tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19862898924423733232024-02-21T07:57:22.497-05:00The CrandallsJessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-2822071137107829572014-08-18T14:01:00.001-04:002014-08-18T14:01:39.638-04:00First Day of School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today was a big day at the Crandall house because not only was it Reese's first day of 1st grade, but it was also Finn's first day of school ever! He was so excited about going to school this year and has been talking about it non stop. We got a letter a few weeks before school started telling us that his teacher was Ms.Katie and he's been talking about her every day and asking when he gets to go to school. It was getting so bad that every time we left the house he would try to grab his bag because he thought he was going to school. <br />
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When I asked him what he wanted to be he replied "no" the first few times and I was having visions of him as a 30 year old still living at home, then he changed his answer to lion and I figured at least that was something. Reese tried explaining to him that he couldn't be a lion, but he would just roar at her in an attempt to prove her wrong. </div>
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He enjoyed his first day of school, but I think it was a bit tiring for him because he was a bit grumpy when I picked him up and ready to go home. Once he snapped out of his mood and I got him to talk about school he was very excited again and told me about playing ring around the rosie and singing songs.</div>
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Reese was a bit jealous that Finn found out who his teacher was before her. She was very excited to go to registration day last week to find out which class she would be in. She's in Mrs.Sivley's class and I think it's going to be a good fit for her. Reese was very excited about being in 1st grade because that means she's on the big playground and she doesn't have to have a bus sticker anymore. I was a little shocked this morning when she told me that I could just drop her off at the curb if I wanted to, at this rate she'll be asking me to drop her off around the corner next year. She's very eager to be independent, but she did allow me to walk her in to class and help her get her stuff settled. </div>
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-19613200655361654122014-04-10T11:17:00.000-04:002014-04-10T11:33:57.023-04:00Little Pooper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is a well known fact in our home that Sage must poop on every new outfit, to christen it I suppose. Every single time she's worn something for the first time she has had a blow out. She just likes things a lot better when they're covered in poop. Today I was washing sheets so I pulled the sheet off her bed and but a brand new one on, not thinking that her love of pooping on new things extended to bedding. I put her down for her nap and when she woke up I left her for a few minutes because I was helping Finn with a puzzle and she was happily talking to herself. When I went in there and picked her up I discovered poop EVERYWHERE!!! She had pooped out while lying on her back, then proceeded to roll over and scoot all around her bed smearing the poop all over the sheet, her stuffed animals, her clothes, everywhere except her face thank goodness. Finn, being the clearly intelligent child that he is, informed me that Sage had pooped (thanks bud). While I was carrying the little pooper out to the changing pad (as far from my body as my arms would allow) Finn proceeded to inform me "poop, poop, poop, Sage pooped everywhere," and Sage smiled and kicked with glee at how funny she is for smearing poop all over herself. <br />
I wish I had taken pictures, and actually thought about pausing to get the camera, but we already had such a big mess that I wasn't interested in allowing her to make it bigger while I took the time to document it. </div>
Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-17211266762886142022014-01-03T16:32:00.002-05:002014-01-03T16:32:25.111-05:00Sage Ireland Crandall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's a new year and the last time I posted on my blog was a year ago when I made my resolution to be better about posting, it was my first failed resolution of 2013. Many things were missed through 2013 that I wish I had posted about, but that's life. Hopefully I'll be better this year, but before another day passed I wanted to document the birth story of Sage. This blog is a journal of sorts for me and I don't want to forget the details of my last baby's birth.<br />
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<b>Sage Ireland Crandall</b></div>
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<b>11-9-2013</b></div>
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<b>8 lbs 8.8 oz, 21.25 in long, 13.5 in head circumference</b></div>
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With this third and final pregnancy we had decided not to find out the gender of the baby. There were times when I really really wanted to know, but overall it was exciting and I enjoyed hearing everyone's guesses and reasons behind them. More people thought I was having a boy than a girl, but even though I flip flopped in the beginning and middle of the pregnancy I was pretty certain we were having a girl the last couple months. <br />
Baby was measuring big from my first ultrasound, but my doctor said we would wait until the second one to decide whether or not we would change the due date. At my second ultrasound I was measuring 8 days big but they don't change your due date unless it's a difference of 9 days or more. I was pretty upset that they weren't changing my due date because they had me as the 20th and I was certain I should've been earlier from my calculations and they can't induce you more than 1 week early. I was convinced I'd be having another 10 lber like Finn if I had to wait until my due date. Since I was so worried the doctor gave me another ultrasound at 35 weeks which showed the baby to be in the 60th percentile, except the doctor who did the ultrasound HAD changed my due date to the week earlier so I was in the 60th percentile for a different due date than my doctor was basing me on. Once I pointed this out to my doctor he looked through all the info again and finally changed my due date to Nov 12th which meant I could be induced as early as the 5th. Since my mom was arriving in town late on the 7th and I would go in to the hospital the evening before my induction we opted to start the induction on the 9th.<br />
All through the weeks prior to her birth I had been having lots of contractions and thought for sure that this would be my first time actually going in to labor on my own, but at every check I was still not dilated which was disheartening considering all the discomfort I was having. At my last doctor appt I was finally a 1 but my Dr decided we should go ahead with the plan to go in the night before to start the cervadil since my previous inductions were so slow. So Nate and I went to the hospital at 6pm on Nov 8th and got checked in and settled in a room. The nurse put me on the monitor and checked me and I was still a 1 but I was finally vindicated because the monitors were showing my contractions and I was actually in labor (which was the good news) but since I was in labor I didn't need the cervadil so we just had to wait until the next morning to start the pitocin.<br />
Since Nate was planning on staying the night with me and there was no one else in the delivery area, they moved us to a nicer room that had a pull out couch for him to sleep on and a giant jacuzzi tub that I got to relax in. After a nice long bath they gave me a sleeping pill and it was actually a relaxing night, especially considering we were in a hospital. They woke me up around 5am and checked me and I was at a 1 and a half, so hardly any progress considering I was having pretty regular contractions. They started the pitocin and then checked me a few hours later and I was only a 2 so the doctor came in around 9:30 and broke my water, which was extremely painful. He told me to make sure I didn't wait too long to ask for an epidural because the pain would become pretty intense. I had been doing so well even with the pitocin up to that point that I figured I could handle it for a little while longer. I made it til 10am when I figured I shouldn't wait any longer. The period of time I spent waiting for the anesthesiologist was excruciating, it felt like she was trying to claw her way out of my abdomen. He came in at 1030 and I think he was done around 1045; that epidural was the best feeling ever, to have that intense pain melt away. They checked me when he was done and I was at an 8, I had progressed a lot in the short amount of time since my water had broken. I spent the next little bit relaxing and when the nurses came back in to check me a short time later I was at a 10 so they called for the doctor and started getting me prepped to push. It only took a couple pushes to get her crowning at which point the nurse asked me if all my kids were born with blond hair. Once her head was out the doctor had me stop because the cord was wrapped around her neck three times and while it wasn't tight on her it was too tight for him to just loop it off so he had to cut the cord right then. I had told the doctor and nurses that I didn't want them to tell me the baby's gender, that I just wanted them to hand her/him to me so I could see for myself since I had waited so long to know. So after my last push the doctor immediately lifted her in to the air and asked me what I had had. I then announced (even though everyone else had already seen) that she was a girl and they laid her on my chest and started cleaning her off. In that moment the entire delivery was a success in my mind because not only was she here safely but I had gotten the two things I had asked for 1. to not have anyone tell me the gender and 2. to have her immediately placed in my arms. <br />
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After I held her for a little while the nurses took her over to weigh and measure her while the doctor finished with me. The doctor commented that it was a good thing they had changed my due date and induced me early since she was so big, but to Nate and I she appeared so small. She was born at 11:38am weighing 8 lbs 8.8 oz, her head was 13.5 in and she was 21.25 in long. They got her cleaned up and then let Nate and I have time alone with her to feed her and just spend a little time alone with her new little girl. We had had a girl name picked out already so we didn't have to wait to give her her name.<br />
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After a little while the nurse took Sage and Nate to the nursery so she could have her first bath and do whatever else they do, I wasn't really paying attention at this point, while the nurses got me to my room. We called family and let them know that the baby had arrived but we had already decided that we wouldn't be revealing the gender or name until after the kids had come to the hospital to see her, we thought they should be the first. We had told my mom it would probably be about an hour before they could come down when we had called the first time and she told us Reese was itching to get down to the hospital to see if she had a brother or a sister. When they called back we said to go ahead and head down and I told Nate to go check on Sage. I believe it was around 2pm when they finally got to the hospital and Sage had only gotten to our room just a few minutes prior so we didn't get a chance to put her in her little sister shirt to reveal her like we had intended too, but the kids didn't mind. Reese was beyond excited to have a little sister, it was what she had wanted. Finn gave her a few minutes of his time and then proceeded to play games on the tablet in true Finn fashion. <br />
And that is the story of Sage's birth<br />
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-64096042769142232942013-01-24T08:00:00.001-05:002013-01-24T08:00:09.518-05:00Random Happenings in January<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Life has been nice and calm for the last little bit and that's the way we like it. The weather finally turned slightly colder a few days ago, we're talking 60s instead of 70s, but it at least means that we don't need to run the air conditioner and it even feels good to wear a sweatshirt in the morning so I'm enjoying it. We've also settled in to a routine and it seems like things are getting done around the house without me having to nag. Overall it's just nice to have some uneventful times.<br />
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Even though life is uneventful the kids still fill it with hilarious moments. The other day Finn and I were playing Legos and I got up to get something and got distracted talking to Nate and he came running in to the kitchen where we were sitting and grabbed my arm and dragged me back to the Legos. It was really cute and though I felt a little bad for having forgotten that we were playing in the first place, it made me really happy to see how much he wanted me there playing with him. <br />
