Fun Days in Germany

We were lucky enough to have our cousins visit us from Oklahoma this week! Lynne and Dick were already in Germany visiting their friends and decided to take a pit stop in Jena! They got to see Brendan's team get drilled by ALBA Berlin, but it was still a fun game. The fan support is amazing here! We were getting beat by 30, but the entire stadium stayed to the end and were on their feet as though it were a one point game. It is so refreshing!

Yesterday, Brendan, Jason, Nathan, and I walked part way up this little mountain in town and took pictures! It was beautiful! You could see all of Jena from the top and there was a place where people hang glide! Hopefully, when the weather gets warmer, we will go up there again and be able to see people doing it. :)

We are beginning the countdown to America! We will be coming home on May 12th and we can't WAIT!! I'll miss Germany and the friends we've made here, but I can't wait to get home and let Nathan spend quality time with all of his family.

6 Months Old Today!

Happy 1/2 birthday, Nathan!

I can't believe it has been 6 months already. It amazes me how much I can love one person. It really makes me appreciate my own parents and how much they love me. When Nathan smiles or needs me, it makes my heart melt. I wish I could put it in words, but I can't. I am so blessed!

Now I have to start dreading kindergarten, dating, driving.......ugh! :)

Happy "White" Easter

We woke up this morning to find that it snowed overnight! So, while in Germany, we had a white Christmas and Easter! :) The Easter Bunny decided to spare our family from having to pack more stuff to bring home, so Nathan will get his Easter gifts when we are back in America. ;)

Nathan has started to recognize when we do the "Mother" and "Father" sign! :) He starts smiling and leaning toward either Brendan or I. He, of course, isn't able to do it yet, but we figure it is a start just to introduce them. We are starting the food-related signs this week. We won't try to teach him how to use his hands probably for a week or so. Hopefully, he will begin to catch on. :)

Anyway, from our family to yours, HAPPY EASTER!!

Snow in March

It's snowing today! Yay! Surprisingly, we haven't had much snow this year. Jena is the second warmest city in Germany, so we haven't seen much. It is so bizarre because you can drive a few kilometers down the Autobahn and there will be a ton of snow or ice when there is nothing in Jena. It's so strange!

Nathan is still eating like a champ and growing! We had to raise his jumperoo up to level three last night! Brendan took Nathan with him to the grocery store last night and it was so strange to be alone...I haven't experienced that in 6 months! But I have to say, it was kind of nice! :)

I'm adding a few new pictures that we have taken. Enjoy!

Winning is so nice!

Well, we won last night. Whoo-hoo!! Brendan played really well and so did the entire team, which was much needed! We are currently 3 games out of the bottom two. This is very important because the bottom two drop down into the 2nd division. I think this game will give the guys some much needed confidence, which is great.

Nathan does really well at basketball games, which is a blessing! He has ear plugs that he wears and he always manages to take a little nap at some point during the game. He's his own little celebrity, too! Everyone points at him and says his name because a few weeks back, they did a little feature on Brendan's family in the game program. It's really funny! And what a FLIRT! He smiles and bats his eyes at every girl who looks at him. What a mess! :)

It annoys me, though, when people touch him and try to hold him. I can't understand them and they don't speak English, so what do I do? Luckily, it is USUALLY (the holding part exclusively) in the VIP room, so I know they can't go anywhere. At least they mean well.

Random Links and Stuff

So, nothing exciting has happened lately. Nathan is still as cute as ever! I am so ready to be home for the summer, though. Homesickness is starting to hit me pretty bad, in waves, but I'm hanging in there!

I did find a new website that I am going to start visiting daily. It lists various "mother" related sweepstakes and giveaways. It's called Prizeatron.

Oh, and I'm adding a Nestie Shop to my list! This is Chelle729's shop! She makes diaper and towel cakes for baby showers, wedding showers, birthdays, etc. I'll add this to my links, as well!

