In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

And I'm way behind the herd!

March is already here and I've failed to get so many things posted. So I'm going to try to get caught up a bit in the next few days. It seems like we've been on a bit of a roller coaster since the end of February. The kids and I took a short trip to SC to visit my parents, and had a great time. We had one fairly warm day to go to the beach and let the kids dig in the sand, but pretty much every one else had the same idea! Katie Mei had a wonderful time playing with Gramma's dog, Cody, and now we cannot pass the pet section in the grocery store without her pointing and yelling out "Cody!" every time she sees him on a bag of dog food. Gramma also graciously spent some time playing Katie Mei's favorite game, Curious George's Discovery Beach Game. You Go, Gramma!

The day we got back from SC, I came down with some horrible stomach bug that knocked me for a loop! I spent almost two days in bed. Right after that was over, Katie Mei, Jay and I got bad colds. So we've all been rather out of sorts for awhile. Katie Mei was nice and sweet to her Mommy for the most part, but I think that was because Daddy stayed home from work and she got to watch TV continuously.
We finally got a little warmer weather and I got outside when I felt well enough to walk around. the fresh air was reviving, and I grabbed the clippers and started pruning the crepe myrtles. Before too long everyone was outside doing yard work. I was glad my burst of energy was more contagious that my stomach bug!

So I still have lots more to share. Stay tuned for my next installation where I share the Music Show, featuring the "Team Hit the Beat". For now I leave you with this video of Katie Mei on the day she learned how to ride her trike. You can hear her saying "I did it!" Go Mei Mei!

Meet Colonel Montgomery

May I introduce to you the United States Marine Corps' newest Colonel?


Yesterday was a big and long-awaited day for our family. Jay was promoted to Colonel after nearly thirty-three years serving our country. The longest part of the wait for him was probably just the past few months, since we didn't know exactly when he'd get to officially pin on the eagles. He was pretty sure it wouldn't be in January, but hoped it would be in February. Then the February list came out and he missed being on it by just one, so he knew he was first on the list of five promotions for March. So his staff and the General scheduled his promotion ceremony for March 1, a cake was ordered, and a reception was planned weeks ago. On Friday he checked the list again, and found that the list had been changed and the Marine Corps was only going to promote one person in March...and it would be him. The other Lt. Colonels on the list were bumped to April. Talk about a bummer! They probably already had their promotion ceremonies scheduled and their cakes ordered, too, and had to cancel three days before. Ugh!

With many thanks to the Marine who graciously took photos for me, I now share some highlights of our Monday morning.

Waiting for the General to arrive

Taking the Oath of Office

Reading the Directive from the President of the United States

Officially a Colonel of the Marine Corps

The General and I pinning on those Eagles!

The obligatory speech from the General

The obligatory (short) speech from the promotee

The surprisingly long receiving line (I think it was at least as long as the one at our wedding!)

A quick family photo opportunity

Congratulations, Jay! Your whole family is as proud as can be to belong to you!

Love,

Pet

My two favorite smiles

Just got the formal photo from the Daddy Daughter Dance and wanted to share it.

Finally Single-Fanged!

Jacob tried and it didn't work. She asked me to try, and I squirmed. Grandma offered to try when we come to visit next week and said she'd even be the toothfairy for us.

I was at the point of frustration and told her to play with it tonight while she was in bed. I gave her lots of techniques, like twisting it sideways, pushing her fingernail between the tooth and the gum, and trying to pull it sideways away from the other front tooth.

Apparently one of those worked because about 10 minutes ago she came flying down the stairs yelling "It came out! It came out!"

Praise God!

I asked her if she wanted to put it under her pillow. She said "No, I want to do it at Grandma's." Fine with me.

Thank you, Lord, for small favors!
Really, I mean that.
Amen.

I am not kidding

Now, Friends, I have something to make you smile, but you're going to think I'm passing on junk. I am not an email sensation sender, I am a check-it-out-on-Snopes-and-let-the-original-sender-know-it's-spam kind of person. Some of you have even fallen victim to my party crashing sensibilities, and I don't apologize. I just never pass on emails that are chain letters or any of that kind of junk. You know me.

But this is different. I have to admit, I was skeptical, but curiosity, and the credibility of my source, got the best of me. I made the call and I followed the directions. And I laughed. And now I'm waiting for my husband to get out of the shower so I can do it again and he can laugh too. If you have little kids, you'll want to do it with them, too.

Hugs,

Petrie

Here it is...

Trust me...you need to do this...it is hilarious...Call the Nestle Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, wait quietly for about 10 seconds and I PROMISE you will smile. Keep going and press 4. Then press 7. Don't ruin the surprise for ...others. :)

Snaggle Tooth Tells a Story

Two things going on here. Merrilee's two front teeth are STILL loose after about six months. Her left one has been hanging lower than the other, and it makes me crazy to look at it. I wish the darned thing would fall out already! I've always had this obsession about kids losing their front teeth; I think those are the ugliest months of a kids' life when those new, misproportioned adult teeth come in and the kid looks so weird. I hate my own pictures of that milestone and I've dreaded the day my own kids have to look so ugly. My sister is the only person I know who didn't look yucky during those "teething" years.

Anyway, the tooth is what caught my attention and made me take the photos while she was relaying a story to me. But I love her nutty expressions while she's telling a story. You really can't capture them on video the way you can in a still photo. Not all the photos came out clear and sharp, but I was glad to get what I got.

Valentine's Days Past

We don't usually make a big deal out of Valentine's Day at our house, but we do exchange cards and a bit of candy. I was just going back through some pictures from Valentine's Days Past since we've had kids. This is what I found....

Merrilee's first Valentine's Day in 2005. She was a couple months shy of three years old, and here she is getting her first Valentine's Day card from Aunt Jo and Uncle Frank, with a whopping $5 in it!

In 2006 we had up and down weather. We had a snow storm and warm days within one week. Jacob was two and had been home with us for about 3 1/2 months. These two photos are of the kids decorating cupcakes outside. They didn't have very good sprinkle control, so I was glad to have a warmish day to keep the mess outside.

Here are Merrilee and Jacob in 2007 (couldn't believe I didn't have any better photos for Valentine's Day that year!) This was the year Merrilee turned 4 and she really left that chubby-cheeked toddler look behind.

Here is Merrilee a couple days after Valentine's Day in 2008. That year I failed to take any pictures at all. Bummer. But we did enjoy another warm day when the crocuses were blooming.

And here is Katie Mei on the scene in 2009! This was her first Valentine's Day, and her first chocolate cupcake. Look at the archive from last year and you'll see the entire series of photos from the Big Chocolate Cupcake experience. She was 23 months old, had only been home with us for one month, and had undergone her heart catheterization with an atrial septostomy just the day before. Hard to believe this was less than 24 hours after the procedure. Big changes for such a little girl.

And here are the girls this morning in 2010. Merrilee made Katie Mei a little tiara with the words "Sweet Princess" written in the heart. Merrilee loves her little sister immensely, and we are so proud of her for being such a compassionate, mature, loving big sister.

And this is my dear husband. He is a loving father and caring husband. Last night he took Merrilee to her first Daddy Daughter Dance. It was a precious evening for Merrilee, and she came home so excited to tell me all about it.

Jay, thanks for loving all of us, and for being such a great Daddy and Husband to your family. We love you, Honey. Happy Valentine's Day.

Love, Petrie