Christmas Eve 2009

We celebrated Christmas Eve with our German Family -- the Kuhnen/Krebs Familie! We didn't realize until we arrived that in Germany, Christmas Eve is when all the big gifts are opened! Needless to say, their darling girls were just a little excited -- poor things had to wait all day and for dinner to be over before they were visited by their version of "Santa" and they could open their gifts. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures on our camera while there -- but here are some of us before we left :-) JP is starting to get the idea of Santa Claus -- however, I think it won't be until next year when he truly grasps the excitement of tomorrow!

Our Winter Wonderland...

It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas!!! Matt took these pictures around our village and on his way to work yesterday. (Most of them were taken while he was driving with his hand sticking out the window to snap the shot -- not very safe, yes...but not bad pictures either!) We are loving the snow and enjoying what will most likely be our last truly "White Christmas" for a while!

Chamonix 2009!

Another week in Chamonix...and it definitely didn't disappoint! Our week was filled with sledding, walks in the snow, runs, crepes (lots of them!), great food and wine, train rides, shopping, lounging around the cabin, making fires with Daddy, fierce games of Scrabble, and even a date night for Matt and me...it couldn't have been better! If only there was a service that we could hire to put the kiddos in all their snow gear, we would have been set!!! We'll definitely miss Chamonix next year -- however, we know this year won't be our last time there! (just a warning...there are more pics than normal -- sorry about that!)

Trier Christmas Market...

We took the train down to Trier for the Christmas market a few weeks ago. It was the perfect family afternoon outing! JP loved riding the merry-go-round and of course getting a big blue helicopter balloon! It's times like these that we realize how much we are going to miss living in Europe!

Visiting Matt's roots in Holland...

What a great trip!!! We had a great time going back to the towns that Matt's great-grandparents were born in...visiting Matt's Grandpa's first cousins and families, Uncle Jo, Paula, Wilfred, Brent, Toon and Ellen and Willem and Marianne.

As you can see -- the little house we stayed at for the first couple of nights was so funky it was fun! The beds were in the closets and it was completely surrounded by water -- but we loved it!!! We celebrated Thanksgiving eating pancakes -- truly a Thanksgiving that we'll never forget :-) We also had a chance to tour Holland's "Venice" -- the canals and bridges were so quaint -- we felt like we were walking on a movie set.

We really enjoyed our time with everyone and look forward to hopefully getting up there for the tulips this Spring before heading back to the states!

(The darker picture of Matt is him standing in front of the land where his great-grandmother was born...the first older picture is of Matt's Mom, Judy, and Aunt Sue when they studied in Holland nearly 40 years ago...and the last picture is of Matt's Grandpa -- second from the right in the back row -- with his parents and siblings in the 40s.)

Aviodrome...

On our drive out to Amsterdam, we stopped at Holland's version of the U.S. Air and Space Museum...the Aviodrome. We were quite impressed with the airplanes they had on display and JP was in heaven! His favorite part was getting to walk around an old KLM 747 -- sitting up in first class (enjoy that one boys...it will be a while before you see that again!) and also sitting in the cockpit. Walking on the jetway, I was very relieved that this was just for play and that we weren't embarking on another long trans-Atlantic flight :-)

Holland's Avifauna (Bird Park)

Matt's family recommended a great hotel that is connected to a huge bird park. We had a great time walking around -- and an even better time flying down the 3-story tall slides :-) JP apparently isn't afraid of heights! Matt and JP walked right by the flamingo -- and as if on cue, the flamingo squawked. Needless to say, I got a good laugh as I watched Matt nearly jump out of his shoes!

Painting...JP style!

This is what happens when you are too focused on feeding one child. The other is happily (and quietly...a bad sign with toddlers!) painting away. I guess JP ran out of room on his paper and so he gladly started painting his hands and arms too :-) Luckily it happened right before Daddy came home so that he could help clean up the mess!

Murphy's first meal!

Murphy has been ready to eat real food for quite a while now...but we just gave in last week! Needless to say, it hasn't taken him long to figure out how it works. He is one HAPPY baby -- smiling at anyone who will make eye contact with him!

Halloween 2009...

It was so great to be home for Halloween...watching all the cousins together was too much fun!!! This year, the Quinn/Vehling/Glynn clan was the Wizard of Oz. From the Mayor of Munchkinland to Glinda, Dorothy, the Lion, Tinman, Scarecrow, Wizardress of Oz and a Munchkin (and the not-so-wicked Witch)...we had it all covered. The best was watching the kids trick-or-treat -- JP picked up on it really quickly and was very proud to announce to each house that he was a LION!

There was also an appearance by Uncle D as Kanye West dressed up as a donkey -- too funny! Halloween morning we celebrated Lillie and Emilie's combined birthday parties...the hit of the party was the balloon guy! He was so creative...I have sworn to have him at every party (adult and child) that we host from here on out!

Our visit to the Pumpkin Patch...

