E I E I O

(The babies January 2010 on their first day of MWF 1-5pm Daycare)

Daycare has been such a great thing for the babies. They LOVE going! When we started in January only Teagan was walking. Braedan and Sean weren't even standing on their own, but they were able to cruise. They said a few words, but mostly just mama and dada. They couldn't drink from a cup and they couldn't eat with silverware. Now, it's a whole new world. After nap, when I wake them up, all I have to say is "do you want to go to school?" and the babies start chanting "schoo!" They now love putting on their "oos" (shoes) and getting in the "care" (car) and making the short drive up the hill to the Olina Center. Once we get there we climb out of our car seats and mosey up to the school. Most days Teagan and Braedan collect sticks as we walk to the front door and Sean gathers large leaves. They all walk without any help! Once inside they show the receptionist all of their goodies and then run for the classroom once the security gate opens. Yes, I said RUN! Once inside they each take off for their favorite teacher and once again show off their collections. It's amazing how far they have come. We thought the words were starting to come really fast, but little did we know that they have learned to sing in school also! Their new favorite song? Old MacDonald! They all run around the house and sing "E I E I O" all day long now. They can also sing "Row Row Row Boat" (their version) and can do the hand motions that I've taught them to the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Besides the singing, they have developed a deep love for "airpains" (airplanes.) We've taken them to the airport to watch the commercial planes, to the base airfield to watch the military planes and in a few weeks the Blue Angels will be here and we plan to take them to see those as well. When planes are on tv, they run and scream "airpain" at the screen. When we are playing outside and they hear something remotely like a plane  they all point to the sky and chant "airpane!" Somehow Sean can even spot "pains" that are pretty far away in the sky and when he spots them he makes sure that Teagy and B can see them too.

Eating is a new experience as well. Now we have toddlers that can drink from cups (even though we still prefer sippy cups since it's not as messy) and they eat off big kid plates with their sporks! Most of the time we don't even have messes on the floor to clean up after eating! (Mom and Dad LOVE that!)

It's amazing how far they have come. I know we work hard with them at home, but I can't help but to think that their daycare is playing a large role in their development as well.

The babies 7 months later

Soon we will be leaving Hawaii and moving to New York. Soon is coming a lot sooner than we thought too. This week the medical people told Kevin that it should only take 3-4 months to process his medical separation. WHAT? We were expecting 6 months. We are feeling the pressure now. Moving in the dead of winter....eesh! Goodbye sunny beaches, hello freezing snow! Packing up everything and moving is a pain, but at least the military will do it for us. They will also ship 1 of our 2 vehicles so that's a relief!

We are excited for this big change. We are hopeful that this will be a smooth transition from the military life to the civilian life. We know that this will be good for our kids: no more deployments, no more duty nights, no more Kevin in danger. Time to be with our families, time for our families to get to know these 3 amazing kids that we have!!!! But we have worries also: got to find a house, got to get Kevin working, got to get health insurance, got to make new friends.

The good outweighs the bad for sure. We are going to miss the security of the military and all of our friends that we've made here, but we have faith that this is for the best and know that our families will be around to keep us company as we adjust!

Well, time to go - Teagan just jumped out of her crib again! Yup, we've got a second jumper! Time to convert the cribs!