"Elizabeth slept for 12 hours last night!"

Wed., February 12, 1992

     Elizabeth slept for 12 hours last night! I don't think she's ever done that before. She woke up (or at least that's when I heard her) at 8:00 this morning. She went down for her nap at 10:00 – I let her cry herself to sleep & it took about 20 minutes. She slept til 12:47! It was sometime around 3:00 when I put her down for a nap. It only took her 6 minutes to get to sleep then. She woke up once but went back to sleep but she woke up when Guy got home cause Chief barked. So I think she slept about 50 minutes this aft. She went to bed at 8:30 tonight & cried for less than 10 minutes. I did brush her teeth & rocked and sang to her for a little bit first. Last night she fell asleep while Guy was giving her her bottle.

     I rode the stationary bicycle this morning for 2 miles. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Guy went running Mon. & today. I didn't tell him I decided to start riding the bike. I need to work my lungs up for a PFT next month.

     I seem to have some kind of rash on my arms. I noticed a red spot on my left arm at lunch but thought it was from the way I was propping my arm. But it was still there at supper & I looked at the rest of my arm and on the underside of both arms are little red spots from my elbows to almost my wrists. It doesn't itch and the skin's not broken. It just feels a little bumpy. Guy said to not put any lotion on it. It's not anywhere else on my body. I hope it goes away by tomorrow & I hope it's not contagious. I don't know what could've caused it. Guy asked if I did anything different today like prop my arms on something. I couldn't think of anything.

     Ez. acted like she wanted to pull up today. She was sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. Her bottle was sitting on the table & she put both hands on the table edge like she was going to pull up. She kind of moved her legs around but didn't really get them in a good position. I went ahead & stood her up & she leaned against the table & played with the coasters for about 5 minutes before she started getting wobbly. She may end up being one of those babies that walks & never crawls. Hopefully she will start trying to pull herself up soon. Dr. Karp said she should be doing that by the 12 month checkup. I hope she isn't going to be behind in her development. I haven't worried about her not crawling because of everything I've read about it. But I am beginning to wonder about her pulling up. She's finally starting to chew things even though she spits most of it out.

"...she wants to see how much we'll put up with before we give in"

Tuesday, February 11, 1992

     Last night was pretty rough again. Once she went to sleep she slept all night, but she was up til 11:00, fighting every inch of the way. We tried everything we could think of. We finally decided she's just gotten to the stage where she wants to see how much we'll put up with before we give in, and not necessarily her gums bothering her. We used the Tempra & the Anbesol both last night & it didn't seem like it made any difference. I think she's just gotten so used to having Guy home that when she knows he's here she wants to be with him. I didn't have any trouble getting her to take her nap this morning. Then Guy got home about noon & it was hard getting her to sleep this aft. But she finally slept for 2 & 1/2 hours! Guy gave her a bottle right after her bath & she went to sleep right afterward. Hopefully she'll sleep all night!

     Guy got off early because the XO told him he can't work in the radio shack because he doesn't have a security clearance. It wasn't updated when it was supposed to have been at SIMA. He has to be checked out all over again. He had to fill out a form with information about where we've lived, his parents' birthdays, and character references. He put down Ralph Dunbar, Henry Hardison, Steve Lowell, Mike Krebsback & Mr. Gibbs (next door). He needed to get work phone numbers and got all but Mike & Mr. Gibbs. He left a message on Mike's machine & said he'd just say unknown for Mr. Gibbs'.

     Guy took a nap while Ez. did this aft. I tried to take one but just mostly drifted. (I'm trying to write & watch the Olympic skating at the same time)

"It sounds wonderful to hear people talk about how prayer works so well in their lives."

Monday, Feb. 10, 1992

     Sat. night we were up & down all night with Ez. It seems like she's starting to cut her molars on the bottom. The right side is a little bigger than the left. Last night wasn't much better. We gave her Tylenol both nights but it seems like it takes a long time for that to start working. I had to give her some for her nap this morning. She didn't finally go to sleep til a little after 10:00. I'd already put a load of laundry in and just changed the sheets real quick. So I've already done more than I thought I'd get done today. I figured it'd be a difficult day with Guy going back to work. But the teething makes it even worse. We were looking for the Anbesol at bedtime and I just about tore the downstairs apart looking for it in the middle of the night. I don't know what could've become of it. We'll have to go to the store to get some more.

     She didn't take a nap in church yesterday morning. At least she didn't scream like she does at home. She slept til about 7:30 this morning so that was good. She ate a good breakfast and played a little while before getting tired. Once I changed her and got her dressed she acted like she'd go right to sleep but it wasn't long after I put her down that she started screaming. So I went ahead & gave her some Tylenol & rocked her for a long time.

