I'm Baacckk!

OK, OK, so I have been the biggest blog slacker ever this month! I guess when I have something else to do in the evening, the blog goes out the window. I have just kept really busy enjoying the Buchanan's. And the week they went to the UK, I spent recuperating so I would be ready for the week they came back. We had such a wonderful time with them though, and are so thrilled they decided to come and stay with us here in Germany. We saw many beautiful things while they were here, and the weather worked out quite nicely for them. Their vacation seemed to be the perfect amount of time too. They left Saturday morning, and they seemed to be ready to go, but not overly anxious so the timing was great.

So...I will tell you of my highlights with them soon, but first we need to recognize Jacobie's birthday! He turned 3 today and seemed to really enjoy his birthday although I dropped the ball in a lot of areas. First he woke up to our typical streamers on the door, and then was thrilled to see some decorations downstairs.




Steve and I had decided to get him a bike for his birthday since Steven and Nathan have become quite the European bike riders and Jacob is left in the dust. Germans have these great walking bikes that I have blogged about before with Nathan and 3 is just the right age to get one. So, I looked all over for a little wooden one that I knew would fit him just right, but could not find one anywhere. I ended up with one exactly like Nathan's and just like I was afraid of, when Jacob got on it this morning, it was too big for him and his feet couldn't reach the floor. He does have short legs for a 3 year old. So, the only present we got for him was not wrapped and is something he can't even use. Strike 1


Then we went to church and I printed a cute little birthday hat for him to wear, so he could let everyone know he was the Birthday Boy. I also sent gummy candy with him to Nursery to pass out to his friends to celebrate. He thought that was pretty cool. Then we came home, and he had said he wanted macaroni and cheese for dinner. Well, since they don't sell the boxed kind here I made it from scratch. It turned out pretty good but he didn't seem to love it.



Then for birthday cake I made a lemon cake mix we had in the cupboard. When I was licking the edge of the bowl after pouring it in to the cake pan it tasted a little weird to me. So, I checked the expiration and saw that it had expired on July of 2000!! Why would I have something that expired 4 years before I even moved here in my cupboard? All I can think is when someone moved out and gave me their kitchen stuff I got an old cake mix. So, I used the last of the eggs and the last of the oil in a very old cake mix. When it came out of the oven, Steve and I tasted it and decided it didn't taste right. Strike 2

To make up for that I said we are having ice cream sundae's for his birthday and I got out all the candy I could find, and we put his candles in a scoop of ice cream and he seemed to be quite happy. :)



Jacob had a great birthday when all was said and done, and we are so happy to have him as part of our family. We also want to thank all the Grandparents for remembering Jacob on his birthday. Nana and Papa and Grandma and Grandpa both sent something in the mail last week, but none of it made it to us. There was a German holiday on Thursday and Friday of last week and I am sure that is the reason. And Grandma Great sent something with Alicia and Scott for all of the upcoming birthdays. Grandparents are so wonderful!