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...

Our Little Towhead's 9 month checkup

Adam is 9 month's old. I took him to the doctor today (which was long overdue since we were in California for so long)... and everything looks great!

Here are his stats:

Weight: 19.1 25% percentile
Height: 28 50% percentile
Head: 44 cm 50% percentile

Its so weird because Seth was always in the 75-90% percentile for his height and weight as a baby. Looks like Adam might be smaller than Seth...or he's almost near a growth spurt! Anyway you see it, he's healthy and we couldn't be more blessed to have him!

Kid's say the funniest things

Yesterday I made Loren a cheesecake for Father's day and used whole milk. I had some left over so I gave Seth a cup of it for dinner. Since he was 2 he's only had skim milk.

He took a drink and said:

"yummy, hmmm, Mom this milk must have come from a fat cow"

haha

I love Seth's age, you never know what will come out of his mouth!!

Computer Problems

I hate them! Computer problems that is!!! When I got back from California our PC was kaput, as the German's would say. Now Loren is shopping online for a replacement but as always we are having problems with companies delivering to our APO address! We are working off both of laptops right now but our pics are on the external hard drive which the blog doesn't like. I'm having trouble downloading pics on here. Its takes forever! Which means, my blog might not have a lot of pics for awhile :(

I took the control back!

Well that implies I had it in the first place! haha! I'm talking about my wonderful Seth's PICKY eating! We all know Seth is a picky picky little eater! For the past 2 years he has lived on carbs and diary. Well I had one of those moments last week when you realize something's gota give. Loren and I have talked for awhile about changing Seth's eating habits. We have talked with his Doctor and his advice was: try and introduce new foods but don't engage in a food battle; since this has nothing to do with food but rather his personality and need to control his environment. Well this mumbo jumbo was probably right but at the same time we felt if we didn't do something soon than he'd be living on pasta, cheese, and yogurt the rest of his life.

So here's what I did! I sat him down and explained he is going to start eating meat (something he HATES), veggies, and fruit. I told him he needs these to have a healthy body and to grow up strong like his Dad. During this conversation he rarely talked but I could tell he was listening. And at the end of it I told him I'm taking the control back and I'm over his picky eating!! He gave me a hug and that was that.

So the real test begin that night for dinner! I would normally make him something different if I knew he wouldn't touch what Loren and I were having. But I didn't, I put everything we were eating right on his plate. We grilled that night so I gave him a hot dog, steamed broccoli, and little red potatoes. And GUESS WHAT, the kid ATE it! Yes Mom, I know you are reading this thinking YEAH RIGHT...but its true, he ate it with little disagreement...hey the kid is 4 he's going try and get out of it right? But Loren and I stuck to our guns and told him, "no you're eating it, no discussion".

And I'm happy to update, its been a week and he's done AWESOME!!! Here is a list of what he has eaten:
peas, grilled chicken, scalloped potatoes, eggs, green beans, corn, stuffing, and chicken nugget's (the entire nugget, not just the ends...go ahead and laugh Mom and Dad!!)

I am really proud of him and myself for the change!!!!

Now If I could just get him to stop burping than life would be complete...

2 Dutch Boys

Here is a preview from our family vacation...more to come!

Back to Reality

After 7 months, we are back to our normal lives. Loren had a very safe and uneventful deployment...thank God! The boys and I had a wonderful time in California. And now its Monday and Loren's back to work and I'm taking care of the boys and cleaning house this morning. It feels great to be back to our normal lives and in the routine of our dailyness. Let me get you updated on the cutest boys in the world!



Seth~My Big Angel

loves having his Daddy home! He cried last night b/c we explained to him that Daddy had to go back to work today. Seth thought that meant he was leaving again...I know, sniff, sniff it broke both our hearts too. I made sure he has some activities to do this summer and tonight he has Kinderpsorts than cooking class on Wed! We made a major descion and singed him up for private Kindergarten which starts at the end of August. I'll blog about this later, but we know he's ready.... even though it breaks my heart he is growing up. We will go to the pool a lot and of course the zoo! We are going to enjoy our last summer in Germany even though its going to be a HOT one...remember NO AC in EUROPE...lovely, huh! NOT!!



Adam~ My little Angel

is eating like a mad man! He must be going thru a growth stage or something b/c all day he is eating. He has backed off the bottle and only wants solids during the day. He is so easy to feed since he will eat anything. Really I haven't found one thing he won't eat. At first he didn't like his fruits but that has changed and now loves them. He loves green beans, potatoes, cheese, and pears. He is also crawling and climbing like a monkey thus getting into everything. He is starting to let go when he is standing so I know its a matter of time before we walks. And the most important, he is FINALLY starting to sleep thru the night! ITS A MIRACLE! I love the irony in it, Loren's home, I have help now, but don't need it since he sleeps thru the night! I put him down around 7:30 and he sleeps till 6- 6:30. I know what happened, I have made the transition to letting him put himself to sleep for naps so I think now when he wakes up at night he just puts himself back to sleep rather than relying on me. Whatever the reason, its wonderful!





Now that life is back to normal I will be posting more. I think I'm going to make this Blog private though so I'll get you all the info on that. Love to you all!