Fort Rucker update

As typical with the military, Pete got a call from his Colonel asking him if he would go to Warrant Officer School (WOC) in November. Pete said "Yes", so he should be getting his orders next month. We are not sure what this means for flight school. It could move it up a month or not move it at all. Either way, we have five weeks from when he starts WOC until he finishes. Looks like Pres and I will be without our main man for Thanksgiving, but we will get to have him for Christmas!!!! Keep us in your prayers. Now the pressure is really on to get everything settled here!

I've found a wonderful rental site for homes if we want to live off post. We are going back and forth on the whole thing and can't seem to make up our minds. I'm leaning toward off, and Pete is leaning toward on (it means a shorter commute for him, so I think he is biased!)

Just a typical Wednesday...cat first aid and a mohawk

Not everyone's typical Wednesday...but it's becoming normal to me! It started off with me finding blood spots on my floor as I was sweeping this morning.
Now I know they look small, but we've had this happen before so I knew right away what it was. You see Pete and I have two "special" cats. They were considered unadoptable from the shelter where we got them (I volunteered there for a bit) and us being young, without children, and big softies, we couldn't resist. The cats both have some medical stuff which really just translates into expensive with a capital "E". Macy Gray...the gray cat...yes...original...has this skin condition caused by...drum roll please *tap, tap, tap* stress. Yes, did you even know that an animal can have emotional problems?! We didn't, but apparently it's true. Apparently the stress of trying to get outside, then trying to get back in is just too much for her fragile emotional state and she has broken out in this big, disgusting ulcer. Now, you are probably thinking we are crazy and just so you know, I think that as well. Needless to say-and don't worry I didn't take any pics of the actual gross mess-she has been picking at it and making it bleed all over my house. In an effort to save the inevitable $330 is costs for the vet to cover her wound...I am just going to do it myself. We'll see if it works, but the whole process was pretty easy, just lock myself in the bathroom with her and her little spirit is broken...after that, clean, medicate, and wrap just like I do Pres and Pete! She's none to happy with me now, but it had to be done! Here's the final product, what do you think?!





















After the whole production of taking care of the cat, Pres decided to play in the toilet water (he was "helping" me fix the cat). His hair got all wet and ended up looking like a little Mohawk. I decided to "seize the day", added a little gel to it and VOILA! Instant big boy hair! I took some in black and white because I thought his hair looked like Fonzie's from Happy Days!

MGM...oh wait it's Hollywood Studios now...is a bust!

We spent a VERY boring Sunday at Hollywood Studios out at Disney. I thought it would be fun, but it was SUPER boring. I've come to the conclusion that you have to be 1. a Star Wars geek or 2. a movie geek in order to enjoy this park. I do not fall into any of those categories, so it was a bust for me. My nerdy Star Wars fan hubby was into it, but Y-A-W-N. It's also not the best place to take the kiddies. Pres was terrified at all of the loud noises and dark rides, so it's a definite thumbs down for family fun. Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom are much, much, did I mention much better!!!!



















Pres did have a good time at the Toy Story arcade. He walked right in and ran to the dance machine, climbed on and began to dance! It was hilarious because Pete and I are looking at each other like, "did you show him this?!" He bopped up and down and clapped is hands for the whole world to see. I have a video, but it is dark. Hopefully you can see a little!

Tropical Storm Fay can't keep us down!

Pres has been cooped up inside for a few days and is going stir crazy. Little boys need to RUN and RUN some more. Today there was no thunder or lightening, so I decided to just let him go...he hesitated at first, but then he went and didn't look back!






He was so excited when I opened the door, he gave me this look as if to say, "Are you serious?!"



It didn't take him long to find a puddle...as if the downpour wasn't going to get him wet enough, he had to play in the one puddle!



Look Mom, I'm all wet!




He was spinning around and clapping his hands!











Time to come in! The rain was coming down harder and he wasn't too fond of that!

Let the countdown begin...

