his Pica is way worse here

He'll wander around and eat outrageous amounts of TP, napkins, and paper towels. He gets these huge wads in his mouth and chews on them like gum for a few minutes- and then swallows. When he wants a snack I just hand him an old roll of tp with remnants. It keeps him busy for quite awhile.

With Kent here we've been so busy running around and being with family! Plus, Kent is exhausted so he's trying to catch up on a bit of sleep. We are going hiking tonight or tomorrow morning and doing other fun stuff so I should have some good pictures relatively soon!

Lehi Round up 5K

I don't have much time to write- but KENT IS HOME! His flights were all canceled (of course) but luckily they had rerouted him and he got in only ten minutes later then planned. Unfortunately he has NO luggage. All of his bags were left in Montgomery at the airport but should get here today by four.

We didn't get home till one in the morning- and then got up this morning at six to go and run the 5k! Laney, taylor, Kent, me, Metta, my mum, and a friend Debbie ran it it and we had a blast! It was my mom's first 5K and she was AMAZING. About 400 people ran and they gave out prizes at the end. They gave out about 50 prizes (raffle) and we won TONS of them. It's the Oswald luck. We got a purse, gift card to smart cookie, gift card to Lehi Tack and Feed!?, tickets to Thanksgiving Point Gardens, gummi worms, twenty bucks cash, and free Maggie Moos ice cream cones.

I'll have to get more posted later.

12 MORE HOURS!

hogle zoo shmoo

Today we went to Hogle Zoo to try and pass some of these insanely long hours! Time is ticking by SO slowly today. We went as soon as it opened (9 AM) so it was neither hot nor crowded and we had a great time. We went up with cousin Hailey, her little guy jack-jack, and some of her in-laws.


Zeb enjoyed being outside and liked looking at the animals- but didn't really get all that excited about them. He loved the play area and the train though! It was his nap time and he was still insanely good. He didn't whine all morning and slept the whole ride home. He is such a pleasant baby when he isn't sick!!!!



It is quite hot today but I can't believe how nice it is in the mornings still! and how pleasant the shade feels! I don't miss that stifling humidity one bit. I am hoping that it doesn't last too long once we get back- but I have a feeling that we are headed home to the worst of it mid-july. Although I am excited to see the fireflies again this summer!

Here's zebby, Hailey, and me on the train.

Just twenty-nine more hours until I see kent!

Kent isn't going to recognize his rugrat. This kid is running around babbling like a banshee. He loves to say "metta" and "daysa" and has picked up yelling. I'm not sure if it's because he hears his echo with my parents' high ceilings or if he just likes to hear his voice- but he walks around shouting at the top of his lungs.














He is changing so much everyday. He blurts out new words daily (although he doesn't know he's even saying half of them)! He's up to using ten or so words regularly IN context- but the others are still just mimicry.

He LOVES my parents' tub. It's ginormous. Thanks to it and the hose out back, his new favorite word is "water".

FORTY-EIGHT hours until Kent gets home!!!!

Dining In

Today Zeb and I had a lot of fun with Kristy, Michelle, and all of Zeb's little cousins! Zeb was IN HEAVEN with all of the kids and loved swimming. I took my camera with me but didn't even take any pictures. I'm really bad with pictures here.

I got to talk to Kent for almost an hour tonight!! They'd had a crazy day and had leadership testing at the crazy obstacle courses. The courses are definitely kent's favorite part of the training and he did super well. He was in charge of a group on one of the hardest courses and they aced it. Only three groups in the entire Officer's class got through it!

Tonight was also Kent's big "Dining In" ceremony. It's an old military traditional ceremony that carries with it all sorts of odd rules and oddities. They serve a "grog" out of toilets (this is a picture that I found online- it isn't from him). For the benefit of the peculiar non-alcohol drinking patrons they make one "leaded" and one "unleaded". Kent said it was insane to watch them make the stuff. An entire bottle of Vodka, lots of Peppermint Schnapps, some sort of bright blue concoction, and some other bottles Kent didn't recognize. Anyone called out on infractions from the weeks previous (or any that night) have to follow some strange ritual and shout things as they drink a full glass of it.

