Happy Thanksgiving!

What a blessing it was for us to all be together on Thanksgiving. We had anticipated it being our first holiday apart, but it worked out that Jay was still home. We invited our friends the Hatchers over for dinner and I spent most of Wednesday getting ready for the holiday. The tree is up, the house is decorated, and the turkey was thawed.

We had a delightful meal and a ton of fun watching our little boys play. There was more than enough food, and it was definitely more fun for Hayden than last year when he was only a few days old. We ate and ate, played with Oscar and baby toys, and of course watched the boys play Xbox. It was even more fun because I got to use so much of my Polish pottery to cook and serve!

There is so much to be thankful for and we try to remember it every day, but it's nice to have a day to sit back and reflect. And of course, eat all our favorite food!

And just like that, he's gone

I'm behind on the blogging again, it's been a busy week. Yesterday was the zero hour to start our deployment. We dropped Jay off at 245 and hung out on post with him and the ladies for about an hour. He had a day full of preparation and a lot of standing around ahead of him, so Hayden and I headed home to rest and relax. We went back up around 8 last night, picked up a few last minute things for Jay and headed to the motor pool.

As I pulled in to the gate, I saw a bus in the lane beside me and knew that it was one of the buses the boys would be on later tonight. It's a surreal feeling, doing this for the third time. The only way to get through it is to stay positive, so that's what I tried to do yesterday. We hung out in one of the bays for awhile and finally it was time to form up. The commander said a few words and then released the soldiers to their families for ten minutes. We said our goodbyes, kissed our baby and then it was over. I watched him march off with so many other people I care about, and just prayed for the best.

So today is day one, and it's cold and rainy. We're having the girls over for dinner tonight, and we're going to learn how to do this all over again. Oscar and Hayden know something is up, they're acting differently and that's okay. One day at a time, right?

Tradition

As I worked on our Thanksgiving meal prep today, I thought a lot about tradition. As I poured corn syrup over beans and added brown sugar and minced onion, I thought how many times I watched my mom do the same thing as a child. I also thought about that small pan of baked beans that's always at my Mamaw's house because my mom doesn't eat green beans like the rest of us. I thought how funny it is that I'm making a cheesecake because Jay loves it and doesn't eat pumpkin pie. I thought about all the times I watched my Pawpaw carve the turkey when he was still with us, and how my mom always snuck a few pieces despite Mamaw's exasperation.


I'm sure tomorrow when I'm working on the stuffing, I'll think about the pan of stuffing at my other Mamaw's that's spicy, and the small pan for those of us that don't like the heat. And when I use the buttermilk to make my mashed potatoes, I'll think about how I never understood why Cotton would drink it and actually like it.


I hope in 27 years, Hayden looks back and thinks about the things that were always the same at our house during the holidays. No matter where we were in the world or who sat down at the table with us, or even if some holidays we didn't get to be a whole family, there were some things that remained the same. And hopefully, he won't remember that Boston Market made the gravy and mom didn't :-)

Eating machine

I'm alway so excited when Hayden likes new foods. Truth be told, we haven't found much that he DOESN'T like. Today when I picked him up from daycare so I could get a little gym time, the teachers are always so surprised at how much he eats. On today's menu? Broccoli lasagna! He's never had broccoli before and isn't likely to have much at home since neither Jay nor I eat it, but I'm determined to work on it. He loves spinach and I'm a big fan of that so we'll be getting in a lot of that but I will really have to work with broccoli. We've been archenemies for many years but we're learning to get along.

Last night Hayden woke up while we were still awake so I heated up some milk and discovered that he finally likes it! I don't know if it's because we just kept giving it to him or that I finally got the temperature right, but he gobbled it right down. It's so much fun to see him morph from a baby to a boy right in front of our eyes. Unfortunately our picture-taking has drastically slowed since Hayden's first birthday, but the holidays are right around the corner and we'll have plenty to share. Hopefully soon we can get some steps on video as well!

Working momma

I am officially employed! Well, I have a job. But it starts in January. Maybe I should back up a little.

I have been thinking about going back to work for some time. I started the application process in October, which is confusing and frustrating over here and I do not much care for it. So two weeks ago I asked a friend if they were hiring at the bank, and she told me they were. I printed out the resume that's been ready for months, and gave the manager a call. He told me I could come in anytime to drop it off, so I called my friend Amber to see if she'd watch Hayden for a few minutes. Nothing says low-maintenance employee like someone who comes in with a one-year-old clinging to her legs and demanding attention, right?

I went to the bank and met with the manager. I handed him my resume, he asked me a few questions and said he'd like to set up an interview. He went to speak with someone else and quickly returned saying, "Well since you're here and unprepared, let's do it now." Rock on. Let's do this. So I had a short interview with the two of them, and felt pretty good about it. But I've been here long enough to know not to get my hopes up. They assured me I would hear back from them before Thanksgiving.