Things with him in the toddler bed got rough for a couple days but that's starting to calm down as well. He did so well for the first week and then Reese got him out of bed one evening and brought him to me saying he needed something and that was all it took for him to realize that he could crawl out of bed whenever he wanted. The next two days were rough and I had to take him back to bed numerous times but he was better last night so hopefully he's starting to realize that he'll just get walked back to bed and it will lose it's excitement. Oh there was also the morning that we woke up and found him on our bedroom floor playing with the kindle....we've got a baby gate across the hallway now so he can't leave when he wakes up.<br />
Other things we've done over the last week or so have been making donuts on our Monday baking day, they were a big hit, and Reese's ponies have been catching rides in Finn's big rig that is then being pulled by a pony....that's an almost daily occurrence.<br />
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And we've been watching football! Nate's been trying his best to convince either of the kids to be Packer fans but Reese constantly referred to them as the Boo Packers and Finn wears his 49er jersey from Nana and Papa with pride. Nate and Reese actually made a bet early in the season that whichever team made it the furthest the loser would have to buy ice cream so the playoff game between the Niners and the Packers was an exciting one for us. Reese was excited to find out that she was getting ice cream and they turned it in to a daddy-daughter date one day after school. Now she's excited for her 49ers to play the "birds" in the Superbowl. Also, Finners is too cute in his football jersey. <br />
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-1299051707194774712013-01-14T00:47:00.000-05:002013-01-14T00:47:14.584-05:00Sweet, Funny, Reese<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We had a great day today which was especially nice since Sunday is the start of Nate's work week and between the kids and I having church in the morning and him being gone by the time we get home, they don't get to see much of him. Today we had a very relaxing afternoon where everyone was pretty much doing their own thing until I called the kids to dinner. As soon as Reese walked in the kitchen she had her whiney face on and was asking me what we were having and telling me how she doesn't like it even though we've never had it before. It should be noted that Reese loves pasta and hates meat, everything else falls somewhere in the middle and she could like it one day and hate it the next. So she was complaining about how she was so hungry and I didn't make food she liked and I gave her our go to answer of you can either quite whining and join us at the table or go to your room. During the prayer I made sure to pray that this "yummy food" would fill our "hungry bellies" and after the prayer was over Reese looked up and with a very dejected look on her face said "Heavenly Father was supposed to turn this food in to pasta." It was hilarious.<div>
On a completely separate note, at the start of the new year I made a new policy that 7pm was clean up time and anyone that didn't want to clean up could choose to go straight to bed. I was feeling like the playroom was always dirty and it would be kind of huge deal for me to go through and pick everything up and make sure everything went in the right place. The first few days Reese would mill about slowly and really take some prodding to help out, but as the first few days past she learned how quickly it went with all of us working together. Finn did pretty well with it from the start, he needed a little bit of direction with what to do but even he has gotten better each day and now knows where most things go without being told. It's been such a great change for us because every morning the playroom is clean and the kids have even begun to clean up after themselves when they're done playing with something because they know they'll be cleaning it up later anyways. Well tonight around 6:30 or so Reese tells me that she and Finn are going to start cleaning up and have it all clean before 7. I honestly didn't give it much thought and figured I'd just let them do their thing. Well Reese directed Finn around and together they got the playroom picked up without my help and then moved on to the bookshelf and Reese had Finn wander around picking up all the books and bringing them to her while she put them on the shelves. When she told me they were done I was so proud to find out that they really had cleaned everything up. She's such a sweet girl and it was such a nice end to a nice day.</div>
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-9900091859652226592013-01-10T21:47:00.001-05:002013-01-10T21:47:15.541-05:00I Might Be Crazy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This week was so pleasant that I told Nate I wish every week could be just like this one, though I know they can't. Nate usually works the swing shift but he had some training to do this week so he was working days and Reese's Christmas break was over so she went back to school on Tuesday so it was just Finn and I in the mornings. I have missed having that one on one time with Finn and it was so much fun to have it just be the two of us and to get to interact with him without distractions. It was only two days that it we were alone for the morning but we enjoyed snuggling on the couch reading books, playing with his superheros, and he liked helping me with the laundry. <div>
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He seems like he's just in developmental overload lately using new words everyday and overall just learning to communicate better with us. We've been trying to get him to say "please" for awhile now, and this morning he wanted my pen and I told him no and then he said "peas" so of course I gave it to him. Then later he was pointing at the counter and whining so I asked him what he wanted and he said "cookie" and I looked at him for a moment and then he said "peas", so of course he got a cookie. I'm just glad that he's finally starting to understand that he needs to use his words instead of whimpering all the time. </div>
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And now for why I just might be crazy. Nate and I have been planning to take Finn out of his crib on his second birthday, that's when we switched Reese to a toddler bed so we were planning to do the same for Finn. Then I was speaking to my mom and discussing plans for our trip out to visit them in a few weeks and we got to talking about how they didn't have a crib for Finn anymore, since he's much too large for the pack n play, so they were just going to have to put him in a regular bed. Nate and I talked about it and decided that it would be easier if he just transitioned him to the toddler bed a little bit early so that I wouldn't have to worry about it while we were on vacation. So, tonight we made a big deal about taking the side off his crib and putting the little toddler railing on. He was so excited and thought it was super cool that he and Reese could climb in and out of his bed. Luckily it's still a little difficult for him to climb out because of the way the little railing is, so it takes a little effort on his part. We were worried about how the first night would go, but he was fine and went right to sleep without crawling out. When we switched Reese it took her awhile to become proficient at getting in and out so by the time she had mastered it she was used to the new bed and didn't climb out at bedtime, I'm hoping that it will be a similar situation with Finn. Reese was even kind enough to give him her little bird pillow that her animals use until we can get a pillow for him, she's so sweet.</div>
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I love the cute little look he's giving me in this photo</div>
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-61739113513803398382013-01-07T21:34:00.000-05:002013-01-07T21:34:01.211-05:00Disney World Just Because We Can!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since we are SOOO close to Disney World, we decided to go ahead and get annual passes since we were already expecting a few visitors who would want to go and the idea of being able to head over to the happiest place on earth whenever I wanted sounded too good to pass up. We got our passes when we went for our 5 day trip for my 30th birthday (which I will hopefully get around to back posting about in a few days) and I was eager to go back just for the heck of it. I had heard that January would be a really slow time and even though we were there less than a month ago I told Reese that we would go during her Christmas break. Today was her last day of vacation so I loaded the kids up and we headed off to Orlando this morning. I have to admit that I was a little nervous taking the two of them by myself, I've done a lot of traveling by myself with the kids but theme parks are crowded and I was a little concerned that a lot of my time would be spent keeping track of them. Luckily it went very smoothly and we had a lot of fun.<div>
We left our house around 8:30 and got to the park at 9:30. We didn't have to park very far away so we just walked to the monorail instead of breaking down the stroller to take the parking tram. I was a little surprised how busy it still was when we got the gates of the Magic Kingdom, I had figured that since the park opened at 9 most of the traffic would've already been in. It really wasn't that busy of a day but I had been expecting it to be a little less crowded than it was. I didn't really have any plans for what we would do, I figured that since it was just the three of us I'd let Reese run the show and do what she wanted. Nate has more issues with standing in lines than I do (especially when it comes to character meets) so I didn't care that we didn't have a plan. </div>
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We went back to Fantasyland and she said she wanted to ride Peter Pan first so I grabbed some Fastpasses for the Little Mermaid ride and then we got in line for Peter Pan. The line was already about 30 mins long, which is actually pretty good for Peter Pan, but after we got in line a man asked us if we'd like some fastpasses for it because they weren't using all of theirs..SCORE! It was such a great start to the day to just step right on. After that we went on It's a Small World which is Finn's favorite ride. He's probably going to think we're lying about this when he's older, but he absolutely loves It's a Small World. He gets so excited and animated about seeing the little animals and he really dislikes a lot of the other rides because they're dark and he gets really upset when we go on a ride that's in the dark. We went on a few more rides and then had our lunch while Reese and I discussed what she wanted to do next. She was eager to meet some of the characters because we hadn't done much of that on our last trip so she chose to meet Minnie and Daisy (which was the longest line we waited in all day) and then we used the Fastpasses we hadn't gotten for Dumbo and we were glad we had because it was a 75 minute wait when we went to use them which is insane. </div>
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By this time it was after Finn's normal naptime and he was starting to drift, which would mean no more rides, so we jumped on the Tea Cups real fast since Reese was so eager to ride them and they both loved spinning around so I was glad we did. Then we went over to watch the stage show in front of the castle. I had it all planned out and we had the perfect seats to watch the show and then we'd just turn around and a few minutes later it would be time for the parade. Unfortunately, the sang one song for the show and then it was drizzling so they cancelled it which Reese was a little upset about but she handled it well and asked to go on one more ride. She wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, which Finn hates because of that whole dark thing, but I thought since he was asleep I might be able to carry him on no big deal. That plan was a fail because he woke up while we were in line and was super happy but then got mad as soon as the ride started. I'm hoping he gets over his aversion to rides in the dark soon, he's not afraid of the dark any other time. We got off the ride just in time to walk over to the parade and watch it, which made Reese really happy, and then we headed for the exit around 3:30.</div>
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It was a good quick day and I was glad we did it. It was nice to go to Disney World without feeling rushed to fit everything in to a certain amount of time, we just did what we wanted, went slow and had fun. There will be a lot of Disney "just because" trips this year and I hope they all go as smoothly as this one did.</div>
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Riding It's a Small World....sooo happy<br />
