A Perfect Example

This is really an addendum to my previous post, And The Rockets' Red Glare


Last Friday I came across this picture in the Stripes Okinawa.  There was no accompanying article, but then again, I don't really think there needs to be.  You know how a picture is worth a thousand words?  Sometimes it's actually true.

It's All Over, But The Crying...

...by me, that is.  'Cause Anaya is CRAWLING!!  Just today she started moving along and there is no stopping her now!  She crawled down the hall to take a bath, crawled into the kitchen to get in the cabinets - wherever she wanted to go!  Granted, she does it a little unconventionally, of course.  What princess doesn't do it her own way?  She keeps one foot on the floor, with the knee up, kind of dragging it along.  She really is on to something - why get both knees dirty, when you don't have to?  Now that they are both on the move, I think we are in serious trouble.  Together they have destroyed books and magazines, opened cabinets (she gets it open and he moves in) and yanked out cookbooks, lunchboxes, snacks, plates and whatever else they can get their hands on.  I give the vertical blinds two days.  Maybe.  Seriously, don't come to my house.  It's a mess.  It's going to be deemed a "Disaster Zone" very soon and Ms Karina is going to quit.  But really - Yea!  I do think this is going to make her a much happier little girl.  And what a relief that will be!



Top 5

I totally meant to do this on New Year's Eve, but you know... Here is a list of the "top 5" phrases (along with my response, or maybe the response I really wanted to say) that I heard in 2010.  There's a theme:

5.  When I was still pregnant, obviously: "I don't know how you're still getting around" (Well, if I had a choice, I wouldn't be doing anything!  Besides, way fatter people than me do it all the time.  Do you say that to them?)

4.  "That's perfect!  You got your boy and girl, and now you're done!"  (I'm sorry, did you happen to notice the other child standing here?  We like him too and also think he's pretty perfect.)

3. "I want/always wanted twins!"  (Well, we feel blessed.  But be careful what you wish for, because it's a lot of work and you don't look like the kind of person who's willing to work as hard as this requires.)

2.  "Are they twins?"  (Yes.  What did you think? *I get it when the kids are older and it's harder to tell if there is an age difference, especially with different sexes, but as babies.  Really?*)

1.  "I don't know how you do it."  (Thank you.  I don't know how I do it either, but caffeine and concealer help!  Also, I try really hard to pull it together decently in public.  You wouldn't make that comment if you saw us at home.)

Needless to say, all of our lives have revolved around the two miniature people all year long.  With them becoming more independent, it's nice to get back to being able to give Adam more of the focus he deserves.  Because the #6 phrase would probably be, "How old is he?", usually asked while he's throwing a fit in public.  It's been a tough year on Adam and I hope this next year is a little more fun for him.  Since they're sleeping through the night now, allowing me to sleep through the night, it's bound to be a little easier on everyone!  When Mama's happy...

And The Rockets' Red Glare

One day a couple of weeks ago, Alan came home a bit early from work so that I could go to the commissary.  I didn't know what time it was, exactly, but I knew I needed to hurry so I could still get home in time to make dinner.  As I pulled up, parked and got out of the car, I heard the music...and then I knew exactly what time it was.  It had to be 5:00 because the Japanese National Anthem was being played for the entire base to hear, and it would be followed by the Star Spangled Banner.  Now, on military installations, when the Anthem plays every day, we stop whatever we're doing - walking, driving, jogging, whatever - and we respect the flag, the country, each other, for just a few minutes.  Granted, if we don't happen to hear the music, we don't run outside at 5:00 and do it anyway.  Well, some may, I guess, but for me, I don't hear it every day.  So I stood next to my car and waited for the drum roll, then placed my hand over my heart.  There are a couple of songs that, no matter how many times I hear them, move me to tears: Amazing Grace, At Last (you know why if you were at my wedding), He Stopped Loving Her Today,  Tears in Heaven, probably a few others, and the Star Spangled Banner.  So there, in the commissary parking lot, I was brought to tears by the National Anthem that day, as I am every time.  (Side note:  This is really getting to be a problem because it is played at every promotion, change of command, and official function we go to and it's a little embarrassing to cry in public.)  As the song ended, I turned toward the store to walk in, and that's when it really hit me - I saw the mass of people who were either also getting out of their car or were exiting the stores, and had stopped to pay respect to the flag, the country, each other...and it looked amazing.  It brought a sense of hope during quite a big crisis that was going on at that time in this part of the world.  Here we were, all here together, paying a few minutes of respect to our country.  The country we each serve, in one way or another, every single day.  And every one of those people could have kept going about their business.  I mean, you're supposed to stop, but I doubt you'll get a ticket for not stopping.  You would look like a jerk around here, though, I'll tell you that.  I didn't see a single person moving around while the music was playing.  We all stopped.  For two minutes, we all had the same purpose and that felt pretty powerful to know.  I think it's pretty awesome that one song can mean so much to so many people and playing the Star Spangled Banner every day is a military tradition that I am proud of.  I think all communities throughout our country could stand to take a page from the military handbook and pay a little respect to the flag every day.  Maybe if we were all reminded daily of what we're all fighting for and standing for, then things like the recent massacre in Arizona would never happen.  At the end of the day, don't we all really have the same goals?  I don't know...just a thought.

