Nuremberg Train Museum

E and I ventured to Nuremburg to check out the train museum. The museum itself was awesome, and E had a blast ... but, never again. I will never venture back to that place without an extra set of hands. There was too much to see, too many flashing lights, too many moving trains ... E was a mad man - drunk with train excitement.

Getting there and parking was a breeze ... we arrived in the city a little early, so we went on the hunt for a bäckerei to get E's favorite - a pretzel.

It was Sunday, so it took a little searching, but we finally found something open ... and of course, they had pretzels ...

I love Nuremburg ... I think I have been half a dozen times, and I'm still in awe of this church ...

Vic and I ate at this little restaurant before he deployed ... see the funny little door? It was very medieval ...

The train museum ...

This room was huge and full of these trains ...

Driving a train ...

Look at the concentration ...

Next stop Düsseldorf!! Which reminds me ... we need to visit Düsseldorf ...

There was this wooden train that the kids to ride on ... it went through real tunnels and everything ...

In other news ... E has learned to open doors. He can now reach the door handles - he's just using the stool to try to reach the top lock that is keeping him prisoner. This new development is terrifying ... our doors won't automatically lock, so I have to remember that top lock!! The pictures on the door are things E's has made for daddy at home or at daycare ... just waiting for him to come home!

Potty training is gaining a little momentum ... he asks to wear big boy underwear every morning ... some days they last longer than others.

We are finishing up our travel plans. Along with our cruise in October - I booked a Paris trip for May and an England and Ireland trip for July. Besides Vic's sister coming in August - we are pretty much done with trip planning. It's relieving ... and kind of sad. We won't get to see everything that we originally set out to do, but we'll come pretty close!!

The trip to Paris in May includes a stop at Disney Paris ... I'm pretty sure I will be more excited than Elliott. The England and Ireland trip is a doozy ... five days in London and three in Dublin ... three flights altogether - we may need a vacation after that vacation. Vic's best friend lives in London, so I know he's excited to catch up with him!

I took Roscoe to the vet yesterday. She agreed that he is definitely sick, but she's not sure of the problem. She ran a lot of blood tests, and we are hoping to hear something tomorrow!

No news on Vic's potential return ... but as you can tell by the trip planning - we're pretty confident he'll be home earlier than expected ...

Terrible, Terrible Twos

Oh lord. This has been a week. Elliott has been testing his boundaries and driving me crazy!! He is constantly into something and always going about 100 miles per hour. He is also repeating everything, and it's hilarious. His new thing, when he's deciding what to do, is to tap his lip with one finger and say, "hmmmm, let's see" ... I suppose I must say this, but it's just so funny what he picks up. He had to sit in time out for the first time last week ... for purposely throwing a block at my head. I only had him sit there for two minutes but the entire time he kept repeating, "ooohhhh Elliott is so mad at mama ... this is NOT nice" ... haha, I see a lot more time out in his future.

He has been going to daycare on Mondays and Fridays for two hours each day. He seems to really like it. This week they learned about hearts, so we made a heart-shaped pizza for dinner on Thursday. He actually ate it this time! He is slowly getting over his pickiness ... he still won't touch macaroni and cheese though. Ew, dat's gucky!

They had a valentine's party at daycare on Friday ... they made heart-shaped cookies and a couple other crafts.

E's new thing is to immediately strip down when we get home ... it used to just be his pants, but now he needs everything off. This doesn't seem so abnormal, but then he's also been obsessed with these yellow rain boots. He has spent the last few days walking around the house like this. Anyway, we made daddy a valentine and had to show it off - along with his new fashion choices.

We're not having much luck with potty training, but we're on the right path ... I think. He's showing off his Skittle he got for going potty ...

His haircut is settling in and I think it's so cute ... it's also so much easier to maintain. I thought this picture was a good comparison to show just how much we chopped off!

Vic is good ... no new news on when he may be coming back though. We don't even have a ballpark idea at this point.

My poor baby Roscoe is sick ... he has some kind of a large (softball-size) lump by his back hip, and something funky going on with his fur. He has an appointment on Monday with a German vet, so keep your fingers crossed for good news. This dog has never, ever had a health problem ... not so much as a tick, so I'm a little worried it's about to all catch up with me.

On the other hand, Elliott, for once, seems to be in great health!! I haven't talked about it on here, but they thought he needed a surgery on his boy parts (yikes, I know) ... and after multiple doctor visits, some arguing, and a second opinion (which is not easy to get around here) ... we decided to hold off on the surgery and review the situation in six months. His ears have also cleared up and his hearing is nearly 100 percent which means we are not going to do a third set of tubes.

