Happy Feet!

I thought I should share with you my belief that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. Case in point...



When I was pregnant with Eric, Elmer played basketball and got poked in the eye. We had to go to the ER and it was really bad. We were there until 2:30am. Now I was 5 months pregnant, it was December (freezing) and Elmer (as much as I love him) without sleep is kinda out of it. They gave him all kinds of meds and made an appointment for the next day. We went home and I had to make him soup (another story that is just too funny) so he could take his drugs. Anyways, I didn't sleep much because I had to call and let them know he wasn't coming to work and that he had Drs. appointment etc. I then had to get Stevie Wonder up and dressed and to his appointment out at LRMC. I had a YW thing that night so my day was exceptionally long. I stopped by the Burger King on Ramstein after the church thing and the drive thru was really long. I decided to go in...big mistake. Now this is 2006 which is the year of Happy Feet. For those of you who don't know, Happy Feet is about a penguin who dances instead of sings to find his love and somehow saves the entire penguin nation when he goes off to tell the humans that they are taking their fish. Good moral and it has Robin Williams which is too funny. Anyways, I am in Burger King and there is a kid in front of me with his mom. Now there is a display of the Happy Feet toys that come with the kids meals. For 10 that's right 10 minutes all this kid did was SCREAM "HAPPY FEET, HAPPY FEET, HAPPY FEET!!!" Now, imagine if you will a 5month pregnant woman who is hungry and tired. It grated on my nerves like nothing before. I was to the point that I was going to rip the display apart just to get him a toy to quiet him down. I promised myself that night that I would never, ever let my kid watch Happy Feet.



Fast Forward 2 and a half years.... the picture above is of a Happy Feet party invitation. Yes, that is right, our little boy is obsessed with Happy Feet. We watch it almost every night. I bought it on Black Friday for $3 and actuallly had to get another copy from Todd and Alyson because our first copy wore out. I won't tell you how much we spent on the party supplies. Let's just say that I never had a party that expensive and that included the trip to Disney. I spent hours on line scouring websited to find everything and have them ship it all to an APO. I know that the look on his face the day of his party will be priceless and eventually he will move onto some other movie phase but for now I am eating my words. I know that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor and I have enough life experiences to prove it, though I think this one tops them all.

Baby Shower in a Box

My best friend Alyson is having a baby shower soon so we put a box together for her and her hubby Todd. We bought them some diapers, cute clothes, lotion and all kinds of goodies. I was tempted to buy them What to Expect the Toddler Years but I didn't want to scare them. Seriously if you ever want to read a scary book just look at the 24th month :) Eric had a blast wrapping and un wrapping stuff. He carted around the lotion and pulled most of the tape out of the dispenser. He got it in his hair which effectively ended playing with the tape for the moment. We are so excited for Todd and Alyson and we wish them the best and hope they enjoy their baby box!

Washing Dishes a.k.a. Child Labor

We ran out of stuff to run the dishwasher so I had to do it the oldfashioned way...by hand. Eric loved it! He "helped" me by washing a set of plastic cups until there was enough water on the floor that I had to use a couple of towels to sop it up. He enjoyed pouring the water from cup to cup and splashing around. I enjoyed the fact that he did it without complaining. I know that the day is coming when washing dishes won't be fun anymore and he will use the Child Labor line like I used to.

Easter

Easter morning was interesting. I was tired and not ready to deal with all of the Easter excitement at 7am but apparently Eric was. He walked out and was so surprised to find a basket full of goodies and a new train set. The Easter Bunny forgot to open it and Senor Swanky Pants wanted to play with it right away. Dumb Bunny! Anyways, the morning egg hunt was too much fun!!! The eggs were hidden in obvious places but Eric only wanted to play with his train. I finally convinced him to go get them and bring them to me. Some of the eggs contained money for Bobby (his piggy bank) and the others had these Gerber preschool juice treats in them. Eric loves them! He walked up and shook an egg. The money fell out of it and since it wasn't candy he left it. He shook another egg and realized it was money and just brought it to me. It didn't take him long to determine what sound the juicy treats made versus the money. After the eggs were found he then began shaking all of the toys in his toy box to make sure that he didn't miss any treats. We got ready for church and he had a melt down so this is the only picture of him I could get.