They also had lots of great barbecue and Kent said it was a good evening. They got to wear paint on their faces, take water guns, and each flight had to decorate a table?! they made a mini hangar with fighter planes in it for their table. Sometimes his training sounds like girls camp- while other times it sounds like insane boot camp!

Only 72 hours remaining! I'm so excited to go to the airport to pick him up.

JUST FOUR DAYS LEFT!!

There are only 102 more hours until Kent lands!!! That doesn't really sound like that much at all. The last week of COT doesn't sound too rough- but Kent is worried that they won't be as busy as usual and that he'll get antsy. The end of last week was pretty crazy too. The flight received "off base" and some other privileges so he has ended up being one of the designated drivers. For the most part he's enjoyed being able to get off base and do some fun stuff (malls, swimming, restaurants, etc) but he also told me that he's pretty sure the bar scene is not for him :) They were all taken and "inducted" into the Officer's Club (the elite -for officers only- club on base) and he said his flight commander took him aside and bought him a sprite because he knew that Mormons don't like bars :) He's actually had some really great opportunities to talk to a lot of people about being LDS and he's loved it.

There are all sorts of graduation parties this week as well- all involving inordinate amounts of alcohol. The official end of COT party costs him a whopping twenty-five bucks (maybe I'm cheap- but that sounds like a lot of money to me!!! Kent and I usually don't spend that much on the both of us for an evening out!). That price includes their alcohol for the evening- and they aren't allowed to skip it. Enough of my moaning about the booze- I guess I'm going to have to get used to the fact that the military loves it.

I asked Kent if he's even a little sad that the training is coming to end and he said no. He's ready to be finished and I'm ready to see him. Oh, and I LOVE their "blues". That's what the nicer uniforms are called. I told him that's what he has to wear on the plane home!

here's some video of my guy in action. He usually only dances with his legs- so this was quite the photo-op. He loves this singing Jamaican gorilla of his auntie metta's.

he has grown so much.

This picture was taken almost exactly one year ago! and I can't believe that this rugrat has grown so much. Being around my sister's baby (hank) makes me never want a newborn again. She said being around Zeb makes her not want to have Hank grow up to be a one year old. It's all about perspective I guess.
And about Z man- I am happy to announce that I no longer wish to sell my baby. He slept from 7:30 to 7:15 last night AND took three naps today. To top it all off he ate tremendously and only a few whines escaped his lips. I think my baby is back.

Zeb has not been eating as well here as at home. He REFUSES anything on utensils! Here is the result after our battle to feed him a smoothie. He'll still eat hot dogs and toaster strudels so he isn't starving- but the screams about spoons are getting on my nerves.
Zeb apparently is not a fan of major change and being on vacation with a toddler is not the most relaxing of vacations! It's been long and rough- but there are some things that are making it okay.

Things that I LOVE about being here.
* The constant supply of fresh Raspberries in my parents' fridge
* The feeling when I get to the top a big hill on my run and get to run down it (no hills in ohio)
* My parents enjoying and playing with Zeb- even in all of his orneriness
* The dry wonderful air!
* cool refreshing air at night
* lots of wonderful cousins and other family members to entertain us and spend time with
* not paying for much of anything :) but don't worry- Kent is spending plenty of our money!
* mowing my parents' lawn. I LOVE mowing lawns
* my sisters

Things that I REALLY miss about Ohio.
* the absence of my allergies
* my bed
* zeb's crib
* a baby-proof house with no big staircases
* zeb's and my friends
* walking group, playgroup, and the library
* my swan creek park and trees!
* our pool
* Bravo and USA (I know, I'm pathetic)
* Pasta Fina :)

Most of all I just can't wait to be with Kent again- regardless of where we are!!! Only six more days. It's been kind of fun to talk to him on the phone everyday and write letters back and forth- it sort of reminds me of when we were in college and on missions- but I really can't wait to get a great big hug from him.

