out on the town

We've had some really nice weather here lately (for a change) and so we've tried to take full advantage of it and get out as much as possible. :)

On Sat. the 14th we walked through the forest to the Vivarium. It's a little zoo in Darmstadt, and is about a 3 km walk from our house. Charlotte loved it there! Rob, Toby, and I had a nice time too... and boy were we all worn out when we got home!

The walk took a while because we had to FULLY experience it by walking on logs, crunching through leaves, and pointing out pebbles in the dirt.

My cuddly Toby bear.

Charlotte, the curious monkey.

Charlotte and Daddy by the "Nasenbär exhibit." There is one in the photo, just to the left of Charlotte's head, but it is really hard to see here. I was surprised, there were many animals there that I had never seen before. Also, the habitats/exhibits were quite nice and large--- not nearly as depressing as some zoos I've been to.

This is our self-created double stroller. Toby is in the carseat in the stroller and Charlotte sits on top of the cup holders. It works pretty well actually.

Last Sat. we took a drive to Aschaffenberg and walked around the Altstadt, the open air market, and the castle there. It was a beautiful day! I love visiting different little German towns--- and eating yummy food too. My favorite German phrase right now is either, "Haben sie ein schoko-croissant?" (Do you have a chocolate croissant?) or "Eine kleine Doner mit Flatbroten bitte." (One small Doner on flatbread please.) hee hee

Random photo of Charlotte "smiling" like Rob did in his childhood photos.
(Those quote marks are just for you honey.)

"Knock, knock... are there any princesses here?"

In the courtyard of Schloss Johannisburg (probably misspelled) circa 1600. That door Charlotte was knocking on is on the righthand wall in this picture.

Castle in the background, market in the foreground. I thought it was quite busy for March- but it was a beautiful day out. :)

6 months old!!

Toby is now 6 months old! He had his check-up with Dr. Pfalz... who has become my favorite Kinderarzt. She said he is doing great, and her only concern is that he is sitting up too early. Well, um... sorry about that... I guess. He is now 19 lbs (50-75%) and 27 1/2 inches (75-90%). We think he is huge-- but apparently not?? He is 12 month size clothes already.

Here are some Toby facts-

He is now sleeping through the night- sometimes, other times he is up every two hours!
He has started eating baby food a bit... and has had one bite of Chocos cereal thanks to Charlotte.
He likes to be tickled, and to do ANYTHING with Charlotte- even if it involves her sitting on him or poking him.
He is a major cuddle bug.
He is amazingly good at reaching for things, grabbing them, and putting them in his mouth-- he has deceptive speed.
He smiles easily and loves to try to talk to us in his deep baritone voice.
We are so happy to have him in our family. :)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

On Friday we went to the Army Library in Wiesbaden for a celebration of Dr. Seuss with our friends the Bentons. The library had a very nice program with crafts, games, story time, and refreshments that were all Seuss-ian... green Jello eggs anyone?

The activities were a bit too advanced for our little ones- but Charlotte and Sam always try to make their own fun. (Even if that means paying the price of sitting in time out in a corner of the Library in Charlotte's case.)

Sam checking on Toby.

Toby and Jack were pretty easy going, but got left out of some of the fun, I'm afraid. It's hard to be the little brother sometimes.

Partners in crime.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss- from Thing 1 and Thing 2!

"ABCDEFGs"

She does sing the whole thing sometimes... but the camera is a major distraction and shortens her attention span to about 15 seconds!

why Toby's shirt is always wet

Isn't Toby just adorable? :)

He's getting more personality every day lately. He has discovered his feet, and loves being tickled and playing peek-a-boo...

and THIS (the video below) is how he usually lets us know that he is ready for play time!

Miramar

Yesterday we went to an indoor waterpark called Miramar with our friends the Bentons to celebrate Jack's first birthday. :) We had a great time!

Because the Germans didn't have a holiday, the place was really not busy at all. They had lots of fun things to do there- like a wave pool and water slides. They also had hot tubs, an indoor/outdoor hot pool-- which was really neat with the snow coming down, places for yoga and tanning, and a restaurant. They have other stuff too... but you get the gist. ;)

It was different from US places in other ways too, for example: Europeans are, um, more comfortable with their bodies, there were extremely few lifeguards to be found, and no one tells you when it is safe to go down the waterslides (which did lead to a little collision incident for Rob.)