Wow! Pumpkin Patches have sure come a long ways since I was a kid...bouncy castles, inflatable slides, petting zoos, riding horses -- what about the pumpkins??? Needless to say, JP, Murphy, Lillie, Emilie and Brodie had a great time running around the pumpkin patch. The petting zoo was hilarious -- the goats were not shy AT ALL! (Auntie Mollie wasn't too fond of them :-))

Murphy's Baptism....

Here are some pics of Murphy's baptism back in LA. He is such a lucky boy to have Uncle D and "Auntie" Marissa for godparents!!! We had so much fun seeing everyone...looking forward to it being a more regular occurrence!

JP is one lucky boy!!!

This past weekend, Matt embarked on his first solo adventure with JP. They flew to Berlin on Saturday afternoon...spent all day Sunday enjoying the Berlin Zoo and Aquarium and came home early Monday morning. JP had such a great time...you could tell that he felt so special being able to get away with just Daddy. Highlights from the trip include: watching a monkey pick his nose, barking with the seals and Matt eating at the kid table at the hotel for breakfast! Here's to many more adventures with the boys and Daddy!

Sweet Salome!

Here are pictures with JP's first girlfriend...Salome! JP and Salome are best friends -- playing together everyday at Kindergarten. She would wait for him at the door each morning, greet him with a huge hug, and they'd be inseparable until I picked him up 3 hours later. Unfortunately, Salome's parents moved to a village 5 minutes away (which means she is now at a new Kindergarten). JP misses her so much that we invited her over to play...it was 2 1/2 hours of pure chaos having the two of them together, but JP and Salome loved every minute of it!!!

October pics of the boys...

Here are some recent pics of the boys... That's JP's "cool" smile :-) The "birthday party" we had was for JP's stuffed elephant, Ellie. JP is very into celebrating birthdays (obviously just for the cake), that Mommy gave in and baked a cake for us to celebrate!

Our little "Duder"...

Enjoy these pics of Murphy -- such a stylin' baby!

California here we come!

It's official! The Glynns are moving back to California!!! Matt heard last week that he has been hired to fly C-130s with the CA Air National Guard stationed in Point Mugu. Point Mugu is located roughly 45 minutes NW of Los Angeles -- near Ventura and only 25 minutes from where I was raised. It seems unreal to us that we will be living so close to our family and friends -- it almost feels too good to be true!!!

We will be getting out of the Active Duty Air Force in July and will be spending 6 months in Little Rock, Arkansas, (we're still not sure if we will go direct to Little Rock or have a short stint in CA before being sent to the training course) as Matt gets spun up in his new plane. We'll keep you posted as we hear more...

There are still many more pieces to our puzzle, but we feel that the foundation has been laid and now we can begin building on it... Here's to a great last year in Germany (we will really miss our little town and friends here in Germany), however, we are thrilled to be coming home to raise our family with our family and friends in CA!

Our oh-so-helpful "Uncle D"!

This video is hysterical... Darren asked if he could help us put JP down for the night. After hearing JP say "That's money" repetitively, I got the sneaking suspicion that Uncle "D" had passed out. Oh the memories...

I'm seriously going to YAK!

Here's a clip from Matt and Uncle "D" riding the Free Fall Carnival Ride after enjoying the fruits of Oktoberfest for a few hours -- too funny!

Oktoberfest with Uncle "D" - 2009

We had an absolute blast with Uncle "D" at Oktoberfest! Darren was in complete awe of the festivities and has vowed to come back with all his buddies within the next couple of years! We're in the process of uploading some videos -- stay tuned! Prost!!!

Tuscany - 2009

So we weren't the best at taking pics during our stay in Tuscany -- we'll post more when we get them from the fam. The villa could not have been more perfect for all of us. The week was filled with great company, great food, and great wine too!!! Thanks Oma and Opa for such a fun week and Uncle Ross and Auntie Kelly for making the long trip out with Danica and Shelby -- we have many fun memories from the week!

Prague 2009

Over Labor Day we took the fam out to Prague to meet up with Matt's Aunts and Uncles -- it was such a great weekend! We loved touring the city with them and enjoying a glass (or maybe two) of wine. JP felt so special being, in his eyes, the main attraction and it was great to be able to introduce them to little Murphy as well!

Nana's visit -- Aug 09

Another WONDERFUL trip with Nana here... JP and Murphy had so much fun playing with her...and I, of course, loved having her here for help and company while Matt was back in the states. Here are some pictures of her trip... We went to the Eifelpark with Nana one day -- JP's favorite!!! My Mom loved JP's urinal -- hence the picture of our bathroom...his little "Peter Potty" is just too cute (and functional)! Murphy is really developing a personality which my Mom was able to capture in many of these shots :-) We also put Murphy is our family's christening gown. Everyone on my side of the family has worn it for their christening for over a century. Unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to baptize Murphy until next summer when we are all back and given the rate at which he is growing, there would be NO CHANCE that he would fit in it (he won't even fit in it next month!) So, my Mom brought it over to get some pictures of him in it just to be sure that the tradition wasn't broken! I'm convinced it's just a matter of time before this fragile heirloom sees its last day...I was just relieved when she took it off him and it wasn't my child that pooped all over it :-) Have a great September!

