The Brooke Times

Before & After

2012-01-26T10:41:00.003+01:00

Before:

After:

I apologize for the cheesy mirror picture. Justin wasn't around to take it. lol I've lost over 30 pounds! My scale is glitchy and can be up to 5-6 pounds off, so I rarely weigh myself unless I'm using a gym scale. I'm not sure exactly how much I weigh now. I have about 20 more to go! Hopefully in a another couple months I'll have the final results picture! (And I can hopefully put on my wedding ring again??)

Men at work!

2012-01-25T12:36:00.000+01:00

Mama went a little picture happy yesterday afternoon. Tommy wasn't thrilled but I did get a couple of smiles out of him. We had our weekly pajama day, which entails doing nothing but lounging, playing and watching movies. My favorite! (Okay, maybe it happens more than once a week you caught me! :)

I've been having the boys build and do puzzles. I've noticed when I play with them too there is less throwing toys around and more actually using them the way they are intended to be played with. The picture frenzy happened after Tristan went down for his nap so I didn't get the middle cutie in any of them. Next time, you won't be so lucky Tristan! ;)

I'm babysitting the sweetest little doggy named Versace. The kids love her and it makes me really excited to get a family dog when we get back home. (We don't want to travel home with a dog. It'll be chaotic enough with the 3 monkeys... boy do I pitty the fool who sits by us on the plane! Hahaha)

Landon loves his bumbo. Whoever invented it deserves a million pats on the back for this fabulous thing! I got it when Tommy was a baby and it's held up through all 3 of them. It doesn't even look warn out! Landon loves sitting up and being in on the action. I joke with Justin that Landon is really a 4 year old in a newborn's body. He never has acted like a newborn. He's been playful and curious from the start and he sleeps better than most 4 year olds!

I love his sweet little face. He just melts me. Time flies by in a blur I'm so busy, but I try to remember to take a time out to just breathe and look at how beautiful our kids are. They're feisty little things, for sure. But most days they give me more happiness than stress. (Give or take lol)

Justin has found a promising job for our transition into "normal" life. I can't really consider military life "normal" though it has been wonderful part of our lives. It's a career some soldier's in Justin's field go into after their enlistment and would still be working for the government. So we could choose where we live, not have to work on a military base, etc. while still getting excellent health care and benefits. It's an extremely great opportunity and we're getting his resume, awards, paperwork together so we can mail it in. 5 months and counting!!

This is the best smile I could get out of Tommy. He's much too big and manly to smile for pictures, or so he thinks. He was so proud of his "princess peach" castle. Yeah.. he's probably playing too many mario games. I'd also like to thank Jason Brooke for sending us a Super Mario Bros. movie. Tommy adores it even though I think it's the cheesiest movie I've ever seen. lol

Tommy starts school next year and it's perfect timing. I don't want to move the kids around to different schools so I'm glad we're getting out of the military in time for him to start. I've had "1st day of school" scrapbook stickers for 4 years so I'm getting pretty excited to use them. Hah, Tommy thinks I take a lot of pictures now. Just you wait, you haven't seen nothin' yet! His first day is gonna be huge!

<-- Landon found his toes!!

When I talk to Landon, Justin thinks I'm talking about food. "Oh you sweet, delicious, chocoloate-covered little morsel!"

♥

New Years Resolutions- January

2012-01-23T09:43:00.001+01:00

For every month of the year, I'm going to complete one of my New Years resolutions. I first decided this just two weeks ago and chose really simple things for each month. Afterall, I'm a mom to 3 little monkeys. I don't have a ton of spare time. :)

For this month's goal I tried a new recipe with an ingredient I've never had before. I got the idea from an article I read on weight watchers. I made Hawaiian curried chicken with pineapple salsa. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 sprays cooking spray

2 tsp peanut oil

2 tsp ginger root, minced

1 large uncooked onion, chopped

1 tbsp curry powder, mild variety recommended

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. sugar

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 cup light coconut milk

2 1/2 cups pineapple, chopped

1/4 cups shallots, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup coconut, toasted
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Add oil; heat until oil starts to shimmer. Add ginger and onions; sauté until onions turn translucent and start to caramelize, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add curry powder, salt and sugar; cook, stirring, until curry becomes fragrant, about 1 minute.
Push vegetables to side of skillet and sauté chicken until lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and reduce heat to low; simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is done, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make salsa, combine pineapple, shallots and cilantro; toss well to coat
To serve, top chicken with salsa and sprinkle with coconut; sprinkle with salt if desired. Yields about 3/4 cup chicken, rounded 1/3 cup salsa and 2 teaspoons coconut per serving.

It was pretty good and I definitely recommend it. For anyone interested, one serving is about one cup and it's 5 WW points. lol And I think the JH on the side of the picture means it's endorsed by Jennifer Hudson, so if you don't like it, you can go ahead and hold her accountable. :)

I decided that by December, there should be an end goal to all of these things I'm doing. Every goal should be part of a bigger goal. In the article it talks about setting a bigger overall goal for the end of the year. It suggests writing that goal down somewhere you can see it everyday.

I don't think I feel more successful than when I set a goal for myself and follow through. For a long time I couldn't seem to follow through with anything I wanted to accomplish, but the past 4 months have been different. I've set goals for myself and succeeded in them. It makes me feel amazing and I always want that feeling in my life. When December comes and I'm thinking about the past year, I want to feel successful. That is my goal for this year.

It's in the genes.

2012-01-23T08:47:00.000+01:00

Tommy has been really getting into old nintendo games. We uploaded them onto our wii and it's been all he wants to do. We limit it so he's not playing all day, but it is really cute. Landon loves to watch. Tommy has some serious skill too! It must run in the family because Justin and I both played these games when we were kids. I think his favorites are super mario, zelda, and donkey kong.

We got him a MobiGo for his birthday last year and he loves playing that too. I don't mind it so much because it's actually taught him a lot. He knows all of his letters and where they are on a keyboard, his colors (even obscure ones like teal and violet), and his numbers. Tommy learns so fast! Kids at this age really are sponges. He soaks up everything.

3 Months ♥

2011-12-29T13:49:00.000+01:00

Our baby gets more and more beautiful everyday!

A little smarter, a little wiser.

2011-11-23T12:39:00.002+01:00

When Justin was deployed I was in Arizona for a few months to spend time with family. I thought my life was so hard. Here I was, practically a single mom for 8 months. My father in law told me that my life was easy because I only had one kid and I remember it made me so mad. I'm doing everything alone! How could anyone think that was easy?

Well, it's hard to admit, but he was right. My life was easy. I mistook my life being lonely for hard. It wasn't really hard in the way I thought it was, I was just bored and lonely without Justin. I can honestly say, my life is hard now. I'm happy and I love it, but it's hard. Having Tristan and Landon so close together has been challenging. I feel trapped inside my house. By the time we get shoes, socks, jackets on the kids, put Landon in his carrier, put together a diaper bag and get ourselves ready, Justin and I don't feel like going anywhere anymore. So we go in shifts. Justin will go out and do his errands, I'll go out and do mine when he gets back. We don't spend much time together like we used to because of it. Landon and Tristan have different nap schedules, so I have to wait for Justin to get home for lunch so I can shower. Which means he usually doesn't get to eat lunch and on the days he can't come home for lunch, I don't shower. lol

There is no such thing as sleep at our house. Landon actually sleeps through the night now which has been amazing, but Tristan wakes up and then he wakes up Tommy too. I get 2-3 hours of sleep at a time. I've never been so sleep deprived in my life. If someone was to grant me one wish, it would be a whole day of sleep and someone to clean my house. I'm literally busy almost all day long, and then Justin gets home from work and he's tired too. So we split the work getting the kids dinner and put to bed, so we can enjoy an hour or two together before finding ourselves falling asleep on the couch and heading to bed.

I know this is a phase in our life and someday soon it'll all be different. The kids will be older and in school. I'll have afternoons to myself to do whatever I want. The kids will start going through growth spurts and sleeping longer than me. There will be a time I can eat my lunch all at once and sitting down. But in the meantime, it's chaos. I love it. I'm needed and wanted. I'm everything to my sweet babies and I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm trying to enjoy all of it.

I'm trying to relax on the housework and not push myself as hard as I used to. I can't wait for my kids to have kids (maybe a granddaughter... please?) and I'll get to spoil them rotten, send them home and sleep the whole night through. Payback. ;)

I guess the point of this post is, no one has a perfect life. All the posts on my blog may all be of good things, but we're all dealing with our own struggles. I used to think everyone else's lives were fun and exciting and mine was the only one full of mundane things. It's taken until the last couple years to realize everyone's life is boring and mundane to a degree. I'm not the only housewife still in her pajamas at 3pm, right?

...don't answer that.

When Daddy's away, Tristan will play.

2011-11-21T13:54:00.001+01:00

Tristan is so curious. He loves climbing on the table. He doesn't dare do it when Justin's home, because he knows he won't get away with it. However, when Justin's at work it's fair game. He knows it's a lot harder to get Mommy upset and I inevitably think everything he does is cute.... even when he's rotten. I've had to take our centerpiece off because he's already broken part of it.

Like a true boy, he does a victory dance at the top.

Tommy says "It's a dance table! I want to do it too!" Since I was taking pictures instead of getting him down right away, naturally Tommy thinks I approve.

Tristan starts to realize maybe this isn't as fun as he thought it would be...

so a meltdown ensues.

Is it just me, or is he even cuter when he's rotten? :)

The good, the bad, and the CUTE.

2011-11-15T09:32:00.001+01:00

Tristan has crossed into a whole new level of cute. His new favorite word: Hommy. (Otherwise known as Tommy!) In the morning and after naps, it's the first thing he calls out from his room. They are best buds. I can't even describe the level of joy I feel seeing them play and love each other. When Landon was born we moved Tristan upstairs right across from Tommy's room. That has been a mixture of good and bad. Good: Tommy goes in there to play with Tristan when he wakes up in the morning which means I don't have to get him out of bed right away. Bad: Tristan wakes Tommy up at unholy hours of the morning which in turn means wakes up the rest of the house. Their laughter and chaos is LOUD. We're all tired, but they're happy. Give and take, right? LOL

Tommy is really sad that soccer season is over. We had the award ceremony a couple weeks ago and Tommy was so excited to get his medal. Justin got a trophy for coaching too. We sat with Justin's team and all the boys were grabbing Tristan and fighting over him. Tommy didn't like it, he kept telling them "That's MY Tristan!"

I didn't get very good pictures, just what I could capture with my phone. He loved his medal but I'll admit, it was broken the next day. lol

Tristan being ridiculously cute.

Landon is going 7 weeks, I can't believe it. Didn't I have him like, yesterday?! He's started smiling and kicking his legs a lot. He used to love being bundled up, but now he can't stand it. He likes being free to wiggle. He is the first of our kids to have dimples on both cheeks and I love it. I'm enjoying this time as much as I can. I know I'll miss being able to cuddle with him after he starts crawling. None of my boys are cuddlers. :(

Justin and I are making plans for when he gets out of the army next summer. It seems so weird to think about. I just can't imagine it yet. So many changes coming up! We've been in Germany so long it's going to be weird living anywhere else.

So very thankful for our lives! ♥

Getting Healthy

2011-11-07T17:19:00.000+01:00

After having a baby, there is always extra weight to lose. After having Landon I felt pretty depressed about my weight but have lost 20 lbs. so far. It feels amazing. I wanted to share what I've been doing. I did a lot of research online about the best way to lose weight and read a lot about smoothies. They're filling and depending on what you put in them, extremely healthy. I looked over a bunch of recipes but usually just throw whatever fruit and vegetables I have in the house in a blender together and it always turns out delicious!

1 small bag baby carrots

1 handful of spinach

1 apple

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen cherries

1 banana

I drink two large glasses of it and feel really full. My biggest rift with diets is that I always feel hungry. This smoothie keeps me full for a long time. I usually have a smoothie for breakfast, a regular lunch (like a chicken sandwich), a snack like crackers sometime in the afternoon, and a smoothie for dinner. I also exercise for one hour 5 days a week. It's not easy, but it's worth it. I want to be in the best shape I can be in to run around with my kids. (Which is no easy task, they're crazy!)

Landon's Baby Pictures

2011-10-14T09:49:00.000+02:00

Welcome Landon!

2011-10-06T17:12:00.000+02:00

One of the sweetest things about welcoming a new baby boy

is learning how you fit together...

The way his sleepy weight

fills your arms so perfectly,

and how that place where neck and shoulder meet

suddenly seems made for him to snuggle his head into.

But even more than that,

it's discovering just how beautifully he fits into your life,

how there was always a place right in the heart of your family

just waiting for this precious boy

to come and fill it with so much love.

Welcome Landon James Brooke!

September 30th 2011

9 lbs. 10 oz.

22 inches long

Tricky Tricky

2011-09-26T21:25:00.000+02:00

Tommy calls trick or treat "tricky tricky". He is the cutest. Enjoy our Halloween decorations. :o)

My favorite Halloween candle.

This oven mit glows in the dark.

Tommy's First Game!

2011-09-26T20:49:00.000+02:00

Tommy had his first game today! His team is seriously so cute, it was so much fun to watch. They did so well! There were a few times they kicked the ball into the wrong goal, or started kicking the ball towards the baseball field next to the soccer field. Tommy had a blast! They didn't keep goal, the games and practices at this age are just for fun.

