Halloween Eve

Last Night after dinner we read some fun Halloween books that we checked out of the library. Lily and Emma loved watching Daddy's facial expressions as he read the story. After book time, we gathered up all the supplies and carved our pumpkin for Halloween. Lily was a big helper and Jeff did a great job carving. We decided to carve a Pirate ship, as Lily is going to be a "Lil Pirate" for Halloween. She really wanted to be Spiderman and I really wanted her to be Tinkerbell so we compromised with a cute little girly pirate. Lily can even say, "Errrr matey, give me some candy". She is so excited to go trick or treating tonight. I'll try to get some pictures up as soon as I can.

Hunt Club Farm Harvest Festival

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day. See the slideshow below for more photos.

October 28, 2007: We spent Sunday morning at the Hunt Club Farm Harvest Fest. It was our first crisp fall day since arriving in Virginia. We layered the girls up in warm clothes and headed out to the festival.

Hunt Club Farm does a great job of setting up a family atmosphere. They have many activities including: a Huge Pumpkin Patch, Petting Farm, Day-time farm tour, Hay Rides & Pony Rides, Mums, Cornstalks and Straw, Huge Hay Stack, Live Entertainment: DJ With Music, Games & FREE Prizes. Inflatable Rides:Giant Obstacle Course, Kid’s Caterpillar Gorilla Island Slide & Moon Bounces!

Lily enjoyed almost every one of the events listed above, while Emma slept the morning away in her stroller. Lily especially loved the "Adrenaline Rush" obstacle course. It was a moon bounce with climbing walls and slides. She was in heaven. We also took a hay ride and walked around in the Petting Farm. There were even big turkeys and swans running around.

We had a great time and I was able to get some fun pictures of the girls enjoying the fall season after Emma woke from her nap. It is so nice to be participating in family activities rather than unpacking and organizing all weekend. The house may not be completely finished, but we're ready to have some fun again!

Harvest Fest

Happy Birthday Kim!

Our good friends Kim and Larry are also stationed here in Virginia. They arrived about a month after us and are getting settled. It's so nice to have our friends move with us, as that is a rarity in the military. So on Saturday night we celebrated Kim's birthday with our friends, Grant and Shannon. We enjoyed a wonderful meal of appetizers, burgers, salad, baked beans and Shannon baked a delicious chocolate raspberry cake. We ended the evening with some wine and a rousing game of Cranium. Although the boys won the game (all their questions were easy), it was a fabulous evening. Jeff and I loved hosting in our new home.

Happy Birthday Kim!! We hope you have a great day!

On to Solid Food

Emma had her first taste of solid foods last week (October 23, 2007). She enjoyed some yummy rice cereal. She seem to like the taste and texture, as she ate the entire bowl I prepared. We also tried pears a few days ago. She made a few sour faces, but still seemed to like them. It's hard to believe it is already time for solids.

Army Crawling

It just seems so early....
October 16, 2007

Emma at 5 Months

Where has the time gone? Our little Emma has become quite the busy baby this month. She seems to be just blowing through milestones. Here is a snapshot of Emma at 5 Months:

Finally sleeping 10-11 hour stretches at night..yay!

Started rice cereal and loves it

Can roll over and back very easily

Still has big blue eyes and the pinkest lips

Army crawls all around the living room

Sleep swaddled most of the time, but busts out every time

Naps 2 to 3 times a day

Still nurses

Loves watching Baby Einstein

Sits in her Bumbo Seat on the table while we eat dinner as a family

Loves the exersaucer

Is a COMPLETE mama's girl

Has stranger anxiety already

Thinks Lily is hilarious and will laugh at her

Is getting a lot more hair

Wears 3-6 month clothes and size 2-3 Swaddlers diapers

Will take a bottle occasionally

Has a big smile and dimples

likes playing with Lily's "big girl toys"

Lights up when she sees Mama or Dada

Gets easily frustrated
Finally has her own crib and a beautiful nursery

Is the sweetest baby

We love you so much Emma Rose. You make Mommy and Daddy so happy. Lily loves being your big sister and playing with you. We enjoy watching you grow and learn every day! What a great 5 months!!

Lily 2.5

Thinking about Lily being two and a half really puts time in perspective. It seems like just yesterday I was holding a tiny little newborn and now I have a full blown toddler running around. She is such a talented kid. It seems like she figures things out on her own and then just goes with it. Jeff and I constantly have to tell ourselves she's 2 not 10.

