SURPRISE!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to tell you all that Jacob and I are COMING HOME!!!!!!

MAY 14th

We have all our paper work and just have to go sign up for the Military flight.

-because Josh is deployed we get upgraded to a level 4 instead of the level 5 so while there is always a chance the flight will be full from 1 2 and 3 we still have a good chance!!!

- I will be traveling with Tiana and her daughter and we plan to stay in VA with Laine until, Sunday May 18th then head up to Bellefonte!!!!!!

-We will be in town for about 2 weeks until the flight on June 3rd!

CANT WAIT!!!!!

SIGNS OF SPRING

I am posting a photo of the tulips i planted that are finally bloomed!!!!

the Yellow ones were a tribute to Josh while he is away but as u can see the red stole the show!

THE ZOO and Thankfulness

Hello Fam and Friends, we had ourselves a busy weekend and i am exhausted!


Saturday after back and fourth conversations with my 2 girlfirends we finally decided to get out and go attempt the Autism Awarness walk, i say attempt because up until the moment we started walking it was POURING down rain. I thought i was fianlly going to get some use out of my rain cover for the stroller but it wasnet needed. So we did our 3 miles and donated our funds and felt really great about it!





Jacob and i were invited to a bbq that night, the food was yummy but it was a birthday party and it was getting a bit crazy so we mommies got the babes and went home.





Now the best part JACOB slept till 8 am this morning, that is sleeping in at this house, i kept waiting for him to get up so i didnt get that great of a chance to sleep in but hey the extra hour just laying in my cozy warm bed was wonderful!





SUNDAY MORNING


THE ZOO!!!!!


So if you want to talk about a wonderful day it was TODAY, the rain finally ceased and it was a gorgeous day. Our church ha da Zoo trip planned and i was thrilled to take Jacob on that kind of experience. He really seemed to enjoy being outside for one things but also the bigger mobile animals caught his attention!


among his favorites i think were the: Mere Cats, Donkey, Goats, Seals, and the Giraffes.





Thankfullness


On the way down, i rode with Tiana and her daughter Kennedy, we got to talking and explaining to Kennedy that we had to go to church before the zoo to worship the Lord for all the blessings he has given us, for the animals he created and for her daddy working so hard to provide for her, and i just wanted to publically say how amazing of a husband and father Josh is, i am so thankful he works so hard for his family and his country. I thank the Lord everyday for my blessings and Josh and Jacob are among the top of the list. The exchange rate isnt nice over here and the funds to be able to take Jacob to wonderful places such as the zoo is a blessing.





I also Thank my momther in law, for the adorable summer wardrobe, being spolied liek that once in a while make being so far away a little easier, also thank you for making sure Gram and Pap are able to read and see pics of Jacob!!!

Check for pics later...i am having problems with the new computer

ONE QUESTION...

...WHO gave this child a chocolate chip cookie, so u until now Jacob has only had crumbs, we're talking tiny peices of a cookie or slice of cake i may be eating (execpet when dad felt the need to give him it in Germany) However despite the fact that usually offering an alternative snack works if i am eating a cookie today it would not work today. Our firends Maggie and Isaac were over and Maggie was eating a cookie, and Jacob would not give up until he got a piece!
Actually in answer to the question it was PAOLO!!!!



Jacob is not liking the babygates, he stands rigt up at them an screeches!!! I am fighing a cold these past few days but couldnt resist sharing the cookie news with everyone.

Jacob is pulling up so well and Rose swears, with the bear crawl it will be just a few short weeks till he is walking!!!! Guess we'll see?



I asked Jacob for breakfast in bed for mothers day, I'm not sure I'll get it but Daddy is hoping he'll sleep in that morning.



BATH TIME:

Tonight in the tub I had a vision of Jacob and I years from now talking with a girlfriend or even a wife, and sharing the story of the bear crawl postion bare naked in the tub, truly sight only for a mother.



SO a few weeks back i think i blogged about a possible biter on my hands, well the phase passed until NOW, yes yesterday and today Jacob has BIT me on my shoulder during a hug. What am I to do? i try right now the scare tactic and scream out in pain, it does startle and upset him so i guess we'll see if it has lasting affects~~~~~

UP the INTAKE

Hello everyone, another rain grudge is upon us here in Aviano, next year we are getting rainboots and raincoats!!! Cute ones of course!

Jacob had an appoitment yesterday, he is 18 lbs and 30 inches long, While he is very close to 19 pounds we dicussed his eating/drinking habbits and they want me to up his fomula consumption, i thought i was supposed to be moving away from it and offering more food. not the case i guess.

He is starting to really pull up on things and loves to try and escape the living room area, thank goodness for babygates, although i wonder if i could invent somekind of workout regiment that involved chasing your crawler from room to room!!!

Jacob still hasent fought for a bottle, it's been about a week now!