"I made a pine cone!!! A big one AND a little one!"

So 2 weeks ago, the Glynn household embarked on the "oh-so-fun" challenge of potty training JP. We started Friday morning after breakfast by throwing away all of JP's diapers -- ALL of them! We cleaned up at least 15-20 accidents/day on Friday and Saturday (two of the most frustrating days of our parenting experience to date!) -- but by Wednesday, JP had figured it out and ever since, he has been doing great! He even passed the ultimate potty training test yesterday -- the runs! (I know...TMI!) Anyways...we couldn't be more proud of how well he has done. Not to mention, only having 1 in diapers has been GREAT!

Anyways...here are some pictures of JP on the first morning -- the first couple are of him in his last diaper, the the others are of his big boy underwear :-) As for the pine cone, JP thinks they look like pine cones. So, when he has to go -- he proudly exclaims, "Mommy/Daddy, I have to make a pine cone!" The things kids say...right? Too funny!

Our boys...

Here are some recent pics of our boys... As you can see, they adore each other. Murphy is happiest sitting around watching JP's antics...and JP couldn't be happier to sit and "entertain" Murphy with toys, kisses and singing. We also finally caught a picture of our little one smiling -- enjoy! We're loving every minute of it! (okay...except the ones when they are both screaming, the phones are ringing, the dogs have go out, and something is burning in the oven -- but those are truly few and far between!)

Our trip to Cologne...

We had a great time in Cologne -- esp. at the zoo!!! It was our first overnight with both boys -- we learned a few lessons, but overall it was a success. The first pic is a "Beer Bike" where you and 9 other buddies pedal while being served beer. Needless to say, Matt thought it was the best thing EVER! JP couldn't resist jumping on the crisply-made bed in our room -- it was the first thing he did when we opened the door -- too cute! The zoo in Cologne is fantastic -- the highlight, of course, being the monkey show! It wasn't a real "show", however, we showed up just in time for their feeding and we were entertained for over a half an hour -- they were hysterical!

Murphy pics...

I promise to get a picture of Murphy smiling this week for you all to see. He is such a happy baby -- I just don't have my camera on my hip like I did with JP (sorry Murphy!) Enjoy...

Our growing boy...

Here's a few more pics of Murphy... He continues to get bigger by the day :-) He is now wearing 6-month clothes (and even some of those are a little snug) and is almost outgrowing his swing and bouncer chairs. The perk to him being so big? He hibernates at night -- so no complaints from us! He started giggling this week...it's just too cute!

Is this really our view?

Matt snapped these shots the other night just as we were putting JP down for bed. He was amazed with the colors in the sky -- and we were amazed that this is our view from our house!

Happy 4th of July!

Here are a few shots we took of the boys in their patriotic outfits from Auntie Mollie :-) We had an absolute blast with Oma and Auntie Mollie -- so much so, we didn't get any pictures with them! (How awful is that?) We've loved having all our special visitors and look forward to having Grandpa and Grandma here next weekend!

Update on Murphy...we had his follow-up tests last Thursday. He braved them like a champ (including the THREE times they tried to catheterize him before they finally got it in the right place) -- but that was seriously the worst of it and the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. His first test (where they put the radiation -- or something radioactive -- into his system to detect how efficient his kidney is functioning proved that both kidneys are performing equally well. So, even though the left kidney is still a little dilated, the dilation is not affecting the effectiveness of his kidney. The second test pumped a solution into his bladder to see if any of the liquid travelled up through his ureters to his kidneys. The x-rays showed that the solution was able to travel up to the kidney. They labeled it as "stage 4 reflux", however, since the kidney is not being affected, they do not feel that surgery is needed. YIPPEE -- no surgery :-) We need to continue his antibiotics throughout his first year and be on guard if a fever develops -- but so far, so good -- and we'll just keep our fingers crossed that he stays healthy and outgrows this kidney situation.

Stats for the record:
At 8 weeks...Murphy weighs 13 lb. 5 oz. -- yikes! and he is 23 1/4 in. long. The Germans joke that I am feeding him cream instead of milk -- whatever, as long as he's healthy, we're happy!

"Remarkably Better"

Just a quick update that Murphy had a follow-up ultrasound yesterday and the doctors said he is doing "Remarkably Better"! What great words to hear :-) One doctor even questioned if they were looking at the "bad kidney" since it had made such great improvements! We're still going ahead with the testing on the 2nd, however, I'm keeping my hopes up that Murphy's progress in the last 3 weeks means that he might be outgrowing this condition and won't need surgery after all! We'll keep you posted...

As for Murphy's weigh-in...I was quite impressed! He weighed in at 5150g and 57cm -- which translates to 11 lb. 5 oz. and 22.5 inches long :-) So...in just under 6 weeks, my little one has put on nearly 4 pounds -- crazy!!!

Recent Pics of Murphy...

As you can see...our little one is adding some "chunk". He is such an easy-going baby -- we are too lucky! Enjoy...

Pics of JP...

