Ich mochte ein milchsnack, bitte.

Oh my gosh, it's 2010

2010-01-03T04:47:00.005+01:00

And I haven't written a blog post in over a month! Honestly, it has been so much easier to keep up with friends and family on Facebook. Blogger takes a LONG time to upload pictures. Even when Facebook can't find it's server and hiccups on me, it still takes less time to get all my pictures up to show the world (just kidding, privacy protection is ON, I just show off my babies to family and friends). But we HAVE had a very busy December and so far, are having a fantastic 2010!

On December 1st, our household goods arrived in Lubbock, an entire 3 weeks early! It took a couple weeks to get settled into our new house and we still haven't quite emptied our garage of boxes and our master bedroom closet is atrocious but really, who besides us goes in there? :)

Steven came to Lubbock to hang out with all of us in the middle of December and we had fun with late nights of dominoes and lots of Super Mario playing on the Wii. We had our Christmas dinner on the 23rd with Dave, Sara and Cristian. It was great to have them all over again and eat a lot of food and open a few presents. The kids (and by kids I mean the GUYS) played Super Mario yet again and once the babies went to bed, we played dominoes and either Dave or Brian won. I really can't remember who but they are the ones that always seem to win. ;) On the 24th it snowed and snowed and snowed. Lubbock can't handle a lot of snow so the roads were really bad and Christmas Eve church services all over the city were cancelled. Christmas morning was bright and sunny but still freezing and still treacherous on the roads so the weathermen suggested to stay put. So we did. Hannah's first Christmas was a LOT of fun. This was the first year that Luke really got into Christmas and talked about Santa and the Christmas trees and reindeer. He also watched Mickey Mouse's A Christmas Carol (from way back when) over and over and over and just loved it. The kids loved their presents and of course, Luke played with Hannah's toys, Hannah checked out Luke's toys, then Luke played with all the toys while Hannah ate wrapping paper. We rang in the new year by doing absolutely nothing exciting since we are old, boring and have little kids. ;) But Brian is living it up in San Antonio as I type this, at the Alamo Bowl - Texas Tech vs Michigan State. GO RED RAIDERS!!!

What else? Well, Hannah is working on a few more teeth, Luke asks us how to spell EVERYTHING and then tells us how things are spelled. "Mommy, how do you spell refrigerator? M-S-R-A-T-X-4. That spells refrigerator!" lol. But he does remember some of the words we work on, cat, dog, mom, dad, hannah. Brian starts school on the 15th of this month. And don't forget that he turns 33 on the 14th which makes him old. Very very old. Hannah banana turns ONE on the 21st and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party is in the works so if you want to attend, bring your mouse ears. And me? Well I've been sewing like crazy of course! I am taking full advantage of Brian being home and since he is a HUGE help with the kids, I have time to sew and create. I've been making nursing pads, diaper covers, bib clips and minky bib squares and hair bow gardens! And I'm even dabbling in making hair bows - focusing on bows for babies, infants and little ones - in keeping along with the "andMore" of FrayBabyBibsandMore. I really want my shop to be a fun one stop shop for new moms and moms of little girls. I plan on making some rompers, dresses, matching bloomers and paci pouches - this is, of course, once I figure out how to add 4 additional hours to each day so I can have time to implement all of my grand plans. I'm taking it a day at a time, however, and really enjoying making new things.

I will try to do a better job of posting over here. If nothing else, I'll make sure I get some pictures up of the birthday girl (oh and the birthday daddy as well)

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday to Luke!

2009-11-30T23:30:00.007+01:00

Luke turned four the day after Thanksgiving. We were in Houston with a bunch of family to celebrate. He got to go to the park with daddy and grandpa in the morning and then had a party with his great aunts and uncles along with the rest of us (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, uncle steve, hannah and grandma Vickery). We had a huge bouquet of balloons for him, a cake with an airplane on it and presents. He had a great time opening his gifts (it took him forever, which I thought was awfuly cute and made his excitement last), devoured his cake (okay, devoured the frosting!) and had a blast releasing his balloons one by one into the sky. Later that evening when he was getting ready for his bath, I asked him if he had a good birthday and he exclained "I DID! And they all sang the Happy Birthday song to me!"

Deep in the Heart

2009-11-07T23:21:00.004+01:00

We're here, we're here! We're calling Texas our home for the next 20 months or so and I'm thinking I need to change the name of our blog. :)
We arrived in Lubbock on the 22nd of October and boots to the ground, we started hunting for houses. We found a house that isn't available until the middle of this month which is perfect for us considering our first (very very small) shipment of our house won't be here until the 21st or so. The rest of our belongings should arrive right before Christmas.
So, a house has been found. We're still hunting for dentists, doctors and a preschool for little man. We are going to visit 2 schools next week and see if Luke likes what he sees.
I've been taking some pictures here and there but for some reason, Brian's computer won't read my memory card so I have to waiti until our November shipment of belongings arrives so I have my own computer. So you will all have to wait for the pictures from the Texas Tech football game that we took the kids to last week. I do, however, have a few pictures from Brian's camera and I'll share them because I'm nice. ;)
I'm sewing again therefore my brother's house has little fabric scraps and threads everywhere and his dining room has become my work space. It probably stresses him out a bit but we're only here for a couple more weeks - I think he can live with it until then. I have some fun new items in my Etsy shop and can't wait for the rest of my inventory (from my sewing in Germany) to get here so I can have a huge blowout sale!
I'll try to update more frequently now that we are semi- settled.
Here are a few pictures. I'll pull some more off of Brian's memory card this weekend.

We're here, we're here! We're calling Texas our home for the next 20 months or so and I'm thinking I need to change the name of our blog. :)

We arrived in Lubbock on the 22nd of October and boots to the ground, we started hunting for houses. We found a house that isn't available until the middle of this month which is perfect for us considering our first (very very small) shipment of our house won't be here until the 21st or so. The rest of our belongings should arrive right before Christmas.

So, a house has been found. We're still hunting for dentists, doctors and a preschool for little man. We are going to visit 2 schools next week and see if Luke likes what he sees.

I've been taking some pictures here and there but for some reason, Brian's computer won't read my memory card so I have to waiti until our November shipment of belongings arrives so I have my own computer. So you will all have to wait for the pictures from the Texas Tech football game that we took the kids to last week. I do, however, have a few pictures from Brian's camera and I'll share them because I'm nice. ;)

I'm sewing again therefore my brother's house has little fabric scraps and threads everywhere and his dining room has become my work space. It probably stresses him out a bit but we're only here for a couple more weeks - I think he can live with it until then. I have some fun new items in my Etsy shop and can't wait for the rest of my inventory (from my sewing in Germany) to get here so I can have a huge blowout sale!

I'll try to update more frequently now that we are semi- settled.

Here are a few pictures. I'll pull some more off of Brian's memory card this weekend.

7 days! Ack!

