Joshua's First Swim

during the last few weeks...

We have stayed busy the last few weeks with our dear and growing little boy, Peter's flying and the occasional hangout with the guys, and visitors.

Our friend Elizabeth Baltus came to visit for a whole week! What a joy it was to pull up to the airport curb and see a dear friend there. It was so nice to have her around and just do life with her here for a few days. We showed her around base and Peter gave an excellent tour of the planes and training building. And she was able to meet a lot of our friends who ended up just stopping by throughout the week. We went to the pool and on several walks since the weather cooled down to the 80s and 90s. And on the weekend nights we were introduced to the new Hawaii 50, kind of intense but with hilarious interaction between the characters, and popcorn tends to lessen the intensity in things...maybe because it brings me out of the TV world back to my safe living room. Ah, friends bring a richness and a sweetness to life. I have to say it was sad to have her go and I so missed her company in the days after she left.

Joshua is now 2 months old and ~12lbs. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow so I'll know a more accurate weight and height measurement for him. But he is smiling away at us and sometimes (dare I think it?) laughing. You can imagine how he has his parents wrapped around his little fingers with each smile. He really is a bundle of joy to us. And I have loved being able to take him on walks with some friends since the weather is no longer 115+, but 90+.  Those who know me can attest that walking anytime, for any reason, for any length is one of my favorite pastimes.

The last couple of weeks we've taken Josh to some Friday night events with the guys from Peter's class. He usually sleeps from about 6pm to 9 or 10pm. We were hoping he would sleep even though we were around a lot of people, noise and lights at these events, but he was wide awake and looking at everything from Daddy's shoulder. We could tell he was so sleepy, but he couldn't help but look at everything and never made a peep. We were so amazed at him and proud of him. And it was fun to take him somewhere and feel like we are now going about life as a family.

Pete solos the T-6!

Peter had his initial solo in the T-6 last week. It was quite the big deal. Spouses are encouraged to come out and walk with them through the whole "getting ready" process and to watch their husbands do their solo. So a friend came over to watch Joshua and I met Peter at work. I walked with him to the step desk where he got all of the last minute details like: weather reports, bird alerts, winds, and which plane he would be flying. Then he got all of his gear on in the Life Support room and we took the shuttle bus out to the planes. Two guys from the Madison unit were my escorts and stayed with me and explained everything that Peter was doing as Peter got the plane ready and taxied down the run way. We watched as he did traffic patterns around the run way and his several take offs and landings. My escorts explained what he would be thinking and doing inside the cockpit and what he would be saying on the radio as well. All I can say is, WOW! He has really learned a lot and is a great multi-tasker! We took pictures by the plane once he landed and taxied back. Then, according to tradition, everyone who just did their initial solo got thrown into the dunk tank. (A old, metal tank that is always full of stagnant water!) It was a fun morning and so fun to see Pete in action.

Joshua meets Granny & Gpa Bartley

My parents were able to fly here last weekend to spend a few short days meeting and holding their fourth grandchild. It was quite an adventure for them to fly here - their first time flying together since I was very young. And boy, a lot has changed in airline travel since then.
My mom had several new recipes that she had found and wanted to try out while she was here, so while Joshua was sleeping we were cooking. But any time that our little boy was awake he had more attention than he knew what to do with. A little baby can be such delightful entertainment. He wiggled and cooed and slept and cried and we were fasciated. Grandpa would often pick him up and with his deep voice start singing, "Jesus loves me" and Josh would quickly be asleep. It was such a fun visit!

Peter turned 30!

Monday, August 15th was a very big day for Pete Sailhamer. His 30th birthday. It's not every day that a man can say that they are 3 decades old. So what does a wife and son do for such a big occasion?

To start with some of our friends offered to babysit the weekend prior. So, to bid farewell to his youth, Peter and I went out on a little date and we very comfortably left Joshua with auntie Josie. We talked about birthday memories and future dreams and I gave him a couple little gifts.
That weekend we started introducing Joshua to bottles. And Peter was able to feed Joshua for the first time.  It was great father/son time for them and both of them loved it so much that I now pump a bottle once a day for Peter to feed to Josh.