We stopped by Matt's work last week for lunch and, for the first time, JP showed interest in sitting in one of the cockpits they use to practice getting into and out of the jets. There are also some pics of JP with one of his closest buddies here -- Lucas towers over JP, but as you can see -- they have a great time together!

Murphy -- 4 weeks old

Here are some more recent pics of Murphy. As you can see, his cheeks are filling out quite a bit. It won't be long before he starts outgrowing all his clothes. He is doing great...the antibiotics seem to keeping any future problems at bay and he is quickly figuring out the difference between days and nights -- yippee!!! We'll post more pictures soon...

Eifelpark

Matt and I took the boys to the Eifelpark Gondorf Saturday to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. This place is a blast!!! We bought season passes...and I have a feeling we could be visiting here quite a bit this summer. There are huge slides, parks everywhere, a toboggan ride, a train ride pulled by a tractor (boring for Matt and me, but J.P.'s paradise!), tons of animals, etc. The highlight of Mommy's day was watching Matt try to fend off the goats that were attacking him in the petting zoo. Literally, they would ram him in the calf, he would yell an explitive and then turn around and kick the goat's horns -- needless to say, I could have sat there all day laughing at everyone happily jumping into the petting zoo and quickly leaving once they realized these goats were out to get them!

*Also, read the green sign -- it clearly says something to the effect of "Don't feed the animals from your hand." Too bad we didn't see that until AFTER we had encouraged J.P. to feed the deer through the gate :-)

Update on Murphy...

So...as many of you know, Murphy and I have spent the past 9 days in the hospital while he received antibiotics in response to the kidney infection he developed a week ago Sunday. Here's the timeline to catch all of you up to speed on his situation (I apologize it's so long...now you can see why we don't want to keep repeating this over and over again :-)):

36 weeks pregnant: My OB detects that Murphy has a dilated left kidney on a routine weekly ultrasound. The pediatrician comes in and explains that this is fairly normal and that 50% of the cases fix themselves prior to birth...so not to worry, we'll re-evaluate the situation after his birth and go from there.

Monday, May 11, 2009: Murphy (4 days old) has his follow-up ultrasound at Wittlich (it's a standard procedure for all newborns in Germany) and it is determined that he still has a dilated kidney. The pediatrician explains that Murphy could be prone to kidney infections because of this. He said that Murphy may never get a fever, or he could get one every two weeks -- we'd just have to wait and see. However, he did say, that if Murphy is to get a fever, we need to come to the hospital immediately in order to prevent permanent damage to Murphy's kidney.

Sunday, May 17, 2009: I couldn't get Murphy to nurse to save my life...he went about 9 hours without eating that morning. Later in the morning, I feel that Murphy is starting to get warm. I took his temperature and it was 100.2 -- higher than normal, but not high enough to rush him to the hospital. By noon, his temperature was 101.6 (the doctor had said to come in at 101) -- so Matt and I packed our bags, put a "pee catcher bag" on Murphy with the hope of collecting a urine sample on the way to the hospital -- and headed back to Wittlich.

The pediatrician on call says that Murphy is pretty sick (at this point, his temp was over 102) and immediately draws blood, tests his urine (it tests positive for bacteria), inserts an IV (luckily in his hand and not his head), and starts administering 2 different antibiotics.

Monday, May 18, 2009: Murphy has another ultrasound -- we learn that nothing has really changed -- and we are told that the antibiotic treatment is a 7 day treatment...in other words, Murphy and I would be staying at the hospital for 7-10 days until the treatment has been completed. Luckily, Murphy had responded very well to the antibiotics -- his fever had broken and everything was looking good -- now it was just a matter of putting in the time.

The rest of the week: Murphy and I were visited by Nana, Papa, Matt and JP tons... The doctors allowed us to go out for walks, so Murphy and I took many hikes along the same trails that I hiked when I was in labor with him, and Mommy read MANY books! It was a long week...however, it's all worth it if we can get this situation under wraps sooner rather than later. The silver lining to this long week was all the one-on-one time I had with Murphy. How often does a child (other than the firstborn) get so much quality time alone with Mommy??? We had a great time together...learning each other's quirks, we just wish it had been at home with the company of Nana, Papa, Daddy and JP!

THANKFULLY, my mom was able to extend her trip to help us out with JP. Between Nana and Matt, one was always able to be with JP while the other was visiting Murphy and me at the hospital. JP loved all the one-on-one attention from Nana and Papa, and I sure appreciated the company as well! We could not have done it without her help! Thanks Mom --- you are a life-saver!

Monday, May 25, 2009: Murphy and I are finally given the green light that we can go home! The doctor sits with Matt and me for nearly 30 minutes explaining what they know for sure, what the doctors' concerns are and the course of action from here on out.

What they know for sure: Murphy's kidney and ureter are dilated (bigger than they should be) most likely caused by a reflux of his urine back up the ureter to the kidney.


