WE DID IT!

That's the first thing Jeff said when we woke up this morning. Yay! After a . . . rough start finding all uniforms pieces, we got to Graduation on time and had fun!

All the sailors standing at parade rest in their section. We went to go find Daddy and embarrass him by taking pictures. I stood Jeffy there too, even though he didn't know why. We got lots of smiles.


Jeffy made a friend and ran around with him. They had a great time until the other kid's mom had enough. :)


This is the building Jeff has spent the majority of his life in for the last 11 months. No unauthorized persons allowed. ;)


This is Daddy's section marching up to get their graduation certificates.


We caught up with them and Jeffy didn't want to let go of Daddy's hand. While we were standing there, Katelyn started babbling "da da da da da da." It was such a cute moment. Our kids love their daddy!


Quick family picture before he marches on.


Kate in her hideout.


Jeffy with his bribe cookies.


Almost there!


Daddy's name being called. Yay Jeff!


Jeff said this guy told him to pose like he would be on the cover of a magazine. Good job, Jeff! They let us get right up to the podium to take pictures. I was grateful that my friend Bridgette watched J&K so I could get a good one of Jeff!


This one is so Jeffy. Cute little goofball!


Katelyn was tired. :)


We are a happy family! Yay for Daddy. We love you!

Memories of South Carolina

1. Getting lost in the dark, trying to find my way to our new home in a very dimly-lit part of town, and Jeff having to walk to the corner to help me.

2. Meeting my first giant cockroach, and all his friends. Yuck.

3. Going to the wrong ward for 3 months, then finding out where we were supposed to be, right in time to escape a calling to the nursery. Bwa ha ha.

4. The horrible, horrible parking at the OB.

5. Katelyn's birth.

6. Taking a boat ride around Cypress Gardens, keeping an eye out for alligators.

7. Making a backdrop for Christmas pictures out of a sheet and paper snowflakes, then trying to get one good picture without Katelyn falling over or Jeffy running away.

8. Being told I'm a "local hero" for being a Navy wife.

9. Finishing Jeffy's Fred Flintstone costume about 5 minutes before we left for the Trunk-or-Treat.

10. Going crazy making bows and buying clothes as soon as we found out Katelyn would be a girl.

11. Poor Jeffy getting his legs, then arms bit to pieces by vicious bugs.

12. The too-frequent smell of port-a-potties outside.

13. Taking the kids to Cici's pizza, and Jeffy having weird diaper malfunctions and peeing all over the floor.

14. Finding my Christmas present early.

15. Playgroup with friends and their cute kids.

16. Jeffy running laps around the sprinklers at Wannamaker Park.

17. Shoving my eight-month-pregnant body, a squirmy Jeffy and a stuffed diaper bag into the tiny seat of a foot pedal boat.

18. Having fun, but being miserable at Navy Short Stay Beach at 37 weeks along.

19. Having both mine and Jeff's mom come to visit after Katelyn's birth.

20. Jeffy wiping frosting all over his new Christmas outfit five minutes before leaving for church, then having a breakdown while talking about it in my Relief Society lesson.

21. Getting three birthday cakes, having a night out at the movies with Jeff, and coming home to a clean kitchen for my 26th birthday.

22. Our one trip to the pool on the 4th of July, where Jeffy almost drowned twice.

23. Our trip from hell trying to get to Virginia for Christmas. It took three days, where it just should taken 8 hours.

24. Putting up lights and decorations and listening to Christmas music, even though it didn't feel like Christmas at 75 degrees outside.

25. Buying our van and getting South Carolina plates.

26. Filling up dozens of 2-liter soda bottles to have a supply for our Emergency Hurricane
Readiness Kit.

27. Listening for the mailman everyday.

28. Jeff's Birthday BBQ with friends, fun, food, Guitar Hero, and lots of cookies.

29. Running a chocolate chip cookie bakery out of my kitchen.

30. Papa John's horrible customer service multiple times in a row and vowing never to order from them again.

31. Our Papa Murphy's phase following #30.

32. Jeffy flipping out at Music Time in Nursery.

33. Katelyn's first smile, rolling over, and baby food.

34. Hanging out in the back of the Chinese Restaurant with family, mom, and 1-week-old baby.

35. Jeffy having cotton candy for the first time at the Freedom Fest.

36. Picnics at Marrington Plantation.

37. Jeff perfecting his homemade popcorn recipe.

38. Jeff guessing his Christmas present, being unable to hide his disappointment, then actually loving it after trying it.

39. Walking around the neighborhood for hours on end trying to induce labor.

40. Discovering netflix instant streaming.

41. Catching a nasty spider in a glass, then running away to the mall play place because I was too grossed out and scared to do anything else.

42. Jeffy taking his birthday present basketball everywhere with him, even bed.

43. Making Katelyn's coming home dress.

44. Going to McDonalds' many more times than we should have.

45. Baking my first homemade bread.

46. Getting totally lost on our first trip to church.

47. Jeffy throwing his birthday cake/container, and totally smashing it.

48. Going to the House of Bounce with Amber and kids.

49. Jeff getting a grill for Father's Day and perfecting his steak-grilling abilities.

50. Taking Jeffy to the doctor to get a sponge pulled out of his nose that had been there for two weeks.

Man, I loved making this list! We've had a lot of good times here, along with some hard times, and times that tested us. But, overall, we've enjoyed our time here and the adventures we've had. Here's to just as many adventures in our next state--good old New York!

Information Overload!

So it's time for an update, I guess. It feels like everyday is just like the one before, but then when I stop to think about it, I realize that there are changes, even if they happen gradually.

