Balcony Picnic

The weather here was so nice a few days ago that we decided to have a picnic on the balcony. Caleb and I made egg salad sandwiches to eat and sat outside on a blanket. 

We haven't been out on the balcony in a while since it was dirty and I hadn't gotten a chance to clean it until just recently. Now that the weather is warmer Caleb has been wanting to just sit out there and play with his toys or watch the little birds in the trees. I can't wait until we are in Georgia. Hopefully we will get a house with a decent size yard so that the boys can be outside whenever they want. 

Caleb enjoying his sandwich.

Even Jensen came out to enjoy the weather.

Bumbo Time!!

A good friend of mine is having a little girl in May and I wanted to get her something before we leave since we (sadly) won't be here when baby Abby arrives. The BX has very few options when it comes to buying gifts since the person probably already owns the majority of what they sell. Luckily she hadn't bought a bumbo yet and we found a really cute pink one. Since Jensen doesn't have one and I don't want to buy one just to ship it home and not have it, he is getting to borrow Abby's until we leave. He likes it for about 10 mins and then wants to be held again, but it's nice being able to set him in the kitchen with me so that he can look around while I cook.

Can't wait to see pictures of little Abby in it!!

Out to Dinner

Last Sunday night Aaron had the brilliant idea that we should go to Chili's for dinner. I'm not a fan of the Chili's on base but it's one of 3 (I think) sit down restaurants here. Slim pickings. There was a 45 minute wait once we got there so Caleb ran around the lobby that Chili's shares with another restaurant (J.R. Rockers), the coffee stand, and the Enlisted Club. He had a few other kids to play with (one of them being the son of a guy who actually works with Aaron) until we got called to be seated.

I had really hoped Caleb had gotten all of his craziness out while running around, but that was a silly wish. He spent the majority of the time trying to get the poor guy on the other side of our booth to play with his toothbrush or pretending like his cars were going to fall over the edge. 

Here he is with his toothbrush (a very random item that I found floating around in my purse). There is never a wrong time for good oral hygiene! 

This is Aaron and Caleb's version of the famous Cadillac Ranch ... we dubbed it the Hotwheel Ranch.

Caleb and daddy hanging out, waiting for the food. I love the way Caleb has placed the hat on Aaron's head :)

And then there's little Jensen, just hanging out and dreaming of the days he can chow down with everyone else. The rate he's growing it won't be to long.

If the Bra Fits

A couple nights ago I was sitting on the couch with Aaron when Caleb comes out holding one of my bras. He was cracking me up, holding it to his chest and prancing around. Aaron was nice enough to clasp it and show him how it's worn and he had so much fun walking around the house with it on.

He is such a goober. Caleb thinks anything mommy wears is something he should at least try.

Big "Little" Man

Just a little update on Jensen the Hut. He turned 3 months on the 7th and he's growing so fast that I can't keep up! Caleb was pretty spot on when it came to clothing sizes corresponding with his age, but Jensen is blowing through clothing like there is no tomorrow. At 3 months he is already in 6-9 month outfits! At his last weigh in he was already at 12.5 lbs. What a chunker. We'll have to wait until next month to get another official weight and height since I can't remember how long they said he was.

Bribes and Goodnight Kisses

Today was a pretty decent day on the home front. The boys and I took a walk with our friends, Shavonne and Andrew, to the park. It was really chilly and the sun peaked out from behind the clouds maybe once, but that didn't stop the boys from running around and playing in the sand box. They played for a good hour and a half before some nasty looking clouds started rolling in and we decided to head back to the van. While we were out we picked up some lunch and came back to eat before naptime. I guess Caleb had other plans, such as climbing into his dresser drawer to put a movie in his vcr or getting into the closet that doesn't have a lock. After a solid hour of playing he finally zonked out. After naps I decided to try and get a picture of both Caleb and Jensen together. Since the day Caleb met Jensen he has had a very strict "not touching" rule. The only time it is ok for them to come into contact is when Caleb initiates the contact (usually in the for of a bedtime kiss or a pat on the head). He also usually refuses to sit within reach of him which has made getting a picture of them together almost impossible.

It took me 3 month (and some gummy bears) but I finally got a decent picture of them ...

I even talked him into giving him 2 kisses ... only one really turned out cute since I snapped the other as he was pulling away.

He must have been on a roll tonight because, without being asked, he gave us all goodnight kisses and practically put himself to bed. He's growing up way too fast ...

