Celebrating 3!

Kelty turned 3! I'm just as happy to celebrate Kelty's 3rd birthday as I am to celebrate the fact that Al and I have survived 3 years of parenting! Before becoming a parent I had thought that parents do all the teaching ... I have realized over the last 3 years that children teach parents just as much as we teach them. Oh how I love our little kiddo!

We kept our celebration small again this year. Our neighbors, Heinz and Evi, came over to celebrate while Kelty blew out his candles ... we also Skyped with the families so they could get in on the action. A few hours later the Wagner family visited and we opened presents, ate cupcakes, enjoyed a pizza night and just let the boys play ....

Kelty's last night as a 2-year old!

Kelty always has to have a sip of water after hopping in bed ... doesn't help him keep a dry diaper during the night though! Notice ... no more paci!!

Al and Jordan putting together Kelty's train table.

This little layer cake is turning into a birthday tradition. I decorated the sides with an airplane, boat, car, and hot air balloon that coordinated with his cupcake toppers.

His little transportation-themed cupcakes.

Oh, there is a story behind this! I had purchased a 12-piece train mold set to make a train cake for Kelty's birthday. I had a vision of building a little track with pretzel sticks and setting out the cake train cars across the track all around the table. Ha! The night before his birthday (with our great friends Tina and Jordan still visiting from FL), Tina and I set out to make this cake. I separated the cake batter and made 5 different colors and set out to make my first batch. Total disaster ... none of the mini cakes would pop out of the mold and I ended up with blobs instead of train cars. So around 11pm I started making Kelty a mini-cake and used the rest of the batter for cupcakes. Tina does a lot of graphic design work and downloaded transportation themed stock photos and transformed them into little circles so I could make cupcake toppers! At 1am we finally wrapped up and went to bed .... did I mention they had to get up at 5am to catch their flight back to the states? Thank you so much Tina for making the "finishing touches" possible!!

Mommy and Kelty

Daddy and Kelty

During the days leading up to his birthday, Kelty would wake up each morning and say "day?" and imitate blowing out candles .... you can only imagine his excitement when the moment finally arrived!

Hooray!

Showing Heinz his new train table

Playing with Luke and Elijah

The Wagner's just celebrated the birth of their 3rd boy! Kelty adored baby Jonah!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kelty!

Looking back on 2!
Looking back on 1 (Part 1)!
Looking back on 1 (Part 2)!

Do Re Mi ... Salzburg, Austria

Last week we had the opportunity to visit Aviano, Italy and Salzburg, Austria! Al had a TDY to Aviano so Kelty and I tagged along and we drove to Italy together. While in Italy, Al had to work all day but we were able explore a little in the evenings. With the exception of one morning walk, Kelty and I were stuck in the hotel room during the day thanks to the rain. Ugh. Those were loooooooooong days in the hotel room!

Al wrapped up his TDY on Wednesday afternoon and we hit the road that evening to drive to Salzburg. We were able spend one full but rainy day in Salzburg and one rainy morning .... not enough time! Salzburg was breathtaking; just as amazing as is was portrayed in The Sound of Music! This is yet another place that Al and I have decided a second trip is in necessary!

Enjoying a little Gelato in Italy after dinner ... it's a special little treat even on cold nights.

Salzburg, Austria

We took a little Cog ride up to Hohensalzburg Fortress and enjoyed a breathtaking view of Salzburg and the mountains ...

It was so cloudy, overcast and dreary that it was pretty impossible to capture the mountains, but they are there!

The older men enjoying a game of outdoor chess in the Kapitelplatz ...

We visited the Marionette Museum; Kelty really got a kick out it.

Just walking and checking things out ...

Taking a break. I'm pretty certain this was somebody's doorstep we hung out on ...

Our hotel was in the old town just off the one of the main walking streets, Getreidegasse. About a one minute walk from down the street was the childhood home and birthplace of Mozart. We walked by it half a dozen times ... it blends right in with the storefronts surrounding it. It's now a museum.