Now if this sounds like I'm bragging, I'm sorry. I'm just truly proud of the little person Lily is becoming. She is smart, fun and such a cutie. Jeff and I are always laughing (that is when we're not pulling our hair out) at something she has said or done. So in true Irene fashion, here are Lily's stats at 2.5:

Has a head full of curls that I can't control
Is a great eater and likes most foods
Her favorite food right now: PB&J, mac and cheese and chocolate
Still working on the potty thing
Loves being a big sister to Emma
Very athletic (from Jeff of course) and can run, jump and climb w/ease
Has an unlimited vocabulary and talks in complete sentences
Gets easily frustrated
Can sing songs, in tune occasionally
Loves the playground and being outside riding her bike
Is a tomboy
Loves trucks, balls, tractors and sticks
Loves any arts and crafts, painting and coloring
Favorite shows include: Little Einstein’s, the Wiggles and Mickey Mouse Club House
Favorite Movie: Shark Tails, Cars or Monster's Inc.
Still Naps, but it takes her a while to settle in
Wakes about 7 am, Bed at 8pm
Loves to jump on the bed as many times as we tell her no
Her favorite thing in the world, "KITTY" (her stuffed animal)
Clothes 2T and 3T, shoes size 7
LOVES anything to do with Christmas
Loves to dance with Mommy and Daddy to her favorite songs
LOVES to read
Her favorite books right now: Birthday Monsters, The Potty Book, Marvin K. Mooney
Favorite Songs: Twinkle Twinkle, Little Einstein's Theme Song and Three Blind Mice
Gives the BEST hugs and kisses
Loves the beach
Can be very sassy at times and doesn't always listen (she is 2 after all)
Says "I love you" every day
Likes playing with her new friends, Jack and Caleigh
Is a complete Daddy’s girl
Sleeps in a queen size big girl bed
Has a beautiful new pink and green room

Lily Noelle we love you to the moon and back! You are such a fantastic kid! We are blessed to have you in our lives. Keep going 100 miles an hour and Daddy and I will just try to keep up! You're truly a wonderful little girl.

A Busy Birthday Month!

Happy Belated Birthday to our sister-in-law, Amy! We hope you had a relaxing birthday and Kevin and the kids spoiled you. We love you!

News From the Eye Doc

We went to the Pediatric Eye Clinic and the Doctor confirmed that Emma does have a mild case of "Lid Lag". Lid lag is basically a "lagging of the upper eyelid" which causes an uneven alignment of her eyelids. She will need to be monitored regularly to assess if the lagging is covering her pupil and affecting her vision. At this point the doctor said Emma's vision looks great and hopes it will continue to stay a very mild case. If the lid does lag and begin to affect her vision, then she will have to have surgery to correct it. The great news is at this point it is strictly a cosmetic issue and can be corrected fairly easily when Emma is older.

Happy Belated Birthday Maritza!

No, I didn't forget Maritza (especially with mine only a few short months away)!! I just didn't get a chance to document it! My good friend Maritza turned 30 just a few short weeks ago and I wanted to make sure I publicly wished her a very Belated Happy 30th! Hope you had a great day!

Happy Birthday Cindy and Kevin

Jeff's brother and sister celebrate their birthday's just one day apart. Kevin on the 9th of October and Cindy on the 10th. With Jeff's birthday in May, I guess Mom and Dad Prager were ready to do a little birthday celebrating in another month!! Happy (Belated) Birthday to Cindy and Kevin! We miss you!

Three!!!!!!!!!

Happy (Belated) 3rd Birthday to our beautiful niece Breanna! We love you sweetheart!!

Move In Day!

Move In Day!! Our household goods arrived bright and early Tuesday morning (October 2nd). Sixty long days from the day they hauled them away in Weil in Schonbuch. We were so happy to see our stuff Jeff and I almost started crying. Over three months of transition really makes you appreciate "home" and all your belongings. We were so happy to get our bed, as we had been sleeping on a blow up bed and were so anxious for a good night of sleep.

The movers did a fantastic job of unloading, delivering and assembling our household goods. They are allowed to unpack boxes, but are not allowed to put anything away. So we decided to just have them unpack large furniture, electronics and appliances and we would do the rest. The idea of piles of dishes and clothes just scattered around the house was not appealing, especially with two little ones. We would definitely have our work cut out for us.

We managed to have only a few items break during the long trek across the Atlantic. We lost an old book shelf (no biggie), Jeff's Commissioning frame and my Tiffany's bread basket from Italy (I was very sad when I saw it in pieces). Luckily my good friend Karen is still in Germany and is going to get me another one...thanks Karen! The biggest disappointment...our car. The Altima has some dings that need to be fixed. Over all we are pleased that most of our stuff arrived in one piece.

So... for the last month we have been digging out, literally!! Although we have most things unpacked and the boxes have been hauled away, we are still organizing, painting, decorating and cleaning. The house is at least functional and we are happy to have a place to call home again. I have had absolutely NO time for blogging, but I hope to get caught up over the next few weeks. We hope all is well with everyone and if you didn't get our contact update email, just let me know and I'll email it to you. Happy Fall!