2009-10-05T09:47:00.002+02:00

On the 29th of September we received our orders telling us that we are moving on October 22nd, a few weeks earlier than we originally thought. We then found out that our movers were going to be at our house bright and early on October 12th! Since then we have been busy cleaning, decraping, organizing, making trips to the thrift store and to the refuse facility. The fish have found a new home and will be transported to our neighbor's house tonight. The a/c and tv stand are at the thrift store waiting for buyers. The lawn has been mowed one last time and our other neighbors are now the proud owners of our electric lawn mower and weed whacker. I just completed three BIG custom FrayBaby orders and have a few small ones to finish up. I am having a crafters open house on Thursday at yet another neighbor's house where I hope to sell even more items. The more I sell, the less has to get packed up and shipped over the ocean. We still have to sort out 1300 pounds of "hold baggage" - the items that will get flown over the ocean and arrive to our new house in November. The rest of our household will not arrive until right before Christmas! It is always a challenge to try to guess what you will need for a month before the rest of your stuff shows up. Luke is finishing up his last 2 weeks of preschool and I'm hoping to squeeze Hannah in to the doctor for a 9 month well baby check up. No shots at the 9 month, just a health check. I also have to find a health care provider in Lubbock and it looks like the University accepts Tricare and we won't have any out of pocket expenses - yay! The cars get shipped out this Friday (the Mini) and Monday the 19th (Pacifica) - who knows how long those will take to arrive. :( We're still busy, busy, busy but if anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to post about it. :)

Day Trip - Poland

2009-09-26T10:07:00.008+02:00

We headed to Poland yesterday morning around 8:30am. By the time we filled the car with gas and got coffee, we were on the road by 9am. We arrived in Poland around 2pm and had right around 3-4 hours to shop. Not much time according to Polish Pottery shopping standards and we cut it even shorter by taking a break around 3:30pm for a late lunch. The lunch took up about an hour of my precious shopping time but it was so worth it. Check out the pictures to see the beautiful and charming place we ate at. Brian ordered a traditional Polish dish - meat and rice wrapped up in cabbage (like a huge burrito) and covered in a light tomato sauce. It was amazing! I ordered potato pancakes with sour cream and fried apple pancakes for Luke and I and they were so, so, so, so stinking good. That was one of the best lunches I've ever had and it made the trip entirely worth it. :) We resumed shopping for another hour and then headed home. Yup, we drove home that night and were back in our own bed by 11:15pm. Hmmm, I wonder if I can make it there one more time before we head back to the states. :)

A lesson from Luke

2009-09-19T13:27:00.003+02:00

Today while driving home from the Flohmarkts we visited in Nurnberg, Luke was singing songs to Hannah and somehow we all started talking about bugs, critters and animals. It started out with Luke calling out an animal and me making the sound. He called out butterfly and since I have no idea what noise a butterfly makes, I asked him if he knew what caterpillars turned into. Since he just learned all about caterpillars last month, he shouted out "butterflies!" He then informed us that they also turn into bumblebees. I said, no, they don't turn into bumblebees but that bumblebees have stingers. Luke told us that bumblebees AND wasps have stingers but they don't sting him! So I told him that bees make honey. "Honey?!?" he exclaimed and went back to singing. "The chickens give us eggs, the chickens give us eggs, high ho the dairy oh, the chickens give us eggs!" "That's right!", I said, "bees give us honey, chickens give us eggs and do you know what cows give us?" "Cows?" Luke repeated, "POOP!" Cows give us POOP!" Umm, not exactly the answer I was looking for but I can't argue! :)

My birthday!

2009-09-17T14:44:00.009+02:00

The 15th was my birthday so Brian, the kids and I headed to our favorite restaurant - the Winklerbrau - for dinner. It was delicious! And after our meal, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and snapped some pictures outdoors.

What we do on beautiful 65 degree Sunday afternoons...

2009-09-13T16:45:00.011+02:00

We go to Weltenburg! Weltenburg is an old monastery located on a river's edge. We've been there a few times (I blogged about it last February - click here to revisit) and today, since Brian just finished a month long rotation, and I just finished a month of single parenting, we wanted to get out of the house and have a lazy day of enjoying the sunshine on this early fall day. We headed to Weltenburg to take pictures and throw rocks in the water (woohoo!) and when we arrived, we realized the hundreds of other people had the same idea. We also discovered that in the courtyard of the monastery, they serve lunch and dinner so after we walked around a bit, we sat at a fest table with some of our closest German friends (I kid, I kid, we had no idea who they were) and enjoyed some delicious food. And on the way home, 3 out of 4 of us enjoyed a leisurely nap. Here are all the pictures - notice how difficult it is to get a decent picture of Luke - he was trying to enjoy the water, watch the boats and throw rocks and I kept bugging him. :) And Hannah scratched the heck out of her little cheek this morning playing with a toy - we have no idea what toy caused the damage but geez! nice baby toy, huh? Hope you all are enjoying YOUR Sunday.

A little old man with a HUGE paddle pushes this barge back and forth across the river. There are people just chilling in the car as they get transported across. Call me crazy but I just don't like the look of that! lol

Perfect rocks for skipping!

Beautiful, no? We couldn't have asked for a better day.

See the huge riverboat behind them? Very cool.

Awwwww....who's her daddy??? Little twins, even the expressions on their faces, just watching the water. :) (Click the picture to enlarge)

The courtyard! Fun!

They entertain each other quite well. lol

Hannah in the cool German high chair.

Preschool Break Day 2

2009-09-02T17:44:00.002+02:00

Our Day 2 activities have ended with a huge rain shower so I let Luke get his umbrella and head on out. He had a blast and as the rain tapered off, he let the plops of water fall on his head. We're about to head into the tub then off to bed but I wanted to share pictures of Luke and link you to our arts and crafts project of the day - HERE!!

Preschool Break, Day 1

2009-09-01T21:43:00.001+02:00

Click here to see what we did today!

Fun with Mom

2009-08-31T15:01:00.004+02:00

Today marks the end of Luke's preschool session and the next one doesn't start up until September 8th. That means he has 8 full days at home with mom and his baby sister. Can I get a "Woot!"? I ordered a book from Amazon.com - 365 things to do with your preschooler (or something to that effect) and it was supposed to be here today but alas, it's not and I'm not sure that we'll have it during our week of fun. :) I plan on taking him to the park with the zip-line, and up to Grafenwohr (another military base with a huge PX and food court) for a day. The Play-Doh, water colors and acrylic paints are on standby. His little pool is in the backyard and is ready to be filled on a hot day (if any decide to come our way). We have books galore and we have the wii (*not that I am saying that is a fantastic activity for a preschooler to do with his time but it does require moving in order to play it so he gets in some activity while I sew or clean or update our blog.) But what I really wanted were a bunch of fun, no thought involved activities that someone else planned for me (the reason WHY I purchased said book), like an outdoor scavenger hunt or how to make a bug out of a plastic cup and pipe cleaners. Now I'll have to think up my own scavenger hunt for him and figure out how to make my own darn bug. I think we'll make it (it IS only 8 days after all) and I think we'll have fun. I'll let you know how it goes. And if anyone else has any fun activities for us (especially those from when we were little - like making colored salt with chalk!), let me know.

Edited to add: The books are here! The books are here! Caterpillars made from egg cartons, here we come! Woot!

I guess I have neglected you over the past month.

2009-08-24T14:19:00.012+02:00

Brian has been on rotation for the past couple of weeks but yesterday he got a day off and today didn't have to go into work until 1:30pm so we packed up the kids and went bowling! Hannah had a miserable night last night and was up pretty much all night long. I don't know what was causing her sleeplessness but she was a mess and man, were we tired this morning! Anyways, she is napping now, Luke is resting on the couch and I have a minute to post some recent pictures of the kids. Some of my favorites are the pictures of Hannah in Luke's baby clothes. :) Last night we walked up into town for dinner and it was a little cool so I put on a thick white BabyGap pants and cardigan outfit that my mom bought when Luke was a baby. Now if only Brian would hook up our external hard drive so we could compare Hannah and Luke's baby pictures. And now that I am going through all these pictures, I realized how little I have shared with you this past month - no wonder why all the grandparents are mad at me! LOL.

Here's what you've been missing! (All the pictures are posting in chronological order.)

Luke showing off his soccer skills

Hannah discovering her toes.

Bath time!

Spike. Can you see it? We spiked her hair after her bath. We're not right. lol

Cruising on the tricycle.

Island girl.

Luke mastering the wii

Hannah looking adorable in her brother's old clothes and having a great time watching her brother play the wii

A storm came through and knocked down everything, including 208 apples off the stinking apple tree.

Hannah's new hat for the fall. It is a little big still but it for this fall.

Mowing the lawn.

Hanging with mom.

Practicing standing. Nope, she can not pull herself up, we propped her up in this position - she stayed there for a minute or so. :)

Ready for our walk into town - another one of Luke's outfits.

Luke bowling today - he had a great time.

