New ride, new kicks

Over the weekend Tom got 2 new wheels. We traded in his Sportster for a new Nightrod. It's a really cool bike. We've been making trips to Salinas (the closest Harley dealer) just to "look". HA! I knew better. It is really cool and Jack seems to agree. It was funny, the whole time we're walking through the show room Jack made Bbbrrrrmmmm noises at all the bikes. I think Tom's excited that he has a future riding buddy.

On Monday night I made my way to a spouses club function. It was a new spouse welcome. I went by myself since I know no one here except my neighbors. I consider myself an outgoing person, but these women were hard to talk to. I'm not sure if it was because I'm army and everyone here seems to be Navy or what, it was just weird. I buddied up with one woman who was also there by herself. She was really nice. Her husband is in a different major so I'm not sure how often our paths will cross but we exchanged numbers and who knows. ( wow that sounded like a lame blind date or something) Anyway....with going to that function I cut out of there early and driving home I got to think about all the friends that have gone in different directions from Germany. Meagan and Deb....I miss you guys so much! Deb just had her first baby in Germany and I hate that I'm so far away and couldn't visit or throw her a shower. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of something to tell Meagan. She's still in Germany and the time change is so crappy that I don't get to call but I'm going to be better. Kelly, she was such a great neighbor, she's had a little girl since she moved that I haven't met in person. And my knitting group. Beth and Sara, without those guys the last "deployment/rear-D" 2 years would not have been tolerable. And Karen, Christy and Carisa, my PA girls....I love hanging out with them, I miss working with them and I get a little depressed when there's a scrapbooking weekend and I can't be there! :-) I guess it all just hit me that I miss my friends and I hate that I have to start from scratch out here. So I just wanted to say to everyone....I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!
And I'll end this blog with Jack's new obsession....his sunglasses. (There's also a box of croutons that he's been carrying around but the glasses lead to cuter pictures.) Inside or out, we wear our shades. Hahahaha. We LOVE that kid!!! and check out our new kicks....

I "heart" EBAY!!!

So there's this little addiction I have called ebay. Hahahaha, little may be an understatement. It's great for baby stuff and even better for scrapbooking supplies. Oh Yes scrapping! Now that we're getting settled it's time to work on all of my Jack pictures. I don't have one picture of him in a scrapbook. It's not right. Anyway I've been wanting the cricut machine. It's an electronic die cutter, very cool but a bit pricey. So I'm refusing to pay full price for this thing. I've been stalking it at Michael's. There's a 40% of 1 item coupon every week in the paper. So I've been waiting for it to be full price and grab it up. I get my coupon, I go to Michael's, I'm sooo excited, at the check out the not so nice cashier tells me I can't use my coupon. BIG SAD FACE!!! Cricut is excluded. You would think in my weeks of watching his I would have known. So I come back home and remember ebay has every thing! YEAH!!! I get it for less than if I was able to use my coupon! So happy! So now my addiction is with all the extras that goes with the Cricut. Plus I'm on a mission for a halloween costume for Jack. So back to ebay I go......

Jack's 1st Birthday

Well, yesterday was a crazy fun day in the McMurtrie house. Jack turned 1. I can't even believe that my little monster is a year old. It has been one wild year for us too. We've moved twice, Jack's been to 2 countries, a handful of states, 2 coasts and in 2 different oceans. He's a very well traveled kid for only being 1.
Yesterday was a day just for Jack. He had his favorite breakfast....a blueberry waffle, then we played and read lots of books. During his morning nap I wrapped a few presents and made his birthday Elmo cake.

After his nap he woke up to his favorite lunch, chicken nuggets and peas. Yummm!

I blew up a few balloons which kept him occupied for hours. Hhaahaha. We didn't even have one pop. Yeah! Once Tom got home and Jack was up from his second nap we had a little snack and birthday cake. My parent's got a web cam so they were able to watch Jack tear into Elmo. He really liked the cake.

That was a surprise since our failed attempt to get him to eat cake at his fake birthday party. After cake we went to the fair. It was really nice and the weather was warm. We had really good BBQ and grilled corn and then we watched a hypnotist show. It was pretty funny! We finished off the fair with a funnel cake and headed home for presents. Tom and I got Jack an outdoor water/sand play table, a few musical toys and a magnetic fridge toy from Leap Frog.






Jack also got a bunch of books from friends and family which is as much of a present to Tom and I as they are to Jack. There's only so many times you can read the same book over and over and over again. :-) And he LOVES to read his books!! So THANK YOU Aunt Lisi, Kelly and Addie!!! You all didn't have to send him anything. Jack, Tom and I thank you!!!
Jack had a great first birthday and I only had one little emotional breakdown, not too bad considering. Did I mention that I can't believe Jack's 1 already???

