A New Addition

I am on a blogging frenzy, just trying to catch up. We are looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving with the 5 of us. We were thinking of going to Prague, but still do not have Alexander's passport so that limits our traveling. Lexi has school so it is just as well, I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers within the school system. I will be doing enough of that when we leave for Cabo San Lucas in May to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, my 40th birthday, my parents 60th birthday and their 40th wedding anniversary. We can't wait.
The other day I asked John to buy a turkey at the commissary. I did not specify the size. Last year we bought a 15 pound turkey for 6 adults and 5 children, we had more than enough left overs, even after we sent everyone home with a carload of leftovers. On Friday evening John walked in the door with our turkey. All 25 pounds of him. Tom is bigger than Anika, all 19 pounds of Anika. Tom is the new addition to our family. We could feed our entire village with our turkey. Most of our friends our going out of town so it will just be Tom and Waskiewicz, party of 5. I have already started thinking of recipes for leftovers. I will also make casseroles galore and freeze them. If anybody has any turkey recipes please send them our way. John wanted to know where he should put Tom until Thanksgiving and I told him it was out of my hands. He ended up emptying the back fridge and putting Tom in his temporary home. I didn't even know there were Turkey's out there that weighed 25 pounds.

The kids are doing a lot of firsts the last couple of weeks. Anika is a sheer joy and is beginning to put sentences together, which is so much fun. Her first sentence was, "Not, not nice" followed by, "Here ya go". She is a real chatterbox, just like her sister. She is now responding to my questions, which I was so used to asking her and NOT getting a response. I almost fell over a few weeks ago when I asked Anika if she had fun at Kindermusik and she nodded her head and said, "Yes". When it is bedtime, Anika will put her hands together for prayers and she mumbles gibberish as we say, "Now I lay me down to sleep". Anika is a busy body and very active and I always know when she is thinking about getting into something because she will clasp her hands behind her back and start wandering around just looking at things.

Alexander is a sweetheart, he loves to smile. He is rolling over and really wants to sit-up, you can see him straining his neck muscles trying to pull up when he is on his back. He just started laughing and giggling out loud. It is so much fun to tickle him and hear him laugh and laugh. He is making a grand attempt to blow raspberries, but we are not quite there yet. He watches his sister, Anika in amazement, because she is always moving and talking. He loves getting kisses from Anika. Lexi is a great help with her little brother. She holds him and spends time with him during tummy time playing with different rattles and such.

Alexis is very busy with school and doing well. She has a heart of gold. She loves her after school sports and Brownies. She is looking forward to Girl Scout cookie sales time and we as parents, are not. They would like each Brownie (really the parents) to sell 72 boxes. Not an easy feat since there are approximately 350 Girl Scouts on base all trying to sell to the same people. Girl Scouts are not allowed to sell to the German's for tax reasons. It makes it extremely difficult. Alexis and I are going on a Girl Scout outing, to a matinee to see, "A Christmas Story" on the 17th of December. It is supposed to be extremely well done with an excellent cast and crew. I am looking forward to it.

We are all fighting a horrific cold. It has gone into Anika's chest and Alexander is fighting it and I hope it doesn't go into his lungs. Although the doctor's said to treat him like a normal, healthy baby, I will not fool with his lungs after everything he has been through. I am miserable and feel as if I was hit by an eighteen wheeler and it backed up. Lexi and John (knock on wood) have manged to escape this horrible virus, thus so far. I am feeding everyone lots of chicken soup, chicken pasole and vitamin C.

We wish everyone a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving this year. We are so thankful for our healthy babies and children. We are thankful for our health as parents. This cold is more of an annoyance than anything. Thanks to our family and friends for all your support and for just being their. We are truly blessed and grateful to have you.