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-33178835046221232712013-01-07T21:02:00.002-05:002013-01-07T21:02:35.849-05:00Swing Set<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Day 2 of the swing set installation was a lot harder than we were expecting. We had to anchor it in the ground which first involved finding anchors and then involved a lot of work on Nate's part trying to get them in and make everything work. The kids were helping me with some yardwork while Nate was doing that and I don't know what it is about boys but holy cow Finn manages to get a million times dirtier than Reese does and I'm convinced it has nothing to do with him being younger. I was raking and they wanted to put my piles in our leaf box and Reese ended up with some dirty hands but Finn ended up COVERED in dirt, he had dirt down his shirt, and he even took his shoes off and was walking around barefoot getting extra dirty. It was cute though to watch him "help" and it was nice to actually have Reese's help. <div>
After the kids and I had had enough of cleaning up, and Nate was still trying to anchor the swing set and getting angrier by the minute, I took them inside for a bath in the hopes that some silence outside would help Nate work. A little while later he had finished and since we'd assembled all the swinging pieces the night before it was quick and painless to put them on the frame real fast and the kids were ready to play. Finn loves the slide except he loves to walk up it and then sit at the top laughing until he realizes he can't get turned around to slide back down. Reese like the horse and the seesaw, which we didn't put on until the following day, and she's also getting better at pumping her legs so she can swing by herself. Personally I'm a fan of the flying saucer, I could easily waste an afternoon rocking away in the warm weather. I'm so glad we have the swing set for the kids, I have fond childhood memories of the swing set we had in our backyard growing up and I hope this one gets as much use as ours did. We the constant sunshine and warm weather we seem to have here I'm sure it'll get plenty of use. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-70906894446327368082013-01-04T20:44:00.001-05:002013-01-04T20:44:21.353-05:00January 4th<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For Christmas my aunt and grandma bought the kids a swing set for our backyard. We've been excitedly awaiting it's arrival and we finally got the email today that it was ready for us to pick up. We had been out back trimming the trees in preparation for it so while Nate was at the store picking it up the kids helped me clear out the last of the branches. We weren't able to get the frame put up outside since the weather was gloomy and looked like rain, so Nate and I spent the evening indoors assembling the various parts. Tomorrow we'll just have to assemble the frame and hook everything on to it and we'll be good to go. The funny thing is that online it said that the set up time was about 2 hours and Nate and I spent more than that assembling the slide, swings, rocking horse, and flying disc. </div>
Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-2163401301456514312013-01-03T23:24:00.001-05:002013-01-03T23:24:24.945-05:00January 3rd<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happily playing with one another</div>
Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-38749604628366954122013-01-02T19:50:00.000-05:002013-01-02T19:52:11.828-05:00January 2nd<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Reese is our resident doctor/vet. Jaeger is constantly receiving checkups despite her lack of interest.<br />
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-71935101953554789512013-01-02T10:04:00.002-05:002013-01-02T10:04:59.885-05:00A Fresh Start to a New Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was terrible about updating the blog in 2012, there was a lot going on and I didn't feel like adding one more thing to my plate. Now that things have slowed down I'd like to get back in to doing it, I'm sad that I missed documenting a lot of things in Finn's infancy the way I did with Reese's. Maybe I'll eventually go back and fill in the missing gap of time because I'd like to have it, but thinking about doing that is making me avoid the blog so for now it is what it is. <br />
I've read a lot about these 365 photo blog projects so I've decided that I'm going to attempt to do it, but for now it'll be without a schedule or guide of any type, just a photo of something from our day to remind me of this time in my life....so here it goes.<br />
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January 1st: It was an amazingly beautiful day in Florida so the kids and I spent the afternoon in the front yard enjoying the sun and relatively cooler temperatures. Reese is getting better at the roller skates she got for her birthday and Finn is slowly taking an interest in the strider bike Santa gave him for Christmas. He'll only ride it for a little bit, but he likes it when he does and hopefully his interest will build.<br />
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Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-86292189639160423552012-04-27T19:35:00.001-04:002012-04-27T19:35:23.882-04:00September 2011…IRELAND!!<p>We rushed home from California just in time for Reese to start preschool again.  It was her second year at the CDC enrichment program and she was excited to get back to school and Finn and I were excited to enjoy some one on one time with each other. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsD-ceSGF8Mn4EjPYd8EBDXTJoVNElgtE0fPb5gm1YntVCAGvkN74g9jJtal7fFublRRK-rwkusXl6tWcbI09w3mJ7jHZU_LJTy3-BGElFKvND3VaFjZ3OST5VkUwSZqYZfjFb2tQ7OBM/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525292%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)2" border="0" alt="New folder (2)2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMuTCc4jLDi-ODQX8QhSBDlTxkaUuyRxK60CLHtrGSo1oFbzZ02gCtIqygbmCwV1aQdt_H2xtyNN7HzJ2srdL1LkJir2I8jl46EnbzQHxLC9223E5_Ie1eAz31BlcPpiuczHvfHCbr4g/?imgmax=800" width="538" height="440" /></a></p> <p>I think Reese was all of 2 weeks into the school year when we had her take a week off so that we could go on a family vacation to Ireland.  Nate and I had been dying to go back since we went on our first trip and we found ticket prices that we simply couldn’t pass up.  We drove over to Brussels on Sunday night, since we were flying out of the airport there, and stayed at an airport hotel which worked out perfectly since they offered a free shuttle to the airport.  The kids had fun playing in the hotel that night and then bright and early the next morning we were on our way to Dublin, Ireland.  We had a perfect flight there and when we were going through passport control the officer noticed Finn’s name and smiled, after all Finn is our little Irish boy.  We had a little trouble at the car rental counter but once that annoyance was over we were in our hunk of junk Kia and on our way to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway.  Now I have to add that one of Nate’s favorite things in Ireland is the full Irish breakfast and he was dying to have one as soon as possible, also we were all starving because it was about 10am and we’d only had a very small breakfast a long time ago before our flight, so we pulled off the highway just outside Dublin and lucked upon this awesome breakfast place that had an amazing full Irish breakfast.  Nate was in heaven and I was enjoying myself too.  After we had had our fill we piled back in the car and made our way up to the Giant’s Causeway.  There are multiple legends about the Giant’s Causeway so don’t sue me if I don’t quote the one you’ve heard, but basically there was a giant in Scotland and then there was the giant in Ireland who was Finn McCool.  Apparently the giants wanted to fight each other so they built the Giant’s Causeway as a path to get to one another but then Finn McCool found out the other giant was larger and ended up out smarting him by pretending to be his child which freaked the other giant out and he ran back home.  Long story short, we were eager to take our giant Finn to see the Giant’s Causeway and it was amazing.  We took this little hiking path from the parking area that dropped us off near the organ and then we walked past the Giant’s boot and wandered out on the stone steps before we headed back.  It got quite windy and cold while we were there but it was beautiful and we were glad that we were able to work visiting there into our trip.  After we were done we were all pretty tired so we drove to Portrush, which wasn’t far, and checked in to our cute little bed and breakfast.  We went out to wander the town for awhile before dinner but we were so tired from our day that we ended up just having an early dinner at an awesome restaurant and then went down to the beach to play for a little while before we headed back.  Reese loved running around in the water and even though it had started raining it was fun to dabble our feet.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6GQAmiDPDf8/T5stEoeFIGI/AAAAAAAACt8/ilGGr8--pXo/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525293%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)3" border="0" alt="New folder (2)3" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-BV4uT_yo9G0/T5stFfSRUgI/AAAAAAAACuE/u_vjj9bCVas/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525293_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="721" height="595" /></a></p> <p>We woke up Tuesday morning to start another long day in Ireland.  We had another amazing Irish breakfast and then loaded in the car for the extremely long drive down to the Dingle peninsula.  Just to give you a sense of the drive, the Giant’s Causeway is in the very north of Ireland and towards the eastern side whereas the Dingle peninsula is the very southwest of Ireland.  I think it took us about 10 hours with our stops to make it down there and as luck would have it the kids were fine all but maybe the last 30 or so mins of the drive.  We didn’t do very much that day, just drove and drove and drove until we got there, but when we got there we were so excited to find that our B&B was everything we were hoping it would be.  There was a farm with goats and sheep and our room was huge! plus we had a huge closet and a huge bathroom, it was exactly perfect for us.  Once we got in and got settled we wandered in to town and had dinner at a fish restaurant that was recommended to us, I was a little overzealous and had the squid which ended up making me feel a little ill but other than that it was fine.  </p> <p>After breakfast on Wednesday, Reese got a tray of scraps for the animals and ran out to feed them. This was by far her favorite part of the trip, every morning and sometimes again in the afternoon, she would run out and feed them all the peels and leftovers from the meals. This farm was why we picked this place to stay at in the first place and she was just as excited by it as we thought she would be. Since we’d spent all day in the car on Tuesday we didn’t want to force the kids to be in the car again so we decided we’d just spend some time wandering around Dingle and exploring the town.  There’s an aquarium there that we went to and we made it inside just as the rain was starting to pour down.  Reese always loves aquariums so it was fun for her to watch the fish and do something she enjoyed.  After that we just wandered around town looking in shops and seeing the ships.  They were feeding the sharks at the aquarium later in the day so we went back to see that since our tickets were good for all day and then we decided just to head back to our room and relax for a little bit.  As we were walking back we got caught in a rainstorm that just dumped water on us.  Nate used his raincoat to wrap Reese in because her pants were getting so wet and by the time we made it back to our hotel we were soaking wet, well all of us except Finn who was nice and warm in his stroller.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yDeSo4Oh_Qc/T5stGKTGmgI/AAAAAAAACuM/Oa6hsYIfm04/s1600-h/DSC_0852%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0852" border="0" alt="DSC_0852" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FIZeRsdoo7kkOwEe5YtRvIsf75Ehf65uY72LMadrC0JhbsNavfRy1BlDtsvVntzF3R2lFE724wnPLHO84_2alFnyKpZdz87s3Rf42T4cGb-alGNgoL6yRKqRnK2h0RmYi9hfkqwPxX0/?imgmax=800" width="294" height="446" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9nmXextJd1E/T5stHiLRTvI/AAAAAAAACuc/3U7ExW8HA08/s1600-h/DSC_0854%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0854" border="0" alt="DSC_0854" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-N26n3VgSbIo/T5stITF0gmI/AAAAAAAACuk/fsaMVov8cYA/DSC_0854_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="294" height="446" /></a></p> <p>Thursday started just like Wednesday with feeding the animals and when Reese was done with that we loaded in the car for our trip around the Dingle peninsula, we had driven the ring of Kerry on our previous trip so this time we were doing Dingle.  Our first stop was a beach that we saw a parking lot for, it was a fairly nice day so we spent some time gathering seashells and just wandering around on the beach.  By the time we got back in the car Reese has a whole pile of seashells to take home.  Our next stop was Dunbeg Fort which was just a little ways down the road. My favorite part about Ireland is that even though things are historical there’s still a lot of fun to be had and Reese enjoyed walking along the rock walls and climbing the hills while Nate and I enjoyed the amazing coastal views and Finn, well Finn was just as happy as always.  