Tristan enjoying the snacks, as always. lol!

Do you have to keep taking pictures Mom?! Yes, yes I do. :)

Tommy couldn't find his soccer shorts, so he stuck out in blue. At least it's easier to spot him in the pictures, right?

Tommy so close to making a goal!!

...until he face plants. LOL

He was okay and we still got the goal!

The kids lined up and gave high fives. Good sports, especially for 4-5 year olds.

No words for this one! lol

More baby updates.

2011-09-21T09:47:00.000+02:00

A lot of people have been asking me if I've had Landon yet. No, I haven't! I'll have pictures up asap when the little guy finally decides to arrive. I'm just a few days from my due date and even my doctor is shocked Landon isn't here yet. He thought for sure I would go at 37 weeks, but no such luck. Here I am 3 weeks later still as big as a house. :)

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I'm dilated to a 3 (like I have been for weeks now) I'm having regular contractions (that apparently aren't doing anything...) and the baby's head is engaged and he is in the right position for birth. We're just waiting now. He says if I haven't had him by next week, he will strip my membranes and we'll see if that gets labor going. He's guessing the baby weighs about 8 Lbs. now. Same as Tristan and Tommy when they were born.

So, that's all for now! Can't wait to write a post about our new baby boy! :)

Never Grow Up

2011-09-12T20:32:00.001+02:00

I love this song so much, even though it's so sad. It really reminds me of Tommy, because it really seems he has grown up so fast. It makes me proud, he is so independent. He does so much on his own and is so smart. It's allowed me to relax a little bit and just trust him to do what he needs to do. He loves being a big boy and helping me around the house. Lets hope that lasts!

We took the boys to the park today and Tommy made a bunch of friends. I remember being his age how shy I was. My parents could never get me to play with other kids until I knew them better. Tommy is a little shy too, but he's confident. He makes friends wherever he goes. (A true Army Brat!) He's good at everything he does. I couldn't be more proud of him. He is an excellent big brother and Tristan and Landon are so lucky to have him.

Speaking of Landon... he isn't here yet! Lets hope that changes soon because look at me now! No more room to grow Landon, best come out! I'm one of the unfortunates that gain weight in the face while pregnant. I think it's genetic. So, thanks Mom. lol!

Justin is loving being a coach. The kids adore him. When we go out shopping and he sees one of his kid's they get so excited and yell, "THERE'S MY COACH!" It's so cute, I love it. His older team had their first game last week and they won 1-0! Tommy's first game is the 26th, he is so excited. I can't wait to get some pictures. His little uniform is adorable.

Tristan is growing like a weed. I think he gets cuter and cuter as he gets older. His personality is so wildly different than when Tommy when he was Tristan's age. Tommy was smiley and wanted more attention. Tristan is already bored of being a baby and wants to grow up. He's usually "busy" and takes his exploring quite serious. He doesn't like being held, but will occasionally give kisses. His little mouth when he puckers up is irresistible. He's learned so much just the past week. He says buh-bye and also hi. He loves to randomly wave at people and yell "HI!"

I really had to work for this smile. lol! Isn't he cute!!

Soccer Practice!

2011-09-04T18:45:00.001+02:00

Tommy had his first soccer practice last week and he LOVED it! Justin is the coach of his team, and also the coach for the 7-9 age group. So far he likes coaching but it does require a bit of patience for the toddler team. Some of them aren't sure how to play yet so Justin has his work cut out for him. Their first official game is next month and I can't wait to see how it goes.

This was pretty much Tommy's first time playing soccer. He likes kicking the ball around but has never actually practiced before. He did amazing, I am so proud. He's even better than I am at keeping the ball under control while he's running. I may have overdone the picture taking (over 200 photos! Yikes!) but I did get some really cute ones.

After practice we let Tristan hang out with the team but he was mostly interested in keeping all the balls next to him and getting mad whenever another kid would come by to take one. I have a feeling Tristan will be a soccer player too. :)

Enjoy the pictures!

Memory Book

2011-08-28T17:28:00.002+02:00

In the last couple months I've been really thinking about making a memory book of my sister Tiffany. She passed away almost a year ago, and it's still hard. I feel more at peace with her passing but I still miss her so much. That will probably never change.

Today I was watching tv and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came on. The part where Indiana falls into the car with the singer after he's been poisoned the little boy driving tells them to "hold onto your potatoes!" I remember Tiffany and I debated over what that line was over and over again. She insisted he said "Hold onto your patellas!" (The little piece of bone over your knees. lol!)

When I remember things like this, I've been writing them down. I'm trying to remember as much as possible so I can make a scrapbook of memories for her daughter Kristabelle. I'm going to make a lot of copies so anyone who wants one can have one. It's going to take some time, but I know how important it is. It will be worth it.

I've been trying to get as many family members and friends as possible to send me their memories but so far I've only had one friend show any interest in it. If you have any memories you want to add, please email them to me at: pixiestix8618@gmail.com. It really would mean so much to me.

This & That.

2011-08-16T15:09:00.004+02:00

BUSY month! It seems things are finally settling down. We finished moving a few weeks ago, but this seemed like the longest and hardest move we've made so far. (Which is saying something, because we've moved A LOT!) It's been stressful and more work than we bargained for. Justin got stuck pulling 24 hour duty TWICE during the moving week. So the big day to move he only had a few hours here and there and then had to go back to work. We got lucky and had some friends helping us out. But still, at this point I'm not moving again until we absolutely have to!

I haven't taken many pictures of our new house yet. I was going to take pictures last Sunday, but the entertainment center decided to fall apart and crash to the floor that morning. I had just gotten up and was in the kitchen making breakfast and heard a heart stopping CRASH! from the living room. I came out and Justin and I just stood there with our mouthes open in disbelief. Here is the before and after:

We really don't know what caused it to collapse. I'm just relieved the kids were upstairs and not in the living room. Nearly everything that was inside broke during the fall. We called our insurance company to see if it would be covered, but no such luck. We got everything cleaned up but I miss the entertainment center. It was only 6 months old and Justin and I really loved it. Justin said he could probably fix it, but I'm afraid of it collapsing again. So we're going to get a new one that doesn't hang on the wall like that.

Tommy starts soccer in a couple weeks. I am so excited for him, he is going to have a blast! The best part, Justin is coaching his team! I can't even tell you how excited I am to take pictures of his games! He is going to be unbelievably cute! I can't believe how big my baby is!

Tristan is quite the little adventurer. He looks for any and all opportunities to climb stuff. He amazes me with all the things he can do. He is so much fun and the boys love to play together. It is so sweet, I just love every minute of it. It still feels weird thinking about a 3rd boy joining in on the wrestling and rough housing!

I'm 34 weeks now and everything is going fine. I'm anxious and uncomfortable but I'm hanging in there. I can't wait to meet little Landon and to have my body my own again. Just thinking of sleeping on my stomach sounds like bliss. It's been a long 8.5 months!

Baby Updates!

2011-07-06T14:22:00.002+02:00

At 15 weeks, my doctor said the baby looked like a boy. He wasn't 100% sure since it was still early and he was using an older ultrasound, but he said we would find out for sure at 20 weeks. Well, at 20 weeks the baby was turned away and he couldn't check. So for the past 8 weeks we've been waiting for another ultrasound so we could know for sure. Today was that day! The doctor said it's 100% BOY!

It was also the day for the glucose test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. The test came out perfectly normal. My doctor is my favorite yet, he is just SO nice. I think it makes a big difference to like your doctor. Both of my other doctors have been really good, but my doctor now really spends time with me making sure I'm doing well and listening to all my questions. Between doctor visits I'm also seeing a midwife. She will be with me during delivery and come to my house after delivery to help with nursing and see how I'm doing. Medical care in Germany is just amazing.

The baby is measuring a week ahead, but my doctor isn't changing my due date. I am just grateful for 3 healthy pregnancies and 3 healthy (big!) baby boys. We can't wait to meet little Landon! The first part of the pregnancy went by so fast, but now it seems to be dragging a little bit. I'm trying to be patient but anyone who knows me understands how hard that is. lol!

Moving is going well. We get the keys to our new house next week and we're trying to paint before we move our things in. So for right now, we're trying to get everything packed and choose paint colors. I'm a little nervous about the stairs, since there are 3 sets of them. Being 7 months pregnant, I get winded going up just a few stairs so it will be hard to get used to.

Our sweet Tristan is walking! He still crawls if he wants to go somewhere far, but he'll take a good 10-15 steps! He looks so cute walking around. Tommy loves it too, he says Tristan is a big boy now. lol Tommy is talking SO much. He is just a chatterbox. He wants to know everything and is constantly asking us "why?" He's also become really shy. It reminds me of how I was when I was little. I was really shy too. If I stare at him he turns away and says "stop looking at me Mommy, go watch tv" He is hilarious. We're signing him up for soccer soon, and I can't wait for him to get started. He is going to be so cute on a soccer field!

Life is good but we miss all of you! We're trying to plan on a visit to AZ and UT in February. Hopefully that works out and we can see our families and introduce them to Landon!

We're Moving!

2011-06-30T10:20:00.002+02:00

Justin and I live off post and haven't ever really wanted to move onto the army base. We like living as a German family would because we think it really adds to the experience. Not many people can say they've lived in a foreign country, and we're going on three years!

But, with a new baby coming soon we really need a bigger place. German houses are really small usually and it's hard moving here. So we decided to see what was available on the army base, since they have bigger houses and apartments. Justin went in to talk to the housing people, and they said to come back later that day and they would have "something really nice" for us. So we went in later and they gave us the keys to our new house. We went to take a look and were amazed!

It's a 4 story, 4 bedroom and 3 bath house! Usually such a big house is reserved for higher ranking officers, but they have an overabundance of these houses available and so are letting specialists and sergeants move in. (Justin is a specialist)

We're so excited!! I'm not sure what we're going to do with all the room, but I'm sure we'll think of something! It even has a front and back yard. We move in just two weeks so we're kind of rushed, but I cannot wait to get into our new house. It will be so nice that all the kids will have their own room, I always worry that if the kids share a room they won't sleep and we'll be up all night. Glad I won't have to find out, at least not for now. :)

Pictures will be up soon once we're moved and settled in! Can't wait to show all of you!

Monkeys!

2011-06-27T09:55:00.004+02:00

Tommy is a ridiculously good climber. He climbs absolutely everything. At the park they have a "big kid" playground and Tommy loves it because they have big wooden walls with a rope hanging down that you can climb. He gets to the top in no time and is just fearless. He has yet to fall down, too!

Well recently, Tristan has been climbing too. It started with Tommy's bed, then the couch, then our bed, and now:

The entertainment center! This boy is a monkey! He was so proud of himself. I walked into the room to see this and he gave me a cute little giggle. The only problem is, now he can get to everything on shelves! Time to move them until he gets out of the "I want to touch and taste everything" stage.

And my new favorite picture of Tommy. I just simply adore his smile. This one was taken at a BBQ party for Justin's unit. They had a big jumpy obstacle course for the kids. Some of the older kids couldn't climb up it, but Tommy did it with no problems! Monkeys, the both of them. :)

Fugitives.

2011-06-05T17:11:00.004+02:00

Wanted: Two toddlers, last seen commandeering a blue semi. They are believed to be highly dangerous, as neither of them have a valid driver's license.

Upon further investigation, an unknown accomplice came out of the woodwork. He gave himself up with very little resistance.

However he claimed to not know the whereabouts of the toddlers in question.

More details will be released to the public as further knowledge about these fugitives are found.

Waiting, Wishing, Hoping...

2011-05-23T14:37:00.003+02:00

Waiting for:

September to come so we can have Landon and I can look forward to NEVER being pregnant again.

For August of next year so we can leave Germany and get out of the Army.

My hair to grow back out already. (I will never cut my hair again, lesson learned.)

To meet my soon to be stepmom finally!

Wishing for:

A maid/nanny.

Justin to have a big fat raise/bonus.

Unlimited chocolate without the calories.

Hoping for:

Landon to be a really good sleeper.

An easy upcoming move. (We're moving to a 4 bedroom HOUSE soon!)

A spacious backyard for Tommy.

... just one of those days.

The Sweet Escape

2011-05-08T09:48:00.004+02:00

When I was pregnant with Tommy I was due mid October. So I spent the last couple months of pregnancy during the summer. In ARIZONA! Those of you in good old AZ know that summertime is the WORST time to be pregnant. It's HOT!

At the time, we were house sitting for Justin's aunt and uncle. They had a big pool in their backyard and I lived in it. I remember it was the only time I was really comfortable. Being weightless while you're 7, 8, 9 months pregnant is quite priceless.

That was the summer that Gwen Stefani's song The Sweet Escape was all the rage. I would get in the pool and turn on the radio and the song would play about 10 times before I finally got out. (Seriously, I would stay in practically all day!)

This morning that song came on while I was doing my makeup. I had to stop for a minute and just listen. It brought me back to a time before I wasn't quite a mom yet. I remember being a little nervous, but confident that I would be a good mom. But I wasn't quite prepared for the changes motherhood brought. I think being prepared for parenthood is impossible.

The first time you see your baby is just indescribable. To say you love them just doesn't seem enough. You love and adore absolutely everything. Head to toe, your baby is perfection. As time goes on, that love only gets stronger. I think if I had been able to comprehend that before having Tommy I think I would have been scared.