     Last night Guy decided that it helped to leave the lamp on, on low. He thinks she's afraid of the dark. We've always used the night light in her room though. But the last time we were up with her overnight he left it on and she didn't wake up any more. That could've been from the Tylenol though. Hopefully, just getting back into a regular routine will help her out.

     We heard some wonderful news at church yesterday – Steve & Jill Lowell are expecting again. We knew she was really wanting to have another baby (they have 3 kids & lost 1 baby) but Steve kept saying he didn't want any more. I asked Jill how she got Steve to change his mind. She said she just stopped talking about it and started praying that her feelings would go away or that Steve would change his mind and one day he just brought up the subject out of the clear blue. It sounds wonderful to hear people talk about how prayer works so well in their lives. But it makes me wonder, still, why all our prayers didn't get us a baby any sooner.

     Last night the Pughs had us over after church along with the Wilsons, the Carters, & the Gallahars for sandwiches. They said they were having get-togethers this week and next for good friends before they leave. They're moving on Feb. 24. His mouth is still wired shut but he's gotten good at talking where you can understand him. He'll be preaching on the 23rd. Al Forsythe preached yesterday morning & Kim Shepard (I think) last night. I was busy working in the library, double checking the cards to see if the books really aren't there before making a list & calling people about them. I didn't get done. There were a couple of instances where I think we couldn't find the cards when we first went through all the books and typed up new ones, and now we've the cards. But we can't really be sure if there was more than one copy or not. I don't know if we'll ever be completely organized in there.

   I took pictures of Linda's hair last night. She just got it trimmed again. I told her it's a bob with long layers. It's longer in front but it looks better when it's behind her ears, which is how I'd wear it anyway. I'm still not sure if I have the nerve to get it cut that short. My hair is just getting back to a good length and the bangs have grown out to my chin now. It's been about 4 months since I had this perm and it's really loose now.

     Ez. went down for a nap about 1:00 & slept about 50 minutes. I rocked her in my arms on our bed while I watched the rest of my story & she went back to sleep. Then she slept til about almost 3:30! I got a pretty good nap in too. Guy got home about 4:00 – he didn't get off til 3:30. But that's earlier than he ever got home before. Back to Ez. – she slept for about an hour after supper. I gave her some yogurt straight from the fridge & she seemed to like it. It probably felt good on her gums. After her morning nap we went to Farm Fresh to get some Anbesol and some Tempra. It's grape flavored so I figured she'd take it better than the orange flavored Tylenol. But right now she doesn't want anything in her mouth except food or whatever she chooses to put in herself. Her gums must really be hurting her. She wasn't this bad with any of her front teeth. Hopefully we'll all get more sleep tonight.

     Guy said he spent most of the day trying to finish checking in. The CO came into radio & noticed he was new. There's still someone else he has to see before he goes to visit her. He said breakfast was a nice omelet. He didn't mention lunch though. He said it'd probably be a week before they start messing with him. I hope this doesn't turn out to be another Radford.

"He's got both of them so spoiled."

Saturday, February 8, 1992

     Guy checked in at the ship yesterday. He left around 10:00 & got home about 3:00. I guess Ez. was all out of whack with him being gone. I tried to get her to take a nap all morning & she wouldn't. I finally went ahead & gave her lunch around 11:30 or 12:00 and then tried again. She just finally fell asleep by wearing herself out crying around 1:00. She woke up just before Guy got home. Then she took a nap after supper and we had to wake her up so she wouldn't be up late. She was up til 11:00! But she slept til around 7:30 this morning. Her naps today weren't much better today and she's fighting going to sleep now. Guy's fixing to go to her rescue. Hopefully once he's going back to work every day I can get her back on a decent schedule.

     Guy found out a few things about the ship. They have four duty sections & straight rotation – no duty weekends. We've already figured out he's got duty on his birthday and on Mother's Day. They work 7-3 which doesn't sound too bad. He's planning on eating breakfast at the ship but everyone told him he'd better eat at home. He said he'll try it on the ship first, even though lunch wasn't that great. He didn't meet the CO yet – she's the last one he'll see. He brought home a "manual" with the ship's rules & regulations. I don't think there's anything really out of the ordinary. She does sound like she's trying to be tough. I just really dread the next 2 years & 10 months. His first duty day is a week from tomorrow. The first time in a long time that I'll have to get Ez. ready & get to church by myself. What I really dread is being alone overnight and having to take care of Ez. and Chief by myself. Maybe once we all get used to the new routine it'll go easier. I don't know about when he goes on a cruise though.

