Farewell...Yet Again

We are saying good bye to another family. We will miss Troy, Jennifer and the three little girls. The hard thing about being a military family is saying good bye over and over again to people who become your home away from home. We are nearing the end of our 4 years here in San Diego and one by one our friends are moving away. It is essential to build a support system, to have people around you that will always help you. We are far from any family so friends are our family. Our good friends, Wes, Melissa and their little one Emily, will be moving in March. It is too sad to think about. We attended a going away party for Troy and Jennifer this past weekend. It was a good way to say good bye. Sadly though this is the only picture I can post of the party. I will let you imagine what the pictures started to look like as more beverages were consumed. We will miss you guys!

Julian

Last weekend Eaan, Jourdan and I went up to Julian and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast for the night. It was nice to get away for the weekend and a nice change or weather. It snowed in Julian the night we left. I wish we could have stayed for the snow, but we didn't have our 4 wheel drive vehicle with us so Eaan thought it was best that we leave. Darn! Jourdan has never seen snow. He will soon, we are planning on taking him up into the mountains when it snows to go sledding. Should be fun! Back to the weekend. Julian is a little town about an hour from San Diego. There are small stores, a small town feel and Julian is known for their Apple Pies...yummy! The picture above is the view from the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at. Julain reminds me a lot of Maryland.

We had lots of good eats while we were there. Jourdan even learned how to use a cup, plate and fork. Well kind of. He was doing good until they all ended up on the floor with his eggs. Sorry the pictures are crappy, I took them with my cell phone.


We also went to hike at Lake Cuyamaca. We didn't end up hiking, it was too cold and Jourdan was too cranky. The ducks were out in full force though. Jourdan liked them.


Than the fog rolled in, remember the first picture? That was our view the first day. This was our view the day we left.


I loved it! I love crappy weather, as long as the sun comes out every once in awhile. We hardly ever have crappy weather in San Diego so when it comes rolling in I am loving it. It was nice to get away but it was also nice to come back home.

Jourdan Update

Caution: Overload on toddler information. Only read if you WANT to hear about all the stuff Jourdan is doing.

Jourdan is getting bigger and bigger everyday. We went to the doctor for his 16 month checkup earlier this month. He is already almost 17 months. He is a healthy growing toddler, not my little baby anymore. He has gotten taller too. He did not enjoy the shots he recieved. Of course he got sick shortly after and he is now finally back to the normal happy baby we all love. There were many sleepless nights and I still have to hold him for 15 or 20 minutes after he wakes up in the morning. (I don't think he realizes he isn't sick anymore and that mommy doesn't have to hold him all the time.)

He is doing everything a growing little boy should. Climbing on everything, see Nana he is puttin your toy to good use! Running away from me in the store or into the street (my favorite) is probably his all time favorite thing and than having a temper tantrum when I will not let him run away from me. He is talking up a storm...his favorite word: owe, ochie, which means hot or hurt...he thinks everything is hot. And he loves to read books, the same ones over and over and over again. He has so much hair that we buzzed it off...again. He is doing good in his toddler bed, he doesn't get out, he just cries and waits for me to come get him in the morning. Man, did that idea backfire, the point of the bed was so he could get up and play in his room in the morning so I could sleep a little longer. Not happening.

We took him to the playground the other day. He didn't look like he had fun...When we put him in the swing he just sat in it and stared. But he didn't want to get out of the swing. So who knows, he wasn't feeling all the way better yet so he probably wasn't having fun. What can I say, we tried. Oh yeah and we had to put him in backwards because he didn't want to hold himself up so he was leaning on the front of the swing. I thought he was going to tip it over. Probably not but better safe than sorry...

Happy New Year 2008

2007 was an interesting year to say the least. We brought in the New Year with two sick boys. Both Jourdan and Eaan went into the hospital over Christmas vacation. Thankfully Jourdan just had a bad cold and recovered quickly. Eaan took a little longer. After high fevers, dehydration, emergency room visits, a spinal tap (ouch!), cat scans and a massive doses of antibiotics the doctors finally figured out he had a bad sinus infection. He was ok after a couple weeks but still a little drained. And of course he is completely better now. I couldn't have taken care of these boys without the help of Nana and of course Uncle Will!

