Pictures for Daddy

Daddy is way off on some islands in the Atlantic near Portugal, but he told me on the phone today that he can access the Internet and had seen the blog. So Daddy, these pics are for you!









Anna Kate's bottom two teeth are now completely visible protruding above the gum-line! Mommy misses Daddy, too!

Wesley's not sitting still long enough for me to snap any good pics of him. Except when he's playing his toy guitar while Corey plays Guitar Hero; I need to get some good shots of that, but I've been negligent. That will be my goal for tomorrow! Here he is with one of his favorite toys at Grandma's house - the spice bottles.





Wesley LOVES all of Mom's animated singing/dancing Christmas-themed toys (for those of you just joining us, see previous post for explanation of the Patty Rhodes Christmas calendar). Mom has about 12 of them on a table in the foyer, and Wes likes to get them all going at the same time - talk about a racket! When he wants to play them while Anna Kate is sleeping, I make him bring them into the den first so he won't wake her up. Between singing Santas, Guitar Hero, and the beloved Music Box, Grandma's house is providing ample opportunity for Wesley's favorite activity... dancing! All day long we're hearing, "Mommy, Dance! .... Corey, Dance! ....Grandma, Dance!!"





Anna Kate activating her Mom-Radar. She positively refused to let me put her down in the den to help Mom get dinner on the table, so I put her Bumbo on a chair in the kitchen with us and gave her a teething biscuit. Every time I had to walk behind her while bustling around the kitchen, she would cock her head back to make sure her Mom-Radar could still detect me.

Your sweet baby girl has been wreaking havoc on my attempts to sleep at night! Had you been here, the past two nights would have both qualified as one of those extremely rare occasions that I wake you up and ask you to take a turn rocking her, because her make-me-want-to-cry-out-of-pure-exhaustion night time neediness has been pushing me to my limit this week! She's been far too busy to nurse much during the day (can't miss a beat and has to see what's going on around her at all times), so she's been making up for it by nursing gallons at night. The past two nights I've been nursing her for 20 minutes at a time, only for her to wake up ready for another 20-minute feeding 45 minutes after I put her down. I can't let her fuss it out because her crying wakes Wesley up over the monitor (and I can't turn the monitor off, because I would surely fall into a deep stupor of a sleep never to be awoken again to turn it back on). And I can't sleep in AK's room instead of Wesley's room, because her Mom-Radar would completely prevent her from ever going to sleep. Aaaack! I'm hoping it's just being in a non-familiar place or being off schedule, because I'm getting far too many gazes into these wide-open peepers at all hours of the night! I've been tempted to take her to Mom, but then I remind myself that Mom paid her dues with 4 kids of her own plus 30-something foster babies, so then I just suck it up and take my turn. Mom has been watching the kids in the morning so I can go back to bed, and that's been lovely. Right now I'm avoiding going to bed because instead of turning in for the night, it feels like being on call. I've had to run upstairs for two binky reinserts and one 20-minute feeding just in the time it's taken me to post these few pics. Aren't you glad you're thousands of miles away now?? Just kidding... I know you miss your sleep-deprivation-inducing baby girl very much!

Your sweet baby boy has been wonderful and is having a ball. I'm not sure if I mentioned it to you on the phone, but Wesley was hit by another kid for the first time Sunday during Bible class. I was reading a book to Wesley and another boy (who has a big brother), and when Wes reached to turn the page, the boy turned and slapped Wesley across the face! Wes and I were both in shock! I don't think Wesley had ever even seen anyone haul off and hit someone before (all his Bible class friends at home are girls and they're more the whining/pushing type). He stood there completely stunned for like 15 seconds before he started bawling huge hurt-feeling tears. Well tonight after church, I walked through the auditorium looking for Mom and there were a few kids playing up on the stage area. I was holding Anna Kate, so Wesley ran up on the stage with the other kids. And the same kid immediately turned to Wesley and slapped him in the face AGAIN! I'm usually not that mom, but I've got to admit I was pretty hot. The other boy's mom saw the slap and immediately grabbed him, but the poor mom is in her 3rd trimester with her 3rd boy and while embarrassed, she didn't appear to be shocked or surprised. Thank you Thank you THANK YOU, God for giving me an easy-going boy! Anna Kate will probably turn out to be our slapper!

