Pictures

So I found the camera cord in a search for some library items that were over-due but packed away in boxes. So here are a few pictures...

I forgot to share that Kyle is getting his scuba diving certification. Saturday was his last pool class and Gunnar and I got go along. Gunnar loves swimming. The water was a little cold and he didn't seem to enjoy it at first, but after a short break with juice and crackers he became fearless. He would have run right into the water if I wouldn't have stopped him.

Here is a picture of Gunnar's idea of helping us move...

And the latest picture we have of baby #2 at about 30 weeks. I have said it before and will say it again, I am not a huge fan of these types of pictures, but it is for the grandparents...

Maybe one of these days I will get my act together and get a picture of me and my big ol' basketball of a belly.

An Update

So this will be just a newsy update with no photos.
MOVING- We are in the process of moving. And, when I say "process", it really is a process. It is nice when the Army comes and packs all your things and unpacks them for you. It is not so nice to move on your own. Especially when the people moving have either a bum leg or are 31 weeks pregnant. The moving plan didn't work out quite how Kyle wanted, and he is gone until Saturday, so Gunnar and I get to hang out with boxes (hopefully I can get a few unloaded) and then Sunday we have to rent a small truck or van to bring the last of our stuff over and do basic cleaning. Kyle then leaves at 1am Monday morning for Italy, so Gunnar and I will sit with even more boxes and attempt to unpack while he is gone. The cleaning list for a self-move (meaning we are choosing to move) is just INSANE! So we will pay $190 for a cleaning team to come in and all we have to do is sweep and make sure no food particles are left in the fridge or oven.
BABY UPDATE- I went to the doctor last week and things are looking good. The baby is healthy and chubby. The doctor said I will have a big baby. NOT COOL, I actually didn't mind delivering my 5 1/2 lbs. baby. So we will see if the doc. is right. He told me Gunnar was going to be a big boy too. I feel huge, but when I was looking at my weight compared to last time according to weeks, I am only about 2 lbs. heavier than I was with Gunnar at this point. This baby like his brother hates for people to listen to his heart-rate. So instead of giving them a good reading them just moves around so much that they can never hear it.
GUNNAR- ...keeps me busy. But a loving, fun little boy. I don't know how anyone can possibly have so much energy! Life has had a lot of adjustments for him lately and he has handled them like a champion. He has been spending time with our friends while we move, we live in a new place, and he sleeps in a big boy bed. I know a big boy bed...crazy. Kyle decided when he moved the crib to convert it into the toddler bed. I was pretty skeptical,  but Gunnar has done great. He loves being able to climb into bed during the day (although he thinks jumping on the bed is great fun too), and he stays in bed at night. Well...he did until tonight. Tonight he was crying and I went in to find him crawling around his room very sad and I imagine scared. I am not sure if he fell out or crawled out.  He fell out one other time in the week he has been in the bed. His room is pitch-black and I am pretty sure he attempted to stand in the corner like he used to in his crib, however there was nothing for him to grab a hold of. It is probably much safer than a crib as Gunnar is a climber and I constantly had to worry about him pulling himself over the side. It would be a good 2 1/2 ft. drop with the crib rails and now it is only about 6-7 inches.
KYLE- He is a busy guy. Today he left for a course to receive a certification to be able to run a paintball field and be a paintball instructor. He is using 3 leave days to attend, but other than that it is all totally free through where he has been volunteering Outdoor Recreation. They send a professional paintball player form the US over to teach the course. I talked to Kyle tonight and he said it is really hard. 2 hours in the classroom and 5 hours of free paintball in the afternoon. :) Sounds rough! He gets back Saturday night, then finishes up the old apartment and moving Sunday, then leaves at 1am on Monday for Italy. He is going with the Club Beyond Middle School group. He will be on the beach for a week...I am jealous! He will get back around 3am on July 4, then at 8:30am we drop Gunnar off with our friend Gina and head to the Passion Play in Oberammergau. We will watch the Passion play there and then come back the evening of July 5. I hope he doesn't get burnt out! Luckily, all this activities are fun.
BETH-So, I am a working woman again. Haha, I was called late last week being ask to teach summer school. It is from June 28-July 23, and 4 hours a day. This week I work in the morning as well, setting up the classroom and such. The money is awesome, more than $40/hour. It should be pretty stress free. I have a class size of 10 (if everyone shows up) and I work with fun people, in a laid back atmosphere. My only concern was finding child-care. I was hoping to find a in-home provider, but there were no openings, and it was a miracle that we were able to get a slot at the Child Development Center. As of Monday Gunnar will officially be in daycare. They only had a full time slot open, and with Kyle being in the Warrior Transition Unit we only pay $196 for a month of care, and were moved from the bottom to the top of the waiting list. Technically I could leave Gunnar from 6am-6pm as that is what we are paying for, but he should only be there from 8-12:30ish.  While I worry about him, I tell myself it is just over 4 hours a day for a month...can they really do to much damage???
I am feeling pretty good. I have really overdone it with the moving, but I hate just standing by and watching. I still have horrible heartburn and am not always able to keep my food down, and sometimes not sleep. But I am working on catching up on rest and relaxation, even if that means sitting with boxes and finding going on a search for clothes every morning.
I do have pictures to post, but until I find which box the cord for downloading the pictures is in, you will just have to read...

