How cute is he???

So, I couldn't resist posting some pictures of Hunter in his monkey costume. He wore it to the zoo on the 30th and of course on Halloween again. He had a great time at the zoo and also visiting with some family while trick or treating. He ate a bit too much candy at my Uncle Mike's house and had a bit of a meltdown while we were visiting with G.G. (that's what Hunter calls his Great Grandma Plut), but overall it was a great time and he sure looked cute. Hope you enjoy!
-em

Has it really been that long?

Hunter and Daddy

Wearing Daddy's hat

The guys at the aquarium

Wow... I just realized that it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted on the blog here. I suppose that's not a bad thing, we have just been busy! Let's see...
Ben arrived back in IL on the evening of October 13 and Hunter and I picked him up from O'Hare airport. It was crazy at the airport and I thought we would never find each other, but it worked out and it was soooooooo amazing to finally see him again! Hunter was a bit shy at first but after a few days he was playing with his daddy like they had never been apart.
On the morning of the 16th we headed to Clarksville, TN as a stopping point on our way to Jonathan and Julie's wedding in Atlanta. It was a long trip, but it was enjoyable to be together as a family after so long. We had a great time visiting with the family in Atlanta and Hunter performed his duty as ring bearer quite well. I did have to help him and I hate to admit it, but he carried a tractor down as well, BUT he made it down the aisle and that is all that matters! :)
After a couple days in Atlanta we headed to Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC and spent the night there. It was beautiful and we really enjoyed it. We could have done a lot more there, but we were anxious to get to the amazing cabin we rented in Pigeon Forge, TN. We spent a week in the mountains of TN at an amazing cabin and just relaxed and enjoyed life! We visited an incredible aquarium, went on a monster truck ride, walked around the town of Gatlinburg, spent a day at Bass Pro and just had lots of fun!
After that we came back to IL since Ben had to fly back out of here and spent the last couple days here. We took Hunter to Brookfield Zoo and went trick or treating (well, just to a couple houses of friends and family.) Hunter was very happy to have his Daddy home even if it was just for a while. Ben headed back yesterday morning nice and early and he's in Kuwait right now waiting for a flight back to Afghanistan.
Now it will be back to things as usual for all of us. Ben starts his next couple classes for his Masters on Monday, hopefully he will be back in time to get his homework done this first week! He will have a lot to do for a couple of weeks as he gets back into a routine so I'm sure he won't have much time to post or email, but I will do my best to keep everyone updated on what he is doing. I suppose that is enough for now, I will try to get some adorable pictures posted soon.
Love, em

Getting Close

Well, it's just about a month now until Ben gets home and we can't wait! Hunter and I have been keeping busy and passing the time, but we are starting to get really excited about visiting with Ben for a while. Today we started getting his clothes out to make sure that they were not all gross from being in the attic, and miracle of miracles... they actually smell good! Yay for not having to wash tons of clothes! Thank goodness we have lots of stuff going on to help pass the time and keep us busy or we might go crazy waiting another month.
I'm going to try to post a few new adorable pictures of Hunter. He is getting sooooooooooo big, it's incredible! He's really trying to talk, but not a lot of real words yet. He is definately an outdoorsman like his Daddy. He just can't get enough of being outside. I don't think I posted it before but at his 12 month checkup he was 27.5 lbs and 31.25 inches tall. He's quite a big guy! I'm so happy that he's doing really well walking now, he's really almost starting to run. I definately get a workout with him all day long. Speaking of working out... tomorrow after Hunter has tumblebees at the park district we are going to sign up for a gym membership there so that Hunter can get used to being with other kids in the daycare there for a while. He isn't very good if he is away from me, so we need to work on that. I figure it will be good for both of us!

I guess there isn't much else exciting to share with you, at least not for now. I did add a slideshow of Hunter's first birthday party, there are some really cute pictures of him eating his cake and I think that if you click on the show you can view them a little bigger and at your own pace. Oh, and if you think of it be praying for a dear family friend named Shirley. She is in her 80's and has a lot of things going wrong right now and has been hospitalized for a week or so. She has been like a grandmother to our family and we just hate to see her ill. Thanks so much.

Hope everyone is well and I can't wait to see the Feicht family soon!

Love, Em and Hunter

Greetings from Afghanistan...

