birthday buddies

The past two weeks we celebrated two birthdays in our family. Toby and Amelie's birthdays are just one day apart! We celebrated Toby a little early, and Ami a little bit late in order to have some breathing room in between.
 

 

Toby turned six years old!  This is my big kindergartener at school.  The littles and I brought in powdered doughnuts for his class on the Friday before his birthday.

 

Then Saturday morning we went to Ramba Zamba for lunch and to have a fun time.  This is a bounce house type of place in Mainz with big slides, trampolines, and so on.  Charlotte and Toby had been there before when we last lived in Germany, but I think they enjoyed it more now that they are a bit bigger.

 

All the kiddos got to ride the dino-karts.

 

Even the big Rob-kiddo back there!  ;)

 

It was a fun family day out.

 

For dinner, Toby requested mac & cheese & peas.  Gourmet, right?  I made easy mac in our hotel room microwave and the kids were all very happy.  Even Ami with her plate of peas.  (She doesn't know she's a baby.)

 

Then we had the birthday cake! 

Since I have no oven, and Toby had a grand request for a MarioKart themed cake that the commissary could not fulfill, I found a lady on base (via facebook) who bakes cakes.  She came through in a big way with this super fun cake.  We blew out candles in the smoking area outside (so as not to set off sprinklers in the hotel,) then brought it into the breakfast area to enjoy and share with some fellow hotel dwellers and staff.

 

Toby is such a wonderful little boy.  I continue to love his gentleness and empathy.  He is making a pretty smooth transition to kindergarten, though he does complain sometimes about having to do things he doesn't want to do, and he needs to continue to work on controlling his emotions.  (Welcome to school, buddy.) His teacher told me the other day that she asked the class to use a sight word they had been learning in a complete sentence.  She said that no one seemed to know what a sentence was, until Toby raised his hand and said, "I am going to the park." He used four of the sight words they had been learning and made an excellent sentence.  He also stuns us nearly daily by explaining math ideas that are much more complex than what he is doing in school.  For example, "10 rows of 9 plus 1 row of 9 would be 99, right?" We think he definitely has a talent for numbers and visual mental construction- if that makes sense.

 

But most of all, Toby is our sweet gentleman.  Every evening when he reminds me that he needs to give me hugs and kisses and tells me that he loves me, I melt again for my little heartbreaker.

 

And then we have this girl!

Amelie turned one year old last week! She is the smiliest, happiest baby we have ever had.  She is seriously a fully mobile ray of sunshine in our family. Yes, Ami took her first real solo steps in the Charlotte, NC airport on our way to Germany on Aug. 23rd. Now she is a speedy walker and climber!

 

Despite the fact that Alarm-elie still wakes up at least twice a night to nurse (normally I would have weaned her completely by now, but with having her in our room these past three months, and having the other kids in our room as well, I still get up with her to keep her quiet,) I still think she is adorable when she sleeps.  She has two lovies that she sleeps with- her seahorse from Grandma and Grandpa Anderson, seen here,  and a Lambie from Pop-Pop and Grandma Linda, which is under her belly in this picture.

 

Ami and Mommy- a birthday selfie.

This girl loves her momma, and the feeling is totally mutual.

 

For Ami's birthday dinner I made vegetable (not)fried rice.  Amelie is fiercely independent when it comes to her food these days.  Someone feeding her is an insult to her, and so while she figures out how to use utensils, we clean up the mess.

 

Sometimes she gives up on the utensils and dives face-first into her food.

 

Our first birthday family tradition has been chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  In order to make that happen, I borrowed the oven of a friend on base and made a batch from a box mix.  We sang happy birthday to Ami outside and the big kids helped her blow out her candle.

 

Rob tried to take the wrapper off of the cupcake before handling it to Amelie.  She was not willing to wait, so dove in face-first again.

 

Clever daddy decided the best thing was not to come between the girl and her chocolate.

 

She really didn't make that big of a mess, but I was glad we set her in the grass outside to do it anyway.

 

Soooooo yummy fu manchu.