Bautzen pictures

2009-08-21T17:54:00.011+02:00

Finally, I am making the time to post some pictures from our trip to Bautzen. A few days after our return from our Poland/Bautzen trip, Brian started working a huge training rotation - however, instead of working here at our base, he has been working at the one about an hour and 20 minutes away - from about 10am to 12am every day, so he has been staying up there. He's been there since last Friday and should be home tomorrow evening and will take the next day and a half off. After that? Back to the rotation until the 15th of September, a glorious day, don't you think? ;)

I've been busy taking care of the kiddos, the house and my online shops. There was an apparent back to school rush on my reusable sandwich and snack bags. I've sent out over 40 bags in the last 2 weeks. (If you are curious about my bags, you can check out my .com - FrayBabyBibsandMore.com OR my Etsy shop - FrayBabyBibsandMore.etsy.com.)
Luke is still going to preschool so I've been dropping him off every morning and picking him up after lunch. He is in a new room with younger kids (darn fall birthday, he missed the cutoff for pre-k) and he was bit the other day by an angry 2 1/2 year old. 3 days later and the dental mark is now a nice circle bruise. (yes, the child was sent home, yes his parents were talked to and the school has a 3 strikes, your out policy). Luke is a child of technology and has mastered my iTouch - he scrolls through my music on a regular basis and plays Memory matching games, and he's fast! He also has learned how to play the wii, which blows my mind. He is an excellent bowler, wake boarder and plane flier. When we first got the wii, we would let him have a controller (without batteries) so he could feel like he was playing and when we let him attempt to play any game, he didn't have a clue how to manipulate the controller. Now, he is a pro and even has figured out when to swing while playing a tennis match. He still loves being outside and cruising around on his tricycle and kicking the soccer ball but we didn't sign him up for soccer this year. I think he is a little too young for organized sports - at this age, it is mass chaos and as the mommy who would have to go to all games and practices with an infant in tow while daddy works rotations, I decided no soccer, we'll try next year.
Hannah is fantastic! In fact, she is 7 months old today so in honor of her 7 months on this earth, I'll recap what she is up to. She sits like a champ and is pretty content doing that and has no desire to master a new skill, which is fine with me, she can stay immobile as long as she desires because once she figures it out, there will be no stopping her. When on her back, she does crunches, plays with her feet and even pivots around to see what is going on but doesn't attempt to roll over and sit up (although today I'm pretty sure I saw her thinking about sitting up). When on her belly, she pushes up to see what is going on, burrows her head into the ground, pivots around, scoots backwards and rolls onto her back. As I've been typing this, she has been moving around somehow, seeing as she started out playing with her toys on her play gym and now is located about 2 feet from her playgym, facing the other direction and chewing on a flower rattle and grabbing her toes. She likes to play with her toys, shake them everywhere, twirl her feet around and around and power slam her legs down. She furrows her brow when concentrating and it is adorable and when she catches you watching her she smiles HUGE. Everyone says she is the smiliest baby they have ever seen and she obviously gets that from me, I mean really, I do have one of the sunniest dispositions out there! ;) She also kicks like crazy and is long and thin like Luke was - abs of steel! However, she is a lot shorter than Luke was at this age. I dress her in Luke's clothes because that kid had some CUTE clothes and I just clip a blue bow in her hair. And speaking of hair, she has a LOT on top and not so much on the sides. Tis better to be sporting a toupee rather than a mullet, I suppose. :) She grabs everything in sight and can manipulate small objects with great dexterity. I don't remember Luke having such well tuned fine motor skills at such a young age. Umm, she makes the "th" sounds a lot, babbles, when upset says "mum mum mum" and when excited I've heard her shout out "dadada!" but Brian hasn't been around to hear it. She is eating solids, she loves banana (only when mixed with cereal) and avocado. She's been introduced to meats and likes those as well. When she doesn't like something or is finished eating she purses up her entire face and wrinkles up her nose and rubs her hands in her face. It can get messy. She has 2 teeth and they are pretty cute. She looks lot like Brian, which means she looks a lot like her Grandma Dinah. Who knows who she'll look like as she grows but it is fun to watch her do so. Ah, and how could I forget, Hannah has been waking up at night for a feeding and doesn't show any signs of stopping that crappy habit. lol. I was spoiled by my little man who was sleeping 12 hours at night by the time he was 3 months old.
A cute sibling story - the other day I picked up Luke from preschool and his teacher walked out with us. I stopped to talk to one of the staff and Luke's teacher asked to hold Hannah so I handed her over. Luke thought it was fantastic that his teacher was holding Hannah and talking to her until his teacher said "She is such a sweet little baby girl! Can I take her with me, Luke?" Panic flew into Luke's eyes and he ran up to his teacher and started tugging on her arm saying "Give my baby back to my mommy!" It was pretty funny and his teacher did indeed give Hannah back. :)
It looks like we're headed to Lubbock late this fall for Brian to start on his Master's Degree - Interdisciplinary Studies - International Relations. We are excited to live close to my brother and his fiancee, to live in a college town where Red Raider football rules and to get a taste of life outside of the Army, even if it is only for 18 months. We're hoping to get in a few more trips to various places before we leave - we'll see what we can accomplish!

Here are the long delayed pictures from Bautzen. And if you are curious about our trip to Poland, visit my Fraybaby blog - HERE - to see the amazing pottery from all the shops we stopped at.

10 hours in the car within 30 hours.

2009-08-09T22:01:00.005+02:00

I'm here! I'm here! We went to Poland this weekend. Well, I should clarify, we went Polish Pottery shopping. We in no way went to Poland to see Poland or explore. I mean, we would have, if we had the time (crossing into Poland is very uneventful and it is very impoverished looking. It takes a lot of driving to get to bigger cities to do sightseeing), but we didn't so the trip was purely pottery driven. We left the house Saturday morning, arrived at shopping destination #1 around 2:30pm and shopped until 6:30pm when the shops were beginning to close. I loved it, everything was beautiful and there was so much of it that it was totally overwhelming. I bought some great pieces at amazing prices. Even Brian enjoyed looking around and Luke and Hannah were perfect. I gave Luke my iTouch and he sat in the shops and happily listened to music (mostly Lady Gaga's Poker Face over and over and over) and wasn't tempted to touch a single thing. We drove back into Germany to spend the night in Bautzen and had an amazing dinner at an old German restaurant where they served drinks in clay jugs and the male servers wore monk's robes - it was meant to make us feel like we were dining 1000 years ago. :) I have a lot of pictures of Polish Pottery and a lot of pictures of Bautzen. We unfortunately didn't even scratch the surface with either location but we had fun and enjoyed what we did see. I'll leave you with a picture of purchases and a couple of the kiddos since I KNOW you are dying for updated pics. :) I'll post trip pictures later this week.

My loot!

This is what you get when you tell at 3 1/2 year old to smile. CHEESE!

I ♥ Faces - At the Beach

2009-07-27T10:46:00.003+02:00

When I saw the theme for this week's I ♥ Faces challenge was At the Beach, I knew I had to enter. We lived in Hawaii for over 4 years and I have tons of beach pictures. However, all my Hawaii pictures are on our external hard drive and since we just relocated our computer desk, the hard drive has yet to be set up. But then I remembered a fantastic picture we took of Luke earlier this month at the beach in Fuerteventura. Luke grew up in Hawaii and was a water baby, we went to the beach almost every weekend. However, since we have moved from Hawaii, he has been back to the ocean only once and it took him awhile to warm back up to it. But once he did, he just stood in the waves and watched them crash around him.

Click on the button below to visit I ♥ Faces

Recent pics of the kids

2009-07-21T13:44:00.005+02:00

Little man got a summer haircut and Hannah is now sitting. She is 6 months old as of today and we celebrated her half birthday at the doctor's office for her well baby and shots. Banana is 14 1/2 pounds and almost 27" long. I'm pretty sure Luke was 16 pounds by this age and an inch or so longer - I'd check but his baby book is in the dresser in Hannah's room and she is napping right now.

