Syrup Savvy

At first Seth was content to eat his waffles without syrup. However, as he has grown, he has noticed that everyone else gets gooey delicious stuff on theirs and he wants some too. For some reason I thought it would be better to give him strips of waffle and then a little bowl of syrup into which he could dip the strips. Well, it took him about six minutes to figure out that he can just pick up the bowl and drink the syrup instead. He doesn't even need the bread product that slows him down.I reccomend clicking on this picture to enlarge it and really become a part of the stickiness.

DISKs

Today I earned $196 of your tax dollars for completing a required "muster" as a member of the US Army Individual Ready Reserve. "Wait a minute," you are thinking, "I thought she was done with that Army stuff." Well this requirement is essentially the fine print on any four-year ROTC college scholarship. You owe Uncle Sam four years on active duty, but then - for the subsequent four years - you remain on a list of able-bodied people whom they can call up on short notice and send to combat somewhere. Today I completed some paperwork, showed my six month pregnant belly and went on my way. $196 will be deposited in our checking account for this performance.

After the professional Master Sergeant left our home I realized that this was the last muster I will have to complete before officially resigning my commission as a U.S. Army officer. Thus, today will be the last day for a very long time that Husb and I will be DISKs (Dual Income Some Kids). I am happy to have earned my $196 at my apartment's kitchen table, while Viv lounged on the couch and Setherade slept happily in his crib down the hallway. Truly I have no desire to have it any other way. Thank you taxpayers. ---CPT Loeffert signing off.

Summer, Ahhhh

Fruits of Vacation Bible School

Our Army Chapel runs a first-class Vacation Bible School every July for the children of the community. Viv is the youngest age allowed to attend, and she has had the time of her life. I hope you enjoy the video.

Of special note are 1) her adoring/participating fan 2) the pronunciation of the word "mercy" and 3) the earnestness.

Great Friends

Tonight I promised Viv that we could get ice cream from the German ice cream truck (Eis Tony never fails to show up and ring his insane should-only-be-acceptable-for emergency-response-vehicles bell in our apartment parking lot precisely at dinner time). However, he didn't show up.

She sadly made her way to the bathtub, but, low and behold, our doorbell rang shortly afterward and our friends, the Bs, had brought her something even better - and it was personalized!

What He Wishes He Had Packed

Daddy departed at "o'dark thirty" this morning for three weeks of missions in Afghanistan. He was packing all weekend, but here is a picture of the two items he really wanted to bring along. We miss you already, Daddy.

Posting Elsewhere Today

This weekend was my turn to post over at our Princeton Mommy Group Site, Building Cathedrals. Read up on my mommy musings here if you choose.

Marital Musings

I spend so much time chronicling the kids' antics and milestones here on the family blog but rarely squeeze in a post on the joy of our marriage - which forms the foundation of it all.

I was acutely aware of how blessed we are this morning. Ethan had awoken at 0430 to pilot a training flight to Belgium. By the time I awoke, two hours later, the skies were cloudy and the kids would sleep for another 30 minutes because of the grey. I was struck by how, even though I ache when I see his side of the bed empty in the early morning, we are so truly blessed. In this tough economic and social time, he has a job he loves and we both have a family we love. I relish that he is off doing what he truly loves while I am home growing what we jointly love. And then, at the end of a hard day's work for both of us, the kids will be asleep, we will drink cheap French wine and watch Citizen Kane - rented from the library. Clearly, this doesn't sound like marital bliss to everyone, but for us it is pretty close to perfect.

Hula Party

Today we were the lucky guests at a 5 yr.-old Hawaiian-themed birthday party. Watching Vivian in a coconut bra (I had my reservations on this item, but I figured it was OK over the white cardigan sweater) and grass skirt learning a hula dance from a legitimate Hawaiian teenager was an experience I will not soon forget. She was so, so serious - so intent on the mission.

Little brother just enjoyed the canine guests. At one point, he shared his German Capri Sun Juice Box with Sage the Beagle, which means he really liked her.

Overambitious Thursday Project

My friend passes on her Parents magazines to me, which I enjoy. But I am sometimes guilty of seeing one of their cutesy recipe or craft ideas and attempting it with my limited (time/talent/resources). The homemade granola bars and mini cod and pea frittatas were much more successful than these puppies:Viv had fun, nonetheless:

Summer Fun

Doing what they each love best.

4th of July

Well, this was our first Independence Day on non-US soil and it was surprisingly nice. Granted, the US Army and her associated agencies did their best to fence us all in with free food, rides, music and face painting on the airfield runway - right in the shadow of Daddy's planes, which was cool. But, truly, the nice part of the day was the sunny early afternoon while we picnicked with friends and enjoyed watching our kids frolic in hose toys and a baby pool despite it being a shade too cold. We didn't do as great a job of photographing the holiday as we did last year, but here is a shot of Setherade enjoying a red, white and blue (that was a blueberry on top and it went fast) ice cream cone in his hot pink swim diaper. We are truly blessed to be American.