 

We adore this baby.  She is far too spoiled and doted on by mom, dad, and older siblings.  She is just irresistible!  I love walking places with Ami- everyone smiles and says hello to me, and then I realize that it is because she is sitting in the stroller, or grocery cart, grinning from ear to ear and princess waving to the world.  She really knows how to make friends and influence people. 

 

Her favorite place in the world is sitting between mom and dad.  She will scream and complain until one of us picks her up and puts her between us, and then she is as happy as a clam.  She doesn't talk much, and I don't think we have added many real new words to her vocab, but she understands many things and considers herself one of the big people in every way. I am so thankful for our little Ami. I can't imagine our family without her.  Since she was born, we have really felt that our family is complete.  What a fantastic, crazy first year she has had!

 

Happy birthday Toby and Amelie!

and the winner is....

House #1- the garden house!

Rob thinks I was a little disingenuous with the info that I posted on the two houses, or more people would have chosen the first house.  I suppose that is true, but I wanted to make it look like it was a contest of some sort.  The truth is, we made appointments to visit three houses.  We went to visit the first one and FELL IN LOVE with it.  The garden is something I have been wanting for a long time, but didn't think would be possible in Germany, or as renters for that matter.  The house gives us more space than we imagined we could afford, with two rooms and a bathroom set aside for visitors (start making your reservations now!) The town is one I am familiar with as our dear friends used to live here and it is an easy walk to a large park and petting zoo.  The owner is an older German gentleman who carries dog biscuits in his pocket and was happy to hear we have four children... I know that sounds crazy, but we had such a fantastic landlord last time we were in Germany, and have heard so many horror stories from others, that feeling good about the landlord is important. 

The second house we visited was TINY! I don't know how they calculated that square footage!  I could stand in the kitchen and touch every cupboard and appliance without moving my feet.  Seriously, the one bedroom apartment I was in as a single person had a larger kitchen. The dining room wasn't big enough to seat four, let alone six.  The yard and sunroom were lovely, but the interior just could not compete.  And as a bonus, house #2 sits on the flight path to Frankfurt and while we were there no less than 10 planes flew overhead- low and loud.  It was awful.  We got in the car and called the owner of the first house and that was that!  We didn't even go visit the third house on our list.

We have since been back to visit the house once more now that it is empty and we feel really good about our decision.  This house will promote the lifestyle we like to live in Germany- more time riding bikes, walking, gardening, and playing outdoors.  It will allow the kids to each have their own room.  The bus ride is long, and that is unfortunate, but from what I hear from other parents, unless you live on base, you have a long bus ride.  We'll see just how bad it is next month.  I'll post more photos when we are eventually settled in, for a virtual tour. 

Househunters International

We have been busy since we arrived here in Germany, and one of the first jobs on our list was to find a new home! We had some extensive criteria I suppose, but I don't think we are super hard to please.  Below you will see photos of our top two contenders, please comment with you vote on which house we chose, and in my next blog post I will tell you the winner!

Wishlist:
4+ bedrooms
2+ bathrooms
2000+ square feet
located between Rob's work and the kids' school
outdoor space to play
space for visitors
a nice big kitchen and playroom would be awesome

House #1- the garden house

 

Located fairly close to Rob's work (possible to bike ride when the weather is nice) but an hour bus ride for the kiddos.  The chimney in the photo is for an outdoor wood burning fireplace on the patio off of the living room space. 
7 bedrooms
3 1/2 bathrooms
2800 sq. ft. (which includes the finished basement)
1 car garage

The kitchen isn't my dream kitchen, but has space enough to work.  Those "cupboards" at the far left are the refrigerator and freezer. There is a separate pantry on this level.  Current tenants were in the process of packing when I took these photos, so the house is pretty messy, but the floors are in good shape.

Front yard has a small patch of grass, rose bushes, and a shrubbery shaped like Wilson from the movie Castaway (far right.)

Main level/ master bath.

One full bath on each level, plus a half bath in the foyer.

