Missing daddy...

When Sierra gets to missing daddy there are many things that we can do...

We watch videos of him reading stories, we look at pictures, we talk about favorite memories/things to do together, we cuddle, she hugs on daddy doll, we listen to the recordable books, we say prayers, draw pictures, write notes/emails... and some times we just need to have a good cry because as Sierra says... "that just doesn't help!" 

Here are a couple pictures of her lately when missing daddy...

 cuddling with blankie and daddy doll while we watch daddy read "Green Eggs and Ham"

Red puffy eyes after having a good solid cry over missing daddy

We love you daddy... know that you are always missed and treasured in our hearts! 

You are not forgotten...

some fun things....

Sierra got a surprise package in the mail this last weekend...

 

A Butterfly garden/growing lab!  She super excited about it and our caterpillars arrived in the mail a couple days ago!  Stay tuned on updates on our venture into Metamorphosis!

 Then on another evening (When I didn't feel like cooking or heating the house) we headed out to Texas Roadhouse for "Kids Eat Free" dinner night! And to our surprise... the Balloon Man was there too!  We had just watched "Madagascar" and so Sierra's request was a Giraffe! 

 Thus... we give you Melman!!!

A New Nephew!

So my little sister beat me to it!  Ha Ha!  She is now a new mommy and venturing into motherhood with her son Sean.  Praise God her husband, Steve, was able to be there with her (as he was supposed to be headed out on a quick plane trip for the weekend)!  Sean weighed in at 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19 inches long.  Here is a precious picture of Amy sharing a moment with Sean.  Enjoy... and I will keep you posted on Weston's arrival =)

Love you Amers... Welcome to the world without sleep, he he!

Fabulous Friday!!!

Today was a terrific day!  Started off with a good morning of watching Sierra play over skype with our good friend Davery! Then she went to play a while with our neighbor while I started the paper work to purchase our new minivan... Yes... that's right folks... I'm the newest Minivan Mom on the block!  Ha ha!  Something I probably swore against 12 years ago or so as I was having to learn to drive in "the boat" as I used to refer to our GMC Safari van. 
 
That process was pleasantly interrupted by the opportunity to get to skype with Cole.  I rushed home and Sierra and I got to have a wonderful visit with daddy.  She showed off her latest moves on the trampoline, read daddy stories, played babies... laughed very hard... and I think she made daddy laugh too! 

Then it was off to post for a while.  Sierra went to play at CDC for a bit while I had an award ceremony to go to.  It was wonderful to see so many soldiers, community members, and family members recognized.  I have a picture of myself receiving the award... but it looks a bit funny with the award in front of my belly... and I look at big as a house... so I don't know that I will share it, ha ha!

Then came the sentimental cleaning out of the Camry.  The Camry has been a wonderful car for us.  Cole and I went on dates in that car, made our first cross country move together in it (and many more since then!)  Sierra came home from the hospital in it, etc.  It has served us well, and we are blessed with the timing that it worked out with Weston coming... soon... to upgrade and add some space and convenience to our lives.  On the way back to the dealership I got teary... but Sierra balled and thought they were going to throw our car away!  She felt a little better after Vicki explained to her that the car would be sold and become some other little girl's car!  After that she moved on and was excited about the new van! 

With the paper work complete Sierra and I drove off in our new RED Sienna!  The day ended well as we joined a great friend for some yummy homemade dinner (that didn't heat my house!)  Once home all the little ends and outs were moved over into the new van and it is now prepared... if need be... to bring Weston home too!  Here are a few pictures of our journey:

7+ Great Years of superior performance and dependability!

Saying Goodbye to our ole friend...

 Hello to our new friend... Here's to many more great memories in the years to come! (I'm sure there will be many more long moves and road trips ahead!!!)

 Sierra is ready to go... and loves the new doors!

 Trying out the back seat first...

Ready to go... off on the next leg or our journey in family life =)

a BIG deal

So last week Sierra went to summer school/camp at Ruth Washburn for four mornings.  One day I went to pick her up and found her with a huge smile on her face!!!  They not only got to see the chickens and check for eggs... but they got to harvest some of the vegetables from the garden.  And she had found the BIGGEST carrot of the day!!! 

She was super proud of this big carrot and had to carry it the whole way home.  When we got home she helped me wash and peel the carrot... and then she started chowing down.  Here she is with her BIG find!!!

 Then another big deal this past weekend... We loaded up her new big girl bike into daddy's truck and headed for the park.  She got in some good practice on some flat ground.  It took some coaxing and encouragment but she even got to where she could stop and then restart herself with out help!  She rode a good 30 minutes or more before I let her go play on the playground.  So proud of her finally working on this new skill!

(It was a little bit sunny out!!!)

At Home Beauty Spa

So our activity started off with the intention of trimming Sierra's hair as it has grown back a good inch or more and the tangles and tears have returned as well!  I have just been trimming her hair myself here at the house as it has turned out alright in the past... but I must have her thick hair wet to cut it.  This way it lays down and stays down flatter and straighter for me to make more accurate snips! 

It was the middle of the day and we decided that we needed to get Sierra's hair washed so it was ready for trimming.  Then the light bulb went off and I had fond memories come streaming back from my childhood.  My paternal grandma, Daisy, only had two little boys to raise and so loved and long for little girls.  She used to love to curl mine and my sisters hair when we were little... with a curling iron or the old foam or Velcro like curlers!  She also loved to wash our hair in the kitchen sink like we were at a salon.  So I decided to try this out on Sierra! 

We got the counter and sink all cleaned off and then prepared it with towels for comfort and cushion.  With some help I got her up on the sink and lay her back.  Then used the hose to rinse her hair, massage her scalp, rinse some more and condition.  She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but in the end she enjoyed it... and she no longer wanted her hair trimmed!  It was a fun first experience for us both and brought back lots of good memories.  And I still to this day love to have my hair shampooed or my head massaged in general!   

Enjoy the snap shots!

Big Girl Bike!

Sierra is our ever growing girl!!!  This summer in shorts it's not as obvious as she is not turning pants into high-waters to show us her growth spurts.  However, after we returned from our California vacation I noticed different things around the house that she was able to reach a lot easier... or there was the fact that when we stopped by her friends house and she was out on the porch and he stood up on the threshold... she was still as tall or taller than him!  So we came home and measured her.  Sure enough she had grown 2 more inches.  She's now just over 40 pounds and is 42 inches tall!  She's doubled her birth length... and more than quadrupled her birth weight! 

She has still been attempting to ride her tricycle, but her knees now bow way out to the sides and it really wasn't feasible any longer.  We have been frustrated at times because she has been offered the opportunity to try out bigger bikes with training wheels but quickly quits/gives up when she encounters one of the many hills in our neighborhood.  But... last week there was a bit of a change!  Her buddy Owen had his smaller bike and bigger bike out when we stopped to say hello.  The two of them decided they wanted to race... which was a great motivator.  She is a good bit taller than him so she got to try out the bigger bike.  And to my surprise she put a good amount of effort into it and did fairly well.  So... when in the midst of errands (mostly for the baby) we stopped by Toys R Us.  We got a killer deal on a cute bike for her as it was the last one of that bike in the store.  It was already assembled and ready to go for $49!  We got her a cute little basket and she test drove it around the store and up to the register.  Didn't want to get off and then rode it out of the store and to the truck.  We're working on laps around the flatter parts of the neighborhood and will probably have to load up and take it to the cement pad at the park one of these mornings too for some good practice.  So proud of her for stepping it up!

 Trying it out in the store

Loaded into daddy's truck... and for size reference!

Sierra riding the bike out from the store and to the truck

Sierra riding in the neighborhood