You know they will experience all the joys and sorrows of life. You can't block them from the sorrows. You can only be there for them through it. You know that when life doesn't go their way they will hurt, but the hurt you feel for them will be even greater. What happens when your heart is no longer inside you, but in every one of your kids? Sometimes it can feel very vulnerable. It's scary, loving someone that much. Knowing if anything happened to one of them, your heart would break in a million pieces.

It wasn't until I became a mother, that I could truly appreciate all that my parents did for me. You love your parents, brothers, sisters. You love your husband more than you think you can love anyone else. But nothing compares to how much you love your babies. They will always come first. Knowing my parents love me that much, makes me see them completely differently.

When we decided to have another baby, I wondered how I could possibly have enough love for two kids. I loved Tommy so much, I just didn't think it was possible to love another baby as much. A person can go crazy loving so many people that much! lol But sure enough, seeing Tristan for the first time and having him lay in my arms was just breathtaking. Just as special to me as when I held Tommy for the first time.

Having two brings on a whole new set of joys and challenges. When they wrestle and play together, I don't think I've ever felt so happy. Knowing Justin and I gave them that gift, to have a brother, is just incredible. It's surreal, to think we made them. But then when they fight, or Tommy doesn't want to share his toys, I see they won't always get along. They may never fully appreciate Justin and I or each other until they become parents themselves.

But isn't that what being a parent is all about? Patience, firstly. Knowing they will make mistakes (probably the same mistakes we did as kids and teenagers), and you have to let them. You can't tell them you know best, and expect them to not see for themselves. Ultimately, you have to let your kids make their own choices. Unfortunately, you can't lock them up forever and protect them from everything. (Though sometimes you wonder, why isn't that an option?!?)

Being a parent is the best and hardest thing you'll ever do. You'll make more sacrifices than you thought you could, put your needs aside each and every day. But somehow, just one little smile or "I love you" from your baby, makes it all worth it and more.

I want to say to my mom, I appreciate the sacrifices you made for me. I'm so very thankful for all the brothers and sisters you gave me. For spending a fortune on my braces even though I hated them. (My dad deserves credit for that too. lol) For watching me make mistakes and not locking me up in a box like you probably wanted to. For trusting me to marry who I knew was right for me. For crying when you read my Mother's Day cards. I love you.

And to my two rambunctious boys, I will always love you. I promise to always do the best I can, no matter what. I promise not to lock you up in a box when I'm afraid of the decisions you might make. You mean the world to me. You are my Sweet Escape.

TGIF!

2011-05-06T13:54:00.005+02:00

Justin got off work early today, and he brought home strawberries to plant on our balcony! Friday doesn't get any better than that!

It's gotten so sunny over here, Tristan's eyes haven't quite adjusted. lol! Poor baby!

Justin and I always joke that Tommy is a vampire, he's always closing all the window shades and telling me the sun is hurting his skin. So of course, he spent his lunch under the chair umbrella. :)

Tristan was going for those pliers and I said "No, Tristan!" and he turned and gave me this look. I imagined him thinking "Are you REALLY telling ME no?!?"

Justin planting and fertilizing our strawberries! Can you grow strawberries in a planter box? We shall find out!

Lovin' my boys!

The Tour de Cute

2011-04-14T08:57:00.002+02:00

Look at that face! I found this outfit for Tristan yesterday and couldn't wait to see him in it! He is so unbelievably cute! He's been quite the active boy the past few weeks. He's so curious about EVERYTHING. He must touch and taste everything he comes in contact with. He also loves babbling and saying "mama" and "dada". His favorite thing is most definitely playing with Tommy. I find them playing in Tommy's room all the time. And to think, soon there will be another boy to help destroy Tommy's room!

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and my doctor (who is awesome and I love!!) said right away "it's a boy!" I've found a few reasons to be happy about this.

1. I would make an excellent queen, because I can make plenty of heirs.

2. I'll always have someone around to help me open stubborn jars in the kitchen.

3. Moving will be a cinch.

4. I'll have plenty of men in the house to protect me. :)

5. The boys will never be lonely or left without anyone to wrestle/rough house with.

6. All I need to entertain my kids is a yard with dirt.

7. I'll never have to buy makeup/hair stuff, etc. for my kids.

8. No one will ever steal my clothes to wear.

9. There's a lot less mood swings at my house.

10. I'll never have to tell my kids to stay away from boys because they're only trouble.

11. Everyone knows boys always love their mommy's best. :) (Sorry Justin. haha)

Plus, look how cute our boys are!

BFF!

2011-04-07T08:45:00.005+02:00

(Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen!)

Tommy and his friend Cameron are inseparable. If they're not together, they're asking about each other. It's so cute. They've recently discovered the joy of wrestling, much to our dismay. They grab the other in a hug and then wrestle each other to the floor. I'll have to get a video of it so you can all see it. Tommy sometimes calls me Cameron by accident, that's how much time these two spend together. lol!

The weather here has been amaaaazing! We froze to death while you Arizonans flaunted your flip flops and shorts. But the tables have turned! You will all be sweating and we'll be enjoying the lovely 75 degree breeze! :P (But, I'll be honest, I still wish we were in AZ!)

Pajama Day!

2011-03-29T17:55:00.004+02:00

The kids and I decided to stay in our pajamas today. (Which happens more often than I like to admit.) Tommy thought it was funny when I gave him a bath and then put him in pajamas, he thought he was going back to bed. haha

So we played piano together, read some books, made banana pudding, and snacked in bed. When Justin got home from work, he got in his pajamas to join us. I don't think we've ever felt so lazy... and I love it! Here are some pictures from the day. The boys are just too cute!

Lets hear it for the boys!

2011-03-25T13:57:00.005+01:00

Tommy, trying to be serious.

Sweet Tristan, standing by himself!

Bonjour!

2011-03-21T07:07:00.015+01:00

Justin and I spent our 5 year anniversary in France! We originally planned for Paris, but decided to go to a city closer to us, to cut down on time and cost. We're waiting to go to Paris for when we have a whole week to spend there and less of a tight budget. Traveling in Europe is really expensive! (But worth it!)

So we went to Strasbourg. It's a city that is right on the border of Germany, but couldn't be more different than Germany. It was funny, right when we crossed the border I suddenly felt different. The buildings look similar, but they have romantic little details that you don't see in Germany much.

(Our first picture of France!)

I always notice tiny details about things, like in France a lot of people put porcelain dolls in their window. In Germany they like to put stick on flowers all over the windows. It's really cute. I think Americans should decorate their windows more.

We crossed into France on Friday. We got to our hotel early enough to settle in and then go out to explore some. I'm sad to say we didn't get many pictures on our first day. I was so excited I forgot all about bringing our camera. But we did get pictures of our first dinner. Justin kept asking me "well, what do you want to eat?" and I would say "Something French! .... What do they eat??" lol

The answer: LOTS of bread, cheese, vegetables and pastries. So our first night we had bread with melty goat cheese, herbs, and honey with a mystery white sauce. I don't know what it was, but it was good! I know that combination definitely doesn't sound good, but it was. I was surprised. Justin ordered fries (they call them chips, like the English do. lol) Poor Justin is lactose intolerant and couldn't eat a lot of the French food because there's always cheese on it.

I was really impressed with Justin's French. After a day there a lot of his French came back to him and he was a pro. I might add, it's weird hearing your husband of 5 years speak another language you can't understand. He started speaking and I wanted to ask "who are you?!?" lol He hasn't used his French in so long I forgot how much he knew. It was nice having him be able to communicate with everyone. Europeans really appreciate visitors who speak their language.

We stayed at Le Grande Hotel. It was actually really nice! They had huge pictures of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. lol I didn't get any pictures of our room, but it was tiny. But it had everything we needed and we weren't there very much anyway. They had a breakfast buffet every morning. I had to laugh at their "scrambled eggs". It was more like slightly cooked runny eggs. The French like their eggs "rare". Note to self: French food in France, excellent. American food in France, BAD.

(The breakfast room.)

The second day we got up early. We made our way to the Place de la Cathedrale. Justin got us a bit lost on the tram, and we ended up on the wrong side of Strasbourg. lol But we made it. It's one of the most important monuments dating from the Middle Ages. It's 466 ft. spire was completed in 1439. We actually had to wait around for an hour and a half for the presentation of the Astronomical Clock to start. The clock was inside of the cathedral, and it was breathtaking. It is HUGE. They showed a video of it's history, etc. and then the clock actually moved at noon. It was built by a mathematician and is still a mystery to this day. It shows the position of the planets to keep the time. It's all hand crafted and probably took over a 50 years to build at the time. We didn't get to see everything it could do, because the clock only moves at certain times per day. We saw the 12 apostles move around the clock, each stopping for a split second to be blessed by Jesus as they pass.

(Justin, navigating our way to the cathedral... unsuccessfully.)

(Waiting for the tram.)

(Unbelievably tall! It was the highest point in France for a long time. We felt like tiny ants in comparison.)

(Stained glass windows literally everywhere inside.)

(The organ, it started playing spontaneously and scared us to death. It was creepy sounding, very Phantom of the Opera.)

(The Astronomical Clock.)

(The Angel of Death.)

After the cathedral, we stopped for lunch. We just grabbed street food (which is what most French do, restaurants don't even open until later at night.) We got pizza, and it was so good! I even liked the tomatoes, which anyone who knows me will think that's a miracle. I haven't liked tomatoes EVER. The French know their Italian food!

Justin and I got a caricature of us, but it looks NOTHING like us. So I'm not even going to bother posting it. After lunch, we took a boat tour of the city on the river Ill. It was really cool. We learned the city has a pretty dark past. Lets just say I wouldn't have wanted to live here in the 1800s! One of the houses was known for being the house criminals had their last meal in before being beheaded, and they had another building that was a prison, but is now a butchery. Go figure. lol Then they had a famous bridge known for being the bridge they drowned unfaithful women from. Creepy! But they did have some pleasant things, like a huge tree musicians used to sit in and play their instruments to practice. And they have a huge theater where Mozart gave many concerts.

(My cute Justin.)

(The bridge they would drown unfaithful women from.)

After the boat tour, we were pretty beat. We walked so much. Being pregnant, I can't walk all day like I used to. So we spent the end of our second day in our hotel watching french tvand eating pastries we picked up on our way home. I have to add, I felt very unfashionable here. It's no myth that France has the best fashion. All the women look like models, I'm not even kidding. I ended up wearing Justin's big jacket because I didn't bring one warm enough. (It's spring, dangit! I don't want to dress for winter anymore!) I felt very out of place. And if you're going to buy clothes in France, you better be rich. I don't think I saw anything under 100 euro. (which is about 120 US dollars. Ouch.)

On our 3rd day, we mostly just walked around to look at shops. We stocked up on French soda (which is actually really, really good) and more pastries (we're both going to be fat at this rate. lol) and headed back home. It's only a 3.5 hour drive. Not bad to visit another country. It was so much fun, but we're happy to be home. We had a babysitter for the boys and I missed them SO much. I can't wait until they're older so we can take them on long trips with us.

(A band performing downtown, they sounded really cool!)

Definitely going to visit France again before we leave Germany. If you can visit any country in Europe, I definitely recommend France. It is just breathtakingly beautiful.

(Our boat tour, passing through Petit France.)

5 years of love letters.

2011-03-11T19:51:00.004+01:00

Justin and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary in a week. I can't believe it's been 5 years! It's hard to believe all the changes we've had since then. If anyone would have told me what my life would be like now, I wouldn't have believed them. We've lived in so many different places, experienced so many new things, met wonderful people, and had two beautiful kids {with one on the way!} and we live in GERMANY.

When I was in high school I thought about what my married life would be like, but I didn't really understand what all of it meant. I couldn't really grasp what it would be like to be married, have bills, kids, adult obligations, etc. I don't think my teenage brain could get past high school. After high school would just never happen, I thought it would last forever. Or I at least thought after high school there would be college and my life would stay the same.

Marrying Justin was a dream. Before him I never had a serious boyfriend and had only kissed one or two other boys. {Don't be jealous Justin, you were the best!} I used to tell my mom that I would never find the one for me, and I would cry. She always told me that I would meet him, and that he would be perfect for me. I can honestly say I didn't believe it. But she was right! {See Tommy, Mommies always know best!}

When I was a freshmen in high school, Justin really caught my eye. He lived down the street from me, and sometimes we would walk to school at the same time. I remember seeing his gleaming blond hair shining in the sun with his button up Hawaiian shirt {that I promptly threw out shortly after we were married-- awful thing!} and I remember walking faster hoping to catch up to him so he would notice me.

We met "officially" when I was a sophmore. We were both taking dance in school and we were performing in a dance concert for the school. My friend knew him and introduced us to each other {he doesn't remember this... there's a man for you!} and he said hi to me and I wanted to faint with glee. Shortly after that, I accidentally met his brother Jason. {Hi Jason!!} Jason and I actually became very good friends, but I didn't see Justin much. He had two jobs and he was never home when I would visit Jason.

When I was a senior, I was talking with Jason and asked him about Justin. I knew he was on a mission in France and Jason said I should write to him. I didn't think I would, but wrote down his mission address anyway. I was embarrassed because I didn't think Justin would remember me. My mom said I should write him, because what could it hurt? So I did.

2 weeks later, I had forgotten my letter to him {thinking he probably wouldn't write back} when my mom brought this letter to me. I was at my dad's office doing paperwork for him on a Saturday. I hope you can read the letter, it is really cute!