You have to love a little boy that’s that happy all the time.  After we had had our fill of the fort we went on to the Beehive huts and looked around for awhile and then it was on to another beach.  Finn was asleep in the car so Nate stayed up with him while Reese and I went down and wandered on the beach for awhile.  By the time we were done there everyone was getting hungry so pulled over at a pub and had some quick sandwiches and then we had some tired kids so we decided just to head back to our room and take a nap.  Once Reese woke up she was a little bit happier so we went back to where we left off and viewed the Gallarus Oratory and the ruined church of Kilmalkedar which was better than the oratory and a nice way to end our tour around the peninsula.  After we got back we went to an amazing pub and had some delicious Shepard's pie and Guinness stew which would perhaps rate as our best meal on the trip it was so good, and then we wandered over to Finn McCool’s surf shop to take some pictures of Finn and get some ice cream for Reese at the shop across the street.  It was a long day but we had so much fun exploring Dingle.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-L0z15zpIM90/T5stJZ2VNiI/AAAAAAAACus/CgPZv4vTjqk/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525294%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)4" border="0" alt="New folder (2)4" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdmgvg_9Hu96mMGexvkts0I1GGKlTmuKXGyfgMJs1FKY-cVDiBVcx6T1l0fdRj34k7w_84c2gYQAqxBxZr4_W1zs2Sqicpu5VWZO6pBKvm8jQ9e36I1-Sinw_KQJ3J8dnFxhgm3YBK_g/?imgmax=800" width="740" height="584" /></a></p> <p>Friday morning it was time for us to head out of Dingle but not before we made one more stop in town to take some pictures with Funghi the dolphin since we had neglected to do it previously.  After that we were on our way to Kinsale to see Charles Fort.  We made pretty good time getting to Kinsale just stopping at a McDonalds in Killarney to get some food on our way. Once we got checked in to our B&B we drove over to Charles Fort to do some exploring.  It was a huge fort and It was fun just to wander around and see the views and watch Reese try to man the cannon, it wasn’t our favorite stop on our trip but Reese had a ton of fun running around playing hide and seek and climbing up the stairs onto the walls to look out.  When we were done at the fort we went in to town to get something to eat and then found some ice cream for Reese to eat while we wandered around town.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NN1D0NafQjQ/T5stLbZRaEI/AAAAAAAACu8/yz3JVWNfe7M/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525295%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)5" border="0" alt="New folder (2)5" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7MsRPnFr0MM/T5stMXmRzAI/AAAAAAAACvE/nlfzVuz7hDA/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525295_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="731" height="743" /></a></p> <p>Saturday was our last full day in Ireland and we were back on the road again.  First we drove from Kinsale to Kilkenny to go to the Rock of Cashel.  We kind of started out on a guided tour of the cathedral but then just decided to break off and do our own thing because it can be difficult to listen to the tour guide while not letting the kids disturb other people.  It ended up being better for us anyways because we had the guide book and then we didn’t have to deal with being in a huge group.  After the Rock of Cashel we decided just to head straight to Dublin instead of delaying our journey with other stops, I think we were all getting ready to be back home.  We stayed at a hotel near the airport in Dublin and we contemplated taking the bus in to Dublin that evening but there were a bunch of stores across from our hotel so we just wandered over there and had fun looking at the pet shop and the toy store, it was easier and I think the kids were ready to be done with traveling around, as good as they are at traveling sometimes they just want to do normal activities.  After dinner we called it an early night and we were off to the airport way too early the next morning for our flight back to Brussels and our drive back to Germany.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xb4z9osPSps/T5stNVODmiI/AAAAAAAACvM/VyXsXenQkhw/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525296%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)6" border="0" alt="New folder (2)6" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-m5gmGRTZbrU/T5stOuGBGGI/AAAAAAAACvU/iNibfCejwqs/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525296_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="739" height="751" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-25753113582398316442012-04-27T14:32:00.001-04:002012-04-27T14:32:06.566-04:00August 2011…Trip to California<p>Just before Aunt Kendra left for home, the kids and I headed off to Sacramento to show Finn off.  Of course the flight was full so there was no extra space for Finn and it made for a long flight to California, but we made it and it was well worth it.  The kids enjoyed spending time with Ava and just getting to play in Nana and Papa’s backyard.  One day my aunt and grandma took us all to Funderland which Reese was in love with.  All the rides there are just her size and she was running from one to the other while Finn rested in the shade with his Great Ma, which I think both of them enjoyed.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QTOVxyQoKNs/T5rl_6iEFMI/AAAAAAAACr8/-lSUHe1PV-o/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)" border="0" alt="New folder (2)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-J3GTBBcJ6bg/T5rmAyqt1LI/AAAAAAAACsE/BBt-wq09TCI/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="651" height="662" /></a></p> <p>While we were visiting my parents took the whole family to go to Gilroy Gardens which is a fun little theme park a few hours away.  It was nice to get to spend a whole day with everyone accept Nate and to get to know my soon to be brother in law David a little bit better.  It was a hot day so we went to a little water area and Reese wanted nothing to do with it, but Finn enjoyed getting a little wet with Aunt Lissa and Uncle David.  It was so hot later in the afternoon that I had to coax Reese into one of the little splash zones with candy just so I could get her to cool off and we kept getting Finn’s hat wet to cool him off as well.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eSzKPGBAgrM/T5rmBsT9sQI/AAAAAAAACsM/stXG63m-83M/s1600-h/DSC_0536%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0536" border="0" alt="DSC_0536" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-f96tjxxVPhI/T5rmCUGFcCI/AAAAAAAACsU/7nEVWQmQyTQ/DSC_0536_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="487" height="334" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cPtj3Xgao8s/T5rmDS3Hn0I/AAAAAAAACsc/iD67evWWkiE/s1600-h/DSC_0539%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0539" border="0" alt="DSC_0539" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PUEhEtSGFEk/T5rmD2G0R2I/AAAAAAAACsk/SJSUPoknie0/DSC_0539_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="479" height="329" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RxzBx6VZ5W0/T5rmEijuslI/AAAAAAAACss/S_W_ZRNONi4/s1600-h/DSC_0540%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0540" border="0" alt="DSC_0540" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3kaNzyznHOk/T5rmFmeEXvI/AAAAAAAACs0/JDHr4-jKAhc/DSC_0540_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="486" height="333" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nCmEAqdVqLw/T5rmGY_fCZI/AAAAAAAACs8/E3VOhP7GRoQ/s1600-h/DSC_0545%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0545" border="0" alt="DSC_0545" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-E_wkg9ar3yI/T5rmG4KlHaI/AAAAAAAACtE/yWQhYKkLEp8/DSC_0545_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="479" height="329" /></a></p> <p>We also spent some time on the river with David and Melissa’s boat (but I have no clue where those pictures are at the moment) and made a trip up to Grandma’s house to introduce her to her great grandson.  We always have such a great time in Sacramento and it gets harder and harder each time to leave.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-w9c5ZgYgsFw/T5rmIOcIDrI/AAAAAAAACtM/hTfoORj9KBg/s1600-h/New%252520folder%252520%2525282%2525291%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="New folder (2)1" border="0" alt="New folder (2)1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcZX1rsk8dJkB_ed-OXAOOToYPqqP6gxB_o4JzeRgrNEYaEVM2mIi7_wCtDbfGG1NQ9Lnh8WFASBMrvdVGMtleshG0nZ3Uq91YteS1NqKdXqbU1QHYomkF6aezntTDpVWKKN9qTeEp14/?imgmax=800" width="753" height="622" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-74107440412649330642012-04-27T14:09:00.001-04:002012-04-27T14:10:57.122-04:00August 2011…The rest of Aunt Kendra’s visit<p>I’m behind, way behind, like almost a year behind…where do I even begin.  I’m thinking the best route to take is to just rush through the past so I have it written down and then start fresh at the present and try to stay up to date.  So here it goes, the next few posts will be the last few months in a nutshell (and it was a busy few months).</p> <p>August was when Nate’s sister Kendra had come to visit us and we tried to do some fun things with her.  We took her to Cologne to tour the cathedral and then we also went over to the zoo there because we think it’s one of the best zoos.  We climbed the spire at the cathedral which was quite the accomplishment, Reese walked the majority of the way up and needed a little help at the end but then again I wished I could have someone carry me up those last few steps.  Nate had to be careful carrying Finn in the backpack so that Finn didn’t hit his head and he kept grabbing the walls as well which made it a little more difficult, but once we got to the top the view was worth it.  We’d been to Cologne so many times without climbing the spire that I was glad we finally did it. This was Finn’s first trip to the Cologne zoo and it was fun to see him enjoy the fish, he didn’t have quite the fascination that Reese did on her first trip but he still liked them.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvMTLB0ihgZZBpqKbuse3bvMJTdbudTK7y3tj40xtq0Lxs8U3MX9g66rdHNLyUr4RDiZreW9Ngeu3wp25ol38gD5W6vJ3Y1ptQjYleO_jQ3ujssxhxhHcgC_xg80hYJF0zp2ClXyHVfo/s1600-h/DSC_0399%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0399" border="0" alt="DSC_0399" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oSUnh7Sdffg/T5rgflOrTII/AAAAAAAACpU/hSB6Tp3F7cc/DSC_0399_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="266" height="404" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cGhDDd7MjHA/T5rggO7kVCI/AAAAAAAACpc/XCWgJXHJ3oM/s1600-h/DSC_0410%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0410" border="0" alt="DSC_0410" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jKNRQNDt6-E/T5rgg7yiPwI/AAAAAAAACpk/NJafI7YGGTk/DSC_0410_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="263" height="403" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4LFeqFKCmXw/T5rgiewWXpI/AAAAAAAACps/NvoYh8kQn1w/s1600-h/DSC_0400%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0400" border="0" alt="DSC_0400" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KNaWZeUZ-x8/T5rgjCRWMdI/AAAAAAAACp0/AYtdxeD_JYs/DSC_0400_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="261" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft1I7nP2NqtLDaeOMeJ7Mbf99Dkd37xiAaM11QfkVrDYqG-cw77frr0nOwNi_AmWZFB9oaJ-x54LoThtnmw3xzMfH2K-COp5JpYyxiJvQqpD0DIQgMNtNOU9F5pslrFnzWvLN-gKIozQ/s1600-h/DSC_0412%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0412" border="0" alt="DSC_0412" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PLTsSWJ4fj0/T5rgmCAL4AI/AAAAAAAACqE/NuThZHvt39U/DSC_0412_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="374" height="257" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OAe3eZuR0n8/T5rgm58qk6I/AAAAAAAACqM/kdRwnl18DEk/s1600-h/DSC_0419%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0419" border="0" alt="DSC_0419" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EQC_ZnN3Sms/T5rgnloRx3I/AAAAAAAACqU/ewwTxfLZAIM/DSC_0419_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="265" height="402" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kvdvJRpXsLY/T5rgoRx9EEI/AAAAAAAACqc/cICtHrUj6k4/s1600-h/DSC_0420%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0420" border="0" alt="DSC_0420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo1LXV_3uI5MRlB7yGr00TfFF88QNMwlehsd9b1uX-MsBiKaMN1-n0nQa27XWFcyga3z_jSYVkcvzc5NLhqDUUKIdOgQPnRAky1HEEB6Pf-f5Y7zOIdIn1VMe1ilX3Zu9anxVEWab3IM/?imgmax=800" width="263" height="399" /></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-FWpRL9nyUPY/T5rgp64FBsI/AAAAAAAACqs/khpX-eT18mU/s1600-h/DSC_0432%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0432" border="0" alt="DSC_0432" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4W86f9SU5IE/T5rgqVI-E-I/AAAAAAAACq0/tKaCSRxGUFE/DSC_0432_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="412" height="283" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2JMHrqnInI8/T5rgrWxR3pI/AAAAAAAACq8/AeZP7-xDm6Q/s1600-h/DSC_0443%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0443" border="0" alt="DSC_0443" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sTw68vOrXHw/T5rgsJdotlI/AAAAAAAACrE/ZGt-FSRu1lA/DSC_0443_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="431" height="296" /></a><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SN8GKr_xWJM/T5rgtWf6P_I/AAAAAAAACrM/Jg0mlunyLoA/s1600-h/DSC_0492%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0492" border="0" alt="DSC_0492" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ho7mVFWfuYk/T5rguOFC42I/AAAAAAAACrU/VZc-z4_l17U/DSC_0492_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="418" height="287" /></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ju2I_mdNS20/T5rgvGseu9I/AAAAAAAACrc/igvP5iYV_9Q/s1600-h/DSC_0499%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="DSC_0499" border="0" alt="DSC_0499" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-21PNxt7rxkM/T5rgwGf5III/AAAAAAAACrk/GWuapQki2A4/DSC_0499_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="291" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-68131893108275377192011-08-11T09:27:00.001-04:002011-08-11T09:27:53.162-04:00Manderscheid Castle<p>Reese turned 3 years old three months ago and I finally got around to taking her yearly photos today.  