Relocating the Blog

It turns out that I've used up all my storage space on this blog so now if I want to continue to post pictures to this site, Google is requesting a monthly fee. No thanks, Google. Scott has created me a new website and has imported all the old data from this one so if you'd like to continue to read about our exciting lives, we're now located at www.whitehill-blog.com.

Preparing for Winter

Since I live in an apartment, it's been a struggle to keep Damien from making a lot of noise that would be disruptive to the neighbors below. Damien loves to move. Winter is coming up and I won't be able to take him outside as much as I do now for him to burn off some of his energy. For Christmas, Scott and I ordered him an inflatable play area for him to bounce around in. We considered getting him a large mat that were actually pretty expensive for what they were. We also considered getting him a children's trampoline, but after reading reviews of them sometimes tipping over, I just knew it wouldn't be safe enough for him. 

We got the inflatable play area in the mail much sooner than we expected so we decided to go ahead and set it up for Damien's use. My only concern now is that it'll spring a leak. Anyways, he LOVES it. He spent all night going bananas and much to my dismay, it actually gave him MORE energy. This morning, it's the first place Damien went and he's been in and out of it all day long...even watching TV from it.

This video is from last night when Scott first blew it up. I did have pictures, but I may have run out of storage space for this blog. I'll have to research this at a later time.

Halloween Party

So I decided that since I won't be able to take Damien trick-or-treating, but still wanted him to have somewhat of a Halloween experience, I took him to my squadron's Halloween party/chili cook-off tonight. Scott had to work. Anyways, Damien needed my constant attention which didn't allow for me to really eat. He was also very uncomfortable and would randomly start crying. It wasn't his normal behavior. He started saying what sounded like the word "home". So I asked "Do you want to go home?" to which he very happily replied "yes". So we left and he started acting normal again. Go figure. The photos below were taken after we got home tonight when he was in a good mood.

Leg Braces

I figured people were curious about Damien's leg braces so I took a couple pictures. Friday was his first day wearing them and he's only wearing them a couple hours a day to get used to them and to check for any signs of blisters and whatnot. The braces aren't very noticeable when he's walking around in long pants, but I have to say that if you didn't know what they were that it would seem like Damien had some serious mobility issues. So far, Damien has been just fine around wearing them and Scott said he felt he was walking and running better with them on. Next week Monday he'll start wearing them to daycare. It's unknown at this time how long he'll need them.

Dinosaur Park

Today, my friend from work named Tina took Damien and me to the Dinosaur Park in Kaiserslautern. It turned out to be pretty fun since the weather was amazing and Damien was having a great time. He must have used up a lot of energy because I'm posting this blog and he hasn't disturbed me once.

The photos are a little bit dark. I don't have Photoshop installed on this computer to correct them so I'll redo the photos at a later time. Just wanted to share and I'm impatient.

Damien was very excited and chatty about seeing all the dinosaurs, but it wasn't captured in the photos.

Just chillin'

Damien climbing on a pirate ship

ARRRRHHH mateys!

Damien's favorite activity of the day...pumping water...

Decorative pumpkins in the garden area

Toddler Bed - One Week In

It's been about a week since Damien's started sleeping in the toddler bed. It's not as convenient as the crib, but I guess he needs to learn sometime. It's hard to get him to stay in his bed when putting him down for the evening because he knows he can just climb out. And it's completely impossible to get him to take a nap in the bed. I've been settling for him taking a nap on the couch instead. While it may seem weird to post pictures of him sleeping, it's actually a pretty rare event for me to actually catch him sleeping. Usually as soon as I walk into his room, he's ready to roll. I'd also like to point out that Damien NEVER stays under the blankets. He takes after me :)

Introduction of the Toddler Bed

I took a couple days off this week to relax and get a few things done. Scott was supposed to be back from the UK already, so I ended up assembling Damien's toddler bed myself. I was pretty excited  for Damien to see it. 

Pro Mom -- Bed Assembler

Makes me want a nap!

