Too Funny

 
Alyssa enjoying her bath in the big tub with her new toys.

 
Alyssa sleeping with her legs through the slats of her crib. We've found her this way several times in the morning or after naps.

New Things in '09

Life marches on for the three of us. LeMar has rotated onto the swing shift now, so he works 3pm - 2am. It is the toughest of his three shifts for us, because we see each other the least. To add to the challenges, I'm taking three courses this semester when I would normally only take two. I've been dreading it, and I spent a long time contemplating whether or not I should take on such a strenuous course load with Alyssa to take care of and LeMar being at work in the evenings during my primary study time. However, I really want to finish up my degree this calendar year, and the only way to do that was to take all three of these classes this semester. It will definitely be a challenge; I'm taking Tactics in Organic Synthesis, Polymer Synthesis, and Environmental Regulations & Risk Assessment. Please keep us in your prayers!

Alyssa continues to grow and change at an alarming rate. She is eating solid foods now. We've mastered the cereals (think Cream of Wheat not Lucky Charms), green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, bananas, and applesauce. I'm trying to make her fruits and veggies (and soon meats) at home to provide her with healthier food and save us some money. She is close to crawling and standing, though she can sort of scoot/crawl backwards. She has also graduated to the full sized bath tub which was a good excuse to buy new bath toys. I've spent some time baby-proofing though we are not going to be as extensive as some parents. I just went for the big 4: stairs, electrical outlets, poisons, and skull puncturing corners (if you knew the old Ram's Point coffee tables, you know what I'm talking about.


Also, I've finally added a link to Christmas Pictures.

Our White Christmas '08

Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Alyssa's first Christmas in Florida where it was a balmy 75 degrees on Christmas day. Though you may be jealous, all of us would have preferred cold air and snow on the ground. Our friend Eileen, an Lt that I work with, also stayed here this year, and she spent the holiday with us. She and I are both runners, and we decided the best way to imitate the white Christmas we were use to in Wisconsin and Colorado was to go for a run on the white sand beaches. At the end of the day, our friends came over from Hurlbert Field to join us for Gumbo, fondu and a board game. All in all, it was a great day and a fantastic way to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Though we all got a bunch of gifts that we enjoy quite a bit, Alyssa made a killing with clothes, toys, books, a doll, a teddy bear and a jumper. Here are the pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoyed lots of turkey or lots of gumbo, whichever is your pleasure. We've had a great week. On Tuesday, LeMar's parents and sister stopped by to visit us and meet Alyssa. I've included some pictures of pass the baby. On Wednesday, LeMar put up our Christmas lights on ours and our neighbor's roof. On Thanksgiving, LeMar worked 4 am to 10 am, and we went to have Thanksgiving dinner with some friends from my work in the afternoon. When we got home, we started putting up our Christmas tree, but we decided to go to bed early instead of putting on the ornaments. LeMar is also working today while I'm at home catching up on school work. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, stuffed your bellies, watched some football and enjoyed time with friends and family. As always, you remain in our thoughts and prayers!





As you can see, Alyssa continues to grow and change at an alarming rate. She now weighs over 15 pounds. She can sit unassisted and she's learning to stand while she holds onto our hands. She has quite the little personality, always wanting to see what's going on and looking for a change in scenery. We have established video chat capability; if you'd like to see her in action, just get in touch and we can set up a video chat via iChat or AIM.

Birthday Update, Happy Veteran's Day

Well, I turned another year older last Saturday, one more until I hit a quarter of a century. LeMar and I started the celebration Friday with a dinner at Olive Garden, just the two of us. Alyssa was at church for baby sitting where they offer "Parent's Night Out" once a month, child care from 6-10p for only $5. After dinner, we wandered around PC for a bit, then we went home and I got to open my presents. LeMar gave me a new iPod nano, the Nike+ attachment, and new running shoes! I had to open them Friday night so I could use them on my birthday when we did a 5k together as a family along with some of my friends from work. Alyssa enjoyed must of the race from her jogging stroller, but she did get a little fussy towards the end. She and I finished somewhere around 28:30, and LeMar came across the line a few minutes later. After the race we all went to IHOP for some delicious pancakes. Next we went to a picnic with my lab group at work. Then we came home and got some book shelves from some friends. We bought the shelves from them for the price of baby sitting their little rugrat sometime in the future. I rounded out the day with some homework since I had played instead on Friday night.

Also, I took my PFT this past Monday. Although I wasn't required to take it until December 21st, 6 months after Alyssa was born, I knew I was ready to take it and I figured I might as well knock it out so I wouldn't have to worry about injuries or anything. Well . . . I maxed it with a run time of 10:45. Our commander rocks: since I got a 100% he'll give me a two day pass!