Christmas Cards & Thankfulness.

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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.