A Busy Month Ending a Long Journey

Well, June has passed and July has arrived. Finally the month I've been waiting for for an entire year...the month when Kyle will come home. I can't post exactly when he'll be home nor do I truly know. I have a window and I can say that Kyle should be home in a single digit amount of days....yeah!!!!







June has been a whirlwind, busy, and super fun month. It was a great way to pack this last full of month of deployment to keep busy and have fun. Highlights included going to the circus (front row seats!), celebrating Peyton's first birthday, attending the Springs Spree fair/carnival, celebrating Father's Day with Kyle's Dad, going to the Colorado Renaissance Festival, and ending the month celebrating birthday with the amazing surprise of my sister coming to visit! It's been a fantastic month!

Peyton LOVED the circus


Peyton celebrating her 1st birthday


Peyton Crawling


Fun at the North Pole on My Birthday


Both kids are doing wonderfully. Peyton started crawling about a week after her 1st birthday and she hasn't stopped since. She's getting pretty quick and more and more coordinated. She's wanting to pull up and I don't think it will be do long before she's up walking along the furniture. Needless to say, I'm super thrilled I only had to deal with 2 mobile little ones for the last few weeks of this deployment. Greyson is doing wonderfully. He's enjoying being outside more and more now with the hot weather - t-ball, swimming, hiking, playing at the park...he loves it all. Also scheduled both kiddos for their minor surgeries they need in early August. Greyson will be getting his adenoids removed and getting ear tubes after having chronic ear infections this winter and Peyton will be getting her skin tag she's had since birth near her ear removed. Both are minor surgeries, but do require both kids to be put under anesthesia, so a bit scary, but thankfully scheduled it during Kyle's block leave so we can both be there and Kyle's parents can help us out watch the other child during each of their procedures.

Now, with this deployment coming to an end I've had some time to reflect on this past year and I felt the best way to sum it up was to share what I've learned - a lot! Enjoy.


Things I've Learned During This Deployment

1. I can successfully handle life as a geographical single mother of a toddler and a baby. This was absolutely my biggest fear when Kyle left and I had a 7 week old baby and 2 and a half year old little boy. I had NO clue how I'd do it all, but I'm proud to say I did. I learned to multitask with amazing precision and I also learned the art of asking for help when I need it.

2. In reference to learning to ask for help, I'm EXTREMELY grateful for the amazing support system I had throughout this year. Family, friends, inlaws, fellow Army wives....all have been a huge reason not only have we survived this year, but we've thrived and grown. I'm thankful for the outings, visitors, phone calls, and prayers for our family and Kyle's safety throughout this year.

3. Most of you know that my inlaws uprooted themselves for most of this past year to be here in Colorado Springs with us. I cannot say thank you enough to them for all their amazing help. They have been a HUGE help with the kids, taking care of the house, and helping me keep my sanity. I'm so thrilled to see the amazing relationship our kids have created with them and how much stability having them has given them during a year with their Dad away. I'm also thankful with how much closer I've gotten with them and how our daughter-in-law bond has grown. Thank you Daryl and Joyce - we all love and appreciate you so much.

4. Another amazing source of strength during this year was looking forward to the many visitors that came to see us - namely my parents, sister, and some friends. Knowing we had a fun weekend to look forward to was always a bright spot and gave us a way to pass the time quickly and have fun while doing it.

5. I'm tremendously thankful to the tradition that was started with two of my great girlfriends Allyson and Orienna of having Sunday dinners. We drowned our sorrows of deployment with each others company, good food, wine, games, shows, and lots of laughs. Not only were they amazing friends to me and we're here anytime for me I was having a rough day but they also became "deployment aunts" to my kids. Thank you girls for your friendship, company, and camaraderie as we all waited patiently for our husbands to return - we are the real Army wives and it's completely true that we're stronger when we stand together.

6. One of my greatest parenting accomplishments occurred this year while Kyle was away when I successful potty trained Greyson - yeah! For those of you with young kids you know how intimidating this can be and what a commitment it is when you first begin. I'm so proud of how well he did and once he "got it" I felt like Super Mom!

