Crazy week

Well, this was quite the week.  Julia and I started off being sick and staying home and in bed for a few days.  And then Mike got it.  We are all recovering and hopefully we won't get as much sickness as we did last winter.  Julia is completely pacifier-free.  One morning she woke up had the pacifier bulb in her mouth and the pacifier holder in her hand, that was when I decided she was done with the pacifier.  If that had happened in her sleep, she would have choked without our knowledge.  To show what a easy-going child she is, the first night without the pacifier, she cried for 30 seconds and then fell asleep.  I was worried about naptime the next day, but she talked for a few seconds and was out.  After 3 days, I figured she was weaned and threw out the pacifiers (yes I did keep them just in case she cried like a banshee, I like to sleep).  She did great and is such a great little girl.  Mike and I are so blessed to be her parents and that Heavenly Father blessed us with such a red-headed sweetheart.

Other exciting stuff that happened this week, Mike's battalion became an airborne qualified unit and they all jumped out of an airplane to mark the change.  Julia and I, along with the rest of the 6th Engineer Battalion family were allowed to watch.  It was a really fun (although cold) day.  I got it all on video and as soon as I figure out how to get it from the dvd to the computer,  we can show it to you.  We have a lot of clips on facebook, so check those out.  Watching them jump was exciting, but the landing was painful.  It looks like a ragdoll falling to the ground, only harder.  They jump at about 1000 feet and are connected to a static line (rip cord) that opens the chute from the airplane.  It is quite an operation.  Mike had a hard time getting untwisted so his landing was a little harder than he wanted, his back and hip hurt, but he seems to be doing good now. 

So that has been our week, Julia weaned off the pacifier like a champ and Mike jumped out of a plane.  Julia is getting so big and can now put a puzzle together and recognizes the letters A and J.  She loves to sing Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes and Itsy, Bitsy Spider.  I am still working on-call in the NICU and my last assignment I had a 1 pound baby and a 10 pound baby, it was fun going from the littlest baby in the NICU to the biggest baby in the unit, I wish I could have put them side by side and taken a picture, but that is against HIPPA and they weren't stable enough to do it, but I have the picture in my mind and I get a chuckle out of it every time I think of it.  We are doing good, just not ready for the cold, long winter ahead of us; the highs are in the 30's right now.  But, Alaska is a beautiful place and we are glad to have this experience.