Still Waiting ...

Vic update ... he's not here yet, but it's looking good at this point!! Maybe. I think. Who knows.

We should get some information on Monday, but either way - it can't be too much longer at this point.

Not much going on this week ... just cleaning and getting things organized in the house - both of which are extremely difficult with a toddler following behind you to mess everything up again. Elliott is crazy - have I mentioned this? I don't know where he gets some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth. His new favorite word is 'ridiculous', but it comes out as dick-less (that sounds crude, but that's the only way I can write it for the way it sounds, and it's funny) ... and everything is dick-less to Elliott. For example, I'll say, "Elliott we can't go outside because it's raining" ... and he'll follow this by putting one finger in the air and saying, "Ok. Dats dick-less mama". I know he has to be picking some of this stuff up from me, as I am the only person he has extended interaction with, but I swear I have never said that - especially with one finger in the air. He's also really into talking about his feelings, and if you know me ... you know he does NOT get this from me. He's constantly telling me about his current state of being ... and always in first-person ... Elliott happy. Elliott mad at mama (I hear this a lot). And anytime I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do ... he's suddenly sad. Elliott can't do dat - Elliott sad.

I really think we're going to have our hands full here.

In other news ... April is the month of the military child - which basically just means there are a whole bunch of things going on around post (that should happen year-round, but whatever), and Elliott gets to participate in a lot of it at daycare. This week they had a dentist visit their classroom, and had a pajama day. Next week a military police officer and a K-9 unit are coming, along with some military equipment - which E will love. I think they also have 'dress like a soldier day' and other random visitors and activities throughout the month.

E made the cut for the big display at daycare ... he looks extra white in this picture - I swear he has some color to him ...

We went to the pool on Tuesday, and it was a good time. We had the place to ourselves - except for the older crowd who like to hang out in the jacuzzi pool. Germans love to stare ... like a dead-on, relentless, stare right at you. I have gotten used to it (Vic is still struggling), but they were in full force at the pool that morning. I have learned to just stare right back, and if that doesn't work ... I just give them a big, cheesy, "HALLO! GUTEN MORGEN!!" That usually does the trick.

This morning I watched Channing and his nine-month-old sister while my friend and her husband ran a race. It was fun ... and interesting. Elliott was extremely jealous of the baby. I couldn't feed her or hold her without E trying to climb in my lap too ... it made things a little difficult, and was a hint of possible things to come. E and Channing got along great, like always, and wore each other out. Elliott slept for 4.5 hours when they left!

This is the only picture I got ... as my hands were pretty full. Elliott is mad that Channing is using his cup and eating off his plate ... seriously, he needs a sibling.

Here are some pictures of Vic's elusive time in Turkey.

These are his battle buddies ... and guys that have the same MOS (job) as him. He got lucky - for as much time as he has to spend with these two - they are at least normal and intelligent ... it has made his life a little easier.

Looking into the city. You can see the missiles set up. I'm not going to say too much, so this post doesn't get flagged, but if you know what Vic is doing there - then you know what these are used for ...

This cracks me up ... like a 90's style boy band ... Army edition ...

We definitely can't wait until he's home. I don't complain too much on here because nobody wants to hear that, but this has been a rough 4ish months. I thought it would be easy with E being so young, but he's at the exact age to make it a horrible experience. He understands that Vic is gone, but can't understand why ... it has been heartbreaking at times. I truly have the utmost  respect for military families who go through this much longer and much more often than we had to do.

This blog should (hopefully) close the deployment chapter ... I think. Maybe. I'll keep you updated :)

Almost Done!!!

Vic is so close to being home ... we think! Again, I'm not even going to mention a time frame because I'm scared of a jinx, but he should be showing up on our doorstep in the near future! The past week has been a little nuts with news and rumors going back and forth ... and back and forth, but it seems like they finally have their plan straight, and it's a good one.