Hannah is a drool machine with her little teeth starting to pop through. That green thing in her mouth is a nubby, bumpy pacifier that she can chew on and massage her gums with.

Haircut!

Awww....sitting so pretty. You should see the picture of her I took when she toppled over. She was so upset! lol

Now that Hannah is getting better and better at sitting, Luke loves showing her everything, including how to play his new game, Don't Break the Ice.

6 months old! See the little bandaids on her legs? Three shots today!

I'm playing along - We Heart FEET!

2009-07-20T17:08:00.005+02:00

One of my friends regularly submits photographs to I Heart Faces (A Photography Blog). This week their theme is feet so I decided to jump in and play along, I just took a picture of Hannah's foot this past weekend.

Breaking News! (and vacation pictures)

2009-07-18T19:55:00.017+02:00

Hannah has a tooth!! Yay! Her little bottom right tooth has broke the surface. It is hardly noticeable but I think she enjoys playing with it with her tongue and her thumb. :)

We had a great time on our vacation to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The islands are off the coast of Africa (near Morocco) but are part of Spain and Spanish is the official language of the islands. We had fun in the sun for the week we were there. The weather was perfect, the ocean was gorgeous and the food was great! The kids are excellent travelers and had no problem whatsoever with the 2 flights or the layover in Madrid. Luke loved the pools and even went into the bigger pool and swam around with his floaty ring. Hannah got in the water a few times as well. We all took the hotel bus to the beach one of the days and rented a couple chairs and an umbrella and enjoyed a few hours of playing in the ocean and sand. Brian got to surf twice while we are there and he had a great time. The ocean waters at the islands is gorgeous and close to (but not quite) Hawaiian waters. The kids napped together every day around 4pm and we had late dinners every night. I was able to get a pedicure while we were there - a moment of relaxation for mommy. :) We were sad to have to leave the tropical paradise but were eager to get back to our own soft, fluffy and comfortable bed. I took over 325 pictures (I mean really, are you surprised?) but I'll spare you and only post 100 or so here. :)

Enjoy!

Okay, these first 2 pictures are not of our vacation but they are cute so I had to share! Brian took Luke for a run one afternoon and Luke completely passed out. :)

There is nothing better than a clean baby, especially a clean baby who thinks you are fabulous! :)

On our way!

Headed to the shuttle bus!

Hmm....it's looking a little desolate over here.

Our resort!

Hannah's first dip in the pool

Luke testing the waters

Brian telling Luke that he can touch the bottom of the pool

And Luke thrilled to realize that he indeed CAN!

Jetski!

Tropical sunset

The view from our balcony

Hannah waiting for us to get ready

The beach! Well, one of the many but this is the one that we went to

Our ocean baby was intimidated by the water at first! Can you believe it? This is what happens when you leave Hawaii. After about 20 minutes he was loving the ocean again.

Little Spanish girl who thought Luke was great. You can tell all the American and/or Scottish kiddos on the beach - they are the ones wearing clothes! lol

This little girl followed Luke everywhere one night. At first it kind of freaked him out...

...but then he decided that he liked her. :)

"Look Mommy! Those are big PINEAPPLES!"

Our little tropical princess

This kid is not going to sink.

I just have to add that I have a great picture of Brian and Hannah together but unfortunately there is an Italian man sunbathing in a creepy little speedo right behind them and he is in our picture. EWWWWW!

Playing around after breakfast

Awwwww

Luke talking to Hannah....

....and Hannah thinking Luke is the best thing in the world.

Mommy and baby

And with a new hairbow

Us at the beach on an evening walk. I have a couple pictures of us without our sunglasses but Brian looks Chinese from squinting in the sun! lol

Throwing rocks in the ocean. (This was taken right before Luke chucked one into the side of Brian's head. lol Don't worry, his sunglasses saved his temple from being damaged. Jeez that kid has an arm!)

I know I have a picture of Luke that looks just like this. I'll have to find it and post it one of these days.

Ready for another swim!

A morning out exploring the area. See the ugly shrubbery?

Brian RIPPED it out of the earth. He's so strong.

Brian chopped my head off in this what would have been an adorable picture so I cropped it even more to show off the kiddos.

Daddy went surfing this day so we had a lazy morning

My pedi!

What is that???? A BOOK???? Just so we are clear, this is the FIRST time in our almost 7 years of marriage that I have seen Brian read a book. And it's a FAT book and he actually finished it. AND, today, he came home from running errands with 2 more books he checked out from the library. What on earth is happening here?

My napping babies.

The last night we were there, we went to the "mini disco" which is where all the kids dance around to kiddie music. Luke watched cautiously for about 20 minutes and then was telling me that he wanted to dance with the kids. I kept encouraging him to go and he was bashful and wouldn't. After dancing by me for about 5 minutes he said he was going to go by the kids and I said "well go!" and he exclaimed "OKAY!" and he actually did and he loved it! I have the FUNNIEST video of Luke dancing. It is total blackmail material when he is older.

Snacking, waiting for our bus back to the airport.

Hannah banana on the plane. :)

Miss us?

2009-07-17T11:05:00.002+02:00

I promise to get our vacation pictures posted soon - there are so many and it takes quite a bit of time to post them onto Blogger. We had a great time - fun in the sun and happy kiddos, who could ask for more? In the meantime, head over to my FrayBabyBibsandMore blog for some beautiful pictures of Fuerteventura. I'll have pictures of the kids posted here soon.

Weekend in Prague!

2009-07-05T19:47:00.017+02:00

We headed back to Prague this weekend for a 3 day, 2 night trip. Last time we were there was in September of last year when I was about 21 weeks pregnant. (For more historical information on Prague and all the historical sites we saw, click here to go back to my September post, it's chock full of info. This post is just chock full of pictures!) We had fun taking some of the same pictures we did last time. I'll have to pull the other pictures up so we can compare. :)

Hannah was great the entire time and slept like a champ the first night, not so much the second night but that is okay, we are back in our own home tonight so the sleep will surely improve, right? Luke had a BLAST! He loved walking around, seeing the clocks, the bridges and the shops. He adored those stupid gross fake ferret things that are attached to the plastic balls. Thankfully we had him convinced that they were just for kids to look at and you can't buy them. LOL. He thought the Charles Bridge was awesome and he had fun looking at the ducks and boats in the water. We bought a couple cool, inexpensive wooden toys for Luke, a cute dress for Hannah and a watercolor painting for us. We stayed in the Hilton in Old Town and it was a perfect location. We walked miles and miles, enjoyed the local restaurants, frequented Starbucks (I know, I know, but it WAS in the Old Town Market Square which is by the Astronomical Clock Tower which is historical after all so it was coffee with history!) We had the best time. Prague is a city that I could go to over and over and never get tired of it.

Our Hotel - The Hilton in Old Town

Brian and his kiddos. Aww.....

Right up the street from our hotel.

Hannah passed out right before dinner at the same restaurant we ate at last year.

****Luke LAST YEAR - Sept 2008****

Luke THIS year on July 3, 2009 - same window! :)

Brian & Hannah

We have pictures of us with Luke at this exact spot last year.

I am ashamed to say, we visited this Starbucks THREE times! ;) And it was darn good.

Astronomical Clock Tower

Old Town Square

Our Lady of Tyn Church

Good morning sunshines!! :)

Luke got some shades this trip!

Fruit stand at the outdoor market

I LOVE these market stands!

This little toy cost practically nothing and it kept Luke occupied at Starbucks and at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch.

Astronomical clock tower, again!

Luke carried that green bag the entire afternoon - he was so excited to have his own purchase.

On the Charles Bridge

Prague Castle

Watercolors

Holding the castle, just like last year!

Lesser Old Town

John Lennon graffiti wall

Me and my happy baby at a pizza place by the John Lennon wall.

