yeah, they call me the fireman..

A little late on this one, but better late than never!

On December 25, 2009, a lieutenant put in his last 24 hours as a member of the Arlington Fire Department. He started on the job in October of 1978. A move from the city of San Antonio for he and his wife meant a fresh start at a growing department. He worked at various stations all over the city, but put in most of his career at Station 3.

Thru the blood, sweat, and tears he made good friends, lost loved ones, and made memories that he will keep and cherish his whole life. (And hopefully pass on to his grandson one day!) This job is a hard one, but it was his and he was good at what he did. There are so many stories that I have heard about his leadership and job personality that make me proud to be his daughter.

Dad, I am so happy for you and your retirement. I am going to miss stopping by the fire station every shift you worked. That place was your home, but you also made it mine and made me feel so welcome every time I was there. I appreciate everything you have taught me from your life experiences. I just hope I can do the same for my son.

Happy Retirement, Dad. We love you!

The best crew around! Station 3 C shift.

FF Guy Moore, AO Gary Hall, Lt Curtis Dunn

His new "job".. Paw Paw daycare!!

We are so proud of you Dad!!

Paw Paw and Logan before retirement.

Thanks for all of the memories.

we're the 3 best friends that anyone could have......

It's hard to believe that picture was taken in December of 2005. My, how things have changed since then! This was taken at Disney World, days before my 23rd birthday on one of the last family vacations we took. And I must say, it was probably the best family vacation that we've ever had! Funny how Disney World is better now that we are older...

I was uploading some pictures today and got to looking at my iPhoto library and found some pictures that I hadn't seen in a while...Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum being one of them! I also got to thinking about my sister. She left for school today and while I acted pretty nonchalant about her leaving, I most definitely am missing her. It's crazy how things can change as you grow up.. T and I are almost 6 years apart so growing up, whew, it was rough...for both of us. We fought and fought, and I don't know how my parents put up with us sometimes!

I think my senior year of college is when we finally started getting along. She was about 16 and I started to see just how cool my little sister really was. We started to hang out more, and the more we were together, the more I realized that we were almost the same person... Not to mention the fact that we look A LOT alike!

Nowadays, it feels like we are inseparable. And every time she leaves to go back to Canyon, I try to put on my big girl pants and not be sad. I am glad she chose to go away for college and live away from home and do her own thing though. In a way, I am jealous because I never did leave...and still haven't! But that's where she and I are different. I am forever Arlington, I loved being at UTA and staying a "hometown kid"... But she is destined for so much more. She's got big dreams about being in sports broadcasting, and I hope they come true. She deserves it.

I just hope she doesn't forget us when she's on the sidelines of a big baseball game!

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

I am so lucky to have my sister as my best friend.

Even more than that....

Logan is lucky to have an aunt like you, T.

No matter where you go in life, we'll always be here. We love you, T:-)

...........and we'll never ever ever ever ever leave each other:-)

the best part of waking up...

So it was the first day back to school today... first day back for students and teachers, and my first day back after having Logan. I prepared myself last night by getting everything I needed to take to work with me all put together on the kitchen table. I put all of Logan's things for Paw Paw & Patty Cake's daycare on the chair in the living room with his car seat. I made my lunch. Physically, I was ready to go. Mentally on the other hand, not so much. Which brings me to this morning....

Long story short, I turned my alarm off in my sleep. My first day back to work and I wake up at 7:14 when we are supposed to be at work around 7:15. Awesome. I shot up, spit out a few curse words, and ran around the house like a mad woman! I got to school around 7:40 and rushed out to the weight room where our volleyball girls were already lifting. Let me just say that I am so thankful for Andrea because she covers my tail all the time! I am so lucky to work with such a good friend. It's great to have someone you can lean on and they can lean back, too:-)

As for Mr. Logan today...

First day at Paw Paw and Patty Cake's Daycare... Looks like it went well:-) We are so lucky that mom and dad have offered their services!
Teresa hasn't gone back to school yet so for this week she is playing babysitter during the day. Logan loves being around his Aunt T. They nap well together:-) I am not sure who sleeps harder though!

Well, it is dinner time and then bath time for Logan. All in all, minus this morning of course, the first day back went well. It was nice to be back!

As for the best part of waking up, it is definitely my new Keuring coffee maker:-) If you don't have one, I highly suggest getting one!!

-Heather:-)

A New Addition...

So it's January 3 and I am finally getting around to starting a blog. Things have been really busy around the Dunwoody house!

Logan Thomas made his arrival on December 2nd, 2009. He made sure to make his entrance an exciting one! I started having contractions on December 1 around 1:30 A.M. I made it until about 5:30 and told Tom we should go to the hospital. My contractions were still too far apart, but were getting stronger! They sent us home to "labor it out" and boy, was that fun:-) Tom took care of me all day while my contractions got closer and much stronger. We went back to the hospital at around 6 that evening and got checked in. We waited up all night for his arrival...well, mom, dad and Tom waited up all night... I fell fast asleep after my friend Dr. Burris put my epidural in:-) At 5:30 Wednesday morning, it was finally time to push! Logan announced his presence at 6:58 A.M. But we weren't in the clear- Logan had a small pneumothorax (air bubble between lungs and rib cage) and was burning a low grade fever. So he was immediately taken down to the NICU. He spent a total of 6 days in the NICU. Everything is wonderful now, but those first couple of days were a little scary. He was the best Christmas present ever for us. We are so in love with him!! He is now a month old and couldn't be healthier! Here are a few pics from the past month.

This is right before Logan was taken down to the NICU. He was so big and beautiful!!

Logan: Day 1 of NICU. He was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and had an IV in his left arm. Tom said the pad on his arm made him look like a hockey player!

Logan loves his Boppy pillow and doing "tummy time"... Isn't he cute??

This was our first "family photo".. Taken at Fire Station 3.

Paw Paw and Logan before his retirement.

Just hanging out with his Pooh Rattle:-)

Getting ready to head out for Mommy's birthday dinner at Texas De Brazil in downtown Fort Worth!

After dinner in downtown Fort Worth with Grandpa Pete, Grandma Tricia, Aunt Teresa, Mom, Dad and Paw Paw and Grandma. 3 Generations of Woodman boys!

Scott, Tom and Logan

As you can see from the pictures, we had some visitors over the Christmas holiday break! Tom's mom, Tricia and her husband Pete came down to spend a week with their new grandson and were here for his first Christmas.

After Christmas, Tom's dad Scott, his wife, Susan and brothers Ben and Pete came down to ring in the new year with us!

It was really nice to have everyone come down and spend time with their new grandson! I know Logan enjoyed all of the attention he got!!

Now, it's back to reality. School starts tomorrow for me, and Tom has to be back at work as well. So Logan will be heading to my parents for daycare. We are so lucky that my parents have offered to help us out! He'll be in good hands and close enough to the both of us if we wanted to go see him during the day. I am so not ready to go back to work, but I know it will get easier as time goes on.

Well, time to get organized and ready for the week ahead! Until next time...