Brinleigh's 2nd Birthday Party

This past weekend we had Brinleigh's Birthday Party / Our going away party, even though she doesn't turn 2 for another couple of weeks.  But, we have A LOT going on these last two weeks in Sitka and we get on the ferry the day after her actual Birthday so we had to do it early.  The same as last year, I have been planning this party for a few months and spent hours and hours making the decorations.  And, as always, I went a tad bit overboard.  I have really enjoyed planning her parties and being able to make everything myself these last two years so that they are very unique and authentic.  I only hope that when we get to Florida I will still have the time to continue this tradition.

I went with a baby bird theme this year and of course used Pinterest to plan it all out.  The weather hasn't been that great lately and it was cloudy and raining on and off the day of the party.  So, Kolt spent the majority of the day putting up tarps in the backyard so that we had a large covered area for our guests.

Our wonderful friends, Kate and Cooper, came over early to help Kolt with the tarps and to help me decorate and get everything set up.  Thank God for them!

A few of the decorations that I used were from Brinleigh's First Birthday party, like the wreath on the front door and the glitter "Happy Birthday Brinleigh" banner.  I made all the little felt birds myself and had Kolt and Cooper collect the tree branches for me.  I ordered the birdhouses from hobby lobby and then painted them and added some lace and pearl decals.

For treats, of course I HAD to make my white chocolate covered pretzels and added some sprinkles.  At Easter time I stocked up on peeps and also bought a giant bag of whoppers that looked like bird eggs.  ( I told you I've been planning this party for months!)  I made peeps on a stick and filled an extra large mason jar with the whoppers.  I also made some colored chocolate lollipops using a birdhouse mold that I ordered from hobby lobby. 

I made Brinleigh her own smash cake and then also a larger birthday cake for everyone else.  Her smash cake was a three layer strawberry cake (boxed cake mix) with cream cheese frosting (from a can).  I used a cookie cutter in the shape of a 2 and filled it with sprinkles on top of her cake and then I literally tossed handfuls of sprinkles all the way around the sides of the cake.  Such a mess!  The large cake was a confetti cake (boxed cake mix) with a butter cream frosting that I made from scratch and then dyed pink.  I used the same "Happy Birthday" cake topper that I made for her first birthday party.

 We grilled up hot dogs and some deer burgers and then fried up some fish the Kate and Cooper brought over.  I found a delicious pasta salad recipe on pinterest and made that along with some baked beans and bought some potato salad.  A lot of our guests brought side dishes as well so we had a ton of food.

Brinleigh got a few gift cards which will be spent on new clothes or fun water toys once we get to Florida and she also got a few cute summer outfits with two new pairs of sunglasses.  

For most of the party, half the guests were outside and the other half inside, so when it came time to sing Happy Birthday to Brinleigh we had everyone pile into the house.  Brinleigh just stared at all the people standing in front of her and she did not know what to think about it.  After Kolt and I blew out her candles I stuck her hand into her cake and she immediately started crying.  She was not happy at all about having cake all over her hands.  Once I wiped them off and gave her a fork she was as happy as can be eating her strawberry cake.

Kolt and I were very happy with how the party went and Brinleigh had a great time running around with all the kids and playing.  I love watching how excited she gets and hearing her squeal and laugh when she is playing with them.

 

Thank You to everyone who came to the BBQ to celebrate Brinleigh's 2nd Birthday and to hang out one last time before we are off this rock!

4th of July

I'm only almost a week late on this post, but really, all of my days are running together right now and there are not enough hours in a day.  But that's a whole other story.

Kolt had the day off on the 4th of July, so we woke up and decided to go out for breakfast.  However, the restaurant was closed.  In fact, all of the restaurants in town, with the exception of McDonald's (Yuck!) were closed.  So, we did the next best thing- Went to the grocery store to buy the essentials for breakfast burritos.  Oh and a couple donuts for Brinleigh. (Don't worry, I was good and didn't eat any.)  During this grocery shopping trip, we decided to let Brinleigh explore a little and stretch her legs and we had showed her the kids shopping carts and how to push them around the store.  The first 5 minutes were a little chaotic because she realized that she had free reign of the store and she didn't understand how to turn the cart without tipping it over sideways.  But once she got the hang of it, she was a shopping fool.  She was grabbing bottles of water, snapple drinks, sausage, anything on her level that she could put into her cart.  She loved it!

