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.
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