Fun in the Sun

Yesterday was really nice here in Monterey. It usually stays pretty cool throughout the day but yesterday was almost hot here. So during Jack's nap I filled up his new alligator pool and let the water warm up while he was sleeping. I peaked on him during his nap...he sleeps EXACTLY like his dad, it's creepy. Both hands up behind his head and one leg bent a little. It's a little weird but so cute.

Anyway, after he woke up we went outside and played for over an hour. He loves being outside. It never rains here so we have no excuse to not be outside everyday. Sadie is a huge fan too. She loves being outside but not by herself, she needs company. Hahahah. We watch for the hummingbirds and the airplanes and we of course hunt for rocks. There's just too much fun to be had in the yard.




Jack loved being in the pool and playing in the water. I got a video of him showing all his new tricks. Hahaha. It was a little rapid fire like he was practicing or something. Hahaha.

We've been working on sign language which he's picking up so fast I can't believe it. He knows most of his body parts although when you ask him where his nose is he points to your nose. We're still working on that one. I'm trying to teach him that he'll be 1 year old. He sticks out the pointer finger to do one occasionally. Maybe we'll get it in 2 days. Oh My Goodness....Jack's going to be 1 in 2 days. Where did the last 12 months go???
And lastly I'll leave you with an image of Jack watching Tom leave for school in the morning. He's looking through the cat door into the garage. Every morning and every time I'm doing laundry you can look at the cat door and see the cutest face peaking back at you. Hahahaha.

Random Weekend Adventures

We had a great weekend here at the McMurtrie house. It was a pretty random- on a whim - kinda weekend but it was fun! It made me remember that there are these little moments that are so amazing for us and Jack. Little things that get over looked sometimes because life just gets too busy. You all know what I mean, those tiny things that make you go ..."Aaahhhh". Like when Jack's up on Tom's shoulders and he's holding on to his ears. Or when he's getting tired and you get to cuddle with him or that out of the blue kiss or my favorite: when Tom sticks out his finger and points at Jack, he leans in and bumps his nose off of Tom's finger so Tom can go "beep". Hahahahah! I love that!. They're my make my heart melt moments. I had a few of those this weekend. It's what makes being a mom soooo much fun!
My favorite little thing we did this weekend was take Jack to the playground. There are great parks all over the place out here. We went to a park that hosts a blues band every Sunday. (We have yet to go but it gets packed!!!) There's a lake with ducks and geese and 2 really cool playgrounds. Jack had his first experience in a swing.

He had no idea what was going on. At first he loved it, but that didn't last too long. He did get back in the swing for another go at it but with the same results. His favorite thing was the wheel on the wall. Oh yeah, we really liked the sliding board but we LOVED the wheel.

For about 10 straight minutes we spun the wheel and made motor sounds. The same sounds he makes when he sees his dad's motorcycle. I'm such a proud mom! :-) hhahahah. We had a great time.

We also went to a Strawberry Festival. This was not the highlight of our weekend. I was so excited to go, I have a thing for fests. It must be from living in Germany so long. There was all this advertising and hype about the Watsonville Strawberry Festival. So I convinced my reluctant husband to go. We get there and after paying $5.00 each we have to be escorted through a metal detector. That should have been a clear indicator. After getting frisked by a rent-a-cop we see a sign for "NO GANG COLORS". Of course I'm wearing a bright red shirt. Tom got a kick out of that. So we make our way into the fest only to see 2, that's right....2 tents with strawberry stuff. That's it?? That's it. It was really expensive and all the live music was in Spanish. After we fed Jack a slice of pizza and browsed through the 30 knock off purses and wallets stands we left there. When we got back on our shuttle to the parking area we heard at least 4 people complaining about how bad the fest was. At least it wasn't us. Although I did get a big "I told you so" from Tom. Oh well....now we know. No more strawberry festivals.
Jack fell asleep in the car on the way home (it was about a 30 minute drive) We figured we'd let him sleep a little longer so we drove around downtown Monterey to see what we haven't had the time to check out yet. We just happened to find a tattoo place. Oh yeah....I got a tattoo. I've been wanting another one for awhile now. Jack is finally done breastfeeding and I had one all planned out so that's how we finished off the weekend. I got Jack's birthday in roman numerals on the inside of my left wrist. I guess it's true....you can never just get one tattoo.

So this weekend involved a playground, a strawberry fest and a tattoo with lots of little "Aaahhhh" moments. Lovin' my little family!

Sadie...go fetch!

The weather is amazing out here in California. We've been here a month and it's only drizzled once! ONCE! Unreal. It's a little misty and foggy in the morning towards the ocean but by 11am it's bright and sunny. The temperature stays in the mid to high 60s which means.....lots of outside play time! Sadie loves this as much as Jack. He loves finding Sadie's toys and giving them to her. He gets a huge kick out of it when she gets all wound up and starts hopping around and growling for her toys so teasing her has become the new game. Sadie just loves the new attention and is really starting to come around to this little human that took over her leading role.
Jack just discovered our lime tree in the front yard. It's more like a lime bush but tree sounded better. He thought the lime was a pretty cool new ball until he bit it. Hahahah. You gotta learn some how right? We were also trying out our new hard soled shoes. He did pretty well even though he was walking like he had flippers on his feet. Hahahah, it was sooo cute!