After reading the letter, oh, a million times, I wrote back. After that I would check the mailbox daily, waiting for his replies. Our mailbox was kind of far from our house, we lived in the middle of Queen Creek, population 5 at the time {Justin still makes fun of this fun little fact, and calls it "Little Mexico" since there was a strip of mexican stores by my house.} So I would run there, and then walk back really slow because I had already ripped open his letter and started reading.

When he got back from his mission, he asked me to my prom. It was our first real date, though we met up a few times and I helped him shop for clothes and met some of his friends. It really was a dream come true. I had been asked to the prom before I knew he was back from his mission, but I said no. I wasn't sure why I said no, because I knew I wanted to go. I was so shy, it was ridiculous. I couldn't speak right around him, couldn't be myself for a really long time. He was patient.

I wrote him this letter a few days before our wedding.

We knew we wanted kids shortly after we were married. About a year after we were married, we were expecting Tommy. After we found out, Justin lost his job. He went from job to job for months, nothing was working out. We thought about the army, and decided to go for it. It was the hardest decision we've ever made. We knew Justin would miss Tommy's birth. Those 9 weeks seemed like 9 years.

And just like before, I checked my mailbox everyday hoping for his letters.

Isn't he sweet? I'm lucky.

I love you Justin. Happy Anniversary! I love our love story. ♥

Peanut butter smiles.

2011-03-03T08:50:00.007+01:00

I think I was a sunflower in another life. I love the sun SO MUCH. Living in Germany for the winter is really hard for me, and sometimes I get really down when I haven't seen the sun for a few days. Afterall, I'm an Arizona girl. :)

The past 2 weeks have been wonderful. The sun has been shining (it's still cold, but I'll take what I can get!) everyday and it is just beautiful. There's nothing I love more (besides my kids, and Justin, and maybe chocolate) more than I love the sun on my skin.

So I went to the park the other day because I couldn't resist the sunshine. It's been months since it's been nice enough to take the kids to the park, so Tommy and Tristan were both excited. I put Tristan in his stroller for a walk and he was kicking his legs the whole way. The boys live to be outside. I can't wait for them to get a bit older so we can go camping. (I hate camping, but I'll make the sacrifice. lol)

I apologize these pictures aren't the best, they were taken with Justin's iPhone. lol

I have to brag, the parks here on the military post are awesome. They are SO nice. I would have died and gone to heaven to have the stuff here when I was a kid! And they are usually made from recycled materials like tires. The stairway up to this huge slide are all tires, it's pretty cool.

My favorite little naughty boy. :)

Tommy is so cuddly in his sweater!

Tristan looks so serious. By this time he was tired.

So he took a nap. :)

Tommy wanted to share his sandwich. When he sits next to me he puts his arm around me, I love my little gentleman!

Nothing like a peanut butter smile.

I had to bribe Tommy with a promise of chocolate ice cream to get him to leave the park. Don't worry, I delivered on that promise. And I resisted the urge to have some! See what the sun does for me? Amazing!

♥

Brittney

Be Mine ♥

2011-02-14T09:12:00.012+01:00

I've heard so many people say how much they don't like Valentine's day, even if they aren't single. I just don't understand it! I love having an extra day to celebrate how much I love Justin. :) Plus, there's usually chocolate involved. Yummy!

This year we planned to go to a hot springs spa, but due to the snow they were closed. I wasn't going to let that spoil the day for us. So, we went to one of our favorite restaurants instead. It's the only American restaurant here that I know of (McDonalds and Burger King don't count.) It's called Play Off and it's actually really, really good.

Chips, curly fries, mozzarella sticks, chicken wings, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, and chicken and pineapple kabobs. Mmm Hmm!

Justin got me jelly bellies!

We had a babysitter for the boys, but since it's been so long since we left them with anyone, it was really hard. I cried like a baby when we drove away. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or what, but I missed my babies!

After lunch, we went shopping downtown for a few hours. The snow had let up and mostly melted, so it was nice being outside. We picked out our own V-day gifts. Well, Justin wanted to buy a new Fossil wallet but kept putting it down because he couldn't justify spending so much money on a wallet. I had to talk him into it. If it's not a video game, Justin thinks it's frivolous. I really don't understand the male brain!

And I got this little beauty:

love, love, love, LOVE!

After shopping, we went home and had strawberries with sparkling cider. We watched our newest obsession, The Mentalist. We just caught ourselves up to date and now have to wait for each episode to air. We also did a face mask, to make up for our spa plans. We found out Justin is allergic to mimosa. He quickly had to take it off and then unsuccessfully cooled his skin outside. His face was red for an hour afterwards, poor thing!

I still had mine on, you can see Justin's face is all red!

That's whipped cream over there off to the side. I saved myself some guilt by using the fat free kind. The strawberries came in a heart shaped box, it was so cute!

I love you Justin. I'm so happy I get to spend my life with you. I couldn't have chosen anyone more perfect. You are my everything. Thank you for all that you do for me.

xoxo,

Brittney

Tristan learned to kiss!!

2011-02-04T19:33:00.003+01:00

Help Us Decide!

2011-02-04T09:50:00.003+01:00

Justin and I got quite the surprise a couple weeks ago. I was feeling sick and a few days late, so I decided to be on the safe side and buy a pregnancy test. Justin and I laughed on the way home from the store "There's no way you're pregnant! Can you imagine how crazy that would be?" (We both laugh) "Yeah, I know I'm not but better be sure!"

Imagine our shock, before I even put the test down it said positive. We both blinked probably about a billion times, waiting for the test to change to negative. I've never been in such shock. We were set on thinking we were done, two boys was it for us. God had other plans.

I am so glad He did. After the first few days, I've definitely gotten used to the idea. I've hardly been sick at all, I don't even feel pregnant most of the time. That's something new, I was deathly ill with both of my other pregnancies. That's why I'm convinced we're having a girl. :)

Those of you who know me really well would agree it would be a tragedy if I didn't have a daughter eventually. I'm as girly as they come. My dream is to dress my baby girl up in tutus and bows. I buy baby girl stuff for all my friends. Which bring me to the point of this post.

BABY NAMES!! I need help!

What do you like best?

1. Sienna Rose

2. Cora

3. Jemma

4. Anabelle

5. Rosie

6. Ella

7. Jasmyn

Justin and I both agree on all these names. I know it's a bit early to be thinking about names (and we could be having a boy and this could be a waste of time. lol) But I just can't help myself. What is your favorite? You can also add to the list. We're looking for something very feminine and not overused.

By the way I'm almost 7 weeks and I'm due September 26th. :)

Stir Craaaazy!

2011-02-02T08:04:00.002+01:00

Things I need right now:

1. To be over this awful cold

2. For the snow to STOP!!

3. Justin to get off work early

4. Gym time with my best friend!

5. To see the sun

6. A big fat tax return

7. A giant brownie, with ice cream... and a cherry on top.

8. A babysitter.

A girl can dream, right? :)

Learn About Us: Tommy Edition!

2011-01-28T15:56:00.009+01:00

Tommy's Favorite Things:

#1: Books. He adores gathering all of his books and dumping them on my lap, then happily exclaims "Let's read Mommy!"

He is so cute.

So, we read. To go through each of his books, it takes us close to an hour. Each day we read a new chapter of one of the longer reads, like Mary Poppins or The Wind in the Willows. He can't get enough of it. We also go through an English to German translation book, so he has learned a lot of German words.

#2: Pirate stuff. He got this pirate ship for Christmas, and now I often find him in his room looking for treasure with his ship. We're actually going to start watching Pirates of the Caribbean, because I know he will love it.

#3: Cats! As most of you know, Tommy fancies himself a cat. I've started calling him TomKat.

#4: Playing with Tristan. He loves pushing him around in his trucks. And as you can see, Tristan loves it too. They are so cute together!

#5: Watching movies. Tommy owns more movies than Justin and I. He knows how to work the TV and DVD player by himself, so sometimes he'll go in his room and watch a movie, and I won't realize until I wonder why it's so quiet.

He has two chairs in his room so his friends can come over and watch with him. That's definitely one of Tommy's favorite things to do.

#6: Get his picture taken. He is the best model, he lets me tell him what to do for pictures and then he can't wait to see how they turn out. He's a pro. Haha :) I followed him around today with the camera trying to capture his favorite things, he didn't mind!

I love everything about you, Tommy! ♥

The Bright Side

2011-01-19T18:10:00.012+01:00

Justin got a message back from the head of orders personnel. We're staying in Germany. Justin is deploying in December. We won't get to the states until August 2012.

WAH!! :(

Tommy will now demonstrate my reaction to this news:

First, shock.

Because, honestly, I wasn't expecting this.

Then, disbelief.

Third, sadness.

Then I pouted a little bit.

After all of those emotions, we chose to look on the bright side.

First, Justin will be sent to Iraq. This is infinitely better than Afghanistan. Iraq is mostly peaceful right now, so Justin will be safe. Also, they have excellent internet there, so I'll be able to skype with Justin often. Thirdly, Justin is being sent to a resort type of base, so he'll have swimming pools, good food, etc. He probably won't really feel like he's deployed, except for the fact I won't be there. :( Another perk, Justin will make a lot more money while deployed and we'll be buying a house as soon as we get back to the states.

The best news of all? He'll only be deployed for 9 months instead of 12 or 18!

We also need to appreciate that instead of leaving Germany in August, and suffering another move (SO not fun moving from one country to another!) and then only staying for one year at another duty station before his enlistment is up (and then suffering ANOTHER move), we'll get to leave Germany AND THE ARMY at the same time. That is pretty convenient I must admit.

So what are my plans this go around? Last deployment I went back to AZ for most of it, and spent the last 3 months in Germany. I'm staying here this time. I just can't make the trip with two kids. So I've actually applied for a job as a field representative for a higher education learning program. Something to keep me busy while Justin is gone, get me out of the house everyday. I'm going to learn German if it kills me. I'll be really sad to say I've spent 4 years in Germany and don't even know the language. And thirdly, I'm going to practice my cooking skillz (especially German recipes) and impress Justin with them when he gets back. :)

If anyone wants to come and visit, please please please PLEASE DO! I have very good friends here to keep me company but I miss all of you in AZ and UT!

Love,

A Despaired Army Wife.

I've earned that title for at least two days! Haha :)

Fixing Photos

2011-01-15T16:20:00.004+01:00

Thought I'd share this, I was so excited. I was going through old pictures and found this one of Tommy. The sun was shining brightly and the picture was taken with a bad camera, so they came out too bright. My photo editor fixed it!

Before:

After:

You really don't need the best camera for good looking pictures.

Haircuts, Shopping & Photography!

2011-01-15T14:53:00.010+01:00

Justin and I are redecorating our house! Yesterday we went out and looked at tons of furniture, trying to get an idea of what we want. We spent about 3 hours browsing around, what do you think?

This is the first entertainment center. This is the style in Europe. Justin really likes it, I'm not sure about it. It's just so low to the floor, I think the kids will try to touch the tv. Plus we have our tv mounted on the wall, and we would have to take it down.

This one is my favorite. We could keep our tv mounted, and the tv pictured here looks a lot like ours, so I think it would go well. I love the lights, it looks cool!

This is the bed we decided on. I love it!!! We're going to put the shelf and lights above the bed, just like it is here. Perfect for reading at night. We've never really given much thought to the furniture we buy, so I'm excited to finally start buying furniture that we love. We want to get all of it before we go back to the states, because they don't sell this style in the US. The bed is low to the ground, which is the style here. I think it's really cute.

Also, Tristan got his first haircut today! His hair got really really long, I can't believe our 7 month old needed a haircut! I think Tommy was at least 9 months before he needed one. Tristan did pretty well. He wanted to inspect the stranger touching him, but he didn't wiggle too much. While we were waiting to get his haircut, he loved staring at all the other people there. He got quite a lot of attention, even from "tough" army guys who don't like babies. :) He is just irresistible.

All finished! Isn't it cute!

I'm still having a blast playing with my camera. It's the best gift Justin has ever given me. I'm learning how to edit and all the different settings my camera has. It was really tedious at first but now that I have the hang of it, it's fun.

Silly Tommy.

♥ Love, The Brookes

Everyday is an Adventure!

2011-01-05T15:26:00.007+01:00

Tristan is trying out his new taste buds, and so far so good. He's getting used to carrots, which was Tommy's first taste of baby food. Tommy LOVED it, Tristan not so much. It took a couple days before Tristan would open his mouth and swallow them. This was taken on day #2. He's much more open to the idea and even gave me a smile after a successful mouthful.

(Yummy!)

This is his first try of the carrots. He wasn't too thrilled, as you can see.

Most of it got on his bib...

This is what a typical morning looks like, Tommy and Tristan hanging out on the couch, Tommy entertaining Tristan with one of his old baby toys. Two peas in a pod, these two.

Adventure: Baby food, success! What will tomorrow bring? We'll see!

What 2011 means to us...

2010-12-23T17:47:00.008+01:00

Justin and I are in for some BIG changes this next coming year. I was just thinking about it and thought we should share our plans with our families.

We leave Germany August 2011!! We are SO excited to be living in the states again. We have enjoyed our experience living here, but we're ready to be home again. (Hello, Wal Mart, we MISSED YOU!!)

