My Daddy wears combat boots

Michael left on September 11th for 3 1/2 weeks of combat skills training (CST). He's been staying very busy...but has been able to call most days.

All suited up - the gear weighs an extra ~40 lbs!

Busy day at the range

Seeing him in all of his gear reallly puts things into perspective.  He truly is going into harms way -- but I know that God will protect him.  After CST he'll head to Washington DC to learn Dari (one of the Afghan languages), then in late March he'll actually leave for Afghanistan.  I know that this separation can only make our family stronger, forcing better communication and appreciation for one another.

Will is 4 months!

Crazy how FAST time flies! Today we went to see the doctor for Will’s 4 month well-baby appointment.

Stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 15 ounces [heaviest Brannon baby at this age]

Height: 25.3 inches [longest Brannon baby at this age]

Head circumference: 41.9 cm

Basically he’s a triangle! Ha ha ha!

He is certainly adorable & very good natured. This smile is how he greets you from his crib!

 

He loves his brother & sister, sucking his thumb and smiling & giggling!

 

We love watching him roll from tummy to back & back to tummy.  He reaches for his toys above & in front of him, he even grabs Mom & sister’s hair :)  We love you so much Mr. Will!

Farewell to our Hero!

Today we sent Michael off to combat training – hopefully we’ll be able to see him again at Thanksgiving.  The dreary day symbolized the feelings we all had as this was the beginning of a very long journey for our family.  I am so proud of Michael’s commitment to maintaining the freedoms this country has been afforded.  We know that he will shine in his role to help rebuild a torn nation in a distant land.  We LOVE you Daddy!

I’m a little cocoa nut…

Mmmmm…what could be more enticing than streets that smell of chocolate??? Not a whole lotta! We took a vacation to Hershey, PA before Michael left for training … it was awesome!

I was a little worried because we arrived late on Labor Day, which was the last day of the season for the amusement parks… we dashed over to Dutch Wonderland, a park just for kids 12 yrs and younger…Cassidy could ride almost every ride…even the roller coasters! She loved it! Mike & I took turns riding the rides with her.  Jake was very leery of the rides and just enjoyed watching from his perch in the stroller. 

The next morning we went to Chocolate World   – a free tour of the Chocolate Factory.  We took a trolley ride around the city and learned all about the Chocolate town & it’s namesake, Milton Hershey – he is an amazing person everyone should try to emulate.  We bought freshly made Twizzlers & chocolates…Jake ate his weight in both chocolate AND Twizzlers! 

  

Later that night we took a stroll through the Outlet Mall that was across the street from our condo.  Cassidy took a big step in the “Big Girl” department and got her ears pierced! 

The kids enjoyed swimming with Daddy in the indoor & outdoor pools and even took a bubbly bubble bath in the condo’s jacuzzi tub!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  We had some fun at the local park and just enjoyed family time as much as we could.  And sweet Will just hung out like a tourist should :)

While the trip was surely worth it, it did prove to be a long car trip…an experimental trip for what it will be like when I travel to Texas solo (except instead of Michael who is soo helpful, I’ll have Ty [our dog] who is almost as much work as the kids!)