The video is dark in the beginning because it takes his bedroom light a moment to warm up. You can see the cut on his face from when he fell a couple weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it's going to leave a scar :(

So you're probably wondering how the first night went. I set up the baby monitor web cam (which I haven't used in months) to see if he got up at all. He went down for sleep as usual and slept through the night as usual. This morning when he was waking up though, I saw his little legs reaching over the top of the bed. Not sure if he was trying to get down or not, but I don't think he could see anything. He did stay in the bed until I went in his room. So overall, it's been a success. :)

Found Videos

I was searching through our file server trying to select photos for a family photo collage I'm making for Damien so he can become more familiar with faces. Anyways, I came across these videos from when I'm guessing Damien is less than two months old. Aside from being amazed at how much he's developed in the last two years, I realize how distance that really feels. I don't really remember this period too much. I guess because it went by so quickly. And something else I've realized is that newborns aren't that cute...

So the first video was taken when Scott and I were still using the government borrowed furniture when we lived in Bann. It's pretty slow, but it amuses me when he makes an attempt at a smile. 

 

In the second video, you can see he's at the stage where he doesn't know what to do with his hands and can't control the movement very well. I forgot what he sounded like when he cried...If I never took these videos, it would have been lost in my memories forever.

And here's an extra picture because well...it's my baby. The green outfit was a gift from his Great Grandma Smith.

Two Year Be-Well Appointment

Damien had his two-year check up this week and it should be no surprise that he's a healthy toddler. The doctor said his height-to-weight ratio was perfect and to keep doing what we're doing with food. I mentioned his leg braces so she checked out his legs and said that everything seemed good so that it didn't appear to be a neurological problem, just a behavioral one. She said the leg braces would be good to correct the toe-walking so that it didn't affect his gait later in life. At least it's getting cooler outside now so he'll be wearing long pants so maybe the braces won't be noticeable. I should be seeing them in the mail in a few weeks and then I'll need to take him in to get fitted I guess. No immunizations were needed this time around and his next appointment will be in 6 months.

I bought Damien a toddler bed today with some toddler bedding (both Disney Cars themed). I still need a mattress though since Damien's crib is a German sized one. I think I'll introduce it maybe at Thanksgiving so I'll have a nice four day weekend to work through any challenges that may arise. I may decide to move up the date a little bit though because I'm a little bit excited about it. I think Damien will like a big-boy bed and I don't know...I guess I just can't help but be happy to see him growing up and doing more things. The one task I'm really dreading though is potty training. Absolutely no clue how I'm going to get through that one.

Trike

Scott and I bought Damien a trike this past weekend. We saw it and thought that Damien would really enjoy it. We've been wanting to get him one of those little bobby cars where you sit on it and push with your legs, but he never would want to use it correctly and now he seems too tall. I mean when I see other little kids on them, they can't go more than an couple inches at a time and it doesn't look like fun. So this particular trike is for ages 2-5 and it's adjustable. In short--he loves it. He rides around the apartment on it. He'll just hop on and ride around for a little bit and then jump off and play with something else. His legs are a little bit too short to use the pedals, but that doesn't stop him :)

This particular video is from the other morning while I was getting ready for work. And yes, it was intended to be an outdoor toy and I'll bring it down the stairs sometime.

Happy Birthday Damien, Part II

Here are the pictures of Damien tonight with his cake and ice cream which we moved to tonight so that Scott could be present.

Unsure of what to think of the candles

He wanted to touch them

The handsome birthday boy!

He couldn't quite figure out how to blow them out

He ate all the frosting off the top with a spoon first

Yum!

Close up cake face

Big bite

Happy Birthday Damien!

Happy Birthday Damien!!!

Damien turned two years old today! Scott had to work a 12 hour shift today so we'll do cupcakes and candles for Damien tomorrow since we all have Labor Day off. On Saturday, Damien opened all the presents from his Grandpa and Grandma Hanks. Today, Damien opened all his presents from his Great Grandma Smith (I'm still getting used to the new last name). Here's a video of him opening his presents today. I went a little bit fast, but only because I couldn't do much while trying to film it at the same time.

Thanks so much for sending the gifts. Damien really likes the Mickey Mouse and Goofy figurines with the cars.  He also loves to hit things with the hammer and he spent quite a bit of time playing with the Elmo cell phone. He is scared of the drill and the bathtime Elmo because they move. I'll show them to him again tomorrow to see if he'll be more comfortable around them. But again, thanks for the birthday presents :) I think he had a great day :D

How to Entertain a Two Year Old

Damien will be turning two in just over a week--where does the time go?

He hasn't had a full day in his new room yet, but the new teachers said he's doing fine. He's still learning all the new rules so I know it's frustrating for everyone involved.

Damien opening Mommy's closet doors. He looks like such a big boy!

