The Wiese Family 5: February 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

A World Away....

Ryan arrived in Iraq a little over a month ago. Seems odd to think of him across the ocean. I know he is there, but sometimes I forget. Especially since he has been away from us for so long in California. It doesn't seem any different. I know he is a world away now...but I guess reality has not hit me yet.

Ryan was very excited to get going. This brought great worry on Rick. I am worry too, but I have a real peace about him being gone. I am putting Ryan in God's hands completely. It is hard to do because out instinct is to worry about our kids. And I am not saying that I am NOT worried at all, but I am working really hard at being totally supportive and trusting of the Lord.

Ryan is very confident that he safe. He said that almost 100% of his time will be on Joint Base in Balad, Iraq. His job on the base is patrolling the flight line and working one of the gates. I am sure that it is fun for him to be working around the planes, since Vandenberg AFB is not a plane base.

Ryan says that the food is pretty good. There is not much a a variety, but he will deal with that okay. The nationals work on the base and some work in the chow hall. Ryan had to laugh because of the amount of food that they pile on his plate. He said that they must think that Americans are fat and eat a lot. He said that they really pile it on and just one thing. Ryan had to explain that he wanted more than just one thing as he went through the line. Ha Ha!

Funny story:
Ryan's room does not have carpet in it. He said that he had to find some rugs to put on the floor so that he did not step on ice cold bare floors when he got out of bed. So he went to find some. He said that the only "rugs" he could find anywhere looked more like prayer mats. Ha Ha! I told him, "Oh well, they are RUGS to you!" He laughed and said yep. He cracks me up!

I am still waiting on some pictures to post on here. But I have not gotten any from Ryan.

Please continue to pray for Ryan and I promise to post any news on him on our family blog.

FYI-The picture above it not of Ryan...I found it online and it made me think of Ryan. I hope you like it!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Two...Two...2 That Are Two!!!!

I have decided that "2" is a magic number. It has powers that I have never seen before. In a matter of a night sleep a child can change into a very different creature. It is like a button or switch gets hit in the middle of the night and then BOOM! You have a TWO YEAR OLD! Am I alone on this....or is this normal child behavior? Our Pastor, this last Sunday, described this phenomenon in his sermon. He described his daughter turning 2 as ...she had read the WHOLE book on "How To Be Two" and memorized every part! Ha Ha! And I was thinking to myself......." Oh, thank goodness we are not alone!"

The new favorite words in our house are "No" and "Why" and "My" or "Mine". They fight over whose mom I am! This is comical in itself...but frustrating as they are making the other one cry. Usually it is Emma who pushes Caleb away from me and says, "No, MY MOMMY!" Then Caleb runs away crying. Then I have to comfort him and Emma cries because I am hugging and kissing him. Sigh....it breaks my heart, but I know that this shall pass. I just hope soon!

Cute story: My sister bought Caleb and Emma new pj's and the cutest little stuffed penguins for Christmas/their birthday. Mom brought them with her when she came out to visit. My mom took them out of the bag and Caleb and Emma's eyes lit up! Emma yelled, "My poin-gen (penguin)! We laughed so hard and kept having her say it. It is so cute. Caleb says it too, but didn't until Emma said it.

Although my kiddos are toddlers through and through, they really are a blast! I am enjoying this stage. They are so entertaining and their personalities are so very apparent now. Their little brains are like little sponges and I enjoy watching them learn! We work on counting, shapes, colors and ABC's. Caleb and Emma both know their colors!!! I am super proud of this. Caleb doesn't say them as well as Emma, but he will point to the color you ask him to find. Emma will say them and point. Caleb just has a harder time verbalizing things. They are practicing coloring skills...and they love it.

Watching them play together is also so much fun. They are starting to chatter back and forth more and more. Not just in words that mom and dad understand...no...more often we have no idea what they are saying to each other. Caleb and Emma will play upstairs with the kitchen set and both be "on the phone" talking to each other. One will say something and then the other answers. It is so cute!

Caleb and Emma are getting more comfortable around Maizey, our cat. And in return Maizey has calmed down about them too. Maizey is still not wanting to play with them or anything, but she let's them touch her and doesn't run away as soon as she used too.