Thank you Bentons for inviting us!

HILARIOUS
picture of Charlotte and I falling off of our tube at the bottom of this slide.

Hanging out at the wave pool. We don't currently have a swimsuit that fits Charlotte, so she just wore a swim diaper and t-shirt.

Charlotte and Sam swimming with their dads.
Notice all of the empty chairs? Soooo nice to not have crowds around!

This is a post script....
we have been trying for WEEKS now to get a decent family photo.
Charlotte has decided she despises photographers who try to play peek-a-boo with her, Toby is mesmerized by cameras, and well, I have no excuse for Rob and I in this shot.

A little stroll down memory lane

weekend update

Just a few pictures of the kids doing some of their favorite things...

I don't know who invented "paint with water," but Charlotte got a Care Bears book for Christmas and it is a fabulous (low mess) activity for her right now.

Yeah, she's wearing a Rolling Stones T-shirt.

Toby likes being close to me (he'd rather I hold him all day, but that isn't an option.) He sits on the counter in his Bumbo seat when I do dishes and cook dinner.

Charlotte and Sam enjoying some dinner together. You'd never know from this photo that they only settled down enough to eat after 2 or more hours playing and arguing with each other.

By the way, Charlotte's nursery teacher at church told me this past week, "she's one of those kids who thinks she's the general manager of the universe."
Yup, pretty much.

Toby swinging with his favorite giraffe. He is such a sweetheart. :)

January 2009

It's about time I update the blog, huh? I can't even really say that we've been very busy. We've just had sick kids for a while and have been tired ourselves. But I want to keep you all updated, so here is the month in review! :)

We started out 2009 by going to bed early on New Year's Eve. HA! Apparently, intoxicated Germans like to set off LARGE firework displays in their driveways to celebrate the New Year (somewhat like Meadowlake Park- my neighborhood as a child- on the 4th of July but way bigger.) The explosions started in earnest around 11 pm and lasted until 2 am!! I spent most of that time trying to convince Charlotte that she was safe in her bed as we watched the lightshow going on out her window.

Anyway, then we had a quiet little while and spent some evenings playing games and having dinner with friends.

Anastasia and Anna were very sweet playing with Toby and Charlotte!

Toby had his 4 month checkup this month and weighed in at 17 lbs. (95th%) and was 27 inches long (90th%). I like to call him "Little Big Man" "Toby-Meister" and "Buddy." He tried very hard to make friends with the doctor by cooing and smiling- until she gave him a shot and then he was offended.

We got Toby an exersaucer thing so that he can entertain himself a bit more- and I can have my hands free a bit more. I was surprised how much he already likes it!

Toby has also started trying rice cereal, peas, and carrots. So far he only likes the carrots. Oh, the German Doctor told me to start foods with him like this- "First we do carrots for a week, then add potatoes for a week, and then add meat. After a month you can give fruit and cereal in the evenings if you like." Oh, and some of the infant cereals in the store near us are "mit Honig!" WITH HONEY. Like it's a good thing. Life is different in a foreign country. ;)

Charlotte has been challenging us A LOT this month. Here she is kissing Toby and saying "I love you," but right after the photo she was hitting him and saying "no, don't eat your hands Toby!" One minute she wants her hair done up with clips and the next she is pulling the clips out and crying that she doesn't want it. Today Rob offered to take her to the playground, but first she wanted cereal and juice-- until she was told she could go to the playground or go take a nap, then the cereal and juice were no longer necessary. Rob and I are both getting exhausted by the "terrible twos" and we're only 3 months in! Any advice?

And finally... we celebrated the inauguration with these festive cupcakes I made. hee hee Everyone asks me what the Germans think about Obama, and truly we don't actually talk with that many Germans, but what we have heard (and what we can figure out from the German news on the radio) is a sense of relief that Bush is finally done and a lot of anticipation to see what Obama actually delivers. I think that I concur with that sentiment.

