Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sunshine is Here Again!!!

This week we finally experienced a week worth of nice weather!! Of course, it's crappy today, but I think Spring is finally here.

We have been spending a lot of time outside, and venturing out to see some more sights ...

We have a great little park in downtown Grafenwoehr that Elliott loves - this swing especially. We ate at an Italian restaurant last night, and then walked over to the park. E had a blast ... until we made him leave.


We usually lounge outside for a bit after daycare ... Elliott likes to watch the dogs run around. He started saying 'sit' ... so he follows Roscoe around and yells it at him, while shaking his finger ... no idea where he got that from :)


Loving our yard ...


Elliott spent a good 45 minutes loading the trunk of his car up with rocks ... and then unloading ...


We took a little day trip to the nearby city of Amberg (not to be confused with Bamberg) last weekend. It was a cute little city, and a nice escape from Graf.

This bridge is called the Stadtbrille ... or the 'town spectacles' ... it is supposed to look like a pair of glasses??


We mis-ordered our doners and they came out on a platter on top of fries. Interesting take on our favorite dish ... very meaty ... and saucy ...


Elliott is doing great. He is talking up a storm ... he can say; mama, dada, uh-oh, tickle-tickle-tickle, hot, sit, hi, more, and bye! He is getting his one-year molars in, and he is not liking the process. The bottom ones are already through, and the tops are on their way - so hopefully it will be over soon!

He has been eating much better ... his current favorites are mac and cheese, chicken and hummus. His favorite German dish is pizza Hawaii ...

Baths are standard routine every night ... obviously ...


We bought him one of those collapsible tubes from Ikea, and he loves it ... we working on putting together a 'play area' in the basement, as his room is over-run with toys at this point!


I have one more final project this weekend (which I should probably be working on instead of blogging), and I will be done with my first semester of grad school!! I should finish with two A's - unless I totally bomb this last project (which may very well happen). I am going to take four classes this summer during two different five week sessions, so it shouldn't be too bad without work getting in the way. Speaking of summer - I have seven weeks left of school, and I am counting down the minutes!

I am taking a trip to Poland in May with some girlfriends to go pottery shopping! Polish pottery trips are a huge deal here, so I have to go and see what it is all about! We are also planning a trip to Salzburg, Austria for Memorial Day weekend. Vic is having surgery on his foot at the end of May, so trips will be put on hold for a bit after that. Before we know it we will be gearing up to meet my dad and Reagan in Spain this August!

On the topic of visitors ... I just want to throw it out there that we only have another year and a half here ... sooooo, you should probably get on planning your visit. Did I mention we have several extra rooms and beds ... for free? Hop to it ...

Anyway, I should probably finish that project!!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

America!

We made it to America and back with very little issues. We're catching up on our sleep, and just so happy to be able to see our friends and family .... and eat American food!

Our trip started on the wrong foot when Eli became incredibly car sick on the car ride to the airport. We're talking explosive vomit all over himself, me, car and car seat ... several times. Vic's sergeant was along for the ride, and I pretty sure the experience will keep him from having children anytime in the near future.  Luckily, the hotel had a bathtub and laundry service. Speaking of the hotel - it was fantastic. We stayed right on the air base directly across from the airfield.

We woke up at 4:30 the next morning to start the process of trying to get on a Space Available flight. The process was pretty simple ... just a lot of sitting, and waiting. I was pretty confident we would get on the plane, but when our name scrolled across the screen - I couldn't have been happier.

The flight was completely full ... and packed with kids. The loud kind that cry a lot. Not Eli though. He didn't make a peep the entire 9 hours. He required a lot of entertaining, but we have become pros at that.

Upon landing in Baltimore we rented a car and made the short drive to Vanessa's. We relaxed for a few days before the wedding festivities began.

The wedding was great, and we had tons of fun ...

My sister-in-law's sister-in-law (got that?) had baby Aria the day after Elliott was born, and it was awesome to see them interact! They were so cute together ...


Elliott LOVED his Great Aunt Flaca!! Vic has such an amazing family ... I consider myself very lucky to be a part of it ...


Eli and Daddy at the rehearsal dinner, Aunt Flaca had bought this little outfit for E ... so cute ...


Vic and his niece Lili ...


E in his tux!! I love this picture.


Getting ready the day of the wedding! It was so stressful to make sure Eli napped before the wedding, but he did great during the ceremony and almost made it all the way through the reception ...


Hanging out after the wedding ...



We had a hilarious time taking pictures after the ceremony. Seriously, my sister-in-law's sister-in-law Kate almost made me pee my pants from laughing so hard ...


My beautiful mother-in-law ...


Eli was a little sleepy at this point ...


Vannessa, Vic's dad and Vic after the wedding ... Vanessa looked amazing!


The photographer took this at the reception - I love it! He took some other really great ones ... I'll post them when we decide which ones we want to buy.


They had a photobooth at the reception! It took us several drinks (obviously), but we had a blast ...


Posing with Vic's grandma the morning after the wedding. You can't tell from this photo, but I was battling a massive wine hangover ...


Riding in the limo after the wedding ...


We took Eli to Chuck-E-Cheese in Virginia, and he loved it! The kid has no fear - he climbed on everything and rode every little ride we put him on. He wasn't even scared of Chuck-E!!!




After a week in Virginia we flew to Indiana. We had an action-packed schedule and really made the most of our time there.

One of our first stops was to visit Mimi and Papa Heath who welcomed us with Arnie's pizza (amazing), and an Easter basket full of gifts for Eli.

Uncle Tim, Aunt Paige and my cousin Alex also stopped by ... it was great to see everyone, and Elliott had a blast.


The next day we got up early and went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum with my mom, little brother Devin and my nieces Maggie and Lily. We had a fun day even though it was insanely busy in that place!


Maggie and E building ...

Everything is a phone with this kid ...


Riding the same carousel I rode when I was a kid ...


This was my favorite part of the museum when I was a kid ... Eli loved it too ...


That night we headed to the NCAA basketball Sweet-16 - courtesy of my mom and Kenton. Vic was lucky enough to get to see Duke play - and win! We had an awesome time ...




We went back to the Elite Eight game, which was equally as fun ... except for Duke losing ... and those annoying Louisville fans.

My mom spolied us like crazy ... Eli especially, and we had a fun time staying with her!

I was also able to see Ashley, Austin and my step-mom Janet ... and it was great to catch up with all of them!

Vic also had the opportunity to head out to Broad Ripple with Molly, Lee and I!

After our five days in Indiana was up we headed back to Virginia to spend some more time with Vic's parents, and also meet-up with my dad and Reagan!

On my dad and Reagan's first full day in Virginia we headed to the Norfolk Zoo. When we took Eli to the Berlin Zoo last summer - he was too young to be interested in the animals, and pretty much slept the entire time. This time he was intrigued by everything - especially the snakes and lizards.



It was a little zoo, but beautiful and a great way to spend the day ...






He loved the giraffes ...


Ew.


He definitely got excited on the train ride!!



The next day we headed to the park with Vic's parents for a little cookout. It was a beautiful day, and I think Elliott would have stayed in this swing all day if we let him ...



He also loved the slide!


Due to our horrendous weather in Germany - this was the first time he has really been able to play outside. He had so much fun in the leaves, and picking up sticks!


Vic's parents ... they were great about letting us take over their house for almost two weeks!


Returning home, and the laundry pile that I am currently working through!


Getting around in the airport ... by the end of the trip we were pros!!


Here are some videos of Eli walking in the airport while we were waiting for our flight ...