Just a quick little clip... this is for you Grandpa Jan!

We already miss you daddy!

It has only been 2 days and Tyler and I are missing daddy so much! This is going to be along year for all of us. I can only hope that it goes fast. We have so much to look forward to when it is all over!

To my Husband,

Just a quick happy birthday to my best friend, my soul mate and my everything. Thank you for all that you do for Tyler and I. We could not have asked for a better husband and dad. We miss you and talk about you all the time. Keep your head up and always remember that you have 2 people back home who are thinking about you always. You truely are our Hero!

Love you!

California

Well, we are home from California and unfortunately, it went way too fast. Tyler had a great time as Dan and I did too. We were all sad to leave on Friday. Tyler enjoyed meeting his new cousin, Madeleine. He was quick to ask "How I play with her?". Poor guy, I think he was hoping for a little playmate. Soon enough though. Tyler was plenty busy helping grandpa out on the farm (whether he wanted it or not :)). Thank you Jill and Jan (and family) for a wonderful week!

Today we are heading out to the family barbecue for Dan. I think that neither Dan or I are too excited knowing that this marks the second to last night together. We are both a little down in the dumps and cranky but trying our hardest to enjoy our last moments together. We will get through this and all will be great, that's what I keep telling myself. I not not so sure that Tyler is totally prepared, but we have done our best.

Here are a few pictures from the week...

Daddy's Coming Home!

It has been a while since I have updated because it has been a whirlwind of events for us. Tyler is staying busy with 2 swimming lessons. One outdoors at the local pool and the other indoors at Children's Hospital (he does this one year round). He is a little fish. I can't believe how well he is swimming for a 3 year old. He can make it across the pool (about 20 feet)in a "crawl" type of swimming. He is working hard on getting his side breathing down. I have been working hard at orienting to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. I love it however, it entails taking care of big kids too. Something I have never done in my nursing career. It has been a great growth and learning opportunity for me.
Last weekend Tyler and I headed to Spokane to visit Jenny and Emma. It was a welcome vacation to get our minds off missing Dan. It was a busy weekend filled with all sorts of activities. We had a blast!
The most important news is that Dan will be home today. He gets into the Kent Armory at 2pm where Tyler and I will pick him up. We will have a short get together with the other soldiers and families and then we have our daddy back. Yeah! Dan will be home for 2 weeks. I can only assume that these next 2 weeks are going to go by way too fast. I will try and update as much as possible.

My Daddy Doll

I ordered Tyler this daddy doll a few weeks back and ironically it came the day after Dan left. Tyler was pretty upset this morning and asking for daddy so I decided to get it out. All I have to say is this is the most amazing this ever! It is just wonderful. Tyler ahs been carrying it around (yes dan, inside the hosue!) and talking to it all day. I will be the first to admit that I am not much of a wrestler, that was Dan and Tyler's thing! So what do I catch Tyler doing with it... wrestling! Of course he was excited because he was actually winning this time.
He did say to me at one point today "mommy, I want the real daddy!" Well, if that didn't just break my heart.
We were out to dinner tonight with the Rockwell's and at one point I asked him to tell Sue where his daddy was. Here was his explanation (of which I had not really heard before)...

"My daddy is a soldier. He is at work making money for me and getting the bad guys and putting them in jail."

We Love Daddy!!

We're gonna miss our daddy!

Well, today was the day! Tyler and I picked Dan up from the Law office and drove him down to Kent for his annual training. It was not a fun day! Tyler was in tears begging daddy not to go. This is only the beginning, that is the hardest part of it all. To get me through this I just keep telling myself that after all of this is over our lives will finally begin. These last 2 years have been years of chaos for us. With me working, Dan in Law school (and everything that goes along with that), the national gaurd and on numerous boards I can't remember much of what has happened. As Dan continually reminds me... life will not be easier or less chaotic, just different. But as long as we can have our daddy/husband more present in that life I will be happy for anything that comes our way. This has been and will continue to be a very emotionally challenging time for all of us. Who is to know how Tyler is going to react to having Dan gone for a year. I don't think any of us can really know what it is like to have a daddy missing from our lives for a year unless we have been through it. All I can do is be the best mommy possible and support him through it. And that is what I plan to do. We are eagerly awaiting the end of all of this so we can be a family. We love you Dan/Daddy!!