A stop for ice cream!

Brian carried Hannah in the carrier for over an hour and she was awake the whole time, the second I carried her, she passed out and slept for about an hour and a half. This is right after she woke up.

We went to TGIFridays for dinner on the 4th - we went American! :) And Luke got balloons!

And those balloons...

...kept him happy and occupied...

(Jewish temple)

...the rest of the day. :)

(However, he was totally stumped this morning when his balloons that were up on the ceiling before he went to bed, were laying on the floor when he woke up. LOL)

Street car!

Hannah Banana!

Didn't cha know that Luke is uber famous over here and has to go out incognito? lol

Nobody will ever recognize him! (A number of tourists thought this was adorable. A British lady thought he was too cute and a group of Germans? Czecks? was watching him and smiling - I think someone might of even snapped a picture.)

I made him lose the shades for our photo.

Happy baby in Starbucks!

Happy three year old in Starbucks! (Like his reusable snack bag? Full of trail mix, he carried it with us wherever we went!)

Art work

Walking with daddy back to the hotel. We had to check out!

Leaving Prague

At a pit stop on the way back to Germany.

We're practicing...

2009-06-25T15:56:00.004+02:00

Sitting! :)

And my kiddos hanging out together. Awww...

***Don't forget, it is Green Week over at FrayBabyBibsandMore.com! An entire week dedicated to "green" posts - green tips, green products, green ideas for kids. Visit us over at the blog to read some fantastic posts and get some great coupon codes for green items! And don't forget, you have 5 more days to use your GRANDOPENING10 discount code for 10% off your entire purchase at FrayBabyBibsandMore.com***

Strawberry Patch!

2009-06-23T21:39:00.007+02:00

Brian had off work yesterday so we thought it would be fun to take Luke to the strawberry patch after school. The patch is in Velburg, just down the road from our favorite German restaurant so at 3:45pm, we headed out to pick strawberries and afterwards we hit up the Winklerbrau for dinner. Luke loved picking strawberries! He kept telling me, "Mommy! We don't pick the green ones, only the red ones. Green ones aren't ripe and taste de-gusting" (He must have tried one. lol) While Hannah napped in her car seat, Brian, Luke and I enjoyed picking a kilo of berries and then it started to monsoon on us so we made a mad dash to the car. The torrential rain only lasted about 10 minutes and we enjoyed a nice sunshiny dinner at the Winklerbrau, where I had wild boar with juniper cream sauce, spaetzel, and pear with cranberries, Brian had the jagerschnitzel with brat-kartofflen (fried potatoes), and Luke had a paar (pair) of wurst with spaetzel. Jealous? Maybe you need to visit us!

Goings Ons

2009-06-20T23:32:00.005+02:00

We have chairs!! Okay, we've always had chairs but for the past year we have been hunting for new kitchen chairs to go with our big ole kitchen table. Everything has either been too antique (therefore rickety) or too fru-fru (therefore expensive). And then today, we stumbled upon 4 chairs that were simple and reminded us of the chairs in the local restaurants. Brian asked how much the chairs were and she responded 8 Euro - wow! 8 Euro a chair is great! But we wanted to keep looking around to see what else was out there - we weren't quite sure if the chairs were tall enough for our table and they would need a little work. We had a great time walking around and then it started pouring on us, which Luke loved. We went back to the chair lady and told her we wanted the chairs. She helped us gather up all 4 chairs and Brian handed her a 50 Euro bill and she went to get change for us. She returned and handed Brian 42 Euros back! I guess we need German lessons because she had been telling us that ALL 4 chairs were 8 Euros! So Brian and I looked at each other and didn't know whether we should give her more money because she gave us such a great deal or RUN LIKE THE WIND before she realized that we would have paid more, a LOT more. (If you are wondering, we speed-walked to the car, lol)

Luke standing in the rain, he LOVED it!

And the aftermath, totally soaked. Good thing I had a dry shirt for him because he does not like sitting in wet clothes.

It turns out the chairs were from a BrauHaus in Munich! They are stamped on the bottom. We worked on sanding and staining the chairs this afternoon. 2 are complete, 2 more to go. What do you think? We do pretty good work, huh?

Before and After

Next to the table. Pretty close match, huh?

Tonight while I was on the phone, I heard Luke say "This is a music book. Let's read it! You have to push the buttons...." So I went to peek and Hannah was happily sitting in her Bumbo and Luke was sitting in front of her, showing her his book. He pressed a button and started singing "Be kind to your web footed friends....." It was adorable. Hannah just adores Luke and her face lights up when he walks into the room. Most of the time he is oblivious to her watching him but when he notices her, he lights up too and says "Hi baby girl!" He is going to have so much fun when she starts to sit and play more, I don't think he realizes that she will eventually be his little playmate.

Luke is doing fantastic in 5 day a week preschool. He knows the days of the week now too. He also knows his birthday (November 27th 2005!) . He is very, very talkative and very funny. The other day I was upstairs and I hear him yelling for me "Mom! Hey mom! LIZZIE!!!! LIZZIE!!! Where are you??" Oh my gosh, I about died laughing. When I came down he looked at me and exclaims "Oh, there you are! I was looking for you. I want some cheese." lol, too cute.

Oh, and one of my good friends is an amazing painter and we bartered a little trade awhile ago. I would make her a fantastic canvas tote bag and a couple zipper pouches to match it and she would paint a chair that I found while "junking" in the neighborhood. I just got the completed chair yesterday and I couldn't be more pleased. Isn't it gorgeous? She painted it to match a wooden box that I purchased at the Hexenager Christmas market last year. And it matches perfectly!

Updates!

2009-06-13T12:04:00.005+02:00

Again, it's busy around here! But I managed to make some time to post a quick update. Let's see - Brian is in rotation right now so he is working long hours and flying nights. He gets in a 3am or so. Hannah got her passport so now we are clear to travel outside of Germany! Yay! I think we'll end up taking 1 big hurrah trip, 1 smaller trip and some road trips before we officially leave Germany. We'll probably be leaving around November or December of this year and no, we do not know where we are going next. Brian is finishing up all his grad school applications and once we decide where to go, we'll let you know! Luke just got into 5 day a week preschool and starts on Monday. He's pretty excited and it will give me a little more free time as well. The only bummer, that I have to pick him up right as Hannah will be wanting to go down for a nap. Hannah has officially made herself a routine over the last few days - go to bed at 8:30pm, wake up at 4:30am for a feeding (which totally STINKS!, for mom at least) but then she sleeps in until 9am. Then she takes a 2 hour nap starting at 11:30am. And then another nap about an hour to an hour and a half around 4pm. Luke knows his birthday and it is cute to hear him say that his birthday is November 27th 2005!! Oh, and Brian got a new car! It is pretty cute and very fun to drive! It's name? Hot Chocolate! lol

Pics of the kids, and the car. Enjoy!

Big News!

2009-06-04T17:12:00.003+02:00

So....what did you think it was going to be? lol

Lately, I've been so incredibly busy, between taking care of the house and kids and coming up with business plans (which also includes a heck of a lot of creating, marketing and developing - ack!), my brain is fried. I don't know if it is Tuesday or Friday, 11am or 4pm, it is all a blur. I've neglected taking pics of the kiddos (which they actually are probably grateful for! lol) and we haven't had any exciting adventures lately (hmm...I don't even recall thinking about wanting an adventure.) so this blog has been suffering because of it. I guess I could be keeping you up to date with little tidbits of Luke and Hannah (especially the things that Luke comes up with, like telling me that today is Tuesday and tomorrow is Threes-day) or bouncing business ideas off of you but the reality is I am too darn pooped at the end of the day to do much of anything. I wish I could just send you updates with my mind - just think it, and it is known! :) Nix that, I don't think I'd want that special power nor would I want you to know exactly what went through my mind when I discovered that Luke poured the entire container of fish flakes in the fish tank (which really is a story all of it's own, these darn fish. We inherited them from a neighbor who was moving back to the states because the largest of the tank fishies was Luke's Kiddie Fun Fair fish that he got last April! Need a pic of said fish? Click here. )

Anyhoo, the news? My dot com is LIVE! After a month of working on building and design with a fantastic web designer, it's ready to show the world. It will always be a work in progress and I hope it does nothing but grow and improve with time. Ready to see it? Visit http://fraybabybibsandmore.com to see my little business come to life and feel free to become a fan of the blog over there as well!

