Family Pictures

We got our fall family pictures to hopefully get the girls ready for our Christmas ones. They didn't turn out too bad. One of these times we are going to get Sofi to smile. But now we know why she doesn't; because it is a new situation and new people which she doesn't do well with. Since our favorite photographer is out of state we have to find another one close that will work with Sofi.

Sofia

Emma

Lee and Jaynee

Update on Crazy Lorenz's

Since Lee is busy doing homework I will do this posting. I think that life gets crazier as the days go on and the holidays get closer so the Lord finds ways to slow us down. One way he did that is that Lee decided to hurt his knee playing football. He has a torn ACL and torn MCL. Now you must remember that the military is very slow. He has had to see the Dr. twice and an MRI before getting referred to Orthopedics and he can't get an appointment until October 19th. As of right now, surgery is a possibility, but we will see. Even though he seems to be walking slower he is still going to the football games to show company support, doing morning PT (Physical Training) but just walking instead of running and working long hours as well as trying to do school work.

On September 25th we took advantage of "Free Museum Day" and took the girls to Fort Discovery Science Museum. It is a little old for the girls but they have one room that is for little kids and they loved it.



Sofi has started one set of Therapy sessions. She is doing really well. They all say that she is really smart and with a little help from Therapy she will be able to overcome the obstacles that she is dealing with now. The big hurdle we are facing with her is still the potty training. It doesn't seem to be going as well as I would have liked, but they tell me autistic children usually don't get trained until around age 4 so we are still ahead of the average. On the other good note for Sofi, she is doing much better then Emma, because Emma is showing no interest at all.

Emma is just keeping herself busy by playing with Sofi as well as teasing each other. The cute thing that Emma does now is she likes to come up to you with her arms open and says "Hugs". It just makes me melt when she does it.

Both girls did have their first visit to the Dentist last week. We went to a pediatric Dentist so it would be a little better for them we thought. I held Emma down and Lee held Sofi down, they weren't too fond of it but the dentist said everything looks good and put fluoride on their teeth. The girls did come away with a bag full of toys and prizes as well as a tooth brush, I wish I had that when I was a kid.

I have also been doing some kind of activity with the girls every day. One day we did finger painting with pudding. Emma loved it and enjoyed eating it. Sofi just liked eating it but once she licked her fingers she had to have them wiped off because she doesn't like her hands dirty. It was fun watching them with the pudding. I took pictures before they were all covered with pudding.



As for myself, I am trying to keep track of appointments for the girls as well as Lee. I am also involved in a lot of volunteer work for the Army and classes that I have to take the next 3 weeks. The good part is the military pays for child care and the girls do good there. It is like going to school for them and now that they are the same age they will be in the same class again. Hopefully this catches you up a little on what has been going on with us this past month.

Stop, Drop, and How High can You Go!!

So this month has gone by so fast, I can't keep up with what has been going on.
Jaynee wanted to go accomplish a multitude of things. The first was to go and see the Hot Air Baloon Show that was on Fort Gordon. It was really pretty to see about a dozen balloons all head for the sky just after the sun came up. I would have perferred it to start a little later, but it was great to see how excited the girls were every time a balloon was filled with air and took off heading high in the sky.





After a short break, we took the girls to an activity that was promoting safety. A local group was sponsoring an activity to collect important information about the girls, to include height, weight, pictures, DNA, fingerprints, and an audio sample of their voice (the girls did not provide a sample). All of this was then stored on a CD and given to us just in case there was a need for it later down the line. It was well put together. Outside there was firetrucks, police cars, and a mobile smoke house to teach them how to exit a burning building. We still need to work on that one.




The night before all of this, I had the opportunity to take Jaynee to another Ball on post. It was called the Instructors Ball. It was to recognize the great work that all the instructors are doing each day as their teach the new Soldiers how to perform their new skills that they will be required to do upon completion of their training. It was a nice evening, lots of messed up actions, as well as sitting to the most abnoxious table during the night, but it is always special to see Jaynee dress up.




The last week or two has gone by in a flash. I have started yet another semester of school, I am now playing on the company's flag football team, Jaynee and I hosted our first Family Readiness Group Meeting for the company's Soldiers and their spouses, we picked up a small table for the girls to use to learn from and to eat (but we need to stain it first), and just did a little shopping.

