Turning 5 is out of this world!

Yeah, so my little man turned 5, and I'm still trying to figure out how that happened! Not that every birthday isn't special (especially for the little ones), something felt significant about little r turning 5. It's that age where the really start to understand so much of their world, which makes the birthday party even that much more important to them.

When we moved across the ocean, little r had to leave some really great friends behind. It is tough at his age to explain the distance and the reason for moving far away. We were happy that he fell in love with his school here and instantly made some incredible friends. Unlike prior birthday years where the party was more of a huge gathering of all our closest friends (which always included all of little r's as well), this year we kept the party small and very focused on little r. His class at school is small, and he has three close buddies there that are inseparable. He also has a couple other friends from the neighborhood that he has gotten really close to. Five friends when he turns five - sounds like a perfect number for a perfect party.

Little r picked his theme - we went all out on the Star Wars idea. The boy is obsessed with all things Star Wars, so we decided to have a lot of fun with it!

Big R and I made a huge team effort on this party. I did some Pinterest and internet searching for ideas, and he helped me think of ways to make the fun come together. It was actually all super simple, but the boys thought it was fantastic. I love it when fun is easy and stress-free!

We decided to make the theme of the party a "Jedi Training", so I wanted all of the boys to have a Jedi costume and a light saber. Little r also insisted on having a piñata, and of course, an ice cream cake. I went to the hobby store and got enough brown flannel material and rope to make six Jedi costumes. (Believe me, people, these are "simple" costumes because this girl is anything but creative and I have yet to own a sewing machine.) I also found a piñata with a shape that just happened to work perfectly for Big R's storm trooper idea. (We compromised a bit because I couldn't find anything shaped like a ball to make a Death Star.) Added a couple cans of paint to the cart, and made my way home.

Big R made the birthday boy's costume extra cool!

Happy Jedi

The force is strong in this one!

Darth Lando - hahahahaha

the jedi youngling

He was so excited for everyone to show up!

Jedi robes were hung and ready to wear

The awesome Storm Trooper piñata

I remembered that we still had some glass bowls from our wedding (haha, yep), and some decorative sand, so we created some center pieces for the table. Big R and little r had a blast staging those battles! We had hot dogs and mini burgers, and some fun treats, just in case anyone got hungry during the party.

Star Wars Legos came in handy to stage a battle scene in the sand!

I mean, seriously, this is too much fun!

The finished product...

Some of the treats - courtesy of Big R - Yep, he made the storm trooper cookies AND the light saber pretzels 

Little r was so excited when his friends started showing up. We got all our Jedi younglings into their training robes, and handed them a light saber... Oh yeah, the light sabers sound like a frightening idea, right? We saw many tips online to use those pool noodles with duct tape. They were awesome. The boys played their hearts out with them the entire time and no one got hurt. Perfect!

Jedi's in training...

clearly tactical planning going on here...

little r couldn't wait to beat that storm trooper!

The most exciting part of the party was when Darth Vader made an appearance. This was supposed to be Big R (obviously), but he tried the costume on the night before and it was WAY too small. I was very quickly informed that I would become the master sith and try to turn the younglings to the dark side. The boys never saw it coming, and they had a blast ganging up on me.

Darth Vader came to take them all...

....he lost this battle and was thankful the light sabers were made of foam!

Little r informed me that I "didn't need to go too crazy" with the cake. He really just wanted me to use his Star Wars figures and stage a battle on top of it. HA! Love this kid because it really was the easiest cake I have ever made... The cake was a Turkey Hill brand ice cream cake I bought from Kroger (and it was HEAVEN!), and the battle was staged by Big R (as if that needed any announcement).

The party was too much fun all around. I'm so glad little r's friends were able to come, and I hope they enjoyed their Jedi training as much as we had fun pulling all the plans together. The boys got to take home their costumes, light sabers, and candy from the piñata as their party favors. Overall, I would have to say, this was a huge success.

We love you little r. You are such an amazing kid. I hope your birthday party felt as special as you are to us. The big 5, buddy! This is going to be such an awesome year!

My "mom-of-the-year" moment

It's Monday. I should have known better than to think I'd be able to escape the day without some type of unexpected excitement.