There is no 100% guaranteeing where we'll be sent next. Until Justin gets his official orders in May or June, it's up in the air. BUT, Justin has put in for Ft. Carson, Colorado. We are 99% sure that's where we'll be stationed next. It's closer to family, and we have heard some good things about the Ft. Carson.

Even though we're excited to be leaving, I feel a bit sad too. Germany has been our home for almost 3 years and it will be weird not to be here anymore. I'll miss so much about it. It's just so beautiful here. There is still so much I want to see before we leave. Justin and I haven't told many people, but we are planning a HUGE vacation. We'll be traveling through France, Spain, and Italy on our way out of Germany. When our time in Germany is up, Justin will have 30 days of leave and that is when we plan to travel everywhere. One of the big things I'm looking forward to is Disneyland Paris! After 4 years of being in the army, I feel we deserve this trip.

We will be in Colorado for one year, after that Justin's enlistment will be up. We talked a little about re-enlistment, but in the end decided against it. We're ready to move onto something else. Being in the military has been wonderful and has come with so many blessings. We would not be where we are now financially without it. We've survived boot camp, AIT, and a deployment, and I am proud to say so. We have been through so much as a family and it has really strengthened us and given us important life lessons. Though it was hard, we wouldn't change it for the world.

6 months before Justin's enlistment is over, we plan to have a job lined up for Justin. There is a good possibility we end up back in Arizona. We have high hopes we'll have a few options to choose from. With Justin's extensive training in the army, we have many doors open to think about.

We want to thank all of you, our family and friends, for being there for us through our time in Germany. Even though we're an ocean away, I've always felt you were all still there for us. Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Can't wait for 2011!

♥

The Brooke's :)

Twins?

2010-12-17T13:37:00.003+01:00

I swear it could be the same baby!

The Many Faces of Tristan

2010-12-17T13:02:00.004+01:00

Happy

Mad

Silly

Curious

Serious

Photography

2010-12-17T11:24:00.002+01:00

As an early Christmas present, Justin got me a nice camera. He gave it to me early because 1. He couldn't wait to see my face when I opened it and 2. So I could use it for our upcoming trip to Garmisch. (which was really fun and I still need to post about it!)

So I've been using photo editing and really trying to get better at photography. It's always interested me but hadn't done much of it. Being a scrapbooker, being able to take my own pictures has been awesome. The only downside? My house has been neglected because I'm on te computer editing instead of cleaning. :)

Here are some of the photos I've worked on. What do you think?

I know this one is hard to see on blogger, but it says "Boys are meant for Kisses".

Christmas Cards & Thankfulness.

2010-11-22T17:04:00.009+01:00

I'm usually the rushed Christmas shopper, flying through the store a few days before Christmas trying to get the perfect gift that I should have gotten weeks ago, the one dropping off Christmas cards at the post office knowing full well with as late as I'm sending them, they'll get there a week AFTER Christmas.

Well.... not this year!! I've started early! We have our Christmas shopping done, and I just finished making Christmas cards. All I have left to do is develop our family Christmas picture and find envelopes to fit my homemade cards. A (very good :) friend of mine brought up a good point, getting the shopping and card sending done early lets you enjoy the Christmas season more. Instead of worrying over gifts, I can focus on baking! Truer words were never spoken.

I know I shouldn't be skipping right over Thanksgiving, but I've caught the Christmas bug this year. I've been listening to Christmas music, hardly giving a thought to the-day-of-turkey-eating. But I have been thinking about why I'm thankful. It's hard not to this time of year. Christmas gives me a happy warm feeling. It truly feels like the earth is celebrating the birth of Jesus with us, it's always a beautiful day.

This year we lost someone very special to us. My sweet sister is missed so much, especially this time of year. She loved Christmas, and I know she will still be with us this year. So first and foremost, I'm thankful for the time I've spent with Tiffany and the memories I have of her.

I'm also thankful for this guy:

He loves me at my worst and adores me at my best. I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you honey! ♥ (you can all throw up now... haha!)

Observe the picture above. Tommy is coloring, and getting it all over the coffee table. And you know what? I don't care. I grew up in a house where we didn't use the dining room table because it was too nice. All it taught me was to actually use the stuff I buy. Life is too short, I'm not going to waste energy trying to make my furniture last a million years, I'm going to look at Tommy's scribble marks on my table and think of how much I love him.

Yeah, I guess I'm thankful for this other little guy. :) I'm so excited for his first Christmas!! Every year we each choose a new ornament from a nice Christmas store downtown, and this year there will be one more to choose. That makes me so, so happy.

I'm thankful for the time I have to cuddle with my boys on the couch when it's raining and cold outside.

Merry Christmas. Count your blessings.

Hello, sunshine!

2010-10-09T22:30:00.004+02:00

We've had a few BEAUTIFUL days here in Germany. The sun is shining, accompanied by cool breezes. It's just absolutely beautiful. Leaves are falling and turning all sorts of colors. The cherry on top is that Justin has had a few days off work. We've been outside for two days, just enjoying it. Germany has really long, cold, and dark winters. We know these are the last few days the sun will be shining, so it's bittersweet.

Look. At. That. Face! Tommy is just the cutest thing ever, period.

Tommy isn't always generous with his kisses, so this is a momentum event. We were having lunch at a downtown cafe. It was just laid back and relaxing. Everyone is out enjoying the weather.

After we went shopping downtown, we went to a company BBQ. Soldiers are leaving Germany and it was a farewell party. One of them is Justin's good friend, I think he's going to miss him. Justin looks for any opportunity to "wear" Tristan. :)

Tristan adores being in the baby backpack. He doesn't fuss at all in it, even if he's tired. Must remind him of the pregnancy?

Tommy got a much needed haircut. Justin always hovers around making sure the stylist doesn't cut Tommy's hair the wrong way. Here is Justin telling her how it's done. haha

Beautiful weekend, beautiful life! Life is so very sweet.

Here is a video of Tommy. He was at the salon while I was getting a hair cut. He was yelling GO! at all of the people crossing the street. You can see a little bit of downtown in this video, it's really pretty. Enjoy!

The Terrifying Threes

2010-10-02T21:41:00.005+02:00

Tommy is THREE! He had a fun birthday party, despite the wind and rain. Justin and I got up bright and early to make his birthday cupcakes. It was nice to be up before the kids and spend some time together, talk about when Tommy was a baby, his first word, his first step... where does the time go? Time is just so precious.

Tommy had a rough start to his day. When Justin and I heard him stirring in his bed, we grabbed the camera and came in to sing him happy birthday. He wasn't thrilled about waking up with a camera in his face. He cheered up when he saw the cupcakes, and he had a blast at his party. We didn't get a lot of pictures, but we got a lot of video. We're going to be uploading them within the next few days, so look out for them on facebook. He was so darn cute in his turtle costume, that he picked out himself. He charmed the lady at the costume store enough that she was throwing tons of free party stuff in the bag after we checked out. Tommy the charmer. :)

Justin dressed up as a Roman god, I was princess peach, and Tristan was a puppy. It was so much fun! I can't wait for next year, since we will be in the states. It will mean a lot to us for family to be at future birthday parties.

After we got home, Tommy was in toy heaven. He got a lot of cool toys that I think will keep him busy for a long time. Here are some pictures from the party!

Baby Smiles & Party Planning

2010-09-26T12:27:00.004+02:00

Tristan has been growing so fast! One of my friends has a baby who is 5 months old, and Tristan is the exact same size! Tristan is 3 months old now. Time is buzzing by so fast.

Look at that little face! He just steals my heart!

I'm planning Tommy's birthday party and decided on the theme "Born to Be Wild". It's very fitting, very Tommy. His decorations will be wild animals. I'm hoping most of the attendees will wear their Halloween costumes. I made his invitations the other day, and I'm happy with how they turned out. We're all so excited for his party, it's going to be so much fun. He's turning 3!! How did that happen?

Tommy is so much fun these days. He's constantly talking, and everything that comes out of his mouth is certifiably hilarious. I've actually started writing down the things he says, because I never want to forget any of it.

And, another picture of Tristan to show how big he is. He isn't really chubby anymore, just built big. He's my big healthy boy! He has the sweetest disposition. All it takes for him to smile is to hear you talking to him, or if you play with his feet or cheeks. He's a dream, and I'm crazy for this boy.

♥ ,

Brittney

Mmmm!

2010-08-21T20:53:00.006+02:00

Justin and I tried our hand at making classic German recipes tonight, and it actually turned out! We were feeling proud of ourselves and wanted to share the pictures with you. Okay, we wanted to brag!

Cucumber salad is really easy. I used pre-made dressing.

Tommy just wanted lemonade. What a ham.

Pork shoulder roast

These are the BEST! German potato dumplings. Yum. They're sticky and salty and they always served with thin gravy.

A friend of mine is coming over next week to teach me more recipes, I'm so excited. When I visit AZ make sure to ask me to make the potato dumplings for you, they're incredible!

Our Wedding Scrapbook

2010-08-13T12:00:00.003+02:00

Here is our wedding scrapbook I've been working on. It isn't my main wedding scrapbook, this was just for pictures I'm not using in my main scrapbook. I didn't want to just stick them in a photo album, so I quickly made this small scrapbook. The camera didn't do a very good job, the pictures don't look as clear as I would like them to be. You can mouse over each picture and see the captions of what is said on each page. Still, it was fun to make and I'm happy with it. Enjoy!

Tommy's First Love

2010-07-30T23:02:00.006+02:00

Justin had a company BBQ today, all soldiers and their families come and it's usually a lot of fun. They have fun games for the kids, music and of course BBQ. It's a chance for everyone to get to know the people they work with and to meet the new families coming in from the states. Tommy fell in love with our friend's daughter. It was so cute, he followed her around like a lost puppy. He held hands with her and tried to get her to dance when they started the music. It was literally the cutest thing I've ever seen. Her name is Autumn. She was so sweet and took care of him the whole time we were there.

How cute is this?!?!

Justin demonstrating one of the kid's games. You throw the hands and feet into the sharks mouth. I didn't think it was very appropriate for kids but they seemed to like it.

After the BBQ we went to see Inception and bravely took both boys with us. Tommy ate his weight in popcorn and then promptly fell asleep. Tristan was up most of the time but he just wanted to be held, which was fine with me. It was freezing in the theater and he kept me warm. Now I know why I was so hot during my pregnancy, Tristan is a little human heater! This just goes to show that Tommy can literally fall asleep anywhere, and in every position.

We all had a lot of fun today.

Things I've learned this month...

2010-07-29T12:40:00.027+02:00

That a messy home is sometimes the happiest home.

Getting your kids to sleep at the same time is an art.

It feels good to rid your life of bad friends.

It's possible to miss someone you've never met before.

(My sister's baby)

If you start watching a tv series, be prepared to get addicted.

Having a baby will undoubtably make you want another one, no matter how miserable your pregnancy was.

(The look on my face here says it all)

Keeping in touch on facebook very well could save my sanity.

Tommy will do what it takes to stay cool.

Appreciate time alone with your husband.

Hospitals really do serve mystery meat.

(Ew.)

Justin and Tommy are clones, but just a few years apart.

I think July has been a pretty good month.

Things I love about Germany

2010-07-16T00:14:00.002+02:00

I've been meaning to document my most favorite things about Germany. Well, we've been here two years so I guess it's about time!

Favorite number one: The food. Surprised? I didn't think so. When we first got here, the first week or two the food tasted funny to me. Dare I say it tasted... foreign? Oh how I crack myself up.

Ahem.

Favorite number two: We recycle here! Ok ok, I admit, the first year here of having to sort our trash into paper, plastic, organic (food), and glass I was deeply annoyed. In the good US of A we have two bins. One is for everything recyclable, the other for everything else. But I've really come to love how important recycling is here. Everyone recycles even though it is a pain to own three to four trashcans taking up space in your kitchen. Not to mention the plastic is only picked up twice a month so you have to put your bags of plastic in storage until it's time to put it out on the street.

Favorite number three: soda isn't served to you by the bucketful. I've never been much of a soda drinker anyways, but soda refills here are NOT free and soda doesn't come cheap here. We pay about 2 euro for a glass the size of about 8 oz. Easy not to go overboard with something so bad for you.

Favorite number four: It's beautiful here. No explanation needed.

Favorite number five: CLOTHES. I love European fashion. Catch up, America!

Favorite number six: The autobahn. We can go as fast as we want and get anywhere REALLY fast so long as Justin is driving. I'm much slower and stay in the slow lane because I'm afraid.

Favorite number seven: We can visit an abundance of other countries without having to jump on a plane. They're all just a few hours away!

That's it for loves. Now lets go to the hates.

Hate number one: Smokers. They're EVERYWHERE. Kids even. They sell cigarettes in vending machines all over the place. I see jr. high kids smoking on their lunch break. Sad!

Hate number two: Sticky summers. I'm an Arizona girl all the way. Dry heat trumps sticky slightly cooler heat.

Hate number three: The language barrier. Ok, German sounds pretty cool, but after awhile it's really frustrating not understanding the radio, tv, cashiers, waiters, etc. With a little more motivation I would learn more German. Promise.

Hate number four: The US dollar to Euro exchange rate. The cost of living here is much higher because the Euro is worth more than the dollar. Justin is paid in US dollars so that gets a bit annoying.

Hate number five: No air conditioning. Germans are very eco-friendly. They don't believe in wasting energy on air conditioning. Unfortunately, I do. Gimme some air, stat!

