May

Where to begin...

Currently, Madeline and myself are in Winchester, Virginia adjusting to civilization, time differences, and getting used to the weather. Madeline did an amazing job traveling between Fairbanks to Dallas to Savannah and then DC. She did only one Mariah Carey scream on the trip to DC, but she quickly fell asleep. We were able to find a house to rent for the next two years. It is bigger then our house was in Fairbanks, but there is some needed touching up in the way of painting. Each room is a different color and it unfortunately, does not go with any of our stuff. Currently there is a bright apple green bathroom, a yellow kitchen, a sea foam bedroom, etc. This is something that will be changing in the near future. We will not be able to move in until July 15th, sigh. But at least we have a place to stay rather then living in a hotel for that length of time.


Madeline has been fussy for the past few days which I cannot blame her. We have turned her world upside down and with the addition of growing pains (she has yet to have a tooth) she has a right to be fussy. Madeline is able to sit up for roughly 5-20 seconds and weighs around 15 1/2 pounds. She is growing fast and continues to get more and more beautiful (yes, I have to brag).


Will currently is in Montana somewhere with his dad. They have been traveling very long 12 hour days and have been making great progress. From my understanding, we will be seeing Will between Tuesday-Wednesday next week. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since we last saw him. He continues to update me on all the animals that they have seen. Bob has been taking pictures so as soon as we get them loaded on our computer, we will share them.  Moose has been a trooper the duration of the trip. The vet did prescribe him tranquilizers to help wean him into the long days. Will said that Moose has been doing well enough that he hasn't been having to give him any tranquilizers. He has shed a lot, but that's to be expected.


Madeline and myself have been trying to get into a routine which has been interesting, but is progressing well. We have continued to give her solid foods and as of right now she tolerates pears, dislikes peaches and bananas, likes applesauce, and loves to grab food from my hands when she can.

This was a lovely little spot in the Anchorage airport where they had a nursery. We were able to hibernate until we got on our flight from Anchorage to Dallas.

Madeline was chilling out in the Dallas airport until we boarded to Savannah.

It was Wendi's turn to change Madeline's diaper. Don't worry, the car was parked on the side of the road.

This is our new house. Yes, the landscaping needs work!

This color will change, but this is Madeline's future room!

The landlord said we can paint as long as we don't go crazy and paint like hot pink....

She can't feed herself yet, but in the split second of this picture being taken, it LOOKS as though she can...

6 months!

Super cute!

I will update again soon...

Mattie Mae Bauer (May 11, 2001 - May 6, 2011)

When Wendi and company and myself were all in Killeen, Texas, Wendi graciously let Oscar stay with them for two reasons. One, since I taught and Wendi was a stay-at-home mom, she would be able to let Oscar out throughout the day. Two, my duplex had a 'no pet' policy. Oscar and Mattie lived together like this for 5 years so when it was time to move Oscar to Alaska, Mattie was attached at the hip.

Mattie was hilarious. 110% polar opposite of Oscar. Words that would describe her are: prissy, prissy, and prissy. When unfamiliar people came to the door, she would greet them with a 360 circle and jump up on their legs begging to be petted. She would quickly jump into any lap and loved to be loved on. She was an excellent dog. She wouldn't growl or bark when it was time to go to the vet.  It would take a little more motivation to get her to walk on a leash or go potty when it was raining or snowing outside. She was feisty when "people food" was out. She has been known (when no one was looking) to jump on the kitchen chair, then on the kitchen table, to scarf whatever food she possible could before someone came back. She even took Will's turkey breast off his plate in a matter of seconds this past Thanksgiving.

We have known Mattie to have been sick for about a year with an enlarged heart. She was given daily medication for this which helped along the way. Well after Oscar passed, her health quickly deteriorated. After going to the vet it was discovered that she had liver cancer. A tough decision between Wendi and I was to have her put down May 6th. She was in pain and was losing weight which isn't good for a dog whose average weight was 12 pounds. The good news is that Oscar and Mattie have reunited. The bad? Well, that's pretty obvious.

I wanted to honor Mattie and share some pictures...

First attempt at solids

The first set of pictures (you can tell with the bib) is Madeline trying rice cereal. Wasn't too too bad. Since she wasn't really eating it, we transitioned to rice cereal oatmeal flavor and then some bananas (second bib). Let's just say not only did she hate it, but went straight to nursing right after. Next time we will try with our first choice: rice cereal. And of course, Happy 9th Birthday to my dear nephew, Josh!!

Rice Cereal

Baby

Will she like it?

