Daddy (and husband) is home!!

Rudi arrived back on Guam (from deployment to Iraq) on Dec. 24, 2009 at 10 pm. What a wonderful Christmas present--it made for our best Christmas ever!

Samuel remembered Rudi, much to Rudi's delight. When Samuel awoke on Christmas morning he was shy for about 15 minutes, but after that he had Daddy hold him, play with him, etc. He even said, "Daddy Home." Samuel now enjoys being a finicky toddler by sometimes insisting Mommy hold him and other times demanding Daddy.

Samuel and I arrived back on Guam on Dec. 3 and we spent the three weeks leading up to his homecoming getting adjusted to the time change, buying a new bed (king size--so the 3 of us can sleep together), getting adjusted to our new part-time nanny, and getting used to my going back to work part-time.

The nanny (Mirina) is working out well: she is clearly wonderful with Samuel and he has taken well to her. When both Rudi's and my work schedules are back in full swing (Rudi full-time and me part-time), it will be nice to have Mirina so that we don't have to arrange our schedules in order for one of us to be home with Samuel. When we were doing that previously (we were not using daycare), it kept us from being able to spend time together as a couple/family, and also our house turned into a pig sty!

Here are some pictures since Rudi's return.

Samuel playing in the rain

us out on a dinner date for our 6th anniversary

Samuel and Daddy having fun in the rain

Rudi trying to make it look like he got me a Christmas present!! He felt bad that he came home w/out gifts, but how could he? He got back from Iraq the night before.

recent & Halloween pictures

Hello again from North Carolina! Samuel and I are still based at my sister Charis' house (along with her husband, 5 year old daughter, and 2 month old daughter). We plan to return to Guam at the beginning of December. Soon after we return to Guam, I'll start working part-time again, but this time we'll have a part-time nanny!! We are going to be completely spoiled, but I'm so excited about the help!

Here are a couple recent photos of Samuel. He is now 17 months old and it seems like he is changing faster than even when he was an infant.

He has well over 100 words that he uses fairly regularly, he runs, loves trying to use utensils by himself, and is just a complete toddler now. I realized this a few weeks ago when we were in Target and he saw kids playing with trucks, and he cried to be able to get down and play with toys in the toy aisle. Here he is holding his toothbrush (one of his favorite activities--he has to sit down to do it).

He is standing on a stool here. Endless fun!

He still has pretty severe stranger anxiety. He loves interacting with people, but doesn't like anyone except immediate family to hold him. It is really hard for me to leave him at the daycare at the YMCA for even an hour while I try to work out--he cries pretty much the whole time.

However, I will say we had a major breakthrough regarding this when we visited Minnesota in October. He stayed with Rudi's mom (Grossmama) without any problems. I was able to visit with friends, leave the condo, or take a nap whenever I wanted and Samuel did not cry with his Grossmama. She was even able to put Samuel to bed one night without my being there.

Speaking of the Minnesota trip, again those pictures are on my camera, so I can't upload them until I return to Guam. However, we had a great time visiting Sally, Rudi's childhood friends (Robyn, Molly, Jim, and many of Sally's friends), and my college friends, Anne & Sarah. It was fun to introduce Samuel to everyone, and also fun to be able to leave him with his Grossmama!

Here are a couple pictures of Samuel at Saturday morning coffee with Rudi's family friends that he's had since he can remember (pictures compliments of Molly Repya--thanks!!).

Carol, Joyce, Sally, Molly, Jim, Samuel, me having coffee on Saturday morning (around Oct. 10)

Samuel crying because someone other than Mommy is holding him

HALLOWEEN

This was our first Halloween night together. Last year we missed it as we were flying back from Hawaii to Guam...plus Samuel was only almost 5 months old.

So this year, my brother Mick & his wife Natalia, along with my sister Candace and her friend Andrew all came over to Charis' house. From there, we caravaned over to Natalia's parents' neighborhood (a less than 10 min. drive away). We started trick-or-treating at Natalia's parents', then went to about 5 other houses before calling it a night. Samuel took candy out of people's bowls when offered, but if someone tried to give him candy, he'd throw it on the ground! I guess I don't have to teach him about taking candy from strangers! His favorite part about the candy was just holding it. He held onto a milky way candy bar for about 30 min (wrapped--he had no interest in unwrapping it) and did everything one-handed b/c he had to hold on to that milky way.

After trick-or-treating, we spent a few minutes at Natalia's parents' place, where Samuel had a great time playing their piano!

The only pics I have posted are of Samuel dressed up at home before leaving for trick-or-treating. The pictures of the actual "event" are on my camera, so I can't upload them until we get back to Guam and our own computer.

As a cowboy for Halloween. His hat stayed on for about 3 seconds.

Taking his hat off.

Minneapolis and Rudi update

Quick update. The last time I updated the blog, Rudi was en route to Iraq. He arrived safely on his assigned base I guess late Aug/early Sept. We weren't sure where he was going to end up, and sure enough, he didn't go where they originally thought he would. He is stationed at Camp Korean Village (when you click on this link, scroll halfway down the page under the heading "Camp Korean Village" to read about it). Rudi is part of the "shock trauma platoon," though there hasn't been much for him to do with the dwindling of combat over there (a good thing!). However, I know they have to be there because anything could happen anytime, so understandably, the military wants to be ready to handle anything.

I am very happy for Rudi. Let me explain: It is hard for us to be separated, and I know it breaks his heart to be away from Samuel during a time when he is changing so much. Obviously Rudi and I miss each other, but we worry Samuel won't remember Rudi at all. But, with that being said, Rudi is getting some quality guy time in while deployed. He is working out every day, reading books for pleasure, playing basketball, etc. He has lots of free time. I think he really needed it--we went from residency directly into parenthood and moved halfway around the world right after that. And since we arrived on Guam, Rudi has been working pretty hard in the naval hosp ED. And when he wasn't working there, he was at home with Samuel so that I could start to work part-time. We did no daycare, so we were stretched pretty thin trading off taking care of Samuel and working. And, to top it off, we live far from a gym (and things close early on Guam), so he didn't get the workouts in that he wanted, or get to play ball with the guys that often. Anyway, Rudi and I DO look back on the past year fondly--don't get me wrong. We've enjoyed being a family of three on Guam. BUT, I am very glad that this deployment has brought him the time and freedom to do some of the things he loves and on which he thrives. If we have to be separated, any positives are good, right?

Below are a couple pics that Rudi has sent me from his deployment thus far. Yes, he is growing a mustache. All the guys working with Rudi are, apparently, just for fun. Not sure if he will come home with that thing on or not :)

Rudi by a truck--not sure what this picture is.

Rudi doing a workout with some of the other guys. They run sprints, flip these huge tires end-over-end, then run more....He says it's fun. Most days there are the same for him, and the tire days seem to be a favorite.

more of the tire workout

Rudi in the trauma bay

Rudi with approaching dust storm behind.

Quickly, Samuel and I are heading to Minneapolis for the next 2 weeks. We'll be there Oct. 7-20. Hopefully I'll get to post some pics of us there. We'll be wearing winter clothing (first time ever for Samuel and first time in 18 months for me!). I will be staying with my mother-in-law at her condo (she is flying in from Montana to join me and to spend time with her grandson). I am also looking forward to visiting Anne and Sarah (Purdue pals)! Anne lives in Minneapolis, and Sarah is flying in from Austin, TX to join us. How fun!