Today

Today I love that...

* Cooper said, unsolicited, "Mommy, you make me so happy."
* McCann's Irish Oatmeal

Its Over!

Finally, after many (failed) attempts, it appears Cooper is potty trained (#2)! He mastered #1 a while ago, but had a harder time with #2. We tried many, many approaches, but what seemed to work the best, was good old fashioned bribery. Mom was visiting and from before she arrived, told Cooper he would earn a gold coin (chocolate) each time he went #2 in the potty. Needless to say, Mom was much more giving of the chocolate than we would be, but we just hoped it would get him over the hump; and it did! He didn't have an accident the whole time Mom was here, and has continued to use the potty after she left. Thanks, Mom! Of course, he wanted gold coins after she left, and we gave in a few times, but eventually weaned him off the reward system! We've still given him a few treats here and there to continue expressing his "good work" but they are much fewer and farther in between.

Now, on to Ms. Ava starting next week...

Today I Love...

Thought it might be fun to share the things we're loving, enjoying, excited about here.

So, on that note, today I love...

That Joey is on leave for a week...

Hi everyone. I've become a member of the Navy Wives Club of America (NWCA.) One of their national projects is the Wounded Warrior Project. It's an extremely important project, and I'd urge you to look into it and consider donating in whatever way you can.

Our Blockasaurus

Cooper had his first game yesterday! Mom was here, so she got to see the first few minutes of Cooper's game before us ladies had to leave for the Raleigh Airport, so she could return home to Jim and Phoebsie. Joey reported that he did great, and he discovered a soccer talent he didn't know he had; against another team, he was a very successful goalie! He even got a nickname, Blockasaurus!

Southwest Soccer Club

Cooper is now officially a soccer kid (and us soccer parents.) He is on the Colts, part of the Southwest Soccer Club.

Corpsman Memorial in Jacksonville

Coming soon to Jacksonville, a memorial for Navy Corpsman is in the works. According the jdnews.com "The Marines' Memorial to the Navy Corpsmen is dedicated to all the corpsmen who served in all wars with the Marines."

Baskin Robbins BOGO

Ava's Birthday Party

Ava had a great time; she had 9 kids over, with all their parents. She had a Dora/Diego Fiesta! Ava had a Backpack cake (see below), a Dora string Pinata, and, of course, the pre-requisite Dora decorations, gift bags, etc. What made it special, too, was Nana, Auntie Ari, and Uncle Jeff were able to make it! It was lots of fun, and she had a great birthday.

Cake #7

Cake #6, a pretty hydrangea cake, never made it onto the blog (didn't take a photo.)

But, we made Ava's birthday cake ourselves, and in keeping with the
Dora/Diego Fiesta theme, I make her Dora's Backpack cake. Since we
had so many people, I made an entire sheet.

Where a Kid can be a Kid!

Shopping together..

Daddy snapped this on his cell on a trip to the commissary. Everyone was behaving and no one was whining, what a good trip...

2 Years Old!!

It's Ava's birthday! It seems like we just had her, and already 2 years has flown by...

Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Mom's Taxi is Now Open

And so it's begun; Coop is now signed up for his first organized sport; Soccer - U4 Micro team. He's now on the Colts, with practice twice a week, and a game on weekends. Add to that, both of them are in Crafty Campers class on Tuesday mornings, and we've got at least 4 taxi rides a week!

High Flyin'

I'm a KV (again!)

Joey told me his unit needed a KV, Key Volunteer. The primary purpose of the KV is to communicate official command information, act as a communication link between the command and families, and to provide information through resource referrals. While KVs support families at all times, the primary function is during deployments.

In Cali, I was an Ombudsman, similar to the USMC KV, but the Navy side. I also took KV training in Cali, but recertified this week.

I'm so glad to be doing this: it allows me to support other military families, especially those who are new to the military; when it's Joey's turn to deploy, I'll be first in the know, my personality type needs information, and lots of it; it gives me a grown up responsibility, one where I'll be able to talk with adults (instead of toddlers.)

WBC

Here in Jacksonville, NC, we recently had a protest event which some of you may know about. While it was briefly on the news, it's important to share what happened here. The Westboro Baptist Church came to protest the US military.

What is most frustrating about groups like this, is that the US military fights every day to uphold the freedoms (specifically their 1st amendment rights) which this group uses to defame and offend. Our US military voluntarily serve this country to protect its citizens. What a great gift to the USA.

Thankfully, the counter protest was 30 times stronger than theirs. The US service member knew that there are a lot more supporters than crazies out there, and that the average citizen supports and appreciates all they do.

Involved in the counter-protest were several pro-military organizations. They were Gathering of Eagles, Rolling Thunder, Patriot Guard Riders, EaglesUp, Military Order of the Purple Heart, MilitaryAppreciationDay.org and Leather Necks MC.

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a fundamentalist religious organization which runs websites such as GodHatesFags.com and GodHatesAmerica.com condemning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT), Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews, as well as those they believe support the mentioned groups.

The Anti-Defamation League monitors their activity, and they have been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Although well-known in LGBT communities for picketing gay pride events and funerals, the group achieved national notoriety for picketing funeral processions for soldiers killed in action during the Iraq War.

On January 26, 2008 they traveled to here to Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina to protest the United States Marine Corps in the wake because of the murder of Maria Lauterbach. A five member group of females protested, stomping on the American Flag and shouting slogans such as "1,2,3,4, God Hates the Marine Corps". A group of over forty counter protesters arrived. Another counter protest was held across town, which attracted approximately 150+ counter protesters.

The WBC began getting notoriety in 1996 when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard. Most recently, on March 10, 2006 the WBC picketed the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder. On June 5, 2006 the Snyder family sued the WBC, their leader Fred Phelps, and unnamed others for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On 31 October 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Mr. Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (A total of $10,900,000).

Despite this, the WBC continues to protest and says it won't change its message because of the verdict.

Hangin' Out

National Children's Dental Heath Month

February is National Children's Dental Health Month. Click the link for some great coloring pages. Cooper and Ava had their first dental appointments, and they have the all clear!

Share Book Reviews

Goodreads promotes themselves this way "Let's make reading fun again. Somehow, reading books seems to have gotten a bad rap. People are working too hard and not making time to read...But every once in a while you run into a friend who tells you about this 'great new book I'm reading.' And suddenly you're excited to read it. It's that kind of excitement that Goodreads is all about.

Most book recommendation websites work by listing random people?s reviews. On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their friends can see what they thought of it. It?s common sense. People are more likely to get excited about a book their friend recommends than a suggestion from a stranger.

Goodreads ... is a place where you can see what your friends are reading and vice versa. You can create "bookshelves" to organize what you've read (or want to read). You can comment on each other's reviews. And on this journey with your friends you can explore new territory, gather information, and expand your mind.

Knowledge is power; and power is best shared among friends."

We are both signed up; on our rawsonfamily acct and Joey's personal email.

Potty Time (Time Deuce)

In a more aggressive attempt to encourage #2...