On Monday, the real Big day, Joshua got dressed in his patriotic shirt that says "All American Baby" and we went to buy Daddy a fancy coffee drink and take it to his work as a surprise. I had to coordinate this with a couple of other guys in his class to make sure that he would be in the flight room at a specific time and not doing another practice flight simulator. As I was driving over to the building he was in I got a text from one of them saying that Pete had left to go practice and they weren't sure when he'd be back. It would have typically been no problem to come back again, but I learned very quickly that things take a lot longer with a baby and Josh was all ready and in his car seat...we were coming. The next few texts told me that they had told Peter that some Captain was looking for him and he should come back to the flight room. I smiled because just that morning we had a conversation were I was referred to as a Captain! haha! The next text said that he had just arrived back, perfect... I was just pulling into the parking lot. We followed Joe's directions through the maze of hallways to get to his flight room and gave Peter(Daddy) a great surprise. We chatted for a few minutes and then left before his next flight briefing.

the Sailhamer news of the week

What are the updates on our lives from the past week you are wondering? A lot is centering around the newest member, Joshua. A friend told me once when I was pregnant that I'll just want to spend hours staring at him. Maybe I don't spend hours at a time, but I do love to look at him and am fascinated by him. I am continually amazed at this little gift God has given us and Peter and I are both so enjoying this new role and job as parents. It is a joy.

The big events in Joshua's life this week have been that he Josh turned 3 weeks on Thursday. It's hard to believe it's almost been a month now. For the memorable event Joshua and I had a visit from LtCol Moon, who is in charge of everything here, and his sweet wife Debby. Peter was still at work, so I sent him a text asking if I should tell them hi for him or invite them to stay for dinner :).  I got a surprised "No way" in response, but awesome that they are coming over. It was a lot of fun to chat with them and have them meet Joshua. Colonel Moon brought a certificate from the squadron making Joshua an official (kid) member. It was really quiet the event of the day. Also, this past week, a friend of ours came over and took newborn pictures of Josh. They are really incredible! We're so glad to have them. Peter made an album you can view at: https://picasaweb.google.com/113355348959610386847/EmilyMoonSPhotosOfJoshua?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCITOmfWClLjaDQ&feat=directlink

For Peter, training has been going well and he is loving it. Depending on how the weather goes he may be soloing the plane next week. It has been a very hot summer here and Wichita Falls has been having record highs. This week it has been 112+ and many flights have been canceled since those temperatures are too hot to fly the T-6. (Peter could tell you why). So when you are scheduled for the late shift (9am-9pm) like this past week has been, it was a toss up if it would be too hot by the time you were scheduled to fly. Not flying gave him a lot more practice time in the flight simulators though. But hopefully today and this week it will be different and he will be flying around the big puffy clouds.

I am doing well and really loving being a mother. A friend from college drove up for a visit yesterday and it was great to spend time with her. And we have some other visitors scheduled to come soon too. My parents in 2 weeks and a friend from HoneyRock around Labor Day. I've also had several visitors stop by and chat and bring meals over, which has been so helpful for me and made me feel so loved and still connected.

Videos of Joshua

Joshua had some man time with Dad this afternoon while I went to the grocery store to get a few items. I came home to some fun video clips of our little man.
This first one is of Josh waking up. This is actually one of the quickest wake ups that we've seen from him. He is a hard one to crack. There is usually a lot, up to 5 minutes, of: stretching, raising his eye brows (with his eyes closed), and going right back to asleep. I have noticed that his left arm usually goes straight up in the air too, which Pete's video caught. Could our son be a lefty someday?


And here is what Josh was waking up for, play time (ie: exercise) with Dad. Peter had Joshua doing tummy time, leg lifts, pull ups and finally ending with a little flight lesson by guiding his little hands in the correct throttle position, etc. I heard all about it. But, unfortunately, the video is only of tummy time.