Someone's excited about turning ONE!

Yesterday was James' first birthday.  I'm taking the opportunity to gush on my little guy. 

 I never knew I could love a boy so much.  Seriously, when the doctor told us the gender, I was a bit worried if I would love him as much as I love my baby girls.  The idea of having a boy was so foreign to me.  But he has brought nothing but joy into our lives.  I'm totally head-over-heels enamored with him, the girls dote and fuss over him constantly, and Daddy especially enjoys launching him in the air, bouncing footballs off his chest, and watching him do face plants in the dirt.  It's all good for his character, or so he says.  I think he's trying to balance out our feminine influences.

This year has flown by.  It's hard to believe that this was me a year ago:

July 2, the day James came into the world.  I went into labor that night.

Don't mind the beached whale

Bringing a 9 lb. 6 oz. baby boy into the world with no anesthetic (not by choice, mind you) has by far been the most physically painful experience, and I stand by my original statement that I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.  And yet it was as if the extreme amount of pain was equaled by the extreme amount of love for this little guy.

If he looks inordinately large next to us, it's because he was. 

 I feel badly that since we are living overseas, he has had very limited contact with his extended family… the last time my mom saw him was when he was just a few weeks old.  Grandma and Grandpa had two weeks with him back in October, but no time since.  And he's met only two of his twenty cousins.  And four of his twenty aunts and uncles.  You get the idea.  It's been hard to not share him.   So that's why today I would like to help you get to know James better by sharing a few things that otherwise you may have never known.

1.  He is the KING OF DROOL. "Buckets of drool" as Ben says.   He's like a slug… there is a trail of drool that will always lead to him… across the couches (I'm lobbying Ben for new couches, ours have become so nasty!) across the wooden floor… he goes through multiple bibs a day just drenched in drool.  And it's happened before that he has SLIPPED and fallen on his own drool.  Caroline has also recently slipped and fallen in James' drool.  

2.  He is a walking machine.  He started walking about six weeks ago and hasn't stopped moving.  We weren't trying to teach him or anything, he learned out of his own grit and determination.  And now where ever we go… the park, church, the store... he always heads for the nearest exit… this is way different from our girls who had a very strong sense of boundaries.  Not for James.  He's outta here.

3.  He can splash up a storm.  In the bathtub James is like a bull in a china shop.  He stands up, he slips, he slides, he tries to crawl, he rolls over, and he SPLASHES soaking himself, his sisters, and whoever the poor fool is trying to bathe him (usually me).  It is the funniest thing ever though, his sisters are always laughing hysterically.

4.  He is quiet, yet stealthy.  It's not uncommon for me to be engrossed in some chore or activity at home and then all of a sudden exclaim in sheer panic, "Where's James?!"  Unlike his sisters, he doesn't like to make his presence known.  I'll usually find him playing with electrical cords, raiding the pantry, or stuffing miscellaneous objects into his mouth… which leads to…

5.  He will chew on anything that he can get his little paws on.  We have found rusted bottle caps, coins, lids, sand, sticks, (not bugs yet, but we know it's inevitable) and what ever other small object you can think of in his mouth.  I'm constantly surveying the ground picking up anything that could obstruct his breathing because he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. 

6.  He is a happy little guy.  For awhile I referred to him as Odie because he always has this big slobbery smile on his face.  He has by far been my easiest baby and his overall temperament is easy going, happy, and playful.  So far, no drama.  COMPLETE opposite of his older sister Caroline.  It's just as everyone told me about boys… they are a mess, but there's no drama.  I'll take the mess thank you very much.  

So here's a wrap of our last year: 

First smiles

Future linebacker?

Just kidding of course

Flanked by his very loyal sisters

And the birthday boy… yes Nancy, he did wear the bib with the outfit but by the end of the day it was destroyed. Blood, dirt, drool.  True story.  

Happy birthday James!

Germany vs. U.S.

So yesterday afternoon Ben and I got a babysitter and headed down to the schloss biergarten to watch the much anticipated Germany vs. U.S. soccer match.  Of course, this was all Ben's idea.  I went not so much as a soccer enthusiast but as a curious spectator of the German culture at its finest.  I knew this would be good.  Biergarten… beer…(we stuck to the apfel shorle)... Germans going hog wild over soccer.  You can't miss.  The experience did not disappoint.  

On the way down, much to Ben's dismay, I casually asked him if he would be rooting for Germany or the U.S.  When he expressed his disgust that I would ask such an obtuse question, I gently reminded him that just the other day he was telling my sister and her hubby, who came to visit, how much he LOVED living in Europe.  I didn't think that it was such an unreasonable question.  He reminded me that he is a U.S. CITIZEN and rooting for a different country would be tantamount to treachery.  

