Checking in ...

Nothing real exciting here, but I thought I would check in so you all don't think I'm guzzling wine and moping around. The weather has been amazing here ... so that has improved my attitude. Elliott seems to be coming around, but he still has his 'daddy' moments. We had a really tough first week and a half, and I can't blame the poor kid. His ears are bothering him again, on top of everything else, and our visit to the ENT today did not yield the news I wanted. It looks like he needs, yet another, set of tubes ... a permanent set this time. I'm beyond frustrated and so sad for him. I hate to put him through another one of these surgeries, but the doctor is making it seem like I don't have any other choice. The most frustrating thing is that I have no other opinion. The Army doctors don't know an ear infection from a hole in the ground, so the ENT in our network is it ... and he is definitely pushing for the tubes. At any rate, there is too much swelling in his ears to do anything right now, so we are headed back in three weeks to talk details ... so I have three weeks to stress and google over this.

Christmas was great and we all got spoiled!! Elliott loves all of his new toys and they are doing the trick of keeping him entertained!! I am packing up Christmas decorations tomorrow ... and I have to pack them extra careful because we won't see them until 2015!!! Next year they will on their way to America by the time Christmas rolls around!

Elliott cracks me up. Maybe all toddlers are this funny, but either way - the kid is hilarious.

We made a German lebkuchen house. Elliott it loved it ... and loved squeezing the icing into his mouth. He is so proud of this thing ... every time we go into the dining room he says, "yaaaaay, Elliott did it!" ...

Our cookies did not go as swimmingly ... actually, it was quit a disaster. I let him cut out a couple and then finished the rest when he went to sleep ... maybe next year!

E's "second Christmas" ...

I picked this up from a vendor on post and I love it!! It has our names on the little scarves ... with one nose to spare ... and if we don't end up needing that nose - we'll use it for the dogs!!!

Nana Jen sent E his first set of big boy underwear and he was SO excited!!! We had a minor set-back with potty training, but we are getting there ... slowly, but surely.

I set up a 'daddy wall' ... pictures of Vic - which he loves. Anyway, he always has to tell daddy what is going on ... so here he is explaining the 'big boys' - as he calls them ...

This picture cracks me up. He walked around the grocery store like this and refused to take the glasses off ... people were walking by and just dying laughing, and E was dead serious.

This just made me laugh ... you can see what he thinks of my pink microwave. He's using it to tackle his way more manly task at his tool bench ...

Homemade pizzas ... put this in the same category as those Christmas cookies ... and then he wouldn't even eat the damn thing.

He has been spiking really high fevers that go along with the ear infections ... this was one of those nights. Poor baby ...

I love this. He usually sings something from his crib every morning that wakes me up ... it's usually Three Blind Mice or the Elmo Song ...

We are headed out tomorrow to meet E's best friend, Channing, and his mom at Mega-Play ... a mega indoor playground - mega fun, mega annoying. We'll probably only last an hour, but it will be good to get out of the house!!

Vic is doing well ... he is on the night shift, so I think his sleep schedule is adjusting. We are lucky that we get to talk to him every night. We miss him like crazy and can't wait until he's home!!!