We love you and miss you lots! Every time a man (someone at church, a waiter, a stranger at the store) talks to Wesley, he tells the man that his Daddy is at work in the car. I guess he means that he thinks you've driven to work in your car. He talks about you every day. Can't wait for you to come home!!!

We're not in Florida anymore, Toto!

Wesley trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue!

We made it to Kentucky and Michael just arrived in the Azores after 4 full days of traveling. Following 2 days of driving us up to Kentucky, Michael spent a day flying from Lexington to Cleveland to Newark to Portugal, and a 4th day completing his flight to Portugal and then backtracking across the Atlantic on his flight to the Azores (there are no direct flights from the US to the Azores). We're all thankful to have safely arrived where we are! Newsflash: It's cold here!! Wesley saw real snow for the first time today! (At least the first time he's been old enough to know what snow is). We were coming out of Fazoli's (that's my dad holding Wesley) and I had to stop and fish my camera out of my diaper bag to document the occasion!





Those of you that know my mom know that Christmas continues in her home until spring arrives. My sun-loving momma needs the lights and cheer to get her through the dark and gloomy winter months. Don't bother asking her when she's going to take down her Christmas decorations... it's all up to Jack Frost and how long he decides to overstay his welcome! It used to annoy me when I lived at home and cared what people thought (heaven forbid I have to fend off Kentucky hillbilly jokes!), but I've got to admit I'm LOVING it now! Christmas was so rushed this year and I live in eternal summer, so it's been absolutely magical to get a 2nd chance at Christmas! Mom is Mrs. Christmas herself; she transforms every room in the house! It takes almost the entire month of December to get all the decorations up, so it seems fitting now that we get to enjoy them as long as possible. I love looking out the window and watching the snowflakes come down while basking in the glow of Mom's 10-foot Christmas tree!

We didn't get to come home at Christmas this year (hello ridiculous gas prices), so my sister and I decided to wait to exchange gifts until we could do it in person. Erin and Andrew drove up from Nashville with the kids during a sleet storm to see us in Kentucky. Thanks, troopers! Here's Erin's kids (Caleb, Gabe, and Abby) & Wes opening Christmas gifts. They gave Wesley a guitar. It was so perfect... he's been loving rocking out to Guitar Hero with Uncle Andrew and Uncle Corey with his own personal guitar! (below) This was Wesley's reaction the first time he saw Andrew play Guitar Hero. He dropped everything and started dancing. My boy loves to dance! This was Friday night, a few hours after we arrived. Wesley woke up Saturday looking for Andrew... he said, "C'mon! Guitar!" Wes had his toy guitar in hand and was ready to rock!









Michael with Anna Kate Friday night after a long day of driving. We miss you, Daddy! Thanks for all the sacrifices you make to ensure that I have help while you're on business trips. I'm so blessed to have a husband that takes such good care of me!

(below) Wesley and Abby sitting on Granddaddy's lap playing the music box! I can't even begin to describe how much Wes has looked forward to this! Wesley's first reaction when I told him that we were going to go to Grandma's house (in 6 days - won't make that mistake next time!) was to give an animated speech about something having to do with music. Wes can be hard to understand when he gets excited, so I actually didn't make the connection that he was talking about this music box. Wesley knew that I had not figured it out, so after a few days of jabbering about music and Grandma's house, he got very insistent and started describing how he was going to sit on Granddaddy's lap with the music at Grandma's house. I said, "Oh! Are you going to sit on Granddaddy's lap and play the music box?" His whole face lit up and he said, "Uh-huh!" It's been all he's talked about all week. This is a special Granddaddy ritual that Wes has enjoyed since he was Anna Kate's age.





Turning the music box back on after changing out the disk. Wesley sways and nods to the music until it's been through one or two rotations, and then he turns it off and picks out another disk for Granddaddy to load. Wesley is Mr. Music Appreciation. It's amazing. The kids looooooves music!

Saturday Dad took all the grandkids to beloved Gatti Town (another thing Wesley has been talking about since our last visit to Kentucky in November). We gave Anna Kate her very first true solid food! She's been doing the baby-food-from-a-jar thing for about a month now, but I've never let her self-feed (no cheerios, etc.). She broke her very first tooth through the day before we left for our trip (it's not visible yet, but I can feel the rough ridge of the top of the tooth when I rub my finger across her gums) and she broke the 2nd bottom tooth through on Friday. So I asked my mom to buy her some teething biscuits. We gave her one and let her go to town on Saturday while the other kids munched on pizza. She thought it was great, but it made a giant mess and she soon dropped it onto the nasty floor. So it was short-lived. I'm going to let her really enjoy one on the long road trip home next week!





