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.

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. :)

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.

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?

Versailles

We left Paris on Sunday morning and headed to Versailles for the day. Chateau Versailles was Louis XIV's "fun palace" and monument to the most wonderful person he could think of-- himself. He was the master of self promotion and celebrity. The last king to live here was Louis XVI and his queen Marie Antoinette.... until the Revolution when they were made "a foot shorter on the top."

Rob had been here before, but I was excited to see all of the decadent grandeur for myself. :)

Our first stop was the garden.
(That's the palace back behind me.)

I'm glad I don't have to trim the hedges around here.

Louis XIV liked to call himself the Sun King, and compared himself to Apollo a lot. This fountain shows Apollo rising up on his chariot out of the water.

We were there for the "fountain show" but the crowds were pretty massive by that time of day-- this was still early in the morning. Oh, they also had classical music playing throughout the gardens while we walked around.

This is the front gate to Versailles. This was the line at 9 am. When we got in line for the palace around 11 am, it was 45 minutes long. By the end of the trip, we had been on our feet for 4 hours- Charlotte included. She was a very good girl... and only told me about 20 times "I'm soooo tired."

Leah in the Hall of Mirrors.
Also, the Treaty of Versailles was signed here to end World War I.

Statue of Louis XIV to the left. Paintings of Louis all over the ceiling.
Yeah, he was a fan of himself.

I'm not sure the fireplace is big enough... what do you think?

Paris

Bonjour y'all!

We just returned from an exhausting weekend in Paris... a trip to cap off Leah's Summer in Germany. We had a great time, and the most perfect weather we could have hoped for (70s all weekend)-- especially considering that the hotel we chose since it advertised AC, turned out to not actually have AC and we were on the 5th floor.

We reaffirmed that we are not "city people," and that traveling with children is a lot more work than traveling just the two of us. But we had a good time seeing the sights, and everyone survived. We took about a zillion photos, but here are just a few of my favorites.

Rob & I at the Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur Cathedral (from the corner view.)

The doors of Notre Dame Cathedral--- I tried to prep Charlotte for this trip by having her watch Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame. Wow!! That movie was way too scary for her, and she burst into tears when they threw food at Quasimodo, so I had to turn it off.

Riding the doubledecker Red Bus around gave us a different view of Paris and let us rest our weary feet.

The landmark that doesn't need explanation.

The streets of Paris---
sooo crowded on a weekend in August.

Leah at the metro stop in Pigalle. This is the "smutty" part of town just down hill from the beautiful Sacre Coeur. Home to Le Chat Noir (not there anymore) and the Moulin Rouge, which we saw only from a distance since I opted not to walk Leah past the 80 or so sex shops between us and there.

This is part of a series of sculptures outside the Musee d'Orsay called "Women of War." Charlotte put on her best "mean face" and posed like the statue. I loved seeing all of my favorite impressionists in this museum soooo much, that I forgot to take any photos.

Waiting for the Metro on Saturday evening.
The next morning we drove to Versaille before driving home.

mmmm, what is that smell??

It must be Cologne! Cologne, Germany, that is. ;)

Yesterday I took Leah, Charlotte, and Toby to Cologne. This was a big undertaking since it's a 2 hour drive each way and I've never been there before. We packed a lunch (which we ended up eating in the car because of rain) and headed out. All things considered, it was a really nice day.

The cathedral there (the Kölner Dom) is massive and amazing. I really wish we could have walked around inside more, but mass had just started.

Can you see that little white dot at the front/right of the cathedral???

That's the priest leading mass.

Cologne is also scattered with random Roman ruins.
Very fun for climbing on and taking photos. :)

And of course there was much shopping to be done.

The one other place that we wanted to see there was the Schokoladenmuseum.
Check out those Lindt bunnies!!

We learned all about where chocolate comes from and how it is made-- or at least as much as can be learned while running past the exhibits following a 2 year old. This lady is making Lindt balls. My favorite.