So that is our January in a nutshell. In other news items, I have to say Happy Birthday this week to my sister Pam who is going to becoming a grandmother this Summer! Congratulations to Allen and Robin on your upcoming baby!!! I guess you won't be making it to Oktoberfest this year- but you will have A LOT of new adventures together. I can't believe I'm going to be a great aunt. ;)

Froliche Weihnachten!

Merry Christmas to all! We hope you had as wonderful of a holiday as we did!

Here are a few snapshots of the festivities...

Our Church Christmas party was themed "A Night in Bethlehem."

We enjoyed yummy food as we gathered on blankets on the floor (The Kebaps were just about out by the end of the evening when I took this photo.)

Charlotte had MANY questions for Mary about the baby Jesus in the Nativity-- mostly about whether or not she could hold/have him. And we sang "Stille Nacht."

On Christmas Eve, we went to the Benton's home for dinner. Charlotte just adores Sam. In true Julie fashion, I brought the camera, with brand new batteries, and still only took this one photo. Mandy has more on their family blog here including a very cute one of Sam and Charlotte.

On Christmas morning, we woke to find that Santa had come!!!

Charlotte was a little nervous he might still be here and made me carry her into the living room. As soon as she saw her kitchen though, she said "ooooh Mommy, look it!" It was hard to get her to open anything after that, but she is enjoying all of her gifts now. :)

I made a FULL Christmas dinner for the first time in my life. :D It turned out surprisingly well and we were so glad to have the missionaries and our friends the Francois family here to share it with us. And I didn't take a single picture to remember it!!! I am such a goober.

And here is a shot of Toby. LOL Charlotte enjoyed dressing him up, and he really loved having her pay attention to him. It's a little frightening to see that we have matching double chins, but ah well, that's what New Years is for! ;)

a sneak peek at naptime

Toby zonked out on the couch today after battling a stuffy nose all morning. He is now in 6-9 month size clothes!!!



I put her down for her nap with ONE polar bear and ONE baby doll.

She is sound asleep-- sitting in the corner and snoring away.

Michelstadt's Weihnachtsmarkt

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! All over Germany, each little town has it's own Christmas market and yesterday we went to Michelstadt to visit theirs because I had heard that it was a good one. :)

Rob and I enjoyed seeing all of the neat handmade things for sale (ornaments, nutcrackers, nativities, scarves, hats, hairbrushes, etc, etc, lots of food and goodies, and lots and LOTS of beer and wine!!!) and eating some yummy Bratwurst and Currywurst. Charlotte had some Käse-Spätzle - like macaroni and cheese with little bits of ham in it. Charlotte loved going on the little rides even though it was soooooo cold out... that's why Toby isn't in these photos- he was there, but we kept him all bundled up in his snowsuit in the stroller. We went late in the afternoon and were so glad to be leaving as it got dark out and BUS loads of people were arriving! It was really a fun afternoon out though. :)

Just follow the nutcrackers...

... to the nuttiness!

There were only two kiddie rides, and Charlotte went on both of them for a total of 5 rides. She LOVED the Christmas market!

Charlotte and Rob in front of ... I don't know what it's called. Anybody know? The warmth from the candles is supposed to turn the fan thing at the top and make the scenes go around. This giant one has a motor and electric lights though.

And since Toby was left out of the photos above, here is a recent shot.

We hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and preparing for Christmas... just 11 more days!

Gymnastics class

For a while now I've been taking Charlotte to a "gymnastics class" at our Burgerhaus (it's a town center where events and things happen- not a hamburger joint- although ours does have a small restaurant in it.) I took the camera with us today to show you all the neat stuff that we do there. The teacher wasn't there today though so we moms kinda improvised and set some stuff up on our own. Anyway, when we first get there we sit in a circle and sing some songs- auf Deutsch of course. Then we throw some balls out for the kids to play with while we set up.

Charlotte loves this big, soft mat. Today we set it up like a slide, sometimes it is just there for jumping onto from a platform.

Charlotte at the top of the mat with a friend.

This is how Toby enjoys gymnastics class. Charlotte insists Toby needs his giraffe with him.

This is the tunnel-- how we set it up today.

This hanging bridge thing was new to me today. Charlotte enjoyed it a lot though. The little girl in this one is our friend Catherine, who first introduced us to this class.