So, then, on Saturday morning, we sat down to watch the Cotton Bowl - Alan, Adam and I.  Of course, they played the National Anthem and, of course, I started to tear up.  The kicker:  Adam began singing along to the music.  Really singing, trying his best to hit all the notes.  Forget it, I totally lost it.  I was so incredibly proud of him for recognizing the song and recognizing the respect the song required - he actually told Alan and me to put our hands over our hearts.  I know that raising him in an environment that respects our country will teach him to respect it and its values and I am proud to be raising our children as Air Force brats.  They're the best kind of brats there are ;-)

Light at the End of the Tunnel

This part is from Alan - I thought you would enjoy his perspective:

Is it possible that looking at Audie makes me so proud my chest swells at the same time looking at Anaya takes my breath away?  Our twins are 11 months today and we took them to the aquarium for the day.  Anaya looks at the world with so much wonder and we find her making expressions at first sights that make you laugh for days.  Audie will be seriously considering the inner workings of a toy one moment and launching into utter excitement toward his brother Adam the next.  Anaya can’t move yet…she lets the world come to her and enjoys the attention.  Audie moves like no other and takes the world on one bump or fall at a time.  Amy and I believe holding them at the same time brings us super powers as parents and I melt as they both look at me like “what next?”  I can honestly say…I have no idea, but I look forward to the journey.  Having three kids is tough and Amy is in the trenches far more than I am.  For that and more than I could write here, I love her like nothing else.  Today at the aquarium and Amy and I were both holding the twins as they excitedly looked at a nine foot wall full of colorful fish while Adam stood in front telling everyone in ear shot that sharks have sharp teeth. . . I didn’t want to be anywhere else.  Five minutes later, Adam was melting down because he had seen these fish before, Amy was chasing him, I had Anaya in one arm and Audie was in the stroller wondering what happened. . .I still didn’t want to be anywhere else.  Happy 11 months Anaya and Audie, you have rocked our world and we love you. 

Here's my part:

Anaya

Still not crawling.  Still.  Not.  Crawling.  However, she is scooting on her bottom now.  We'll sit her down somewhere and she'll end up five feet from where we put her.  So, technically, she is moving, just not crawling.  To make matters worse, she seems to be getting more and more frustrated with the fact that she isn't moving, so she's cranky a lot.  The hardest part for me is that I know she could do it if she just tried, but she's not patient enough to really try.  She is more animated now, though, as Alan mentioned, and that is super-cute.  She loves to dance when she hears music and she loves to "roar" with her brothers.  She is also talking more and more and so I'm having nightmares about how I'll just be a mute once they're all speaking - I won't be able to get a word in!  Anaya is also learning to be quite the drama queen when her brothers so much as brush against her, screaming as though they pulled off a fingernail.  Of course, I come running to pick her up and she gives them her best "I win" smirk.  Then, there was the time the other day, while she was sitting in my lap, that Audie crawled over and pulled up on my legs and she kicked him, causing him to fall down.  No one ever accused her of being fair.  She may get picked on by her brother, but she deals it right back.  She is finally back on-track after the long trip, and is now sleeping thru the night!  I am loving the last few nights' sleep I've gotten, but am treading cautiously and not counting my chickens yet.  Her favorite foods are string cheese, grilled cheese sandwich, ravioli, bananas and peaches and I think she's experimenting with making facial masks out of food.  She loves baths and especially loves splashing REALLY BIG.  Never mind that she nearly drowns herself and her brothers while doing it.  She's a mess.

Audie

Audie is a regular comedian and is such a little joker.  He'll sneak up on you and then when you look at him, he'll just smile huge and start yelling or roaring.  He's very sneaky and turns on stealth-mode when he's ready to go looking for trouble.  It's not uncommon to find him with his hands in the toilet, or with Rosie's food and water bowls dumped over, laying in the puddle, mouth full of dog food.  One bad thing, though, is that he is drawn to the sockets so we have to be constantly watching him.  He's also drawn to Adam and Adam has lots of toys that make perfect choking hazards, so we're trying really hard to have Adam help us keep those toys in his room.  So far, he is doing a really good job at keeping them away and closing his door.  I think he actually enjoys that he's allowed to close his door and make his toys off-limits to the babies.  "What?  I don't have to share?  Excellent!"  Audie has one tooth and I think I see a second one pushing its way through, so we're moving right along...at a snail's pace.  Of course, he is crawling all over the place now and pulling up on anything and everything.  He's even doing some chin-ups on the dining room table.  He really enjoys picking on his sister, especially pulling her hair.  When she starts screaming, he just looks at me with those big, brown puppy dog eyes while I mildly scold him, then he just smiles and all is forgiven (by me, not Anaya).  He's also famous for stealing her little lovey blanket and crawling off, dropping it just outside her reach, ticking her off.  It's probably not my strongest parenting point, but it's funny for me to watch them "fight."  Audie also just started sleeping thru the night, so I'm doubly-happy.  He loves to feed himself, too, and his favorites are ravioli, grilled cheese, mandarin oranges, bananas and blueberry Nutri-Grain waffles.  That's not to say he doesn't try everything, though.  Anything and everything that can fit in the mouth, goes in the mouth.  Audie also really loves his bath time...but absolutely hates getting dressed afterwards.  He kicks and screams and rolls over and tries to escape.  Escape what??  PJ's??  I just don't get it...He's mostly the quiet, easy one, but he is definitely developing quite the temper and I'm afraid he's going to be the one who hurts himself throwing a temper.  He's a lion and a lamb. 

We are looking forward to the upcoming first birthday and are hoping that along with it will come a little more ease.  Things have been extremely tough this year and it's so refreshing to finally have things falling in to place and getting a little bit easier.  The sleeping part alone is a huge relief.  Now, when Anaya finally gets moving and I have to chase them both, maybe I'll have enough energy to keep up!  We feel like we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel after a year of darkness (with the random hole shining light in, of course).  We know it's not going to all of a sudden be easy, we're just hoping it won't be so hard.  We're having more fun now and we're excited to see what the next year brings...even if it's colored-on walls and flushed cell phones.