Their concerns: what is causing this dilation? Most likely, the doctor thinks that it is due to Murphy not having a properly functioning valve where the ureter enters the bladder. He explained that this valve's purpose is to close when the bladder is being emptied in order to prevent the backflow of urine into the ureter and the kidney. Due to the fact that Murphy had a fever/infection so quickly, he seems to think this is the most likely scenario. The other possibility is that the muscles are too tight which is therefore obstructing the flow of urine from the ureter into the bladder.

Course of action: Murphy is on a daily antibiotic to help prevent the occurrence of additional kidney infections. He will have a follow-up ultrasound June 15th to determine if this dilation is getting worse, better or staying the same. Then, on July 2nd, he will then have a "Centigraphy" (that might be a German word for the procedure) where they will infuse his body with a trace amount of radioactivity to determine how efficiently his kidney is functioning. At this time, they will also infuse a solution via a catheter into his bladder to see if it also makes its way up the ureter to the kidney. This procedure is not going to be very comfortable for Murphy, however, the doctor said he will be given a drug that will cause him to have "No remembrance" of this procedure taking place (I wonder if Mommy and Daddy can also take this drug???) After this has been completed, we should have a much better idea of his exact situation.

Best-case scenario: The antibiotics that Murphy is taking will work and we will not need to return to the hospital again. At that point, the doctor will most likely recommend surgery for Murphy next May after he turns 1. (The older he is...the easier the surgery is for both him and the surgeon.)

Worst-case scenario: Murphy and I become fast friends with the pediatricians and nurses at Wittlich -- going back frequently over the next few months due to him getting repetitive fevers/infections. If this is the case...Matt and I will consider having Murphy undergo surgery prior to turning 1 to prevent him from thinking that the hospital is his home :-)

We promise to keep you posted on his situation as we learn more about it! Who knew we would become such experts on the kidneys and urinary tract :-)

Here are some pictures from our week's "vacation" in Wittlich...the first is a diagram of his situation and there are also some pictures of the trails that we hiked.



If you want to read the medical explanation of his situation...you can read up on this website:

http://www.uroinfo.ca/brochures_pediatric/vesicouretericReflux.html

JP and "his" baby :-)

JP found a baby that I use while teaching my Childbirth Classes and has adopted it as his own. Matt isn't too happy about it -- he thinks we're raising a "sissy" -- however, I think that it's just a natural way for JP to get used to us having a new baby around the house. Anyways...as you can see, JP's baby does everything with him! (We also changed the baby's clothes from a pink outfit to a CU Boulder onesie in an attempt to make the baby more "masculine".) Currently, JP is taking a Happy Nappy with his baby -- Matt would cringe!

New pics of Murphy...

Here are some pics that were taken the first week Murphy was home... As we mentioned below, it was great having Nana and Papa here (unfortunately, we weren't very good about getting pics with Nana in them -- she was always the one taking the pictures :-))

**The slide in the last picture is the present that Murphy gave JP when he arrived home from the hospital. JP LOVED it...that is, until he caught his shoe on it and fell off backwards -- bonk! Now he won't go down without someone holding his hand...so much for having an activity for JP to keep him busy while I am nursing!

JP's Special Week with Nana and Papa

JP had a blast playing with Nana and Papa the past couple of weeks... As you can see with the last picture, he is one happy boy!!! Thank you so much for visiting us here in Deutschland, Nana and Papa! It was so special to have you here :-) We can't wait for our next visit VERY soon! WE LOVE YOU!

It's all in the name...

How we chose the name John Murphy Glynn...

"John":
Matt and I chose John to honor two very special men in our lives...Matt's Grandfather, John Osterkamp, and my Dad, Jonathan Quinn.

Grandpa Johnny has been, and always will be, Matt's hero and role model in life. The special bond the two of them share...their love of flying...is something that Matt has always cherished. Matt and I also admire Grandpa Johnny's dedication to his family. I often hear Matt make the remark that if he could create 1/2 the incredible family that Grandpa Johnny has created, Matt would consider our family a huge success!

John Murphy marks the 5th great-grandson for Grandpa Johnny -- a milestone Matt and I felt should be honored by having a namesake is this new, and quickly expanding, generation of young Osterkamps! We look forward to introducing Grandpa Johnny to this little one VERY soon!

My Dad is a dedicated family man that Matt and I greatly admire. As we embark on our own parenthood journey, we appreciate more and more everyday the calm demeanor with which my Dad has been able to maintain while raising 4 children. My Dad has the incredible ability to bring out the best in all of us simply because we would never want to let him down -- a quality that we both hope to emulate as we raise our own children. I greatly respect my Dad as a person, a father and a friend and feel honored to have a son carry on his name.

"Murphy":
We first stumbled upon the name Murphy while traveling in Ireland last June during the two weeks of leave Matt received after his deployment. Knowing that we hoped to be pregnant again in the upcoming year, I used this trip to seek out great Irish names for Baby #2. Time and time again, we would drive through a quaint Irish town with a pub named "Murphy's." I thought "Murphy Glynn" had a good ring...so the name made it to our short list to be tucked away for later.