Busy and Crazy Summer

So we haven't posted anything on the blog for 2 months, I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. Lee had a training he went to then took command of a Brigade Headquarters Company and finished one semester of school and getting ready to start the next. The girls and I have just trying to get through our busy days. Emma graduated from speech, YEAH!!! She is now speaking at about a 3 year old level and we are excited for that. Sofi on the other hand gets to start Speech, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. We have spent the last 2 months going to doctors and getting evaluated and she has now been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). This is basically a mild form of Autism. She is so smart, but has difficulty dealing with social situations such as crowds and even going to the grocery store. The Occupational Therapy should help with that, and the PT and Speech with help with other issues that she is having. The Dr. said that this next year is critical and she could either get better or worse. It will never go away but maybe we can help her deal with the situations better. She is such a special little girl that the lord put this challenge in her life because he knew that she could handle it. As for myself, I have been taking girls to therapy and doctor visits along with being a Family Readiness Group (FRG) leader for Lee's company. I have done this job before; this is where I help with the families of the soldiers that are in his company. The first day Lee took command he had a situation where a family was in desperate need of help. So I was able to get groceries for them, make dinner and get help from other families for clothes and furniture. I have also been attending training going to the Officer Wives club events. I have kept myself very busy.
That catches you up on the past 2 months. As for this Labor Day weekend we have been working on the yard. We bought shrubs and a tree, paving stones and Lee’s favorite purchase- Industrial Shelves for the garage, almost like pallet rack shelving. I wanted to work in the yard yesterday, but that didn’t work Lee wanted to build shelves and organize the garage. So tomorrow he gets to dig is big hole for our tree and the small holes for the shrubs. Then I think we will have to wait a couple of weeks to get the paving stones laid. Our yard is slowly coming along and maybe by the time we move it will be the way we want it.
Our hope is that we will be better at posting on the blog in the future. I hope you all had a great summer.
Here are some pictures of our latest adventures.

Change of Command:
Emma with Grandma Lorenz before the ceremony.

Jaynee and Sofi receive a dozen yellow roses.

Lee performing his first act as a company commander, passing the guidon to his 1st Sergeant.

Lee saluting the American Flag.

The girls reading the morning paper.

Emma wanting to take over command.

Grandpa Lorenz and Sofi riding a Merry-go-round.

Mommy and Emma riding the same Merry-go-round (but at a different time than Sofi).

The girls are ready to take over the streets with their tough biker gang.

The girls are mad that they missed the bus on the first day of school (not for another 3 years).

Sofia giving mommy a run for her money.

Sofia showing off her made dashing speed by getting away from mommy before she realizes that there is junk in my trunk.

Emma's first attempt at trying out for the Olympics (she ran about 1 mile on the track before being bribbed to leave).

Happy 4th of July

Sorry, that I have not written for a while. Our household has been very busy. I am in the process of beginning to transition to a new position, and with school, church, and a family it is beginning to stretch me thin. Jaynee has been hosting her parents who just left this past weekend. It was nice to have them here to play with the girls and for the girls to get to know their grandparents. Within the last 2 months, the girls have seen both sets of grandparents plus their dogs. It has been a real treat for them.

This holiday weekend, we ended up traveling to Columbus, Georgia to visit the National Infantry Museum. It was time well spent. I wish I could have spent more time looking at everything they had there. I was a little disappointed that the outdoor exhibit from the previous museum was not displayed. They had a great collection of large military vehicles and equipment that the U.S. Army has used, as well as some captured vehicles and equipment from previous enemies. I hope they plan to add them to the museum soon.

The girls were great during the entire trip. Besides getting a little tired of sitting in their car seats for a couple of hours each day, I think they had a lot of fun. We were able to find a hotel with an indoor pool which the girls loved. When we were leaving, Emma got off the elevator and attempted to make her way to the pool. I had to quickly grab her and listen to her repeat pool as I checked out and took her to our vehicle. As for what lies in store for us, well you will have to stand by and read all about it. Pictures will be forthcoming, as I wanted to put something down to let everyone know I am trying to keep this up to date.