New pics!

2009-05-26T08:29:00.005+02:00

I've been so busy lately working my my .com. Yes, my DOT COM! Soon, FrayBabyBibsandMore.com will be going live but in the mean time I have been so busy working with a web builder/designer, trying to make it perfect! (okay, perfection is very hard to achieve, but I want to be close.) Between site designing, sewing, revamping product lines, taking care of my babies, the house and the hubby, I've been swamped and have been neglecting my blog. But I did manage to take pics of the kiddos over the last week. It has been so nice out that we have been busting out Luke's little pool and spending afternoons outside. However, I think all that outdoor time has triggered some sort of allergies in Hannah banana and she has been coughing, sniffling and snorting for the past week but it doesn't seem to bother her much. Anyways, your pictures....Enjoy!

We've been having fun!

2009-05-15T22:12:00.010+02:00

Grandma and Grandpa are in town and we have been busy! It is a lot of work being a tourist but we have been having so much fun. The weather was supposed to be cruddy the entire time they were here and although it rained a few days, the days that we headed out ended up being perfect! We went to Nurnberg (the Old Town and the zoo!), Velburg, Rothenburg, and Regensberg. So many bergs, so little time. ;) I hope we showed them a great time - we had a lot of fun and enjoyed their company. And right as Luke was getting warmed up and really having fun with his grandparents around, they have to leave to return to their lives in Tennessee. We are glad they came out to hang out with us and to meet their newest little one, Hannah.

Monday - The Zoo!

Luke totally dug the polar bears. He could have stood here all day watching them pace back and forth and play in the water.

And his other favorite, the giraffes. It was one of the only times I could get him to smile at the camera and it was only because he was so excited to get his picture taken with Melman (you know, the giraffe from Madagascar)

Eating lunch at the old wursthaus in Nuremberg

Flower stands in the market

Wednesday - Rothenburg!

Kathe Wolfahrt shop

Market square - everyone waiting for the bells to chime.

Reading books with grandpa

Hannah in her Bumbo!

Friday - On the train to Regenberg!

Old brathaus in Regenberg

On the Old Stone Bridge

Climbing a tree at the Eis cafe - we had to stop and relax after our long walk over the bridge, down to the fest and back! We also stopped for lunch, walked along the river and peeked in all the churches and cathedrals!

Headed home - what a fun day!

A little Luke

2009-05-05T15:23:00.004+02:00

Whew! I just recovered from a big laugh - let me share.

Luke was washing his hands. And washing. And washing. And washing. I called out "Luke! You are all done! Turn the water off!"

He does.

He emerges from the bathroom and says, "I juss put soap in my mouf....it was gross!"

My child just washed his mouth out with soap. He makes things to easy. LOL

Let's compare

2009-05-03T13:56:00.000+02:00

Luke - 3 months, 1 week

Hannah - 3 months, 1 week

Well they look like they are related at the least. :) And they were/are in 6-12 month clothing at this point - we have tall babies! I should put Hannah in the outfit that Luke is wearing in his picture so we can really compare.

Yes I can keep myself, 2 children and a houseplant alive

2009-05-02T09:23:00.009+02:00

Hannah Claire, age 3 months, 1 week and 3 days

Oops, it's been awhile, hasn't it? We've been busy over here at the Davis household - the weekend after Easter we look a last minute trip to Berchtesgaden (German/Austrian border Alpine town) and then Brian prepared for his luxury fun-filled vacation to paradise, I mean, his work trip, to Hawaii. Everyone has been asking me how I've been doing with Brian gone, after all, I do have TWO kids - GEEZ! People, I have been perfectly fine! The kids are great. Hannah eats, sleeps, smiles, plays and throws in an occasional squeal of delight. Luke eats, sleeps, smiles, plays and throws in an occasional whine or defiant "NO, I don't WANT to!" but is, on the whole, remarkably well behaved. Shall I knock on wood right now just in case? He's going to preschool 3 days a week (if anyone at the CLEOS office reads this blog, can you PLEASE get him in the 5 day a week program? Every Tuesday and Thursday he asks me to go to preschool and I have to disappoint him and tell him he is stuck home with boring old mom.), is obsessed with Madagascar (for the first time in his life he actually sits through an entire movie - shocking!), and wants to do everything himself. He requests popcorn at 9 in the morning because he wants to press the microwave buttons, he wants to bathe at 2 in the afternoon because he wants to turn the water on and plug up the tub and he tells me throughout that Hannah is hungry because he wants to turn on the bottle warmer (note: Hannah drinks 1 bottle a day, at night, once Luke is already in bed. He hasn't seen her drink a bottle in over a month yet he is determined to turn on that bottle warmer at least 1 more time.) the requests are always followed by a "I do it all by yourself!"

On a happy note (well, kind of happy, it does involve tantrums), I have figured out how to nip Luke's tantrum (not a traditional tantrum...there is no throwing of oneself on the floor or kicking or screaming, it is more of an obsessed whining, in a kind of a frantic way.....I digress....) - the child has to be REMOVED from the situation. Not just pulled aside, I mean, physically lead him by the hand inside and make sure he CAN NOT SEE whatever it is that he is upset about and then recite the rules. Ahem. "You are a big boy! You do NOT whine! xxxxx is your FRIEND and you need to SHARE. (or) You do NOT need to (oh, i dunno, turn on the grill, push the lawnmower, start the weedwhacker, use the scissors, pour the gasoline, drive the car...) you are not an ADULT and that is DANGEROUS! Now we can go back outside and you will BEHAVE and be NICE or we WILL come back inside, okay? Okay?" And at this point Luke mumbles okay and I look at him and he starts reciting all the rules back to me and we happily go back to whatever it is that we were doing. It is quite nice actually that he responds so well to this but I have a feeling once daddy returns we might fall back into more whining - you know, there are now two adults to try to play, if one says no I shall whine until the other intervenes. Ack.

Anyways, my days are remarkably smooth, I can handle 2 kids and a house just fine. I am looking forward to Brian coming home because I enjoy his company and he is a fantastic playmate for little man. I am growing weary of Luke saying to me every day, "Mommy! Come outside and play with me! And put your shoes on!" LOL

Here are some pics from our latest jaunt and some recent ones of the kiddos in case you were going through withdrawal.

Our trip to Berchtesgaden

The Eagle's Nest - Hilter's Summer Getaway

The view from our hotel room

New pics of the kids...okay, of Hannah and 1 picture of Luke passed out with his blankets. Have I mentioned how difficult it is to take a picture of a 3 year old? He's like a wild animal and I can only catch a shot of him when he sleeps. LOL

Hippity Hoppity

2009-04-12T16:05:00.010+02:00

Happy Easter! The weather in gorgeous, the flowers are blooming, the kids are laughing and the bunny visited our house. The kiddos got small Easter baskets and yesterday were treated to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. And today, Brian hid eggs in our yard for Luke - confetti eggs! Fun! Luke had a blast smashing them in his hands and then throwing them up in the air.

Spoon race!

Easter morning

Confetti egg!

And just for fun, an Easter picture of Luke from 2006, when he was 4 months old.