This week and last have been slightly crazy, well, on a 4-year old's scale anyway. Soccer started up last week, and swimming is still wrapping up, add that to horseback riding lessons, and the boy has a very full week. He seemed to be handling it all super well until the soccer game on Saturday where he was running aimlessly on the field. This evolved into a major meltdown by early evening, and bedtime was a colossal disaster. Being that his birthday party comes at the pinnacle of this next week, I really wanted to work hard at keeping things chill. Mostly I just want the boy to enjoy his own birthday party. 

Tonight was swimming. Little r would tell you that swimming is his favorite...oh, and soccer is his favorite, too, oh and horses, he loves riding horses... We are taking a break from swimming during soccer season, so today was his last lesson for awhile. He takes lessons at the "Y", so baby c and I swim while little r is in his class. I always like to get there early so that little r can enjoy swimming for awhile. So I got my dinner prepped, double and triple checked that I had everything we needed in each of the bags (I forgot goggles last week, and that was a HUGE disaster), and loaded baby c up into the car. 

Little r was a complete chatterbox when I picked him up today talking about everything they did in school (did I mention how much this kid loves his school?!), so, we took our time getting to the Y knowing we would still have plenty of time left for some fun swimming before lessons started. We walk into the locker room and I pull everything out of the bag.  Do you ever have those moments when all is good in the world and then the air gets sucked clean out of your body? All of it, all of the air, was completely gone. Little r's swim trunks were not there. In the whole scheme of things, this is not the end of the world, but to a 4 year old on his last day of swim lessons when he LOVES swim lessons more than anything EVER (except soccer and horses, of course), this becomes a mom's worst nightmare. We had 20 minutes until lessons started and we live 20 minutes away from the Y. 

So, what did I do? I contemplated apologizing profusely and driving somewhere to buy little r a huge milkshake to earn his forgiveness, but the mom in me had to figure out a way to make this work. Baby c's trunks were obviously too small, and the weather cooled off a ton this weekend, so we literally argued all morning about how he was NOT going to wear shorts today. Instead, we packed back into the car, there were many "this is so stupid" and "I'm such an idiot" comments flying out of my mouth, while little r was trying to wrap his head around his mother's insanity. At one point he said, "you are so goofy, mom, and you're right, this is stupid." Awesome when kids get it right, isn't it?

We went to Walmart. I hate Walmart. Sorry, I said it, but I just really do. But hey, everyone always tells me they have everything you want, anytime you want it, and it was the closest big box store to the Y. We had the talk about not getting distracted in the store, running as fast as we can, and how I was really sorry but he was going to be a little late for his lesson. He was such a trooper. Traffic literally sucked, and the Walmart was PACKED. 

This store probably has everything you could possibly ever need or want for a super cheap price as long as you are buying it in season. Clearly the end of September is NOT when you buy swim trunks because they had but one pair left on the clearance rack and it was a size 8. Yes, we actually contemplated buying the stupid things until little r looked at me and said, "mommy, they are just way too big." I felt deflated, until the woman standing next to me handed me a pair of gym shorts in little r's size. She said that she didn't need them, if I could use them, so we grabbed the shorts and ran. The check out lines were horrible, but we finally got through. The poor little guy was stripping in the car in the parking lot. I started the car as soon as I heard, "mom, I got it, these are going to work!" HA! Pure comedy, right?

We finally get back to the Y, at this point only 10 minutes late. Little r puts his shoes on and he stands up to get out of the car and the shorts fall down. Yes, you read that right, the shorts fell off of his tiny little butt. Seriously?! We finagled my goggles (which I actually remembered this time) around his waist to hold them up, and he was happy as can be. We ran into the pool, and he dove right in without looking back.

I really wanted to get a picture, but I honestly had no idea where my phone even was at this point. Some how, in some way, it worked. Who forgets her son's swim trunks when the whole reason for going to the gym is for him to swim??!! Yes, mom-of-the-year, RIGHT here.  And you know that as soon as the boys were in bed, my wine was poured and I'm already sipping it. Holy cow, this better not be indicative of the way things are going to go this week... 

When the bug strikes

Bugs can be such pests, especially when you have a little boy with an irrational fear of them. (Oh wow, I just realized I called him a little boy - yikes, where has the time gone?!) I say it's irrational because he has never had a bug hurt or threaten him in his short little life, but you'd think he'd experienced pure torture from these creepy crawly things. I'm convinced if he were actually to come across a tarantula or something truly terrifying, he might just faint!