(cat not included)

This bedroom and the next one share a balcony off the side of the house.

Nice, but possibly a safety hazard for the little ones.

2nd upstairs bedroom

upstairs bathroom

3rd upstairs bedroom

The master bedroom plus one more are on the main level, plus there are a couple more in the basement level. The upper level also has a mini kitchen area- kinda awkward use of space.

The backyard is occupied by an established garden.  This photo is of raspberry canes, there are also blackberry bushes, other berry bushes, a composting bin, and ample space to grow veggies.

 

 

House #2- The winter garden house

4 bedroom

2 bathrooms

2100 square feet

1 car garage

 



 

This house is located closer to the kids' school, but still has a 45 min bus ride, and is a bit farther from Rob's work (no longer bike-able.) Located on a corner, this house has more lawn space (fully fenced, as is the other home,) and grape vines growing over the back wall.

 

Main floor bathroom. 

Upstairs bathroom is nearly identical.

Main floor bedroom

The winter garden. 

In the US we would call this a heated sunroom, looking out on the backyard.

 

Dining room with small wood burning fireplace.

 

Large master bedroom upstairs as well as two other smallish bedrooms.

 

Kitchen. (Fridge on the left, with freezer below.)

 

So, I realize I didn't take pictures of every single room, but either home would work for our family.  I will tell you that it was no contest.  One of these homes we looked at and really, really loved. We looked at the other and thought, "uh no."  What do you think?  Take a guess in the comments and I will let you know our choice and reasons in my next blog post.  :)

long hot summer

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

This Summer, we were supposed to move to Germany in June.  We had to move out of our house at the beginning of July, but for various reasons, we didn't actually make it to Germany until 2 days ago.  Where were we in the meantime?  What did we do with all of our "free" time?  Here is a small sampling.

Toby lost his first tooth!

While I packed and cleaned out our old house in GA, the kiddos kept themselves entertained.

Then we loaded up ye olde minivan and headed to PA, as explained in a previous post.  "Minnie" never let us down and it was a wee bit bittersweet for me when we sold her last week.

"Hunger Games" style water balloon fight.  Make it to the cornucopia of water balloons and slay the other tributes! 

Thanks to Dan, I am no longer the tallest Kaufman kid.

This was not my idea.  And no, we didn't coordinate our outfits.

Beware of Bear.

Hawk Mountain hike.

Oh look!  I found a Peanut!

Tom and Becca recently moved to PA and drove baby Dean out so we could meet him. And of course he is adorable!

I love hiking in PA.

Becky's Drive-in to see Planes: Fire & Rescue with Allen, Robin & Ben.

Lots of time to hang out with Pop-Pop and Grandma Linda.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease struck Jake and Amelie.  We also had an assortment of colds, coughs, and eye infections!  It has been a long time since we had so much sickness in such a short period of time and it was extra challenging while living out of suitcases.  Everyone is fine now.  

Back in GA for a few weeks before flying out, we took some time to visit with friends and some of our favorite places one last time.  Here, we walked 5 miles along the Savannah River Canal on a beautiful morning.  

The day before we left GA, it was 100 degrees out.  When we arrived in Germany, Sunday morning, it was about 55 degrees out, and got up to 70 by mid-afternoon.  We have had a busy few days- registering for school, beginning the house hunt, etc. but we are THRILLED to finally be here!  Give us a few weeks to settle in, and then we will have your room ready for you!

Jakey's 3 years old!

Last week our big Bear turned three years old!

Jacob is a funny guy.  He likes to get into mischief, and tell jokes, and make people laugh.  He is a rough and tumble kid sometimes and other times he is cautious and cuddly.  I never know what to expect from this guy when we experience something new and unfamiliar.  Will it be the brave Bear or the careful kiddo?  This Summer he loved swimming and splashing in the ocean and pools.  He would get right into the water and go!  However, he does NOT like to get his face wet and did not want to jump in to the pool.  And the day we drove back from the beach, he was asleep in his carseat and apparently had a nightmare as he woke up yelling, "the water is getting me!"

