Seth vs. Kindergarten

Don't you just hate it when you plan something and than it goes kaput?! Well that is excatly what happened to our plan with Seth in private Kindergarten.

Here's the back story; DODDS (department of Defense school) changed the Kindergarten age requirement to September 1. Meaning, your child has to be 5 by September 1 to start Kindergraten. Translation, that sucks, Seth turns 5 on September 29!!! We have known about this lovely change since January.

So I toured the private Kindergarten's in this area (which has the age requirement at 5 years by October 31) and found a great one at Faith Baptist Church. Don't freak out, its english spoken, all American run. Anyway, Loren and I made the decision to have him start because we had him tested and academically speaking...he is more than ready! So we thought putting him into private Kindergarten would keep him on the track to stay ahead.

Well, I got a lovely call from the Principal telling me the school did not get approved for stateside accreditation. Lovely! So if we keep him in Faith Baptist he would have to repeat Kindergarten next year since he didn't go to an accredited school. Grrr, okay, know what? I'm not going to put him in a program that he would have to repeat. Especially since it is so expensive... 440 euro a month...meaning about $650 a month!!!! So obviously there is no way we would pay that much money just to have him repeat Kindergarten.

Now where do I stand, there are no schools he can go to...we are left with no choice...he has to wait a year. Part of me is sad (and very frustrated!) that he won't be starting with his friends. But another part of me is so HAPPY I get to have him home for another year. And of course we will have $650 dollars more a month to travel!

I went and bought Kindergarten home schooling books to keep him on the right track. The books are awesome! He loves doing them with me while Adam goes down for his afternoon nap.

Morale of the story, a quote I heard at a women's conference:

Never fall in love with your plan...

All about Seth..

This post is dedicated to my wonderful 4 year old who is growing up faster than I wish. He is becoming such a nice young man. We are so proud to have him as our son.


Here is Seth at age 4!

-favorite thing to do is play the Wii with Loren. Mario Cart, Batman Lego's, and Adventure Lego's are his fav.


-favorite foods are; cheese pizza, mac and cheese, hot dogs (thanks to Sierra!), cheese quesadilla, gogurts, pancakes, french fry's, and ice cream!

-sleeps with a stuffed Wolverine which he won by himself on those grabber games

-favorite cartoons are; Scooby Doo, SpongeBob, Curious George, Ben 10, and Batman

-his chores around the house are to set the table every night for dinner (we always eat at the dinner table together with no tv on...that's how I was raised and its something that is very important to Loren and I) and he wipes the table after we eat. He also helps put away the towels after I fold them and puts his laundry in his drawers.


-favorite movies are; Wall E, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and Scooby Doo Chill Out


-loves to play outside and makes friends very easily


-his favorite sport is soccer (a true European right there!) and of course bowling

-he loves to read books and his favorite is Eight Little Monkey's; Becky got him that book and we read it every night before bed...Seth has memorized it!


-he talks about Chuck E Cheese and my Mom's dog China daily


-he is fascinated with airplanes


-asks a million questions everyday, why Mom?...is what I hear all day long! lol


-loves animals, when he sees a dog he immediately goes to pet it


-when he gets hurt, whether he's bleeding or not he wants a bandaide



-would rather be outside than anywhere else, loves to ride his bike, play with bubbles, play with his moon sand



-can play with play doh all day long...if Loren or I is playing with him



-favorite board games are Candy Land, Hi Ho Cherry O, and Scooby Doo



-he is really into superheros and loves Ironman, Wolverine, and the Transformers

-when asked to smile at the camera he usually sticks out his tongue

-goes to bed around 8 and wakes up at 8 and is always in a great mood in the morning (unlike his Mom)

-loves to bake with Mom and grill with Dad

-when watching tv he wants to have a blanket on him, this is such a cute thing b/c I'm the same way...wonder where he got that from? haha

We love you Seth, I have always felt that an Angel sent you to us...

10 months old

Adam is 10 months old today.

Makes me so sad my baby is becoming a toddler...

He is such a joy...

A lil bit about our lil bit:

-waves bye bye

-letting go when he is standing

-loves to feed himself

-favorite foods are carrots, green beans, yogurt, peas, banana's (he finally loves them!), applesauce, spaghetti noodles, and gerber puffs

-he is just now starting to like his baths,

but when you start to wash his hair...its over...crying begins!

-loves his stroller as long as you are moving it

-loves playing with Seth

-still not keen on drinking from a sippy cup

-loves his morning cereal

-goes to sleep on his own, in his crib...if I even think about putting him down in my bed and taking a nap with him, he instantly wakes up and wants to play!

-takes 2 naps a day, ranging from 1 -2 hours each

-goes to bed between 7:30 - 8:00 and is up between 6:30 - 7: 30

-is a little shy when strangers talk to him...and hides his head on my chest when they start talking....its truly the sweetest thing!