Each of the shops have beautiful iron signs and each one is built to reflect the merchandise in the shop. This was obviously the storefront of a shoe store. :o)

These little pulleys were actually the bells that would ring for the residences located above. You pulled the lever of the appropriate number apartment; you could visually follow the wire up to the street-front window and see the bells mounted inside on the window frame. Well ... we thought it was neat.

A rainy visit to Mirabell Gardens ...

I bet this little garden tunnel is beautiful in the spring and summer ...

Do Re Mi Fa So ...

I had to do it! I was standing by the Pegasus Fountain in Mirabell Gardens. This fountain was in The Sound of Music, "Do Re Mi" scene. When we go back I'd love to do the tour and visit not only the movie locations but also the "real" locations in the Von Trapp family history. I may not be able to sing, not even Do Re Mi, ... but I love the movie (it's #3 ... just behind Anne of Green Gables and Dirty Dancing).

Until next time sweet Salzburg ...we can't wait to visit you again! As I've read about Salzburg and it's very true "Salzburg is not just a place ... it's an experience".

... oh, during this lovely vacation I was still recovering from my dental surgery. Unfortunately I ran out of pain medication so momma was a little grumpy at times. :o)

Halloween!

Halloween was short and sweet this year! Al returned from a 2-week TDY just a few hours before we headed to base for a little trick-or-treating! Since he was in "the states", I put him on costume duty ... he gets an A+ for picking out such a fun costume for Kelty! Kelty loves the horse farm near the house and was really excited about this costume. He wore one of my cowboy hats and an old red bandana from my "dance drawer" ... paired with the little jean jacket that Nana and Papa gave him it was the perfect "thrown together at the last minute" costume!

We could barely get him to stand still for a photo ... Kelty spent the entire evening galloping around!

Oh my gosh ... the rear view was just as cute!

Kelty took to trick-or-treating very quickly. He couldn't say "trick-or-treat" but he could manage "treat" and would sign "thank-you" after each goody. He was a hit!

Still Around - Just Busy!

Wow! We are still here ... busy as ever. Al just returned from a 2-week TDY so I was playing "single-parent" for a while. ChichiKids has been eating up every spare moment and I've been busy working on our squadron's Harvest Auction event coming up this Saturday ... oh, and I just had dental surgery.

I'll catch everyone up here shortly but thought I'd share a photo of Kelty to hold you all over for a few more days ...

Owl Hat from TotzHatz on Etsy

If you are looking for a cute and unique hand-made knit hat ... this Etsy shop is fabulous. Each hat can be customized with colors of your choice ... she is such a friendly seller and very quick!

London, England

2 weekends ago ... yes, I know *sigh* ... we went to London for a long weekend! I know it's been too long between blog posts when Al actually tells me he'll watch Kelty so I can blog.

We will be the first to admit that we completely underestimated London. There was so much to see and do that we just couldn't fit it all in! Unlike most of our other European vacations, we spent a lot of time on public transportation in London; the tube, buses and taxis ... everything is so spread out. But it was comforting to be somewhere in Europe where we could actually communicate in English and read a menu!

A second trip to London is definitely in order ...

We flew to London in lieu of driving. Kelty has become quite independent packing and traveling with his own carry-on luggage. I found a cheap rolling backpack for him and of course I appliqued it!

Kelty takes safety of flight very seriously and took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the aircraft's emergency evacuation procedures.

We had a quick layover in Amsterdam and I was so happy to come across this CHOCOLATE BAR! Oh my ... I do hope we have another layover in Amsterdam on a future trip!

We arrived in London Friday evening and hit the ground Saturday morning. They British are so kind to tell you which way to look before crossing the street!

Who can visit London passing up this opportunity? I couldn't ....

Or Kelty ....

Or Daddy ...

We were fortunate to visit Buckingham Palace on a day where we could witness the Changing of the Guard. We also got lucky with "up front" viewing at the gate. I had to post this photo of Kelty and his nose smushed up against the iron fence ... perhaps he was marking his territory?