Elliott and I have just been trying to stay as busy as possible. A lot of ice cream has been involved. Normally I make him share a cone, but last week he told me I eat too much, and then cried when I took the last bite. Since scoops are on 90 euro cents, I thought I would be a nice mom and let him get his own cone. He did great eating it by himself, but picked the worst flavors imaginable. The yellow is some kind of Spongebob Squarepant flavor and was absolutely horrid, and the blue was a bubble gum ... which wasn't too bad, but I can't imagine eating a scoop of it. He loved both, of course, and I stuck to my 'cookie' flavor - so delicious.

Obviously sick of taking pictures!

This is the city of Eschenbach - which we live right outside of, but, technically, inside the city limits. It is a teeny-tiny town, but they have a really cute marktplatz (downtown-ish) area with a cute little rathaus (town hall).  Elliott loves the fountain ...

The previously mentioned bubble gum flavor ...

I don't remember what flavor he chose this day, but he obviously was enjoying himself. Seriously, we eat a lot of ice cream ...

I was so happy to see that our post was FINALLY offering some kind of organized sport for under three-year-olds. There has never been anything like this, so I was quick to sign Elliott up for this awesome little gymnastics class. The best part - because Vic is deployed he gets to go for F-R-E-E ... my favorite word. It was a pretty good time, and Elliott really enjoyed himself. I could tell the instructors were still trying to get a handle on trying to run a class for little ones, but I think it will improve in the coming weeks. Elliott did awesome on the beam, and wasn't scared to try anything. His friend Channing is also in the class and they were actually really well-behaved together!

Our friends bought their daughter a trampoline and Elliott loves jumping with her. I refuse to buy one of these things, but we will surely enjoy this one whenever we visit. Elliott loves Kazilee - definitely his first crush, and he even picked a flower for her.

Potty training is going great, and we're going three weeks strong without a diaper!! I know we're still a long way off from overnights in undies - considering E gets up religiously at midnight to drink a full glass of milk, but we'll deal with that in good time ... or when daddy is home to help. 

Elliott and I joined a playgroup ... just moms and kids from around the neighborhood. This is not really my style, but we'll see how it goes! Once Vic is home our daycare prices will increase greatly, so I'm looking for other options to get Elliott out and about with other kids. We are hosting this weeks get-together, and expecting about seven kids ... yikes ...  

I doubt Vic will be home by next week's blog posting, but I will probably have some more definite news!!! Keep your fingers crossed!

Goodbye March!

March has been a loooooong month ... a very, very long month. I am not sad to see it go. I am hoping April brings solid good weather ... and my husband!

Elliott is doing so amazing at potty training ... I am really so shocked, and proud. Everyone told me to not even bother until he was two-and-a-half, but he has this thing down!! He hasn't worn a diaper for over two weeks, and he has only had a couple accidents. He does great at daycare, and is doing awesome at letting me know that he has to potty while we're out and about. I don't even need to bribe him anymore!! He can also get his undies off and on by himself, so life at home is pretty easy!

We checked out the pool in Weiden on Tuesday, and it was so neat! Elliott had an absolute blast, and I think he could have stayed all day. They have a really cool set-up with a lagoon-type pool, saunas, Turkish baths, steam pools, etc ... so Vic and I might have to stick E in daycare and enjoy a day on our own!

He was a little apprehensive at first, but by the end of the morning he was diving right in and going down the slide on his own. If you're wondering where his bathing suit is ... I originally had one on him, but none of the other kids were wearing them, so we did as the Germans do, and strip down to his skivvies.

Last weekend the weather was crappy, so we did the best thing to do in that situation ... and built a fort. E was thrilled ... Roscoe? Not so much.

Enjoying his breakfast and watching Toy Story for the one-millionth time ...

We spend a lot of time at the park as E loves to feed the ducks. Usually we're the only ones there ... which is fantastic.

He loves this swing ... I think we need to bring one home with us to America!

His big boy bed is going great, and he hasn't fallen out again! He loves that we can lay down together and read books at night ... and books, and books, and more books.

His new favorite thing is popcorn ... which he only gets if he eats all of his dinner and vegetables. He's watching the bag pop. You can see his potty-stamp on his hand from daycare ... that means he made it without any accidents!

