Saturday, July 25, 2009

mmmm, what is that smell??

It must be Cologne! Cologne, Germany, that is. ;)

Yesterday I took Leah, Charlotte, and Toby to Cologne. This was a big undertaking since it's a 2 hour drive each way and I've never been there before. We packed a lunch (which we ended up eating in the car because of rain) and headed out. All things considered, it was a really nice day.

The cathedral there (the Kölner Dom) is massive and amazing. I really wish we could have walked around inside more, but mass had just started.

Can you see that little white dot at the front/right of the cathedral???
That's the priest leading mass.

Cologne is also scattered with random Roman ruins.
Very fun for climbing on and taking photos. :)

And of course there was much shopping to be done.

The one other place that we wanted to see there was the Schokoladenmuseum.
Check out those Lindt bunnies!!

We learned all about where chocolate comes from and how it is made-- or at least as much as can be learned while running past the exhibits following a 2 year old. This lady is making Lindt balls. My favorite.

At the end of the tour is a chocolate fountain running with fresh chocolate. You are not allowed to touch it... but the "cooks" dip wafer cookies in it and pass them out. Charlotte had two. Oh, and then there was the chocolate gift shop-- of course!

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and hungry for something other than chocolate. It was a nice day trip though, and I definitely want to check out that cathedral some more.

Friday, July 24, 2009

growing up so fast!



Leah got this great little video of Toby walking while I was putting Charlotte to bed a while ago. :)

Toby is now 10 months old and can crawl AND walk AND climb up the stairs! He also likes to nod (yes) and shake his head (no) and wave to people. He does not like baby food, but he wants to eat whatever is on one of our plates-- and so he has already tried many foods that he probably shouldn't have. (Toby would like to thank Daddy for the chocolate and Charlotte for the honey nut Cheerios, oh, and Mommy for cheese.)

He is NOT a good sleeper, waking up every two hours again lately-- but it only takes a minute of nursing and he goes back to sleep. Yeah, I've got to work on that, but I think maybe it's a growth spurt or teething or something.

He doesn't talk yet. But understands and responds to things that we say, like... "sit" or "stand" or "walk to daddy." He also clearly knows the words "eat," "bath," "crib", and "nurse."

Also, he has just cut his first tooth.

I love that he is interacting with us more every day! Unfortunately though, he's already figured out that he can get Charlotte into trouble by bursting into tears. We've caught him checking for our attention before he begins to wail!!! Oh dear. I hope that eventually they will play well together like our friends Sam and Jack. ;)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Escargot?!? Please, no.

Toby was quietly playing on the porch while Rob was on the Internet a little while ago. (I was upstairs getting Charlotte in bed.)

Rob decided Toby was a little too quiet so he went to investigate and found our darling boy with dirt around his mouth... what was inside, you may have already guessed, but a BIG, nasty, LIVING snail!!! Oh, I am so glad I wasn't the one to discover this one. Rob pulled it out of Toby's mouth and did his best to clean up the big man and wipe his mouth out.

Toby was apparently pretty upset about losing his snack.

Recent shot of Toby at the pool--
he has a hunk of soft pretzel in his hand, not a snail.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Auerbach again

Schloss Auerbach is one of our favorite spots within 30 minutes of our house. We took Leah there to see this old bunch of ruins. :)


But first she had to be punished for doing Charlotte's hair. ;)

I had to smile when one little girl walked by us and exclaimed to her parents (in English) "Finally! Someone else who talks in English!"
I asked them to take our photo.

There are really some pretty views from the top of the towers.

And we were blessed with a sunny day for a change.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

don't mess with Cindy Lou Who

This is what happens when you have a "big sister."
Believe me, I know.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

a nice day for a walk in the woods

Yesterday I took all of the kids to the Vivarium-- the little zoo in Darmstadt. The weather is much cooler this week, and we can walk there from our house-- it's just under 2 miles each way through the woods.

We had a nice walk there and we all loved looking at the animals. Toby liked to wave to them. Charlotte loved the monkeys. And Leah took about 80 pictures!

On the way home, we got a little bit rained on and there were some massive slugs on the trail. oh, and I got us slightly lost in the woods. Leah and I had a great time discussing where we would spend the night (perhaps in a hollow tree) and how at least we had the camera to document our final moments. But it didn't end up being a big deal-- maybe a 30 minute detour-- and I got us back home just fine. No Survivor Man skills needed. ;)

I LOVE these giant tortoises!
They weren't out last time Rob & I came.

Very good action shot by Leah.
The monkey had just jumped down from that window in the wall and swung out on this rope.

My favorite I think. I never knew fennec foxes were SO CUTE.

Eww. Lunch time for the Nasenbären consisted of dead opossums.

Leah, Toby, and Charlotte on the trail.
Yes, we bought ANOTHER new stroller. Used, from the thrift store on base. The big wheels are great on the cobblestones and dirt trails and stuff.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Hainerfest 2009

On Saturday, Charlotte, Leah, and I took our hainers down to Darmstadt for their annual "Hainerfest." Apparently a Hainer is a local or something like that... but it gave me several days of juvenile jokes that made Leah snicker and Rob roll his eyes at me, so that was good. :)

It turns out that Hainerfest is designed to make your hainer larger. tee hee

There were a TON of food vendors and also some rides and a few stands selling various trinkets.

We had ice cream, cotton candy, and pretzels.
We didn't actually eat any of these giant cookies, but they have fun sayings on them.

Leah and Charlotte went on this enormous ferris wheel together while I watched safely from the ground. I don't do ferris wheels. When they got off, Leah informed me that they shared their carriage with a somewhat large woman who moved from side to side and made the whole thing rock. That reaffirmed to me why I don't do ferris wheels.

We decided to take the Strassebahn into Darmstadt and home again.
It was nice for a change to not drive and find parking, etc. :)

So now you know all about Hainerfest.
Maybe next Summer you can bring your hainers over and go with us. ;)

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Mr. Toby Tobias

I was trying to get a video of Toby standing up and trying to walk. He takes a few very wobbly steps now! But as soon as he saw the camera, the only thing I could tape was him trying to grab it from me. :)