He's home!

Jasen arrived home yesterday morning around 5 a.m. Poor guy, Grace came in at 6:30 and wanted him to do her breakfast. He's such a good dad; he got right up and fixed her cereal for her. It took Davis a few minutes to warm up to Dad. Funny how you forget that they need a refresher at 10 months. Anyway, after his bottle and cereal, Davis remembered who Jasen was.

We had a good day yesterday, of course. When Davis went down for his nap at 10, so did Jasen. Grace and I went to the commissary to give the boys time to sleep. I let Jasen keep sleeping until it was time for the kids to go down for their afternoon naps. He looked really tired all day, but handled it pretty well.

We spent the kids' nap time in the garage reorganizing and talking. The deployment is not something we want to talk about, but it occupies so much of your mind that you can't help but talk about it.

Grace got to go to Target yesterday with her own money, earned by good behavior. Her Great-Gran and Great-Grandad sent her some money for no meltdowns. It was $10 and I made a little adjustment to the qualifications for the money. We got it shortly after Jasen left and I told Grace that we would keep the money in a jar until Jasen came home. Every time she had a meltdown, though, she would lose a dollar. Well, yesterday, she got to buy a Doodle Bear (she's wanted one for awhile now) with her $10. I was probably a little too lenient, but I'll tell you, anytime she was threatened with losing a dollar, she quieted up fast. So I think I'll use that discipline tool again.

We've got a busy week or so ahead. My mom is coming up tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving. While she's here, Jasen and I will go out for some alone time, and Mom will go with me to buy a dress for our formal on December 1st. It's a big deal this year; Jasen will receive his "Order of St. Barbara's" medal and I will receive a Molly Pitcher award. So we'll be onstage at some point in the evening. It will be fun, no doubt. And I want to look good!

The kids are really enjoying Jasen being home. Grace wants him to do everything: bath, bedtime, breakfast. Because Jasen has gotten down on the floor while Davis is crawling around and chased him, Davis now thinks everytime he sees Dad, he needs to crawl away. It's precious.