As Matt and I decided on middle names, we ran them by JP to see if, at less than 2 years old, he could help us in picking out a great name to go with John. When we would ask JP if the baby in my belly was named "Johnny," he would reply, "Play Nurphy." (And trust me, I didn't practice this with him daily to win over Matt's heart...JP simply would not recognize the baby as anything other than "Nurphy.")

With JP's approval, we had our name -- John Murphy Glynn! In the past couple of days, we have gone back and forth about whether we would call this little one "Johnny" or "Murphy" -- without a doubt, this adorable little boy is definitely "Murphy." So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce you to, John Murphy Glynn, aka "Murphy!"

Wilkommen...John Murphy Glynn!

Matt and I are so proud to announce to arrival of John Murphy Glynn!!! JP is taking to his little brother VERY well -- wanting to hold him and hug/kiss him all the time! Here are some of the first pictures and the birth story...more to come very soon!

The "Cliffs Notes" Version...
see below for the full birth story if you are interested :-)

Went in for a routine appt. on Thursday at which time I was having contractions so the doctor checked me and noticed I was already 3-4 cm. dilated. The doctor told me I needed to stay until the baby was born. Luckily for both Matt and me, that happened Thursday night at 9:23pm when we welcomed John Murphy Glynn, weighing in at 7 lb. 10 oz. (3470g) and 21.25in (54cm)!



John Murphy's Birth Story:
As I mentioned above, I saw the doctor for a routine appointment late Thursday morning. I had been having contractions all morning, so the doctor decided to check me to see if/how far along I was dilated. The doctor's eyes widened when he realized that I was already 3-4cm and strongly recommended that I stay at the hospital until the baby was born.

After being monitored for 30 minutes where the contractions were consistently 3-4 minutes apart, I called Matt and told him the great (and not-so-great) news...(not-so-great news...it was an absolutely gorgeous day in Germany and he had a really awesome flight planned -- his first flight in 2 weeks since they had cleared his name from the flying schedule in anticipation of Baby Glynn's arrival :-)) Matt ran home quickly to feed the dogs and pick up a few things before meeting me at the hospital around 1:30pm.

Right after Matt and our friend Lindsay whom we had invited to witness the labor (she's interested in becoming a doula) arrived, I laced up my running shoes and headed out the door to go hiking on the trails above the hospital. My mom and Lindsay relaxed on a bench while Matt and I hiked 3-4 miles -- all the while keeping the contractions coming at a steady pace. Once we returned to the hospital, I did a 30-min stair workout (going up and down one stair) and then checked in the labor/delivery area to get monitored/checked again.

Unfortunately, my contractions had nearly stopped after getting back from our hike...and when the midwife checked me, I was still at 3-4cm dilated. At that time, she said she couldn't yet say I was officially in labor. Since Thursday had been the first day they had checked me, no one could say for certain if I had been dilated for 1 day or 1 month...so until I progressed to 4-5cm dilated, they would not officially consider me to be in labor. I had been having contractions in the mornings/early afternoons for a few weeks -- so Matt and I very quickly realized that we could be lucky to have this baby out by next week. This could be the beginning of a long stay at the hospital!

Back track to September when I found out I was pregnant... Seeing that my due date was May 9th, and being that I'm big into numbers, I commented that having the baby on "05/07/09" would be pretty cool. Of course in the weeks leading up to the delivery, had the baby decided to come early, I would not have protested! However, since I was still pregnant on 05/07/09...and close to having the ball get rolling, I became determined that Thursday would be the day. Unfortunately, time wasn't on my side as it was now 3:30pm -- that meant only one thing -- back to the hiking trails for Matt and me! (Matt was SO excited...spending hours hiking the hills above the hospital was exactly what he had been hoping to do today!)

So, we laced up my shoes and headed back to the trails for another 3-4 miles. Once again the contractions came back consistently every 2-3 minutes -- a good sign! So, now that both Matt and I had jello legs...a great start to labor!...we headed back to the hospital in the hope that the contractions would keep up and I had made progress. Sure enough, once getting back to my mom and Lindsay, the contractions became more erratic and less intense. At this point, I needed a break and Matt, my mom and Lindsay were getting hungry (it was now 5:45pm/6:00pm) -- so the three of them headed to an Italian restaurant in Wittlich (10 minutes down the road) and I stayed in my room bouncing up and down on an exercise ball and visiting with my roommate and her husband.

After roughly 90 minutes (it's now 7:30pm) of bouncing and doing large circles on the ball, I decided to walk down the hall to fill up my water bottle. While on my way, I had a pretty intense contraction... I kept walking around the hall and sure enough, another contraction just 3 minutes later. After about 20 minutes, I go back to the room and just then Matt calls -- to which I tell him, I think you need to get back here -- I'm having pretty good contractions!

At 8pm, the three of them return to dinner and we walk down to the labor/delivery area to get monitored and checked. The midwife checks me and says I'm 5-6cm -- yippee! I'm officially in labor! After a few more contractions, the midwife asks if I'd like to get in the bath -- I did (I just didn't want to have the baby in the bath), so she filled it up and I happily jumped in.

