Home Sweet Home

We are finally home and getting reacquainted. It's been a while since Cally has been here and now that she's mobile it's like a whole new world. She's moving around checking everything out and getting to know the pups again. We miss all the family back in Denver but it sure feels nice to be home. Only two weeks or so left before Zane gets home! Counting down the days!

Cally trying out the doggie door

Napping with the Big Boy

Trying out the kitchen sink

Thank You!!!

During these past two months here in Denver Cally and I have had the chance to spend some great times with family and it has been wonderful to be surrounded by them all. The daily chaos of two teenage boys, a working mom and dad, and an older brother that comes and goes between college and work has been fun to watch and with Cally and I now in this mix it has been definitely interesting but also very fun. They have all played a role in keeping me busy and worry free and have helped time go by faster while I wait for this deployment to end. So I just want to say thank you to you all: Raul, Carlos, Danny, Mikey, and finally my wonderful mom for taking Cally and I in and allowing us to be part of your daily lives, it's been lots of fun. We love you guys!!!

With that said, I'd like to especially thank my mom for working so hard and helping me out so much. While in Denver, I was able to get a nursing job Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights to keep up with my skills and save a little money. This would not have happened if my mom didn't watch Cally. She worked her regular teaching job Monday through Friday and come Friday nights she watched Cally, slept with her and woke up three times a night to feed her. With the help of my dad and brothers, she would watch her all Saturday, and all of Sunday and then be back to work Monday mornings! Thank you so much mom for giving up your weekends for us! Cally has really enjoyed getting to know you and I know she will miss you terribly! I love you!

10 Months Old!

Cally is now 10 months old! She has been having a great time here in Denver while spending time with grandma and grandpa and her 3 uncles. She always has someone around to play with and loves all the attention. She continues to learn new things everyday and she keeps getting better and better at crawling, pulling herself up, and moving around the house. She is constantly getting into the cupboards, and really enjoys pulling off all the books from the shelves at any chance she gets. She still loves the stairs and we have had to block them to keep her from always climbing them. It has become a struggle to keep things organized and in their place because she is constantly getting into everything and although it can be a bit frustrating, it's so fun to watch her discover new things and entertain herself. At times, while standing and holding on to the couch or coffee table she distracts herself with whatever object is in her hand and I find her standing on her own without holding on to anything. She is also starting to take a few steps towards me if I call her and her balance is getting better everyday. Soon she will be walking and no one will be able to stop her! She continues to eat like a champ and loves munching on baby crackers, and yogurt bites. She has learned to mimic whatever sound you make and her favorite thing to say at this time is "up." She also loves to make the kissing noises and it just melts my heart every time she does it. I'm really enjoying her at this age and can't wait for Zane to get back so he can see all that she has learned.

My Water Baby

My dad has been taking Cally to an indoor pool to swim every chance he gets. Cally loves the water and can never get enough of it. There is a kiddie area where she can splash around in as well as a large slide that she loves going down with grandpa. He has been working on her swimming and swears that she will be swimming alone in no time. Cally has learned to hold her breath under water and loves it! My dad dips her under water and she comes out smiling and always wanting more. She is never scared and knows exactly what to do. I get a little nervous watching her but she seems to be having a blast. Here are a few pictures of her having a good time...

Fun with Grandpa!

Cally is really enjoying her time here in CO, especially her time with Grandpa!

Peace out 2009!

2009 has come and gone! And it has been a year filled with wonderful adventures! From Cally's birth to a first deployment, we have laughed and cried and now we just wait, wait for the deployment to come to an end to start 2010. But in the meantime we continue to have fun and Cally continues to grow and learn new things. We are still in CO, hanging out and spending time with family and this year for New Years we went to an Argentine restaurant for some delicious authentic food and then downtown to watch the fireworks. It was really cold so we didn't stay out long but it was fun nevertheless. Here are a few pics of our night. Happy New Year's everyone! May all your dreams come true in 2010! This is gonna be a good year! I just know it!

"Peace out 2009!!!"

Feliz Navidad

Christmas is finally here and we had a great time celebrating this wonderful holiday! My sis and the rest of her family decided to drive up from Yuma last minute and it was great having them here. Cally had so much fun playing with her cousins and the house was filled with noise and chaos, just the way it should be during this time of year. My mom cooked up an amazing Christmas dinner followed by a delicious apple pie and ice cream. After a family game of Taboo we topped off the night by opening up the Christmas presents (our tradition is to open presents at midnight instead of Christmas morning).

Mother and Daughter

The Family...minus Zane ;o(

My momma, the best cook

Danny, Mikey, Klay, Nick, Katie, and the ghetto snowman

Celebrating Katie's 7th birthday!

This was Cally's first Christmas and it was so fun to watch her open her presents. She especially enjoyed ripping up all the paper, she loves doing that! It was a little bittersweet, however, since Zane was not here to share that moment with us. But even with him not here, I still got to open presents from him! Always so thoughtful! Thanks babe for my awesome gifts!! I love them, and I love you even more!

Cally's gift from Mike and Erin!! Thank you!

My sis stayed for about a week and during that time we got to hang out, catch up, and go out to a few games. Here's some pics of us at the Avalanche Hockey game and the following night at a Nuggets game. Loving those box seats!!!

From Zane

I got these few emails and pictures from Zane recently and wanted to share them on the blog:

"Here are some pictures I took during a run of some MIG 21s and 25s. The first MIG -21 is parked in the palm grove for some reason. The palm trees are in an oasis which is the site of one of Abraham's wells, a biblical site. The other jets are out in the desert in the Iraqi part of the base. I've been passed a few times by Iraqis in vehicles wearing black ski masks and mounted machine guns. I'm not 100% comfortable with it. One of the weird things about these jets is 1; why are they there, and 2; some of the labels and are in Russian and some, if not most are in English (including cockpit gauges). One instrument panel will have both english and russian writing."

"This is me on my first HAC flight after sticking a complete brown out landing on the Jordanian border with 12 troops on board plus my crew. We don't usually have to land on unprepared surfaces but there was a 53 (which we later escorted the dash two home) broke down on the pad so we had to land in the dust."

"Me flying dash 2 with a CH-53 as dash 3 over Bagdhad."