One Month

Eli is one month today!! To celebrate, I made him participate in an impromptu photo shoot after his bath ... then he celebrated by peeing on me and staying up all night. Good times. He has been smiling a lot lately, but  wanted to show off his serious side for you guys ...  

Lola was getting pissed that I was ignoring her, so she started doing her circus tricks. With Vic being gone she is desperate for attention!

Then Roscoe had to get in on the action ...

He has been sleeping like this lately ... one arm straight up in the air and the other to the side ...

I can't believe how much he has grown in just a month. When we brought him home from the hospital I could carry him around with one hand! I'm interested to see how much bigger he seems to Vic when he gets home next month.

Speaking of Vic, he got to the field safely and is doing well. The phone/internet service sucks out there, but I have been talking to him once or twice during the day. We miss him like crazy, but everything here is ok ... no runaway dogs or emergencies! Our stuff finally arrived in Europe and I am guessing it will be delivered Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. I can't wait!!! If you don't hear from me for awhile, it's because I'm buried under a pile of boxes ... if anyone feels like flying to Germany next week to help, feel free :)

The Honeymoon is Over ...

I've been bragging for the last few weeks about what a good baby we have ... he rarely cries and pretty much sleeps through the night! That is all over. I think it is a mix of a growth spurt and a little cold, but we have had some long nights for the past few days. We have been seeing a lot of this face ... haha ... he's still cute, but not happy!

We were originally planning on taking a little trip this weekend, but with Eli having a cold - we decided against it. On Friday we went downtown and had dinner with a group from Vic's platoon and had a great time. He got really lucky and works with some good guys. Vic found a new drink of choice called Killer Kool-aid ... I think the group ordered about 50 of these all together.

On Saturday we drove about an hour to an outlet mall to do a little shopping. We were happy to find that they had a lot of stores we were used to in the states and we got some great deals. We didn't do too much for the rest of the weekend. Vic is gearing up to leave for a month long mission in a couple days ... so he just wanted to relax. He started playing basketball with some of the (much younger) guys in his platoon ... and he's definitely feeling the effects :) 

Elliott turns one month this week and I can't believe how fast time is flying by and how big he is getting!! Here are some pictures from this weekend ...

It wouldn't be a blog entry without a picture of Eli and his best friends. I went to check on him during a nap and found both the dogs camped out next to him. 

He is almost fitting into 0-3 month clothes, although I have to roll the pants a couple times. I love this little outfit ...

This is one of his calmer moments from this weekend ... Vic is an expert at getting him to stop crying ...

I have been able to start making some bottles so Vic can get in on the feeding action ... with some help from Lola, of course ...

His cheeks are getting chubbier by the week!

Vic was finally able to catch a Duke game at a decent hour, so Elliott wanted to wear his onsie and cheer along with daddy ...

Our stuff is supposed to come this week, but I'm starting to lose hope as we haven't heard from the moving company yet. I wanted it to come before Vic left for a month, but now I will have plenty to keep me busy!! That's about all I have this week ... keep your fingers crossed that Eli is just going through a phase and we get our angelic baby back in a couple days!!

My week as a single mom ...