So imagine my surprise when, after the weekend, I ran into said bank manager who told me to come in to fill out the paperwork. I was hired! I will be a customer service representative for Community Bank, which is a division of Bank of America that's set up overseas on military posts for American citizens. My job starts in January and will require a two-week training that's about two hours away from here, but we're working on the logistics of that. The best part is that all bank employees start out as part time, which will be a great way to transition to "back to work" for me and Hayden. I also have some time to figure out what kind of child care route we'll be taking for little man, but for now I'm SO excited to be employed again!

Dear Salem College, thank you for teaching me how to construct a proper resume. Thank you for reminding me how to be professional, how to dress for an interview even if it's not supposed to be an interview, and not to wear perfume to an interview. Thank you for telling me to write a thank you note after an interview, to make eye contact, have a firm handshake and to speak openly and honestly about my job experience and characteristics. This job's for you ;-)

Updates

Well Hayden is one, and big things are happening! He took his first steps for Jay on November 9, but is far from actually "walking". He will get into a groove, taking a few steps back and forth between Jay and I. It's a lot of fun to watch, and he is definitely more interested in walking when dad is around. Crawling is just so fast, so he seems to prefer that. He has also turned into our little climber and therefore our little daredevil. He can now get up and down the couch in no time, and has a blast climbing over anything in his way. Sometimes that happens to be Oscar, which does not please Oscar but he deals with it.


We started giving Hayden milk in his sippy cup about two weeks ago to mixed results. After a few tries, he definitely prefers whole milk once it's been warmed. He's still not in love with it, but he is making excellent progress. As a result, we're washing and packing up the bottles this week because he is no longer interested in them! This was a huge relief, as the bottle seemed to be a great source of comfort to him for a long time. I guess he's ready to move on to bigger and better things!

Food is a ton of fun for little Mr. Hayden. He loves to eat whatever we eat, which can include Thai food, avocadoes, whole wheat banana bread, pasta salad, anything on our plates he seems to think is fair game. He is such a good eater and is surprisingly on the "skinny" side for his size, but he burns a ton of calories with all that playing! He is having a blast with all his new birthday toys, and we're going to have to clean out some of the old ones to make room. I still owe you a blog about Austria; I got a little behind there for awhile but we're working on getting caught up!

One year check up

We took Hayden to the doctor for his one-year check up on Monday morning. Jay got to go with us, and he always finds good parking so I was not surprised when he found one right in front of the door. Good thing, too, since it was raining and yucky out! We only waited a few minutes before we were called back for his weight and height. Hayden is 22 lbs, 3 oz and 30.5 inches long! He has nearly tripled his birth weight and is in the 75th percentile for height but only 50th for weight. He's long and lean! Some days he definitely feels more than 22 pounds.

The doctor did some motor skills testing and checked him out. Luckily his cough is just some congestion and nothing more serious, so we got him some nose drops to alleviate the stuffiness and he has been sleeping better already! The cough seems to have subsided and we are grateful it wasn't anything more. The German doctors are definitely more laid back than American doctors, which seems to suit our family style. We asked a few questions and were out the door in a half hour. Not bad!

Because of when he got his six month shots, we actually have to wait about 2 weeks before we can get his next round of immunizations to make sure they're spaced correctly. I don't mind putting them off; they're definitely the worst part! But our little boy is developing right on track and always brings a smile to his doctor's face so we're happy.

Birthday boy!

It's so hard to believe my little boy is one already! We started the day with a little sleeping in, which was nice for everyone! I woke Hayden up singing "Happy Birthday" and he loved it! He had waffles and peaches for breakfast, played and had his birthday nap. I told him to rest up, because when he woke up it would be time to party!

I iced his cake and the cupcakes and packed up the car. We had gotten him a birthday balloon on Saturday since nothing is open on Sunday, and Oscar was not pleased with our helium friend. He was terrified of it, so it had to go in the car as soon as possible. Most of the birthday goodies were in two bags so it was quick work to get the car packed and get us ready. We got Hayden up, put on his special birthday outfit and headed to the bowling alley. About halfway there Jay realized he'd left his bowling ball, so we decided to drop me off to set up and he and Hayden would go back for the ball.

A month ago I called the bowling alley to reserve Hayden's party. So imagine my surprise when I got there to confirm it last Tuesday and they had no record of it. The big issue was the little birthday room, which was already booked. We decided instead of trying to move around our date or time (since the invitations were long sent) that we didn't really need the room, we just wanted lanes and space. We requested the last four lanes, since they were furthest from the door (for escaping kids!) and closest to the snack bar. So imagine my surprise AGAIN when I arrived yesterday and our lanes were not reserved. We took the other four lanes, and obviously our bowling was free. I refused to let anything ruin Hayden's day, and since he didn't really care where our lanes were, I started decorating.

It was quick work, since 1st birthday parties in my opinion should be all about the little ones. The pizza was ordered, the cakes were ready and now I just needed our guests and of course, the guest of honor! Everyone started arriving shortly before 2 and the bowling and pizza party began. Hayden had chicken nuggets and fries for his birthday lunch, and was so excited to see everyone! He loves his friends and Germany family, and was pretty excited about that balloon that had caused so much anguish for Oscar.