Since Nate’s sister Kendra is in town, we took the kids over to Manderscheid castle and got some cute pics of the kids.  Reese is usually only good for a few minutes of smiling so the first ones are smiles and the later ones are more of a brooding Reese look.  Finn on the other hand is always willing to smile for Mommy as long as he has a full stomach.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xAbRsG70-l8/TkPX_k1tYnI/AAAAAAAACQ8/4HGtT36fFgs/s1600-h/DSC_0228%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0228" border="0" alt="DSC_0228" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ic-_ZXelNxU/TkPYDSBJXpI/AAAAAAAACRA/Zk4_uCbQQa0/DSC_0228_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="336" height="494" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoggijBEBzkhdiRhvAPQqsoh1GhEzYeU4vl0XfzfaeThnhXti33g987GcC-v1eZapG44oIsckRjSgxy99g26u0lv_n8zg-u6HN-mD8ovYtC1MeSiU7_W_8XyDudsE99UDA7RMiLmHHsk0/s1600-h/DSC_0240%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0240" border="0" alt="DSC_0240" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oWtK4EIe6DU/TkPYLvFW8wI/AAAAAAAACRI/fcFWzYz6qxA/DSC_0240_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="578" height="393" /></a></p> <p> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QIAF0U5pt9E/TkPYNpWsA0I/AAAAAAAACRM/ruKAxSCscrs/s1600-h/DSC_0283%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0283" border="0" alt="DSC_0283" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-tdWcQRTzyK8/TkPYPZJoAII/AAAAAAAACRQ/TSyN0wyH_mY/DSC_0283_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="337" height="496" /></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hKHItgOMSBg/TkPYRdrNeCI/AAAAAAAACRU/ypl6YVfC_kI/s1600-h/DSC_0294%252520-%252520Copy%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0294 - Copy" border="0" alt="DSC_0294 - Copy" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XmwZA22Wy18/TkPYTv1FtLI/AAAAAAAACRY/6Lqlzw1IlQQ/DSC_0294%252520-%252520Copy_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="337" height="496" /></a></p> <p> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GtdeHgdw1l0/TkPYVi5TlkI/AAAAAAAACRc/rK4Zs1K9zXI/s1600-h/DSC_0332%252520-%252520Copy%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0332 - Copy" border="0" alt="DSC_0332 - Copy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FSmYvdjgNGB5FtLaVMn1F_6CP9fxKU_9JK1Xi93Ohg_4WeckOo68pEj-xPb0jPUSdPrlPfsqsgYjMaDzD38eiqx3r8BZ_XAuvfT4CqVwyGurupxCQkVzgam0EG9EAx1LOY00vKeC158/?imgmax=800" width="340" height="500" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lG3411hGkhA/TkPYcbv--ZI/AAAAAAAACRk/7edVb3D2wfE/s1600-h/DSC_0342%252520-%252520Copy%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0342 - Copy" border="0" alt="DSC_0342 - Copy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKL6J5GErA-8W_0RP402M2CKsPbtlJyGl7db_3tg-vsZgQzWRGAOK882olRnxy5DsAAvNW0x4apqTeJ-AQgVYZBjb4j_d3DpS0f237YU1MdCioR6dzW5auW-7iXx3ALXsKt7q6TWPi-z8/?imgmax=800" width="333" height="490" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XhRrGDPEAE4/TkPYga8nRkI/AAAAAAAACRs/tPE2DObHps0/s1600-h/DSC_0357%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0357" border="0" alt="DSC_0357" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8_UPWveg4PM/TkPYiiP9CfI/AAAAAAAACRw/AbfYj1xtod0/DSC_0357_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="333" height="490" /></a></p> <p>  <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-86nQhkdgtUk/TkPYj_CIriI/AAAAAAAACR0/upSv2ihH94o/s1600-h/DSC_0380%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0380" border="0" alt="DSC_0380" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rcaVlInXzCc/TkPYlj2Rx9I/AAAAAAAACR4/WwMm2RXoaHY/DSC_0380_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="369" height="538" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-e00xHpYEK5k/TkPYnTuymsI/AAAAAAAACR8/EHFnXd-39Tw/s1600-h/DSC_0386%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0386" border="0" alt="DSC_0386" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-go6M4XP5Vxs/TkPYrIYxrrI/AAAAAAAACSA/cGk0vqXCpr0/DSC_0386_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="377" height="546" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-f5aLy9Fs1Zg/TkPYuuLuuXI/AAAAAAAACSE/SQc8Lu8ST74/s1600-h/DSC_0376%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0376" border="0" alt="DSC_0376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsPMi4jK0xmTDgGp0tJk8l1s8_7XUmUl_NmRGyPTxUDcrPrbU0F_7xYb-UUzZs38WC5-3h_FqSWDAUGQEVTf8W5ZqKyxV4f-xukgzp-XcEIn8ls9U-zFNKtBHW7pj6QSvuT4nUnep43A/?imgmax=800" width="541" height="368" /></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>The castle ended up being a great place to take pictures plus we got to enjoy touring the castle.  Here’s a few more photos of us at the castle, we just got that new pack for Finn and after using it walking up all those steps at the castle I have to say that I’m very pleased with it.  Oh and the photo of the little white and green bear blanket is Emmie, Reese felt she needed her picture taken at the castle too.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WWmK3M1cHDM/TkPYzKmCgpI/AAAAAAAACSM/ljyX8m0zBMU/s1600-h/CURRENT%252520photos3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="CURRENT photos3" border="0" alt="CURRENT photos3" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RGKyRRUDfUg/TkPY10ZjP-I/AAAAAAAACSQ/lasFEmd71Fs/CURRENT%252520photos3_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="714" height="413" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-43009382612251539612011-08-04T10:38:00.001-04:002011-08-04T10:38:07.110-04:00Little Chunk is 5 Months Old<p>Another month has come and gone with me neglecting to blog.  I think I’m still in fried brain mode from having Finn because whenever I try to sit down and write the words just don’t flow like they used to.  Hopefully it’ll all come back soon and I can be better about documenting the things that happen around here.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--0lotbP78NE/TjqusYWpcFI/AAAAAAAACQs/NfUTh05ySo8/s1600-h/DSC_0061%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0061" border="0" alt="DSC_0061" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0tpTpyptBlw/TjquuV7IXlI/AAAAAAAACQw/dX7ddsO3-qc/DSC_0061_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="325" height="478" /></a> </p> <p>Whether I want to believe it or not, my little baby is turning into a little boy.  Finn is the sweetest little boy ever and we can’t get enough of him.  He popped his first two teeth right after he turned 4 months old but he has yet to bite me while I’m nursing so I’m crossing my fingers that he doesn’t try that anytime soon.  He’s such a happy baby and it’s easy to get a smile out of him, he loves to play peekaboo and he loves just to be held and given attention by anyone.  Reese has had basketball camp this week and luckily while I’ve been helping her there’s always been an extra mom willing to give Finn some attention, he’s quite spoiled in that way because people just love how big he is for his age.  He’s getting close to overtaking Mr.Monkey in his monthly photos.  He’s started doing the tripod sit and does quite well with it so hopefully he’ll be sitting up soon and he’s begun to enjoy a little bit of roughhousing with his daddy and big sister at night.  Pretty much the only time Finn is angry is when it’s bedtime and he’s ready to be asleep already.  He’s been eating some cereal and other baby food now and he loves dinner time, for awhile he was fairly indifferent about it but lately he’s taken a liking to it.  He’d prefer to eat what we’re eating and spends the entire time the rest of us are eating complaining that he’s not eating too despite the fact that he ate his dinner just before us.  He’s the perfect little man and as much as we’d like him to stay a baby forever, okay I think I’m the only one who wants him to stay a baby forever but still, we’re eager to watch him grow up and see his little personality continue to develop.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lO7EG1cgLA4/Tjquw_8TlsI/AAAAAAAACQ0/HIWBqvqasQU/s1600-h/CURRENT%252520photos2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="CURRENT photos2" border="0" alt="CURRENT photos2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73gKxzLeC56z-dNNN9HTCaQS7ec7cC2pNsomu2zLMcWvrkQTQC1YNuFvANEEFk1rvpOThXMueVPk6YdWwytBrggPzITQYh4J1_4bK2w0yH2Ss2h6HzcksITQoOG1Y0jZb7eNskM4nUWo/?imgmax=800" width="673" height="390" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-21400610959581513492011-07-19T11:18:00.001-04:002011-07-19T11:18:40.823-04:00Finn’s Blanket<p>I got some material a long time ago that I was going to make a blanket for Finn with and then I got swamped making baby gifts and Finn came along and I never got around to it.  Well a few weeks ago I finally decided it was time to get working on it but my ideas for it had changed so I ordered some star fabric to go along with it and it all came in the mail yesterday.  After the kids went to bed last night I cut all the squares out and then spent my entire day sewing them together and putting the fluffy minky on the back.  I have to say that the minky is really soft and nice but it’s a pain to work with.  Luckily all that hard work was worth it because Finn seemed pleased with it and I even made it extra large so he won’t outgrow it to quickly.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-j_hvy6QoL7U/TiWgJRlVCTI/AAAAAAAACP8/deuMcwZWaEM/s1600-h/DSC_0901%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0901" border="0" alt="DSC_0901" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3hBEnocBH74/TiWgLAVkFNI/AAAAAAAACQA/IaIJKAb11Pk/DSC_0901_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="326" height="480" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5QlJw0awvtDEtuOB8HPuh3Zzuh-RWv0iPlbGXJcDJ4gmYZgd0v3N1Xd9rWGnBusov8toNt3mtZaxY5Hha4ULjeFk5Mbc0bjH3-rZNczcX0Jjzon0usHon_f1SkhGvy5ZHgfelAuZvg0/s1600-h/DSC_0905%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0905" border="0" alt="DSC_0905" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7s_nTXK6DbcXLJEUnlAcE1okW6JKgj13Z4djDjE4XwdoOsZ1mNK2qoksNfJShbPUQeN7SXIwV5oNyJYquSiPF5ioxFRecNqBwK5mBxGA0heDg8wFMyl_WsBhkduAI0YfoQzj1tZZypY/?imgmax=800" width="502" height="341" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKhDeNTgL_21j1rq-vrpbAgPzoGOSRotJfXSd6IhYKoNrv1ubibFlqq9hrram-GVgEapfPlfkfcP11fKviiPV0Anjwz8Uo5AcghqtPTYPlaxPhI7GkBpJwkyMGSximGdZxlZQoT2oPvI/s1600-h/DSC_0906%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0906" border="0" alt="DSC_0906" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2QEWj26EZRA/TiWgT2qgF_I/AAAAAAAACQQ/WmTODeFsYH0/DSC_0906_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="503" height="342" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-61541190406928049982011-07-14T11:29:00.001-04:002011-07-14T11:29:30.219-04:00A Snapshot of Our Life<p>I looked at the kids and realized that even when things seem boring they are having a sweet moment together.  Yesterday I caught them playing together which is happening more often now that Finn is getting bigger and Reese has decided he’s worthy of her attention.  She was getting toys out for him and reading him books.  </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2F4aicWpwN-zJC5HVywRuKPXNSrUj8YO9OFlvDrbQaoYtXBMptjxNPKFsPO37DAMvgyFTloBmABy3ExX8nJIU6roD9dRVOtwmg_970a7OAx2OwSiVpSDKECm99iavj0QgrMkmOxNE00U/s1600-h/DSC_0812%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0812" border="0" alt="DSC_0812" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LbROP2xqqOw/Th8K9zIrcvI/AAAAAAAACPg/GrbmsnswBJ8/DSC_0812_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="488" height="332" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-le-RrrEcaUI/Th8LKTAlknI/AAAAAAAACPk/AGCnF3ZzWZs/s1600-h/DSC_0814%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0814" border="0" alt="DSC_0814" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oCZyFtS5a5Q/Th8LMfBZEMI/AAAAAAAACPo/l6oFeVy304Y/DSC_0814_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="495" height="337" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdfEx5gHmDMnH4LXbSYkUovsz8is4q0gvlk3cPYhW-VG4s6xkQF4W2p8UUbnDPkW4X1o9VIRDe7re-IguJ_PVMqh5p23YebQPSRuRNhz0R5VjfZxlFXXYd0hHrAi8GcBwrQ07Jwdl73E/s1600-h/DSC_0815%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0815" border="0" alt="DSC_0815" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pJI6BA5Tuk0/Th8LQ1GydfI/AAAAAAAACPw/eabcrzJOZQY/DSC_0815_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="491" height="334" /></a></p> <p>Even though that’s becoming a common sight in our home, something that’s even more typical is what’s going on right now behind me.  Finn woke up from napping in his swing but was still content to be sitting there watching Reese who has brought him a musical toy and starts the music and then spins around in front of him.  When the music stops she starts it again and starts spinning.  Oh and she’s begun dressing herself most days with fairly good results.</p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VSLVR9vjWDY/Th8LSflHwoI/AAAAAAAACP0/ScVZYuGjbhw/s1600-h/DSC_0820%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0820" border="0" alt="DSC_0820" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lzXvM1Ozm0w/Th8LV_SClLI/AAAAAAAACP4/Ps9vrX4PPZQ/DSC_0820_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="365" height="537" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-33547393039513594332011-07-14T08:15:00.001-04:002011-07-14T08:15:38.816-04:00Finn is 4 Months Old!<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-a6M9tIfQY_8/Th7dtcP5TWI/AAAAAAAACO8/Cf4UDvMyYJg/s1600-h/DSC_0453%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0453" border="0" alt="DSC_0453" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PdHs-mrNs98/Th7dvvpHwuI/AAAAAAAACPA/Q7-zpEO4hwY/DSC_0453_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="348" height="512" /></a> </p> <p>Well there’s been a delay in writing this so now he’s almost four and a half months old but either way he’s getting big.  At his doctor’s appt we clocked in at 17lbs 6oz and about 25.5 inches which keeps him at the very top of the growth chart.  The doctor said he’s actually closer in size to a 9 month old than a 4 month old which is pretty funny because there’s a little boy at church who is about 13 months old and Finn is the same size as him, granted this kid is small for his age but it’s still funny to see them next to each other.  Sometimes when I see littler babies I get sad that Finn was never really a little guy,  It can be hard to carry around a kid the size of a 9 month old who’s not developmentally like 9 month old, he’s heavy but he doesn’t hold on which makes it even heavier to carry him, but that’s our Finn and we love him.  He’s already getting his first two teeth so that’s been making him a bit grumpy lately.  You can see the little tooth buds just below the skin and one of them feels like it’ll be out any day now.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-O-GoGq2Zuz0/Th7dxqUDgvI/AAAAAAAACPE/-LIZL8Uo75s/s1600-h/CURRENT%252520photos1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="CURRENT photos1" border="0" alt="CURRENT photos1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-NnEARGvRSl0/Th7dzjSaFbI/AAAAAAAACPI/OMxs6jmO-qg/CURRENT%252520photos1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="591" height="342" /></a> </p> <p>Some things about Finn:  he loves to eat but he dislikes letting anyone else eat.  When I’m eating breakfast he’ll try and pull my food off the table or he’ll give me a chastising look that says how dare I eat when he isn’t eating.  He’s super stinky which makes me fear for when he’s a teenager.  He farts all the time but rarely poops so strangers probably think my kid needs a diaper change and that I’m a bad mom by making him sit in it but really he’s just farting.  He loves to stand on laps and play in his exersaucer and he’s just discovered that peek a boo is awesome.  If Jaeger is playing near him he’ll laugh out loud and if she’s close enough he’ll try and pet (grab) her.  He loves to play with Daddy but when it comes down to it he’s a big old Momma’s Boy and just having Mommy hold him cures most fits.  </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-lW_LZ8Asbyo/Th7d1iHcl2I/AAAAAAAACPM/SjqZiQTqwjw/s1600-h/DSC_0807%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0807 (2)" border="0" alt="DSC_0807 (2)" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsCUknXYvhcdwNwhipmG3ICHkCJyRcox7YjypM9A8c5RAWp4SAm9Y-o_AK62LJ8QRkM7B443tF4P6JTChmw2A37KP_RZoInqyjosNw-RK4i5POimVVJSnucqTCzAY4YI0R-YS0oIEmU0/?imgmax=800" width="544" height="370" /></a> </p> <p>As a side note about Reese, I had to write these down so I didn’t forget.  Reese is extremely well spoken, she has a huge vocabulary and speaks very clearly there are just a few words that she mispronounces and the funny part about these words is that there is no reason for her to mispronounce them because she can say them she just honestly thinks it’s the right word.  For example banana is go-nana, polka dots is polka gots, in a different category ice cream is ice creamy scoop thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  There’s a few others that I can’t think of right now, but it always makes Nate and I laugh.  Oh and speaking of laughing moments (which are also not laughing moments) the other day Reese was getting ready to take a bath so she’s going to the bathroom and she asks me “Mommy, do I say damn?”  I of course responded no but it took a bit not to laugh because you have to imagine her with her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand sitting on the toilet asking me that question.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Sy6a64Fcnvg/Th7d4io-1_I/AAAAAAAACPU/2xIVFQUldgI/s1600-h/DSC_0734%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0734" border="0" alt="DSC_0734" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Z8-GV4F8hCc/Th7d6M6P9TI/AAAAAAAACPY/A3jzRVZVduY/DSC_0734_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="358" height="527" /></a> </p> <p>And now I must wrap it up because Finn is demanding my attention and he’s demanding it now. </p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-62779580265032011612011-07-14T07:40:00.001-04:002011-07-14T07:42:46.627-04:004th of July<p>I love celebrating the Fourth of July in Germany and I’m sad that this was the last year of what has become our traditional 4th.  The base had Super Saber Appreciation Day on the holiday so Nate went over to help set up and then the kids and I joined him that afternoon.  They always have so much fun stuff to do and Reese loves it.  She started out by going on the swings which I was a little hesitant about since it was supposed to be for ages 4 and up, but I talked with her about holding on tight and it was one of her favorite things.  She kept wanting to go again and again which was really cute.  After her first time on the swings we saw them bringing in the horses for the pony rides and since last year the line had been ridiculous for it we headed straight there next and ended up being one of the first people on, the line ended up dying down later in the day so she was able to go a second time.  She played all the little games they had set up and won various prizes and candy which she was super excited about and then she took a turn in the bounce house.  After going around and around again doing everything we decided to get some dinner and then we headed over to the lawn where we always sit to watch the fireworks.  The Christensens were there with us and we met up with some of our other friends as well so the kids all got to run around while we waited for it to get dark enough for the fireworks to start.  It takes so long to get dark here that by the time the fireworks started Reese was getting tired, it was a really long show and she ended up falling asleep just before the grand finale.  It was an awesome day and the weather ended up being perfect, which is saying something since it’s been pretty cold and rainy here lately.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_GvNBISZ8tU/Th7VnPaEBcI/AAAAAAAACO0/gBVJKO0PKVc/s1600-h/CURRENT%252520photos%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="CURRENT photos" border="0" alt="CURRENT photos" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cPc3Pn-PiGI/Th7Vu28NrSI/AAAAAAAACO4/DW5SB15Fq4M/CURRENT%252520photos_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="680" height="400" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-71979862745849524012011-07-01T03:53:00.001-04:002011-07-01T03:53:04.639-04:00Reese’s Last Day of School<p>I can’t believe it’s July already and I need to update again because things actually do happen around here.</p> <p>The middle of June marked the end of Reese’s preschool :(  She had such a great time at school all year long and she’s sad that she doesn’t get to go anymore.  For the last day of school they invited the parents to come in for the last half hour for a little presentation.  The kids sang a couple songs and then they ate popsicles while the teachers showed us a picture slideshow of the whole year.  It was really cute and Reese had so much fun playing with her friends at school.</p> <p>Singing the bear hunt song: (side note, there were 14 kids in her class but the last month a lot had moved away or left for the states on vacation)</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KZI8b4WcAUY/Tg18hPPdfYI/AAAAAAAACMs/Mx7P81Y5pxM/s1600-h/DSC_0320%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0320" border="0" alt="DSC_0320" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-PVR-Vtnuy80/Tg18i3LbWII/AAAAAAAACMw/jf4n0eL6Pno/DSC_0320_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="535" height="364" /></a></p> <p>being a fish</p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gXWPOK34GEKaGD2TtHUB6k-kK9F3TofUcz_F6GcphB6uyd7K26b3TrbagB0_OIUVWpwQ1PGvra73AvkSwn9ly7bkJxH_EG8T-_EBb0_a9uh5Qne_gSwHTWZ2Buuh8o4OBPQ-gkjXohE/s1600-h/DSC_0322%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0322" border="0" alt="DSC_0322" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ErUD6rviyy4/Tg18lq1X-_I/AAAAAAAACM4/Qup0_d5fCRo/DSC_0322_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="333" height="489" /></a> </p> <p>eating popsicles</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OaQnZhVbgr8/Tg18nsq23JI/AAAAAAAACM8/U-6BIKUTPNM/s1600-h/DSC_0324%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0324" border="0" alt="DSC_0324" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AJ_EWkqMeEE/Tg18pfrL1wI/AAAAAAAACNA/XwXEZOxxjpY/DSC_0324_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="641" height="436" /></a> </p> <p>Ms.Christine</p> <p> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o2UEqfd4hUI/Tg18q0wHQuI/AAAAAAAACNE/Oy8jvNL3Y50/s1600-h/DSC_0325%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0325" border="0" alt="DSC_0325" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-G0bkW82xRBA/Tg18tdXh6AI/AAAAAAAACNI/OLbLfGy998o/DSC_0325_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="396" height="582" /></a></p> <p>Ms.Lacey</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-H9V3GNynt_g/Tg18vKd4btI/AAAAAAAACNM/e0WR6KHF7kQ/s1600-h/DSC_0326%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0326" border="0" alt="DSC_0326" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-4QeVosqWEps/Tg18wleLJ4I/AAAAAAAACNQ/dNeamVzEC8A/DSC_0326_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="566" height="385" /></a></p> <p>With her certificate</p> <p> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-kMNsHHD3LN0/Tg18xxood9I/AAAAAAAACNU/iCXrSaJSWOo/s1600-h/DSC_0327%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0327" border="0" alt="DSC_0327" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-a6L8a097wq4/Tg180bShArI/AAAAAAAACNY/xK15wSqWojU/DSC_0327_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="368" height="541" /></a></p> <p>With her friend Sadie and her little sister London</p> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pO5XJJXsekE/Tg182L8t1TI/AAAAAAAACNc/XgxKvFzmSvo/s1600-h/DSC_0329%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0329" border="0" alt="DSC_0329" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DN8wyuyfXJ4/Tg1839jkZiI/AAAAAAAACNg/sOk5N2BfBYg/DSC_0329_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="549" height="373" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-50628198819050331522011-06-03T09:28:00.001-04:002011-06-03T09:28:06.069-04:005 Years<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-8LCKOKhgbvg/TejgTKjPQDI/AAAAAAAACKA/JF3MP0XmPhs/s1600-h/100_1356%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="100_1356" border="0" alt="100_1356" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-M7OjmFFeSkY/TejgVLFXzqI/AAAAAAAACKE/8n7RFk4XU6M/100_1356_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="585" height="447" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>I can’t believe it’s been five years since Nate and I got married….that’s 60 months or 1825 days or 43,800 hours.  Time goes by quickly until you stop and think about how much has happened in the past five years and then you wonder if it’s actually ONLY been five years.  