We are in the final time for sunny Florida! In January Pete, followed shortly by Pres and I will be headed to Fort Rucker, Alabama! For those of you who don't know, Pete has been selected for flight school and will be heading out to first become a Warrant Officer, and then go straight in to flight school. I am so excited for him and proud that he was able to do this. He is ecstatic about fulfilling a dream of flying!

We received this flyer the other day in Pete's military email, and it is starting to make it all seem so close!



















I've started the application process to live on post (we do not want to buy out there and there isn't too much available to rent). The people there have been very helpful and have given me some very good information as the reserves tend to drag their feet on making sure the soldiers have their orders in advance.

We will be there for 18 months and who knows what will happen after that. I have found a wonderful preschool for Pres (on the recommendation of some ladies who are out there...gotta love the Army info line aka the wives!) so that he can make friends and I will have time to devote to the business and school myself while Pete is busy with school.

Please join us in prayer for this life changing move! We want everything here in Florida to be settled before we move.

Disney Trip # 2

So...we did it, we finally took the plunge and bought season tickets to Disney. This allows us to go to all 4 parks whenever we want, with the exception of a few blackout dates. The blackout dates are holidays, and Pete and I will be in AZ for Christmas and AL for spring break, so it works out well. Pres LOVES the parks and is so good, that I spend the whole time pinching myself that I can have this much fun with a 14 month old!!!! Here are two pics from yesterday, or as I like to call it after a week of being stuck at home with a sick, cranky baby...FREEDOM DAY!!!! I'm sure you will all be soon sick of all of the Disney pics, but I can't help myself...despite being from Orlando, I LOVE THAT SILLY RAT MICKEY!!!!

A shoe...in the dishwasher...I wonder how that happened?!

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Why are you lurking around the dishwasher Pres?????


Wait a minute...why do I see daddy's tennis shoe in the middle of the doorway?








I should probably check out the dishwasher don't ya think?!




















Yep...there it is, daddy's shoe, I guess you thought it was dirty and needed to be clean!












P.S. Please disregard the fact that I do not "pre-wash" the dishes...that's what a dishwasher is for...right?!

Need cards, stationary, or announcements????

Then I have the place for you. These are fantastic. Each of them are personally designed and made just for you. Amazing!!!! Hey all. Check out Nikki's website. She is a great designer and I love her cards. The wedding invitations are to die for. Check out her site and I'm sure you will fall in love!

"Hat, hat, hatttttttt"

Pres is obsessed with hats. Any style, size, or color and he's excitedly pointing and screaming the word "HAT"! I'm not sure where or how this obsession started, it is one of his vocab words that we work on, but he doesn't jump up and down when he sees a dog which is another of his vocab words!

We have two places in our house that we keep hats...or should I say, I have ONE designated place, and Pete insists on putting them in the doorway.



This is where I want the hats to go...out of view and in our bedroom.











This is where Pete puts his hat...on my pretty entry way decoration and usually just throws it on the table with all of his junk (that's a whole different post!)













We can't walk by either one of those places without have to let Pres grab a hat off. He then puts it on, and runs to a mirror to see it on himself. Once he's oohed and aahed over himself for a sufficient amount of time, he then wants to put the hat on and off of your head-over and over and over and over...did I mention over and over again?!

I caught some sweet pics of Pete and Pres having fun with the hats. These are Pete with the hats.


Gotta love the cheerios on the ottoman and floor!















Here's some fun mirror time with them and the hats...Pres conned Daddy into carrying him in front of a mirror and putting on silly hats! Notice the look on his face as he is checking himself out in the mirror-it's too funny the appreciation you can see in his eyes!

A final verdict...

