The Deployment Countdown Continues...

We finally have only three months left in Jim's deployment and both of us are ready for it to be over! It is very nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know the holidays will help the time to go by fast for me, but I don't think they will be helping Jim's time. Sammie is learning something new everyday and I am always amazed. I can't wait until Jim is home so that he can get to know his little girl. She can say fish and tree and something that sounds like shoes. She can sign ball, baby, please, eat, drink, milk, mommy and daddy. Actually, she does a combo mommy and daddy sign with her thumb poking at her ear instead of her chin for mommy or her forhead for daddy. It's pretty cute. Sometimes she does the eat sign to her forhead instead of her mouth and it's hilarious. But then she corrects herself. I think her favorite sign is please. When she wants something I ask "what do you say?" and she rubs a little circle on her chest for please. It is so hard not to give in to her when she comes up to you with her sweet face while signing please! Usually it's food that she is asking for! But this morning she escaped my mom and knocked on the bathroom door as I was getting ready for a shower. I peeked out and said hello and then said, go find grandma!, and then I tried to shut the door. But then she gave me the most sad face and vigorously signed please on her chest and my heart melted, so I had to let her in the bathroom with me. This resulted in my mom almost having a heart attack because she couldn't find Sammie! I guess this story just goes to show that I'm a weakling and Sam gets whatever she wants. Hmm, I need to work on my resolve.

She also loves to meow and bark and quack along with other animal sounds that she is working on. Today she decided to help my mom with the laundry by putting unwashed clothes into the dryer. Later we went to story time at the library for the second time. The first time she stayed close to me and didn't want to get up to do the hand motions to the songs or participate at all. But today she was up and getting jiggy with her almost 14 month old self, and exploring the keys and purses of other moms, and checking out babies in their carseats and signing baby at them and then trying to touch them. So basically I was running around the entire story hour kiddie room trying to keep her from stealing keys and beating up babies while all the other moms got to sit on the floor with their kids who actually paid attention to the story time leader. Oh well. I guess she had fun being around the music and the other kids!




I took this picture at Apple Hill which is in the foothills east of Sacramento. It is a great area with over 40 family owned farms, vineyards, and apple orchards. It's a great place to spend a sunny fall afternoon. Sammie loved bouncing up and down on my dad's shoulders! We also went to IKEA in Sacramento and I was having flashbacks to my shopping days at IKEA in Germany. Always trying to decipher the tags and to calculate euros into dollars. Filling out VAT forms and eating Swedish chocolates and cookies all around the store. Etc., etc. Around every corner I could point out a piece of furniture that I own and I surprised myself on how much of the store I actually owned! And I was remembering what IKEA stuff my Germany friends had in their homes. Mostly I remember the Golby's entire living/dining room full of IKEA! Do you guys still have all of it? And the Spahr's leather IKEA sofa, I'm pretty sure I saw it in some of their latest photos. Anyway, enough rambling here. I miss all of my Germany friends! You know who you are!

Can't wait for this deployment to be over! I made packing arrangements today for my stuff to get packed and shipped back to Lawton in December. So that is a step in the right direction! If you read my blog please leave a comment, if you don't mind, so I know who is reading! Thanks! I'm just interested to know who is out there!