After being in the bath for 25-30 minutes, I was starting to feel the urge to push, however, my water still had not broken...so the midwife checked me again and said that I was 8-9cm -- WOW! This was going fast! So, I asked if she would break my water. She said to take my time getting out of the bath and she would break my water once I got to the delivery bed. No problemo!

After a few contractions in the delivery room, I send my friend to ask them to come in to break my water. As she is checking me, she says, you're 10cm...time to break your water! At that time (9:20pm), my mom and Lindsay leave so that Matt and I can have this time together, and sure enough, 3 pushes and less than 5 minutes later, John Murphy Glynn was born! The midwife announced, "Es ist ein Junge!!!" -- It's a boy!!!

Matt and I were thrilled...of course we would have loved either a boy or a girl, but our hearts were really hoping for a little brother for JP. We couldn't be happier... Murphy is such a precious little boy and JP is taking to him very well (maybe a little too well!) We promise to keep posting pictures as we enjoy this time with our boys :-)

Bowling...JP's new favorite activity!

So the base bowling alley is running a special...FREE bowling from May thru July!!! I think I could be spending quite a bit of time at the bowling alley -- JP has a blast (and actually gets the concept...at least enough to watch the ball go to the end of the lane) and I can't beat the price! With a 6-lb. ball, a ramp and bumpers, JP is completely self-sufficient -- and bowls a great score!!!

May 2009

Baby update...feeling consistent contractions, just none that are substantial enough to have us go to the hospital. We'll keep you posted! I'm feeling great -- just ready to meet our little one and get this show on the road. In the meantime, my Mom flew in on Thursday night and we've been busy getting everything set -- cooking meals to freeze, planting flowers in the garden, visiting all the horses in Orenhofen, hanging out with Sandra, Oliver, Brigitta and the girls, etc. We promise to send out an e-mail once the little monkey makes his/her arrival -- and to post pictures here once we return from the hospital! Take care...

Easter in Orenhofen 2009

Here are a few pics from our Easter Egg Hunt today... Matt's cousin, Emily, is in town (she's currently studying for a semester in Copenhagen) -- we've had a great weekend giving her a little taste of America :-) Most importantly, she found the "Golden Egg" -- she actually took it out of JP's hands -- but he has to get used to competition sooner-than-later, right???

JP was actually way more interested in the eggs filled with candy...he'd stop, open the egg and eat all the candy right there on the spot. If the egg had Cheerios, popcorn, or marshmallows, it was quickly dismissed. He even figured out how to tell if it was a "dud" without even opening it. Needless to say, JP was pinging off the walls by the time the egg hunt had finished. But what is Easter if you don't go to bed with a candy coma???

Lastly, he was very happy to be wearing his overalls since he was able to stuff all of his eggs in his pockets. While riding his tricycle, he had a couple drop out of the legs of his pants. Happy Easter everyone!



*P.S. -- I was just kidding about Emily stealing the "Golden Egg" from JP :-)

JP's First Day at Kindergarten!

JP had an absolute blast at his first day... As you can see by the pictures, he was more than ready to head out the door this morning. As you can see by us walking to school, the kindergarten is VERY close -- only 2 doors down -- no need to even buckle the kiddos in the car!!! He spent most of the morning playing with Legos and observing all the older kids in his class -- but he didn't seem intimidated what-so-ever! At the end, you will see him in pants/jacket/boots -- that is what they gear each child up in when they go outside to play (glad it's them and not me!!!) This will be such a great outlet for JP when Baby #2 makes his/her arrival....giving him time to play and run around with friends while Mommy and Baby are relaxing at home! (I have an appt. tomorrow so I will give everyone an update about the baby then...aside from the time FLYING BY, nothing new to report. Feeling great and counting down -- only 5 weeks to go!)

JP turns 2!!!

JP definitely celebrated his 2nd birthday in style... I did my best to take pictures throughout the day so that family back at home could feel as if they celebrated with him! We started out with meeting friends for our weekly splash in the pool. For those of you who haven't seen JP at the swimming pool, this is his favorite place to be. He enjoys showing off how long he can hold his breath for under water and going down the elephant slide. After meeting Daddy for lunch, we "frosted" some cake with his buddy Lucas (even though as you will see in the pics...they actually just ate the frosting straight off the knife)...then, after naptime, we met up with our friends at the park where they sang "Happy Birthday" and ate some birthday cake (this cake is proof as to why I didn't win one of the 5 awards at the cake decorating contest in Korea -- only 7 people entered -- hee hee!) We then came home and I cooked him his favorite meal...chicken tenders and edamame with one more round of "Happy Birthday" and cake with Mommy and Daddy. JP is really starting to catch on to the whole birthday scene -- he loves singing the birthday song and has not been shying away from all the attention what-so-ever. He's in for a wake-up call tomorrow when his birthday festivities are officially over. Hard to believe that with all the cake he ate today, he isn't still bouncing off the walls!!!

Anyways...Matt and I are in disbelief that our little boy is already 2. Here's to another year filled with fun memories and laughter as we watch our "Superman" grow from our baby into a little boy (and a big brother too!)