Jake loves the outdoors.  He hiked Hawk Mountain in PA like a trooper!  And while we stayed at my sister's house, he could always be found roaming around outside exploring barefoot.  His ideal summer vacation, I think!

We celebrated Jake's birthday a little bit early with a family party in Pennsylvania.  I did the best I could on a short timeline (and with my niece Leah's baking assistance) and made curry, naan, and mango lassis for dinner and a snake cake at Jake's request.  It kinda looked like a snake that ate a wheel, but he was very happy with it, so I guess that is what counts.

Jakey continues to be in the 90th percentile for height and weight.  Our big boy tries very hard to keep up with the big kids and can get very frustrated when they tell him he is too little for something.  His standard reply is, "I'm bigger now!" When he can't keep up with his words, he resorts to his bodily strength and he and Toby have taken to knock down, drag out brawling at times.  I guess that is how brothers are, but it is a new development in our family!  

We love the laughter that Jake brings to our days.  I love hearing "I want you , Mom" when he starts to get sleepy or shy and wants to climb in my lap and cuddle.  I also love hearing his ideas about things, which are often hilarious, but always well thought out.  Jake still needs to work on being a bit more gentle with the baby, and of course, as a normal three year old, listening to instructions and obeying his parents, but that will come in time.  He loves all things with wheels, but especially construction vehicles.  He is just starting to be interested in pirates, and swords, and guns. We love you Jakey Bear!

Jake's birthday interview:

What is your favorite color? white and blue

What do you want to be when you grow up? go to the mall and play at a play area

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? build a house outside, a smaller one

What is your favorite thing to with Mom? you can build a house with us

What is your favorite toy? tractors and cars

What is your favorite song? itsy, bitsy spider

What is your favorite movie? Jake and the Pirates

temporary quarters

Just a brief note to let you all know we are still alive. 

We moved out of our home in Georgia at the end of June and packed all of our belongings away in a storage unit. We had hoped to be in Germany by the beginning of July... but that has not yet happened.  So, the kiddos and I are squatting at my sister Pam's home in Pennsylvania and trying our best to fill our days and enjoy visiting. 

I am thankful that we have family that are willing to take us in.  But folks, it is stressful not knowing how long this "between time" is going to last. It is difficult to be in someone else's home (no matter how welcome we have been made,) with all four kiddos and I in one room, living out of suitcases, with Rob back in Georgia going to work and trying to get things moving.  It is exhausting to be short on sleep and have my two littlest sharing a stomach bug and fevers.  I am trying very hard to stay positive, but each day seems to bring new frustrations, and I could really use your positive thoughts, prayers, and good vibes to get me through this time... if you don't mind.

In an effort to end on a happy note, let me share some of the fun we have been having here! Pictures will have to come in a later post (though I misplaced the camera for about a week, so I don't have many photos actually,) but so far in PA:

-We have enjoyed swimming at Melissa's and Connie's pools.
-We celebrated America's independence with a Cinco de Julio picnic, complete with taco bar, s'mores, and fireworks.
-The kiddos got to feed the horses treats and go horseback riding at Jen's.
-We have visited the farm and pet the new mini-donkey, Buckwheat, and the new orphaned calf, Milkshake, and the rabbits.
-We have gone out for ice cream at the Kunkletown General Store, and Italian ice at Rita's.
-We had pizza from Frank's.
-We have gone to storytime at the library I grew up going to with Pop-Pop and looked at Phoebe's waxworks, which I enjoyed as a kiddo.
-We have gone to the playground.
-We watched The Lego Movie with Pop-Pop.
-We visited my mom's grave and the neighborhood where I grew up.
-The kids have made new friends with their cousin's cousins.
-We have had campfires, long walks, and caught lightning bugs.

Amma llama loves her mama

Last week Amelie turned 9 months old! She is getting to be such a little person and I just love cuddling and kissing her chubby cheeks. Shortly after she turned 6 months old, she cut her first tooth. Now at 9 months old, she has 3 teeth and is cutting 3 more.  Around 8 months old, Amelie was getting up to sitting from a lying down position and beginning to have some forward motion.  I took some photos of this of course.