After eating at Gatti Town, I ran into K-Mart to grab some diapers. Wesley made a bee-line for the clearance rack, grabbed a box of chocolates, and headed to the check-out! He's got it figured out! It was 50 cents, so I caved. Hey, we're on vacation!



Wesley checking out Corey's cat through the window at Grandma's house. Everyone in our family has horrible cat allergies, so why my parents decided that letting Corey get a cat was a good idea is beyond me. I hate cats (sorry pet lovers) and this cat is no exception. It doesn't even make me feel better that it's an outdoor cat, because Corey carries its sickness-inducing cat hair and dander in on his clothes and has made coming home a lot sneezier for the Rogers family. Having grown up with severe cat allergies, I've always equated cats to big furry balls of infection. This is as close to a cat as I care to let Wesley get. I'd much rather him get a hypoallergenic pet like a goldfish or a gecko or a hippopotamus.

Still whining over $2....

I almost cried over $2 this morning... yup, $2 was enough to induce me to near tears. The following is a blatant request for sympathy to ease my pain and suffering over the loss of $2:

I forfeited our daily stroll to make a trip to Winn-Dixie to redeem all of my buy 1 get 1 free rain checks before they expired. I start thinking that I really should stop at Dollar General on the way, because there are a few birthdays coming up and I can't afford $3 and $4 cards at Wal-Mart. Dollar General has wonderful cards for only 50 cents. But I really don't feel like making a detour because it's going to be a major hassle to unload and re-load both kids, and Wesley was excited about going to Winn Dixie because he likes to drive the car carts (they have massive shopping carts shaped like cars, which should require a special drivers license in the state of Florida. Pushing one of those bad boys around all the obstacles of a grocery store with Anna Kate's carrier blocking all visibility is a full-contact sport!). But I decide that my loved ones are truly loved, and cards must be purchased. So we detour to Dollar General with its unimpressive carts, and Wesley decides to whine the entire time we're inside. Valentine candy conveniently plastered on both sides of the entrance is 50% off. I cave and throw some discounted conversation hearts to Wes thinking the anticipation will keep the whining in check for the duration of the card shopping. oh silly me. He fussed and fussed and fussed and fussed. Every time he would ask for something, I would tell him he would have to trade his candy for it, knowing full well he would refuse. So when he pointed at a box of chocolate Ho-Ho's, I nonchalantly offered them as a trade for his candy. Much to my chagrin, he actually took me up on the offer, and willingly forfeited his cheap 50% off candy. shoot. I went against my better judgment and stuck by my offer. He clung to his Ho-Ho's and we continued down the card aisle. About this time I notice a strong stench wafting from Anna Kate's carrier. "You've got to be kidding," I think to myself (or maybe I said out loud to Wesley who was too busy whining to check out the Ho-Ho's to hear). "I just changed her!" Must hurry and change her in the car. I find two cards that really make me chuckle, but they are the new bigger better Dollar General cards, and they cost a whole dollar each. yikes. A whole buck for a piece of cardboard! But I decide I'm feeling posh for the day, so I pick up the two over-budget cards. We head to the check-out (no major mishaps there) and head toward the car. First I put the child repeating "chocolatepleasechocolatepleasechocolateplease" in the car and hand him a Ho-Ho. Then I release the buckle on AK's carseat and start to remove her straps. Then a big gust of wind blows across the parking lot and takes my newly-purchased whole dollar cards with it! I start to dash after the cards, which are separating from their envelopes and scattering in 4 directions. But I hesitate because I realize Anna Kate is not secure, and by the time I can get her re-buckled, the cards are too far for me to safely wander from my children. I start thinking maybe I can hurry up and change AK in time to drive around the parking lot in a search and rescue operation. I open the back of the van, and the stow-and-go seat that is usually stowed is up and I have to grapple with one hand to pull it down while holding a very poopie Anna Kate. I open my diaper bag and there are NO wipes. I have no idea where my wipes go. The Tushie Wipe Bandit strikes the Rogers family at the most inopportune times! So I check the center console for my trusty stash of Taco Bell napkins, only to discover that my sweet hubby removed them while cleaning out my car a few days ago. I think to myself, "I'm a diaper-changing professional... I can handle this." So I open the diaper and it's massive. AK has very recently started taking solids well, and I'm veeery recently encountering the -er- fruits of her labor. I start to attempt to wipe her bottom with all available corners of the used diaper. Anna Kate decides that this is ticklier than usual, and kicks her little feet so much that a few toes go for a dip and her outfit gets a good dunk. I put a clean diaper on her not-very-clean tushie and think about how very, very badly I want to wash my hands. Before I can put Anna Kate back in her carseat, Wesley starts yelling, "Hands! Hands! Wash hands please!" I come around and find him COVERED in chocolate. Who knew a simple Ho-Ho could make such a mess?! I thought it might cause a smudge or two, but seriously, it's like 3 bites! But Wesley managed to shower in it and once again, I have no wet wipes. I decide to focus on my mission, so with Stinky and Sticky both safely secured in the van, we drive in circles around the Dollar General/Liquor World/Little Caesars parking lot searching for our lost cards. Insert massive self-pity and tears over $2 worth of merchandise here. I accepted defeat and went on to Winn-Dixie (where the car cart was broken bringing out the dandiest of grocery shopping behavior in Wes and hungry cries from Anna Kate, whose Mommy did not factor the Dollar General delay into her feeding schedule). But we survived. And the point of the story is... You probably won't be getting a birthday card from me this year.