the deployment

My- oh- my. Kent called today at 1:46 PM! I wasn't expecting a call until late tonight so it was a pleasant surprise. They returned from their "deployment" early. I was so worried about him in the humidity with the spiders and the heat- but apparently he was in no discomfort at all. They had heated personal showers, air conditioned tents, and a bigscreen TV on which to watch Ocean's 13. He even said he loved the MRE's he got. During the mock war parts he had to carry injured people on stretchers through sandpits and under wires and all sorts of insane stuff. They also got to do all of the really crazy ropes courses like repelling and climbing up crazy tall poles. They look like so much fun- and I am very glad that he's having such a good time, but I am so ready to see him again. He comes home a week from TOMORROW! The closer it gets the slower time goes! I'm going insane.

I set my phone alarm for EVERY hour last night so that I could check my little rugrat's oxygen saturation. It gets the lowest at night when his mucus builds up. It makes me so nervous to be here without Kent when he gets this sick. I just hate having to make the final say as to what to do. Luckily my parents have lots of no breathing experience (thanks to little sis Daysa) so they can help- but not all night long. He ended up having an okay night- I gave him one breathing treatment at three am- and then got him up at six so he could cough up all of his phlegm and clear out his lungs. Today I can barely keep my eyes open- and, of course, the Zebster gets all of his energy back. He has done SO SO SO much better today. He was playing around upstairs with daysa when she found him in Metta's room with a necklace and metta's underwear around his neck!

Only NINE more days until I get Kent back!!!!!!!!!

Here are my two sickies watching blues clues.

Apparently the Utah elevation, dryness, and terrible inversion have wreaked havoc on my rugrat's lungs. This morning I had to take him to Urgent Care because he just wouldn't breathe! He must have picked up some cold on the plane or in our travels somewhere. He got put on oxygen, got some steroids, and got chest x-rays. He has residual scar tissue (from the rsv in January) and inflamed spots on his lungs. He's now on prednisone and regular breathing treatments for at least three days. Of course, kent has no idea what's going on because he was "deployed" this morning out to the back woods of Alabama. He called this morning at 5:30 his time (4:30 mine) to say goodbye until thursday night. It is going to be rough not talking to him!! but there are only TEN DAYS LEFT. He'll be out doing a mock field experience. He's in charge of the critical care tent.

Met Spaghet was the other sickie today. She had an esophagogastroduodenoscopy. They put a scope down her throat to see her stomach, sphincters, and portions of her small intestine . I was going to go and watch but had to take care of my rugrat. She did get to being home pictures though. They are doing a biopsy on the reddened portions of her stomach to see if there are bacteria. She was pretty heavily sedated and doesn't remember anything about this morning- and still is a little loopy. It's kinda funny.

Let's hope tomorrow gets better for all of us :) Zeb is actually already lots better- so maybe we really are on the up this time.

We've had all sorts of bloggable experiences and I've finally gotten around to getting some of the pictures and posting them! I am a much better picture taker (and blogger for that matter) in Toledo.
Although this super hot picture of cousin Tanner isn't really indicative of what we did on Sunday- it sure made us laugh hard. We got together for Uncle Johnny's birthday and had some good times in the backyard. Being here for these kinds of events makes me realize that I am missing out on a lot of fun when we are in Toledo. These Sunday get togethers are some of my favorite things EVER.
Zeb finally went to bed on time this evening and slept relatively well last night. Let's hope this keeps up! his cough is pretty bad and we're having to do regular breathing treatments (thank heavens daysa has a nebulizer and blood oxygen meter!) but I think he's on the up. The past week he has been pretty whiny- so it's a good thing he's so darn cute and is now used to my parents and their house. He no longer runs only to me when he gets stressed.
He loves my parent's backyard and has eaten so much watermelon in the past few days,I think that he may grow one in his belly. He also loves all of my mom's new furniture since there are lots of doors and drawers to open and close.
We went swimming to the Legacy pool today with Metta and Daysa. Zeb had fun but got pretty tired pretty quick. Enlarge the picture of Metta and Zeb on the slide to see his wonderfully terrified face! It really is so funny. He was fine going down the first two times- but this was the third and he was ornery.