On another note: We got the dates for our housing pre and final ispections today. That means I have to bust my butt and get this house cleaned up before they come look at it. *sigh*

Blustery Day

Today started out alright. The boys and I got up early, ate some breakfast, watched some Sesame Street and then headed out early to my postpartum appt. The wind over here was crazy today and was pushing us all over the road. I hate driving on the autobahn when it gets like that. We got to the clinic an hour early ... perhaps a little too early. Caleb wasn't doing bad while we were in the waiting room. He kept the other people waiting in there entertained by pretending he was stuck on the sign outside the door so he wouldn't have to come sit down and then kept saying "come on!" and trying to get them to follow him around. He even behaved himself in the exam room while the nurse took vitals. It was only after she had left that he decided he was going to be crabby. That was also about the time that his diaper decided it couldn't take anymore and he ended up peeing all down his leg and into his shoes ... it was lovely. We finally finished up and left the clinic. It's a pretty long walk back to the car from Women's Health ... especially with a 2 yr old who feels the need to scream and cry through the hospital while you are trying to push a stroller with a 3 month old who wants out of his carseat. Being outside didn't make it any better. Once at the car he fought getting into his carseat and threw his cup on the floor. Thank goodness there is a tv/vrc in the van or else mommy probably would have gone crazy.

On another note, the search for housing without the dreaded interior wood paneling continues. We've found some that we really like but no reply back from posters. Hopefully we will hear something soon so we know what we need to have money-wise. Aaron should be getting Housing paperwork for over here done tomorrow and our household goods get picked up on the 21st of April. Seems like it's coming so fast!! Money when PCSing is so stressful since you have to pay for everything upfront. The military reimburses you later but it's still hard having to pay for the things you will need before you leave and once you get to your next duty station. We are looking at DLA (which is basically free money to help with expenses) and a couple other options. I'll be so happy when this move is over and all of ours things have made it over safely. Right now we are just taking it a day at a time and trying to de-clutter the place before the movers come.

Oh The Places We Will Go ...

With our PCS coming up in less than 2 months, I've been thinking about all the things we didn't get to see and do and all the things about Germany I am going to greatly miss. I've loved having the opportunity live in a place as amazing as this and, while others have taken their time here as a prison sentence, I have most defiantly enjoyed it (rough patches and all). Of course there were times when I wanted to be home due to things having nothing to do with the country and everything to do with the military ... that's just the way it is. I don't remember having culture shock after coming over here (we are probably going to be in some major culture shock going back). It just felt so easy to slide into the pace of German life. They only thing with culture shock was probably our bank account ... poor thing still hasn't recovered from it. There are very VERY few things I dislike about it here (crappy exchange rate aside) and the majority of them have been American/military related (housing neighbors, lack of ANYTHING at the BX, gaint, pointless trucks, people who can't park to save their lives, ect ...).

I always thought that, when it was finally time to PCS, I would be excited to leave here. While I am excited about being close to family again, I find that I'm almost equally saddened by the fact that I won't be coming back soon. Germany won't be the place that we come home to after a "vacation in the states". Home in Germany feels the way I always imagined your home should feel. I'm going to miss getting lost on endless country roads and driving through 4 different villages to get to some fantastic little spot. I'm going to miss being able to drive 5 minutes down the road to hike up to a castle for a picnic. I'm going to miss festivals that are held for every season in each town. I'm going to miss watching a little piece of junk car pass a flashy audi or bmw on the autobahn at 200 k. I'm going to miss the autobahn :) 220v plugs, push-button toilets, schnitzel, a sign for doner every 5 ft, gluhwein, Christmas markets, friendly smiles, Alpine hats, the fact that I cannot recall having my car pooped on by an sort of animal in the almost 3 yrs we've been here, the excitement I feel when I'm able to touch a bullet hole from WWII or walk through a castle that's somehow survive the test of time.

I'm going to miss Germany in more ways than I can count ... but with any luck we'll be back again someday.

Little Climber

Loud bangs and screeches coming from Caleb's room are nothing new in the mornings and after nap times, but this morning he sounded sneakier than usual. I walked in and found him standing in his closet which sits about 2 feet off the ground with drawers beneath it. I'm still not exactly sure how he manages to get up inside it since the last time he did it there was a chair near it but he seems to have mastered the art now.

He managed to throw out every article of his and Jensen's clothing and then lifted out the shelf that divided the space in half so he could fit comfortably. Guess we will be going to Toys R Us for another lock.

In other news, we finally got Jensen's passport application sent through!! Such a headache, but I'm glad it's finally done. It should be here just in time for Aaron's out-processing.