Look Who's 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday Brayden!!

Got his new "Big Boy" bike!


Eating his cake on the Red Plate :)

Opening presents!

Picking the perfect pumpkin



Holding his little brother

Riding a horse like Papa's

I seriously cannot believe my first born is 3!! My how time flies. Having Maddex around brings back floods of memories that we have had with Brayden. It seems like just yesterday Brayden was the one we would cuddle for endless hours. Not anymore! He is one independent big boy these days. We still on occasion will get those sweet cuddles and loves from him though. He is the sweetest little thing with the most precious personality! We often wonder where he comes up with some of things he does and says. He has got quite the imagination these days. He makes us laugh everyday. We absolutely love him to pieces!!

Brayden's actual birthday was the 17th and we took him to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins! He also got to go for a ride on the horse (that according to him looks just like his Papa's)! We came home and had him open a few presents and he got his new bike! We had both Grandma's on skype to help us sing him "Happy Birthday" and to watch him blow out his candles. He finished the day by having his birthday cake on the special Red Plate. Overall I think he had a pretty good day. We are having a friend party for him when Johnny gets back from Romania, so be on the lookout for more birthday fun continued....

Scotland!

We had Johnny's mom here for a visit early October and decided to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for the long weekend. It was absolutely beautiful! Not what I expected at all. I figured it was going to be a lot like England, very flat and green. It was really green but there were rolling hills and rocky cliffs. We did ALOT of walking and toured around on the double decker bus. The Edinburgh Castle was so impressive and so old. It's amazing that it is still standing! The buildings in the Towne Centre were full of little shops and boutiques. It was fun to shop. I did have to get a Scottish cashmere scarf :) The people were so friendly and welcoming to us "Americans". The boys were such troopers and very well behaved considering it was pretty chilly and we were out all day. I highly recommend visiting Scotland if you ever get the chance!It was really nice to be able to spend some time with Johnny's mom and have Johnny off of work for a week. We had such a great time! We took tons of pictures so here are a few of the things we saw.

The Queen's residence when she visits Scotland

Johnny and his Mom in front of the

Queen's residence

The Scottish Parliament

Who knew we would find the BEST Italian food ever in Scotland!

It's called Bella Italia if you ever visit Edinburgh.

A view of Edinburgh, Scotland

Church on the Castle grounds

Edinburgh Castle




A scary looking statue thing!

Very appropriate for this time of year.

Another tower and castle

The Royal Mile

3 months!

Maddex 3 months!

Superbaby!

A little brotherly love!

This post is a little late given Maddex turned 3 months on October 1st! It amazes me how quickly time has flown this time around. I often find myself remembering how I wanted Brayden to grow so quickly and reach all those milestones. With Maddex I just want him to stay an infant and slow down on the growing part. I now realize how fast they grow up. I took Maddex to the Doctor about a week ago and he weighed a hefty 15.1 lbs! He's definitely on track to be the bigger little brother ;) Maddex has been such a joy these days. Smiling, cooing, blowing bubbles, finding his hands, learning to hold toys, and reacting to his big brother are some of his latest developments! He had his first airplane ride earlier this month when we went to Edinburgh, Scotland. Funny fact....Brayden and Maddex were exactly 3 months and 8 days when each of them took their first airplane ride! Crazy huh? He has been sleeping great. He usually goes from 9-5 then eats and goes back to sleep until about 8. Then he takes a good morning nap and a long afternoon nap as well. Hopefully he keeps it up! I am really starting to get used to being a mom of two. It was quite the adjustment at first trying to divide up the attention, but Johnny and I have pretty much got the hang of it now. We are really enjoying the boys and absolutely love being parents!

Who's Who?

See if you can tell which picture is Brayden and which one is Maddex!

It is truly amazing how much they look like each other! I am just now starting to see little differences between them. Maddex I think is going to be blue eyed, Brayden's are brown. But still, it's like reliving Brayden's birth all over again :)

I am finally starting to get used having two kids! It helps that Maddex has been sleeping through the night for about a month now. He usually sleeps about 7-8 hours and then takes a good morning nap and a long afternoon nap with cat naps in between. Brayden is still taking an afternoon nap as well, so it's nice to have those 3-4 hours in the afternoon to myself. Usually I sleep with them unless I absolutely have to clean or do laundry. Brayden has started school again 3 days a week for 3 hours in the morning. That gives me time to spend with just Maddex, go to the gym, or run some errands (which is a lot easier with just one child who is usually asleep in his carseat).

Maddex is getting to be quite the little chunk! At his 2 month appointment he was in 75th percentile for weight :) He has started smiling back at me and loves to make little baby sounds. Brayden has even made him smile these past few days! It's pretty funny to watch those two interact.

Brayden has grown up so fast recently it seems. He is so independent these days and likes to do everything "all by myself" he says. He is now talking in complete sentences. It's like talking to an adult. He understands just about everything that is said to him (even if he pretends not to listen). I can't believe he is going to be 3 in a month!

Johnny is currently in Iceland doing some flying missions and we are missing him very much. We get to skype with him just about every night so he can see the boys. He comes home in a few weeks only to turn around and leave again for a couple more weeks. We also just found out that he will be gone for Christmas this year :(. We made it almost 7 years in the Air Force without him missing a holiday, so it was bound to happen sooner or later. It's just going to be hard this year because Brayden is starting to understand and get the little kid excitement! We've been singing Rudolph, Frosty and Jingle Bells (his request) for months now. It's hard on him having to miss out on things and me being a "single mom" and never getting a break. But it makes me proud that he is serving our country and doing what he loves! During the time he's home Johnny's mom is coming to visit. We are very excited to see her. We are taking a trip up to Edinburgh, Scotland while she is here. We are looking forward to spending time as a family and enjoying the time we have together!