Heidelberg

2009-04-10T18:32:00.012+02:00

We drove to Heidelberg last weekend. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive northwest - to the tip of the Black Forest. There is an Army base in Heidelberg and many of our friends have been stationed in that area of Germany so they all know it well. We had yet to visit so we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather we have been having and take a small trip to this old and historical city. We arrived on a Friday and walked through the hustle and bustle of the streets to old town, a pedestrian only zone with cobblestone streets full of shops, restaurants, bakeries and people. On Saturday we found the Army base (the PX for Brian, Arts and Crafts shop for me) and then headed to the Heidelberg castle which was beautiful and amazing. We spent almost 2 hours up there walking around, taking pictures and exploring. We stayed at the Crown Royal (which I HIGHLY recommend) and Luke loved living in a hotel room, being a hotel operator and swimming in the pool. The hotel had a huge, delicious and partly "American" breakfast buffet. By "American", I mean pancakes, omelets, sausage links and bacon. A European breakfast is traditionally breads with jelly, butter or nutella, select deli meats, yogurts and occasionally granola with milk. Oh, and of course coffee, lots and lots of coffee. We stayed for 3 days, 2 nights and had a great time walking around. We'd love to go back and hit all the places we missed and try out some more restaurants - there ARE only so many meals one can eat in 2 days. :)

Fun Fact: Heidelberg is home to Europe's oldest university! It was founded in 1386. Karl Drais, the man who invented the bicycle in 1817, was a student there. The University is known for academic excellence but despite this excellence, it was among the first to expel all of it's Jewish professors and students when the Nazi's arose to power. (wikipedia.org)

The old stone bridge was erected from 1786 to 1788. There is a medieval bridge gate on the Old Town side of the bridge that is part of what was the original wall around the city.

See the castle in the background?

At Vetter, one of the delicious restaurants at which we ate - we sat outside at the little cafe tables along the cobblestone street.

Crepes!

Outside a small cafe/ice cream shop

Kathe Wohlfahrt shop window

The beginnings of the Heidelberg castle fortress started in 1398. In the 16th and 17th centuries, palace building were added to the fortress, making it a castle. The castle and it's large garden were struck many times during the 30 years war and the Palatine War, but oddly enough were not struck during WWII. Lightening struck the castle in 1764 and in the late 1700s, the castle was used as a quarry, taking pieces of stone to build other buildings in Heidelberg! In 1800, Count Charles de Graimberg stopped this practice and tried to preserve as much of the castle as possible.

View from the castle grounds into Heidelberg

This arch was part of the original wall around the castle within the castle grounds.

Inside the courtyard

One of the highlights for Luke, the fountain!

We dug out almost every penny and nickel we had (American and Euro) for Luke to throw into the fountain.

This wine barrel was made in 1781 and it can hold 58,100 gallons! Supposedly, 130 oak trees were used in constructing it. There are 4 large wine barrels in the castle cellars, this one is the largest, and that is Brian at the top!
One of the beautiful flower stands - look at all those tulips!

Brian's humor. LOL. It literally translates to "drive lane" but you can do the 3rd grade American humor translation. :)

See? Enjoying a snack in the stroller. Hannah is in her wrap on me.

Look at my big kid! He was in charge of his own suitcase and he thought it was the best! And the sign behind him? Ausfahrt - it means exit or literally, "out drive".

Another Pilot?

2009-04-02T22:50:00.006+02:00

Today was shadow day at Brian's work and he took Luke into the office with him. And since Brian is a part of the Falcons aviation team, the office includes the flight line. Luke was able to check out an actual helicopter - inside and out. Brian said he had a great time climbing in, pressing buttons and peeking out the windows. He spent an hour and a half at daddy's office and when I came to pick him up he told me all about it and said he wants to fly the "hepicopter" too.

And speaking of flying, Brian, among others, flew the "burgermeisters" (mayors) of the local towns around in their helicopters the other day. We were able to see their helicopters fly right by our house as they landed in Lupburg. It was a gorgeous day out and Brian took pics from the air.

A Weekend in Garmisch

2009-03-31T18:03:00.009+02:00

We went to Garmisch this weekend. The last time we went there was last February, remember that? (and this and this and this) A group of families from Brian's work planned a ski trip so we tagged along so Brian could get some snowboarding in before the entire season passes without him hitting the slopes. It was a really easy trip. Brian had a great time, the kids were wonderful and I just tagged along! Luke loved staying in a "ho-towel" and getting to share a bed with daddy. Brian also took him to the pool and the big "hot pool" (hot tub) outside. We arrived on a beautiful sunny day and received a fluffy, wintery snow the following 2 days, which doesn't do much for visibility but it makes everything a winter wonderland. We went to a German restaurant in Parkenkirchen on Sunday night with a small group of people and were treated to some traditional Bavarian dancing by two young boys, probably about 11 years old, who I would guess were related to the owner and would probably be mortified if any of their friends had to watch them dance for Euros. LOL. I really want to return to Garmisch in the summer - they still have the chair lifts open to take people to the mountain top restaurants and hiking trails. Plus, downtown Garmisch and Partenkirchen are so quaint that I would love to wander around in some warm weather.

Approaching the Alps

Passing through Garmisch

The view outside our hotel

Checking out the various slopes - this is the Alpspitzbahn

Austria! We crossed the border on Sunday for another day of snowboarding

Picking up Brian from the Austrian slope

After a quick bath. :)

Nice and clean and completely passed out

I had to get another picture on him on the rocking chair - here is one from last year -

At dinner on Sunday

Our waitress and little German dancer boys. LOL

Leaving the restaurant on a snowy night

Luke had a ball playing in the closet and hiding

Hmmmm....who on earth does Hannah resemble? :)

Not her mommy!

The most delicious chocolate cake ever!

Luke and Hannah watching Handy Manny together.

Edelweiss on Monday morning on our way out.

2 month baby stats

2009-03-23T18:36:00.004+01:00

Hannah went in for her 2 month well baby exam this morning. She is 23 1/4 inches long and weighs 12 pounds, 4 ounces. Luke at 2 months was 24 1/2 inches long and 13 pounds, 4 ounces. And below is another comparison picture of Luke at 2 months. It is fun to notice the differences and the similarities. Hannah may end up looking a little more like her mommy than Luke does. I have a feeling if you put big round eyes on Hannah, our baby pictures might resemble each other a little more. Either way, she is a pretty little girl and I can't wait to see what she looks like as she grows.

Pictures

2009-03-20T14:48:00.005+01:00

As requested - more pictures!

American Soldier and Preschool

2009-03-10T16:54:00.005+01:00

When Luke was 7 months old, Brian deployed to Iraq. I took so many pictures from that deployment day, I wanted there to be a ton of photos of Luke with his daddy and us as a family to show friends, family and Luke as he got older. I made a video of all those photos, along with photos that friends sent me from that day, and I set it to music, Toby Keith's "American Soldier". We watched that video a bunch while Brian was in Iraq and then once he was home, into the movie case it went. Luke pulled it out the other day and asked what it was and I told him that it was pictures of mommy, daddy and Luke. He put it in the DVD player and it has been played at least 2 dozen times since then. He loves watching it, exclaiming "that's daddy on TV!" or "it's Luke and daddy and there are soldiers!" but my favorite is Luke telling me that he, too, wants to fly the "hepicopter" and when Luke sees a helicopter in the pictures he always says "be careful daddy!" I have even caught him singing along with the video.

This family might end up with more than one helicopter pilot. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about that possibility for at least 15 years or so.

Here are some pictures of our little man, who isn't so little anymore.

A preschool update: Luke was switched over from the part day and hourly care preschool to the full time preschool even though he is not full time. Over at the part day and hourly care preschool, Luke was hot or cold - some days he had a great time, other days he met us at the door upset and couldn't get out of there fast enough. There are usually 20 or more kids in that room and it can be pretty rowdy and chaotic over there. The days that were full of chaos, Luke would tell us he doesn't want to go to preschool anymore. About three weeks ago, the teacher of the full time preschool program took Luke over to her side of the classroom, where there is 1 teacher, 1 teachers assistant and less than 10 children. They have a more structured curriculum and routine, the children are a little older and are ready for this type of program so there is more listening and learning and less fighting. Luke now loves preschool, knows his teachers' names, tells me what he does each day, eats a full lunch and leaves happy.

