- Clara Grace ended up with a slot for a private swim lesson. We had to put her on the waiting list but were fortunate enough to get the slot. We just finished week three and I am very pleased with her progress. She will continue through February and if they are offered in March I'm going to do my best to get her in then too. In order to swim without a life jacket here on the base, children are required to pass a swim test and get an arm band. Even with what she is doing now, the instructor didn't sound promising about her passing the swim test any time soon. However, like I said, I think she is doing great! She is floating, swimming under water, juming in, and able to move rather quickly. I'll admit that she often refers back to the doggy paddle technique when the head is above water though. She is becoming quite a young lady though. She and I are so different but we seem to be able to find a middle ground. She is really doing better with how she treats Zach and problem solving before yelling at him for touching something of hers. It seems that every few months I see a noticeable growth in maturity. I notice that she is getting so big too. She was stuck at 30 pounds for about three years. This year alone she has gained 7.5 pounds. As much growth as she is making, she is still a small fry. She said her current sneakers are too snug. I thought they were a size 10, checked them and they are a 9.5. We are looking for a pair online, but I'm not digging the selection. We have decided to stop her riding lessons for safety reasons, with the promise to resume (if she is still interested) when we get back to the states. She handled it well.
- Zach is really picking up quite a few words! He is pointing to lots of things and adds the sounds to lots of the animals. He understands so much of what we tell him too. He is a sweetheart, and the ladies at daycare says he takes care of the little girls. However, he takes nothing from the boys or he uses the chompers. We are working on that, but I had to sign yet another incident report yesterday. These reports are not super frequent, thank goodness, but he is a bit of a brute. He loves cars, trains, and airplanes. Charlie took him to work to pick up some papers last weekend. He showed him around the trucks and all. And he said a pilot taxying (how do you spell that?) by waved at Zach and that it was thrilling for him. Getting him to leave was not easy. The train table is a big hit for him. And books! If you need to divert him, usually the offer of reading a book will excite him. At bedtime he is getting cranky with me when I put a stop to the reading, but it only lasts until the lights are out. All in all, he is a really happy guy and thinks the world of his big sister. It is so hard to think he will be two years old in just two more months. He is growing like a weed too. He needs new shoes too and we'll be ordering a size 6 for him. Luckily, it is just ordering the same exact shoe, new size.
- Charlie is doing great. His physical therapy this week has been hard but rewarding. He said he feels like he is turning the corner and feels like he will progress quite a bit in the next month. They have him on a schedule to get him back to running. He is also really enjoying work right now. And of course he is still loving the Harley. Due to the cold weather, he hasn't been riding as much now but he ordered some cold weather accessories so we'll see how much he enjoys it. He is slated to have a short deployment within the next few months but no more details than that at this time. I have seen so many commericials about "opsec" (operation security) that are quite humorous actually but I hesitate to share more details. Of course these things change as well so we'll see. He has to be off limited duty to do it anyway.
- I'm doing really well too. I did have a minor dental set back. At my last appointment I had two very small cavities beginning and a silver crown I have had since grade school needed to be replaced. I was able to quickly take care of the small cavities, but the crown has been a bit more drawn out. He removed it but was concerned I might need a root canal, so after doing whatever he needed to do and putting a temporary on there I am to go back next week to determine if anything else needs to be done. Then when the porcelain crown comes in they will complete the process. Although I am not enjoying all this time I am spending at the dentist, it is kind of nice to be losing my "silver tooth". You do not know how many students over the years have informed me that I have a silver tooth. I was a bit concerned that I might need the root canal because after everything he did that tooth was quite sensitive but now it is starting to feel much better and I am even doing a little chewing on that side. On other news for me...I have decided to pursue a little more education. I will be attending Walden University online and getting my M.S. in Education with a specialization in curriculum, instruction and assessment. There are people I work with that have this particular degree from the same school and I am fairly confident it will go well. If I hunker down and do it continuously, I can complete it in 18 months. It is a bit intense from what I have heard but with appropriate time management it should be ok. I just got my acceptance letter this morning and will start classes February 28th.
That is our month in a nutshell. Well, it seems like I just wrote a novel. I'm going to work to get some pictures over the weekend and post them. The kids seem to change so quickly! It is hard to believe that we are almost at our halfway point of this tour. There are so many good things that have come from being here, but are very much looking forward to returning to the states.
Clara Grace is asking to be fed, so I'll skip proofreading and post now so forgive me any glaring typos please. I'm off to the kitchen...