Ok, to be honest .... watching the Changing of the Guard was a bit, umm ... comical. It takes about 30-45 minutes and their is a lot of "pomp" when everyone arrives during the 1st 15 minutes .... then who the heck knows what is happening after that! The men were breaking off in pairs and just marching around .... marching to this corner, turning around, marching back, turning around, oh ... let's march over to this corner, etc. I assume if I were to Google it they would be doing some sort of check of the perimeter before the change-over? But bottom line ... it's a lot of marching. :o) We left early. But don't get me wrong ... we are very fortunate have witnessed it!

Buckingham Palace as we were leaving ...

After leaving Buckingham we took a nice walk through Green Park which used to be a part of King Henry VIII's hunting grounds.

Our little London Bobby ...

We walked around the Houses of Parliament and took the token photo of the clock tower which is home to Big Ben. The Parliament building are truly massive and gorgeous!

Just across the street was Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately is was "closed" for the day and we didn't get the opportunity to visit ... just admire from the outside. I guess we'll revisit on trip number #2!

Kelty is infatuated with "transportation"; buses, car, planes, boats. Here were waiting for one of our many buses where Kelty was proudly holding onto is very own little London Bus toy.

Yes we did! This is the very crosswalk the Beatles strutted across for the album cover of Abbey Road! They actually have a camera that broadcasts the crosswalk "live" and we were tempted to call the families and say "look look" ... but we didn't. We found a family to take a photo of us walking the crosswalk ... unfortunately it's not from the same angle and because it was at dusk, the camera struggled but we still love the photo.

That evening we stopped at a famous little place know for their Fish -n- Chips.

Now, I don't eat fish .... but I HAD TO while in London. I have to admit, it was pretty good! They serve their Fish-n-Chops with lemon, salt, and vinegar.

I just had to post this photo ... when we got back to the hotel we grabbed a drink at the bar to take up to the room. We walked into the elevator and promptly after the door closed we were hit by "the gift" the previous occupant left behind .... it was a long ride up to the 8th floor!

Heading out the next morning; Kelty loves hats. I love him in hats!

Hanging with Daddy waiting for the bus ...

We visited Notting Hill and browsed the antiques shops ...

Then we took Kelty to the London Aquarium ... something fun for the kiddo since I'm sure visiting castles and antique shops is not high on his "fun list" ...

Then we took a London Taxi to the Rainforest Cafe for a fun lunch. Our lunch at the Rainforest Cafe is possibly the closest meal to "normal" we've ever experienced with Kelty. With all of the great things for Kelty to look at, we actually ate a full meal ... and dessert!

That afternoon we visited the Tower of London, which isn't really a tower. The Tower of London is popularly know for the place where those who committed treason were held and historical figures like Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were executed. This place was so HUGE we didn't see half of it during our 2-hour visit. We did get the opportunity to see the Jewel House where the actual Crown Jewels are held (under TIGHT security) and the Armory Gallery which houses armory from the Stewart and Tudor era. This yet another place we have to go back and visit because we didn't see enough ...

"Traitor's Gate" inside the Tower. This is where prisoners entered the Tower by boat.

And that's a wrap on London!

Playtime With a Toddler Gone Horribly, Hilariously Wrong!

There we were, Kelty and Mommy, playing nicely in his room banging on the drum, playing with little matchbox cars .... when Kelty decided to pull this little battery-operated hamster toy out of his stash and turn it on. He put it on his face and I said "no, no" .... so he put it on the top of my head. In a blink of an eye those little turning wheels sucked up my hair and created a snarled mess. My hair was (ahem ... is) wrapped up in the wheels of this toy! I sit here, writing this blog post (with a hamster stuck on my head), hoping Al will get home soon because this thing is REALLY starting to hurt.

So what does one do when they have a hamster stuck on their head and is patiently waiting for her prince to rescue her .....

Take photo's and blog about it ....

Yeah, doesn't seem so funny anymore .....

Then I got bored ... so why not feed the little guy?

Then I'm sure the little guy is thirsty up there perched on my head ...

What the heck, this calls for breaking out the wine halter ...

.... still waiting!