It's been a busy month!

We started out the month of June with a trip home to the states! It was a very long 10 hour flight with Caden and we don't plan on doing it again until we move back. We started our visit up at the lake with the Fox family. Kim and Dan had a birthday party for me and we were able to spend a wonderful day at the lake with both sides of our families. It was so much fun.

After a few days of relaxing at the lake we got on another plane with the Fox family and flew to Virginia for some time at Jake's grandparent's beach house and for a friend's wedding. We spent our first few days in Virginia on the beach and spending time with family. Caden had a great time on the beach playing with Jake and I and his aunt April and Oma. We are so glad we were able to go up to the beach and spend some time with Caden's great grandma and grandpa and also meet his great uncle Rick! We all really enjoyed our time there.

In addition to our fun at the beach with the family, we were also able to go to Ryan and Sam's (college friends) wedding in Suffolk, Virginia. We took Caden to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night so that he could meet our friends we had not seen since we moved to Germany. He was great and even fell asleep in his stroller during dinner. He is such a good little traveller. On Saturday, Caden's aunt April and uncle Eric were kind enough to watch Caden for us all day so that we could go to the wedding and enjoy time with old friends. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time catching up with old friends. It was especially fun to spend time with Mike and Kelli and have another pregnant girl to hang out with!

On Sunday we flew back to Atlanta and spent the next week with the Gutting family in Marietta. We spent most of the week playing with Caden's cousins Brennen and Emma. He loved playing with them and still asks me every day if we can go and play with them at aunt Jenni's house. I wish we lived closer and could see them more often. We also made sure to eat at all of our favorite restaurants and do a little shopping! We tried to have a birthday party for Caden the day before we left to come back to Germany, but Caden was so exhausted and worn out from his two weeks of excitement that he fell asleep on his grandpa's lap about 20 minutes after all of the party guests arrived and slept through the whole party. Even though Caden missed his party Jake and I enjoyed spending time with both of our families and our good friend Melissa.

We had a wonderful time at home and treasure the time we were able to spend with our families and friends. We hope we will live closer in a few months and will be able to visit more often!

Yesterday we celebrated Caden's 2nd birthday and Father's Day! I feel so blessed to have my wonderful boys. Jake is an amazing father and Caden adores him. I love watching and listening to them play; there is nothing better than the sound of them laughing and playing together!

Now we are busy preparing for William's arrival next month! We will keep you posted this coming month and I promise to post more pictures soon!

Trip to the Netherlands

This week we took an Air Force paid family trip to the Netherlands. Jake needed to go to the altitude chamber to do a refresher course and the closest one here is about an hour south of Amsterdam, so Caden and I came along and we made a short vacation out of it. We drove up Tuesday and stopped at a huge beer store in Belgium which made Jake very happy! Tuesday night we went out to dinner with the Travis and Lindsay Reuff, another couple from Jake's squadron. We ate at a delicious restaurant and we all ordered food from the house specialty menu. None of us could read the menu so we didn't really know what to expect, but the food was amazing! Jake ordered a shish kabob and it was served hanging on a big pole on the table.


Jake eating his shish kabob

Wednesday morning Jake had to go to training so Caden and I went to explore the town of Amersfoort with Lindsay and her daughter Sophie. It was a really cute town with canals running through it. We found a park for the kids to play at and then went to a great coffee shop that had a huge playroom for Caden and Sophie. It was a really fun morning. Jake and Travis finished with training around lunch time and we all piled into our car and drove up to Amsterdam. We went and toured the Anne Frank House and explored the city. We of course found a park for Caden to play at since he likes to try them out in every European city! Amsterdam was a beautiful city and we are glad we were able to make it there before we leave.


Caden trying to steal a kiss from Sophie at the park.


Caden at the park in Amersfoort





Caden playing at a park in Amsterdam

Baby William Update

Today I had another ultrasound to check on William's kidneys and we got good news! He does have a slight case of hydronephrosis (fluid on the kidneys) but the doctor thinks it is nothing to worry about. He is going to do one more ultrasound in 5 weeks to check again, but he assured us that everything is going to be fine. At 30 weeks William is weighing in at 3lbs which is right on schedule. Unfortunately he would not take his hand away from his face so we didn't get any good pictures of him today. We did get a couple of glimpses of his profile and the doctors said he thinks he is going to have Jake's nose. Hopefully at the next ultrasound he will move his hand so we can get a better look at him. Jake and I are both feeling very relieved and thankful after today's appointment. We can't wait to meet our new little guy!