We were married on June 3rd, 2006 in Sacramento, California and less than a week later we were in San Francisco getting on a plane to Frankfurt to start our life together in Germany.  Nate had used up all the leave he had in order to come out for the wedding so we weren’t able to take a proper honeymoon, but when Fourth of July weekend rolled around we used that time off to head up to Berlin on our very first trip.  That was back when Spangdahlem did explore the Eifel week and gave you extra time off, the fact that we remember when explore the Eifel was awesome tells you just how long we’ve been here.  We took the train to Berlin ended up staying in an awesome hotel that was super cheap and had a great weekend.  I remember that on the way home our train was delayed and we missed our next one so they rerouted us and gave us a voucher for a taxi to get the rest of the way home, that was just one of many bumps in the road that we’ve been through together and like all the other bumps that would come in the future we shook our heads and got over the change in plans.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-cd0phAVEy1I/TejgWvXuF-I/AAAAAAAACKI/M0VQgxgoumg/s1600-h/IMG_0074%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0074" border="0" alt="IMG_0074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSwsAkFpT8IcymAwWUfNSPEKJOiht9HIIwvEFY44Pz06ttTZP6l3k1Y8TZBBYHk5IBxYQNHNoHNYnKTARKoxSGL9zsaULX-vh87O0tlsAX8NytbBRpBHT2GRdC0OWTCPVEMJ-6ygf_Xc/?imgmax=800" width="376" height="495" /></a> </p> <p>That first summer in Germany we added to our family and got our sweet little puppy Jaeger.  It was a little lonely at first in a foreign country where I didn’t know anyone, but Jaeger was a great companion.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyv9YR7N6ZfacyLufe4d71rVvKxQ2C_9Z_am0bsq-CQOHikjt1opVxuf69koskWQYeNkIGP28nx0fOdUQZs83Xu3XIPSYdqYhnHtfzVNVmHnC-ybW6uNl9hrSPi0gcoJbkPdndELiId8/s1600-h/IMG_0160%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0160" border="0" alt="IMG_0160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisS4NZ7lDqSdo7vWvbMAUK1ErxPbSAo4NRjVUPqgQ7h_u1AjWR4cWSeKprcF15dulY46zfVkcoOzofu0PqmJ0E_a33_7qUgHZioeBDfhAELL7r3x9w4SNzZwxfs00NCSqUCGLJqZ59b0I/?imgmax=800" width="381" height="501" /></a> </p> <p>Our first year of marriage took us to Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Hawaii, Austria, and the Netherlands where we celebrated our first anniversary.</p> <p>pig fest in wittlich:</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yqLfJAk05a8/TejgcjDB3kI/AAAAAAAACKY/MZUpoRYVpkA/s1600-h/IMG_0165%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0165" border="0" alt="IMG_0165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUOYfl8GZie7DjKR1W8oICW_q6k0zFoiIBp4YKYSSR0PhIu-cHJDUB3IxQMPvakNkTBmZuZ5TDyBteb3IZRmCNDN7UL7wqYo5wgFnJAKuh154DOAuw3FHNgokQpLCPf9BGTbTLOFzV0Q/?imgmax=800" width="568" height="432" /></a> </p> <p>In Brussels, Belgium: </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1np6oDM8yVw/Tejgf83woPI/AAAAAAAACKg/IY4Wa2umT9U/s1600-h/IMG_0208%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Nate and I at Mannequin Pis in Brussels" border="0" alt="Nate and I at Mannequin Pis in Brussels" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-XDYmx2aTKJg/Tejgho_LZ0I/AAAAAAAACKk/mtWAH_iS52E/IMG_0208_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="409" height="538" /></a> </p> <p>New Year’s in Paris:</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ficU8eWNYqU/TejgiolmnjI/AAAAAAAACKo/cwwHwkp92Vw/s1600-h/IMG_0495%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0495" border="0" alt="IMG_0495" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Cws_cQcz97g/TejgkH-5txI/AAAAAAAACKs/9hoWACaDEkc/IMG_0495_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="410" height="539" /></a> </p> <p>Family vacation in Kauai:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MPfCpf7ZV3Y/TejglGwN6TI/AAAAAAAACKw/DN2BPSBIxug/s1600-h/CIMG2688%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="CIMG2688" border="0" alt="CIMG2688" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TbsS-0do4c0/Tejgml4jkOI/AAAAAAAACK0/1g1SF4f21YM/CIMG2688_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="412" height="602" /></a> </p> <p>Salzburg, Austria:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5vIX5fEHn8g/Tejgo_MGOEI/AAAAAAAACK4/PmoTR1x4lfw/s1600-h/DSC_0400%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0400" border="0" alt="DSC_0400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ajLrVEWpt2eOlyMOLUnmgvVnXpKrunS0WjXrl6x0PD_BDkssUPtq95kapL6QZK6ysnRfoY-XrNUmYWpZO-ZetoWL8sTFZmDNO5SvpbuQCNtWP7O25mWrwUAYQ7ZhmRYpaXn7zKhViLY/?imgmax=800" width="574" height="390" /></a> </p> <p>In the Netherlands on our anniversary:</p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-20XDwvic6hs/TejgsX8uwGI/AAAAAAAACLA/Z6lMmhCN_gY/s1600-h/DSC_0161%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0161" border="0" alt="DSC_0161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvmsz81779XzSCf6k1uRkH9imRYH7F95MWX72G9qwsS0ZxpdxHF0Klc9wDU_IQKruogubENrX-6UKkhZuXC5hG2X1nDEI2xf-m1ywdrtp_gsdVnOjxLgz5XVAPhEwrrDfj5t8idD6Fb0/?imgmax=800" width="365" height="537" /></a> </p> <p>Our second year of marriage took us to Switzerland and Italy and then we found out we were pregnant the night before Nate left on an almost 5 month deployment to Iraq.  The deployment was hard and when Nate returned I was about 6 months pregnant and soon enough we had our very first child Reese Aspen Crandall.  For our second anniversary we left a 2 week old Reese home with my mom while we went to dinner in Bitburg.</p> <p>Adelboden, Switzerland:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wrQeD6a_uGk/TejgvfioWXI/AAAAAAAACLI/Z4tB1Xp-a2o/s1600-h/DSC_0009%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0009" border="0" alt="DSC_0009" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1yWJPI3916c/TejgxL4e7gI/AAAAAAAACLM/1ZT9OuI6ro0/DSC_0009_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="656" height="446" /></a> </p> <p>Rome, Italy:</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9c-p1GT5DqM/Tejgznr6GtI/AAAAAAAACLQ/oMd8V6pYFOU/s1600-h/IMG_1086%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_1086" border="0" alt="IMG_1086" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbi8IMzmgRO2jDQSRtrehROnHbZkauRiYYgqMKMK01uwswsM3nJWfMZxVjYhRILnB8GtScFISuXQaU69uGkTwPOhpPgFpACTk_TuU7JA8R0H1_FdWwlNRueyPR6W7zP1MnYjsdiIAqxI/?imgmax=800" width="664" height="506" /></a> </p> <p>Nate leaving for his deployment:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-iUk0ilh53HE/Tejg39rKvQI/AAAAAAAACLY/71YO96zTckg/s1600-h/IMG_1098%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_1098" border="0" alt="IMG_1098" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pNb7mvluK0A/Tejg5kQ0HhI/AAAAAAAACLc/MUJOGm_ltAY/IMG_1098_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="659" height="503" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Nate returning from his deployment:</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0Dv9nynrf0o/Tejg65RcRYI/AAAAAAAACLg/dejv9IeLkgE/s1600-h/homecoming4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="homecoming4" border="0" alt="homecoming4" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-aD1y7E4xzX8/Tejg8IN6WmI/AAAAAAAACLk/B98U6k2_jIA/homecoming4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="408" height="600" /></a> </p> <p>Our first child:</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cI9IzXFARNs/Tejg9pcI5EI/AAAAAAAACLo/nbhIncVe6Q8/s1600-h/DSC_0066%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0066" border="0" alt="DSC_0066" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4qQP01ylxqI/Tejg_aDTAaI/AAAAAAAACLs/fwwDn05r6Y0/DSC_0066_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="639" height="434" /></a> </p> <p>Our third year of marriage was consumed with our new daughter, seriously as I’m looking through all our photos the number of pictures we took must have multiplied by ten after we had Reese.  Even with all the confusion and work of becoming new parents, we still found time to make a trip back to the States and introduce her to everyone, and travel to Poland before Nate deployed for the second time a few days before Reese’s first birthday.  We celebrated our anniversary on different sides of the globe that year but decided we would do something to make up for it the next year.</p> <p>Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-m5D_vAJEX4A/TejhCsGPnKI/AAAAAAAACLw/z3y-TQw3Ylw/s1600-h/DSC_0207%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0207" border="0" alt="DSC_0207" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-j744yOXiC9k/TejhFJfps-I/AAAAAAAACL0/HftRNtLSfT4/DSC_0207_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="654" height="444" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>Nate’s birthday:</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tANJ52IJk8k/TejhGTR6qUI/AAAAAAAACL4/-UOJv4m2vfo/s1600-h/DSC_0030%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0030" border="0" alt="DSC_0030" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XiT2-lDJmuQ/TejhIKnCZFI/AAAAAAAACL8/h865-5v_Gho/DSC_0030_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="659" height="448" /></a> </p> <p>Our fourth year of marriage started apart but Nate finally returned from Iraq in September and to celebrate we took a trip to Egypt for Thanksgiving.  After lots of time of on and off separation due to TDYs and trips for Reese and I to go home, we finally ended our fourth year on a good note and took a trip to Ireland just the two of us.</p> <p>Nate returning home from second deployment:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-P_3XAVzaFHc/TejhJZ28m3I/AAAAAAAACMA/WfyjJ-ocvqw/s1600-h/DSC_0072%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0072" border="0" alt="DSC_0072" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-njhjipsRWOo/TejhLOex9zI/AAAAAAAACME/2oQm4wwNaIg/DSC_0072_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="671" height="456" /></a> </p> <p>Thanksgiving in Egypt:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7NVzu8gry-U/TejhMreHAkI/AAAAAAAACMI/5y8fZYt0cNs/s1600-h/DSC_0014%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0014" border="0" alt="DSC_0014" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe1X38hKOlnNIbJ_4ndWXXia_Ze3fGkHRM34YtGm5ttsF0sNYe21LJkE5qw6BA0dyxqPqppMy68Myf16fSaEn8sMQUd88fM51UuxfOuoO2QRWzdueSpOXiFCkyfG3u2I8iLQX3EqqOd0/?imgmax=800" width="663" height="450" /></a> </p> <p>Fourth Anniversary in Ireland:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bmsPoslcGUQ/TejhPkYb8TI/AAAAAAAACMQ/-RVE35sWw20/s1600-h/DSC_0144%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0144" border="0" alt="DSC_0144" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-j70bMefADoo/TejhRTAjkEI/AAAAAAAACMU/Poyp20pHJeg/DSC_0144_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="667" height="453" /></a> </p> <p>Our fifth year of marriage has been a good one, a little less complicated than some of the others since amazingly enough Nate didn’t deploy at all this year.  Shortly after returned home from Ireland we found out that I was pregnant with our second child.  In August we took a trip with our friends to Barcelona, Spain and then we were able to go home to the States as a whole family in November for Nate’s sisters wedding.  On March 2nd, 2011 we had our second child Finn Everest and now that he is 3 months old we’re celebrating our 5th anniversary probably by putting our children to bed and watching a movie.</p> <p>Barcelona:</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ugOBt0eSoj0/TejhSvRkNYI/AAAAAAAACMY/afUtynr7hgI/s1600-h/DSC_0319%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0319" border="0" alt="DSC_0319" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--YLwpJrMFQI/TejhUt9sAfI/AAAAAAAACMc/ztPam0KrrLw/DSC_0319_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="621" /></a></p> <p>Our second child:</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GLJ0REKBz6I/TejhWNcyIBI/AAAAAAAACMg/MlrqOaujqO4/s1600-h/DSC_0031%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0031" border="0" alt="DSC_0031" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--95y_DTd6L4/TejhX_vXWLI/AAAAAAAACMk/l4KYq_7TmM4/DSC_0031_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="641" height="436" /></a> </p> <p>Today we begin our sixth year of marriage which will bring with it many changes including us finally leaving our home in Germany and continuing our lives elsewhere.  Whatever challenges this year brings us I’m glad to be facing them with Nate.  Here’s to another five years of adventure!</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTxLdC85-qoesQP54NmH9IBOFPINgw0ZwAupLbTZyXi5XQMgcrj3pdpfQ56sQOECyAG3kZPVuKLpYzAAZfpqiB2nfNBLoaF6aNebC1OXARtkO6mHysN-XJe9Jb8njg0V6gWVGsTjAIe8/s1600-h/DSC_0319%25255B3%25255D.jpg"> </a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-48902586850156484132011-06-03T08:05:00.001-04:002011-06-03T08:05:03.532-04:00Finn is 3 months old<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9vg2mm9W7vwz5MieLjhrGVBt2YfxrNQ0xpI4Hy9dkPf5FYj_ZBOANyxGlBqnqu7C34yI3n6wLeSovGhoMwrWZEDWj6KwPsm6LQABMuqugyUMrRhQn__AFLPPVaQ8TdtnSEIIxDAOvBo/s1600-h/DSC_0303%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0303" border="0" alt="DSC_0303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAKOfLcQJ0Idj52zxUcfS9rL6UwfWMT2nL9a4XoyABgmJOlGyWGoXHtTzmOkk4ckTYhwY3iqzIF4MZFi2DDTWzxFabufadWRoYIKeAiS-d6g8wWjRO0ACZ0Ugvgxv7mgMLzQoXMb-JZM/?imgmax=800" width="352" height="518" /></a> </p> <p>They don’t get much cuter than my little Finny, he’s pretty much the world’s best baby.  