This irrational fear has been dominating our lives lately. Bugs are quite literally everywhere, so the terror is constantly surrounding him. In the shower, the bathroom, at night in bed... This all coming from a child that not two months ago was wearing a snake around his neck.

So, today when I picked him up from school, I got descriptive details about the "spider" bites that he has on his legs. Where these supposed bites came from is still a mystery, but little r is completely convinced that the bumps on his legs are from a spider nibbling on him. Before heading home, I made a stop at a local vegetable stand. One of our favorite things about Clarksville is that it's like a "big" small town in a way, and we live in a pretty rural part of town near open farm fields. That translates into lots of great produce and local meats, and we are trying to take full advantage of this awesome convenience. But I digress...

Ok, so we stop by the veggie stand that is more like a small outdoor market. It's run by this darling older couple. The old man is my pal. We shoot the breeze about all things important, especially the weather. Little r opted to stay in the car, so he and baby c hung back while I stepped out real quick to pick up some veggies. A couple bucks later, and a bag full of beautiful veggies in hand, and we were set to head home. Or so I thought...

Little r started panicking. He had to pee. Crap. He is only 4, so what's the harm in going roadside, right? But wait! There's a port-o-potty, and I knew it would be clean because these older folks looked like the tidy type. I grabbed baby c, helped little r put his socks and shoes back on (I'm always perplexed why kids take their shoes off in the car), and we pile out of the car to run to the port-o-potty. (Did I mention it was pajama day at school?)

Holy cow, this was easily the cleanest port-o-potty I have ever seen. Seriously. I greatly underestimated these folks - their cleanliness was outstanding! But, remember the bugs? Yes, the bugs. Hard to have an outdoor bathroom without a few bugs. People, these bugs were like ant-size, maybe flea, but definitely miniscule. To little r, this was freaking scary crap! After some encouragement, he finally closes the door and screams, "ok, mommy, I'm peeing now!" Fantastic, little man, do your business. Then all hell breaks loose. He starts freaking out and screaming from the top of his lungs. The door flies open, and he yells, "mommy, look!" He has a hold of his boy parts and he's literally peeing all over the seat, the side of the wall, and all over the floor. I'm sure you remember me saying this port-o-potty was spotless?! This goes down in history as the first, and hopefully only, time I will ever feel the need to "clean" the inside of a port-o-potty (with a toddler in my arms).  Luckily I had something in the car to clean our hands with.  The older woman walked by giggling saying that it sounded like a big mess was happening in there.  Guaranteed my face turned red, and I can honestly say it has been awhile since that has happened. Good grief!

If you are wondering what happened, that makes two of us. He looked down while he was peeing and saw what he claims was a spider bite and he decided the appropriate response was to lose his mind. Seems rational, right? I would absolutely do the same thing in that situation. I also had to hear him explain to me on the entire ride home how it was definitely a spider bite because it looked like the bump on his leg. Ok, little r, I believe you, but tell me again why this warranted you screaming and losing control of your private spray?!

Little r, never a dull moment, sweetheart.  You certainly keep my life full of constant adventure and endless entertainment. I love you, you crazy little man.

Proof the kid isn't what we would call a "scardy-cat"!

All that school hub-bub...

When I became a mom, the thing I was most anxious about wasn't night feedings, dirty diapers, or potty training (although I know now that I was severely misinformed about this last one), it was putting my kids through school.  This seems ridiculous to admit, but it's true.  The school world intimidates me.  I want my children to do well, who doesn't?  And as if we need one more thing as mom's to add to our stress levels, school has gotten complicated these days.  I also knew that we were a military family, and just like my mom, I would be required to stay on top of things with every move and transition to make sure the kids are getting the education they need to succeed.

The things we, as military families, worry about definitely shift and change depending on the age of the children.  At the preschool level, I have military friends that are having to make a transatlantic flight from Europe to Virginia for the sole purpose of exploring preschools and getting enrolled.  It seems many schools won't even put you on a waiting list until they have met you in person and given you a tour of the school.  This might seem reasonable to most, but to a military spouse, this is a huge conundrum.  Another friend has her little girl in an Italian preschool.  The school ends in July and doesn't start up again until the end of September.  They are moving back to the U.S. where school starts in early August, and they are being told she might have to be held back. I mean, the horror, really?!  And finally, I have a good friend that is living in D.C. and making the huge decision to pay a year's worth of salary (only a mild exaggeration) to let their daughter attend a German immersion school because she attended school in Germany through the second grade and they want to give her the opportunity to continue her studies in a foreign language.  The scenarios feel endless, although they always find a way of working out, it's rarely without a little extra added stress and major decision-making (don't even get me started about trying to find housing at the last minute in an area in a good school district).  But we are resilient and grow stronger with every move!