MMMWAAHHH!

So Jack is a very loving child. He gives kisses all the time and now even can blow kisses to who ever is willing to accept. We were outside playing yesterday and I couldn't resist sharing this kiss. So this is a kiss to everyone we miss! Love you all!!!

Busy Bees

Well, it's been a little while since I've gotten the chance to blog. I hate those stretches of time because I accumulate sooo many pictures and then I have way too many things to blog about at one time.
The last week has been busy for us. We had our first house guests. YEAH! I love having visitors. Tom's mom and her crew drove our car cross country in the road trip of a life time. They left Pa and saw the memorial for the 9/11 flight victims in Shanksville, then went to Chicago, rode horses at a Dude Ranch in Wyoming, saw Mount Rushmore, Yellow Stone National Park, Jackson Hole, the Bad lands, drove through the Grand Tetons, hung out in San Fransisco and then hung out with us for a few days. I have to say I'm a little jealous. They all had such a good time, it would have been fun!! While they were here they threw Jack a little surprise birthday party. (They're sneaky) He had such a blast getting all that attention. He got a pretty cool gift too....a fish tank with 3 fishies all his own. Hahaha. He loves that thing! Every morning he comes out of his room on his way to get breakfast we make a pit stop and say good morning to the fish. He's so sweet.





While they were here we went to the Aquarium. We love that place. Jack got the chance to check out the touch ponds. How cool is it that an almost 1 year old got to touch a starfish and a sea cucumber and an abalone shell? He had the most fun playing in that touch pond with Boobie (that's what we're calling Tom's mom...it's Yiddish) He loves watching the fish swim by and tries to grab them through the window. Needless to say we are now have passes to the Aquarium. :-)




We also went on 17 mile drive again. It's so beautiful describing it really doesn't do it justice. This time we got the chance to walk around the shops at Pebble Beach Golf Course. We played a game..."Find the cheapest item" hahhaha. I never knew golf shirts could be so expensive. There were things in some shops that were kind of affordable. However there was 1 short sleeve polo shirt for $220.00. How much fun would it be to have the kind of money??? Anyway, we actually found a pen for $6.00. I'm sure my dad's going to spend a lot of time in those shops! I guess a $220 shirt is cheaper than a $500 round of golf, right? :-) hahahha. After 17 mile drive we headed south on Highway 1 and were on our way to Big Sur. There are fires in this area at the moment. They're finally contained but there were signs everywhere thanking the firefighters. Big Sur is beyond any words. The clips that you see in movies of people driving along the coast and it just being a HUGE cliff is in this area. I have NO pictures of this since I was driving and having my knuckles turn white from fear of flying off a cliff and into the ocean on the winding roads. But it was breath taking. We couldn't find a beach access so we just turned around 6 miles past Big Sur and came home. We later found out there's this ONE unmarked road that leads you to the beach. FUNNY!!! We completely failed to look this up before venturing down there, but now I know for next time. We had so much fun hanging out with Boobie and the Ladies from Pali. We're grateful that they brought our car to us and that they had a safe and wonderful trip. Tom's parents will be our next set of visitors in Sept and then my parents come in November...we can't wait!
After the ladies from Pali left the focus switched back to the house. Jack finally has a furnished room. YEAH!!! I've been itching to get him a crib and dresser and get his room all decorated and cute. Tom kept telling me..."Jack told me he doesn't care what his room looks like". hahaha. I know this.. but I care. Poor kid's only known a Pack 'N' Play. So after driving all over to Babies R Us in Salinas and home and then San Jose and home all in one day to pick up furniture....Jack has a room. The house was painted right before we moved in and since painting is soooo much fun we opted to not paint anything! YEAH! So the color of his room isn't my choice, but it works. Here's his room....so cute!






I still have to take pictures of the rest of the house. It's definitely a home now. We're all unpacked and only need a grill and patio set yet, but that stuff isn't needed right away. We really do love it here. Sadie has more friends than we do at the moment, but we're working on that. hahahah. There's dogs everywhere, it's great! Tom's class had a BBQ at Carmel beach last Friday. The great thing about the West Coast is that you're allowed to build fires on the beach, have little grills, let your dogs off the leash, it's so laid back here. That is a BIG NO NO at all the beaches I've been at on the East Coast. Anyway,it was fun to meet new people. It was hard to mingle with Jack but everyone seems really nice. They're all Navy people so we're the odd balls here. We have another meet and greet tonight, I'll let you know how that goes. :-) Hope every one's well!!! Start making those plans to visit us.....