Time with Daddy

Gunnar is at such a fun age. He loves to play, tease, and everything in life is so funny to him it just cracks me up. He is such a goof and a pure joy to be around. You can't help but smile when you are in his presence. Gunnar used to not be so interested in Kyle and you may have been able to say the feeling was a little mutual. Kyle has always loved Gunnar, but as Gunnar is getting older you can really see them forming a bond together and loving to have each other around.
I have said it many times, I am sorry Kyle broke his leg, but I think of the year that he would have missed out on if he was still deployed. God really does work in mysterious ways sometimes. I am so thankful to have him home with us, and getting to be part of Gunnar's life at this fun stage not to mention he is able to give this pregnant lady a much needed break every once in a while. Kyle is so rough with Gunnar which at times worries me, but Gunnar thinks it is a blast and is one tough cookie. I sometimes think others are afraid to let Kyle near their baby for fear he may toss them around like he does Gunnar.
Gunnar and Kyle spend more and more time together without me. Kyle will take Gunnar and go do things, and Gunnar no longer screams when I walk out the door and he is left with his dad. Gunnar actually cried today when Kyle left for work which was a first. Poor Gunnar is stuck at home with a pregnant, tired mommy.
Sunday afternoon Kyle took Suesse and Gunnar out to the field to play. Suesse is a poor house-ridden doggy who loves to be outside. We used to take her out for some "freedom" time more often, but I think we have gotten pretty lazy about it. She just loves to run. I am sure the German farmers appreciate our dog running havoc in their fields, but a dog has to have a little freedom once in a while and this is really the only option for us.
Gunnar went with Kyle and Suesse and had a great time playing with sticks and eating rocks. I was with them, but wasn't feeling to great and stayed in the car. They really had fun, and Gunnar was in heaven. Nothing better than fresh air, sticks in your hand, and rocks in your mouth.

Yummy, Rocks. I would think they are a little hard to chew. It's probably a good thing he only has 4 teeth in there to ruin with rocks.

Gunnar is concentrating pretty hard on finding the perfect rock.

He looks pleased with his selection.

Now onto better more dangerous things...long and sharp sticks.

Thanks daddy. I had a great time playing with you and Suesse.