Back to little r and my unreasonable anxiety about having school aged children... It never dawned on me that having little r in September was going to start the never-ending conversation of when he would start kindergarten (American kindergarten, that is).  Apparently this is now a hot topic of discussion among moms and dads alike.  Kindergarten is not what it used to be.  Rumor has it that things are more difficult for the little ones - sight words, computers, math... It's starting to become a trend to hold kids back and have them start kindergarten when they are older with the thought being that the maturity level will be higher and it will help them succeed. Big R comes from a different camp being that he was an October baby and started kindergarten at the ripe 'ol age of 4, meaning he was more often than not, the youngest in his class.  After we received our new assignment, we wasted no time exploring the best neighborhoods and schools for little r.  What we didn't anticipate was that he would be too young to make the crazy cut off date of August 15 for public schools.  After the shock wore off and we accepted that little r wasn't going to start kindergarten this year, we changed our focus to finding an excellent preschool.

The research paid off and all the cards seemed to fall right into place for us with this move.  We secured a house in a great neighborhood in one of the best school districts in Tennessee.  The preschool we found for little r is, like most of them, a daycare, but it's also a learning center.  After spending a couple years in the German kindergarten system, we knew little r needed a preschool that would provide the structure and academic challenge to ward off boredom.  Our child is a spirited little guy, and boredom would be a way to set him up for failure.  The school is incredible and seconds as a private school for K-2.  We really liked what we saw the day we took the tour, so we didn't waste any time getting him enrolled.

He spent a couple of weeks in the summer program before we were approached to ask if we'd be interested in advancing him to the kindergarten.  They felt he was ready academically.  Turns out they were right, and he scored pretty high on his tests. The big kicker of the whole thing is that it's only offered on a trial basis, so he has to show he can behave (yikes!), and also because he doesn't make the age cutoff for the public school system, there would be no guarantee that he would be able to move into the first grade next year.

We struggled with this decision at first.  Would it be better to move him forward now and potentially repeat kindergarten? Or would it be best to keep him with the preschool and stick with our original plan?  In my head I'm hearing all my friends supporting him moving forward, meanwhile also hearing other friends argue that he's just too young.  So, I asked his teacher what she would do, as a mom, and having taught little r.  Her response made all the sense in the world.  I knew the answer, but I suppose hearing it is always helpful.  She told me that academically he is demonstrating he is ready and should do well.  Being that he's younger, she said it's always tough to know how well he will adjust to a more academic setting.  We have the benefit of not being in the public school system because they can use the trial period to make sure he will succeed and that those that stay in the class are not disrupted by those kids that really aren't mature enough or ready.  We can also decide to keep him in the same school next year and not fight with the school system over his age, which is an added bonus.

I suppose it's obvious now what we decided to do.  I was a nervous wreck about his first day and this two week trial period.  Little r was crazy excited about going to "the big school."  I was excited for him, but also concerned how he would react if they decided he wasn't ready.  Guess these are just the things we have to prepare ourselves for.  Little r was amazing on his first day of school.  He even let me pick out something nice for him to wear, which was nothing shy of a miracle.  We met his teacher and the other students in his class.  I can see now the huge benefits of putting your child into a private school, if for nothing else, the student/child ratio is impressive.  He is one of 11 students in the K-1 class, and half of those students are first graders.  Is that great, or what?  I think later having him in the public school will be a great experience for him, but for this stage, I think we will definitely get our money's worth.

First day of Kindergarten - a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one very happy boy!!!

I'll keep you posted on how the little man is doing in his class.  With all the variables we often have to deal with in the military, it is crazy awesome when things fall into place.  I have high hopes and I love that we found this school for him.

  

And the little bear skis!

We just got back from a fantastic ski weekend in Austria. I'll be sure to give you all the fun stories in a separate post soon, but I wanted to give my little man a huge high five for being an awesome skier this weekend. He seriously blew our minds.

Our first time skiing in Austria, little r was still a little tyke at only 2 years old. We had to put him on skis, and he fell in love with it. I wrote this blog back then, and I can still remember my dad thinking we had somehow staged it all because little r had no fear. We, of course, thought he was a natural, but isn't that what all parents think?