It's hard to find things to keep Damien entertained sometimes. The latest activity I've found to do with him is to sit on my bed and look out the window. He enjoys looking at the cars and people below. While Damien is rather entertained by this activity, it's pretty boring for adults. On the brightside though, there's no mess to clean up afterwards and we can stay indoors--yay!

Damien and Daddy watching vehicles below

Dancing Video

I bought Damien a toy piano and he seemed to enjoy dancing to the music :)

Dental Appt and Room Transition

I have two pieces of news to share.

First, Scott and I took Damien to his first dental appointment yesterday. I didn't know what to expect, but it went really well. His teeth are coming in just fine and are looking good. He also was very well behaved. He did cry during the spinning brush, but I can't blame him for that and he bounced back quickly. He even did a great job keeping his mouth open :D

And the second piece of news is that Damien got his transition letter at daycare to move to the 2 year old room - yay! So he'll be transitioning over starting on 20 Aug. This is good news because Damien seems rather bored in the 1 year old room and is definitely ready for some more challenging tasks. I think I get to see his new room on Monday because Scott and I have a parent/teacher conference to discuss the move. I'm excited!

The Weekend with Damien and Me

Here are some pictures and videos of Damien from this weekend. On Saturday, Damien wouldn't take a nap and as a result, he went completely insane on me in the afternoon. It was one big tantrum after another. I'd never seen him act so out of control. Fortunately, he recovered on Sunday and was much better behaved.

These are from Saturday morning. He had that stick with him the entire time. It was very hard to get pictures because he kept avoiding the camera.

I love this video because I think it illustrates how much Damien loves to be outside...and how much he loves to run off every chance he gets... My little track star :)

These are from Sunday afternoon. Instead of a stick this time, he found two large rocks. He could only pack around one at a time though. I eventually "lost" both of them lol.

Aside from the rare moments when Damien is calm enough to cuddle with me, some of my favorite moments with him are when he's focused on a task. I will always wonder what he's thinking.

And lastly, just a quick picture of Damien from the other morning. Not sure if it translates to a photo how cute it was in real life. I rarely get to actually see him sleep and it amuses me to see how he ends up in the morning after a night of rolling around.

Dachau Concentration Camp - 26 May

Scott and I visited the Dachau Concentration Camp while in Munich, Germany. There wasn't a tour so we just walked around freely. There was so much information and there just wasn't enough time to read everything. It's very difficult to imagine this actually happening--very sad. I don't understand how this happens. They've now built four churches of different faiths at the camp for people to reflect on what they've seen.

This camp was open for 12 years with 200,000 incarcerated. 43,000+ died...

This marks where the prisons got off the bus to line up for entry

Gate to go inside

Me just outside the entrance

The crematorium was the furthest away from everything so we visited it first

The crematorium

This is the waiting area where victims were informed of their "showers".

Door to the gas chamber. The room was disguised as showers to prevent people from refusing to enter the room.

Inside the gas chamber. During a period of 15-20 min, up to 150 people at a time could be suffocated to death.

Room where the dead were brought before they were cremated.

Incinerator room

Each furnace could cremate two to three corpses at once.

Pistol range for execution

The entry to the crematorium area

Perimeter fence to prevent escape. If the prisoners got too close, they were shot.

The strips are were the barracks used to be

In between the rows of barracks

This was one of two barracks still there at the site, and the only one we could go into

Entry to the barracks

Beds

More rows of beds

Pic of men in the beds

Locker room

Outside the old maintenance building where it contained a kitchen, laundry, and supplies. It's also where the prisons registered upon arrival to the camp. It's now a museum.

Inside the museum

Prisoner uniform

Cruel form of punishment. The prisoner had to count along and if they misspoke, they would have to start again so they were hit more times than ordered. It says on the sign "The abused prisoner's screams were widely heard..."

Terrible living conditions

Gold teeth register

I always find treatment of women to be interesting. I didn't even think of them being here too for some reason. Women weren't brought here though until the final phase of war to do hard labor. They endured the same conditions as the men, but were also subjected to sexual violence.

Outside the building (to the left) for solitary confinement and special prisoners to include political prisoners.

Very long hallway with lots of rooms...

This shows the "standing cells". They created four areas in a room so small a prisoner couldn't sit or lay down. They were kept here for up to 72 hours. After the liberation, the American military removed the cells.

Looking into a room from the hallway...so creepy...