Hate number six: the bugs. Lots of them. In a country that doesn't use air conditioning, you'd think they would put screens on their windows to let fresh air into their houses. Nope! You either sweat in your house and let mold grow from lack of air flow, or you open your windows and brave the spiders and abundance of flies and mosquitos.

Hate number seven: okay, there is no hate number seven, but since there were seven favorites I felt the need to even things out. Blame the perfectionist in me.

So there you have it. Would I want to live here forever? No. But right now we love it and I'm very fortunate enough to be able to live here and experience it.

Family of Four

2010-06-15T06:49:00.007+02:00

Tristan is finally here!! We're all home and doing well. Justin has maternity leave for the next 10 days to help out, but it already feels like we're on a schedule. Tristan is a really good sleeper, we have to wake him up to feed him sometimes. Tommy loves him, I have to put Tristan in his crib every time he sleeps because if he's anywhere in Tommy's line of view then Tommy is going to want to play with him. We let Tristan finish his nap in his carseat when we got home, and I caught Tommy bent over him asking "you want out?" and then proceeding to tickle him.

Friday afternoon we went shopping for flowers that we're planting on our balcony. Later we were going to take a boat ride across the river going through our little town, but my water broke at the store. Kind of embarrassing, but it'll make for some good jokes later I'm sure. So we went home to pack my hospital bag really quick and then headed to the hospital. The labor was pretty quick, no complications. It was wonderful. Having Justin there meant so much to me. When I had Tommy Justin was in basic training. We spent three days in the hospital and got to come home yesterday morning. The hospital was awesome, I loved it.

Tristan Caleb Brooke was born June 12th at 1:16am, 8 lbs 21.5 inches. Big healthy boy. He looks so much like Tommy when he was a newborn, but their personalities are definitely different.

Add some cuteness to your day!

2010-05-29T05:21:00.005+02:00

Decisions, decisions...

2010-05-26T06:27:00.006+02:00

So much going on this summer! Not only are we adding another little person to our family, but Justin and I need to decide on where we want to be stationed next and if he's going to re-enlist for another 3-5 years.

This August marks Justin's 3 year anniversary in the military. So far it's been hard, but wonderful. We love Germany and all the benefits that come with being in the military. The health insurance is incredible. On the other hand, it would be nice to live near family and Justin will have a few career opportunities thanks to the training he's gotten in the military. He's up for a promotion this August and is doing really well in his field. There are a lot of pros and cons to both decisions and so we're working on figuring things out. We'll need to make a decision within the next couple of months. We'll let you know how it goes and what we decide.

Also to consider, where we want to be stationed next. We can stay in Germany for an extra year (then he will have finished his enlistment) or we can choose to move back to the states for the last 12 months of his enlistment. I think I would prefer to be stationed in Texas or California for that last year so we can be closer to family (much closer!) because I want Tristan and Tommy to have their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles nearby. We do have an opportunity to go to Hawaii, but he would have to re-enlist because you can't stay in Hawaii for less than 2 years, and he will only have a year left. Tempting!

Justin and I are still in awe how fast the last 3 years have went by. We still feel "new" to the military and it's hard to believe we're well over 1/2 of his 5 year enlistment. He will have 3 years inactive duty after his 5 year active duty is over, but we will be able to live wherever we want and it won't disrupt his new job. Most soldiers in Justin's field have a job lined up 6 months before their enlistment is over, so we're counting on a few options to choose from if we decide not to re-enlist. We're hoping to get interviews in Arizona, but most positions for Justin's field open up in Alabama where the main calibration team is located, which is what Justin does in the military, calibration. You'll have to ask Justin to explain what exactly that is because I will for sure just confuse you. :)

So we have a lot on our plate this summer. Stay in the military, get promoted and live closer to family (or in HAWAII!)? Or get out of the military, live where we want and have a regular career and get paid more?

Decisions, decisions!

I leave you with a cute picture of my new niece Kristabelle Victoria, isn't she cute!

In Your Face, Justin.

2010-05-19T11:55:00.009+02:00

Observe --> Justin and I like to debate who Tommy is most like. I say he is more like me, Justin thinks Tommy is his little clone. I now have documented proof that Tommy's apple didn't fall far from his mommy's tree.

For those who don't know this about me (in which case you don't pay enough attention to me, so shame on you) I am an extreme perfectionist. This both frustrates yet pleases Justin. He's happy his wife keeps the house sparkling clean even when she feels like she's dying from the flu, yet he hates watching me, giving him a disapproving look, fix the remote he just turned out of line with the others. Yep, it's that bad.

Tommy is the same way. I don't know if it's because he watches me and notices me lining things up, but he has been lining up his cars from biggest to smallest for the past 6 months. If I come by and move one, he fixes it. The picture up there is just one example. As an experiment I turned one car away from the others, and sure enough, he fixed it.

I consider us pretty lucky that Tommy is so tidy. Now Justin is the odd one out and I don't have to feel like a weirdo. Tommy may look more like Justin, but he has my personality! Attaboy Tommy!

The Best Pasta Salad. Ever.

2010-05-19T11:18:00.009+02:00

Pay attention, folks. I'm about to give you the best pasta salad recipe you have ever tasted. Tommy gobbles it up and he doesn't even like food.

Exhibit A.

So, let me get right down to it. Here is the recipe. I don't have exact measurements but trust me, you don't need them. This recipe is fool proof.

Ingredients:

1. One box penne pasta

2. About a cup of pesto (best if homemade, but I get mine from the German deli)

3. Two handfuls of baby spinach

4. About a half cup of feta cheese.

5. About a cup of lite ranch dressing. (Come on now, don't use anything but Hidden Valley)

6. Cup and a half of cherry tomatoes.

Directions:

Cook penne per box instructions. Al dente is best. Drain and cool with cold water. Pour into a bowl. Stir in pesto, ranch and feta. Mix well. Add baby spinach and cherry tomatoes.

It's super easy and delicious. I hardly ever make it because I've been known to eat too much of it if left alone with the bowl. It's good in the fridge for about 3 days, but definitely better fresh.

You're welcome!

As you can see, I leave out the tomatoes. Yuck. I add them only if I'm making it for a party because it adds a pretty color.

Olive Fingers!

2010-05-13T20:25:00.004+02:00

I had to share this picture of Tommy. He discovered olives have perfect holes for his little fingers. I couldn't get him to eat them, but at least he found some sort of use for them!

So excited!!!

2010-05-07T14:19:00.006+02:00

Good news, and bad news. The past two days have been a mixture of both.

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling perfectly normal, went about the day as usual. Justin came home for lunch, we ate together and then when he left Tommy laid down for a nap. I decided to catch up on emails and sat down at the computer. After a few minutes I started

feeling kind of strange and I stood up and noticed my right leg was really swollen, while the left side was perfectly normal. I've been swollen the past few months here and there, but nothing like this. I was also seeing little floating stars in my vision.

So I called my doctor, as usual her line was busy. So I called the hospital and they said I should come in, swelling in just one leg is usually a bad sign of either pre-eclampsia or a blood clot. So Justin came home and we went to the hospital. My blood pressure was low, my temp. and pulse were all normal. My blood work came back and they said my iron was really low and could be causing the sparkly flecks I had been seeing in my vision the past few weeks. Pre-eclampsia was ruled out, so they decided to keep me for two days to monitor my swelling and do more tests to see if it could be a blood clot.

It was a boring two days. My swelling went away, and I had to have the baby's heart beat monitored twice a day for 30 min. each. Everything came out fine. This morning they did a really extensive ultrasound to check absolutely everything on Tristan. They said he seems to be a really healthy baby but were concerned because he's not getting enough blood flow from me. I'm going to be getting more ultrasounds to see if it gets better. The baby is really big, the doctor says the baby will probably come early since he is so long and has put on a lot of weight. He is 5 lbs and I'm not quite 33 weeks yet. Healthy boy!

I got to see a lot of the hospital and meet the doctors there, it was awesome. This hospital has EVERYTHING! I'll have a midwife that stays with me throughout my labor and delivery giving me massages, walking around the hospital with me, and coaching me through the delivery. They have several big jacuzzi bathtubs that I can stay in as long as I want to help me relax, with classical music playing. It's so cool! It has me so excited that I'm actually thinking I won't need an epidural this time. My doctor is convinced my labor and delivery will be quick, I fully dilated with Tommy in only 3-4 hours. He says I may not even have time to get an epidural if I progress fast again, which I should. So I may try to do this completely natural and see how it goes. I don't want to be stuck in the hospital bed the whole time like I was with Tommy. That is the goal, we'll see if my mind changes while I'm actually in labor. :)

So good news: the baby is big and healthy and most likely coming early. Bad news: my iron is low as well as my blood pressure, and the blood flow to the baby may not be ideal. I have an appointment next week and the doctor is going to double check everything then, I hope my iron and blood flow rights itself by then. I should have taken some pictures of the awesome hospital I'll be in but I just didn't think about it! I did find some on the internet though. You can see how big it is, and lucky for me the labor and recovery rooms are at the top, so it's a beautiful view. You can see my house in the second picture, I live literally 3 minutes away. I'm feeling good now and so excited to meet our new baby!

~Brittney

My Brother, the missionary!

2010-04-28T17:53:00.002+02:00

My brother Jordan has been on his mission a couple months now, he sent me some pictures and I wanted to put them up so family who hasn't seen them can. Isn't he handsome in a suit?? Geez I can't believe that's my baby brother! He's serving in the Oakland/San Francisco mission and is currently in Fremont. Love you Jordie! :)

Scrapbook Pages

2010-04-19T19:07:00.003+02:00

Here are some of my more recent scrapbook pages. I've been trying to catch up, I have a big box of photos I need to organize. I went through them the other day and categorized them by event, took close to an hour. Looks like I have a long way to go! I love doing it but it most definitely is time consuming. (and expensive!) It's actually my favorite hobby and Justin loves that I do it. When I first met him, he asked me if I could help him scrapbook his mission pictures. :) I didn't actually become a scrapbooker until my good friend Kristal introduced it to me. It's really become a creative outlet for me. Playing piano is also something I love to do, but not having a piano has made that hard, go figure!

Here are my favorites:

This one is last year's Easter. Justin was deployed and I was living in Arizona with Tommy. I rented a house right by Justin's family, it was so much fun. I loved being their neighbor. The bottom picture is my sisters Susannah and Tiffany. The top one is Tommy with my sister's boyfriend's niece. Say that three times fast!
This was Tommy's first time at the Phoenix Zoo. He LOVED it. He had a blast and was beat tired at the end of the day. When I scrapbook something that has a funny story or just something I want to remember, I add a little envelope to the page and have the story inside. Sometimes I have other people write on it too, makes it a little more special for me.
Here are some of my senior pictures. The biggest picture on the page was the same picture I sent to Justin while he was on his mission (it was smaller of course). Ahh, the memories. :)
Me and my sister Tiffany, she came to visit last New Years, it was so nice having her here with me. Miss ya lots Tiff!
A picture of me five months pregnant with Tommy, the bottom picture is me holding Tommy's two day old hand. I wrote the poem on his first birthday. I can't wait for Tommy to read it someday.

More to come!

Family pictures 2010

2010-03-25T17:54:00.009+01:00

So much has been going on this month. We went to Arizona to visit family and friends for a month, we celebrated our 4th anniversary, finally got family pictures taken, and took a short trip to Landstuhl. The month went by in a blur! We are really relieved to be home safe and sound and back to our daily routines.

Our family pictures were taken by

my good friend Amber Cupples. Check out her store here: http://www.thekarliekollection.co m/ She has been awesome, she's already made some things for Tommy and Tristan that have been so nice to have. I like buying things that no one else has, and she does custom orders. You really can't beat that.

So, we got family pictures taken! We haven't had any taken since Tommy was a baby, so we were way overdue. They turned out awesome, I've been framing them and hanging them around the house for the short time we've been home. I'm going to tackle some scrapbooking later today. I've posted all my favorites, but it was hard to choose. If you're a friend of ours on facebook, you can see more there.

While we were in Arizona we got to do

a lot of fun things. We saw a few movies (we can't see many here, most are in German)

went out to eat for practically every meal (we missed American food soo much!), went to the Ostrich Festival, saw Guys and Dolls at the Hale Theatre, and got to catch up with everyone. Justin had the pleasure of fixing everyone's computer while he was there, which he really loves to do.

The flight home was really long. Justin was a sweetheart and took care of Tommy most of the time so I could relax a little more. I usually fly without Justin so I felt extremely spoiled. When we got home we had a few days to unpack and then it was back on the road. Justin had lasik surgery scheduled on an air force base in Ramstein/Landstuhl. It was a three hour drive which wasn't too bad. It was my first time on an AF base. I was really impressed with it, they had a lot of really nice parks, houses and a huge shopping mall. They also had Macaroni Grill and Chilis. Here in Bamberg on the army base we have Subway, Burger King and Pizza Hut. So needless to say, we're bummed we're not stationed in Ramstein! Justin's surgery was delayed until next week, but it was still cool to sightsee a little while we were there.

We're really cracking down on getting Tristan's room ready for him. In the next 3 months we'll

be picking up his furniture, painting, and baby proofing. We can't wait to see it finished and to bring home our new baby boy! I'm due June 27th, only 3 months to go. We're all feeling a little anxious for June to get here. We can't wait for our little June Bug.