     Guy was going to let me sleep late this morning but I couldn't get back to sleep. I did get a good nap this afternoon though. I put Ez. down for her nap but Guy said she didn't ever go to sleep til I was waking up at 4:00. So I thought she'd go to sleep easily tonight. Guy came in while ago & said he was going to take her back downstairs to let her play. I have a feeling she'll be up late tonight, too. Next week is going to be so rough cause we're all used to having Guy home all day for so long. She hardly wants anything to do with me any more, especially when Guy's around. I wanted her to be close to him but I didn't know it would exclude me more the closer she got to him. I love her so much & it just hurts so much when she'd rather be with him than me. 

"Hopefully, the truth will be known one day."

Thursday, Feb. 6, 1992

     Barb Leland kept Ez. this afternoon while we went to see JFK. I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It sure raised a lot of questions about his death. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between the real pictures and the actors recreating events. The papers from the Warren Commission are supposed to be sealed until the year 2029. But I wonder how is anyone going to be able to tell by then if what those papers say is true or not. Even now, so many people that were involved or were witnesses  are already dead. It's scary to think that there could be such a big operation with so many people involved and it be so well organized that it wasn't found out and still hasn't really been proven. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Hopefully, the truth will be known one day.

     Yesterday we planned to go to the commissary as soon as Ez. finished her morning nap. She slept for 2 & 1/2 hrs! We went ahead & fed her & ate ourselves before going. She got tired & a little fussy before we were done but she didn't go to sleep when Guy started carrying her like she usually does. So she was a tired baby last night. She woke up around 1:15. She was up at the top of the crib, sideways & her pacifier was under the rocker. I got her settled back in & she fussed again in a few minutes. I just had to put the pacifier back in her mouth. Didn't hear her again til 7:50 this morning. Since it's Guy's last day off I got up with her & let him sleep. He was up by 8:30 though.

     I think having Guy home so much has gotten Ez. really attached to him. When I have her & he's around she seems to be always looking for him unless I keep her occupied with a book or something. I thought it would be a nice break for me and would be nice for him to have so much time with her & taking care of her so much. But it seems like she just doesn't want anything to do with me any more. Guy said when he's gone to work and she doesn't see him she'll be ok and not seeing him in another room, not paying attention to her and making her fussy. 

     She fought taking a nap this morning. Guy was going to put her down while I took my shower but she still wasn't asleep by the time I was done so he let me take over so he could take a shower. I finally called to him to go get juice for her but he didn't hear me. He was watching TV instead of taking a shower. But it seemed like me saying his name, or maybe the tone or volume change in my voice seemed to calm her down all of a sudden and she started drifting off. She was kind of under my chin & when it felt like she was asleep I tried shifting her to lay down in my arms & she started fussing. I stood up to sway her and she started to go to sleep again and Guy came in to see if I wanted him to get a bottle of juice for her. I told him that's why I was calling him earlier but I didn't think she needed it now. He said he hadn't heard me. Even though we were whispering she started stirring and when she saw him she started trying to sit up to see him. He went ahead & got the bottle & I sat & rocked her & gave it to her. It took about 10 minutes to get to sleep & she didn't finish the bottle. I don't think she even slept for 30 minutes.

     Barb said she only slept for 45 min. this afternoon. She was pretty grumpy most of the evening. Guy gave her her bath then started her bottle while I finished up the meat I was working on for the freezer. When I came to a stopping point I gave her her bottle and Guy did the rest of the meat. Except she didn't want any more of her bottle til Guy was done and came & sat down with us. He ended up putting her to bed. Hopefully she'll sleep good tonight. Guy moved her mattress down two notches even though I said to move it down one when he asked me. I told him after last night that it was too low & he said he'd move it back up one but I don't think he did yet.

     There are so many things I thought we'd get done around the house while he was off. I don't know where all the time went. At least we got the living room rearranged. I don't really like it this way but we have to make it safe for Elizabeth. I really am dreading him being on a ship again. It'll probably be rough because this woman captain probably tries to prove she's tough enough. Guy's heard she hates radiomen. I hope he doesn't get off on the wrong foot with her just because of that. I guess we'll just have to wait & see. At least we know when he's through with this ship, he's through with the Navy!

"It's about time he grew up."

Tues., February 4, 1992

     To finish up on Sunday, Ez. didn't fall asleep til we were on the way home from church. She did good in church that night. Tina had to work from 3-8 Sunday. So we never had a chance to play Shanghai Rummy. We left there a little after 10:00 Mon. morning. It only took us about an hour to get to Mt. Vernon. Ez. slept all the way because I sat in back with her & gave her a bottle til she fell asleep.