Last year we hit the slopes in Austria again. I was pregnant with baby c, but Big R made sure that, even though little r was too young for lessons, he got in some good ski time. There were a lot of laughs, and even more tears. A moment of bravery resulted in Big R carrying little r all the way down the mountain. Although, I think he wore a big of pride in the fact that he managed to get them both to the bottom safely, it wasn't exactly something we considered a successful run. The big hill was a tad too scary for the little guy.

Our little man was FINALLY old enough to have ski lessons, and he was so incredibly excited. We bought him his own skis, and he could not wait to get to the slopes. It was very important to him that I know he was NOT going to be scared to go down the big hill this time.

Little r was less enthusiastic that first afternoon on the slopes with daddy. No lessons yet, and that big hill was far more intimidating that he cared to admit. We were nervous, but it turned out we had nothing to be worried about. After a day and a half of lessons, he begged Big R to take him down the big mountain. First time on a chair lift, and he skied the long run down all by himself with Big R chasing him down the hill. His ski instructor said he was a natural. Ok, now I might believe it could be true :)

We have little r enrolled in the Erbendorf Ski Club.  Now we just have to pray for some snow!!! I'm so proud of my little man.  I hope the video works for everyone!

My 4 year old has a girlfriend

It's true. I'm hardly kidding.  You know, I really thought I'd have a little more time for this - like maybe a good 12-14 years!  But no, my little man has a girlfriend, and I have to admit, it's pretty darn cute.

As early as his first week at school here in Erbendorf, he told me that Audrey was his best friend.  He said they ate lunch together and held hands on the playground.  Haha, seriously?!  He told me that she can't really say his name right even though he tries to help her all the time.  But he said, "it's ok that she doesn't know my name, mommy, because she is beautiful."  Oh my land.

Now every day is colored by Audrey (he calls her au-der-y).  He'll describe every detail of the games that they play together on our walk home from school.  Sometimes he'll look at me and say, "Audrey was cranky today, mommy," and I smile as I try not to laugh.  It is, of course, a  super sad day when Audrey isn't at school, but "maybe she'll be here tomorrow, mommy!"  And yesterday was the best when he told me, "Audrey just keeps following me around EVERYWHERE. She goes here and there and all over behind me," and then a big *sigh*  He informed me today that she's not four like he is, that she is younger than him.  Apparently it is important for him to tell me he is dating a younger woman.

I have to admit, Audrey is a cutie pie.  The kid is four though, did I mention that?  I am in so much trouble...

Oh my land, the boy turns 4!

I'm not really sure how to feel about this - my baby boy turning 4 years old.  It's likely I'll be saying the same thing every year from now until college, but it really is amazing that 4 years have gone by already.  Let me also just say that 4 is like the terrible two's on steroids.  Oh holy heck has my son lost his marbles.  I am going to need some serious strength to get through this next year if this is what 4 is all about.  Why didn't anyone warn me?!  Probably because no one has my spirited little monster.  Little r is testing patience on a grand scale from morning until night - never a dull moment with this child.

To celebrate his Big 4, we had a big party for him at our house.  It was one of those rare years where his birthday landed on a Saturday, so we actually got to have his party on his birthday. Pretty cool.  I decided I wanted to get all Betty Crocker and try to make a cake worth remembering this time, especially since we didn't have a big party for him ourselves the past two years.  I had plans of grandeur. Everything from bulldozers to Thomas the Train Engine were thoughts in my mind.  At the tenth hour, I ended up going with just a train based on things I could find at the store to create my mini-masterpiece. HA!  The best part about making his cake was that he actually helped me make it.  That was fun, mostly, but he really thought it was cool to help make his choo-choo train cake.

Peep Peep - pretend this is Thomas

Such a proud birthday boy wearing his new Jeff Gordon shirt :) 

He could barely wait through lunch to get to the cake part!

but the presents were actually number 1 on his mind

Little r ripped through his presents like nobody's business. It was hilarious to watch.  We went to a 2-year-old's birthday party the weekend before, and she carefully opened each present.  My crazy man tore through one gift then handed it off to me to grab the next like it was a race (everything in this boy's life is a competition to see who can "win").

