Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sesame Street LIVE!

On Friday I took the kids to see Sesame Street Live at the Wiesbaden Army Air Field.

Charlotte was so excited at the prospect of meeting Elmo!
She insisted on wearing a red (Elmo colored shirt) and her fanciest dress up skirt for the occasion.

This event was free because it was sponsored by the USO.
They handed out these Elmo spinner toys to all of the kids at the door.

They also handed out Sesame Street DVDs about dealing with deployments, homecomings, and "changes." I watched that one with Charlotte the other night-- it's all about a dad losing use of his legs and being confined to a wheelchair. They had some footage of soldiers with amputations talking with their kids at Walter Reed... military families really do NOT have it easy.

We had gotten there early and were able to sit on the floor right up front! The soldier in front of us was there to keep kids from mobbing the "stage."
Charlotte hasn't watched much Sesame Street but she LOVED that Zoe was also wearing a tutu and pink shoes. On the way home she told me that she and Zoe were best friends.

I was surprised, but at the end of the show this was actually necessary (and ineffective) as tons of kids ran up to shake hands with the characters. It actually made me nervous Charlotte was going to get trampled or lost... but she ran up too and cried afterwards that she didn't get to Elmo because he was on the other side. (Cookie Monster was near us I think.)


I was worried that the sound was too loud for Toby, so I wrapped this USO bandanna over his ears.
He LOVED it. He was completely mesmerized by all of the singing and dancing and didn't move once during the show.

PS. This is the photo that prompted me to go get my hair cut asap... I was NOT happy with the result. But I'm getting used to it I guess, and it will grow out soon enough. I'll post a new pic with me in it soon so you can tell me what you think.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Baby!

Toby turned ONE last week! We had a little celebration on Saturday at our home. We had dinner and cupcakes and attempted to decorate sugar cookies. :) It was fun... and boy, Toby knew EXACTLY what to do with his chocolate cupcake!



Thanks for joining us Gabriel and Max!

Toby at bedtime with his froggie and a toy car.

Our sweet boy at one year!

Here's a little bit about what Toby is like at one year:

* He doesn't have nearly enough hair to need a first haircut yet. ;)
* He says a few words-- Mamamama, Daddy, esh (yes), no, jink (drink), and just yesterday- Lala (Charlotte)
* He is very cuddly & lovey... but he doesn't usually mind someone else holding him.
* He has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom.
* He has never liked baby food, but loves grown-up food, or anything Charlotte is eating.
* He walks and climbs and likes to build with blocks and read books. He says "uhhhhhhhhhhhh" -- that's how you know he's reading. Actually, that is also what he sounds like when he sings. (Clearly taking after Mom in that department.)
* He is the happiest, sweetest, most content little boy I've ever met.
* We are thrilled to have him in our family. :)



Friday, September 11, 2009

Maybe you haven't heard...

I've been thinking about sharing these items, but haven't wanted to spend the time and energy on a blog post on each. So here are some minor news items about each of us:

Rob
*got a bike and has been riding it 6 miles each way to and from work a few times a week-- he got his first flat tire yesterday.
*is going to be working swing shift off and on for who knows how long.

Julie
*started jogging a little over a month ago, and while it is still pretty rough going, it is getting a little bit better each day.
*is suddenly obsessed with the Duggar family. That woman is amazing.

Charlotte
*makes up and says hilarious things every day... today I asked her what her name was- no reply. So I said, "nice to meet you" and held out my hand to shake. She held out her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Jesus." What?!? She also gave me a lengthy explanation of why it was unjust for Daddy to taste her brownie after dinner last night... "Daddy says 'eat all your broccoli and you can have brownie' and then Daddy eats my brownie!" (He took one tiny bite, and then replaced it with more from the pan.)
*submitted her registration form for German Kindergarten today. She'll start on August 1, 2010. Yay!!!

Toby
*is no longer nursing and has started sleeping 10-12 hours. Woo-hoo!!
*has decided on a "lovey." He suddenly has decided that his stuffed green frog is his favorite stuffed animal and he cuddles with it and sleeps with it every night and naptime.

Friday, September 04, 2009

kiddie kandids

Y'all familiar with that photo place in the mall? Aside from the fact that they spelled "candid" with a "k," I always thought it ironic that the photos are very posed and not at all candid-- I mean who puts their child in a wicker chair with a big floppy hat on these days?

Now HERE are some real candid photos of our kids...

Pajama time this morning. After breakfast it is important to go jump on the couch a bit and sort of lounge around until someone gets hurt or Mom discovers that someone needs a diaper change.

Charlotte and Toby noticing that they have just about the same size hands. Two days ago a lady at the grocery store asked me "Zwingen??" Um, nein, they are NOT twins. (I expect to get a lot more of that over the next year or two as Toby gets even closer in size to Charlotte.)

Snacktime at our last playgroup at a park in Buttelborn. I didn't get the kiddos attention before snapping this photo. I'm sure there are better ones out there from the other moms.

Toby playing peek-a-boo.
I can't tell you how hilarious this is! I've tried to get it on video, but no luck yet. Toby puts a towel or shirt over his head and then runs away as fast as he can. The problem being, of course, that he can't see where he is going with something over his head. So he runs directly into walls or furniture and then lays on the floor crying.
Is it terrible that Rob & I laugh hysterically at this behavior?