Outside.

JJ has gotten very good at pedaling his little trike, so now we'll be buying him a bigger bike for his birthday.  Shhh, don't tell him : )

JJ "reading" the directions to Brian.

The weather has been very nice lately, which is good so that we can go outside and JJ can get some energy out and I don't go completely insane!  Our landlords left this pool in the garage and said we could use it, so JJ and Brian put it together and it has already brought endless hours of fun.  JJ loves to "clean" it by using the skimmer and we bought some pool toys to keep him entertained in the water.  Today we're going to buy some chlorine tablets to kill all the mosquito larvae that keep showing up in the middle of the night!  It's pretty gross, but that's what happens when you live close to a big lake and the ocean and then you have a body of water in your yard!  

Normandy.

This is at the British museum and cemetery.  The whole trip JJ kept calling tanks "tractors" and we didn't correct him : )

This is the port city of Cherbourg.  Lots of history here and it had a nice little museum.

This museum is the original building that was used by Nazi paratroopers and was then seized and used as the 101st Airborne headquarters after the liberation of Carentan.

The museum had lots of guns and JJ loved pointing them all out to me.  I guess when you're in a war museum you have to expect to see guns.

This is the town that we stayed in, Bayeux.  It is a beautiful place to stay and the B & B we stayed at was very nice.

Ok, here's the final post from our Paris vacation, I promise : )  We've now been back from our vacation for over a week and we're finally getting back to "normal."  We had a great time and would love to go back someday, probably without kids.  We met lots of retired Americans in Normandy so that may be us someday.  This was our last big trip before the baby is born which means the next time we take a big trip we will have two kids with us.  Crazy!

Omaha Beach.

We drove out to Normandy for the last few days of our vacation and we're so glad that we did.  It was amazing to be able to see the main sites of the D-Day invasion.  We were able to spend a few hours at the American cemetery and monument.  This experience could have been very somber and extremely emotional, but we had JJ with us so it was a little hard to really soak in all the emotion.  JJ actually really enjoyed being there because there was lots of area to run around and he liked going down to the beach.  We tried to explain to him that almost 70 years ago the beach was a very different place, but I don't think he really got it.  We've decided that when he learns about the invasion in school in many years he'll be snobby and saying, "I've been there, I've walked on the beach, it's pretty neat."

Paris.

Our tour guide determining which metro line to take : )

Our tour guide did not agree with our final stops of the day!

We took the train from out great Disneyland hotel into downtown Paris for a day.  Once we got into Paris, we took an open air bus tour that stopped at all the major stops and we were able to get on and off the bus.  We didn't go to any museums since they're pricey to get in to and we didn't think JJ would appreciate anything, so Brian and I will hopefully get back there someday without kids : )  We had a really good day traveling around the city and did enjoy lots of crepes during the week, both sweet and savory!

More Disney Paris.

It was pretty cold, so Brian bought JJ this new Cars blanket : )

So here's the rest of Disneyland Paris.  We spent one full day there, one half day, and what was going to be another half day, but JJ (and Brian) didn't want to deal with the crowds the last day so we didn't make it in the gate.  It was really fun and JJ's favorite ride was definitely "Buzz Lightyear" followed by "It's a Small World."  Before every ride he would get scared and say that the rides were too scary to ride on and we had to convince him otherwise.  We were right every time, except "Snow White" which really was very scary!  It is Disney Paris' 20th anniversary and there were posters of characters everywhere which JJ loved and would call out the name of every character he saw.  My favorite was every time that JJ yelled out "Jingle Bell!," aka Tinkerbell : )  I wouldn't let Brian correct him of her name because I thought it was so cute : )

Disneyland Paris!

We got back last night after an amazing week in Paris and the Normandy area.  The first few days we spent at Disneyland and JJ loved it.  A few major differences between Disney Paris and "regular" Disneyland - you can smoke everywhere at Disney Paris and they don't have churros!  The park was also significantly smaller, but we still had a good time.  The first ride we went on was Peter Pan and when we told JJ what we were going on he said, "oh, that sounds like fun!"  Lots more pictures to follow. . .

Vietri sul Mare.

We went to Vietri today and it was beautiful.  It's one of the first towns on the Amalfi Coast and is known worldwide for their ceramics.  We bought some nice pieces and will definitely buy more next time that we go : )  We then had a nice lunch outside and drove down to the beach.  After trying to find parking for awhile we ended up heading back home.  We're already planning on going again and will try and go a little earlier in the day to be able to go to the beach.

Yes, we're sure, he's really only 2.

Just like Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, JJ thinks that he should be able to fly, but can't!  Every time he jumps off the couch he yells, "To infinity and beyond!"  Hopefully he doesn't break his arm like Buzz did!  I know, not the safest activity but when I'm cooking dinner and have been with JJ for myself for so long he kind of wears me down and can do almost anything he wants.

Sitting in his pillow "cave" that he created while I was eating dinner by myself, yet again.

We had to take JJ to the doctor yesterday because he was showing the "classic" signs of allergies, i.e.  congestion, "allergy eyes," constantly rubbing his nose, small cough, not sleeping, not eating dinner, wait, those last two are just because he's JJ but the sleeping had gotten worse because he couldn't breath out of his nose at night.  So, after a pretty long appointment with the doctor, JJ is now on children's Zyrtec.  Allergies definitely run in our family, so JJ didn't really stand a chance.

They measured JJ at the appointment and he is now 33 pounds and 3' 3" (very easy to remember!).  He is in the 80th percentile for weight and 92nd for height.  We're sure that his head is off the chart, but they didn't measure it this time : )  We saw a new pediatrician and when he came into the room he asked JJ how old he is.  JJ answered very clearly "2" at which the doctor then turned to us for confirmation and also reviewed his chart to confirm this was correct.  We assured him that it was and the doctor then said, "wow, you're very smart, verbal, and big for only being 2!"  Everyone keeps saying how big he is and how he speaks so well for his age but as my mom keeps pointing out, to us he's just JJ.  

All By Myself.

Brian has been gone for almost a week now and I think that one of the most annoying things is eating dinner by myself.  I know it's unlike me, but I've been refusing to eat "kid" food for dinner, so I've actually been cooking for myself.  I make JJ a plate too and most nights he sits down, takes one look and says "no, I can't want that" and ends up eating nothing.  I'm definitely not one of those moms that then makes something "special" like a quesadilla just so that their kid will eat.  Sorry JJ, there's nothing wrong with what I make for dinner so if you don't want it then I guess you don't have to eat!  After refusing dinner, he then gets down and goes to play trains or like tonight, throw all the cushions off the couch, so I end up sitting at the table by myself eating a lovely dinner.  I know that I could give in and just sit on the couch and watch some Disney show with him but I was raised to sit at the table and eat dinner and I'm making a point of it, but I don't think it's really setting in with JJ.  Maybe someday he'll appreciate my cooking a homemade meal every night, or not!