Xavier is 11 months old!

Time is really flying by! Xavier is already 11 months old and going to be a year in 1 month! Holy cow! When did all of this happen? I guess it took 11 months, but really. Hahaha

*Xavier is a dancing machine! He loves to dance and does it often! If you say "Dance dance", he will!! =) Its so cute!

*Xavier no longer has a gap in his front teeth! The 6th tooth has broken through and slowly is making it's full  appearance. 

*He can put some shapes into the right spot. His favorite is to put the orange pentagon into its right hole. 

*He likes to kick toys around. 

*He has been trying to use a fork while eating. It cute and he is getting the hang of it.

*When Xavier swings he says "Oooo". 

*He likes to play peek-a-boo.

*He also loves to chase you and be chased!

*Xavier has begun really climbing on things. 

I am getting everything ready for his party. I still have to think of food to have. I know some of the things I am making but not sure on others. Its going to be so awesome!

Construction

We have lived on this base for a year and a half now. For as long as we have been here there has been some sort of construction going on. Its loud. Its dirty. Its frustrating. Its annoying. It should be done!

There is also construction going on across the street from our place. They are tearing down old buildings so we cant even open our windows for fresh air!

=(

Oh. My. Gosh.

I can't believe Xavier turns 1 next month! Ahhhh!!

Thats all.

=)

Xavier is 10 months old!

Holy cow! My baby is already in the double digits! Yikes! You want to know what Xavier has been up to? Well, here it is:

*Xavier can clap and LOVES to do it! If he is happy he will clap. He will also clap if we start saying "Yay" or "Yummy!". Anything positive, really. =)

*Xavier can say "dog" and "duck". When he sees them he says it. He also tries very hard to repeat other words he hears. Its so cute.

*Xavier has 5 teeth! One of his front teeth hasnt popped out yet. It looks funny, but cute! =)

*He also likes to grind his teeth. I hate it!

*If you ask Xavier for a kiss, he will give you one. Open mouthed, of course! Haha

*This started a while ago, but Xavier gets shy. If there is someone he doesnt know talking to him, he will smile and put his head into my shoulder/chest area. Its so cute.

*Xavier can "be nice" to Winrey now. He barely ever grabs a chunk of hair anymore! Im glad.

*He likes to stack his toys, put toys into other toys (little one into a bowl type one), and he likes to throw his toys.

*When we give Xavier food for dinner, after he takes a bite he says "ummm" or "nummm". Since we first started feeding him solids I would always say "yum" or "yummy" and I think he is saying it now. 

*He weighs 24 pounds and is 30 inches long!

Our little boy is growing up so fast! *tear*

Winrey's First Feline Fun Show

I got an email a couple of weeks back about the special events that were coming up. One of them was "The 3rd Annual Feline Fun Show", once I read that I knew I had to sign Winrey up for it!

About a week later Winrey had a vet appointment and I signed her up for it. You had to choose which categories you would like her to compete in and so I chose; "Fluffiest Tail", "Longest Tail", "Best Decorated Cat Carrier", and "Longest Whiskers". The other categories were; "Most Lovable", "Cartoon Cat Look Alike", "Fattest Cat", and "Best Trick".

We got to the show at about 10:30 to get set up and they had a goody bag for each participant. It was filled with a lint roller, a can of wet cat food, cat nip, and a ball. I thought that was really sweet! we got to our table and we had a name card with a balloon attached. They spelled her name "Winney" though, and Jeremy had to correct it.

The show overall was really fun. Samara, Jeremy, and Xavier were there to cheer Winrey on. Haha. There were a lot of cats there and some were really beautiful and some were not so cute. At all. There was only one little cat fight, thankfully! Winrey took 1st place in "Longest Whiskers" her longest one measured at 4 inches! She took 2nd in "Best Decorated Cat Carrier". With ribbons, she got cat treats and another can of food. I thought that was sweet as well! I had a lot of fun and I cant wait for Winrey to participate next year!

Here are some photos from the event:

Winrey being all pretty! <3

Although this cat didnt place anything it still had a place in my heart. Cheesy I know. HAhahaha I LOVED this cat and thought it was beautiful!

 Such a good sport! =)

 This cat won a place for "Best Trick". I dont remember what "trick" it did or what place it got.

 Elvis won "Cartoon Cat Look Alike". I guess he looks like the cat from "Stuart Little". UGLY! He also won "Judges Choice".

 This cat won "Fluffiest Tail" Gosh, its so ugly. Haha

 Izzy won "Longest Tail". Her tail was 11 3/4 inches! WOW!

Panoramic of all of the fun happening! =)

 Winrey trying to hide in my purse. She was comfortable with all of the other cats.

First place winner for "Best Decorated Cat Carrier"

Winrey's prizes

This sweet little girl came up to us and asked if we wanted a souvenir ribbon for Winrey. We said yes and she drew the cat on the white part and wrote her name. It was so cute. We gave her a dollar after she insisted we didnt. Hahaha When we said we were going to give her money she said "What will my mother say?" all concerned. Hahaha it was cute!

Our Experience with Buying a New Vehicle

We originally wanted to wait until we moved back to the states in 2012 to buy a brand new car. When we got here we bought a 1999 VW Golf and were planning on using that while in Germany. However, when we got back from a 2 month vacation in the states our car decided it wanted to grow mold. There was a leak somewhere (we still dont know where it came from) and despite being covered with a car cover it leaked and got moist with no ventilation. I was totally disgusted and while it was very cold out here we didnt know how we were going to clean it and ventilate it. 

Jeremy did a pretty good job cleaning it out and we got enough ventilation to keep it dry. Thank goodness. We still didnt want to have that problem again so we decided to buy a new car. 

In early December we went to the Volvo dealer and talked to the salesman named Jason and looked over some things. We were sent home with a booklet with features and a list of options and accessories.

We looked over everything that we would want and made sure that if we wanted something that it was logical and useful. We were getting really excited! I mean, this was our first brand new car. The next thing we needed to do, after we got a price in mind, was look for a loan.

Jeremy called USAA and they couldnt get us a loan for high enough. He then called Navy Federal and they did give us a loan for high enough PLUS a really low interest rate! We were so happy and so excited that it was finally coming together! They sent us a check! Yay!

A couple of days later we went back in to talk to Jason and we ordered our XC-90! The only thing was that we would have to wait about 2 months for it to be custom built and shipped to Stuttgart. We were OK with that, as long as it came before Roberta came to visit. The estimated date of arrival was the 25th of February.

So we waited and waited and waited. Getting anxious for our new vehicle. Then finally, the day came!!!!

And, we now have our new XC-90:

Isn't it so pretty? =)

So I guess what I was getting at with this post is that our whole experience has been awesome. We never ever felt pressured to do anything and it was just a smooth process. I am so glad that everything came together and we got it just in time for Roberta's arrival. Jason was just awesome and so helpful throughout the whole thing. He didnt even wear a tacky green suit or anything! =)

Living in Germany

Here are some things we have learned while living in Germany:

1. The drivers are dumb jerks.

2. If a candy package states that it is sour and even uses the term "crazy sours" and looks just like the American package, it wont be sour. At all.

3. There are no places to eat breakfast over here. Its weird.

4. They have amazing pretzels with butter.

5. Germans really do like their beer.

6. There is a fest for practically everything.

7. Their desserts arent as sweet as they are in America.

8. Snitzle is super good. Especially with a mushroom cream sauce.

9. Some Germans are nice to Americans and some aren't. They sometimes get mean if you don't know the language.

10. ^Not all Germans know English.

There are plenty more things, but I cant think right now.