After a few rounds of bowling, we started opening the presents. Hayden was a little tired at that point, so I started out with daunting task of opening gifts while holding a squirmy one-year-old. Jay was a big help, switching opened presents for unopened presents, clearing trash and generally being awesome. Hayden was excited about everything once we got home and he was able to see it individually without the distractions of friends, food and falling pins. Then it was time for what everyone was waiting for...the cake!

I made Hayden a mini-cake, along with some cupcakes and picked up a sheet cake from the commissary. We set his chocolate-iced, dinosaur-sprinkled yellow cake in front of him with his lit candle and he was ready! We sang Happy Birthday, which he loved, blew out the candle and let him go to town. He had no problems digging right in. Jay helped him put a little on his face, which startled him but then everyone started to clap, so he followed suit clapping with his chocolate-covered hands. He ate about 3/4 of the cake and decided he was done, so Jen and I took him to the bathroom for clean up. Luckily I had brought a new outfit, towels and baby soap so the two of us made quick work of cleaning and changing him. He was glad to be clean again, and spent the rest of his party moving among the remaining guests for snuggles and testing his escape strategies.

We got all his gifts in the car, cleaned up the mess and strapped him in. He was asleep before we left the parking lot! Bless his heart, turning one is a lot of work. He napped a little when we came home, and then started testing out his presents. We only brought in a few so as not to overwhelm him, and he had a blast last night with his ball popper, cars and Vsmile toys. He also enjoyed his new "bathketball" tub toys during his bath and ate some big boy dinner with mom and dad before bedtime.

We're sad Hayden's family wasn't here to see his first birthday, but his Germany family provided tons of love and fun to help us celebrate! Today's tasks include all the cleaning and laundry that fell by the wayside in preparation for this weekend, more attempts to get Hayden to like milk and learning how to parent a one-year-old. Let the new challenges begin!

Happy Birthday Hayden!

One year ago today at this time, I hadn't even begun having contractions. I had no way of knowing that at 11:59pm, my healthy baby boy would be born. 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20.5 inches long with a head full of hair and the ability to change our lives so completely.

Happy first birthday Hayden!

Family photo...finally!

More Halloween

This is Hayden's halloween picture we had taken on post and just got back. He was definitely more interested in the backdrop and in taking of his hat than having his picture taken, but I think it came out well.

Determination

I think he really thought he was getting somewhere!

Happy Halloween!

We love Halloween in this house, and were very excited for Hayden's first celebration of the holiday. But first, we had an adults only party! On Friday night we dropped Hayden off with our good friends, the Bakers, who were all too excited to watch him for our night out. We headed to a pub on post that we'd decorated earlier in the day and set up with lots of yummy food and treats. Several other couples and some single soldiers attended as well, and we had a blast! Good food, pictures, music and costumes made for a really fun night. Hayden had a great time with the Bakers, and has a new best friend in their dog Harley.

Our late Friday night meant we got to sleep in a little on Saturday. We headed to post to take Hayden's Halloween picture and grab some lunch. I love his Hulk costume and it's so easy to get on him so we didn't mind putting it on a few times. Halloween night we met our friends to go trick or treating on post at 6 and walked around for about an hour and a half. Hayden always gets confused when he's all bundled up but he was a champ in his stroller. He's too little for candy but we trick or treated at a few places and put candy in his fun Halloween bag for us to later enjoy. We tried to get a few pics of the kids inside but Hayden wanted nothing to do with it. It's a rough life for a baby!

After trick or treating we headed to the bowling alley where games were free if you were in costume. It's so much fun feeding Hayden now that he can eat real food and really enjoys feeding himself. He has grown very anti-bottle lately, only wanting to drink a few ounces of formula here and there so we decided he was close enough to his first birthday to try some milk. Boy is this going to be fun! He doesn't care for it at all, since it's not nearly as sweet as formula. We're trying some things to get him to like it (mixing it with formula, warming it) but so far he just spits it out. It's pretty funny to watch. But he didn't like juice or water in the beginning either, so eventually we'll prevail and hopefully he'll be a milk drinker like his parents!

Hay ride and pumpkin patch

Things in Germany are always a little different than back home, but we love to try new things. Our Family Readiness Group (FRG) organized a hay ride and visit to a pumpkin patch last Friday so we were excited to go on an adventure. We headed to Seufert's Ranch and had a good time watching Hayden explore all the animals. The hay ride didn't actually have any hay; it was a wagon ride through a rural town and up to a pumpkin patch that wasn't really a patch! All the pumpkins were picked and put into groups already, but we got some fun pictures of Hayden with the pumpkins and gourds. We also got some homemade jams from the farm and they were delicious!

After the pumpkin patch we took our wagon back to the ranch where we enjoyed yummy cookies and my favorite German cold-weather treat, gluhwein (prounounced glue-wine). Gluhwein is mulled, spiced wine and is by far one of the best things I've ever tasted! They come in red and white varieties and you can usually only find them October through January. Our FRG leader, Megan, also picked us up the cutest mugs to take home with us...a great addition to my ever-growing Polish pottery collection.

Hayden had a blast at the ranch, and was certainly worn out when it was all over. Luckily Saturday was a quiet, easy day for us and we got to relax. He has a bit of a sniffle and cough, so we're trying to keep him healthy in this cold and flu season!