-LOVES his Dad! When Loren got home, Adam was a little unsure for the first few days...but now when Loren's home he wants him!! He wants me when he's hungry or tired though.

-loves to make funny noises with his mouth (kind of like a raspberry)

-he says Mama, Nana, Baba, Yaya

-my nickname for him is butterball, he has the SOFTEST skin...

Loren thinks its funny I call him a turkey!

-loves to unload the kitchen cabinets...his fav is the plastic bowls!

-loves to snuggle with blankets

-wants nothing to do with the pacifier anymore...I threw them all out...and I'm very grateful that he weaned himself off of it!

-doesn't like the car much, after about 5 minutes he wants out

-wears size 6-9 months

-has 5 teeth, 3 on top, 2 on the bottom

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH ADAM!

I can't believe in 2 months you'll be one!

busy days..

We have been so busy these days. Friday night Loren and I had our date night. He came home early and surprised me with beautiful flowers. We were planning on catching a 5 pm movie but missed that since Adam didn't wake up till after 4. We let him sleep since we didn't want him to be cranky for Stacy. Adam's top 3 teeth are coming in...which means he's been Mr. Cranky Pants lately...so we didn't want to add to his crankiness! It was still a wonderful evening even though we missed the movie. We went to dinner at the new Macaroni Grill that opened on base. Dinner was yummy and it was great to actually have a conversation during dinner. I was a little worried how Adam would do for Stacy since I haven't left him with anyone since we've been in Germany. He cried when I left so I went back in and calmed him down. It was really sweet. I must admit, it broke my heart a little when Stacy told me he kept going to the door and saying mama. But she said he did good and Loren and I needed time to be a couple. I don't mention how Seth did b/c he loves Stacy and her 2 boys, he played and played...probably didn't even know I left!

On Saturday we went to a birthday party for 2 of Seth's friends. They combined the party and it was a really fun day. All of our friends were there so it made it extra special.

In other news, Loren found out his test date for Master...August 12th is the big day! He should know around the 10th of september if he made it...keep your fingers and toes crossed!

4th of July

4th of July!!! One of our favorite holidays! We went to the carnival on Base with friends. The kids had a blast; pony rides, carnival games, bumper cars, kids ride, and of course yummy food....and cotton candy! We watched fireworks which were the loudest I have ever heard. It sounded like we were on a battlefield. Seth LOVED them and danced around while they were going off. Adam loved the lights but didn't love the sound. He never cried but he was very clingy and only wanted his mommy.

It truly was a great day.

It did make me a little sad though to realize its our last 4th in Germany.

Happy Birthday America!

The babies

Seth rode this at least 10 times

Adam watching Seth ride....next year baby!

Aiden and Seth

Aiden and Seth

Very first pony ride!

Stacy, me, and the boys

Seth and Katilynn

Waiting for fireworks eating cotton candy
Let's climb the tree while we wait
And they finally start...

364 days

Less than a year till we leave Europe. We move June 30, 2010. I can't believe we have less than a year to go. Its a bittersweet feeling. Part of me wants to get back to the States for family reasons, plant some roots for the boys, and to buy a home. Yet part of me has fallen in love with traveling and the lifestyle you have while overseas. It has been a wonderful 4 years and I can only imagine the last will be just as good. Europe has been so good for our family. It gave me the opportunity to stay home with our boys which has been the most meaningful experience for me. Our lifestyle here is very simple. At first I had a hard time adjusting since we came from Vegas which is a rush rush city to this quaint little village at the bottom of the hill. Once we started traveling and seeing how beautiful Europe is, a part of me fell in love.

Part of my heart will always stay here.

So where are we going next? The million dollar question we get all the time. The list for overseas assignments comes out August 6. If there is something that we just can't pass up than we might try for it. I personally would love Hawaii!!! Yes, that's considered overseas. If there is nothing that interest's us, than we will be heading back to the good ole U S of A. The list for Stateside assignments comes out January 18 which means we would get our assignment sometime in February.

I've been thinking about all the things I will miss and those things that I won't about living over here. The list is long and I will put it in a blog soon. For now, we are going to enjoy the next year. We will be going somewhere at the end of August, just haven't decided yet. We already made reservations for Thanksgiving in Bavaria. And we are planning a Cruise to Italy next spring. Our farewell to Europe trip as we like to call it!!

Here's to another year of being an American in Europe. I will make sure to enjoy the ride!

Adam at 9 months

Here is pics of my little bug at 9 months...

Day at the park

The weather is finally getting hot here so we took the boys to the park last weekend. Seth of course loved it and would spend the entire day there if I let him. Adam loved the swing and enjoyed crawling around on the smooth ground. It was a great family day! I realize I took more pics of Adam but its b/c Seth made friends immediately and was off with them.

They melt our hearts...