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!