This blog was started on Sept 25...

Hey all!

Sorry for the lapse in time between blogs. This will be a long one, so I hope that makes up for it. Just so you know, I started writing this on September 25 - 6 days later I'm finally publishing it. =)

We’re still making slow progress in getting settled and unpacked.

Luke’s room is almost done – we just have to get some things on the wall and it’ll be finished!

The guest room needs a bit of organizing and curtains hung.

The master bedroom is – still blah – but for now just needs the curtains ironed and a few pictures on the wall. I’m seriously thinking about painting it at some point.

The living room/dining room/office just needs the curtains ironed and pictures/shelves hung – and a few boxes still linger in the corners. I think our next purchase will be a different desk. Because we can’t have the cabinets and shelves we have used in the past out (I’m terrified that Luke could pull them over on himself in 2 seconds – they’re not very sturdy) to store our office supplies in, we’ve had a hard time finding a place for everything. The desk we have is little – and Chris thinks it’s ugly. =) It really wasn’t built to be a computer desk, so he wins on this one. In my defense – when I got the desk, we needed something small (because the rooms in our last duplex were pretty small) and I was itching for a painting project.

The kitchen – still not even close to being done. One of these days…one of these days. =)

The bathroom – I still haven’t even unpacked the 2 boxes labeled “bathroom.” There’s still a funky smell in there, and I just can’t spend much time in there because of it. As long as we have towels, soap and toilet paper – the room will function fine. =)

Maybe – just maybe I’ll get a few rooms done enough to post pictures in a week or so. Maybe…=)

In other news: We attempted to find the Nazarene church in Kaiserslatern. Let’s just say we never found it. We had printed off directions from their website, but we ended up in an apartment complex. Now, unless they meet in an apartment (which by the picture on their website doesn’t appear to be the case) then we’re going to have to find different directions.

Last week (two weeks ago now) Luke and I attended a PWOC function –Protestant Woman of the Chapel. I dropped him off at the childcare room – and he cried non-stop the entire time. When I went back to pick him up, his face was beet-red – streaked with continuous tears – he couldn’t even catch his breath he’d been crying for so long! I felt horrible for both Luke and the childcare workers. Luke hasn’t had to be away from me in ages. I really want him to work into being comfortable in a nursery or at childcare though. He needs to interact with other kids and once Chris is deployed, I know there will be times I’ll just need a break. The function was nice though and I was able to get out and meet some ladies on post.

Luke and I also went to our first playgroup. They have a huge room set up with tons of toys. On M/W/F you can bring your kids and let them play. You have to stay and play with them. It’s a great way for the kids to interact with each other and to meet other moms. Luke had a blast!

Attending these events has really makes me itch to get my license so Luke and I can start doing these things on a regular basis. I’m still in the process of getting Luke enrolled in childcare. I still have to drop off more paperwork (yes more – there’s always more paperwork when it comes to anything having to do with the army), get him a physical and apparently get him more vaccinations. Sigh. I guess the frustrating part of it all is that it would be nice to be able to drive ourselves to the clinic and such to get these things done. We can walk there, but it’s on a different post in town – and I tire very quickly – especially since everything is uphill here! =) Oh well, it’ll get done. =)

Luke is as cute as ever. He is finally saying clear words. Da-Da, Ma-Ma and Bu-Bu (Bu-Bye.) He also attempts “Hi”, “Riley”, “All Done” and I think “Amen.” He says/attempts a host of other things – it’s just not completely clear or we just can’t understand it yet. =)

He loves to brush his teeth. Every night before bed we say, “It’s time to brush your teeth!” and he goes running for the bathroom. I brush them first – then he gets to try himself. He loves it! I doubt it will last long, but I’m relishing it for now. =)

Speaking of teeth – he’s finally working on his third tooth. It’s one of the top ones. I think the second top tooth may be making its way out soon as well.

Some other cute little things – I may be the only one to find them cute – that Luke is doing:

He’s been obsessed with my hairbrushes lately. He carries them around with him and tries to brush his hair, then hands them to me so I can brush my hair. Most every day I have to go searching for my hairbrush so I can brush my hair in the morning.

He loves Wheel of Fortune and Deal or no Deal! When the audience claps, he claps and yells “Uhhhhhh” which is his way of saying “Yay!”

He likes to play fetch. He does all the work though – unless the ball goes under the couch – then he comes over and grabs my hand and pulls me to the couch so I can get the ball for him. He’ll bounce or throw the ball across the room and go chasing after it! He’s better at fetch than Riley is! Although, with Riley, if the ball goes under the couch, she scratches at the couch instead of coming to grab my hand.