We had Caleb and Emma's 2 year check up with Dr. Copeland on the 2nd of February. My kids are super healthy...what can I say. Caleb is 33 pounds and 35.5 inches tall. Emma weighed in at 28.5 pounds and 36 inches tall. Yes...that is right...my Emma is a half inch taller than Caleb. But I don't think that will be for long. They usually so back and forth like that. They only needed one shot this time and now they are good to go on shots until they are four. YAHOO!!! Then I guess they have a whole bunch...BOO!

I think that my favorite think about my kids right now is the fact they want to give us loves...hugs and kisses...and the fact that they understand what that is all about. They love to hug each other also and they have to before bed every night! It is so sweet!

We have the kids take showers as well as baths now. We want them to be used to both. And they LOVE showers! It is so funny to watch then take a shower. They splash and try to drink the water.

Emma playing the shower!

Caleb loving shower time!

Potty training is right around the corner. They are giving us signs that they are getting very close to being ready. We will be buying a potty chair soon. And they also got big kid underwear for their birthday. They like to wear them on the outside of their clothes, but oh well, it is a start! I just hope they don't think it is still funny when they are teenagers! Ha Ha! Don't you think they look like little super heroes? Ha!

Caleb sporting his new undies!

Emma testing out her new pony panties.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Happy Birthday Caleb and Emma....Happy Birthday to You!

The big T-W-O! WOW! It doesn't seem right that Caleb and Emma are 2 already. The last two years have been a whirlwind! It really doesn't seem that long ago that they were like this:

Emma and Caleb - 1 day old

Caleb and Emma's big birthday was wonderful this year for many reasons. The best present we got this year was that Grandma Renee came out to see us from Rapid City! My mom flew in on Wednesday, January 27 in the morning. We got to spend most of the day out and about with her. We shopped and ate lunch. The next day I also took off and we took Caleb and Emma to get their two year picture taken. We then met some friends for lunch and relaxed at home for the afternoon. Friday I did go to work, so mom stayed home and baby sat the kids. Caleb and Emma had a great time with her. It was so nice that they went for a walk and then they played in the backyard. Caleb and Emma were completely in heaven then!

Saturday we had Caleb and Emma's birthday party at our house. It was a pizza party...Mickey and Minnie themed....of course! That is one of their favoirtes right now. We had a house full! Nine other kids besides Caleb and Emma and nine other adults besides me, Rick and my mom. We all got enough to eat! We had yummy cake...which was not NEARLY as messy as last year! Ha Ha! And it would not be a party without wrapping paper glore! Needless to say Caleb and Emma had a great party and were SOOOO ready for a nap after everyone left! Caleb and Emma got lots of great gifts; clothes, toys, books, etc.

Sunday the 31st of January was their REAL birthday. We went to church and had a quite afternoon at home. That evening, Rick's cousin, Doug and his wife Geri came over for supper. Doug and our twinners share a birthday, so it was awesome to get to share that together. My mom made the best fried chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy. She also made Doug a birthday cake. We were caked out after that....but boy was it good!

Monday I stayed home to spend the day with mom and the kiddos. She had to leave that afternoon so I wanted to make sure that I got to spend as much time with her as possible and get her to the airport on time. I hate saying good-bye to my mom. I always have a hard time. Emma cried for "Gama" and looked for her the next morning. Caleb kept saying "bye-bye Gama" all the way to the car and then kind of got over it. I guess Emma is like me in the sense that we like our loved ones around.

Here are some pictures of the birthday party! Enjoy!

Caleb and Emma's 2 Year Pictures

Taking pictures with 2 year twins is like trying to take a picture of the Tasmanian Devil on Loony Toons. I thought 1 was hard...NOT even close...2 was amazingly hard! Just when you get one kid put in a some what of a good spot the other one is running around....so you get that one and then the first one is off and running! sigh....I can't believe that we got all good pictures of Caleb and Emma.

My mom and I took the kids a couple days before their birthday. We were both over heated and tired by the time it was over. I guess the positive thing about the outcome of the pictures is that it made it easier to decided which ones to get. Here are the pictures, I hope you enjoy looking at them. I get them back this Friday (the 5th) so you will get them in the mail soon after that! You can't print these out because they are the professional ones, so those that do that....don't bother...they will come out fuzzy.