Things here are very busy, but that is ok. It is making time go by very quickly. Work has been really busy lately and my two Masters classes are keeping me very busy. I have had an exciting couple of days though. Last night LTC (Ret.) James Megellas was here and told us some war stories and handed out free signed copies of his book “All the Way to Berlin”. He has the distinction of being the 82nd Airborne’s most decorated WWII officer. From what I am told the book is very well written and a great account of the 82nd and their exploits during WWII. The other big piece of news is I have been emailing back and forth with Shah Muhammad Rais better known as the bookseller of Kabul. He has written a book that rebuts some of the liberal propaganda published in the book “The Bookseller of Kabul”. This morning it was delivered to me and Rais signed that book as well. It is only published here in Kabul and I haven’t seen it offered anywhere online. It is very short, but it is very interesting. It was delivered by Rais’s cousin Mustafa. The pictures are of me standing with him.
That is my exciting news for today. I guess I am taking too many classes because I’m having fun collecting signed books. Hope all is well at home. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. Take care and God bless.
Ben

A little late...

sleeping at the zoo

eating birthday cake... kinda

Well, Hunter's first birthday has come and gone! I'm a little late with this post, but I suppose it's better late than never, right? Hunter had a wonderful birthday and he is enjoying all of his new toys and clothes. Alright, maybe not the clothes as much, but he is definatley enjoying the toys! On the Saturday before his birthday we had a party and Hunter enjoyed his favorite dinner of pizza, although he fell asleep in his high chair while eating. The poor little guy was apparently quite worn out! He was quickly revived when he started opening presents though, and he did a great job of that! The first couple presents were great and he did a great job of tearing the paper off all by himself. After that he opened a ride on Lightning McQueen (from the movie Cars) and he was done opening gifts. He was way to busy playing with his amazing car to worry about anything else. Must be great to be a kid, huh?
I am going to try to post some pictures of his cake eating, hopefully they will work. He had a great time smashing his birthday cake. He didn't actually eat very much of it, but it sure got everywhere!
On Monday (the 18th) my mom and I took Hunter to the zoo for his real birthday. We had a great time and it was a perfect day for the zoo. Hunter wasn't so sure about all of the animals, but he got a kick out of the bears and the elephants. He also loved the petting zoo because there were goats to pet and brush. That was pretty cool to him! I personally thought it was a bit smelly, but it sure made him happy. He must have had a great time because he fell sound asleep in his stroller until we got some ice cream and then headed home. What a great first birthday! Thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts and cards, we really appreciate you remembering his birthday.
Hunter and I also started a mommy and me class at the park district called tumble bees. It's basically a class that allows the kids to play on different equipment and mats in the gym, it's a lot of fun and Hunter just loves it. We are taking it with a new friend and so that makes it even better for both of us. We have been keeping really busy and trying hard to pass the time. So far, so good!
Ben should be home in mid-October and we are very excited about that! Everything is set for going to a wedding in Atlanta and then vacationing as a family for a while afterward. We are looking forward to just spending time together for a while.
I think that is all of our news for now. Hope that all is well with our few faithful readers!
Love, em and HJ

First Haircut

So, today our little Hunter got his very first haircut! We went to this amazing place called Kid Snips where he got to sit in a little car, watch a movie of his choice and get his hair cut all at the same time! He even got a toy and a balloon, and a certificate (which is sooooooooooo adorable!) He did cry, but it could have been a lot worse. And his new hair cut looks adorable! I just realized as I went to upload pictures that I didn't get any good shots of his new cut, so I will have to do that soon. It must look alright because tonight we were at Kohl's and a lady who must have been at least 75 said that he was "quite a little dude." What a compliment!

We are busy getting ready for his birthday party, I can't believe that he will be turing one in just over a week! Where has the time gone? We ordered a cake today and now all we have to do is order the pizza. My mom and I are planning to take him to the zoo on his real birthday, so he has lots of exciting stuff coming up. He is just getting so big and soooooooooo smart!

Well, I should be getting to some other stuff, but I wanted to post about his first haircutting adventure! Hope that everyone is well...

Love,

Em and HJ

Walking, walking!!!

...and he's off! Our little Hunter J is walking all over the place. It's amazing to see! He had been taking a few steps here and there, but on Saturday we were at my grandma's house (Hunter's great-grandma, his Gigi) and he just discovered that he could walk quite a bit. It was so fun to see him toddling around and giggling like crazy. He's just getting so big so quickly!
He was also asked to be a ring bearer in his Uncle Jonathan's wedding, so he's very excited about that. We will have to perfect this walking stuff in time for the wedding in October, especially since his Daddy will be there and we have to show off for daddy. Only two and a half months until Ben is home to visit and we can't wait! We have a great time planned, starting with going to his brother's wedding (yay for Julie joining the Feicht family!), then on to Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina, and finally to Gatlinburg where we have a FABULOUS cabin for a week. We are sooooooooooo excited to be able to spend time as a family and just be normal for a while! After Gatlinburg we will head back to Chicago because Ben has to fly out of here, but it should only be for a couple of days. We are leaving that part of his trip open for right now, just in case we think of something fun to do.
Anyway, it's getting late and I should be sleeping but I just wanted to share the great news that Hunter is walking!!! Yay!
Love, em