School is going GREAT! Only a few more assignments between both classes and I can call this semester a wrap. I am so ready to get started on these last two electives! I made some calls this week and there is the possibility that I can take my Florida Principal's Exam here on base. It's going to require a little leg work from me, but it would be a great thing to have before heading home. I wouldn't be able to take it until September-ish, so still a ways away, but plenty of time to study!

I, literally, JUST got some news from Vic ... good news, but I don't want to put it out on the blog-o-sphere because we keep jinxing ourselves. Better news than we had last week ... and our Paris trip in May is looking doable at this point. Keep your fingers crossed that this news sticks!

March Madness ...

Nothing new here ... we had great weather all week, so E and I stayed busy outdoors. Of course, it's crappy this weekend, but it looks like the sun will be back by mid-week.

The ducks are back at our favorite little off-post park. Elliott needs to work on his gentle voice and not stampeding after them, but we managed to entice a few of them over with our bag of bread.

We found an awesome new park in a nearby town and we spent almost two hours there yesterday. It's very toddler-friendly and Elliott can do everything independently, so I just relaxed. He really wanted to play with these two little girls, but they weren't having it one bit ... and I'm pretty sure the things they were saying in German were not nice. Also, don't be fooled by their winter get-up ... it was almost 70 degrees out.

They have been logging behind our house all week, and it has been a great source of entertainment. I think he watched them for almost 45 minutes. He kept yelling, "come on trucks .... what are you doing?? You're making a mess!!"

Smoothie making is part of our daily routine, and Elliott HAS to help ... and I use the word 'help' very loosely. If I can keep him from hitting the button before I put the lid on - it's a good morning.

This is his new favorite craft. I just give him a little plate of glue and a bunch of these pom-poms and he will be completely engrossed in making some kind of picture. This one is a shark ...

He said this one was a snowman ... but he even pointed out the pattern he made ... "look mom - green, purple, green, purple" ... clearly he doesn't know what a pattern is, but I thought it was great that he recognized what he did!

I switched his crib to a big boy bed, and he is doing great. I was afraid he was going to escape and terrorize the house, but he hasn't got out of bed once. Scratch that, he has FALLEN out of bed twice in the middle of the night ... which I don't even know how that's possible, but I have since fashioned a dog bed pillow underneath to soften his landing.

Potty training is going so great, and we have even ventured out on a couple outings in his undies. He went to daycare on Friday in underwear, per the request of the teachers, but had an accident on the playground. Today we went to the grocery store and he did great - even asking to go potty. Unfortunately, I ruined the moment by dropping him in the toilet!! Seriously, he fell right in - catching himself by the armpits and feet. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't lift him out and he was saying, "mamaaaa that's not nice!" The poor kid will probably be scared of public bathrooms for awhile ...

Our new favorite meal is spaghetti - which is fine by me because it's cheap and easy. Clean-up is a bit tricky though ...

This just makes me laugh. My mom bought his this bathtub paint for Christmas, and he paints a beard on himself every bath and then pretends to be a monster.

Such a sweet boy ... sometimes ...

No news on Vic ... we're hoping for something by this week!!

Potty Training Success!!

I don't know what happened this week, but potty traing just clicked with E. Since last weekend he has only been wearing a diaper at bedtime and for extended outings. He is doing so great with only one or two accidents - which can mostly be blamed on me. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of not buying diapers anymore - more vacation money!!

We got some potential bad news regarding Vic coming home, and we should know more by early next week, but it appears we got our hopes up. It's extremely frustrating that he's deployed for, what appears to be, no reason at all, but we'll just keep saving money and hope he's home for the England/Ireland trip in July!

The weather continues to be amazing, but we're going to get some rain over the next couple of days. We went to an awesome toy store today and picked up this little toy kitchen - what a great investment. He played with this thing all afternoon. Seriously, how funny is this kid?

He had such a little attitude, but it's still at the point where it's funny ... sometimes. 

We have been killing time in the mornings by going to the park in our neighborhood. He goes down all of the biggest slides by himself, and runs off a lot of steam. We still walk the dogs every morning too - which is E's favorite activity.

Elliott loves art of all kinds ... mostly stickers and coloring books, but we threw paint into the mix yesterday. I think we might do this outside next time ...