     Vic was in the field for training ... which made for an interesting week for me and Eli. We are currently trying to get the process started for E's US citizenship and social security, but the Army could not make things more confusing. I wasted a good five hours this week waiting in lines, collecting documents and dealing with idiots. I seem to have everything together, so hopefully we'll get everything squared away this week!
     The week was going fairly smooth until Roscoe decided to break out of the apartment. I was doing laundry, which is in the basement of our building, while Eli slept, and he must have slipped through the door unnoticed behind me. I came back upstairs and fixed myself lunch and did a couple things around the house. I went to give the dogs a treat and noticed Roscoe was nowhere to be found. I quickly put two-and-two together and realized he must be in the basement, so I walk into the stairwell and start to yell his name. Well, the German neighbor comes out and asks if I'm missing my dog. I assume she has him, so I excitedly tell her that I am missing my dog! She replies, "Oh I let him outside and he run far away!" Holy shit, I could have punched this woman in the face ... but extreme panic had already set in. I ran in the apartment, put Eli in his car seat and attempted to drive through the neighborhood - shouting Roscoe's name out the window. After a few minutes I decided this was the worst plan ever - there was too much ground to cover, I had no idea where to start, and even if I spotted him I wouldn't be able to leave the baby in the car while I chased his dumbass down the street. I went home and called the vet on post, who informed me that most dogs usually run for the gates and he's probably on the economy and I would need to alert the Military and German police. Now I am even more hysterical ... I'm picturing Roscoe running through the streets of Germany hiding from some hardcore German dog-catcher. I immediately decided to call Vic, who was in the field and therefore completely helpless. I was a blubbering mess and could barely even get out what had happened. Vic asked if I wanted him to try to come home, but I could just imagine him going up to his sergeant and saying that he wanted to go home because his dog was missing ... haha, not exactly and full-scale emergency. I got off the phone with him and decided to call the military police. I got in touch with someone quickly and started to explain the situation when he interrupted me and said, "building 537 ... a woman called and she has had him for an hour." He was alive!!! I put Eli in the car seat once again and set out to rescue Roscoe. He was hanging out in officer housing with a nice lady who had two other dogs ... I would have talked to her more, but I was still crying uncontrollably at this point. Lesson learned, I need to be more careful when doing laundry and I definitely won't be asking the German neighbor to dog sit.
     Elliott had his two-week check-up and he is doing great! He has grown and inch and put on the right amount of weight. I'm not a huge fan of his doctor ... he's very serious and monotone, not what I would expect out of a pediatrician. During the exam he was rolling Eli over, and the kid farted the loudest fart ever for at least 30 seconds straight, and the doctor didn't even crack a smile!! I don't care who you are ... farts are ALWAYS funny. Anyway, Eli did have to get two shots and his heel pricked and he did great ... lots of crying, of course, but he calmed down quickly.
     Here are some more pictures ... again, nothing too exciting because he doesn't do too much. I can't wait until our stuff gets here and he has his swing and bouncy seat to play in ...
   
This is my favorite picture yet! I was making him try on hats and this was his reaction ... love it.

More of Eli and his 24-7 guard dog ...

Another one from bath time ... you can't tell from this picture, but he really does love the bath.

This coming weekend is Fasching in Germany. From what I can gather, it is a mix between Mardi Gras and Halloween. Apparently it is a time to let off steam and celebrate before Lent begins. There are all kinds of parades and festivals going on, so we are going to try to catch some of the festivities going on in town and also check out the city of Bamberg.  Hopefully we have some fun pictures and stories for next week's blog!

Two weeks old ...

Today Eli turned the big two weeks!! We've had a rough couple of nights, but he is still such a good baby. We have made several outings and he has slept through all of them. He hates his bassinet, which is causing a lot of the nighttime issues ... hopefully we'll have better luck with his crib once it arrives.

Eli's first bath went great! It is like 6 degrees in Schweinfurt, and our apartment is really drafty, so we made it quick ... but he loved it! 

Lola hasn't let up on the guard duty. She's so protective over him! Roscoe has stopped acknowledging him all together ... he's definitely a little jealous.  

We  made our first dinner outing as a family this week. We went with the neighbors to a restaurant across from our neighborhood called Brazils. The place is funny, it's called Brazils but they serve Mexican food ... along with German, and Italian-Asian fusion (whatever that is). Either way, we have been there a few times and I love it. They play really good music and during the summer they have the big outdoor area - so we're excited about that. Side note, Vic thought he was ordering a margarita like you find in the states ... and they brought him out this girly looking drink - he switched to a beer after he downed his cocktail.

Vic was on paternity leave all last week, and it was awesome having him around. He's a huge help and so funny with Eli. He was supposed to have a few more days, but he was called back early to go to the field for a week. They have him sleeping in a tent in this crazy weather, so I know he's ready to come home!

 I've decided that Elliott looks nothing like me. I had my mom e-mail my baby picture to me and I think he got that little chin from me, and everything else is Vic. I am still holding out hope for blue eyes though. But seriously, how cute is that little face???

I went to the mall with Kim (neighbor girl) and another friend today, who both have toddler boys ... they played on the playground while Eli slept . It was nice to get out of the house and hang out with other girls ... plus I got a taste of what  I'll be dealing with in a year and a half!

Tomorrow Eli has his two week check-up! I cried when Roscoe got his first shots, so I'm sure I'll be a mess. Vic and I are also planning our first trip with the baby on President's Day weekend ... we decided since Elliott is so good on outings we'll try for a close little trip first. I think we'll check out Bamberg, which is about 20 minutes by train.

I'll try to do a better job of updating this thing ... there's just not much to show besides a sleeping baby right now :)