Thursday, October 29, 2015

Charlotte's 9th Birthday!

Look!  I have a cheerleader! We got off to a pretty rocky start (she cried through the entire first practice,) but thanks to a fabulously kind coach and friendly little girls she has grown to love her little cheer squad.

Charlotte is the youngest girl on the squad of 9-11 year olds. She likes being a "flyer" at the top of the pyramids.  I have been surprised how many extra social activities are involved in cheerleading... sleep overs, banner making, pizza parties. I don't know if I am cut out to be a cheer mom, but I will support her the best that I can.

Charlotte asked for a polar bear cake this year.  It is actually amazing to me that we made it nine years without making one!  We also took the kids to Halli Galli, a Kinderspielwelt (indoor play bounce house place) that we also went to when Charlotte turned four years old. For her birthday gift, she got the game Hedbanz and we all played together... with Jake accidentally giving away everyone's cards, except for Rob who took the longest to guess his.  (For example, he would stare at my head and then ask me, "am I a strawberry?" and Charlotte and Toby would yell, "Jacob!" So I clearly knew that I was a strawberry.) There was a lot of giggling and it was a very fun day for the kiddos.

We also got this great big puppy right around the time of Charlotte's birthday. She loves Bingo and is the first to get down on the floor to pet and cuddle with the smelly dog after school each day. When she sat down to do her homework the other day he tried to climb into her lap to check her work.  Or eat it for her.  He's super helpful like that.  (Not.) 

For some reason my mom always said that nine was her favorite age.  I look forward to this year with my nine year old Charlotte girl.  Charlotte is sweet, sensitive, smart, and sassy. Amelie has recently moved into a toddler bed in Charlotte's room (at Charlotte's request) and they are enjoying their sister time having tea parties, reading books, and caring for a menagerie of stuffed animals.  Charlotte says, "I prayed and prayed to have a sister to share my room with, and now my wish has come true." I mean.... how adorable is that?!?!  We love you Charlotte.

Charlotte's birthday interview:
(20 questions style)
1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? Baby Polar
3. What is your favorite fruit? Apricots
4. What is your favorite tv show? Pokemon
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Macaroni and cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? "I don't know... I just wear everyday outfits, I don't have a favorite or anything."
7. What is your favorite game? Minecraft and Ticket to Ride
8. What is your favorite snack? Chocolate covered raisins
9. What is your favorite animal? A polar bear
10. What is your favorite song? My Favorite Things (from the Sound of Music)
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter (yes, she finished it, and got the second one for her birthday and read it all immediately.)
12. Who is your best friend? Ciara and Christie
13. What do you want to be when you grow up? "That's hard... I want to be a mom, and an artist, author, and illustrator."
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? "Ride my bike, because I like how the wind rushes on my face and it's all breezy when I go fast."
15. What are you really good at?"Actually I want YOU to answer that one."  Okay, Charlotte is a great artist, friend, reader, storyteller, big sister, and daughter.
16. What is a food that you hate? "Everything in my life is okay and then my favorite things.  I don't really hate anything."
17. What do you like to do with Mom? Bake cookies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
19. What is your favorite dinner? Pasta Primavera
20. What makes you happy? Making other people happy.  :)

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

First days for Jake (also belated)

October was a big month for Jake! 

Jakey started German Kindergarten at the beginning of the month. He was assigned to the Mause Gruppe (Mouse Group) and his teacher gave him a tote bag with his name on it when she came to do her home visit. On his first day we just went for an hour and Amelie and I stayed with him.  The next day he went for an hour solo.  And then we slowly increased his time there each day until he was finally going for the whole morning.  (It took more than two weeks.) He was totally fine to stay right off the bat, but the school has their process and will not be deterred from following it!

Jake likes the playground and the Lego room the best. There is an art room, a Kinder gym, a nap time room, a ball pit, play kitchen, grocery store, dollhouse, and even a room with REAL tools to construct projects.  It is a really nice little Kita. (German abbreviation for Kindertagesstatte.)