Keep your fingers crossed for good news from Turkey ... I'll keep you all updated!

Spring has sprung ...

It has been a beautiful weekend here! Yesterday I cleaned the grill and got out our patio furniture. So exciting.

Today E and I woke up early and headed to a little animal park about an hour away. It was really pretty, and Elliott had a blast, but I'm not sure it will be worth another hour-long drive.

The had a beautiful duck pond. This park was uphill in every direction ... it was pretty intense with a stroller, and I definitely wore the wrong shoes.

Elliott's favorite books are the 'Llama Llama' series, so he was so excited to see this guy ...

On the way to the zoo I asked Elliott what animal he wanted to see ...
- Dinosaur mama ...
- Elliott there are no dinosaurs at the zoo ... what else?
- Monster.
- No monsters either ...
- Ok, a sloth.

Seriously?? Aren't kids supposed to be excited for piggies and horses ... and mine wants to see a sloth??

He's also obsessed with poop. So for every animal we saw he had to ask 'dat poop?' ... yessss, Elliott, that poops. Haha, so intriguing.

I scored a nice little tricycle from our friend whose son is about a year older than Elliott. It's great and has a handle on the back so I can control where he goes. We have been getting a lot of use out of it!

We had to get the oil changed on Friday, so we walked over to this cafe on post. I split up our food and then went to go fill up our drink - I got stuck talking to someone and when I came back he had eaten all three pieces of MY bacon!! Being a mom is so rough when you have to share bacon ...

I asked if if he ate all the bacon and he said ... 'ooooh yeah mama, dat was yummy' and he patted his belly just to rub it in a little more ...

Elliott and Channing crack me up. They are like two old men who have been friends for years.

I love this video, and I wish I could have capture their whole exchange, but I only caught the tail-end.

No word on Vic ... not even a peep. Hopefully we get some news in the next week. I'm trying to be patient, but, at this point, I'm just hoping his home by mid-May to make it on the Paris trip!

School is ... going. Ball State has Spring Break coming up, so I will get a week, or so, of light work. ONly about five weeks left of this semester, so I can definitely see the light.

We have nothing too exciting coming up. Elliott has been doing great in daycare during the few hours he goes each week. He actually will ask to go now - which makes things much easier on me.

I'll keep everyone updated if I hear any news from Vic!!

Good News ...

So the good news is that Vic is coming home earlier expected ... the bad news is - we don't know how early. Could be in the next couple of weeks or the next month or so. We can handle that though ... and I have plenty to keep me busy until he gets here. I know Vic really appreciated ALL of the care packages, but I would not send anymore!! I think he has enough to hold him over until they give him the word to pack up!!

E has been sick with some gross-ness this week ... a lot of snot and a bad cough. Poor guy. He's on the mend though and there is supposed to be great weather next weekend, so I'm researching something fun for us to do!

Elliott and Channing are just so funny together ... it does make me sad that come August they will probably never see eachother again, but that's Army life - I guess. We will sure miss their little family when they leave this summer.

The weather has been so great - we have been really blessed with a mild winter ... although I probably jinxed myself. We had one real snow, and it has been sunny for a majority of the time - which is a HUGE contrast from last year ... the darkest winter in 50 years. Nice weather sure does a lot to improve your mood and attitude.

I love this view from our walk. This is an extinct volcano about 20 minutes from our house. One of these days I want to hike to the church at the top, but that might wait until Vic gets home!

Hanging in the backyard ...

Roscoe is doing ok ... I have changed his diet, so we'll see if that improves things. He's being spoiled nonetheless ...

I have to show off this hilarious thing. This is a 'daddy doll' and they are completely freaky, but Elliott loves it. It makes me laugh everytime I see it ...

Elliott kills me ... he was doing this with a clear bucket for about an hour - cracking himself up in the mirror.

I am in the middle of mid-terms ... which means I am halfway done with this semester!! I register for my last two summer electives in a couple weeks, and I will be DONE by early June. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am ...

I'll keep everyone updated on news from Vic ... keep your fingers crossed for SOON!!