After gift time, I setup my one and only birthday activity.  Paint on canvas.  Everyone told me I was absolutely out of my mind and a brave soul, but it really worked out great.  I love nothing more than to bring art and music out of kids.  They both love it and they need it.  My German friend, Nina, picked up the small canvases at a local store near her house, and I found some kids' paint and Toys R Us, of all places.  We used tall kitchen bags as smocks and to cover the floor, and small silo cups to separate all of the paint.  The kids had a ball, and they each got to bring home a piece of artwork to hang on the wall.  That is my favorite kind of party favor :)

Such a goofball!

My little Van Gogh - Aunt Jessie would be proud

It's a painting party!  All my young artists hard at work!

I think the party was a success.  At least I can say that the kids all seemed to have a great time.  My stress levels were incredibly low considering I had over a dozen small children scattered throughout the house. Honestly, I absolutely loved it because little r was having so much fun. The best part was that our German friends were able to stay for awhile afterwards, so we got a bonus visit in from friends we used to talk to every day and now rarely ever get to see.  Such a great treat.

little r's room after the party ended - it took an hour to put the legos back together - lol

Baby C adored all of the attention!

So, now we enter a new year and a seemingly huge adventure with little r.  If anyone has any tips on how to survive age 4 with a spirited little boy, I'm all ears!

xoxoxo

Namaste

When life gets busy, I strive to hold onto something that attempts to keep me grounded.  Try being the operative word here.  Constantly working to obtain that "om" in my day by doing yoga when and wherever I can fit it in.  I read a blog the other day about a novelist that is also a yogi.  He was commenting on how "hardcore" meant you were practicing something ridiculous like three hours a day.  I'm not sure that at any point I'd ever achieve that level of yoga practice. In fact, I'm not sure I'm interested in becoming hardcore if that's what it means. This author commented on how life keeps him busy and he fits yoga in as he can for 20 minutes here, 10 minutes there, or a lucky 55 minutes when the family runs off to run errands and he gets a rare hour at home alone.

I can absolutely relate to this idea because that is how my yoga practice goes these days, and I'm not complaining, not even remotely.  Mostly I'm just incredibly thankful for technology and websites like My Yoga Online that allow me to even have a practice that extends beyond doing the same DVD over and over again.  It really is difficult to challenge or improve your yoga practice when you have zero variability.  I rarely get to attend a yoga class these days, and for various reasons, it will probably remain pretty difficult for me to for awhile.  But that's ok.  There's something empowering about knowing I can find a smidgen of peace when I grab 10 minutes here or somehow find 45 glorious minutes to "find my center."

This week has been one of those weeks where finding the time has been rough.  School, teething babies, soccer practice, sick pets, and normal every day life... I decided to do a yoga challenge with MYO, the focus being on changing the routine of your morning to rise early and get in a yoga session before starting your day.  This seems to be the only time of the day that I can control.  HA, at least that's what I let myself think.  Let's just say that my valiant efforts to rise at 5:30 every morning have been thwarted by one means or another, so although I am getting the daily sessions in, they are not necessarily happening in the morning as intended.

Rising early to practice yoga this morning didn't happen.  I was up early, but yoga was not the reason. *sigh* This evening after getting little r his dinner, I thought I'd try to get my session in.  It was only a quick 15 minute practice, so that should have been super easy.  I asked little r if he wanted to do yoga with me.  He tries to join in once in awhile, and Lord knows, the kid has seen me do yoga a million times.  He sat down next to me in a "comfortable seated position" with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees.  He closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths.  Even the little ones need to find their inner peace sometimes.

forward lunge stretch

Tree pose - he's almost got it

I didn't get to finish the practice today.  Baby C wanted to have nothing to do with yoga, but little r kept on and actually finished the practice all by himself.  He was super proud.  Maybe I have a future yogini on my hands.  How do you like them apples?

Namaste

xoxoxoxo

Love those baby blues

I am so in love with those baby blue eyes.  Aren't they incredible?  I stare into them all day, and they make my heart flutter.  I know that a baby's eyes can often change color after the first year, but I really hope Baby C keeps these baby blues.

We are finally feeling at home and settled into our new house.  Life is seeming a tad more normal and much less hectic.  My boys are constantly keeping me on my toes, especially little r.  Baby C is three months old already. I am in shock at how quickly time is passing.  I just want to savor every moment I have with him.

I got my "camera" out today and attempted to take pictures of the boys together and the whole things was hilarious.  These two truly crack me up. I mean, look at these goofs!