Jake has already made a buddy... who also speaks no German.  He is from Morocco.  In Jake's class alone they have German, English, Arabic, Russian, and French speakers.  The teachers speak only German to them.  As one little boy informed me, "We are in Germany, so you must speak German."  Working on it, dude.

Jake also played another season of Bambino soccer.  He was one of the bigger kids this time around, being an older and wiser four year old.  He loves being part of a team, but I think water breaks and chatting with the coach are still his favorite parts of the activity.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Amelie turned 2!

While we were in Colmar, France we celebrated Amelie's second birthday. Because, really, when your name is Amelie you should celebrate as many birthdays in France as you possibly can, right?

For dinner we had the bread and cheese we bought in Strasbourg, along with some local grapes and raspberries at this (third floor walk up, loft) apartment we rented for the night. Then we sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cupcakes from a French cafe. The kids had Kinder Schokolade flavored ones and the grown-ups had Chocolate Pistachio ones.  (The candle looks like an 8 from the back, but really is a 2, I promise.)

Amelie loved being sung to, and making a mess eating her cupcake "all up."  
She has turned into quite the little firecracker.  She talks a LOT, and very well. For example, she doesn't just say "no," she says "No, I don't!" We also hear a lot of "You stop it, Mom" when I tell her not to do something. And the meltdowns and tantrums are impressively dramatic over even the smallest things right now. 
Grandma gave her a new book, which she loves, and the kiddos picked out a baby doll for her that drinks from a bottle and then wets her diaper.  The first time this happened, Ami completely flipped out!  She could not believe the diaper was really wet and that we weren't just pretending. She takes very good care of her baby- rocking it, feeding it, changing it, and carrying it with her all around the house.

We adore this strong-willed little munchkin.  She loves kitty cats and puppies. She does her best to copy Charlotte's every move. She can not get enough of being read to, even though she has most of her board books memorized. She loves going places in the stroller or backpack. Amelie is completely convinced that she is an adult and that everyone must value and respect her contributions to the conversation. And yet, when I tell her what a big girl she has become, she still crawls into my lap and says,  "I'm baby, Mom." Yup... and she always will be our baby.

Friday, October 02, 2015

Grandma's visit and a short trip to France

As I've mentioned, Rob's mom came to stay with us for a couple of weeks and to take care of the kids while we went on our trip to Ibiza.

When she first got here, we visited some of our favorite local spots- Burg Frankenstein, Segmuller, even our old village and playground.  Then we left for a few days while she valiantly held down the fort.  The day after we got back from our trip, we loaded up the minivan and headed out with EVERYONE on an overnight trip to France.

We stopped in Strasbourg to enjoy the cathedral and astronomical clock.

I still don't understand what all of the different clock faces are for exactly, but it is super cool.

We also grabbed some paninis and soft pretzels for lunch, and shopped for some yummy bread, cheese, and cupcakes for dinner that evening. I love the French/German thing going on in this Alsace region of France.
 
And look at the store we happened to walk by on our way back to the car!

From there we drove to Colmar, France where we stayed for the night in an apartment we found on airbnb and celebrated Amelie's birthday- but more on that in another post. The next morning we walked around the beautiful downtown area.

  
We even rode around the little tourist choo-choo bus, which the kids loved.  Seriously, Colmar is gorgeous.
 
Then we went for lunch in a little cafe and had some Alsatian food.  Rob had this massive plate of ham, sausage, and sauerkraut- it was impressive.  We also tried flammkuchen, and an awesome salad, and the kids split a pizza. 

French for 'sippy cup.'

Say cheeese!
Next we drove up to the Chateau de Haut-Koenigsbourg.

This is a medieval castle that was reconstructed under the direction of Wilhelm II around 1900 (when the region belonged to Germany.) There are records of something being built on this site from the late 700's. The castle was rebuilt to show it's medieval beauty.

Grandma and Charlotte checking out one of the wells.

It really is very pretty and the kids thought it was one of the best castles we have seen.

With cannons, an armory, antlers on the wall, and this little photo op, what's not to like? 

  
The view from the tower.

Thank you Grandma for coming and helping us with these kiddos and going on a little adventure with us!  We had a great time and love spending time with you.