When he gets up in the morning or from a nap – he usually insists on everything coming out of his crib (his blanket, Jay-Jay the Purple Chicken, his water sippy and his little dog blanket) He’ll usually hand me these items or point to them, so I’ll pile them on his little dump truck chair by his crib. Then he’s ready to get out. He usually won’t pay those items any more attention once he’s out – it’s on to the toys and books. He also insists on bringing at least 2 items out of his room with him. Sometimes they don’t even make it past the hall, but for some reason, he’s got to bring something out with him! =)

He shakes his head “no” or nods his head “yes.” And he is also broadening his facial expressions.

He is gaining a bit of independence. There are times where he’s happy to play in his room by himself. Usually not for a long time, but it’s good to see he’s learning to entertain himself for even a short amount of time.

He tries to sing Old McDonald – well, just the E-I-E-I-O part – but it sounds more like O-WE-O-WE-O.

One of my very favorite items in this house is a wooden bear that was a gift from Dan and Barb. I just love this bear – every time I look at it, it makes me so happy! I put it in our living room so I can see it often, and Luke loves it too! He’ll go over and pet its head and say, “hi bur” which translates into “hi bear!” It’s SOOO cute! He’ll also ride his little car around in circles and will stop every time he gets to the bear to pet it and talk to it. It’s so adorable!

He loooooves helping me with the laundry. It was cute the first few times, but now it takes me 4 times as long to get the laundry folded and put away. I’ll set the basket of clothes down and he’ll literally dive in and start grabbing at everything and throwing it out. Last night though, he did start handing me items instead of throwing them all on the floor. That was an improvement.

We’ve been working on not touching the dishwasher while I’m loading or unloading it. He tends to like to grab sharp items and knives – and this is obviously not safe. We’ve had a few big battles over this, but for his own safety, I gotta stand my ground. The hardest thing right now is making him realize that “no” means “no.” He’s constantly testing and pushing his limits. It’s hard to be consistent, but I know it’s the only way I’ll get the message through his head. I know he knows and understands a lot. His vocabulary may be limited, but his brain is very sharp. At times it’s hard to not let my own emotions (especially since I’m quite hormonal at times) get the best of the situation. I don’t like upsetting him, but it’s vital that he learns to listen and respond – especially when we know what is best for him. In about 12 or 13 years, I’m going to say to him “Your father and I know what’s best for you…” and he’s going to roll his eyes and say we don’t know what it’s like to be a teenager and stomp off to his room. I can see the future already! =)

Ok, I need to sign off for now – this blog is already outdated since it’s taken me 6 days to write it. I’ll have to write another blog just to update the beginning of this one! =)

Anyway, here are a few pictures!





This is Luke's sippy cup...inside his "Luke" mug. For some reason he likes to put his sippy inside something else - bags, boxes, bowls, other cups - it doesn’t matter, but he thinks it's the coolest thing when he does it.





How much alike do these boys look!? I asked Chris to make the same face Luke was making and they look just alike!





Here is Luke peeling off another yellow sticker he's found. He won't rest until the very last yellow sticker is removed from all the items in this house.





In all the unpacking, we found Luke's sunglasses. In the past he wouldn't leave them on for more then a second. Now he thinks it's the coolest thing ever. He'll bring them to me and want me to put them on. Then he'll walk around like he owns the world!











Here is Luke pulling out a toy from Grandpa Scott's care package! He was pretty excited!





Luke kept climbing into this old wooden box I have. He thought it would be fun to eat his veggie cracker snack inside. He was having a ball playing in it and climbing in and out of it. Then, I saw a very suspicious white bug that resembled a termite. Yikes! So, the wooden box sadly had to go out to the dumpster. It was a bummer, because I really thought this old wooden crate had character. Oh well, I don't want to be the person who allowed termites to infest this apartment complex. I have no doubt the army would happily charge us for the cost of exterminating!





As I was saying above, these are his crib items. Most mornings, he usually just wants them on his dump truck chair, but Saturday morning he insisted on bringing them all out for breakfast. There is Jay-Jay on top. The doggie blanket is tucked underneath and his sippy is cradled in his arm. You should have seen him trying to carry all this out of his room, across the hall and all the way through the dining room into the living room. It was too funny! And no, I'm not heartless, I did help a little. =)





I thought Luke would really enjoy playing my keyboard, so I brought it out for him. He likes to dance and push all the buttons - then he'll get down to business and try to play the keys.





Here is Luke and daddy hanging out at the computer together. I think Luke has fruit smoothie all over his face. Anyway, he loves to reach into the goldfish bag and pull out crackers. (Notice all the laundry on the floor? Yeah, that was all folded nice and neat in a laundry basket. Apparently Luke thought it was dirty laundry and needed to be on the floor.)





He also likes sharing them...=)





Here is Luke helping Daddy make shelves with his toy tool set.





And just so you know that Chris and I are still here - here is a picture of each of us. We don't tend to take pictures of each other anymore. We seem to be obsessed with someone else. =)

Alright, that's all for now. I'll try to post a current update (since this blog is already outdated as I post it) in the next few days.

Love to you all!