School is coming along ... this week was one of those weeks where, no matter how hard I worked, I could not seem to catch up. I managed to get everything done and now I have a couple days of freedom before the next round starts.

E and I are going to get up early tomorrow and head to the train museum in Nuremberg. I will definitely post pictures!

Best Friends

I have been horrible at updating this thing, but there's not much going on here. School is killing me, and I'm so glad I'm not working ... I would be pretty stressed right now.

Anyway, this past weekend we went to hang out at E's best bud's house. Him and Channing are so funny together. They have their own little language and just spend most of the time giggling.

They wheeled around their babies and had so much fun. 

I think E and I are going to venture to a train museum next week, so I'll take plenty of pictures.

Everything else is good! Vic is doing ok ... hanging in there! We can't say enough how much we appreciate everyone sending packages for him. He loves food, so they have definitely made his experience a little better!!

First Haircut

So I finally bit the bullet ... it was time for E's first haircut. I love his crazy curls, but it was out of control ... and he was continuously getting mistaken for a girl - like multiple times a day.

I decided to just take him to the barber shop on post. I have made appointments before at the salon, but they are always backed up ... then I have too much time to think, get scared, and call to cancel. So we woke up today, and went right to the PX ... before I had time to chicken out.

He did great! He was so excited to sit in the big chair, and he really couldn't have cared less that she was chopping his curls off. When she was done - she asked E how he liked it ... he put his hands in the air and said - wow, all gone!

I think it looks great ... curls are still there, but much more cute.

Before ...

Playing in the snow ...

So the cold weather finally hit us here in Grafenwoehr. We didn't get a lot of snow, but enough to go out and play. It took me about twenty minutes to get E all bundled up, and he only lasted about ten minutes, but it was well worth it. He loved it and had so much fun chasing the dogs around. He eventually took a face-dive and got snow down his jacket and in his boots, so that was the end of that ...

So I did a really bad job of taking pictures on E's birthday. I had some great videos of him opening his presents, but I can't figure out how to get them off the camera. Maybe when Vic gets home. Anyway, he loved everything! He got some awesome books, some trains, an art desk, a fish tank, some bath toys, and more ...

On Sunday we just had the Segura's and the Chan's over for a little food and cupcakes. My friend Vanessa makes the most amazing cupcakes, and she was nice enough to bring some over.

He was so excited ...

This is E's friend Kaizlee ... who is just exactly a year older ... and so cute.

I love this picture ... it looks like E is regretting taking such a big bite.

I have had a full schedule of classwork, but I really like more course this semester, so that makes it easier. E is going to daycare twice a week for a couple hours each time and seems to really enjoy it. Vic is doing well, but we're ready to get him home ... whenever that may be!

Almost two!

Not much going on around here. E and I are staying busy between doctor's appointments and play groups, plus I have been sending him to daycare at least twice a week for a couple hours each time. We have also been going to storytime at the library - which is E's favorite. 

He got in trouble last week because the lady was reading 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and E was shouting out all the words before the lady could get to them ... haha. She kept needing to stop and say, "okkkk Elliott, we know that you know the story, but I need to read it." 

This was another story that he had never heard before, so he was a little more calm ... 

I found an awesome deal on a cruise for October, so I booked it!! It will probably be our last big trip before we head home, and October gives us plenty of time to save some money!! We still need to hit Paris, England and Ireland before this ... and I think we'll be all set on travelling!!

E and I have been making smoothies every night. I copied a bunch of recipes off the Internet, but mostly I just throw stuff in the blender until it looks good. There have been a couple that E won't touch, but for the most part he loves them! This one was spinach, banana, pineapple and almond milk!

We sent Vic a big care package for his birthday. There was nothing too cool in here, but I thought it would be festive if we wrapped everything, so that's what we did ... even the sticks of deodorant. It took an hour, and a roll of wrapping paper ... but well worth the time!

I can't believe E turns two on Friday!! Time has flown by, and I'm sure this next year will go the fastest. He is just so funny and smart ... it blows me away everyday. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures over the last two years ... I got a little carried away ... 

We are going to have a VERY small birthday get-together this weekend - just one of his friends from daycare and my friend Vanessa and her husband. Nothing big, but at least he'll get to blow out candles and eat some cake! I will post some pictures afterwards ... 

This is funny ... the dogs would not dare to get this close to him now!!