When it rains...

it pours. Unfortunately it is pouring on my poor little boy.
So in less than a week...
1. Thursday- Gunnar has had his first incident with glass, and water, which resulted in a black eye and a lot of blood.
2. Monday-Gunnar went to the doctor because he had a ever of 103.5 and we found out both ears where infected.
3. Wednesday- Thursday Gunnar breaks out in a major rash, go to the doctor and find out he is having an allergic reaction to his medication.
My poor baby. It is no fun, and to top it off the weather has been much warmer than normal and we are hot and miserable. While it may only be in the mid to high 80s we have a lot of humidity and just sweat. Plus no a/c! Most people in Germany do not have a/c...it is horrible. We have thought about getting one, but this will be our last summer here, and they are expensive, so I think we will have to deal. The good news is, the car has a/c, so I think I feel the need to go a lot of places here this summer. :)
Here is a picture of Gunnar and what he thinks about long car rides...yesterday we had to make another trip to Landstuhl. 

It is hard to get a picture of his rash, and it all depends on the lighting as to how bad it looks. We live like bats because of the heat, so when we go outside or in the bright kitchen it makes me so sad because it just looks miserable.

Gunnar's New Look...

He is a silly boy..is it any surprise at only 13 months he is sporting a nice black eye? In case you missed how he got this black eye, check out yesterday's post.

13 month old and glass....

We had an interesting morning...
It started out like normal. Kyle goes to PT, Gunnar and I sleep in until about 7:30-8:00. Kyle comes home, Gunnar and I get up, and Kyle decides to try and nap until work.
So this morning after breakfast I was sitting on the couch and looked over and saw Gunnar near the kitchen table. Somehow he managed to reach on top of the table and grab my almost empty glass of water I hadn't finished at breakfast. I wanted to tell him "no," but I was afraid he would drop the glass, so I said nothing and started walking over to him to take the glass away. As I was walking, he dumped the water, slipped on the water, dropped the glass, and fell into the glass. So much for my great plan....
I run over to him through the broken glass to find what looks like massive amounts of blood and Gunnar laying in the glass. I pick Gunnar up and find blood gushing, yes, gushing, like blood squirting out of his head near his eye. I try to stay as calm as possible, and as I carry him to the bathroom, yell at Kyle that I need his help. There was so much blood, heads bleed way more than they really need too. We find that he has a cut right near the corner of his eye. Kyle is trying to calm me down so I can calm Gunnar down, and we can assess the damage and ensure that was his only cut and there was no damage to his eye. I finally get calm enough to hold Gunnar, and I am able to calm Gunnar down. He is still bleeding pretty good, we decided that he had a little bloody nose as well, and a small cut on his finger. After getting him all settled we were able to get the bleeding stopped, and then get him cleaned up to see it wasn't nearly as bad as it appeared.
I had glass in my foot we had to pull out with tweezers from going through it to get Gunnar, but it was nothing major. Throughout the day I have found a few more little pieces in my feet and hands..
I bathed Gunnar and he has seemed fine and his normal self all day. He now just is sporting a nice cut by his eye, and it is a little swollen, and turning black and blue.
We thank God that it wasn't more serious. I still don't know how the glass got up my his eye, or how he got a bloody nose. But, we praise God that he is okay, and that we have a tough little guy.
He hasn't gone back over near the table today but I can't say that I blame him, it looks like a bloody crime scene. Kyle got the glass picked up, but we had to go to his work BBQ soon after it happened, so the blood is still there. I should probably go take care of that.
Below are a few pictures of what Gunnar looked like after I had gotten him calmed down. Then one during his bath.

2 days

 

We have gone 2 days without a binki (aka pacifier, nuk, or whatever clever name you use). It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. We went cold turkey and Gunnar doesn't even get one at nap or bedtime. 