Speaking of birthdays, Wesley turned 2 1/2 on Saturday. I had frozen the other half of the Half Birthday cake I made for AK last month, and had every intention of celebrating. But Saturday I was still furiously trying to make my midnight work deadline (I wrote press releases for NINE separate Wal-Mart grand openings from Thursday night to Saturday night, submitting my last one to Corporate for approval at 11:24 p.m.). So Wesley's Half Birthday remains uncelebrated. I was going to make like a big deal once my PR work was done, but I decided to tell him that we were going to Grandma's house in 6 days instead, and that was better than any piddly party! Poor guy never even knew it was his half birthday. I took this photo Thursday night (Valentine's Day). I always check on Wes before Michael and I head to bed at night (Wes takes so many books and toys to bed with him that I usually have to sneak in and remove some so he'll have some room to stretch out) and he was striking one of his usual sleeping poses. I decided to get the camera because he sleeps like this a lot and I want to remember! As you can see, he's still insisting on wearing his beloved shorts to bed... I managed to get him in jammies for about 3 days. It was a good run.





We took these pictures of Anna Kate yesterday afternoon. She's the life of the party!





Doing the tongue-curling thing... Wesley did this from the time he was a baby as well. I can't curl my tongue and tongue-curling is a genetically inherited trait, so they get it from their daddy!

My sweet baby girl activating her Mom Radar. She is soooooooooo much more concerned about my whereabouts at all times than Wesley was! Wesley got excited when he saw me, but even when I'm out of sight Anna Kate seems to spend all of her energy searching for me, and when I'm located, she cranes her neck and lurches forward and cries and does whatever necessary to find her way back into my arms. Very sweet... but very exhausting!!!

Anna Kate with Daddy. She's not as clingy with him as she is with me, but she definitely knows that he's her daddy and she gets really excited when he comes home from work every night. (below) This is my "hurry up and take the picture while she's looking!" frozen smile face. I can even give verbal instructions through my teeth while keeping the frozen smile face intact. That's talent, people.

I'd love to have a nice series of Sunday morning photos of Wesley, but he is the child that refuses to pose for the camera. He has so many beautiful Sunday outfits (thank you, Mimi) that have never been photographed because we're always running out the door in a rush on Sunday mornings, and Wesley is usually stripping his Sunday garb while still in the car on the way home. Wesley saw me coming at him with the camera yesterday morning and ran and hid in Daddy's closet (the one place in the entire house that Michael does not want me to mess with, so I take no responsibility for the mess). I waited in ambush outside the door and snapped this photo as soon as he came out!

As mentioned above, we are headed to Kentucky this week! Michael has another business trip out of the country (to some islands off Portugal), so his mom was coming to spend the week with us next week. But she found out she had to have surgery on her hands this week (today, actually... we've been praying for you, Mimi! Glad it went well), so she could not come keep us company. Michael knows that I don't do single parenthood (I have soooo much admiration for those of you that do it solo, even for short periods of time. I can't handle more than a couple of days!), so he paid to have his flight changed from leaving out of Tampa to leaving out of Lexington. And he's driving us up to Kentucky! Woo-hoo! We'll also get to stop and check in with Mimi and Grandpa on the way. Wesley is SO excited about going to Grandma's house. All he has talked about for days now is Grandma and Granddaddy and Uncle Corey and Abby and Caleb and Gabe (his cousins that live in Nashville). I've had to hold up my fingers to show him how many days until we leave. It's the first thing he asks every morning when he wakes up, after every nap, and every single time we get in the car. He holds up his hands and looks at his fingers and tries to figure out the meaning of it all!