Oh what else...next week will be our first trip to the Zoo, the church organized a trip so we are going along, Isaac and maybe Kennedy will be there as well.

Classes start for me Monday, oh to be done with school!!!! i much prefer to read for pleasure NOT for school. I am taking a sociology class and a LIBS class whihc is all research and itnernet actions-for this reason we have decide to break donw and get a labtop, this desk isnt cutting it anymore and if i have sit at it all evening i might go crazy.

Check out the pic of Jacob in his big boy pajamas, the only ones that are not one zip up piece, they were made for him by Mrs. Megan-THANKS!!!!

Take care everyone.

SURREAL

These past few days i have been on a kind of emotional roller coaster, Happy for Jacob to be moving away from the bottle, happy for Jacob to have pulled up again, happy to see him paly with his best friend Isaac. Things seems to be moving so fast these days and i find myslef upset about it, really i think about Josh missing so much but then have to remind myslef about the sermon spoken this past sunday, "Joy in the midst of tragedy" so of course i don't veiw Jacobs developments as a tragedy but basically joy in the fact that him growing so quickly makes me sad.

I am pondering latley that next MONTH he will be a year old!!!!!!!!!!! My baby Jacob a one year old, it seems to come at me hard. we have been to a few birthdays and one mother did share that it was sad for her to have her baby turn 1, it's such a milestone.

Babies are a bit of stardust blown

from the hand of God.

Lucky is the woman who knows the pangs of birth

for she has held a star.

I am still struggeling to put the bottles away for good. i havent started at all, actually,however i have begun to mix whole milk into J's formula, i found this to be the best way to introduce it instead of all at once. he hasent minded the taste but doesnt like the coldness so much, he is used to chugging a bottle all in one sitting, now he uses it for thirst instead of a meal.

BIRTHDAY JOY

So of course Jacobs birthday cake is going to be a turtle, acutally cupcakes set into the shape of a turtle, the theme i think however is going to be "1st birthday" stuff, i of course will be ordering things because our lovley BX has nothing!!!

SO some of you have asked about gift ideas for J, and i know it sounds crazy because hardly does a child ever need more toys, but really we havent bought any so he is starting to out grow somethings, a few ideas for his birthday are: peg puzzles- I found a brand at Target.com "Melissa and Doug" they come in a variety of peg sizes. he has one now and loves to pull the pieces out when i replace them.

another idea is some sort of push & ride toy, to stableize him as he starts to walk, and then able to ride if a few months. SO there are jsut 2 ideas:)

Grandmas i'm sure have other ideas because i have spoken with them and they know inside and out what Jacob has and needs.

He's come along way

SO as some of u may remember (Amanda) the last time Jacob had anything to do with a sippy cup it invloved a fit and crying, the boy wanted nothing but his bottle. Well for the past 3 days he has not had a single bottle and has been loving water and his milk from his sippy cup!!!!

Can you beleive it?????????????

It's very bitter sweet for me and i am not looking forward to putting those bottles away:( I;m not sure I'm ready.

hmmm what else, ahhh the weather has been lovley, except with that comes the bugs and i actually killed a mosquito yesterday, so my war begins, Maggie and I whom both live on the economy in Giais, are going this week to find equipment to install sceens!!! if our cheap landlords wont do it WE will!!!

all right goodnight to all!!!!

As the days go by...

We made it a week, a week since our amazing daddy had to leave.

It was a bit hard come friday, things have seemed to go smoothly but all the while i feel like crying.

Jacob and I keep busy and have made wonderful firends through his playgroup, we have had the chance to walk otuside a bit with the beautiful weather. We havent needed jackets, only long sleeve shirts, Paolo informs me however we arent in the clear until MAY!!!

We had a 1st birthday to go to, Isaac, Turned 1, he is from playgroup and lives like 2 minutes away on foot! we have been spending lots of time with them.

PWOC has gone through some changes, some not so good and others ok. Just keep the future of it in your prayers. It's hard when someone who has taken me under their wing, may not be around anymore.

Jacob is doing wonderfully, he actually drank his milk from his sippycup this morning and enjoys bear crawling. I call it the tripod. hands and feet on the floor butt in the air!!! he is so darn adorable. I think i am going to press the cup today NO bottle! he is eating well too, a bunch of meatloaf and rice last night, even cooked carrots on their own.

He still loves to wave and clap, it's especially funyn when he gets laughing over the dogs our friends have. he seems to think the more hyper they are the funnier! He gets into one of those deep belly laughs.

He pulled up to standing all by himslef last thursday and then one other time but not latley. i'm sure it's not too far away, and now with Isaac to chase after he'll be wantign to get up and go

Tonight we have 3 ladies coming over all of whoms husbands are tdy or deployed, we should have done it ages ago but i hope its a night of fun! we are all making Mexican food!