Sunday, March 07, 2010

a quiet day at home

I frequently get asked, "What do you do with your kids all day?" And some days I'm just not even sure what we have done, that's meaningful anyway. We build towers, and read books, and take walks, and watch movies, and eat 3 meals, and Charlotte talks a lot, and we do dishes and laundry, and sweep floors, and they run in circles, and we sing songs, and wipe counters, and have baths and then go to bed to wake up and do it all over again. The day to day business of being a stay-at-home parent is truly thrilling. ;)

But I do get to hear the kids' thoughts and share in their experiences and growth... and I wouldn't really change my situation if I had the chance. Charlotte is an extremely imaginative girl and she is so good at expressing her ideas and how she feels. Toby is such a gentle, loving little boy and shares (usually) with his sister and just adores her.

So here's a glimpse of the kids doing what they do....

Charlotte riding the bouncy horse our landlord gave us when we moved in.

Sadly, Herr Schwenzer passed away while were in the States last year. He was so kind and generous to us! But his daughter ("Julia-Charlot" oddly enough) has been wonderful and helpful as well. We hear such awful landlord stories, that we feel very blessed with our happy situation.


Toby hanging out in the kitchen. The kitchen floor is heated, and it is a favorite spot for the kids to sit and play when the house is chilly. At 18 months old, I can't believe what a cute little man Toby is! He started nursery at church this month and just LOVES it. We are so lucky to have such easygoing kids.

Charlotte- in motion even when sitting "still."

By the way, Daddy did it. Charlotte's bangs were getting long and I was procrastinating cutting them. One night Rob came down from the bathroom (where the kids were in the tub) and said, "I hope you're not going to be angry, but..." Yup, he cut her hair. SHORT! She loves it, so I guess that's fine.

Boys (Jack, Rob, & Toby) building towers. Charlotte and Toby both love having friends over to play, and we go to a playgroup every other week. On the other weeks I try to plan a day for having a friend over, or going to a friend's house. It keeps us all sane. :)


Toby really, really wants to be able to do everything Charlotte does. Lately he is focused on jumping.

The video is a little long, but you can hear Toby say a few words and at the end you can hear the church bells in the background. They ring every day at 11 am and 6 pm and sometimes more. They remind us we live in Germany, but we won't miss them when we no longer live in Germany!

2 comments:

Mandy said...

aw, I liked this post. Wow, seems like we do much the same things all day ;-)

Nick said...

They are so big! And we didn't even see Toby when he was little. K will be in Copenhagen this summer maybe you can meet up.