I'll have to go back and do a catch-up post about Julie and Maura's visit. I got reeeallly behind on work while playing, and then really behind on everything else while working. I stayed up until 2 a.m. this morning cleaning the house! Happy President's Day to me!

Dining with Celebrities

My good friend Julie and her daughter Maura came to visit us in Florida and we wanted to provide a Disney experience minus the Disney price tag! We took the kiddos to a character breakfast at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. The genius of this is that the resort is located outside the actual theme park, so we didn't have to purchase park tickets! Wesley and Maura were both starstruck by their celebrity encounters... I'm pretty sure Wes would have ditched me and gone home with either Tigger or Pooh.





Okay, so here's what they fail to prep you for before your character dining experience: the characters come to you, and you are NOT allowed to go to the characters. Each character circulates the room going from table to table, and when a character is at your table, he/she is all yours and no other child can interrupt. Law enforcement comes in the form of a very-stern character "bouncer" (note him lurking in the shadows of most of our photos) that polices the room for infractions of the unsolicited character affection rule. They fail to mention this to us while we were waiting outside to be seated, and Julie and I both repeated over and over to our tots that the real Pooh and Tigger awaited just on the other side of these very doors. So the moment comes that they're ready to seat us, and the hostess flings the doors open and ushers us into the dining room and into the very presence of Tigger and Pooh. Wesley immediately yells, "POOH!!!" in a squeal of utter adoration and goes tearing across the room straight to the big yellow guy himself with arms extended. Preggo Julie gets choked up and holds back tears at the sight of Maura's face when she spots Tigger. I have my hands full with Anna Kate and the caravan of usual gear, so I can't grab Wes when it becomes apparent that #1, Pooh is completely ignoring my child, and #2, a grumpy Disney bouncer is glaring laser beams at us all. The bouncer actually approaches me with the whole, "Is this your child? You NEED to remove your child" greeting. Flustered, I rush to get Anna Kate in a high chair and rid myself of all my baggage. I had to drag poor Wesley away, big hurt-feelings tears rolling down his face. It was a rocky start, but it ended up being a great experience.

I got Wes calmed down by explaining to him that Tigger and Pooh were coming to OUR table, and we had to go get our food so they would come. I figured the moment that either character descended on our table and was rightfully ours, Wesley would run to them with open arms again. Instead, when Tigger arrived, Wesley ran to the table. I was trying to figure out why he wasn't hugging Tigger when I realized that Wes was patting the chair next to him yelling, "Tigger, C'mon, sit down here!" Wesley totally thought that Tigger was going to sit down and eat breakfast with him! Poor guy! Wesley's still trying to convince Tigger to sit down for breakfast in this photo; that's why he looks frustrated. Anna Kate hadn't noticed Tigger yet...





She LOVED him! I can't believe the characters didn't scare her, but she just cackled and cackled when they got close. (below) Wesley begging Pooh to sit down at our table. February 13, 2008









Wesley was pretty much the only kid in the whole room that wasn't terrified by the Mad Hatter. He wasn't particularly interested in him, but he wasn't scared of him either. Wesley is Mr. Social, so he chatted away with the Mad Hatter like he would with any stranger. As a result, we could hardly get the Mad Hatter to leave our table! He pretty much just parked it next to Wesley and wanted to stay there for the duration of the breakfast. Poor Maura was positively petrified of the Mad Hatter, and she kept her head buried in Julie's shoulder the entire time he was present. I did my best to get him to move on! Here's Wes giving an oration about his Mickey Mouse waffles. (below) Anna Kate trying to "beep" Tigger's nose.





I think we got extra table time from Tigger and Pooh because Anna Kate was so stink'n cute when she laughed! Actually, we were the last seating of the day, so once the crowd thinned, Tigger parked it near our table and danced with Wesley, Maura, and a few other stragglers. Talk about toddler heaven! (below) Wesley getting a kiss from Mary Poppins. Look out, ladies, it looks like he enjoyed that kiss!