soft and chewy double choco cookies

The cookies we made were divine. Some of the best I've had in a long long time. The picture doesn't look so delicious- but trust me. They were so soft and chewy- and still are today.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar ( I did HALF brown sugar)
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-NO more! minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Kent- check out baby hank's favorite toy! For those not already aware- this is the infamous homemade sock monkey of pixie pals 2004. Kent sewed it all by himself for Laney our first Christmas married. It is stuffed with old gym shorts and is lacking arms. The bum also looks exactly like the face.

We are so glad that Hank loves it as much as the rest of us. I can only hope that it is passed down the generations in the Hawes family.

I feel like time has come to a standstill and that Kent is never coming home. Yesterday was the single most terrible day in the 12 months and 13 days that comprise Zeb's life. I'm blaming it on the fact that it was Friday the 13th and that Zeb's social security number ends in 666 (perhaps also that I can see two molars, he had a fever, a cough, misses his dad, and didn't get a wink of sleep all day). This picture, although taken almost one year ago, demonstrates Zeb's emotions yesterday perfectly.

Kent says that they have been having some crazy lightning storms down in Montgomery lately! He called me once during one of them and I couldn't even hear him over the thunder. Here's a picture of his flight in their ponchos.
I'm totally sick of him being gone. He is still enjoying himself but he's very ready to be finished as well. Two weeks from today and he'll be here! We've signed up for a 5k the morning after he gets here- I hope he isn't too pooped :)

sorry- no pictures.

If I have to ever speak to another airline customer service representative I'll SCREAM. I was called yesterday and informed that our flights home have been cancelled. Now the only other flight we need cancelled is kent's from alabama in July and we'll be at 100% cancellation rate.

The biggest problem with our home flights is that Kent booked through US air and I booked through priceline so it was INSANE trying to get back on another same flight. To make matters so much worse- I was placed on the NO FLY list because apparently Frontier Airlines hadn't cleared me as taking my detroit to slc flight. If you don't take the first leg of a round trip ticket you aren't allowed on the second leg due to sept.11 restrictions. After 2.5 hours with Frontier, US Airways, and Priceline we got it all worked out- but with WRETCHED flight times.

In other news- Kent is passed the halfway mark with Officer training!! He's coming home soon (in 15 days). Also- Zeb is using the word Dinosaur regularly now!!! Taylor has been praticing with him and he's got it down.

We've made it to Utah safe and sound- barely. My flight to Denver was CANCELED and the airlines didn't notify me! I found out yesterday because I was checking to see my flight status and it didn't exist. Kent and I have had the WORST luck with flights lately. Different airlines-different modes of purchase- just both canceled!!! Zeb and I ended up taking a six thirty (AM) flight- and had to leave toledo at 3:30. I complained at the ticket counter and got put onto a direct flight to SLC! Zeb did pretty well but was so pooped and only slept about two hours between 3:30 am and 3:30 pm. The mini DVD player saved my sanity. He LOVED the Blue's Clues. I sat next to a wonderful older woman from Temperance, MI headed to SLC with 37 friends to do geneology. None of them were LDS but love the family history center and have been going for seven years now! I am so tired and have got to get some sleep. I'll try and post pictures of Z and hank soon.

It is insanely cold here and is supposed to get into the thirties on thursday! I am wearing a sweatshirt and couldn't be happier. I miss the green but NOT the humidity.

new baby Hank

Check out some good pictures and Hank Hawe's grand entry story HERE.

Check him out, Kent!

Sorry that it's sideways! This kid is an animal. Ignore the the tornado aftermath in the background. He played in his room while the sisters were here for dinner and his favorite game is pulling all of his toy containers off their shelves and taking out every single toy. I'm working on getting him to put them all back.

