Chugging Along at Warp Speed

Everyday I ask myself where does the time go? Each day I try to live in the present and to appreciate all that is happening around me. Living in Europe away from family, friends and our home Jason and I are constantly dreaming of far away places that hold so many sweet memories. It is hard to not long for the time when we can be back to the comforts of home and back in the arms of loved ones. However, we have these two amazing treasures named Quincy and Cooper who are changing everyday seemingly before our eyes. Being a parent is such a bitter sweet gift. On one hand I am proud of the growth and change I see in my boys but in the other hand the same growth and change brings me to tears. Quincy is this smart, sensitive, silly boy who I have to remind myself everyday that he isn't a baby anymore. He has his own opinions, likes and dislikes and he is teaching me just as much or more than I am teaching him now. In the past month Cooper has gone from scooting to full on crawling and from a smile with two little teeth to a mouth full of five teeth and counting!! Cooper's new favorite thing is to pretend to want a hug and then turn as fast as he can so he can get away from said hug. He is breaking my heart already:) Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy. These boy are the lights of my life and I am blessed that I get the honor to see them grow everyday.

First Cheerios

New Smile...adorable

Two peas in a pod

Sweet kisses

Sloppy kisses...Quincy is clearly not thrilled

Quincy loves him some checkers!

"Crawling" and Teeth and Curls, Oh My!

This is about a month past due but at least this way I can fill you in on all that has happened in little Cooper's eighth month. His eight month picture was taken on the fly. That was the day we drove to Oldenburg and on the way home ran into a snow storm and the drive took twice as long as it should have. Therefore he was a pretty cranky baby and I was just glad we got one good one! It was also Bronco game day hence the nice BSU gear courtesy of Grandma! The day he turned eight months he got his first tooth and the second one followed in quick succession. He also found his wheels in the form of an army crawl. It is a little hard to describe but it is mostly ALL arms. He scoots around on his tummy with his legs dragging behind. Not very efficient but it gets him where he wants to go. Lastly and maybe most important are his curls...ok NOT most important but up there on the cuteness scale for sure! When I think about Cooper's eighth month I can't believe all the changes that have happened! He is such an adorable baby and we are loving every minute of babyhood 2.0

The Curls

Silly picture but at least you can see the teeth

Brushing the teeth

Playing Catch up

After looking at my last post I realized I had been so excited about Paris that I left out most of the holidays and some pretty big mile stones. Before Christmas we took a short little trip over to Oldenburg Germany. There they had an amazing Christmas market! It was the most "Christmasie" place I had ever been. In the Netherlands Christmas is pretty low key so I was so excited we could take Quincy somewhere where they do Christmas BIG.

Yum Cocoa!

Grog...umm Gross.

Libby, Jason and Cooper

Bratwurst YUM!

One of many stands at the market

Oldenburg, Germany

Every time I look at the twinkle lights I think of this Van Gogh Painting

Yeah, I'm pretty cold!
Roast Chestnuts (I loved them but Jason and Libby decided they not only LOOK like squirrel brains they also TASTE like squirrel brains)

I ♥ PARIS

Over Christmas break our friend Libby came to visit. Before she came Jason and I decided we would take her to Paris to show her a good time. We had such an amazing time!! We spent one and a half days sightseeing and at the end we considered ourselves Metro pros! (Thanks to the lesson Steve Ross gave us before hand!) While there we visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre-Coeur, Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Moulin Rouge and the Louvre. It was a whirlwind of a trip and I left wanting to see and do more. I said goodbye to Paris but really I was just saying see you later. Quincy's favorite sight was the Eiffel Tower and I made sure to take his picture in front of all the sights to remind him when he is older. Little Cooper fell asleep during most of the sightseeing but he too is in all the pictures to show him when he is older. Here are just a few of the amazing sights we saw while there.

Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

The back of Notre Dame

These people had the right idea!

The Louvre

The Great Sphinx

Venus de Milo

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Mona Lisa

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre-Coeur

422 Stairs up and 422 down to see the Sacre-Coere

Cheese and Wine!

Our Hotel