In the courtyard of the Grand Floridian after being extracted from Tigger. We hopped on the monorail at the Grand Floridian and rode it around the lagoon so we could see the Magic Kingdom castle, etc. Wesley LOVED "the train" and did not want to get off! Every time the monorail stopped, Maura started yelling to get off and Wesley yelled for me to shut the door! We actually had to ride the monorail around the lagoon a second time because Wesley refused to budge. Cute kiddos on the cheapest ride at Disney!









There were old Mickey cartoons playing in the lobby of the hotel. Wesley was enthralled... he decided to pull up a chair! (A bit close, aren't ya buddy??!)



Wesley and Maura playing on the stage coach outside the hotel.

Okay, it's late and my brain is turning into mush, but I have to share one story about our trip to the beach with Julie and Maura (Feb. 11). Wesley has this big inflatable Nemo beach ball. I was trying to get Anna Kate settled on a beach towel when Wesley starts shrieking like his best friend is drowning. I look up to see the Nemo ball drifting into the ocean. The water is freezing but very still, and I figure the ball can't go far. I was wrong. I start to wade into the water thinking I can catch it, but as I move through the water, the ripples I create seem to push the ball further and further out of my reach. Wesley is crying/cheering me on from the sidelines, and I realize that if I don't retrieve the ball, it will remain visible in the ocean for most likely the duration of our visit, resulting in a Wesley meltdown Mach-5. So I wade deeper and deeper, and suddenly I'm swimming, the freezing cold water taking my breath away! I'm puffing those shallow breaths of shock that cold water inflicts, but now that I'm swimming I'm starting to gain on the ball. Wesley is positively beside himself: "MOMMY, GET IT!!!! GET THE NEMO BALL!!! MOMMY!!!" The water's getting deeper and deeper and I'm not the best swimmer. I actually start to get a tiny bit scared, wondering what I've gotten myself into with no husband and no lifeguard to speak of onshore to save me (2 toddlers and a 3rd trimester preggo won't do me much good!). Actually, there are other people on the beach, and they're all watching me like I'm crazy, since the water is frigid and no one else is so much as sticking a toe in. Suddenly I remember that there is a sand bar out a ways at St. Pete Beach, and it occurs to me to stick my foot down and see if I've reached it yet. So paint a picture in your mind, if you will: I'm swimming, swimming, swimming, panting to battle the freezing water, frantically chasing a large Nemo ball with an audience watching from shore. I stick my foot down to see if I've reached the sand bar; I proceed to stand up, realizing I've been swimming in a depth of approximately 2 feet for probably the past minute and half. I tackle the ball in the shallow water, and Wesley cheers like I've won the Superbowl. Never let it be said that I don't love my son!!





Maura hated the beach and especially the sand. She would not allow Julie to set her anywhere that her feet would touch the ground. Her response to everything at the beach was, "No wike it." She "no wiked" the beach, the sand, the ocean, the water, the waves, the seagulls, and the shells. Wesley, on the other hand, was having a grand time and appeared to be rather indifferent to Maura's pain and suffering.

We lasted less than an hour on the beach before heading across the street to a little park. All I'm saying is that it was an awful lot of beach-gear-packing and a long drive across the bay just to play on a little playground! But hey, whatever makes the little people happy! (And you ask why we don't go to the beach often when we live so close???). Here's Wesley going for a hug...





... giving Maura his "I'm still cool" hug.

Julie and Maura are treasured friends, and we made great memories! By the way, Julie's husband Brent is an officer in the Reserves, and he was informed Sunday night that his unit has been mobilized. That means he's supposed to be gone in matter of weeks. And yes, Julie's due next month. Talk about bad timing! Brent talked to his Colonel today and it looks like he'll be allowed to wait until after the baby's birth to report for duty, but that means he'll be leaving about 10 days after the birth. Julie will follow with the kids when the new baby is old enough to travel. They've requested Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia, which would be great for us because Michael's parents live in Columbus and we'd get to visit often. Anyway, you can imagine that this is enough stress to drive a lesser expectant mom to a meltdown, so keep Julie in your prayers. They've prepared a precious nursery for their little boy that it looks like he won't get to enjoy, and Julie has been accustomed to the constant help of her parents and sisters, who live minutes away. She'll be joining my sad club of having no local support. Julie, you're a trooper, and Brent, you rock for serving our country! You're in our prayers, guys!