony. He volunteered. (You don't usually see that in a LTCOL.) He was a such a nice guy. And anytime he saw me standing alone, he came over and thanked me for coming and talked to me.

Ha, they all look so stiff. Joey said "Look at all those mans," when we got there. Then we saw them at attention in formation he said, "They're all standing still," and his voice sounded so amazed. Like he had no clue what super power would allow someone to be still.

Me and Rob pinning Earl's new chevrons on. And Joey watching. :)

Getting his promotion certificate.

Getting congrats from the guys.

Joey took the following pictures all by himself. He learned how to use the camera. :)

His new Yo Gabba Gabba shoes.

In this one, you can see him in the rear view taking the picture.

I don't think he did half bad. He made his camera-happy mom proud.