After about an hour we clean it all up and put everything away and sing a few more songs before saying Tschuss. Today was the first time Charlotte tried singing a little bit, and asked me about the songs when we got home afterwards. I also learned ways to say "up" (hoch) and "down" (hinunter) today and learned the word for elephant- Elefant. ;)
Yeah, it's a slow process, but our German gets a little better every day-- "jeden Tag ein bisschen besser".

Herr Doktor visits

Both Toby and Charlotte have recently had well baby visits- or Untersuchung as they are called here.

Toby's 1 month visit was a little late- it's not easy making an Untersuchung appointment over the phone in very broken German. At 6 weeks he was 5.85 kg (12 lbs. 14.5 oz., 90-95%) and 62 cm (24.5 in., 95%) long. He is very healthy... but has an umbilical hernia, which I've been told not to worry about. Hopefully it will resolve itself and won't get any worse.

Tall Toby and Daddy napping.

At birth (since I don't think I posted it before) he was 4.12 kg (9 lbs. 1 oz., 90%) and 53 cm (21 in., 75-90%) long. His head was 36 cm (14 in., 50%) around. If that was an "average" sized head, I'm going to have to think long and hard about doing a natural childbirth ever again!

Charlotte had her 2 year check-up today. Do they do this in the US?? They had her draw, do a shape sorter, throw and kick a ball, identify pictures, say her name, and asked me lots of questions about her development milestones. This was tricky, since the nurse's English was relatively limited and my German vocabulary is minimal... but we muddled through with a lot of pantomiming and me serving as translator to Charlotte. Oh, and she did great. And she is most definitely left handed.

Anyway... Charlotte is 14.8 kg (32.6 lbs., 95%) and 87 cm (34.25 in., 75%) tall. Trying a few different handy dandy internet calculators... her predicted adult height will be 5'9". Huh. That's exactly the height that I always wanted to be! ;)

Rob took this video of Charlotte the other day. She was entertaining herself in the infant carseat on top of the stroller. By the way, she isn't normally dressed in a yellow shirt, polka dot pants, and striped socks, but we've been experimenting with her picking out her own clothes.

Halloween and Toby's baby blessing

For Halloween this year, we went to our Church for a little party. We had a very nice time eating yummy soups and Charlotte enjoyed taking a swing at the pinata, "bobbing for apples" (she reached in with her hand and grabbed one,) and walking around for the trunk or treat. She was so tired by the end of the night that she was giving her candy away to other kids! :)

Here is Charlotte in her puppy costume (the same one she wore last year, but this year it fit her) waiting to swing a stick at the pumpkin pinata. She totally didn't understand this until after the candy came out. The next day she told me the "pumpkin candy" was her favorite thing about Halloween.

Okay. So Toby dressed up as Santa Claus for Halloween. We were given this Santa outfit and there is NO WAY it will fit him by Christmas, so I put it on him for Halloween. Clearly he isn't thrilled. He was too warm and I took it off of him shortly after this photo was taken. Toby was the same size at 6 weeks that Charlotte was at 4 months!!!

Charlotte coloring Halloween themed pictures with her buddies William (the Sheriff) and Benson (Peter Pan.)

Also, last Sunday Rob gave Toby a very special baby blessing. In our Church, infants are blessed by their father or another man who holds the Priesthood and has been chosen by the family in front of the congregation.

I picked out this little outfit for Toby to wear because it has a hedgehog on it and I think they are adorable and very German-- we've seen them out in the street in the evenings here. Oh, I posted this photo on my Facebook page and a friend commented that he looks "so serious." That made Rob and I smile, since that is what we were both told our entire childhoods as well. ;)

Schloss Auerbach

It's hard to blog with two kids!

These photos are from 2or 3 weeks ago I think. We drove to Schloss Auerbach and walked around one Saturday afternoon. Germany is gorgeous in the fall! The leaves had already peaked, but even now we still have beautiful Autumn scenery. This castle is from the 1200's, is not nearly as big as some in Germany, and is in ruins, but it is quite pretty there and we very much enjoyed the afternoon out. :)

From the top of the tower

And from down below

Beautiful rolling mountains and hills

Rob and Charlotte on the walk up to the Schloss.

First official family photo with all four of us.