...it's roseola. His rash didn't spread to his legs as it would have with measles. Now we just have to wait it out. He's contagious now, so we are having to lay low for the next few days. The good news is that Pres is on the mend. He has been sleeping like he's never slept before lately! Today he took two 2 hours naps!!!!! He's already rubbing his eyes again, so it looks like it will be early to bed tonight. He's still not really eating, and it is starting to make me nervous. I am offering him whatever I can to get him to eat...seriously today I made cinnamon rolls to tempt him and he wouldn't touch them. At least he is still drinking fluids. We are adding formula to his milk so that he can get some nutrients.

That's about all from the Dean household today, I hope you all are having a great start to the week (despite the rain!)

Roseola or measles...we'll find out for sure tomorrow.

So...we went to the doctor today because while Pres' fever is waaaaay down, (99.5) he has this rash all over his body. The pediatrician thinks it is roseola which could explain the high, high fever with no other symptoms. She said it could also be measles and wants to see him tomorrow to double check. Since he is coughing now, if it is measles, then they want to make sure that he isn't at risk for pneumonia! All of that difficulty for vaccinations, and he could STILL have measles! Good grief!!!! He got sick from one trip to the Orlando Science Center. Needless to say, if you live in the Orlando area, avoid the Science Center for a bit. If it's measles, then my doc said she would call and let them know. Either way, it is super gross because both of these diseases can be spread like the cold.

The good news or at least the good news according to my pediatrician is that once he has either one of these viruses, he's immune for life. Sure...like that makes any of this better....NOT!

We have a sick little guy :(

Sorry it's been a few days since an update. Pres is sick. It's the first time he has been really sick, and it's been a doozy. He has had a consistent fever of 103-104. We've been to the doctor, had blood tests, and even gotten a second opinion. The consensus is that they can't figure out what is the cause of the fever. We are to give him medicine to keep it down, keep him hydrated, and then just wait it out. If it lasts more than a week, then we have to go back to square one. We are on day 4. Please join us in prayer that his fever is gone before Tuesday. He's been up every hour and we are all VERY tired in the Dean household. He hasn't eaten any food for two days, but the nurse who is calling daily to check on him says that as long as we can get fluids in him, then for now, that's the best we can do. I have some cute new pics of he and Pete that I will get up as soon as my young guy is feeling better.

Skinned knees and bruises

As I've mentioned before, Pres doesn't walk...he runs...and then usually falls-very, very hard. He's fallen and bumped his head so many times the past few days, all of the scratches and bumps are starting to blend together. If you didn't know any better you would think Pete and I never watched him...well we do watch him-we watched him fall running down the sidewalk, we watched him fall running to get the hose and bump the side of his head on the patio chair, we watched him fall running into the pool, and lastly we watched him as he poked the side of his leg with a stick. You see, we do watch. I have no idea how to slow him down. He just G-O-E-S!!! Here are some pictures from today of all of his boo-boos!

We've gotten a makeover!

...on the blog and in our living room! Finally starting to figure out this whole blog thing! Now, I can be creative and change it up whenever I get bored...which tends to happen often...just ask Pete who just had to shell out some moola because I wanted a new living room set when we have one that's not even two years old! I had to get a new one because my old one didn't match the new TV console that we had to buy because HE bought a new flat screen (don't you like my reasoning...it worked!) Here's the pics from the furniture store. I'll get some up of them in our house once they arrive! I can't wait!!!!!!

Just for fun...

Not too sure if you can tell in this picture, but my little guy has no tush! It is so skinny that his pants always droop in the back! He looks like a wannabe rapper in this outfit. I'll let you all in on a little secret. Whenever you see Pres in camouflage...guess who dressed him????? I'll give you a hint...it begins with P and ends with E!















This is a great face! This is the look I get after I have had to "redirect" him from being naughty. Don't you just love the injustice in his eyes! How dare I stop him from climbing on the chair!






















Like father, like son! One of Pete's favorite snacks is to have a big apple. Pres loves them too! He won't even let me slice them anymore. He takes the whole apple and chows down while spitting out the peel all over the floor. Fun for him, not so much fun for me, but it keeps him occupied and really seems to help out on the bad teething day...especially if I keep them in the fridge!