This And That

Hello friends, it's been a while. I've been preoccupied with much, but since TJ leaves in a week and a half {gulp}, I figure I need to continue writing to let you all know how I'm doing, and to give myself an outlet. Hooray for this thing called the Internet. And to avoid an overly emotional post (due to my overly emotional state right now), I'll just fill you in on what you've been missing (outside of FB and IG posts)...

Today we went to the mall for a bit and somehow I took this lovely photo of Lil; it sure is hard to snap a picture of a moving target!

Lights on the wall and jumping on the bed are a toddler's dream.

One of the things Caleb works on at OT is scissor cutting (it doesn't help that he's a lefty and most scissors are for righties).  His OT therapist suggested playing with a spray botte at home to strengthen his muscles and help with coordination, so for $1 and a few drops of food coloring we had our own OT in the tub.

 

Tj's dad came to visit from Virginia (to see him before he deploys) and it was a lot of fun.  One thing we did was take him to our new favorite spot: Little Corona del Mar (aka the Tide Pools).  We only recently discovered this little spot and we were so excited to go again.  It was very cold and very overcast, but the kids had fun regardless.

Lilly actually really enjoyed being perched on that rock, despite the expression on her face.

Grandma gave them each a pretty rad sand toy bucket; we'd never seen them so occupied in one place at the same time.

This kid.  The water was freezing.  FREEZING.  And he bolted in.  Part of the reason being his autism (running, inability to sense danger, impervious to pain -coldwater-) and part of the reason being he's just so awesome and loves water, the ocean, and the beach so much.  Good thing he has a very fast daddy to run in after him! 

This particular day was rough.  He had more than a few meltdowns, so it was nice to have a peaceful moment with him at Sonic; he even climbed up to the front seat with me. 

Lil's new favorite thing?  Slides.  She's mastered climbing this one in the back yard and always slides down with her hands wild and free.  Not to mention yet ANOTHER pair of $1 shades.  She's pretty fancy.

Don't you wish you could nap like this every day?  Yes, he's 4 and a half and he still naps.  He must!  Don't get me started on when he doesn't.  It still doesn't work, so I'm riding this nap-thing out for as long as he needs.  I can't imagine what's in his head all day and how exhausting and overstimulating it must be.

I went in to check on Caleb's tub time and he was floating with his ears under the water.  Hello!!  Major big deal.  He's VERY sensitive about his ears, I was so surprised he came up with this on his own.  Very good for future swimming!!

Girlfriend can be found in her room, like this, with Pip at any point in the day.  And Rapunzel's tower does NOT go on Pip's head, and will fall off without fail...every time...and every time she gets mad.  Oh toddler joys.

She won't smile if you say cheese.  She won't smile if you say smile.  If you even pull out your iphone she'll say "bye bye!"  But she will alwayas smile for her own darn reflection.  Stinker.

We soaked up some daddy moments on this lovely socal day.  I couldn't believe the colors.

Thanks for reading, friends.  Stay tuned for the blubbery posts and ramblings of a deployed Navy wife and autism mother.  Prayers, well wishes, and bottles of wine will not be turned away.

Xoxo.