Family Pictures

Maddex's Newborn Pictures

Brayden looking so big these days!

Our new little love!

Maddex Thomas Koegel

Maddex Thomas Koegel

Born July 1, 2010

at 10:08 am

7lbs 2oz 19.75in

Just minutes after he was delivered!

Why hello little one....welcome to the world!

Johnny cutting the cord (looking pretty good in scrubs)!

My first time getting to hold Maddex!

Daddy's newest little man!

Momma and her boys!

Finally made his debut on July 1, 2010! We are so excited to have him here and healthy...although he didn't arrive the way we expected! At my 38 week appointment my Doctor checked to see if I was dilated since I was having some pretty regular contractions and very sore. She was concerned while checking me that he wasn't head down and sure enough after doing an ultrasound it was confirmed that he was breech and I hadn't hardly progressed at all. Since they wouldn't do a c-section earlier than 39 weeks we had to wait another week before meeting our little Maddex. Since I was planning on a normal delivery this news was kind of unexpected, but whatever we needed to do to get him here safe was fine with me. So at 10:08 am on July 1 we met our newest addition! it was love at first sight all over again :) He is absolutely adorable and he looks exactly like Brayden did when he was born. In fact, it is hard to tell their pictures apart. I will have to post their pictures later and see if you can tell them apart :) He had dropped down to 6lbs 8 oz when we brought him home and he had a to be on the billiblanket a few days because he was really Jaundice. By his 2 week appointment he had gotten back up to his birth weight and the jaundice was pretty much resolved! He is doing really great now and eating really well.
Brayden is enjoying being a big brother. He wants to constantly hold him and give him hugs and kisses. It has been quite the adjustment with having two kids. Getting out of the house is like a 3 hour process and requires planning, but I am sure it will get easier eventually.
Johnny and my mom have been so helpful that I don't know what I am going to do when my mom leaves and Johnny has to go on his next trip :( I guess I will just have to hire a nanny!! We have taking lots of pictures, so there will be more to come. We also had Maddex's newborn pictures and family pictures done so I will post those as well when we get them back.

Way OVERDUE.....

with my postings that is ;) We are finally starting to figure out this whole living in a new country thing!! It hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be, but we are enjoying it. Yes, everyone here speaks English, but they have a completely different way of life...to include driving on the wrong side of the road (as far as I am concerned) and the wrong side of the car! That definitely took some getting used to, but now that I have my American Toyota here it has been easier for me. Here are just a few examples of some things that are different here:

Money- comes in pounds and pence instead of dollars and cents

Speed limits- national limits of 30 mph residential, 60 mph back roads and 70 mph highways.

Driving- the left hand side of the road and the right hand side of the car

Food- not the same at all...everything is served with mushy peas and you can't find ranch dressing anywhere!

Electrical Outlets- you can't use with american electronics unless you have a voltage converter and it's illegal to have outlets in bathrooms (makes getting ready a challenge)

Soda- not as sweet (although that might be a good thing)

English- besides the accent, they use different words than Americans use

push chair = stroller

take away = to go

garden = is a backyard

dual carriage way = highway

cot bed = crib

cheers = thank you/greetings

mobile = cell phone

nappies = diapers

give way = yield

lorry = semi-truck

pub = bar

quid = bucks (when talking about money)

Just to name a few!

One thing we have enjoyed about being here is traveling and seeing places that we have only heard of and seen in movies! London was absolutely incredible! We took an open top bus tour and saw all the attractions to include: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace!

Cambridge is only a 20 minute drive from us and that's where most of the Universities are located. We spent my birthday exploring the city and did some birthday shopping!

We went to Belgium a few weekends ago and stayed in Brugge. It was our first experience not speaking the language. Belgium did not disappoint! It is known for the chocolate, waffles and fruit beer....we definitely had our fair share (not the beer of course)!

We drove to Dover which is on the coast of England. That's where the white cliffs and Dover Castle are located. From there we took the ferry across the English Chanel into Calias, France and continued our journey to Belgium! Brayden really enjoyed the boat ride.

We plan to do a lot more traveling as soon as we can get out and about with the upcoming little one!

Johnny has been busy at work and hopes to get back in the air after all the groundings over here due to the volcano in Iceland. He is getting ready for a 5 week trip to Bulgaria and Turkey in May. Brayden and I will miss him very much and hopefully the baby will stay put until he gets home!

I am 31 weeks and feeling ok for the most part. Chasing Brayden around wears me out pretty quickly. We are getting very excited for the little one to get here. Brayden loves talking to his brother and often says, "can't wait to meet you!"

Brayden has sprouted since we have been here! He is speaking in sentences, knows how to count to 20, and recognizes all of his letters and colors! He started pre-school April 27th and loves it!! He actually likes it so much that he throws a fit when he has to leave. I am really enjoying having 3 hours to myself twice a week. It gives me some time to go to the gym and get things done for myself, like haircuts and medical appointments that are hard to do with him.

We sure do miss all of our friends and family in the states and if you're looking for a getaway come to Europe and you'll have a free place to stay ;)

I tried to upload the photos in order of what I wrote but that didn't happen as you can see, so sorry if it's a little confusing!