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.

southern spring

I recently came across a blog post I made after Toby was born where I commented on how difficult it was to blog with two small children.... HA!  Well, that was my truth then, and this is my truth now.  It is dang difficult to make time to blog with four small children.

I love springtime in Georgia!  It is warm and lovely.  Staying under 100 degrees so far, and I don't have much of a problem with seasonal allergies; so this is the time of year that I want to be outdoors here and just enjoy it.  Easter was a whirlwind this year as we had just returned from Utah in time to dye a few eggs, attend church, and make a semi-traditional dinner. (I did pork loin instead of a ham because we prefer it.)

For some reason, nothing I could do was going to make Amelie touch an Easter egg.  The stubborn gene is clearly expressed in everyone under this roof.

She is still a happy, smiley baby though and she is now MOBILE! I'll blog about her specifically soon, but let's just say her locomotion is very slug-like.  She likes to stand up while holding on to things too- but you have to be ready to catch her when she misjudges her ability level and suddenly lets go.  I am sad to see the baby chubbiness already starting to fade away.

We made our first trip to the lake when Rob had a work picnic there.  The kiddos dug, swam, splashed, and played.  Jakey, however, would not get in the water when I confirmed for him that fish do live in this particular lake.  I tried to explain that they would be more afraid of him than he is of them, and that they would not eat him, but it was not happening.

We went to listen to the Augusta Symphony Orchestra's 'Pops Under the Stars' and got rained on a little bit.  The rains were short-lived though, and we enjoyed the music and our little picnic dinner and some ice cream cones from Bruster's.

Sometimes you just have to give your little boys what they want.

Cuter than the original brothers, in my opinion.

We have also already finished out the school year here!  Toby is officially a preschool graduate.  I told him he needs to get a job now, and he agreed.  He suggested he babysit Amelie when I make dinner and help vacuum the house.  I'll take it!  Rob says I shouldn't tease our serious little man, but I said I will gladly pay Toby for his time.

We also had our last ballet class!  After three years of ballet, Charlotte is thinking she'd like to take a break from it and enroll in an art class next year.  I fully support this decision and am looking forward to displaying even more masterpieces next year.

Toby finished off his second year of speech therapy with Mrs. Day.  His speech has improved dramatically this year, and Toby and I both really liked his teacher.  We will miss her smiles, games, and positive encouragement.

You may remember Charlotte's felt monster she made a while back?  Well, we had also started ones for Toby and Jakey, and we finally got around to finishing those.  The yellow one is Jake's (super-tired napless boy in this photo,) and the green one is Toby's.  Charlotte made Jake's and Toby did most of his own sewing on his.  These were great little projects for learning to sew and follow a pattern, but I'm not gonna lie, I am so glad that is done with!

The grass is green!  The sky is blue!  We are really going to miss Georgia in some ways when we move back to Germany this summer!  As we begin to prepare for our next adventure, we have been talking about the friends we have made, and the reasons why we are happy to have lived here, and it is always bittersweet moving on, but we are looking forward to our return to Deutschland.

In particular, I have to take a moment to thank my GA book club ladies for their friendship, examples, support, and delicious treats.  Oh, and the books were pretty good too!  I will miss your sweet faces.

wedding weekend

A few weeks ago Amelie and I flew to PA for my nephew Allen's wedding reception.  Allen isn't a lot younger than me and he and I lived in the same house for about eight years when we were growing up, so he often seems more like a little brother to me than a nephew.  He and his wife Robin got married in Antigua and sadly we could not make the trip, so I was really happy to help out with and attend their reception.

Jen and my sister Pam have been best friends since grade school and paired up to do much of the wedding planning (under Robin's instructions of course.)  I flew in on Friday and we went directly to the venue to set up tables, put together centerpieces, and decorate.

Because of various circumstances, I spent most of my teen years with Allen tagging along. I "babysat" him daily.  I got a teeny bit of revenge on Friday by putting Allen's son Ben in charge of Amelie.  He was very conscientious about picking up toys and giving them back to her and I think he was a little alarmed to be put in charge of another person.  Unlike his daddy, Ben was born with a small amount of fear. I thought it was great!  

Pop-pop and Grandma Linda came to help decorate and hold the baby.

Amelie was generally very happy with all of the attention she received and all of the people who were willing to hold her and spoil her all weekend.

Ben came up with this plan and Allen was more than happy to wheel him around on this cart that held the folding tables.  Like father, like son?

Amelie was ready to party at the reception!

Allen and Robin had a cupcake tower with a cake topper depicting the bride dragging the groom out of the garage. It was very cute.

Family of the groom.

Mother son dance.

I don't think Pam or Allen cried at this point... but Allen and Robin had asked me to say the prayer before the dinner, and if you know me at all, you know I was talking through my tears, and when I went back to sit down found that I was not the only one.  (I made them all cry!) Allen definitely has had a way of learning things the hard way, and it was such a joy to celebrate a truly happy milestone with him.

It was a late night out for the baby girl, but I found a rocking chair and situated it so Lucy (my sister Melissa's mother-in-law) could rock the baby.  They both seemed to be happy with this arrangement; I know I was!  

Congratulations Allen and Robin and Ben!

We love you and wish you health, happiness, and a home full of love!