March Reflections

March happenings, Hmmm...

Chris took his PT test. He improved from 75.4 in December to 90.3 in March. That was a big relief for everyone. All of the early morning hard work paid off. Chris also took his promotion test for Technical Sergeant in March. He thinks he did well, but we won't know for sure until the middle of June. Hopefully the third time is the charm. He also started on the over 30 basketball team for his squadron. I still smirk a little with that one =).

Lets see, what else... Daylight savings started again. It has been pretty nice to have some light outside later in the day. I don't really like to give up that hour most of the time, but this year it didn't seem to bother any of us so much.

The weather warmed up in March. The snow was gone by the end of the month, but winter is still lingering. We did get quite a few days of decent temps. Warm enough that we were able to take Duncan and Millie to the park. Duncan needed it almost as much as I did. It was so nice to finally be able to play OUTSIDE without having to spend half an hour dressing for it.

We are still going to take Duncan to the base gym on snowy or wet days. They have a play area with a bunch of space for him to run around and toys to climb on, and blow off some steam.

It was nice enough one weekend for us to take a drive. We ended up going to Helena for an afternoon. It was a relief to get in the car and not fear for our lives on the interstate. It did end up snowing a little on the way home.

Chuck, Robin, Jeri, Grandpa Bart and Stephanie all have birthdays in March. I hope we didn't miss anybody this year. If we did I apologize.

Emilia had her two month check up on St. Patrick's day. She is doing wonderfully. Both kids are tall for their age groups. Millie was 11.7 lbs and 24in long. I don't remember any of the other stats. She did NOT do well with shots this time. It was almost as if she remembered them. She was screaming before she was even stuck. Luckily, for me, Chris was the one to hold her for them this time (and last). I kept Duncan busy in the waiting room. Louise (the lady who gives the shots on base) felt so bad. She actually took Millie from Chris to cuddle with her after the shots, and then brought her out to me. That would be a difficult job.

Other Emilia news includes lots of smiles, coos, laughs, and her newest stunt... the rollover! She is now able to roll from her belly to her side, and even to her back when she is mad enough. It means that I have to come up with creative things for tummy time, as she HATES being on her tummy. She is still the easiest baby I have ever cared for. She sleeps through the night (six hours or so at a time) Only cries when she wants something, and is in general a happy baby most of the time. Truly blessed. Duncan is starting to get into the jealous aspects of big brotherhood. He can't stand us holding her without him being in our lap as well. He is starting to enjoy her a little more though. Still kinda rough with her, but it is getting easier the more she smiles at him. In friends and family news, We had quite a few people graduate from basic training this month. My brother, Steven, graduated from Marine Corps basic training. So did my nephew's dad, Kristopher. We also had Chandra and Elmore's son, Michael, graduate from the Army's basic training. All of the families were so proud and excited that they all made it. We also had My Step sisters husband, Buddy, graduate from his tech school training in the Air Force. It is kinda crazy that we went from being the only people in the family to be military, to being part of a pretty good group of family members. I am sorry I don't personally have any pictures of them right now to post though.

We had a few births this month too. 0ur friends, the Riggin family, had a new addition to their family on the 16th of March. They had a little girl and named her Chevelle. I keep forgetting to ask what her nic name is going to be. She is adorable. Cute name to go with a beautiful baby. It should be fun to have BOTH of our kids have playmates the same age. I will have to be better at setting up playdates in the future. I tend to sometimes hunker down in the winter, and I forget that there is a world out there.

Our friends, the Wirtz family, also had a baby the last day of March. A little boy they named Alden. He was tiny, at 5lbs and 19.5in. It was nice to hear from them again. Chris gets to see Kelly nearly every year at the ESRI conference, but I haven't seen any of them since Alaska (nearly six years now). We didn't think that we would miss Alaska as much as we do. I have a feeling it is as much the people we met there as it is the beauty of the place. I don't miss the winters so much though... =)

I finally went to the dentist this month. It has been quite a few years. I really don't mind going to the dentist for cleanings and x-rays, but I hate having to get work done. I am sure that is true with nearly everyone. I have yet to meet anyone who like going to the dentist. Unfortunately I have a lot of work to be done. I have to have ALL of my fillings replaced and my wisdom teeth taken out (the wisdom teeth was the reason I had to go in). I can honestly understand why it is expensive, but I still cringe more at the cost than the work. I wish I could find a program that we qualified for with adult dental care. At least Chris gets his all done through the base. I still need to find out about Duncan. We might need to set aside a savings account for his teeth if they are anywhere near as bad as mine were growing up. =)

Denali had a vet appointment for her shots in March as well. She also has to have some dental work done. I cringe more at her cost than mine. I was given some tips and tricks by the vet for her to try out for a while. If they don't work I am going to have to buck up and pay for a cleaning for her. She is doing well otherwise. She still has 10 lbs. to lose before the vet will be happy with her weight. I think it might be possible over the summer as long as her arthritis doesn't get much worse.

The end of the month was rough on Duncan. He caught a cold that just wouldn't go away. I rushed him into the immediate care clinic the day he started coughing. It hit him quickly when it moved to his chest. The Dr. gave him a breathing treatment in the office and sent us home with ten days of them, every four hours. Duncan is finally getting used to the mouth piece. He is finally starting to sound better. Between the cough and cold medicine, the vapor rubs, the hot baths, the breathing treatments, and the humidifier going around the clock he should be over it soon. I hope so at any rate, he is driving me crazy having to stay couped up. We are getting out a little more everyday though. We even went to the Made in MT marketplace with him. He did pretty good. Wasn't to happy about having to ride in the stroller, so he wouldn't cough, but at least he got to go (and by he I me all of us. lol )

I am sure that there are quite a few things that I am missing in March. It would help if I had my calendar out in front of me as I type... I can't remember yesterday, let alone a whole month. I am getting a little better about the blog though. So here is hoping that I can keep it up. No promises, but I will try.