7. I'm also proud that I learned to give myself me time throughout this year. I learned I needed to take time for me every so often to be a better mother and a better spouse and to cope with the stress of deployment/temporarily single parenting. From girls nights out around town to going on a few short trips it all made such a difference.

8. Last I learned how very much I love my husband and how proud I am of him, his service to our country, and his dedication to our family. Kyle worked 16+ hour days regularly and still made time to call and check in with me almost every day he was away. When he knew I was feeling down he would be strong to build me up and vice versa. He regularly skyped with the kids to stay updated with him and see the new skills they developed. He bravely made the decision to leave the Army next spring, a job he genuinely loves minus deployments, because he loves being with his family more than his job. Not a day goes by that I don't thank god for bringing Kyle into my life - he is the most amazing husband, father and man I've ever met. In our eight years together we have grown, been challenged, and risen above time and time again. This deployment was one more challenge and at times it was a damn hard one, but we did and I'm proud to say we did it well - keeping our love strong, reassuring our children and keeping their connection with their Dad, and staying focused on the positive and all that the future holds for us. Kyle, we love you and we have missed you everyday you've been away. Know that we can't wait to have you back in our arms and to surround you with all the love in the world - you complete us and we can't wait to be a complete family again. We love you, safe travels and we'll see you soon.

Our most sincere love and thanks to all who have supported our family during this deployment - we truly couldn't have done it without you.

XOXO-
K, L, G and P

P.S. Check out the June picture link on the left - LOTS of fun pictures from this busy month.

Happy Father's Day

Well, I'm sure many of you read Kyle's beautiful dedication to me that he wrote on the blog for Mother's Day - what can I say? I am one lucky lady to have married the greatest man, husband and father in the world. Today, I want to honor the amazing father that Kyle is, especially with his return home being only in a matter of a few weeks.

Kyle, enjoy this walk down memory lane over these past few years since we went from a couple to a family. Happy Father's Day to the the BEST Daddy in the world!



Love and miss you tremendously....see you SOON!!!!

XOXO
L, G and P

Peyton's 1 Year Stats

Peyton had a WONDERFUL 1st birthday! As you can tell by the picture, she had a blast ripping her cake to pieces and it was hysterical to watch. Thanks for all the generous gifts she received from family and friends.

Peyton continues to be our big and beautiful girl. Here's her updated stats:

Height: 31.5 inches

Weight: 27 lbs 11 ounces

Head Circumference: 49 cm

This puts her above the 97th percentile in all categories - continuing to earn an A+ across the board :)

She's doing great, needs to make a bit more head way in her gross motor skills (aka movement), but is doing wonderful in her fine motor skills and social skills - such a girl :) I'm confident that this summer Ms. P is going to take off with her movement and make up for lost time.

All Our Love,
K, L, G, and P

Happy 1st Birthday Peyton!

Happy 1st Birthday to the BEST little girl in the world, our Peyton!

What an amazing first year you've had and how much joy you've brought to all those who love you.

Wishing you a joyful celebration today and a wonderful year ahead!

Enjoy the tribute to our princess :)



We love you P and Daddy can't wait to give his big 1 year old girl a hug and kiss SOON!

XOXO
Daddy, Mommy, and Greyson

Marvelous May

May was a busy both for us, but busy is good because the quicker time goes by the quicker we'll be at the day to welcome Kyle home. It's getting close and we're getting excited, but more on that later. First, a short recap of what went on this month.

Started off the month with our annuals girls trip that my mom, Lisa, and I take each year to celebrate our birthdays (a bit early, for me). This year we decided to do something a bit more low key and headed to Georgia. We spent 2 days in Savannah and had a GREAT time. Enjoyed a fabulous birthday dinner for Lisa at the Pink House (a Savannah landmark with TASTY food) and even had a run in with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. It seems celebrity run ins seem to be a part of most of our girl's trips. Then we enjoyed a day touring the city - we did a walking historical tour that afternoon followed by a ghost Hearst tour that evening. It was my first time in Savannah and I fell in love with the charm, history and beauty of the city. All the squares, history and trees with spanish moss were gorgeous. After a fun filled time in Savannah we headed back to Atlanta for our last day (appropriately enough it was mother's day). Loved seeing Lisa's new townhome and enjoyed some tasty meals and afternoon at the movies. As usual our weekend was a blast, but over much too quickly. A big thanks to my inlaws, Daryl and Joyce, for taking care of G and P while I was away. They had an equally great amount of time as I did. Looking forward to next year's trip - we're thinking San Fran/Napa in honor of my big 3-0 next summer.