Jeff:
Power School has about 6 more days. He has one final tomorrow, then his Final Comprehensive Exam next Tuesday. He has really worked his tail off for the last six months and I couldn't be more proud of him. Graduating from Power School is a big deal. Many don't make it and are kicked out. Jeff has not only made it, he is graduating with honors. Way to go, stud.

He's also in the middle of some school/officer stuff right now. He wants to go officer. The Navy has a great program called STA 21 (pronounced "stay"). It stands for Seaman to Admiral in 21 years. Seaman is the lowest enlisted rank, and admiral is one of the highest officer ranks. Every year, so many sailors are accepted into the program to become officers. They attend one of the participating universities in a specific major and go to school full-time until they have completed a bachelors degree. The Navy pays them their usual salary and up to x amount tuition and expenses. From there, they attend officer training and are commissioned to be officers. It's a great program and Jeff is applying this year. The due date is in July, but there's a lot to be done. He has to be accepted into universities to be accepted into the program, so he has to begin that process. And there are many interviews and essays, so he has a big task ahead of him.

If that doesn't work, his other option is to finish his schooling on his own and apply for OCS. This wouldn't take especially long either. There are a few universities who accept all the Navy nuclear training as credits. Those combined with his credits from BYU-Idaho, leave him with only 2 or so classes required before a degree in nuclear technology is done. He thought he was going to have all summer to complete these classes, but since we're moving and he'll be starting prototype in June, I'm not sure how that will work out.

Jeffy:
He has started speech therapy at a great place called Coastal Therapy Services. He works with a great therapist named Elizabeth. She is very good with him. And she's good at including me in the session--she points out what she's doing so that I can reinforce it at home. He has an hour-long session every Monday, where the first 50 minutes are Elizabeth and Jeffy playing and working on words together, then the last 10 minutes are spent in an indoor gym that he loves. This will be the thing I really miss when we move. I doubt we'll be able to find such a great place again. Oh well. Here's hoping!

He has his first major ear infection right now. He had been pulling at his ear for a few days, and once he developed a fever, I took him in. Sure enough, infection! I admit I was surprised. He made it to 26 months without one. . . I figured we were in the clear. But once he got on antibiotics and some motrin, he's been back to his happy, destructive self. Yesterday, after I gave him his dose of antibiotic, he knocked over the bottle and it went all over the floor. Sigh. So we had to go get some more today. I can't wait till we can go outside and have him release some of his energy!

Katelyn:
Kate can now roll over both directions and is getting close to sitting up on her own! And she is a talker! She's always making some kind of noise, usually a babble or a growl. I was talking on the phone with my mother-in-law while holding Katelyn, and mom said that her growls sounded just like the sounds Jeff's sister, Elizabeth, used to make as a baby! Cute, cute. She is a very smiley baby and right now loves to chomp, chomp, chomp on whatever she can find! She just started baby foods, and peas is all she's had so far. It took some getting used to, but now I think she enjoys having her tummy full of something a little more substantial.

She also has her first ear infection right now. She didn't make it quite as far as Jeffy did. And I think it probably could have been avoided. At her 4-month check-up, the dr. couldn't see past the wax in her ear and didn't seem to want to take the time to get the wax out, so she sent us away with ear drops, and orders to come back in in two weeks for an ear check. At that visit, they couldn't see in either, and didn't try to get the wax out again. I should have insisted they do so. At her 6-month appointment, they finally pulled the wax out and she had a big infection. Who knows how long it's been there. Grrr. Oh well. She's on antibiotics now too. Giving the dose to her is horrible! I dread medicine time! I have to lay her down on my bed, straddle her and pin her arms to her sides with my legs, use my left hand to hold her head still, then squirt a little in the back of her cheek, then blow in her face to make her swallow it! Ugh. Not fun for either of us. And the medicine is bright pink and doesn't seem to come out of fabric very well. So yeah, I'm not a fan of ear infections!

Me:
Well, I have some new hobbies I've been meaning to try, and maybe once we're all settled into our new home, I'll have a chance to actually do them. With some birthday money, I got an electric sander and a staple gun, and am going to try my hand at refinishing furniture. I am the queen of finding side-of-the-road treasures, and I want to make them actually cute. I have lots of plans in my head. We'll see how the execution of those plans work out. I'm very hopeful!

My thyroid issue is slowly getting under control. This past week one of my main complaints has vanished--I'm not freezing cold all the time! Yippee! Being warm is a great feeling! And I don't keep the thermostat at 76 degrees anymore! So I am starting to feel better. I am waiting for the results of my most recent test, to get my TSH numbers after having started treatment, and to test for hashimotos.

I'm excited for our move to New York. I've been looking up fun things to do and see there, and I think we're going to have a great time. And Jeff has promised to take me to Broadway too. Can you believe I haven't seen a professional show in almost four years? It's a tragedy. But, it will soon be rectified! We are planning to leave here Sat, the 20th and spend a few days with my parents in Virginia on our way. We'll get to NY probably Tuesday and settle in. Jeff doesn't start Prototype till June, so we're going to tour the area a little before it get too hot and Daddy has to go back to work!

So there you have it. An update about us. Wish me luck with packing and cleaning. I can't wait for this part to be over! :)

Katelyn's Six-Month Stats

Height: 26 1/4 inches -- 50-75%
Weight: 17 lbs 7 oz -- 75-90%
Head: dont remember exact, but 90%.

Katelyn is keeping with our family tradition of big heads. :)

New York, Here We Come!

So, we found out this evening that we are moving to New York! We'll be in Ballston Spa, a small town by Saratoga Springs. Jeff graduates Power School here on March 19th and we have to be in NY by April 2nd. Time to get packing!

I'm excited! (and a little stressed!)

Thanks!

I'm feeling better today. Thanks for helping. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone, and that to have moments like that is normal. The trick is to not let them become habits.