I didn’t write much about Finn in all my catch up posts because he’s just so chill that he just went we the flow everywhere we went.  He loved being pushed around Disneyland in his stroller, he’s all about getting to sleep whenever he wants so he was good to go.  My dad was in charge of the stroller and Finn kept him walking, if Papa would stop and sit down Finn would let out a little squeak to let him now that he wanted to keep moving and my dad would start walking around again.  He loves to sleep with things on his head and face, it worries me but he sleeps so much better if you lay a blanket over him so we usually cover his head and eyes and leave a little hole where his nose and mouth are and only when we’re watching him.  He didn’t have to do much tummy time while my parents were here because we were gone a lot and my dad told him that if he didn’t want to he didn’t have to so if Finn got upset when he was put down for tummy time my dad would just pick him right back up.  He was a very spoiled little guy getting be held all the time and walked around and he loved it.  Once Nana and Papa left he decided that his break from tummy time was sufficient and now he’s an expert at lifting his head all the way up and he’s even rolled over.  I honestly don’t think they get much happier than Finn, if you talk to him he gets a huge smile on his face and will start “talking” back to you.  He’s still a big guy and we’re excited for his 4 month check up when we’ll find out if he’s still topping the charts.  He can still fit in to a few of his 3 month clothes but for the most part he’s wearing 6 month stuff now and even outgrowing some if it.  His hair is beginning to look more and more auburn in the sunlight so we’re waiting to see if he’ll end up going all the way or staying brown.  When Reese was little her hair would look strawberry blonde in the sun but once her hair fell out and grew back in that was all gone.  This little guy makes me so happy and I’m glad that when Reese is making me want to pull my hair out I have this little guy to help pull me back from the ledge.</p> <p>Finn’s preferred sleeping style:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-xiDTGq4ciC4/TejNq-OOLDI/AAAAAAAACJY/KnK9u21Sqvs/s1600-h/IMG_0770%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0770" border="0" alt="IMG_0770" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ntoceQgOLZ0/TejNsvf9L8I/AAAAAAAACJc/Oce9aBE1zb8/IMG_0770_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="574" height="439" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Kyh6L1FezDY/TejNujSQESI/AAAAAAAACJg/_rOeUgdPBtM/s1600-h/DSC_0172%252520%2525283%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0172 (3)" border="0" alt="DSC_0172 (3)" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpc9mrqYdujhGd0ljZKnebn5dMryetoXijBCXeEFoAEOEeB4m5ZS1M-tfCiLVIct2DQg3MuTPKnsn-JtA4Bkip7SErYB74NECckqQjNGYdEIu8WMfumJYIZzx7V4OJhuf1_1MjQdefCs/?imgmax=800" width="579" height="394" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-sBn_T86ZGrE/TejNyeGiSDI/AAAAAAAACJo/fEb_UdiL11Q/s1600-h/DSC_0200%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0200" border="0" alt="DSC_0200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1xgfC6a2QNZChI5Y0459RQTHQdYGTChN4vtKmyx9MPwtMyov-7A5i7A-wzDLV4U9755utNr2npZXP9Okn9XM-5l5jXX29bHamcRIViMtu94t3GOnHkaX1WjjOIocF-IFiP7FnEaPgYI/?imgmax=800" width="591" height="402" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-F0PSepwcfNM/TejN1aq2HWI/AAAAAAAACJw/iJ-NBayfS0A/s1600-h/DSC_0223%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0223" border="0" alt="DSC_0223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFthxkw9Js1pHMw7-5unDGBSHyLrat6-i1wjsopVsnZRs1IG-4Ua-E1obrb3eW-kGTYI3BXhl5QbsNLQMw2zqXfc7SVDhvGFTgjqDZlGV3TsicIflwbmZetONj9oZeYxMJBZ9L583Ajls/?imgmax=800" width="595" height="404" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-I7-Bvv31pz4/TejN4a9yFEI/AAAAAAAACJ4/CruR6zNdACA/s1600-h/DSC_0294%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0294" border="0" alt="DSC_0294" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-trl9u9oY8X0/TejN7ULr-PI/AAAAAAAACJ8/8O9wZUAsqzk/DSC_0294_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="601" height="411" /></a></p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1986289892442373323.post-25168818003899309882011-06-03T07:37:00.001-04:002011-06-03T07:37:30.037-04:00The Rest of Nana and Papa’s Trip<p>The rest of my parents’ trip was a little more low key than the first part had been.  They spent a lot of time just hanging out with the kids and wandering around our town.  My dad was finally able to visit the bread truck when it came by and I think for at least a little bit they enjoyed our small town life.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-FNwGUqiWxpA/TejG6gVGFmI/AAAAAAAACHo/qviaE5gK_oU/s1600-h/IMG_0801%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0801" border="0" alt="IMG_0801" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2ClkiRMosjA/TejG77NvWdI/AAAAAAAACHs/CloCbLWk4HQ/IMG_0801_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="474" height="360" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnDZbE83tgIDhtTTdU4Het_s4hHyJq9N5tIStXmHqNljuDDiT-pZzh6aqbNbOPumM-72giarmrOrunIox-LeOPGCd4FcuIWoW9DBHE9J8b7eLnDOrSGYXcwYfqdF7AAwpTyFRFvLR6v4/s1600-h/IMG_0803%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0803" border="0" alt="IMG_0803" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-OsYDnKVOun0/TejG_VhknKI/AAAAAAAACH0/l7jqwocDDec/IMG_0803_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="455" height="346" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>We visited Trier, mainly just to wander around eating pastries, and we went over to the Rhine River so they could do the Rhine River cruise.  The kids and I dropped them off in Sankt Goar and then we drove the 15 mins down the road to Bacharach and played in the park while they cruised down the very scenic portion of the river with all the castles.  When they met up with us we wandered around the town just a little bit before we called it a day.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-l02VRFWSiaM/TejHBUGh-UI/AAAAAAAACH4/PedKkfRpiGc/s1600-h/IMG_0840%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0840" border="0" alt="IMG_0840" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-9M7uw5qFsVg/TejHCyvmG8I/AAAAAAAACH8/iJYK_pu1fMQ/IMG_0840_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="477" height="363" /></a> <a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-w63q6djgL8g/TejHEf2_z1I/AAAAAAAACIA/KbhxtDICs7o/s1600-h/IMG_0841%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0841" border="0" alt="IMG_0841" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GSFatLK8dlA/TejHF33V_jI/AAAAAAAACIE/-kfa_GkwkTk/IMG_0841_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="367" height="483" /></a> </p> <p>Now while we were doing all that Nate was busy with his own things.  He’s been going through the process to get laser eye surgery since around the time Finn was born and his first day back after Disneyland they asked if he could come in for surgery on Tuesday which was the very next day.  So Tuesday morning I drove him out to Landstuhl and he had the surgery.  We had to keep the curtains drawn for him for a few days and for the most part he just tried to sleep away the worst part of the pain and then a week later he was ready to go back to life.  He didn’t have Lasik he had a different kind so it’ll still be another month before his vision reaches it’s final stage but already he has improved to just shy of 20/20 vision so he’s quite pleased.  As an explanation for the photo, he wore sunglasses most of the time those first few days because the sun hurt his eyes and he needed to avoid it to achieve the best vision possible and I don’t know why he’s making the face.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hWkXaxoB7us/TejHHrU2kuI/AAAAAAAACII/6K1CU-0dL-g/s1600-h/IMG_0845%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0845" border="0" alt="IMG_0845" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuDaN2d4q14KxcRE_rEY43B0xmj8CpHmfoaFk4hTmHzBn4wBwcf0bvrHS_I7v9Agw2334Kx-c1zIPlsmRHLvL9JBqjokDbUK7b6cFvV3R8gWOO1C3mD_1xtXI6HnhFmpLZKzV0mjut28/?imgmax=800" width="492" height="374" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>The day before my parents left we decided to do a little Memorial Day stuff and went to the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery.  I’d been there once before, but on Memorial day weekend with all the flags and flowers out it was even more special.  Every grave had an American flag a flag of Luxembourg and a rose.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gushfyjLCq8/TejHKv5ioWI/AAAAAAAACIQ/DvPJCXIk3ro/s1600-h/DSC_0183%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0183 (2)" border="0" alt="DSC_0183 (2)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3lHPSr-k7_U/TejHLr7mc4I/AAAAAAAACIU/oTpMF_hfc8o/DSC_0183%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="301" height="442" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-oxoAwE4kEcA/TejHMx-TVnI/AAAAAAAACIY/Dpv580dncRA/s1600-h/DSC_0184%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0184 (2)" border="0" alt="DSC_0184 (2)" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMSxgEF-wo5jXoIAqEcUISDxomgsI07ddwZQVzMLooFKA5sYlrcISjqqvkaHLag0mmrGgepXvkYHw7NYEkp7DI2zoCxj6tfXFBRlv4pWAt7l0logAmhOLzWBI7FT0z9WbhmVwcLIUdZ8/?imgmax=800" width="297" height="436" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09dMz6qcagtGLk-98OZceABxeSyC0a3jatS83rrTmlescbJA1N2O3skJNEtw5BTsWHYQZ-cUXsFQWF-vngIbCXS9GZUOzzZiz5iOqYTpSyXKdmGl5XCTl3iXQsclT_6hT5mUKchXgeII/s1600-h/DSC_0187%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0187 (2)" border="0" alt="DSC_0187 (2)" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-hSgTZkdkbuw/TejHQcvsItI/AAAAAAAACIk/JeLvH9Hm2Zo/DSC_0187%252520%2525282%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="299" height="439" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-o0w84j_D56M/TejHR9os27I/AAAAAAAACIo/9LCjWnuOqzI/s1600-h/DSC_0189%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0189" border="0" alt="DSC_0189" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Ljd7uGYf6Ms/TejHTHd3xnI/AAAAAAAACIs/tgNnmFFUWFE/DSC_0189_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="303" height="446" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-udQNU9WtdI4/TejHVdfuJFI/AAAAAAAACIw/6qXPKfU_34s/s1600-h/DSC_0192%252520%2525282%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0192 (2)" border="0" alt="DSC_0192 (2)" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNITki4idarADV6M7qKivFph9dl_QwEoh2c-ri4jUSyOZ97f3s4DIyhfYB40u_Wg5CUJ1VCAKzwFKf5qD_naY012LDNxoB08cCI74AsvsbEvPQZF5PuQuk0vwG84AMmAb3mYqlaiL1k3U/?imgmax=800" width="489" height="333" /></a> <a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-wm1s2oy3HEo/TejHYT9eQPI/AAAAAAAACI4/VvihJs6ff_E/s1600-h/DSC_0194%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_0194" border="0" alt="DSC_0194" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-sNC_J2LvLSg/TejHZt3FWOI/AAAAAAAACI8/Lfzd-ntnZZ0/DSC_0194_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="311" height="457" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>When we were done there we drove on to Bastogne Belgium where the Battle of the Bulge was.  There’s a monument there that my parents and Reese toured, Finn got angry at that point so he and I went back to the car to feed him instead.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-M4roTuT7Ags/TejHaxNjrwI/AAAAAAAACJA/a3S036jWVHY/s1600-h/IMG_0867%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0867" border="0" alt="IMG_0867" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-u82AvO2bBEo/TejHbwm-2XI/AAAAAAAACJE/bm25k8ZLm8E/IMG_0867_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="490" height="372" /></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-di0P0TUrehY/TejHcy_KzBI/AAAAAAAACJI/GPX-t3mS6Wk/s1600-h/IMG_0868%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG_0868" border="0" alt="IMG_0868" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ay8SC-VifiQ/TejHeK58MAI/AAAAAAAACJM/-ItOkUETQrs/IMG_0868_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="342" height="450" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>When we were through there we headed back home with a pit stop somewhere in Belgium for some lunch.  We kept seeing all these signs for fries so that was kind of funny but the place we stopped advertised fries but also had sandwiches and things like that.  It was a nice day trip for us and the next day I took my parents to the airport bright and early and sent them on their way.  As you can see, May was a very busy month for us with visitors the beginning of the month, visitors the end of the month, multiple trips, a third birthday, and an eye surgery tossed in there for good measure</p> Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597625640437112759noreply@blogger.com0