     It was so cold out there. It wasn't quite as much walking as I expected but what there was, was hard. Especially when I had to go check Ez's diaper. The restrooms were below the museum which meant I had to come back up the steps carrying her & the bag. I tapped on the door with my foot & the tour lady opened the door for me. I just barely had time to catch my breath before it was time to start the tour. We couldn't take the stroller inside so Guy carried Ez. & I carried the bag. The house was a lot smaller than I'd have imagined. There were a lot of bedrooms though. And the view from the back, looking over the Potomac was beautiful. They were working on the main staircase, reinforcing it underneath. We went up the back stairway. The whole house was very sparsely furnished. Most of it was original though. And he died there in bed. It's hard to comprehend sometimes, being in the same place where famous people from history were. To imagine what things were really like back then. I'd like to go back sometime when it's warmer and we can take our time to look over the whole estate. There are so many historical places around here it almost makes me sad that we won't be here when Ez. is old enough to appreciate them. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a "beach house" to come back here to whenever we wanted a vacation - or to spend our summers at!? Then we could take our time & visit all these places and not have to worry about paying for a hotel room or putting anybody out by staying with them. Dreams!

     We stopped in Woodbridge to eat lunch at McDonald's. I had a chicken fajita which gave me diarrhea by last night. Ez. ate a good lunch. She even chewed on some french fries. Of course she spit them out when she bit pieces off.

     It was strange but very nice that she slept almost all the way home. She woke up a couple of times but took her pacifier & went back to sleep. I was in the front seat & got a few snoozes myself. We got home at 4:45. Guy went & got Chief after 7:00. I'd planned on making them (Krebsbachs) some Rice Krispie treats when we got home but there weren't enough marshmallows. Then I remembered there was banana bread mix in the pantry so I made that. Guy said they seemed to like that cause they started eating it as soon as he gave it to them.

     They said Chief was good except he'd eat Katy's food as well as his own. But they seemed to think that was funny. Hopefully we won't have to ask them to keep him again.

     I forgot to mention that Guy slipped when he was getting in the tub before we left yesterday morning. He caught himself so he didn't fall but he twisted his neck. It was really stiff & sore the rest of the day & when he got up this morning. It has gotten better but is still stiff. He can't turn all the way to the left. 

     When he went to get Ez. out of the crib this morning, she sat up as he was going in the door. She didn't do it again all day though so I haven't seen it. She seemed like she was happy to be home today, just rolling around in the floor and kicking & jabbering. All she did at Nick & Tina's was mostly just watch Evan. He had a habit of hollering a lot & sometimes Ez. would jump when he did so whatever noise it was that made her jump, he'd do it again, until she didn't jump any more. Usually that only took 2-3 times. She made a little bit of noise whenever he wasn't around but she wasn't her usual self. She really didn't have a chance cause Evan was constantly on the move & making noise. I was glad to get away from that myself. At least he did take good naps.

     We didn't do anything productive today except get the menus & grocery list done so we can go to the commissary tomorrow. Guy hooked the Atari up upstairs & we played a little bit. Ez. didn't know what to think of him hollering and carrying on.

     Chief hasn't been as much of a nuisance today. Guy said he seems to have mellowed out a little. Maybe he's afraid we're going to leave him again. Hopefully he'll behave himself better if he's growing up some. It's about time he grew up.

"It was so embarrassing."

Monday, Feb. 3, 1992

     Yesterday was Ground Hog Day, but I don't know what his prediction was. Nick & Tina don't watch much TV. I didn't know they had rented two movies. We watched the second one last night - Stealing Home. It was pretty good. We didn't ever have time to teach them Shanghai Rummy. Tina had to work 3-8:30 last night.

     When we went to church yesterday morning, it was at the same place where we met with the board of directors from Rainbow Christian Services when we were appealing their decision to not let us adopt. The more I thought about it during class the more upset I got just remembering all the things that were said that day. Plus, they'd passed around a sympathy card in class for a couple who'd just lost their 10-wk-old baby to SIDS. I normally wouldn't participate in something like that when we're visiting but I felt like I had to say something. I wrote "we're very sorry to hear about your baby. Find a support group - it will help immensely."

     When we went to get Ez. after class she was sitting on one lady's lap in the rocker, fussing. Guy got her while I got her bag then said we needed to check her diaper. He laid her down & I checked her. She wasn't messy so I picked her up & she wouldn't stop crying. Guy said he's take her & I said that's ok & he went ahead & took her and she stopped crying. It was so embarrassing. Nobody said anything & probably didn't even notice but I felt awful, afraid that everyone would think I wasn't a good mother cause I couldn't get her to stop crying & he could. He said later he just wanted to get her calmed down before she got any worse. She was just so tired but she wouldn't go to sleep during church. Guy finally took her out to walk her but he said there were too many other babies out there to distract her.