Just Another Week

Well, as I look back on this past week, nothing unusual happened. It was a short week because of Memorial Day. There was lots of thunderstorms and rain during the first part of the week. However, leave it to the girls to make the normal anything but normal.

Tuesday will be remembered as a day of infamy. Emma and Sofi broke down and had major meltdowns. None of which we had ever seen before. It was so bad that Jaynee canceled Emma's therapy appointment for the day.

Wednesday began looking like it was going to be a repeat. Emma woke up really early in the morning and did not go to sleep until I left for work. (Thanks for allowing me to take a short nap during the night.) Jaynee then took the girls to the kickoff party for the summer reading program. What was truly amazing was that in less than 35 minutes, the girls got up, dressed, hair done, had breakfast, and traveled on post to the library. Jaynee no longer has an excuse for being late. After that I took the girls out to lunch to celebrate them having a better day than Tuesday.

Thursday, the girls had a play date with some friends. From what I hear they were good little girls. Friday, nothing much happened. Mom went out and had fun with some girl friends of hers and the girls went to bed while daddy worked on homework.

Saturday's plans were to get 1000 things down in a time span that normally 15-20 items should have been completed. Wake up, tear down the back fence, paint it, put it back together, get the girls ready for the day, go shopping on post, drive them to "Parents Day Out", go to Wal-mart, come home, clean out pantry, remove pantry shelves, install newer larger bigger better pantry shelves, clean up mess, take Jaynee out to lunch, go shopping for mechanic gloves, go back to Wal-mart and buy backpacks for the girls, pick girls up, play with girls, clean the house, get ready to drive to Atlanta, drive to Atlanta, pick up Jaynee's parent, drive to Apple store, drive home but stop at another Wal-mart (3 times in 1 day is enough to last an eternity), put Emma down, clean up, try to figure out how to get Sofi to go to bed, get her to bed, get ready for bed, stay up even longer to ensure Sofi is asleep before opening the girls door, and then finally go to bed.

Hope you like some of the pictures. I am still working on getting some videos ready to post, but in the priority of things I need to get done, it is very low at this time.

Mommy, can we go to school check out our new backpacks?


Look, I can run faster with this backpack on


Check me out with my new doggie backpack


Sofi enjoying her new doggie backpack


Sofi sitting contently near some books with her new hat


Emma with her new hat (took 40 tries before I got this photo)


Emma showing that she can sit still long enough to pose for the camera


Sofi enjoying eating the first watermelon of the season

Happy 7th Anniversary

This past week, Jaynee and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary (the girls came to dinner with us too). Looking back it has been a fun ride. Who would have thought 7 years ago I would be in the Army, we would have 2 nearly twin girls, I would have served 2 tours in Iraq, and we would be living in Georgia for all but one year of our marriage. We have lots of fun times to look back on. In fact for our anniversary I got off work early and we went out to dinner (to a buffet because of the speed in which the girls can get their food). After that I wanted to get Jaynee a nicer camera to take action photos of the girls with. Our current camera worked just great as long as the girls held still while the camera processed the picture. After that we came home and put the girls down. Jaynee and I stayed up and talked for a while about the past seven years. We would ask a general question and we would both have to answer the question. The questions were general in nature but required a specific answer. It was fun to talk about how much has change and in some instances the lack of change over our time as a couple.

This holiday weekend will be the last free one I have for a while. I begin work on another semester Tuesday towards completing my Master's in Telecommunications Management. I should be complete with my degree next April. It will be a wonderful celebration once I get to the point. But with this being my last full weekend to work on house projects, there is not enough time in the day to complete them all. Friday it began with lawn care. Mowing the lawn to all low as possible then trimming the edges. This was prep work for the project on Saturday. When that was done, I needed to finish work on a drain pipe from the house. I needed to install an on/off valve in case of any type of flood waters and to finish work on the drain area by clearing it out and placing rocks in the drain area. Saturday, I spent 9 hours painting our fence. I still have one gate to take the boards off and paint, but with the storms going through this weekend. I will have to do that later this week or next week. Today, I was supposed to install new shelves in Jaynee's pantry, but that will be held to next week so that Jaynee can help me. Next weekend we are putting the girls in day care so we can enjoy "Parent's Day Out". This is a program for the military that allows parents to drop kids off at day care for up to 5 hours so that the parents can have time to do things they need to. It should be a fun filled day of projects and then a trip to Atlanta to pick up Jaynee's parents who will be in the area for the next month. Until next week.