  

Brinleigh went down for an early nap and shortly after Kolt had to leave to go get ready and line up for the town parade.  I was able to wake Brinleigh up and get her ready and out of the house in record speed (15 minutes) and we headed down town.  Brinleigh ate her lunch in her stroller while we waited for the parade to start and she was fascinated by all the people and dogs lining the street.  Technically, I have taken Brinleigh with me to the town's 4th of July parade every year since we have been in Sitka.  The first year (2012) I was nine months pregnant with her.  The second year (2013) she was just a few weeks away from her First Birthday and did very well with all the noise and commotion.  You can really see the difference a year makes when you look back at the pictures from last year's parade and then at our pictures from this year.

 

Brinleigh absolutely LOVED watching the parade!  I had soooo much fun watching her facial expressions and listening to her get so excited over everything that was going on in front of her.  She had candy thrown to her and someone even walked over and handed her some snacks that they were throwing out to the crowd.  Same as last year, she wasn't bothered by the loud noises of the sirens or the gun shots.

Usually, during this parade, the Coast Guard helo's do a fly over during the parade.  Last year it was cancelled due to budget cuts or something, but this year.... It. Was. Awesome!  The way it was coordinated and with where we were standing along the street, the helo's flew right over us at the same exact time that the Coast Guard Air Station members were walking right in front of us.  I actually had to steal the helo fly by pic from another Coastie wife (Thanks Shannon!) because I was too busy taking other pictures and missed my opportunity. 

As usual, the fireworks were the night before the 4th at about 11:45pm.  Brinleigh slept right through them and Kolt and I hung out on the back porch watching them through the trees.

After the parade we went back home and headed over to the next door neighbors house for a BBQ.  I made my delicious white chocolate covered pretzels with blue and red sprinkles and my newest addition to my recipe collection, ambrosia fruit salad.  (I made this dish for the first time a few weeks ago for a wedding that we went to and Kolt loved it, so I made it again for the BBQ.  I forgot to take a picture but one of these days I will get one and post that along with the recipe.)  Brinleigh got to run around and play with other kids, Kolt hung out with the guys, and I didn't binge eat on nearly as much junk as I was expecting to.  Which was a blessing, especially because I had to leave in the middle of the BBQ to go to my GRIT workout.  (That's dedication right there, hahaha.)

With Sitka's traditional 4th of July downpour of rain, Brinleigh didn't get to wear the outfit I had bought for this day.  Instead, she wore a blue onesie with an anchor on the front and some jeans.  BUT, she did get to rock her new patriotic hair bow that I bought to go with the previous planned outfit.  

Brinleigh & her friend, Mary.

SAR Case

Last Monday night Kolt got a call from work asking if he could go in and stand duty.  The crew that was already on duty had a SAR case in Ketchikan and would most likely be gone all night, so they needed another ready crew on base.  The next morning, the crew that had gone out the night before came back and then Kolt's crew went back to finish the SAR case.  It was an overdue party, an older couple, whose boat ran aground and started taking on water.  They had an excellent float plan set in case of emergencies and were able to wade to nearby land.  The couple had camped out overnight and were in good condition when located the next day by a Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad aircraft.  Since the KVRS aircraft was unable to land the Coast Guard helo was sent to the location to pick up the stranded boaters.  Kolt being the flight mech on the helo, guided them to the ground to land and then assisted the couple into the helo after the rescue swimmer on board made contact with them.  One of the camera guys from the show Coast Guard Alaska was on board the helo and Kolt had his interview with them the following week.  So, in about 6 months from now, one of the episodes of Coast Guard Alaska will be of this SAR case and will show Kolt's interview.  Coast Guard Alaska posted a short video of Kolt guiding the helo down to land on their Facebook page and I re-posted it, so you can watch it on my FB page. 

On another SAR note:  Kolt was on a routine flight while on duty this week and they were diverted for a SAR case.  They had to pick up a fisherman off a fishing vessel who had gotten a fish hook stuck in his eyeball.  Kolt hoisted the rescue swimmer down and then the helo landed on close land and the swimmer brought the fisherman to land.  There was a cameraman on board that flight as well and that should make one of the future Coast Guard Alaska episodes as well.  