Very confused!

Oatmeal? No.

Bananas? Worse!

Thank God for bibs!

Up and Coming

Madeline:
Miss Madeline is officially 5 months old! She is amazing. Now, she is able to start reaching for things, like Will's 5 o'clock shadow. It is the sweetest thing. Making new noises everyday is something we are getting accustomed to. For example, when she is really upset she loves exercising her "Mariah Carey" voice. I am lucky to hear this ear-piercing scream almost everyday when I pick her up from the sitter. Madeline loves being in a moving car, but being at stop lights is a different story. I am so happy we didn't have to take her to the doctor this month for more vaccinations. We didn't get an official weight, but she is around 13.5 pounds.

Moose:

Moose has been very needy lately. He is constantly in my face and follows me pretty much everywhere in the house. He still gives love bites, gets stuck on the window screens, and continues to be bipolar. 

If you didn't know:

We have been pretty hush hush about this until I was able to tell my boss, but it is official. We are moving to Savannah, Georgia next month. Our next Obringer Adventure. When I told my boss last week, it was very emotional. I do like my job, love the people I work with, and have come to even enjoy Fairbanks.  However, I chose the military life when I married Will. I am fortunate we get to travel and experience incredible places and meet extraordinary people, but it still is hard. I am looking forward to moving to be closer to family, hopefully visit my dear friends in Texas, the sun, and being able to be more active with Madeline outdoors. Will and I decided we are definitely not wintery people. We enjoy the occasional cross country skiing day or tubing, but we are not fishers or hunters. We will be close to the beach - yay, wine bars, and...c'mon...Savannah? AWESOME!

Will:

Will thought after the last stint of court martials it would be smooth sailing, but that has not been the case (no pun intended). He still has a case in May and of course, his last case at Ft. Wainwright, AK which is a murder case. That will most likely take place in June/July. Will's new job title will be Brigade Judge Advocate. He will be a counselor to approximately 2,500 soldiers and more importantly the commander's personal JAG. This is a position mainly for Majors so for Will to attain this position as a Captain shows how great he is at his job (don't tell him that though... ;)). He is looking forward to his upcoming job because quite honestly, he is burnt out of the one he has.  He has had a great run, winning almost every single one of his cases, but it is time to move on. 

Will and his dad will be leaving Fairbanks on May 30th driving cross country back to the east coast. I am jealous of his dad because Will and I had an amazing time driving up to AK. But with a bipolar cat and 6 month old, it's just not the ideal situation. 

Me:

Will and I have decided that I will not be working full time when we move to Savannah. Coming to this decision has been an interesting one. I will, however, attempt to find a part time online teaching job through some college/university. Emotionally, we know this is the right decision, but intellectually, I need something. 

Wendi will be arriving in Fairbanks, May 20th and Wendi, Madeline, myself, and Moose will be flying to Savannah May 21st. We are going to try our best in 2 days to find a rental house we can call home for the next two years. We will then fly back to D.C. and rest for a couple of weeks until Will gets there and we can start our life in GA.

Oscar:

We miss Oscar each and every day. It still hasn't hit me that he is gone. We flew him and Mattie to Virginia over Spring Break to prepare for the move. I knew we would be without him for a couple of months, but didn't realize when I said goodbye that that would be the last time. Wendi has made a peaceful place for him to rest in her backyard. I haven't been able to look at the picture she sent of it and will have a hard time seeing it when we go back. Will has almost completed the demand letter to the neighbors whose dogs murdered Oscar. They will have 30 days to respond. If they choose not to reimburse the vet bills, we will proceed with a lawsuit. 

Mattie:

Wendi and fam have noticed that Mattie has been acting a little 'off' so after a bit of time she went to the vet. What was found? A direct text from Wendi, "Her right side of her heart has severe congestive failure which by itself could be controlled with drugs. The bigger problem is a huge mass in her liver and some fluid in her abdomen and surrounding her tummy." There is a chance the mass is cancer and  we will all have to make some decisions depending on the results of the test. We were hoping that she was just depressed because of Oscar, which still may be the case, but unfortunately, it's a lot more. :(

5 months old! My favorite out of the bunch.

She was tired of being pictured, poor thing.

Madeline loves munching on everything, especially fingers.

She's started reaching and loves feeling her Daddy's scruff.

Pretty creative, if you ask me.

Moose loves being near Madeline.

I only had 2 plants.

Thanks, Moose! Now I have 1.

I personally have never seen someone shoveling snow on the roof.

Workers have to take dump truck loads of snow away.