 The basic idea of her movement was to first push up into a plank.

Next, she would push her body forward by pushing her hands backward and getting a little assist from her tiptoes.

Then, sometimes she had to take a little rest and check under the chair for missing Legos.

Finally, with a little encouragement from her big brother, she would repeat the process.

It looked very much like the butterfly stroke in swimming.

Now at 9 months, however, Ami is a proper and proficient crawler. She is even dabbling in cruising around the furniture. ('Ami pajami' in this photo.)

Everyone in our house loves playing with their little doll baby sister.  It can be dangerous, but I keep a pretty close eye on her.  This is easy to do because she is almost always clinging to my leg saying, "mom-mom-mom!" I like to put Charlotte or Toby in charge of babysitting for short periods of time so I can do things (like shower) and they have been great helpers this summer.

Amelie took her first trip to Edisto beach a couple of weeks ago as well.  It is difficult to take a mobile baby to a place full of sand, and either Rob or I had to hold her all day, but she absolutely loved being in the water.  She loves any and all water- the bathtub, the pool, the lake, and now the ocean- she is such a water baby!

Ami eats like a champ and is starting to drink a bottle in the afternoon (finally.)  She likes to eat those little puffs for a snack and try bites of whatever we are having for dinner. She gives kisses, waves at people, and says, "Mama, Dada, bye-bye, and ni-night."  She also shakes her head and nods, but I am not convinced she knows what those things mean yet. 

She is still not a great sleeper and wakes me up once or twice a night to nurse.  Usually at midnight and 4 am.  If she gets up between 5:30 and 6:30 am, Rob puts her in the backpack carrier and they go for a morning walk together and then have their breakfast together.  I love this, as it means I get some more sleep!

We love our little Ameloo. She is still so smiley and loving and happy.  As long as she is getting her way.  I'm afraid she is getting to be quite spoiled because we all like to hold her and kiss her... but can a baby ever be held and kissed too much, really?

roll with me baby

For Father's Day this year, I decided we would do something a little bit different.  Every year I ask Rob what he would like for Father's Day and every year he says, "something yummy to eat, like curry." And so I make a dinner and dessert that he likes for Sunday dinner and the kiddos make him some homemade cards, and I maybe have a small gift for him.  Well, we did all those things this year too (his small gift was a Superman t-shirt, because you have to be pretty super to be the dad in this house.) But I also secretly got us a babysitter for Saturday night and surprised Rob with a date night at the roller derby!  He really was surprised!

We had never been to the roller derby before, but enjoyed the movie Whip It when we saw it, and when we saw that Augusta had a roller derby team a few months ago, the Soul City Sirens, we began joking about going to a match.  When I saw they had a home match the night before Father's Day, inspiration struck.

So anyway, we went to the roller derby.  We sat on the front row. We thoroughly enjoyed the players' and refs' pseudonyms (Ivana Hitavitch, Speedy Garcia, Space Invader, Pink Sox, Julius Seizure, and Vanilla Vice to name a few.) It was different than the movie, obviously... much more suburban, well-lit, and family friendly even.

We tried very hard to figure out when people were scoring points and to see who the lead jammer was, but I'm not gonna lie, mostly it was fun to watch the brutality and imagine the bruises.  The 70's and 80's rock music was a nice touch too.  (My personal favorite song of the night was Queen's Fat Bottomed Girls.)

If you look on the wall you can see the half time score was 144 to 32, and the second half went pretty much the same way. The Sirens slaughtered the Rome Rollergirls.  It was very entertaining. I don't think we are going to become regulars at the roller derby, but it sure was a fun and different night out! After the match, we went out for frozen yogurt and took a walk.  

Awww, aren't we cute in our new hipster specs at the roller derby!?!?

I just love my Rob so much. He is a wonderful husband and father and I am glad he willingly goes along with my silly plans. We have so much fun just being dorks together.