Eaan started workups in February for his second deployment. *Remember he just got back in August of 06', 17 days before Jourdan was born.* I graduated in March with my Bachelors Degree from the University of Phoenix. I decided to stay in California while Eaan went on deployment. Eaan left May 3rd for his 2nd deployment. Eaan's family is so supportive. I don't think I could have made it through this deployment without them. While Eaan was gone Nana probably came out every 4 to 6 weeks and Sture and Amanda came out a couple times too.

I basically tried to keep myself busy while Eaan was gone from May until September. Jourdan and I went to the Aquarium, Sea World, the Zoo, Dana Point for whale watching, the beach (of course), Balboa Park, and many other places with friends and family. We went home to Maryland but not to Phoenix (can you say 110 degrees?) Leah and I started hiking every weekend with Jourdan in a backpack and running twice a week. Than of course Jourdan and I went to the British Virgin Islands in June and July for two weeks!

Than in August Jourdan had his first birthday! That lucky little baby had two birthday parties! One in California and one in Maryland. Eaan came home on September 11th. Than it was our turn to go to Phoenix in October and November. Actually now that I think of it, we are due for a visit again. For Christmas we went home to Maryland. It was great to see everyone. Eaan hadn't been back in 3 years.

Now that 2008 is here we are already making some good changes. Jourdan moved to a toddler bed.



Eaan got a Ford Expedition (Notice Jourdan "driving" it)

Eaan is gearing up for his 3rd deployment...yes you heard me right, 3rd. He got back in September and they are deploying him in June. The Navy seems to like deploying him 9 months after he gets back. I will probably be moving back to Maryland in June for this one. 2008 should have some surprises too. I guess you will all have to wait to find out what those are!

Solomons Island

I had to try out my new camera so on Christmas Day Eaan, Jourdan and I went down to Solomons Island to take pictures. I love my new camera!

Home for the Holidays!

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the late postings. I finally have downloaded all my pictures from my camera onto my computer. This year we went home to Maryland for Christmas. I love being home. We have had such a great time celebrating Christmas with the family. We started out last week doing last minute shopping. I think we ended up running out everyday before Christmas doing some sort of shopping.

Weekend Before Christmas

The weekend before Christmas was full of family. Friday night we went and saw Aunt Dotty and Uncle Brad, they just love little Jourdan! Ricky, Tom and Kit came to see us on Saturday. I haven't seen them since my baby shower. They had never met Jourdan so it was great for him to see them. Good food, good times and of course plenty of pool. The next day, more relatives. Mark, Meghan, Piper and Duncan and of course the Grandparents, or Great Grandparents now! We all exchanged presents, had more good eats, (I love the holidays, I probably gained 5 pounds at home!) and of course played more pool.

Christmas Eve Eve

We decorated the Christmas Tree and Anna put the star on the top, well tried. Don't worry she didn't fall. And of course we read the "The night before, the night before Christmas".



Christmas Eve

The night before Christmas was great. We all hung our stockings and left our milk and brownies (apparently SANTA wanted brownies) to get ready for Santa. Anna is right at the age where she has doubts about Santa. So of course being the crazy people we are we had to let her know there was a Santa. We got her all snuggled in bed and Jeff started to read her "The Night Before Christmas". Tommy and Eaan sneaked into Jourdan's room and climbed out on the roof with some jingle bells. They started stomping around on the roof and my mom and I had visions of emergency rooms. As soon as Anna heard them she jumped up, ran past 5 adults and was down the stairs and out the front door in 2 seconds flat! We weren't prepared for that! She wanted to see Santa, so I started yelling for her to get inside so the boys could get on the other side of the roof. Thankfully she didn't see them and came inside. Than it was like a light bulb went off in her head, she wanted to know where Eaan and Tommy were. Well of course Eaan was in with Jourdan because he was crying and Tommy was wrapping presents! So back upstairs and we hear more commotion on the roof. Anna slaps her hand over Jeff's mouth, so we all started laughing. She tried to go downstairs again to see if there were presents, we wouldn't let her at first and than Jeff told her to go look. And what did she find? Eaan eating the reindeer's carrots! So after replaceing the carrots Anna finally went to bed, for the night. Than the rest of us were up until 2 am wrapping presents.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was great. I am glad we all got to spend it together. Hopefully Chris will be with us next year. I love spending the holidays with family, that's what it's all about. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

YEAH!