At the end of the tour is a chocolate fountain running with fresh chocolate. You are not allowed to touch it... but the "cooks" dip wafer cookies in it and pass them out. Charlotte had two. Oh, and then there was the chocolate gift shop-- of course!

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted and hungry for something other than chocolate. It was a nice day trip though, and I definitely want to check out that cathedral some more.

growing up so fast!

Leah got this great little video of Toby walking while I was putting Charlotte to bed a while ago. :)

Toby is now 10 months old and can crawl AND walk AND climb up the stairs! He also likes to nod (yes) and shake his head (no) and wave to people. He does not like baby food, but he wants to eat whatever is on one of our plates-- and so he has already tried many foods that he probably shouldn't have. (Toby would like to thank Daddy for the chocolate and Charlotte for the honey nut Cheerios, oh, and Mommy for cheese.)

He is NOT a good sleeper, waking up every two hours again lately-- but it only takes a minute of nursing and he goes back to sleep. Yeah, I've got to work on that, but I think maybe it's a growth spurt or teething or something.

He doesn't talk yet. But understands and responds to things that we say, like... "sit" or "stand" or "walk to daddy." He also clearly knows the words "eat," "bath," "crib", and "nurse."

Also, he has just cut his first tooth.

I love that he is interacting with us more every day! Unfortunately though, he's already figured out that he can get Charlotte into trouble by bursting into tears. We've caught him checking for our attention before he begins to wail!!! Oh dear. I hope that eventually they will play well together like our friends Sam and Jack. ;)

Escargot?!? Please, no.

Toby was quietly playing on the porch while Rob was on the Internet a little while ago. (I was upstairs getting Charlotte in bed.)

Rob decided Toby was a little too quiet so he went to investigate and found our darling boy with dirt around his mouth... what was inside, you may have already guessed, but a BIG, nasty, LIVING snail!!! Oh, I am so glad I wasn't the one to discover this one. Rob pulled it out of Toby's mouth and did his best to clean up the big man and wipe his mouth out.

Toby was apparently pretty upset about losing his snack.

Recent shot of Toby at the pool--
he has a hunk of soft pretzel in his hand, not a snail.

Auerbach again

Schloss Auerbach is one of our favorite spots within 30 minutes of our house. We took Leah there to see this old bunch of ruins. :)

But first she had to be punished for doing Charlotte's hair. ;)

I had to smile when one little girl walked by us and exclaimed to her parents (in English) "Finally! Someone else who talks in English!"
I asked them to take our photo.

There are really some pretty views from the top of the towers.

And we were blessed with a sunny day for a change.

don't mess with Cindy Lou Who

This is what happens when you have a "big sister."
Believe me, I know.

a nice day for a walk in the woods

Yesterday I took all of the kids to the Vivarium-- the little zoo in Darmstadt. The weather is much cooler this week, and we can walk there from our house-- it's just under 2 miles each way through the woods.

We had a nice walk there and we all loved looking at the animals. Toby liked to wave to them. Charlotte loved the monkeys. And Leah took about 80 pictures!

On the way home, we got a little bit rained on and there were some massive slugs on the trail. oh, and I got us slightly lost in the woods. Leah and I had a great time discussing where we would spend the night (perhaps in a hollow tree) and how at least we had the camera to document our final moments. But it didn't end up being a big deal-- maybe a 30 minute detour-- and I got us back home just fine. No Survivor Man skills needed. ;)

I LOVE these giant tortoises!
They weren't out last time Rob & I came.

Very good action shot by Leah.
The monkey had just jumped down from that window in the wall and swung out on this rope.

My favorite I think. I never knew fennec foxes were SO CUTE.

Eww. Lunch time for the Nasenbären consisted of dead opossums.

Leah, Toby, and Charlotte on the trail.
Yes, we bought ANOTHER new stroller. Used, from the thrift store on base. The big wheels are great on the cobblestones and dirt trails and stuff.