I'm Back!

I know I haven't written in quite some time and I'm sorry! Most of you probably know that I've been terribly sick since Adam left. I did finally drag myself to the doctor on Monday and found out I had tracheitis. Dr. Stone prescribed a five day course of Zithromax and I'm back to feeling like me. I stayed home from work for three days and that also helped.

Since my last entry Aiden has become quite a competent walker; he almost never crawls anymore! His appetite is back because he is also getting over his cold. He is also sleeping well. Yesterday morning I had to wake him up at 6:15 so we could get ready for work and school. Then at daycare, he took a four hour nap. He went to bed last night around 7 and this morning he slept in until 8! I was (obviously) thrilled at the chance to sleep in and hope it continues.

I've now received five letters from Adam. He seems to be doing well. This is definitely a challenging experience for him but he knows it is something he can do. According to him, the key to boot camp is following directions. I sent out his address to everyone I thought would be interested but please let me know if I missed you.

Keep Adam in mind today...

It's his first day of basic training. I've been doing some research and found more links for everyone!

http://www.gruntsmilitary.com/cgi-bin/newsscript.pl?record=1
http://www.tradoc.army.mil/pao/TNSarchives/August%2006/081806-3.htm
http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/basic/forge.html

Do you ever wonder...

what Adam's broadcasting training will entail? I found a document on the Fort Meade website that provides a lot of great information about what he'll be learning. It's 55 pages so I haven't gone through the whole thing but I plan to look it over periodically.

MacGyver Mama

I changed Aiden's sheets yesterday for no particular reason. The first time he laid down on the new sheets, he puked on them. We have 4 crib sheets but I couldn't find the rest anywhere so I had to come up with a short term solution. I knew pillow cases would be too small and I didn't love the idea of folding a regular bed sheet a million times to make it small enough. But then, inspiration! I grabbed two of Adam's shirts from the closet and used them like pillowcases. Luckily we have a mini crib so they worked like a charm.

Also, a quick update on Aiden's health. I think he feels better today. His temp this morning was 99.9 and he's been in good spirits. He's already taking a second nap (it's only 11:30!) so that will probably help him a lot.

Good News Bad News

Good News: I heard from Adam today (twice!). It was hard to understand him because he was on a payphone but he sounds good. He arrived Thursday night at 11:30. They had to do some processing and were finally able to go to bed around 4am. But guess when wake-up call is? Yep...4:30! He said that first day was hard because of the lack of sleep but he's better now. I still don't have an address for him but I should within a week.

Bad News: Aiden woke up from his last nap with a fever of 103.6 I gave him Motrin and called the ped. The nurse told me to give him juice and keep him happy. She also told me to take his temp again around 10pm. One of my neighbors came over to watch him while I ran to the store for juice. He was perfectly happy on her lap the whole time and when I got home, he threw back six ounces of white grape juice in two minutes. He is already feeling better; I know this because he's currently playing with some of our plastic cooking utensils.

Aiden's New Trick

Amused

Aiden is playing in the buffet right now. He loves to play with our pyrex mixing bowls but every time I look over there he stops. He just stares at me and pretends to be standing there doing nothing. Pretty funny!

Another Update on Adam

Adam arrived safely in Atlanta today and he is currently on a bus to Columbia, South Carolina.

Update on Adam

We said goodbye to Adam this morning and then...we ate dinner with him tonight! His flight leaves tomorrow morning and they have him staying in a hotel tonight. He will fly from Boise to Denver to Atlanta. From there, he will board a bus to South Carolina. I'm told I will hear from him in the next few days.

Temporary Farewell

Adam is leaving very early tomorrow morning for basic training. I will drop him off at the recruiting station and his recruiter (Sgt. Taylor) will take him from there. They will go to the federal building where Adam will be weighed, measured and then put on a commercial flight to South Carolina.

Upon his arrival at Fort Jackson he will go to Reception Battalion where he will get a haircut, medical exams, shots and so forth. He will be able to make one VERY brief phone call from Reception Battalion. This is to let me know he arrived and (I think) provide me with his address. He is scheduled to actually start training on the 20th. Please let me know if you would like Adam's address at boot camp. There are rules about what we can send and I will make sure you are aware of them before I give out the address.

As for me and Aiden, we will be okay. No really, we will. I know it will be hard but I also know this is what we need to do to get Adam where he wants to be. I'm not exactly excited about all the responsibilities of being a single mother but I know I can do it. I'm blessed to have a lot of friends here in Idaho and they won't let me fall apart. There will be some organizational challenges. Don't worry, I've got a plan...if you find yourself DYING to do chores, please feel free to pop over. We will have no shortage of laundry, dishes, cooking and vacuuming!

Party Pictures!

You can all thank Gen for reminding me to post these pictures.

New Photos

Aiden is getting so much better at this daycare thing! He is back to eating like a horse and...DRUMROLL PLEASE...he took a 3 hour nap today! They were all amazed (and thrilled).

He tried sour cream for the first time and LOVED it. It was on a turkey soft taco. He somehow managed to just eat the sour cream and you can imagine that made a pretty big mess.

We're getting in the habit of brushing Aiden's teeth regularly but he likes to do it on his own!

Pooped!

Today was my first day back at work and Aiden's first day at Zion. It was definitely not the same as having Lorna watch him but I think he'll like it. He only slept an hour so he was VERY tired when I picked him up. He also didn't eat much today so he was VERY hungry. You can probably imagine how *fun* that was for us. By the way, I don't know why he didn't eat a lot today but I will ask tomorrow. My guess is that he was just overwhelmed by all the changes.

Party!

We had the big party today and it was a lot of fun! I will probably need at least 10 months to convince myself to do it again though.

Aiden was really good, especially considering he was tired. He's sleeping it off right now!

I will post pictures later :)

Happy 2009!

This time last year we had a tiny newborn. January 1, 2008 he was readmitted to the hospital (gosh, remember that?) with a very low temp (94.3) and a weak cry. We stayed for a week and he hasn't really been sick since.

Fast forward to 2009 and he's a TODDLER.
He eats like a maniac.
He loves to practice walking.
He has tested everything in our home with his mouth. He is fascinated by the diaper pail, the garbage can and the toilet (yuck).
He says "mama" and "dada" and does a bunch of babbling.
He is independent, frequently choosing to play quietly on his own.
He is adaptable (no stranger anxiety).
Absolutely amazing!

Today Aiden will try almond butter and fondue (though not at the same time).