A week or so after my Savannah trip I had a visit from a dear friend, Shannon, who I taught with while in Clarksville. It had been a few years since we had gotten to see each other and we had a great time catching up. We had a blast seeing Billy Elliot in Denver (such a great show!) and checking out some of the sites here in Colorado Springs. Granted she came during the first weekend of weather ever - mid May and we saw snow flurries TWICE during her trip. Minus the weather, it was a great time and fun to have time with a friend I rarely get to see.

Then at the end of the month over Memorial Day weekend my Mom flew in to see the kids, oh and I guess me too, for a short 2 day visit. We kept plenty busy going out to eat, visiting with my inlaws, going to the park and just having fun together. It was great to see her and the kids loved getting some Grandma Joannie time. We're looking forward to their next visit, hopefully this fall when we are going to baptize Peyton and then again for Thanksgiving - so much to look forward to.

Greyson and Peyton are both doing fabulously. Greyson finished out his school year in the Treehouse preschool class at our church, First United Methodist, and had a blast. Today he started the summer program in the next class, Leapfrogs. He loves it there and continues to grow and learn each time he goes. So thankful to have found such a great school environment for him. It's been a great source of stability with Kyle away. Peyton is a wiggling and very very soon to be crawling little (not so little really) girl. She's spinning, leaning, twisting and now even diving into the coffee table (ouch). I predict she'll do her first real crawl in the next week before she turns one on the June 13th. I truly can't believe her first year has gone by. I'm thankful it's a sign of Kyle's homecoming, but sad that my baby girl is not going to be my little baby anymore but is turning more and more into a toddler each day. She continues to be such a happy and easy going little girl. Greyson is my typical 3 year old boy - pushing boundaries, testing limits, but he's still such a joyful and playful little boy to be around. He's so curious and always wanting to know more and do more. He loves to help out anyway he can - gardening, cooking, taking care of Peyton. I'm just so anxious and excited to be reunited as a family of 4 so Kyle can get to know our kiddos and how they've grown and change since he's been away.

Speaking of Kyle, we're in the home stretch. He's due home shortly after the 4th of July and we're soooo excited. Trying to stay busy and not watching the clock or calendar to make it go faster. Thankfully have a lot of fun stuff planned with the family and friends to keep busy until he's back. In fact today, Kyle mentioned they picked up their first set of replacement soldiers. Think it's a big morale boost to his guys that being done over there is coming soon and soon enough they'll be back on US soil with their loved ones. I've reminded Kyle to stay focused and not be distracted by the knowledge that coming home is soon because that's when bad situations occur. He's keeping his eyes forward and doing his job well and just looking forward to being back to life has a husband and father. Please continue to pray for him and his fellow soldiers safety as it's not over, until he's back here in Colorado. I'm sure as I get more info I'll post some general updates on here about when he'll be home. I can't post specific dates or times due to Army operational security standards, but I'll do my best to keep you in the loop. When he returns he'll have 4 days off and then about 10 working days of reintegration training and then he'll have 30 days block leave (basically most of August). We've got some trips and fun things planned that we're all really looking forward to. It's a time to reconnect and grow stronger as a couple and a family to recoup the struggles we've gone through during this deployment.

Well, that's all for now. Looking forward to writing the next update at the end of June - will be plenty of fun things to share with Peyton's first birthday and my birthday and the knowledge that at that point Kyle will be home VERY soon.

All Our Love,
K,L,G, and P

P.S. Check out May picture link on the left - sorry no videos this month...too busy!