Here's the little rugrat- Hank (Henry Philip) Hawes. Sorry about the picture quality. It's from a text message that Metta sent. Originally it also included Laney but she vetoed the shot of herself so I had to crop it.

2.5 more days till I fly to Utah.
20 more days till I get to hug Kent again.
37 more days till I get to come back home to Toledo WITH my husband.

This weekend has been killer so far. It must be that I'm getting so close to leaving. The past two weeks have been surprisingly easier than I thought - but today I missed Kent too much. Let's just hope that things get a little better once I get to Utah on Tuesday.

2 good newses

Tonight - after an equally long and tiring pushing session as I had- Laney had her little rugrat boy. Hooray for baby boys. Who wants lame-o girls anyway?! He is seven pounds even and nineteen inches. No name as of yet. Zeb is so darn excited to have a half brother :)

In other exciting news- our AC has been fixed. I am in HEAVEN. We spent the morning at the neighbors, the afternoon at the church, and late afternoon in the pool in order to avoid our apartment. By early evening our AC was back in commission. I am okay now, totally happy, back to normal, and done being irritable. Thank heavens for our fast acting Ellen, Al, and Roxanne. I love living here at Heather Hills.

I'm for sure going to die. I cannot believe how unbearably hot it is. Really it's the humidity that does me in. Our AC is not working. I turned it on today and after four hours of being on, the temp in our apartment only dropped ONE stinking DEGREE. They are coming to check on it tomorrow. We may be dead by then. For sure Zeb inherited my heat intolerance- or at least Kent's sweatiness. This is a picture of Zeb's sweaty matted hair after just playing in the apartment (enlarge for a more detailed look). Poor little rugrat! we did go swimming today and it was a lot of fun. We had tons of people over (anybody is welcome to come!!) and the pool felt so good. We did have two toddlers jump in without flotation devices, however. I was very impressed with the parent reflexes.
Besides the temps Zeb is as fun as ever. He has been saying all sorts of words the past few days. Most of them are simply him mimicking somebody- but it's fun nonetheless. Some of the young women taught him to say "yes" and he won't stop saying it. He loves the "s" sound! He also said "I love you"- and is actually using "out" regularly and in context. He'll follow commands and when I tell him not to stick his fingers in the sockets or play with plugs he shakes his head at me! I'm so excited to be heading to Utah on Tuesday. We can't wait to see you all in a few short days!!!

It has been around 80% humidity the past few days and absolutely MISERABLE. I went running this morning and was COMPLETELY drenched by the time we finished. I'm looking forward to the dry Utah air next week! We decided to go swimming on Monday- and will be going again tomorrow since its going to be 90 degrees and super humid. Yikes.

There was an injured butterfly at the pool that all of the little boys loved to look at. Zeb wanted to eat it.
Zeb is finally really walking. He's been taking steps and walking when forced since his eleven month birthday- but today he has been running around like crazy! He's been going up and down the hallway and all over the front room. I didn't get any of his long walks on video but here's one of some of his steps. He's a little shaky here cause he had just woken up.

Kent is in heaven. He said yesterday was so much fun. They did the "assault course" and he loved every second. I can't believe they have to work so hard in their BDUs in the HEAT! You may have to enlarge some of the pictures to see Kent up close.

Kent is on the left.

He's the second visible head in this picture

I'm a little jealous that he's having so much fun! I'm glad that he has a few minutes to call every night. Apparently he calls during study time when you aren't supposed to be talking- but we usually only talk for a little bit. He has a little more time on the weekends. He FINALLY got the package that I sent him (I sent it last wednesday) and is now getting mail regularly. If you send him anything- make sure and include the words "PAPA Flight" after Cot class 08/04. Apparently there are a few Lt. Millers. He'll get the stuff you may have already sent but it make take a day or two longer.