Nap time is by far the hardest. He will go to sleep after a few minutes of yelling his lungs out and then sleep for a little bit, wakes up, at this point before he would just put his binki back in and go back to sleep, but now he just screams!
Bedtime is much different. Last night he made it all night, with just about a minute of screaming before going to sleep...tonight, he again let me know for about a minute that he was not happy then went to sleep, and I am hoping he can sleep through again tonight without it.
Next we have to work on weaning in from the bottle. He is down to only 2 bottles, one before his afternoon nap, and one before bedtime. But I will give him a week or two after his binki is no longer missed to ditch the bottle. I would like him completely weaned from the bottle before his little brother joins the family, which seems to be creeping up really quickly.
Then, one day when I am ready we will really potty train the kid. Kyle would like it done now, but that takes to much effort on my part, and since he isn't telling us he has to potty it could make it a bit more difficult. He does know how to go on the potty and enjoys it, but I think it is more of a game right now.
Oh my, babies grow up way to fast...

Memorial Day and more

Our memorial day was not spent doing the typical BBQ or picnic, instead we had a lazy morning and then went to spend the afternoon with some friends. Gunnar was spoiled as always and had Sina who is 7 to pull him around in this boat, read to him, and show him endless amounts of attention.

On Tuesday we had to take Kyle back to Landstuhl Hospital, this time to Neurospine. As we were walking in, there was a bus load of seriously wounded soldiers being unloaded and taken into the hospital. It was so heart wrenching and I had never seen so many machines and tubes in my life. I understand that these soldiers have to be heavily sedated for the long trip from Iraq or Afghanistan to Germany, but that aside seeing so many young faces behind it all was a humbling experience.
I thank God everyday for keeping Kyle safe in his 2 year long deployments to Iraq and 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. I am so grateful that in his second deployment to Afghanistan that he was gone a  month before ONLY breaking his leg/ankle. While it isn't good that his leg was badly broken, it did take him out of harms way. The group of guys he was with are still there, and definitely need our prayers, they are not in a good place at all. While it is very hard to Kyle to be back home, and he never feels like he has done enough and that he should be back with his guys, he has so much to be proud of, and I am so proud of him and the sacrifices he has made.
We are so sheltered from the happenings in a war zone. Kyle can tell me about them, and I can see pictures, and even get a chance to smell him after not having access to a shower in over a month, but it still seems like this pretend land that these service members are going off into for a year at a time. Can you imagine getting bullets shot at you everyday? It is not something I can come close to comprehending.
Kyle being put in WTU (Warrior Transition Unit, with all wounded warriors) has been an eye opening experience. He works with amputees, brain injured soldiers and others who have had VERY serious injuries occur while fighting for MY (and your) freedom. Then seeing these soldiers fresh off the planes from fighting and being injured opened my eyes even a little wider. I often think that people forget in the hustle-bustle of our busy lives what is being done so that we can enjoy all the luxuries of life. This doesn't even begin to touch upon those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and those families who will never get to see their loved one again. Just remember that what we have isn't free. It costs the United States a great deal.
My Hero...

On a less serious note, Gunnar got his first haircut yesterday. He had this strip down the middle of long hair. It was pushing about 3 inches. He also had some little curls in the back that get a little out of control. So yesterday we got out the scissors and gave him a little trim. He wouldn't sit still until he had the gameboy...thank goodness the batteries waited until I was done to die.

Before...

During...

After...

I also cut Kyle's hair. It isn't as bad as I thought it would look, but I doubt he asks me to cut it again anytime soon. :) No pictures of it, I don't really want to claim it. I told him if anyone asks who cut it to say "one of his buddies." I count as a buddy don't I? Haha, no one who sees Kyle is allowed to examine his hair to closely. Also having me do anything past 11pm is not really a bright idea, I am surprised there were no tears, I was getting really frustrated with his hair (and the extremely loud clippers that woke Gunnar up). 
Here are just two random pictures from this week. The first is on our way home from Landstuhl yesterday. Gunnar didn't want to eat when we had dinner but of course got very hungry and cranky on the way home. He had ate all his food that I packed on the way there, and the only thing we had to offer him was chocolate. Please know we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic moving at about 45kmh for 70 kilometers. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Then this is just a picture of Gunnar and me. I don't remember when we took it, maybe Sunday.