18 weeks

18 weeks



25 weeks


I couldn't put up a post without some pictures of our sweet Caden so here are a few pictures of Caden enjoying his bath this week.

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's day hanging out with my boys! I started my day working in the church nursery with all the sweet babies. Then Jake and I attended a great worship service while Caden went to Sunday school. Caden loves going to school and was so excited to go and see his friends!
We spent the afternoon playing outside and are thankful the rain didn't start until after dinner. Caden has so much energy and loves spending the day outside playing with mommy, daddy and Dixie! We went on a long walk, fed ducks, rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline and played with the neighbors. He is one tired little boy and is sound asleep! For dinner, Jake cooked me a wonderful pesto pasta meal we ate while in Italy. It was delicious! It was a great day and I am so thankful for my amazing husband and sweet boy who made my day so special!

We also wanted to wish our moms a happy Mother's day! We love you and miss you so much! Thanks for everything you do for us. We can't wait to see you in 3 weeks!

A lot of you have been asking for new belly shots so I had Jake take a couple this afternoon. I am 29 weeks now and feeling pretty good! We are getting very excited about William's arrival!













Caden playing with his best friend Dixie!

It's about time...

I finally have decided to update our blog. It's been way too long since I've posted and I'm going to try my best to update it regularly.

The biggest news our family has is that we are expecting another sweet baby boy this July!! We are going to name him William Michael. William is after our grandfathers and Michael is after my dad. He will be joining our family on July 20th and we can't wait! Caden still doesn't really understand what is happening, but we know he is going to be a wonderful big brother.

Caden will be 2 years old next month and is growing up so fast. He is always on the go and rarely sits still. His favorite things and trucks, train, airplanes, Elmo and our dog Dixie. He is so funny and always has Jake and I laughing. He is talking all the time now and seems to be learning new words every day! We can't wait to take him home to visit our families in the states next month!

We are continuing to enjoy our time in Germany, but are getting very excited about heading back to the states this Fall. We still do not know where we are going and we will probably wont know until July. We are hoping to get back closer to our families!

A few weeks ago we took an amazing trip to Italy! We flew into Rome and spent 2 full days seeing all the sights. We then drove to Tuscany and spent 3 days in a bed and breakfast in the Chianti Region. While staying there, we took day trips to Florence and Sienna. We then left Tuscany and drove to Cinque Terre which is five villages nestled on the cliffs of the Italian coast. It was the most beautiful place we have ever been and we are so glad we were able to spend 2 relaxing days there at the end out our trip!


Andi standing inside the Colosseum overlooking the Forum.


Jake in front of the Colosseum.


Caden playing at a park in Rome!

Enjoying a delicious lunch in the square in Sienna!


Florence


Cinque Terre!

Taking a break on our hike between cities in Cinque Terre.




My two boys in Vernazza enjoying the beach.

Vernazza, where we stayed in Cinque Terre

Well that is about all I have time for now. Caden should be waking up from his nap any minute. Check back soon for more updates!

Caden is walking!

Caden took his first real steps to Jake at the park on Saturday July 26th. Over the past week he has been taking more and more steps as he gains confidence. Today he finally started walking and he is so excited! Jake shot a short video of Caden walking in his play room tonight so you all could see him walking!

Beach Trip!

Caden and I spent a wonderful week in Perdido Key, Fl with my family. It was Caden's first trip to the beach and he did pretty well. He wasn't too sure about the sand and the ocean, but he still had a great time. He was happy playing in the sand with his cousins as long as he had his rake! The ocean was filled with jelly fish the whole time we were there so we didn't get to swim much, but we spent plenty of time swimming in the pool. All of the kids preferred the pool to the beach. Caden's cousins are little fish that could swim all day. Caden preferred to climb up and down the pool stairs and to crawl around on the pool deck like a bear. He had a lot of fun playing around the pool and watching his cousins swim. He did swim some and even went surfing in the pool with his Grandpa! It was so nice to spend a week with my parents, sisters, niece and nephew. We treasure the time we get to spend with them. Caden really enjoyed playing with his cousins and I know he is missing them already.

Cousins in their matching swim suits.

My little surfer boy!

Caden the bear!

.

Surfing in the pool with Grandpa.

Sweet boy

.

Jenni, Michael, Brennen, and Emma - We miss you!!

Mom and Dad.

Go Dawgs!

Sisters! I love you girls!

Best Grandparents!