Thank you to all of you in Arizona! We had so much fun seeing you. We won't be coming to visit until our time here in Germany is up. That's a year and a half. We don't want to travel until Tristan is a bit older. You're all welcome to come and see us here, though!

My sweetheart, all year, every year.

2010-02-13T11:06:00.006+01:00

Justin,

How lucky I am to share my life with you,

Sometimes it's jut too good to be true,

You brighten my life with every smile,

With every laugh & each new mile,

you mean more and more to me.

Even when you're so far away,

There's oceans between us and we're still okay,

Your return brings me such exquisite bliss,

I'll never forget how much you were missed,

Can never take for granted every moment I have with you.

You're my perfect match in every way,

It can't be celebrated in just one day,

You're my sweetheart all year round,

The greatest treasure I've ever found,

Like every day for the rest of our lives...

Be mine this Valentine's Day.

The Best Gift Ever.

2010-01-21T13:22:00.004+01:00

Most definitely would be my camera. My camera goes everywhere with me! And since I use my camera so much, I'm confident Justin will find it urgent to get me an upgrade. (Are my hints too subtle?) I digress! Here are some shots I've taken the past couple weeks.

Question: What could be better than a man in uniform? A man vacuuming in uniform, of course!

We took Tommy to H&M for some much needed new clothes. He loved the attention he got from the staff working there with each outfit he tried on. Then he took it upon himself to run outside in one of them and cause the theft alarm to trigger. They let him go with a warning, I think he learned his lesson.
I find it much easier to buy nicer clothes for Tommy now that we have another boy coming that will use them too. The one below is our favorite.

It's a BOY!

2010-01-21T10:45:00.007+01:00

Justin and I waited patiently (or rather, relatively patiently) for our final ultrasound to come around. I don't think either of us have been so anxious in all our lives! Well, the day finally came on Monday and it was pretty obvious our new baby is a BOY!

Just look at that cute profile! The baby is growing like he should and seems to be a really healthy baby. I can definitely see a remarkable resemblance to Tommy's ultrasound pictures. I think they're going to be little twin blondies. Here is Tommy before his debut.

It might just be me, but they look the same! We won't mind having a mini Tommy around! ♥

The latest belly shot.

Christmas

2009-12-30T14:27:00.004+01:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas. It was a nice relaxing day and we were all glad to take a break from the big move. We were babysitting an English Bulldog named Buttons. Tommy really loved having him around. They were inseparable the whole time he was here. It gave me the idea that maybe I should buy a pet for Tommy, but decided a new baby was an even better gift for him. So we're going to wait on the pet. I barely remembered to take pictures. We went and had dinner with some friends and their kids, and when we came home and got ready for bed I remembered I hadn't taken any pictures!

Our landlord who lives below us came up and gave that teddy bear to Tommy. She made it herself!

We didn't need any mistletoe!

Look how big I've gotten! The pregnancy seems more real now. I'm due June 27th, but hopefully this little guy or girl decides to come a bit sooner.

Christmas shopping and a medieval festival!

2009-12-05T22:18:00.004+01:00

Today we finally finished up with our Christmas shopping. It was so much fun! Downtown was packed with people and new shops that open up just for Christmas. Candy, German chocolate, fresh crepes, homemade gifts, and music!

Here's Tommy intently watching New Moon at the theater with us. He sure likes his popcorn!

Here we are!

Tommy getting ready to go. He likes showers better than baths.

We fear he's not really shy.

Here's Tommy playing with his new toy. Isn't it cute?

We're pretty sure this guy was drunk. He saw me taking a picture and hurried in front of the camera. I was trying to take a picture of their 10 person "beer bike". Everyone sat around the table peddling and drinking beer. It was quite a sight!

Here we are at the only Mexican restaurant we've been able to find in Germany. It's pretty good, but we both agree that Mexican food in AZ is a little bit better.

I didn't know Justin was taking my picture. :) Chips and guacamole!

Here's Tommy on the Christmas merry go round. This was the best picture we took because it was hard catching Tommy while it was moving. He had fun waving to us and blowing us kisses as he passed.

It was a fun day, but by the time we got home Tommy was exhausted. We stopped by 3 different chocolate & candy shops to get all the best chocolate to send home to our families. Their truffles are incredible. One is made out of pop rocks and it's fun to bite into it and feel it popping in your mouth.

Downtown Bamberg is so much fun. There's usually always all kinds of different people performing something cool and unusual. Today we saw a man who stood so still he looked just like a statue. He had cool makeup and he really didn't look real. You give him money and he'll move and it was so awesome. I wish I had gotten a picture. We went to a medieval festival but couldn't get many good pictures because it got so dark. At the end of the day we caught New Moon at the theater on base. Before the movie started they played the national anthem and everyone stood with their hand on their heart. It's the simple things like that that make us proud of our country.

Enjoy the pictures!

Some pictures!

2009-12-02T15:12:00.004+01:00

Just goofing around with Tommy today. :)

This is one of his favorite stuffed animals.

Tommy has my lip gloss on his mouth, as you can see he has his fair share of kisses.

H1N1 flu, be careful!

2009-11-21T19:52:00.003+01:00

Just days after my last blog post stating I'm fine and Tommy is fine, here I am landed in the hospital with "swine flu". Since I'm left with quite a bit of time on my hands, I thought I would go through my experience so far and also give you the info. I've gotten from my doctor about how NOT to get it. Trust me, you don't want to get it!

When I first heard about this flu I never thought I would get it. I never get sick. I want all of you to know that you most certainly can get it, and quite easily as it's passed from person to person with ease. All you need to do to get it is be in the same room with someone as they sneeze or cough, or touch something an infected person has touched and then transfer it through eating or even blowing your nose!

Swine flu can last a MONTH. Typically it lasts about 7 days for your average joe, but if your immune system is down for any reason, or if you're pregnant (yipee for me!) it can last much longer. You can have it for a good week and not know it, but that's a good amount of time for the virus to grow and mature and then WHAM! You wake up with the full blown symptoms. You won't even know what hit you.

The best way to stay flu free is to wash your hands as frequently as possible. Don't eat, drink, rub your face or eyes unless you've washed your hands. If someone sneezes, cover your nose and mouth and get out of the room. Of course, if someone you live with gets it, my serious advice is to stay out of the house until that person is most definitely well. You will get it, no question! Justin has coughed on all surfaces in our house, and no matter how clean I tried to keep everything, Tommy and I still have gotten it. Tommy's symptoms arrived today. Luckily kids have gotten over it much faster than adults and he is still his playful self. He is running a fever, which is sometimes the first symptom. For me, it was a cough.

Please pray for my family! Justin still has it and Tommy is just starting it, my poor baby. And be careful! It can't spread anymore if we are all aware of how to stay clear of it!

Sickness has hit our house!

2009-11-18T12:41:00.005+01:00

Where do I begin! Our little family has been plagued by illness for about the last month. Started out as a small cold for all of us. First Tommy, then Justin, and finally me. Tommy got over it in about two days, and it didn't really seem to bother him. Justin got it pretty bad, and actually got sent home from work for two days. His cough has been lingering for the past couple weeks and now the full symptoms have returned with a vengeance.

Here he is in our bedroom, trying to sleep it off. Luckily he got another 3 days off this week to start feeling better. You can hate me for this picture later, Justin. :)

Tommy has managed to stay healthy through all of this, and I have only the normal pregnancy sickness. I threw up for the first time last night, so I can see the fun is just beginning! I live on animal crackers, watered down juice, and the occasional bowl of cereal. The upside to all of this is that our food bill has gone down some. No one but Tommy feels up to eating these past few days. I just try to remind myself that getting sick every now and then is healthy, and things can only get better once you're past the worst of it.

I have to admit the hardest part of all this is trying to figure out whose water bottle belongs to whom, since I don't want this spreading around. I found a sharpie fixes that problem beautifully.

Tommy turns two, new baby, oh my!

2009-10-22T17:30:00.004+02:00

So Tommy is officially living through the terrible twos! He turned two October 2nd, at 11:30am to be precise. The party was fun, it was Horton Hears A Who themed. The cake was ordered from the German bakery by our house and it ended up being pink. We ordered it to be raspberry filled and we didn't realize that meant the frosting would be raspberry too. Oops! But it was delicious! I would love to post pictures from his party, but they are too big and won't upload onto blogspot. However, they are all on facebook. Make sure to check them out if you haven't already!

Here is Tommy, he's helping daddy in the kitchen.

Also, I'm pregnant! Justin and I found out about a week ago. We were both very surprised. Yes, I was crying in this picture. We are both very excited and grateful to have another baby on the way. We're hoping for a girl but would be happy with either. The due date is June 27th.

We have a lot to look forward to! Can't wait to share it with all of you here on our blog!

Carving Pumpkins!

2009-09-28T20:43:00.004+02:00

Today Justin, Tommy and I carved our first pumpkin together. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I've never carved a pumpkin before and I thought it would be harder to cut through the pumpkin than it was. It only took us about 45 minutes for two pumpkins! Here are some fun pictures we took.

Here is Justin's pumpkin

This one is mine

Justin finishing his up

It was so fun to get the insides out!

Our neighbor's black cat Merlin came by, it was perfect timing!

I love this picture!

Tommy taking a break, cheez its are his favorite.

He is such a sweetheart!

Justin's Homecoming

2009-09-07T01:33:00.004+02:00

Justin is finally HOME!!

I cannot describe to you how amazing it is to have a husband again! :)

It was so exciting going to his welcome home ceremony. I was so anxious all day. Another military wife picked me up to take me to the ceremony, she lives just 2 streets over. When we got there we were brought to the basketball court at the gym. We waited for about an hour, but we got updates when the soldiers arrived. Everyone was so anxious, there were a lot of military wives there that hadn't seen their husbands for a year. We thought the soldiers were coming in from the front entrance into the gym, but the wall lifted up from the left and the soldiers were there lined up. They played the song "the boys are back in town". It was so fun. Here are some pictures.

There were a lot of people, here is one side of the room.

Here's Tommy while we were waiting in the bleachers for the returning soldiers to arrive.

Everyone was so anxious, there are a lot of soldiers in Justin's company.

Here is the wall lifting up with the soldiers in formation. I was SO excited.

When Justin picked Tommy up he started pouting like he was about to cry, then he buried his face in Justin. It was really cute. Tommy didn't recognize him at first.

Tommy has never bit his bottom lip like that, but he was trying not to cry, it really was adorable. He had no idea what was going on!

First family picture we've had in a long time.

Thinking Aloud...

2009-07-28T13:17:00.003+02:00

So lately I've been really thinking a lot about our plans for the future. Being in the army really does make everything unknown. You have no choice but to accept that you don't know where you'll be in 2, 3, and 4 years. Justin has 3 years active duty left, and then another 3 inactive duty.

I realized I kind of like not knowing. It's going to be so exciting each time Justin gets new orders and we'll finally see where we're going next. We have 2 more years in Germany (it's already been 1) and after that we really don't know where we'll be sent to. He'll only have a year left so wherever it is we won't be there long. He does get to have his "top 3" choices of where he wants to be stationed. I know our first choice will be Hawaii, which would be AMAZING.

After Justin is released in 3 years the army will set up interviews for him, and most people have job offers before they're out of the army. We'll go wherever the best offer comes from, but most likely it won't be in Arizona. We've thought about having another baby but we're not sure when. If it's a girl Justin and I have decided that will be it for us, but if it's another boy we'll try one more time for a girl. ( I have a feeling it will be a girl, fingers crossed!) Not that we wouldn't want another boy. :)

So Justin gets home in 24 days. They pushed it back to August 21st instead of the 15th. They may be back on the 18th but I'm counting on the 21st at the latest. I talked with another wife whose husband is in Justin's company and she gave me all the details of what to expect when the soldiers will be home. I'll get a call when Justin's flight leaves, another call when he gets to the airport, and then a final call when I should go to the base for the ceremony. They have a short ceremony where all the soldiers march out to their families, I'm not sure exactly what else happens but I know it's short and everyone just wants to see their husband and go home. I'm hoping it'll be around dinner time when he gets home so that I have all day to prepare. :) They'll be a lot of pictures to post of when Justin gets home. I am unbelievably excited. It's almost all I think about.

After he gets back he needs to have physicals and exams to make sure he is in perfect health. He and I are also getting lasic surgery (for free!) sometime soon. Most of you know that Justin and I have the same eye prescription and we are both almost legally blind. (short little story.. both of us woke up one morning and I saw this black smudgey blur on the ceiling, Justin and I wracked our brain trying to figure out what it was because we didn't have our contacts in, realized once we put them in that it was an air conditioning vent...) So that is really exciting news. After his exams he'll have up to 30 days paid vacation, we'll relax a couple days here and then head off to AZ. We'll visit with family and then drive our car up to the docks to have it shipped here to Germany and stop in at Disneyland, and maybe fly out from there back home... we haven't really hammered out the details yet. We just know we need a vacation ASAP.

Okay so back on topic, I've decided I like the mililtary lifestyle quite a bit, except for the deployment part. That part is really quite miserable. Other than that I wish Justin could stay in forever and we could spend our lives traveling the world, and getting paid for it to boot! :) Enough rambling, to see new pictures that I had trouble uploading here, please add me on facebook.