 

Brinleigh and I are so proud of our AET!!!! 

23 Months!

Height: 32.5 inches 

Weight: 28.2 lbs

Teeth: 14! Two of which are currently popping through her gums, making her a tired and feverish crank pot. 

Words she likes to say: "Where'd it go?" - "No!" - "Stop!" - "Stay" - "Bye" -  

Favorite Toys:  She is loving baskets, bags, boxes and purses.  Basically anything that she can put toys in and carry around.  (Sound familiar?) She is also obsessed with small dishes and blocks.  

Favorite Foods: Deer meat, pork chops, A1 sauce, Chips, pretzels, chocolate milk      

Dislikes: Hamburger meat, hot dogs, sandwiches with lunch meat  

Nicknames:  Boo Boo, Brinleigh Boo, Brinleigh D

Sleep Schedule: Wake up is 8am, nap time is from 1pm or 2pm until about 4pm, bed time is 8:30pm.      

Favorite Activities:  Drawing on paper with a pen, Reading books, Blowing bubbles, painting with paint brushes.  Climbing on all the furniture, jumping, crawling over Gunner.    Favorite Song:  "Timber" -Ke$ha  

Favorite Book: I'm gonna be honest here, it's really about Mommy and Daddy's favorite book, since we are the ones who actually read it.  Brinleigh loves all books!  But I think right now our current fav's are our newest additions: Giraffes Can't Dance, Night-Night Forest Friends, and Room on the Broom.

Family Update!

We have been very, very busy here at The Foreman House, so I apologize for the lack of posts this month, however, I can't say that it's going to get much better in July.  So, lets catch up a little bit, shall we!

Kolt has been fishing like a mad man.  Every chance he gets he is out with one of his friends and is steadily stocking our freezer with salmon.  All of which will be shipped to his dad in Arizona.

He took his first service wide test in May.  This test is what determines if he can/will promote to a second class (E5) or not.  The list just came out and he is in the middle, about number 45, I think.  But we won't hear anything for a few more months about how many people from the AET list that will be promoted.  They might only promote the top 10 or they can promote 50 or they can clear the whole list.  If he doesn't make the cut on this test, then he will test again in November.

Kolt has also been getting a lot of flight time in and stands flight mech duty about once a week.  He had his first successful SAR case this past week.  (I will be posting another blog entry specifically about that.)

Kolt has also been spending any free time he has, looking online for travel trailers for us to buy for our cross country road trip.  (I will be posting an entire entry about our travel plans, routes, dates, etc.)

Brinleigh is growing like a weed.  I really can't handle it and need it to stop ASAP!  She is talking up a storm and tries repeating almost everything we say.  Her current verbal obsession: "Where did it go?"  She will throw things or drop things and then say a high pitched "where it go?" accompanied by the appropriate hand gestures and facial expressions.  She is also fully aware of the word "No" and it's meaning.  So when I'm in the living room telling Brinleigh to come put her shoes on, she will stand in the kitchen and scream "NO!" and then wait for me to come and physically get her.

She has two molars (one top and one bottom) coming in which has not been fun at all.  We never really had teething problems when she was cutting all her other teeth.  But these were awful for a few days.  I felt so bad for her.

We are doing awesome with our new schedule and I am not excited about it completely going to shit when we start traveling.  And then of course, having to start all over again in a completely different time zone.

I am still going strong with my workouts and I'm actually quite proud of myself.  I can definitely tell that my strength and endurance are improving.  I try to go to several bodypump classes every week and on the days that I don't have a class then I try to go for a run.  My running schedule is somewhat sporadic though given the Sitka weather.  Today was one of the days that I just wanted to stay outside and soak up as much sun as I could.  I actually got sunburned during my run today!

I start a new workout program at the fitness studio on Monday (Les Mills GRIT series).  It's a 30 minute HIIT workout that I will have three times a week for my last four weeks in Sitka.  I am scared and excited at the same time.  I will hate life for those 30 minutes, but I am really hoping to see some huge physical changes after I'm finished.  And since I only have about a month until I plan to be wearing summer clothes and bathing suits, I've decided to get serious.  So, starting on Monday (my first day of GRIT) I am starting a new healthy meal plan which includes cutting out ALL soda and junk food.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I cannot live without my mountain dew, so this is going to be a HUGE challenge for me.  Wish me luck and say a prayer for Kolt, he gets to deal with me while I'm cutting out all sugar and junk cold turkey.  (I will hopefully be posting an entry about my progress to include before and after pics sometime in August.)