Partners in crime ALREADY! I am seriously in so much trouble. Try as I might I couldn't capture one of Baby C's million smiles.  The camera was far too interesting and very distracting.  But little r is a pro at creating a huge smile on his brother's face.  I feel like this series of photos perfectly encapsulates their relationship.

I just love my boys.  They keep my life full of laughter and love.  How can you argue with that?

xoxoxo

hope you are all enjoying the end of summer!  

Keeping things interesting...

Never a dull moment around here. I don't say that lightly either. I'm still trying to figure out how we managed to make one of what should have been our easiest moves one of our most difficult. As tough as it has been to get all our ducks in a row with this latest move, we really are finding that our new assignment is pretty fantastic. The house has a ridiculous amount of space, the town is darling, and many things are falling into place for us on this end. But it has been a rough transition. It seems nothing about leaving our prior post has been easy nor has it gone smoothly at all. No clue why things need to be so difficult, but we truly have had the worst luck. Everything from having our orders cut exceptionally late to sitting in our new house waiting for a delivery of our household goods that would never arrive, we have been wrought with frustration.

Colorful row of buildings in the center of Erbendorf

Locals have a beautiful decorating touch

After accepting that a miscommunication would result in not having our household goods for another couple of weeks, we embraced our minimalist situation and decided to make the best of it. We visited the local garden center to help the outside of our home come alive, and spent the weekend enjoying the town. Aside from having an empty house, everything else is coming together well. My two biggest sources of angst have been diminished as we had internet the day after we moved in, and little r is registered to start kindergarten here in Erbendorf in September.

lilacs and golden bells to help us relax

flower pots decorating our entry way

more welcoming flowers

The pool is a short 5 min walk from home

Everything was apparently going too well though, so little r decided we needed to spice things up a bit. Yesterday, with nothing but some errands on the necessary agenda, I decided to take the boys and Lando for a walk to discover some of our new town and the network of trails nearby. All was well until we got home from our nice long morning walk. Little r has insisted on walking Lando lately. Something I find endearing, if not cute and totally adorable, but it can also be insanely annoying. He did a great job on this particular walk though, and Lando was very patient and actually listened for most of our excursion. Little r went to open the gate to our house and all hell broke lose. This is one of those moments when being a mom defines new meaning. When you watch something happen and you can do nothing to stop it. My sweet little boy reached through the gate to open the door. As the door opened, Lando immediately bolted for his soccer ball. All would have been ok had little r dropped the leash, but he held on and went for a ride that I wish never happened. The poor kid was caught up in the gate and thrown against the wall of our garage. Big ouch!

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure how things unfolded immediately thereafter. I had Baby C in the stroller fast asleep, and little r was so hysterical he wasn't even making a sound through his sobs. The neighbors were quickly at my aid because when little r did manage a cry, it was an ear piecing sound. He was in pain - gut wrenching, shocking, and horrible pain. I couldn't even peal the kid off of me long enough to assess the damage. So, I just held him close until he was ready to tell me where it hurt.

These are the moments you discover how amazing your new neighbors are, but it also throws you into the reality of knowing you are in a new place with no knowledge of how to deal with a true emergency. I had a similar panic when we first moved here and Big R had an accident riding home from work on his bike, but this was a completely different level of anxiety. That said, I was surprisingly calm. Kids get hurt all the time, and in the realm of accidents, this was pretty mild. Once I got him inside, my biggest fear was that he broke his arm. Our neighbor reminded me that the German Red Cross was literally next door, so he ran to get aid.

Before I knew it my empty house was full of German men wearing bright orange with red crosses, little r was holding an ice pack on his arm supported by a new teddy bear and tear stained cheeks. I was on the phone, my neighbors cell phone because mine conviently decided to "die" right as all this was happening, talking to a tricare representative to get a nurse's assessment of little r's condition. My neighbor is doing all he can to console Baby C who has at this point decided he has had enough, and then Lucy cat starts howling. Really, Lucy?! I'm giving my information to the woman on the phone as I'm pacing the outside of my house calling for my cat that I am positive got outside in the middle of all this craziness. We don't need a repeat of our cat disappearance. I realize at this point I must have looked like a mad woman, but whatever. Somehow the neighbors are still talking to me and we even exchanged contact information. Maybe they find my maniacal behavior amusing - haha.