1 Tb canola oil

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized strips

2 tsp curry powder

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 c frozen cut green beans

1 14 oz can lite coconut milk, divided

3/4 c peanut butter

2 Tb soy sauce

1/4 c snipped fresh cilantro

3 c hot cooked jasmine rice or Thai noodles

More COT

Here are some of the pictures that Kent has sent! He isn't allowed to take his camera anywhere but there is a "photo officer" who takes pictures of the stuff they do. Kent gets pictures from her everyday and tries to send them to me. The first picture is them lining up at 4:30 for PT stuff. They have to line up and then march out onto the field. He's the one cheesing it. The second pic is of them in their classroom learning really important stuff (like what to do when taken captive and how your silverware and cups are supposed to sit on your lunch tray). His roommate is sitting next to him. Today they have to pass off the Air Force Theme Song. It has to be completely memorized. You can hear MoTab singing it here. I never realized that the "Wild Blue Yonder" song was the Air Force's.














And here is the e-mail he sent me on Sunday about church!

"This morning I tried to contact a member of the church to give me a ride but I ran out of time and had to detail over to breakfast. I determined I would miss church and just listen to conference and try to make Sunday meaningful. As I returned to breakfast they announced in my dorm (literally as we walked in from breakfast) that if any LDS wanted to go to church to meet at the front office. There were some of the BOT (basic officer training) guys who were planning on going and had extra room in vehicles!! I was lucky enough to be put in the BOT dorms instead of the COT dorms. I had to throw on my uniform (quite the task) and ran to my FOIC to sign out. I got to go to church today!! It was a really cool experience. There were 5 BOT guys and 14 COT members (only one girl) who ended up going. Fast and testimony meeting was really cool because each member who bore their testimonies spoke about how grateful they were to live in a free country and to have the freedom to worship. (I can imagine all of us walking in and filling up the back few pews set the tone to the meeting). It is amazing how just putting on that uniform represents SO much to so many people. Members were thanking me for my service to our country and I haven't done a thing. There was a retired General who became very emotional in welcoming us and thanking us for what we are doing. It is exciting to be a part of something bigger that teaches me to be a better person and a more capable leader. I continually feel like I'm in the MTC. I think the things I'm learning here have significant connections to the gospel.

There was a little boy (1yr2mos) who reminded me of Zeb. Bald and dark brown eyes. He was so happy and was playing peek-a-boo with me in the hall after sacrament meeting just giggling like Zebby. It made me really miss you. His Grandma was holding him and she asked me if I had kids. I told her Zeb's birthday was today. She sympathized with me but told me she felt worse for my wife than she did for me. How true - I wish I could be home with you today. I hope he was good today at church".

We know the greatest people here in Toledo! Thank you Ellen and Jill for letting Zeb in on the party! We had a big barbecue yesterday after church to celebrate Zeb, Ashley, and Shelby's birthdays. Zeb got his own cookie cake and some fun new toys! thank you aunties in utah for the new toys as well. Zeb is not going to need toys for the rest of his life- and I'm serious!

I kinda let Zeb go crazy yesterday cause it was his birthday. He ate cheetos, cookies, pickles, and hot dogs for lunch and dinner. Enlarge the bottom picture to see the contentment in and on his face :) This is one of his favorite new toys.

Happy Birthday to Zeb- the greatest kid in the world. Hooray that we made it through the year and that Zeb is as cute as he is. Check out Zeb's entry into this world in this post and this one (be warned that there are pictures of my placenta). I still can't figure out how after two and a half hours of pushing he didn't have a conehead. He was perfect looking those first few hours- but then got all wrinkled up and zitty for a few months.










Obviously he's absolutely adorable now!

Zeb decided to wear his jet fighter tie and wave an American flag today in honor of his dad! Lame-o that he isn't here to celebrate with us!!! We'll just have to party without him.

Zeb has already been spoiled with presents from family and I know he's got more waiting in Utah! Thank you gma pat and gpa brent for all of the cool toys this week! and his aunties M, Kristy, and Michelle for the package that came yesterday! we haven't opened it yet :)

The neighbors are throwing him a huge bbq party (well, it's a family bday party for them but they've included Z in the festivities) so we'll be headed out to celebrate in an hour. I'll post pictures of that later!