My Christmas Present!

A new Nikon D40!

Merry Christmas to all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Birthday Tommy

Happy Birthday Tommy!

I love you so much little brother. I can't believe you are already 17. You are growing up too fast. Where did my little brother go? He is all grown up and I am so proud of who you are becoming. I love you so much, you have always been there for me. I will always be there for you.

I listen to your music all the time. Although I know you don't believe me, I am listening to it right now. I know you are rolling your eyes reading this but I don't care. You are one of the bestest brothers a sister could have. Lovies to you. I hope you get everything you want.

Free bites!

"I'm not happy with you today Mommy"

Today was a rough day for me and the little guy. He is getting two bottom teeth and I think they were bothering him today. We started out the morning ok, but than, disaster. I took the remote away from him. Anyone with kids knows this is an extremely bad idea. He proceeded to fall to the floor, sobbing and crying like I had just thrown out his blue puppy.

Blue Puppy = LOVIE. If we ever lost little blue puppy I honestly don't think he would sleep...which is why I bought another one...backup. I just switch them every once in awhile so they both get worn out...I know I know...Genius!

Anyway so I let him cry and than gave him a bath. When I took him out he was so upset that he hit me in the face. He has been doing this lately...throwing things and hitting. I think he was just flailing but my face caught the brunt of it. Of course he got yelled at and of course he cried.

As we were about to leave the house I took my keys away from him. Now I normally don't let him play with them but he found them in my purse. He was standing in front of the door with it open so when I took the keys he sat down right there and started crying. So after repeated attempts to get him out the door, I just pushed him out. Don't worry no step, I just nudged him a foot and he continued to cry outside on the front step. Normally he is running when he gets outside...FREEDOM! But no, he just sat there and cried so I carried him to the car and put him in there...still crying. He quieted down after I turned on some music. Works every time.

When I dropped him off at daycare, where all the kids call him Jacob, he gave me a look that said "I'm not happy with you today Mommy". I warned Ms. Jane about his little 'tude.

On a happier note he did not cry when I dropped him off yesterday; he had the sad face but no tears. And yes the children all call him Jacob. I don't know if they can not pronounce Jourdan or what but Eaan is mad. He wanted to name our next little boy Jacob if we have one. I don't mind, in some circles people still call Jourdan Wolfgang...thanks Tracey...Wolfgang Green. Go ahead say it out loud.

Back to the day, when I picked up Jourdan he, of course, had his little 'tude all day but he was happy to see me and gave me a big hug. So we hopped in the car and I thought this would be a perfect time to take our Christmas card pictures since he seemed to be in a better mood. I even went to McDonald's and bought him a Happy Meal so he could eat that while we took pictures in front of the tree. Here is how that went:

It started out ok I couldn't get the color right so I was having problems with that and of course he wouldn't stand in front of the tree after the first picture.



So cute, not sure if it's good for Christmas Cards though...



Than he started to melt down...(This might be the winner!)



Than he found a present.

I am actually surprised it took him that long to rip one open. The presents have been sitting under the tree for a couple days. I felt the little guy deserved it after I put him in a sweater vest and made him, well tried to make him stand in front of the tree for an hour. Needless to say the minute that sweater vest came off, I put him right to bed. It was a long day. I think I need to do action shots with him. We are going to see Christmas lights tomorrow at Balboa Park, maybe I can get some good shots there. Or with Santa. We will see. I am sure Jourdan will let me know what he wants.

Well I am off to bed its been a long day and I need some sleep if I am going to get through tomorrow. Yeah Christmas shopping, Balboa Park and rambunctious 1 year olds!

Hungry Boys + Commissary = $400 in Food

So we went shopping last week and we bought so much food it was ridiculous! I forgot that I took pictures of the cart. Thought I would share with everyone. People in the store were asking me if I was able to push the cart by myself. The funny thing is I was having a hard time pushing it. At the checkout the cashier had to stop scanning our items twice so the bagger could catch up. You are probably wondering why we bought so much food. Well, Eaan eats so much, if he didn't there wouldn't be anything left of him. Especially since he is in "training" now. Jourdan is also starting to eat a lot too. If we have any more boys I will never be able to keep enough food in the house!