P.S. -- the truck in some of the first pics of the slideshow is doing "yoga" according to JP. I thought it was too funny...so I had to include them!

Garmisch - 2009

We had a great getaway this past weekend to Garmisch...a quaint town in the German Alps. We did a whole lot of playing in the pool and even took a train ride to the top of the Zugspitz (the highest point in Germany). JP was fearless and the views were amazing!

Orenhofen Fasching Parade -- 2009

Once again, Orenhofen's Fasching did not let us down. Fasching...the German equivalend to Mardi Gras...fills local villages with parades where adults hand out candy to the kids and alcohol to the adults. As you can see, the floats/costumes are all home-made, which makes it that much more fun -- you can tell that they really put a lot of thought into it! This is an experience that you can't truly appreciate until you experience it firsthand! JP, Nate and Sydney were the very happy recipients of tons of candy while Matt and Ben competed to see who could distribute alcohol to the youngest person along the parade route :-) We had a blast...and are already looking forward to next year's parade!

Mr. Snowman needed a girlfriend...

Monday we woke up to TONS of snow...so Matt and JP decided that Mr. Snowman needed a girlfriend. They are becoming quite the snowmen "pros" if you ask me!

Pics with Nana...

Here are some great pics of JP and Nana from her visit in January...we look forward to having her here for when Baby #2 arrives in April :-)

Building a Snowman with Daddy...

Both JP and Matt were VERY excited that we received enough snow on a weekend day to go sledding and build a snowman. With tootsie roll eyes, a carrot nose, and a mystery mouth -- how could you go wrong?? They were outside for nearly 2 1/2 hours playing around -- too much fun!

Baby #2's Debut...

Enjoy these snapshots that the doctor took today at our appointment. JP and Nana were there and loved seeing the baby. JP kept waving to the baby and saying, "See you soon!" Everything looks great with our little one -- we'll keep you posted!

JP's latest hobby...

With cold season upon us...we have tons of kleenex boxes around the house. JP couldn't be happier! This is what I found one morning -- I should have known he was up to something being so quiet :-)

JP Welcomes Matt Home...

Even though it was "only" 2 weeks...now that JP is a lot more aware, this TDY (temporary duty for those of you who aren't privy to military lingo) seemed a lot longer with JP asking for Daddy all the time. Anytime he saw/heard a plane, he would say, "Hi Daddy! Love you! Miss you!" and blow kisses... It is precious...but it would break my heart if I had to hear that for the entire length of a deployment. So, needless to say, JP was VERY excited to welcome Daddy home -- esp. since he was showing off his oh-so-cool flight suit!

Moon rising over Orenhofen...

Here's a beautiful shot Matt got of the moon rising over the church where we were married. We have such an incredible view of "our" church -- and this one was especially exceptional!

JP...aka, "Mini Matt"

When we first bought this flight suit in Korea, it was ENORMOUS! I put it on JP the other day and he thought he was so cool! He definitely recognized that he was in Daddy's clothes and had a great time sporting the flight suit all morning. Matt has been gone for the past 10 days, so we plan to pick him up tomorrow with JP wearing it :-) Who said dressing boys wasn't any fun???

Nana's Visit...Jan 09

JP absolutely LOVES having Nana here to play with :-) He laughs so hard and seriously walks me to the door saying, "Tschuss!" when I have to leave. Here are a few of the pics my Mom has taken in the past week -- we'll post more later!

P.S. -- the ones of JP with his leg up are his "downward dog" yoga poses. This is a new thing, not sure where it came from, but I can assure you, he didn't learn it from me!

Belly Shots...Baby #2

So I have been getting quite a few requests to see my belly -- how lucky am I??? Here's the latest at 24 weeks...it doesn't really do my belly justice. I swear I have "popped," however, I guess it doesn't really look like it when I'm dressed :-) This pregnancy (aside from being nauseous during my first trimester) has been very easy...so no complaints from me! The baby is moving and kicking all the time now -- we're enjoying every minute of it!

I'll keep updating this slideshow for those of you that want to see me grow... Check back soon!

JP's Photo Shoot...

For those of you that keep up with our pics of JP, you know that he always isn't the first one to smile for the camera. It must be the New Year...or maybe we just caught him at a good time, however, Matt wanted to take a picture of JP while he was eating dinner tonight, and JP couldn't get enough. He kept saying "more" after each picture and was more than willing to give a big smile, a fish face or stick out his tongue for the camera -- too funny! There are tons...and they are all very similar, so please don't feel you need to watch them all :-)

New Year's "Eve" -- the creative way!

So...rather than fight staying up until midnight, Matt and I decided to have a low-key, cozy New Year's Eve at home last night. We then celebrated with all the American Somoans of the world at noon our time (they are 12 hours behind us) with a couple of friends. We dressed up in our Somoan clothes :-), ate Matt's delicious hole-in-ones and drank tropical champagne for our New Year's Eve toast. It was a great time...definitely something that will be revisited in future years!