Coloring Eggs

I completely forgot that we needed to color eggs for the Easter Bunny! It was Saturday night when we ran to the commissary and picked some up. Initially Eric thought it was a drink. Luckily I caught him in time and that the dye kit called for water and not vinegar. We had tons of fun. Eric decided that all the eggs should take a dip in each color and that the little metal thing they give you is for losers. If you want to really experience coloring eggs you have to use your hands, baby! According to the box it should have washed right off but apparently the box lied. Eric went to church the next day with blue and purple hands and so did I.

Egg hunt

Pulaski Park on base threw a huge Easter egg hunt this year and we decided to go. We were almost late due to traffic but it was ok. Eric had his basket, I had my camera and I managed not to forget anything. They made an announcement "Parents please let you CHILDREN pick up the eggs" We got in line and they said go. By the time we got through the little gate into his age group area, all the eggs were gone. There were parents carting around two year olds who by this point are crying because mom and dad promised eggs and there were none left. Apparently the plea to allow children to pick up their own eggs fell on deaf ears. Well lo and behold a man with a large box of eggs came around our area dropping them on the ground. Someone should have video taped the whole thing because they could have made a fortune. There are at least 100 kids in just the 2 year old category plus their parents and nothing and I mean nothing brings out the competitive side of a parent like an Easter egg hunt. I have never seen parents scramble to get their kids a plastic egg like that. You would have thought that the egg had keys to a new car in it. It was pretty funny. Yes, I was one of those parents who ran to the egg man because we originally didn't get one egg. It was so sad. Eric actually picked up a total of three and I was disappointed in the candy. What kid likes Lifesavers mints? No kid I know. I went out and bought Eric a treat for being so good and for not acting embarassed of his mother who did all she could to get him his eggs. Next year he is on his own!

Planting

Since Spring is finally here we decided to spruce up our balcony and add some plants. I took Eric to pick out the flowers and his input was very helpful. When it came to getting dirty he just wasn't interested. I was shocked! He loves to roll around in the dirt at the park and get filthy but he wouldn't touch the plants. He did enjoy playing with the pots but quickly lost interest in those. I have to say that my mom was right, the flowers did add a nice touch to the back and they do make me feel better.

It's a ghost, it's a bride...It's Super Baby!

This is one of Eric's favorite things to do. He takes one of his crib sheets (soon to be a toddler bed) and he puts it on his head or he puts it on like a cape and goes all over the house pretending. He goes back and forth between acting like a ghost, super baby and sometimes the way he walks he acts like he is getting married at the Ritz. When he plays a ghost it is too funny. I think he scares himself sometimes. I love watching him run around the house yelling "Da Da Da DAAAAAAA" That is our Superbaby theme song. Not very elaborate but it works. Maybe one day he will make enough to get a professional to compose a cool theme song for him but by that time he will be an adult and sadly out of the super hero phase (I hope so anyway).

Cookbooks!

Our Family Readiness Group is selling an amazing cookbook to raise money for our troops homecoming festivities. If you would like one please e-mail me or post a comment. Thanks!

E/208 Finance FRG Cookbooks Are Now on Sale!!!

Tired of cooking the same old meals?
Spice up your dinner table with a collection of great new recipes and support the troops!

Contains over 150 recipes including Historical First Lady Favorites, German Cuisine, & wonderful resources.

$10.00 per book
(plus $3.00 per book if stateside shipping is required)
Checks can be made payable to: 8th Finance Battalion C Det FRG

Colorado Baby!

That's right we are moving!!! Ok so it isn't until Spring 2010 but at least we know where we are going. Elmer re-enlisted on Friday and he had his choice of bases and a killer bonus. We tried for NC but they were not available. We then tried for Fort Carson, Colorado. It was taking a while and Elmer didn't want to lose his bonus so he was just going to re-enlist with the bonus and let the Army send us where ever. On Friday only hours before the ceremony he was informed that we had gotten Fort Carson! We are so excited! We have lived in Germany for 4 years now and it will be 5 by the time we leave. We have enjoyed it but we are ready to get back to Barnes and Nobel, Walmart, Target and of course family and friends. We are also looking forward to learning to ski and snowboard! We are really looking forward to our next adventure!