With some miracle, my child did not appear to have broken or dislocated anything. He was thrown against a wall and walked away with a nasty wound on his forehead and a sprained wrist. Amazing. The tricare nurse told me to treat him at home. I thanked the German Red Cross fellas ecstatically, and I promptly returned my neighbor's phone gushing with gratitude. Another crisis averted.

The rest of the day, the poor kid was super accident prone. If there was a way to hit his head or crush his hand, he found how to do it. At one point he even fell out of the car. He looked up at me with a wince in his face and said, "what is going ON?!" The completely inappropriate response was to laugh, but I couldn't help it. My kid might be a big pain in the tush, but he's also hilarious. When he fell into his train box hitting his head and smashing his hand for one last time at the end of the day, his reaction was to hold back tears, look at me and say, "I'm ok, mom, I am OKAY!" Then we both laughed so hard we cried. It was awesome.

At some point next week, we'll have furniture, and then hopefully little r will calm down some when things in his life have a taste of normalcy. Until then, I'm keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't truly break something or crack his head open. Wish us luck!

I just love this kid :)

 

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Life with two

This picture makes my life look like pure chaos. I just love it. That was an especially trying day, but when it happened and little r was in hysterics because everything crashed down on top of him, I found that I couldn't stop laughing. The whole scene was absolutely hilarious. I mean, isn't it? This is what happens when you have a newborn in the house and try as you might you just can't watch your three year old every single solitary second. Funny, but little r calmed down quite a bit after that incident. Maybe he realized that being a crazy man only led to trouble and it was "scary" trouble.

Since I can remember, I always wanted two. Probably because I grew up with my sister and it was always just the two of us and it felt so perfect in many ways. Honestly though, there were times when we'd go through a particularly rough phase with little r that we would find ourselves questioning whether we could even HANDLE two. But the more time I spent watching little r, the more I knew he'd truly love having a brother or sister to grow up with. Maybe I just wanted to give him the opportunity to have someone special in his life like I do with my sister.

Fortunately for us, life decided it was a good idea to bring another little one into the world as well. I had so many friends seriously freaking me out with how much work having another child would make for us and for me especially. And it's true, it is a lot of work, but it's not without its rewards. I feel pretty lucky. As spirited as little r might be, he is a fantastic big brother. The first couple of weeks were a little rough as we were feeling out boundaries and settling into a new routine. We are finally starting to getting into a small groove, at least for the time being. I have no doubt that this will change on a near weekly basis as Baby C's demands grow. For now though, life is looking a little more like this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

Little r is a child that truly needs his routine. This can be a huge challenge when you bring a new baby into the mix with his own needs. I thought it was going to be impossible to get them onto a routine of any sort. The sleep thing is still a work in progress, but I'm doing what I can to bring as many of little r's routines into Baby C's world. My favorite part of this has been the nighttime routine. I got brave awhile back and decided to give them a bath together. My mother-in-law bought me this great bath pillow that cradles the baby while he is in the bathtub. It makes a perfect prop for helping me bath the boys together. Baby C is also a doll and loves the bath, which makes this process infinitely easier. We get cleaned up, little r races to try to "beat" Baby C into his pj's (something I find super cute and hilarious), and then we settle in together to read a book. More often than not, little r will read a book to all of us. Baby C just watches his brother in awe. He must truly think little r is the most fascinating creature.

So, this is now a common scene in our house around 7 p.m. and I just love every minute of it...

One of our more fun challenges has been learning how to travel as a family of four. So far Baby C has made this relatively effortless, and our hope is if we keep on traveling like we do that we'll adjust and adapt as we the kids get older and Baby C becomes more demanding with his needs. On our last two trips, we've had some extra help from our parents. This weekend we embark on a trip all on our lonesome with the kiddos. All bets are off, and the moment of truth lies ahead. Let's just see how we roll!

We have a year full of adventures planned, and we know having two in tow will might make this a bit tricky. But we are too determined to take advantage of the incredible opportunities we have for travel while living here that we refuse to let anything hold us back. It'll be fun to share photos, memories, and my blog posts with little r and Baby C when they are older. If nothing else, we are hoping it'll provide fodder for some awesome blog posts! hahahahaha. I have no doubt our adventure this weekend will not disappoint.

Have a great Fourth of July everyone! I'll be in touch when we get back and tell you all about the shenanigans we got ourselves into.

xoxoxo

 

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