My days are planned around taking care of Brinleigh and my workouts, so any extra time that I have is spent planning both of Brinleigh's birthday parties and making the decorations for her Sitka party.  Adding to the 10 different lists that I currently have pertaining to our move.  Posting and selling items online that we don't need anymore so that we don't have to pack unnecessary items.  And, trying to find time to blog.

We had our pre-checkout housing inspection, where the housing chief walked through to look at our unit and take notes of what needs to be fixed or replaced when we move out.  He told us the main things we needed to have done or cleaned before we do our actual housing check-out inspection. 

We are officially ONE MONTH away from leaving Sitka!            

'Tis the Season

PCS season is finally upon us!  Last week was the beginning of transfer season here in Sitka, as new people are slowly starting to arrive and movers are packing up those who are leaving.  A good majority of Coasties who are transferring out are getting on the June 17th ferry and everyone else will follow behind shortly after.  Except for us! We will be staying to enjoy the entire summer in Sitka.  I like to think of Summer here as a reward for surviving the Winter season.  It really does make it all worth it.

As excited as I am to leave Alaska and to be able to explore our next city, I am actually getting pretty sad as well.  Just when I started to get a routine and found things I enjoy doing and making good friends, we have to leave it all behind.  Since having Brinleigh, I have become more social and outgoing and now that I have discovered things I am interested in, I am hopeful that I will make friends quicker at the next duty station.

As for us, the movers will be here to pack up the house on July 21st and 22nd, then they will load everything up on the 23rd and we will be getting on the ferry on July 29th.  I will be posting a calendar/ timeline of our travel plans when it gets closer to our PCS date.

22 Month Update

Height:  32.5 inches  (50th Percentile)

Weight: 28.2 lbs  (85th Percentile)

Teeth:  12! And they are bigger now, reminding me that she is no longer a little baby and that now she's a toddler. 

Words she likes to say: "No, Stop!" "Heyyyy" (which is said with a scowl.) "Hi" "Bye" (which also come with the cutest wave ever.) "Whoa" (said with wide eyes) "Sy" (Outside) 

Favorite Toys:  Minnie Mouse ride on toy, rocking pony,

Favorite Foods:  Strawberries, Ritz crackers, Fruit snacks, Chips (especially nacho cheese Doritos)  She loves pork chops and dipping them in A1 sauce along with Swedish meatballs.     

Dislikes:  Diaper changes, coming back in the house from playing outside, being told "No", and..... Time Out!!!!

Nicknames:  Boo Boo, Brinleigh Boo, Brinleigh D

Sleep Schedule:  Wakes up at 8:30am, takes a nap anywhere between 1-3pm depending on what we are doing that day, wakes up from her nap between 4-6pm.  Bedtime is 9pm.  We are waking up much earlier now and nap time is a little earlier as well and I have noticed a huge improvement on Brinleigh's sleeping.    

Favorite Activities:  Anything outside!!! She loves to be outside and she throws what we like to refer to as a "Stage 5 Meltdown" if we bring her in the house.  This includes kicking, screaming, throwing herself on the floor, crying, and hitting or throwing toys.  She still loves bath time and I'm pretty sure her favorite time of day is story time before bed, especially if Daddy is home and she has both of us to sit and read to her.  Climbing on EVERYTHING!  Including the dog.  Jumping on anything she can, usually in her crib or on the couches.  Playing on the Kindle and having Mommy and Daddy blow bubbles.
Favorite Song:  She LOVES the Bubble Guppies song "Pencil Case", which is sung to the same beat as Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face".  She drops everything and runs to her dance floor (ie: the living room in front of the tv) so she can dance to the entire song.  She has also become a huge fan of the Disney Jr song/commercial "DJ Shuffle".

Favorite Book:  She likes just about anything that has pictures and that allows her to turn the pages.  But she still loves the touch and feel books.