Family Pictures

Here are a couple more family pictures. The girls did not want to cooperate with taking pictures but we got a couple cute ones. I hope that you enjoy them.

Below is the cutest pictures of the girls that we got.




Sofi was not wanting to sit by herself to get her picture taken.


Emma just likes to ham it up for the camera.

A Very Busy Month

To begin with, I need to apologize for not keeping this blog current. It has been rather busy for us lately. Some of the latest adventures have included Jaynee's day as a Soldier, my parents spending 2 weeks with us and major work on the house, sealing Sofia to our family, the zoo, Sofia's 2nd birthday, and surgery for Emma. To quickly sum up some of the above listed events, I will quickly write short paragraphs to describe them, and when then post pictures showing those particular events.

The first event that I forgot to cover was Jaynee's day as a Soldier. I started writing the blog the day after the event, but never finished it because of issues with the internet, and time. I even had a title which was called "G.I. Jaynee". In a nutshell, Jaynee got all dressed up and played Soldier until a thunderstorm arrived which caused the afternoon's activities to be canceled for safety. In the morning Jaynee learned about the communications equipment that a headquarters would have deployed, saw what living quarters look like when training in the field, practiced close quarters firing drills with blanks, and then practiced clearing rooms. She was on her lunch break when the announcement came that thunderstorms were approaching. She missed out on a simulation of a vehicle roll-over, paint ball shooting at pop up targets, and weapon qualification on the electronic version of a weapons range. Jaynee looked the Soldier by wearing a set of my combat uniform, and then she was issued as part of the activity a Kevlar helmet, an armor vest, knee and elbow pads, and a rubber mold version of an M-4 rifle.






My parents made their way from Missouri to spend 2 weeks with us. They were able to participate in some of the activities for both Sofia and Emma. While my dad was here Jaynee put the two of us to work. We were assigned to install a ceiling fan in our loft which required a complete rewiring of the upstairs electrical outlets for all the lights and to install a garbage disposal under her kitchen sink. As part of the kitchen sink we also installed a new faucet. Jaynee wanted us to do more, but I think my dad appreciated just having time to read and play with the girls.

After visiting with the judge, the next big step was have Sofia sealed to us in the temple. That occurred with my parents present in Columbia, South Carolina. Sofia is now ours for all time and eternity.




On the way home from the temple, Jaynee saw a sign for the Columbia Zoo, so for Sofia's 2nd birthday we returned to Columbia to visit the zoo. The girls loved the animals. The only negative thing was our timing. We happened to be at the zoo when lots of school age children were attending. It made it a little crowded. Besides the crowds, the girls loved all the animals, especially the elephants, tigers, and monkeys. Sofia loved the gorilla exhibit, but the gorillas were not out at the time we visited.

For Sofia's birthday party, we just had a simple party with my parents. We had tacos which recently is a favorite meal of Sofia. After dinner we had cake, rather an ice cream cake that we picked up after returning from the zoo. Sofia's gifts were a whole different story. How do you give gifts to a 2 year old, but not to her younger sister? So we picked up things that they could both play with but which Sofia would have more interest. She got some building blocks, a wagon, a flashlight, an old fashion wood game, a bike helmet, a sprinkler head to run through, Mr. Potato Head, and some clothes. It seemed like Sofia and Emma enjoyed this day.


Emma did have a day in the spotlight. Unfortunately for her, it required surgery for her to have 15 minutes of attention. We have tubes placed in her ears to help drain liquid that has been having problems draining. A few months ago as part of a hearing test she could not hear due to fluid in her ears. The surgery was a success, and the results are coming in. The afternoon of the surgery, Emma was able to actually say Sofia's name and it sounded like Sofia, not "Soso". Each day since her surgery she has been saying words clearer. Now all we got to do is get her to participate in speech therapy so she doesn't have to attend any more.

Well, I guess that is all from Georgia. I will do better over the next couple of weeks. Here are a couple of pics of the girls being themselves.