Sticking It To the Man

My saving grace since living in Germany has been the Nestbaby.com. It's given me a place to talk to other moms, ask questions, etc. There are a lot of girls who post there that are extremely talented and have started their own businesses. They would leave links in their message signatures, but the Nest made them take them down (they want them to pay for advertising, so crazy), so I am going to start adding links to their stores in my blog! Here are some of the ones I have seen thus far:

Asned's Etsy Shop
She sells hand painted tees and onesies, as well as tutus! She will do special requests, as well!

Flbride79's Etsy Shop
She sells baby and toddler hair clips!

Wbrookelyn's Shop
She makes children's bows, tot sox, burpies, and small finger blankets!

Beth_lukehart's Etsy Shop
She sells nursing covers!

Doodlecricket's Shop
She sells everything from wraps to bottle bands!

If you have a shop that you would like me to link to, leave me a comment and I will add it!

And for a Nathan update! He had zucchini for the first time today. The results were mixed! Haha!

Sign Language

Brendan and I have decided to start trying to teach Nathan sign language. Everything we have read seems to indicate that it helps babies to communicate with their parents MUCH earlier than they can verbalize their needs. So far, we have been working on "Mother" and "Father". After we have done those two consistently for a week or two, we are going to add "more".

I'm really excited about this and I'll keep you updated on our progress! Here are a few of the websites I have found:

A Free Baby Sign Language Dictionary

Signing With Your Baby

***UPDATE***

My aunt-in-law commented with this link! So cool! It even has short videos demonstrating the sign!

VERY Comprehensive Signing Dictionary

A Nestie suggested this one! It has videos, too, and a section for ASL for Babies!

Enjoy!

Also, tomorrow, I will be listing a variety of "Mom" shops of ladies that I talk to on the Nestbaby.com. Try and support their businesses! :)

Nathan is a changin'

Last night, we went out to eat at the Kartoffel Haus, which is a traditional German restaurant. Nathan had his nap right before we left, so he was WIDE awake while we ate. It seems like yesterday when he would sleep though anything we did and was a little quiet mouse....yeah....not so much!

He wanted to jump around on our laps the whole time! :) This all comes after his HUGE growth spurt this week. We got his Jumperoo in the mail on Tuesday and when we put him in it, he just toed the ground. Fast forward to Friday and he is FLAT FOOTED in it, he went up a diaper size (EUR size 4), is wearing 9 month clothes, AND his 6-12 month shoes are fitting much better. Remember, my little guy is only five and half months old! :-P

It makes me really sad, at the same time, because our families are missing these moments. I want his grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, etc. to be able to see him hit milestones, but they are missing all of them. Sometimes it makes me want to cry, but I know that it is a sacrifice we have to make. The good thing is that our families are very close and when we get home in the summers, they will get to see him a lot. I can't wait!

Boring Sunday and a Cool Changing Table

Sundays are particularly boring in Germany. Everything is closed, minus a few restaurants (which I am hoping I can convince my husband to take me to tonight). This really stinks because Sunday is typically my husband's day off.

They played last night and got...well...drilled. I could discuss this more, but I won't. I have to be a good basketball wife! ;)

So in the spirit of ultimate boredom, I decided to search the internet for cool and unique baby products.

How cool is this changing table? It is by UBI. It sits on the floor and you can get it with or without a diaper pop up feature! I would love to have this in my living room, especially as my child gets older and more wiggly! It comes in a variety of modern fabrics and has a contemporary design to it. If you get it without the diaper feature, it is about $89 and with it, it is about $119. I want one!!

My First Entry

Nomadic Momma... yes, that describes me to a tee.

We have sold our home in Georgia (see photo), so I officially do not pay for any type of housing. My husband's job supplies us a home in season and during the summers, we will stay with the 'rents. We are thinking about purchasing a quadraplex and setting one unit aside so that we have somewhere to live in the summer, but that won't happen until later in the year, I am sure.

So, we are nomads! Brendan, our son Nathan, and me. This will be a blog about our adventures!