Lifes a bowl of cherries ♥

2009-07-19T16:01:00.006+02:00

So we've discovered that Tommy loves cherries! I'm certain he would have them for every meal if he could. We're lucky enough to have neighbors who have a cherry tree (Danke Ines and Andre!) and they share with Tommy.

It's been raining here for about a week, so Tommy can't go outside as often as he would like to. I think the rain will stop soon though, this might just be monsoon season. It's so pretty and I love the rain, but too much of it isn't good. Tommy and I are ready to see the sun again.

Justin gets home in about 25 days!!! Love you Justin!

My Bucket List

2009-07-06T23:24:00.004+02:00

Thanks for the idea Kristal! Here is a list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket:

1. Have three kids
2. Get a degree
3. Learn to paint
4. Learn to speak fluent German
5. See Tommy go to college
6. Fit into my skinny jeans
7. Make a souffle
8. Buy a house
9. Visit France
10. See a mummy
11. Take a vacation to a secluded cabin with Justin
12. Sing in public
13. Give a talk in sacrament meeting
14. Have six pack abs
15. Meet Oprah
16. Sky dive with Justin
17. See the Grand Canyon
18. Buy a baby grand piano
19. Learn Sixteenth Variation by heart
20. Go on a class field trip with Tommy
21. Go camping as a family
22. Publish a book
23. Design a home
24. Be called an "artist"
25. Give up sugar for a year
26. See the Mona Lisa
27. Go on a mission with Justin
28. Give my mom a tour of Germany
29. Go to a Van Halen concert with my dad
30. Take ballet classes
31. Cater an event
32. Make each of our babies a blanket
33. Do a temple session in the German temple
34. Be blond for a year
35. Host a Christmas party for our entire families
36. Give scrapbooking advice
37. Make homemade ice cream
38. Read and understand the Bible and Book of Mormon
39. Renew my wedding vows
40. Make raspberry jam with berries I grew myself.
41. Visit Oscar in Spain
42. Have a family dog
43. Fit into my wedding dress again

That's all I have so far. It's a work in progress. :) The post below this one is also new, so make sure you read that one too!

Tommy riding his new bike!

2009-07-06T21:58:00.005+02:00

It's good to be back in Germany. Tommy and I are finding fun things to do to stay busy while Justin is still in Iraq. He gets home in 39 days, give or take a day or two. It feels good to say "he'll be home next month" when people ask.

Tommy is learning all sorts of new things. He can say quite a lot, including his favorite "calm down". Whenever I tell him no or to stop something that he's doing, he says "calm down!". I don't know if he knows what it means but he sure says it at the right moments! He is especially good at knowing where things go. He helps me unload the dishwasher and he throws away trash and his diapers all the time. He also loads laundry into the washer, only usually it's clean clothes he puts in. :)

I can't wait to get my camera charger!!! I've already missed so many good photo opportunities, I'm going to be posting a new blog all the time once my camera is good to go. I should be picking up the charger at the post office very soon. I went on Friday but the post office was closed, probably for the 4th of July. I was disappointed. I'm a big believer in documenting my life, one day I will want to see pictures and what if I don't have them? For me that is a sad thought.

The weather here is pretty good. It's nice and cool inside, even though there is no air conditioning here. Outside it's kind of hot some days, and a little humid but not too bad. It's millions of times better than Arizona this time of year so I won't complain.

Here are the pictures, enjoy 'em!

Classic Tommy look. This is the "I'm sneaky" face.

He really has a blast on his bike. On the back there's a place to push and you can lock the wheels out. He hasn't gotten the hang of steering yet so this bike is perfect for him.

More blogs coming soon so make sure to check back! Love you Justin!

Our long trip home

2009-06-10T23:29:00.003+02:00

Tommy and I got back to Germany yesterday, the flight was long! It wasn't as bad as I thought though. Tommy was much better than the last time and he slept most of the way. I got to watch some movies but couldn't sleep. I was really tired when we finally got here. Tommy is having a really hard time adjusting. He slept 12 hours last night and so I thought he was on schedule already, but it's midnight now and he won't sleep. If I put him in bed he starts screaming. I'm not sure what to do and it's a little stressful. I'm not tired either.

I wanted to take some pictures on the flight and when we first got here but my camera is dead and Justin has the charger in Iraq. (Don't even ask how that happened!) It's nice to be home, although our house was a bit messy and dusty since we haven't been here in 7 months. I spent most of yesterday and today cleaning up. Today Tommy and I worked on the garden and he played in his sandbox with our neighbor Luis. Then we went to the neighborhood farm and saw the baby cows. They looked maybe a month old. So cute! I've gotten to talk on the phone to Justin a lot which is nice.

It's beautiful here in June! It looks like a postcard everywhere I look. It's extremely green and flowers are blooming. I wish that our families could be here to see it. The weather is around 72 degrees but it feels a little cold to me. I have heaters running inside, my neighbors think I'm nuts.

Justin will be home at the latest August 18th if everything goes somewhat smoothly. He leaves Iraq July 27th and then will be waiting in Kuwait for the next available flight back to Germany. That could take a few days to a few weeks. We're definitely ready to be together again. It's been a long 7 months. I'm so happy Tommy and I could be in AZ with family and friends for so long though. We miss you! If anyone would like to visit, please come!!

Love, Brittney and Tommy

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T18:11:00.007+02:00

It was a perfect day. Justin called me early to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. I love you Justin!

Here's my Mama with my sister Tiffany. :)

After church we went to PF Changs with my family. This is my favorite picture of the day, my dad with Tommy. Tommy is named after him.

My little brother Jordan (18) and sister Susannah (15).

My fortune... I'm assuming it's referring to my upcoming trip back to Germany.

Family picture, only we're missing my older sisters Dayna and Holly and their families.

My Daddy.

This was me at the end of the day, it was a long day! Happy Mother's Day! ♥

Zoo Animals

2009-04-25T05:57:00.005+02:00

We went to the zoo this afternoon. It was Tommy's first time, he had a blast. He loved pointing at all of the animals. There was a squirrel that really liked him, it kept going right up to his hand. It was so cute. He had a blue raspberry snow cone, so his mouth was blue in most of the pictures.

At first he really liked the carousel, but after the 3rd time around he got really scared and started hanging onto me. Poor baby!

This elephant was swaying back and forth, Tommy thought he was dancing so he starting swaying too!

He loved to run around and explore, I was only there for the ride!

I love this picture, he's trying to get down but he stayed on my shoulders for quite awhile. It gave him a good view of the animals.

Tommy and Grandma Brooke.

I love that hat on him! And he kept it on most of the time, I was pleasantly surprised.

Tommy loved the giraffes. He couldn't stop pointing and saying "ooo" at them.

Tommy is giving the low down on the giraffes to grandma.

Baby Signs

2009-04-09T23:15:00.002+02:00

Cute Babies

2009-04-09T19:22:00.004+02:00

My sister Holly came into Mesa and I finally got to meet up with her and take some fun pictures. She has two daughters. The older one is Aaliyah and the baby is Makayla. They're cuties!

Here's Tommy, he just got a new haircut. It's just like daddy's! ♥ (He's learned to pose for the pictures, then he quickly runs up beside me to see how they turned out.)

My hands were full! Tommy and Makayla just sat and stared at each other. It was too funny!

My little sister Tiffany with Makayla.

Love you Justin!!!

Finally, new pictures! Just for you Justin!

2009-03-20T21:49:00.005+01:00

Okay, I finally found the cord that connects my camera to the computer so I can upload pictures. I only have a few new pictures, I really should take more. Here are a few from my mom's birthday party. (Is she 21? I'll let you decide.. hard to tell I know).

I didn't eat the cake by myself! I cut the cake and passed them out, I was left with the last piece, so why dirty a plate? We were at PF Changs, it was so good! It's tradition to go there for my mom's birthday. So much fun. You can see how much Tommy loved the cake, chocolate is all over his little chin.

Isn't he beautiful! He loves to wear my slippers on his hands, they fit better on his hands than his feet. He is so much fun. He does so much now. He loves to climb things. Justin and I are so lucky to have him.

Look at those blue eyes!

And... a video! Tommy is attacking my little brother Chris here.

Dear Brittney

2009-03-15T21:37:00.001+01:00

Brittney,

Happy anniversary!! I know Its early but it couldn't wait. I hope that it was the best it could be without me there. I know you got you gift early and opened it. You never could wait to open gifts, lol not even Christmas. But do you remember that time I surprised you on you birthday at Applebees and when they set the ice cream in front of you you almost told them that they were mistaken. You then got really red and you were so surprised that you didn't see it coming.

It's times like that that make me fall more in love with you every day. I hope that when we're back together in our little flat and you and I can enjoy the little things, like your dimples when you smile, or your laugh and the way you cover your face when you think something it really funny. When you smile at me it's like a baby laughing mixed with the feeling you get from a fast dropping roller coaster.

You couldn't have been better for me. You have taught me so much. You have sacrificed so much and have asked for very little for what you have to go through with me being in the army and all. I have loved you every day more and more from the first date. You still make me nervous. like when you asked me when I was going to kiss you in front of your parents house after a date. LOL That was definitely unexpected. But I loved it. I'm proud of you for the strength you have for taking care of Tommy while I'm in Iraq, and the way you handle our finances. you know that if I was in charge of that we would be behind on the car payment and i would have a new computer or $500 in video games.

I just wanted to say thank you for loving me so much and for you support for my work. Thank you for being patient with me while I struggle with my imperfections. I promise that I will always love you and I'll do what ever it takes to make you and Tommy happy. I hope you had a good day every day.

~Love Always

Your Husband

Justin

Christmas

2008-12-29T11:44:00.003+01:00

We had a really nice Christmas. We loved staying home and being lazy all day.

He's fascinated with the tree!

I love this picture.

I think he was tired of me taking pictures in this one!

He had red velvet cake...

Christmas Party and a New Baby!

2008-12-29T11:33:00.004+01:00

About 2 weeks ago Justin and I went to his company's Christmas party. I got to meet some of his friends and people he works with, it was really fun. They had secret santas going on, and also a Santa that came and gave gifts to all the kids. When they called Tommy's name we brought him over to sit on Santa's lap, but he was too scared. I don't think I've ever seen him so terrified! I have it on video so I'll see if it will upload. Here is Tommy getting his present.

And here he is running away with it, probably to show his friends. There were two little girls there that followed him around and kept hugging him and trying to hold him, it was cute.

Our friend Angela had her baby, she's so cute!! Take a look at Elaina Orr. ♥

Justin's 24th Birthday

2008-12-16T11:33:00.003+01:00

Yesterday Justin turned 24! We went out to a Greek restaurant and had a good time. Tommy had his first sucker and loved it, except he wasn't swallowing, just letting it sit in his mouth. So needless to say he was a slobbery mess. (But still cute, of course.)

Justin was very impressed that when he woke me up at 5am that morning, the first thing out of my mouth was happy birthday. I'm actually surprised myself, I forgot my own birthday last August!

So Happy Birthday Justin, I love you! I definitely don't know what Tommy and I would do without you. I couldn't have found a better person to share eternity with! ♥

Tommy's Best Friend

2008-12-11T10:47:00.006+01:00

Tommy spent the day with his best friend Luis yesterday. They had so much fun together. They went to the daycare in our town and played with all the neighborhood kids. I don't think Tommy has ever had so much fun! He absolutely adores Luis (sometimes I get a little jealous!).

We're thinking of putting Tommy in the daycare a couple days a week for 2-3 hours, so that he can learn German and play with the other kids. It's the nicest daycare I've ever seen, and the ladies who work there are so nice. They know English pretty well, a lot of Germans bring their kids to learn English.

I'm using Rosetta Stone to learn German. I've learned simple sentences, and it gets easier and easier to pronounce as I use it. It's a complicated language, but Rosetta Stone is amazing. I learned simple sentences from the very first 1/2 hour lesson! I think the hardest part is the spelling.

As you can see Luis loves to take care of Tommy, it's the sweetest thing. He has a brother coming in April and I think he will make an excellent big brother. He's 2 1/2, I just can't wait to see what Tommy is like at that age. We can't believe he's almost 15 months already!

Tommy does Laundry!

2008-12-06T11:27:00.002+01:00

I was doing my makeup the other day, and noticed Tommy taking clean clothes out of the basket and putting them in the washer. It was so cute I had to get it on video, but as soon as he noticed me, he stopped! I think he's been watching mommy pretty closely!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T20:47:00.006+01:00

Thanksgiving was fun! We had our friend Angela over. She spent the night so we could get started on the turkey bright an early, but her and I ended up staying up all night so it was really hard getting up at 6am. Luckily she's 8 months pregnant and can't sleep anyway. :) She is a great cook. It was a great day.

Tommy is walking! He surprised us by just getting up and walking across the room, totally out of the blue. He just decided he was ready I guess. We went out to dinner the other night, and Tommy was playing with the people sitting around us. He would wave and say "hi!", then hide his face with his hands. We had a few people come up to us to play with him, it was so funny.

We have been having so much fun here in Germany, we are so thankful to get the opportunity. And we are very thankful for Justin's job. It's been a wonderful financial move for us. Justin is getting promoted really fast and he and I are both able to go to school without student loans and fees. When Justin gets released from the army, he will be able to get the career he's always wanted. It was a huge risk for him to join, but we are so happy we made it.

Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for what you have, so count your blessings! ♥

Fun in the Snow!

2008-11-25T16:24:00.002+01:00