In my defense the soda on the bottom was for the guys at work...I am trying not to drink it anymore...I am not succeeding.

You Know You Are From San Diego When...

1. You can name just about every Mexican restaurant in the city.
2. You turn the AC on in your car during winter.
3. You call freeways "the 8" or "the 5" or "the 125".
4. You smell smoke and have an evacuation kit ready to go.
5. You have raincoats and umbrellas stored away for the next El Nino season.
6. You plan your day around traffic.
7. You say marine layer instead of smog.
8. You tell visiting relatives that rattlesnakes and coyotes don't bother humans.
9. Every street name is either in Spanish or Spanish related, and you're surprised when other areas do not have this.
10. You see weather forecasts for four different climate zones in the same county, and aren't remotely surprised.
11. You've gone to Mt. Helix or Mt. Soledad in July and known you still need a jacket.
12. You've been to see an Imax movie at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.
13. You still call it the Del Mar Fair.
14. You know what it means when two guys are walking in Hillcrest.
15. You know what it means when a girl in a short skirt is walking on El Cajon Blvd.
16. You've been to Belmont Park and rode the Big Dipper.
17. You know the difference between Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Mira Mesa.
18. You can correctly pronounce Jaccumba, Tierrasanta, La Jolla, Rancho Penasquitos, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and El Cajon.
19. You've gone to Sea World on a warm day and sat in the first few rows at the Shamu Show to get cooled off.
20. You've been delayed at the Border Checkpoints on "the 5" and "the 15".
21. Your house doesn't have air conditioning.
22. Everyone has their favorite beach.
23. No matter what the weather is, there is always someone walking around in a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops.
24. You live on, near or are surrounded by hills.
25. You hate tourists and their bad driving.
26. You know what MB, IB, OB, and PB stand for.
27. You know what Santa Ana's are, and that they have literally nothing to do with the city of Santa Ana.
28. You know what a California burrito is.
29. You never, under any circumstances call it anything other than "the Gaslamp".
30. You do not consider L.A. a part of SoCal.
31. You can take a freeway from your house to anywhere you want to go.
32. You have know countless guys under 5 foot 9 inches tall that own huge lifted trucks to account for their shortcomings.
33. Summer is "Fire Season" for you.
34. The year is filled with more raging wildfires more often than cloudy days.
35. You recognize the smell of Julian Apple Pie.
36. There are more taco-shops than there are Starbucks.
37. You know what towns are a part of the ghetto list.
38. You know what "The Merge" is, and will plan your entire day around not being on it during rush hour.
39. When it rains, you know by experience that everyone else on the road will freak out and slow down to a ridiculous speed and piss you off.
40. You never really pay attention to the weather reports.
41. You will not get lost in Horton Plaza.
42. We can have traffic on "the 5" when there are no accidents and it is not rush hour.
43. You know after 8 am on the summer weekends there is no parking at the beach cities.
44. You plan your day around traffic, not weather.
45. You know how to get to Moonlight Beach.

Anyone wanting to know what it's like living in Southern California...there you go. Notice, traffic was mentioned at least 7 times.

December

I had my 24th Birthday party last night. Of course it was a great time.
Yet another party at the Cutrer's!

Not too much has been going on except birthdays & holidays. Last month we celebrated Eaan's birthday and Thanksgiving and so far this month we have celebrated my birthday. Christmas vacation is coming up. I love December! :) I am looking forward to 10 days off and my mom is looking forward to spoiling her grandson. Nothing much else to report. We have been lounging around the house every weekend and than working like crazy all week. My day consists of, wake up, get ready, get Jourdan ready, go to work, drop Jourdan off at daycare, go to my other job, come home & eat dinner, put Jourdan to bed and than its time for me to go to bed. I wish there were more hours in the day. I am looking forward to Christmas. My favorite holiday!


Happy Holidays!

Another Haircut for the wee one

How cute is Jourdan? So cute. He got his hair cut in anticipation of Christmas pictures. He was such a good little boy. He had been at Chucky Cheese all day so he was tired and just sat there.

Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! :o)