Gratitude

Well, yesterday was an interesting day. Our FRG (Family Readiness Group) participated in an indoor flea market. Thank goodness it was indoors! It rained all day long! Now, one of the reasons for my post... I am grateful for my fellow FRG ladies for all of their love and support. I am grateful for the new friends I've made and for their abilities to make me feel good even when I feel bad. I have been searching for a train table for Eric for his birthday but have been unable to find one that won't cost us $200 or more + shipping. The postal service is kinda funny about shipping large items. As I was walking around the back of our table yesterday I spotted what looked like a toddler bed. We need a toddler bed! As I got closer and I read the sign I realized that it was a train table! I could have given that family a hug of gratitude! I bought it and brought it home and it is now waiting for Eric's birthday in the comfort of our basement. After picking up my babysitter to take her home I realized that I had a headlight out. Unfortunately there was no one who could help me replace it since Toyota is closed, the base garage was too busy etc. I called up one of the brothers in our ward and he changed it for me in the rain under a Sponge Bob umbrella. I can't tell you how grateful I was for him and his family. They are so special to us. Eric was excellent in the store later which I am truly grateful for!!! We didn't even have the car cart and he was still good. Ok, so I kinda bribed him with snacks but sometimes you have to go with what you've got! I came home humbled that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to realize when I just need a few little things to fall into place. I am grateful for our safety and for Elmer's I am also so grateful for our family and friends both here and at home. We love you all !!!

Gartenschau!

I can't believe I ate the whole thing!

Forget a dog, I want one of these!

watching an airplane

Spring is here! We went from 38 for the high to 70+ for the high in a matter of two weeks. We are pretty stable now which means that we can get out doors! Here in the city they have a garden show that opens every year on April 1st. We waited until the 6th to go because we wanted to skip the crowds. While not everything was in bloom it was still beautiful! Eric loved being able to run around and not have to wear his monkey harness. We climbed up the hill/mountain (depending on which family member you ask) and we got to see the Biblical gardena and the Willow Curch. It was well worth the climb! Before we left Eric got the bigget popcicle of his life! We can't wait to take Elmer when he comes home and just relax.

Mom! Look What I can Do!

Eric definitely grew in the few months we were gone. When we left he loved to play in his closet but he couldn't reach the bar. I thought he wanted to get in there and play like he used to but he realized that he can reach the bar now and that it is fun to hang and swing. Needless to say we no longer play in the closet. He is too smart and too strong for his own good.

The Zoo...again

Since the weather is finally nice we decided to go to the zoo on Saturday. It was beautiful day and we all had fun. Unfortunately the racoons were not out. We did get to see the monkeys and Eric's favorite... the goats. He loves the petting zoo part. They are just his size and pretty nice to him. They had several babies born this spring including a goat and a zebra. They were adorable. The goats are pretty smart. They know if they hang around the gate that eventually someone will let them slip by. After getting two of them back in we decided to move on. It was a really nice day.

Picasso

Since my Mom and Ashley were here I decided to try finger painting with Eric. At first all he could say was ewww. Then he realized that the paints were fun to play with and that when you mixed the colors it made new ones. He had a good time and yes, he tasted them to see what flavor they were. He was not so thrilled with the taste. So here is a big shout out to Crayola for making wonderful finger paints (needs flavor) and also WASHABLE crayons!

Handsome

We went home for several months so ofcourse I shopped! Eric has a winter and summer wardrobe that will hopefully last him until we leave here. He loves getting dressed for church and has learned that when you see a camera you pose and say cheese. He is too funny!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

An interesting thing happened today that made me realize that I need to watch what I say. Eric adds to his vocabulary everyday with some of the funniest phrases. Today as we were coming in the gate the SPs/MPs were there getting ready to do a speed trap/DUI check. They had their lights flashing so Ashley and I started singing the theme song to COPS. We didn't have the windows down so it wasn't a big deal. That was until Eric picked up on it and started singing "Bad Boys, Bad Boys (somethig something) Do Bad Boys, Bad Boys" Luckily I don't think the gate gard understood what he was saying when she checked our IDs. Needless to say I learned a lesson. He is too smart and too cute for his own good.