Ok, then. Apparently I didn't exactly understand how these soccer matches between all the different countries worked, but I was soon to find out.  As we walked into the biergarten we were surrounded by people decked out in hats, face paint, wigs, flags, team jerseys, leis, all in the bold German colors…. there was even one guy who was proudly wearing a one piece spandex jumpsuit with the bold black, red, and yellow stripes painted on.  It was nationalism/patriotism at its finest. 

No German gathering is complete without loads of beer.  Apfel schorle works just fine for us ;)

Not sure what "Angelo Merte" means, not sure I want to know (something to do with their chancellor, maybe??).

All of a sudden I felt a fierce loyalty to our American team and ashamed that I had questioned which country I would be rooting for.  I was so sad I was donning a neutral colored skirt… why hadn't I painted my face red white and blue and worn an American flag as a cape?  What's wrong with me??

We sat at a table with Ben's friends from work… one of only a few American tables.  We were definitely in the minority, but it was awesome to stand up with the fellow Americans and sing the Star Spangled Banner at the top of our lungs while the Germans sat and looked on.

Hanging with the Americans

Why hadn't I dressed more like this guy?

Or this guy?

I was cheering for America to win, but I was also secretly hoping that the Germans would score because I wanted to see them all go completely nuts.  When they did score, I got this great photo… the two gentleman sitting are Americans.  The rest are Germans of course.  

Sadly, the Americans didn't play very well.  The rest of the photos are the Germans gloating in their victory.  Wish the pictures could capture the noise level, the music, the singing.  It was pretty awesome.

So, I'm glad I got to go… probably wouldn't pay a babysitter to do it again… but still, I absolutely love authentic cultural experiences, and this was definitely one not to be forgotten. 

Cemeteries and Whatnot

So it has been over a MONTH since I've posted on here!  That's what six straight weeks of company will do to ya.  We had Ben's sister and her family come stay with us, and then just a few days after they left my prego sista and her hubby came to visit.  That's the thing with living far from home… it's like feast or famine with family. It has been a lot of fun though and I'm grateful that they would make the effort to come see us.      

I have lots of catching up to do, but I would feel remiss if I didn't post about our road trip to Paris and the WWI sites we saw along the way.  

The drive from Stuttgart to Paris goes through many of the WWI battle sites including Verdun,  Belleauwood, and the Marne.

This year marked the 70th anniversary of the D-day invasion and naturally there was a lot of hype and attention focused on this milestone anniversary. Heads of state including the Queen of England and Barack Obama gathered at the Normandy American Cemetery to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 

 Obviously, this was a wonderful event to commemorate, since D-day changed the course of history, but sometimes I wonder if the other cemeteries don't get the shaft a little bit.  Normandy is the most famous American cemetery overseas, but did you know that there are TWENTY American cemeteries in Europe, and ELEVEN of those are in France?  And SEVEN of those eleven are WWI cemeteries, the biggest being the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery that has over 14,000 interred, the largest in Europe, compared to Normandy which has over 9,000.  (By the way, I'm getting all this info from www.abmc.gov in case you are wondering.)  I've been to Normandy twice and it is an experience not to be forgotten… hallowed ground… but aren't the others just as deserving of our attention?  We visited the St. Mihiel cemetery on the way to Paris and Aisne-Marne Cemetery (better known as Belleauwood) on the way back and in both cases we were the ONLY ones there.  

Road trippin' it with the trusty atlas.  Ben's favorite accessory

The countryside scenery did not disappoint

We kind of got lost trying to find the St. Mihiel Cemetery… but along the way in these TINY little towns we found random monuments and statues dedicated to the memory of those that lost their lives in WWI. 

 

"To Our Dead"

Pulling over at a picturesque church to ask for directions:

And finally we found St. Mihiel Cemetery. 

The American Battle Monuments Commission (abmc) does such a great job of taking care of the grounds.  It's so peaceful and lovely there.

We also stopped at Ft. Douamont, a key fortification in the Battle of Verdun taken over by the Germans without having to fire a single shot.  (Let's hear it for the French!)  But they were eventually able to take it back with the talented leadership of General Foch.

Some of the craters are still there from the shelling that took place

A communications trench still intact

And on the way home from Paris, we stopped at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery just outside Paris, better known as Belleauwood.  This cemetery was truly BEAUTIFUL and I wished so badly that it wasn't pouring rain!  Just behind the cemetery is the actual battlefield where the fighting took place and you can actually hike through the trenches that are still intact!  I was so disappointed we couldn't do the hike due to the rain, maybe we'll return some day???  It was simply beautiful there.  

So after visiting these beautiful cemeteries I'm considering a future employment with the American Battle Monuments Commission… the people that get to work at these cemeteries.  What an awesome job, don't you think?  Or am I nuts?  I would totally work at the Belleauwood Cemetery.  It was so beautiful there.