Anyways, Brian usually drops Luke off each day, I haven't had to take him to school since Hannah was born so when I had to take him this past Wednesday, I was preparing myself for Luke's hesitation about going to school and a possible teary goodbye from him with me trying to convince him of the fun he will have and the stories he can tell his friends. When walking into the preschool building, Luke did tell me he didn't want to go but it was half-hearted and I laughed at him and told him he was silly. We got to his classroom and he took a look around to see what was going on, I said hi to all the kids and then told Luke that I had to go and asked him for a hug. He gave me a huge hug and said "I shut the door for you!" So he walked me to the door and I told him to have a great day. He started to shut the door, then popped his head back out and said "Okay mommy! I see you Saturday!" and started to shut the door. Saturday? LOL. I laughed and said "I'll see you in a few hours bubba." He popped his head back out and said "Okay, I see you in a few hours. Have a good day!", shut the door and ran back to his classroom. Do you KNOW how nice that feels? It was fabulous.

Two of the most fabulous thing!

2009-03-04T09:33:00.003+01:00

Baby wraps and baby smiles. :)

When Hannah was almost 3 weeks old, I realized that she loved being held a whole lot more than her big brother ever did. I was having a hard time getting things done in the 10 minute windows she allowed me to put her down (I mean, can YOU clean a kitchen in 10 minutes?) and really wanted the use of BOTH my arms at once (i.e - it takes a LONG time to peck out an email with 1 hand). I knew that I had stumbled upon some baby wraps on Etsy so I went to check them out and research them a little further. I found a great shop called LoveyDuds and she has fantastic feedback and has made hundred and hundreds of baby wraps. So I purchased this one and 4 days later it arrived in the mail and not only is mommy happy but Hannah is in heaven when she is wrapped up in there. So imagine my delight when I get a package in the mail and open it to find this! My mom sent me another wrap and Hannah and I took it for a test drive yesterday and she loved it and it is so comfortable and easy to wrap and wear. You can only imagine the things I get accomplished with her happy as a clam and with both my arms free. I'm tempted to have Brian take pictures of me at the sewing machine with her wrapped to me. :) Here are the pics of me and my little papoose.

And even more fabulous than baby wraps are baby SMILES! Hannah has started to smile on a regular basis now. We've seen her smile while sleeping (oh what wonderful dreams she must have) and we've seen her smile while stretching but these are smiles that we get when we talk to her and last night she was a smiling machine so I busted out the camera and started snapping away. Enjoy the pics of baby smiles and if you know anyone who has a baby or is going to have a baby, check out those baby wraps - they are the best!

Our little lady is 6 weeks old today!

Brother and Sister

2009-02-24T16:00:00.005+01:00

What do you think? Do they look alike? :)

Baby Shower!

2009-02-23T12:48:00.007+01:00

My friend Elizabeth and I had our babies 2 days apart, Hannah was born on the 21st of January and Hartley was born on the 23rd. Our friends and neighbors threw us a joint baby shower yesterday and we all had a lot of fun and Elizabeth and I (or I guess Hartley and Hannah) were totally spoiled. We both received gobs of girlie clothes and some adorable items for baby and nursery. A few baby shower games were played and there was a huge spread of yummy food, complete with cake. It was a great turnout and I'm excited to attend the next couple of baby showers that are coming up. I've never known so many people pregnant at the same time! :)

Enjoy the pics.

Me and Elizabeth with the hosts of the shower, Katie and Nickayla

Hannah is tucked in that baby wrap - she loves it in there!

All the neighborhood ladies (except a couple that had to leave)

Elizabeth with the Tennessee bag I made for her - she is a HUGE Vols fan.

Katie, who is expecting her 3rd child in June, and Hannah

Elizabeth and Hartley

The spread

Leisurely day in Germany

2009-02-21T13:45:00.004+01:00

Pictures from Brian's camera! Last weekend was freezing but gorgeous so we decided to get out of the house for a drive. We ended up driving to a furniture store where you can get furniture made specifically for your needs and since we have been looking for new kitchen chairs, we decided to take a look. The shop definitely has beautiful items but I'm not sure that we were in love with anything, but we'll go again to check their catalog. Here are pictures from that beautiful trip and of my adorable family at the shop. :)

Pictures

2009-02-17T10:17:00.004+01:00

A whole week without pictures, how on earth have you been able to contain yourself? :) These are some pics from my camera, I am still looking for the USB cord to upload pics off Brian's camera. Enjoy!

Yoohoo!

2009-02-15T22:57:00.002+01:00

That awful fever that Luke had? I got it! So that is what I've been up to - shaking, shivering, sweating, freezing, all while taking care of a 3 year old who was recovering from an awful bug and a newborn who we were desperately trying to keep healthy. For the record, we succeeded in keeping Hannah germ free and I finally shook my 103 fever (after 2 days). I think this crud is on it's way out but Luke does go back to preschool this week and who knows what fabulous germ treat he will bring home. Ugg. Anyways, I have pictures on our cameras that need to be uploaded and posted but I have a gazillion other things that I need to get to first AND the baby is down for the night so I have to hurry and get to bed so I can get some good sleep. I'd love to tell you how many hours my child has been sleeping at night, at the ripe old age of 3 1/2 weeks, but I don't want to jinx it. All I have to say is that it is fabulous and I almost feel like a new person when I wake up.

I'll write a decent update soon, along with a birth story which people keep asking me about but I haven't had time to type it all out. I hope I remember everything. I do have mommy brain going on right now.

Toodle-oo

The Joys of Mommyhood

2009-02-08T17:34:00.005+01:00

I've spent the last 3 days with a newborn who loves to be held and a very sick 3 year old. Luke fell asleep in the car on the way home from preschool on Friday and I knew something was up. Within an hour of getting home he was looking glassy-eyed and was spiking a fever. It quickly reached 103 degrees and after I medicated him, he passed out for a long nap. I know some of you are thinking that I am a horrible mother and that I should have rushed him into the clinic or something but before you start judging, I have to tell you that I am pretty laid back about big things and I totally trust mothers intuition. He was telling me his tummy hurt so I thought that we were in for a bought of the flu - fever and barfing - rah! I did CALL the clinic to tell them about my child's crazy high fever and asked them if they thought I should wake him up and bring him in. The nurse told me that there has been the same viral funk going around our Army base for months and that is part of the problem living in such a small community - all the kids keep giving each other the same germs over and over. I was to medicate Luke as needed - a Tylenol and Advil rotation and anything else that he needed for whatever symptoms popped up. By that night, however, little man had an endless supply of snot and was complaining of his ears hurting and that darn fever would get reduced with every round of medicine and then would come crawling back up. So he has been a sicky poo - complete with throwing up on me at 2:30am last night (no, not the flu but an empty stomach with nothing but snot drainage in it), but the silver lining in the whole thing is that #1 - Hannah isn't sick (thanks to a fabulous supply of newborn and breast milk antibodies!) and #2 - Luke has been napping the past 3 days which, although I feel bad that he is napping because he is sick, it gives me a nice little chunk of time to get things done - like laundry and sewing (yay! I'm back in the sewing room!) and showering (haha), etc, etc, etc.....I think he is on the mend today which is great because I'm sure he has been feeling miserable and I really didn't want to catch what he had. Oh, have I mentioned that Brian has been working this entire weekend? There is a heavy training rotation in town so they are on full schedule. Thankfully I have married one of the bestest men around and even though he hasn't been getting home until late these last few days and is pretty tired, he helps me get Luke scrubbed up and ready for bed and Hannah fed AND he helps take care of the Hannah in the middle of the night, every night.

Anyhoo, just for fun, let me tell you about my night last night. We got Hannah to bed around 9:30pm. Around 2am she woke up and I went to get the bottle. Brian changed her diaper, I took the bottle back upstairs for him to feed her so I could pump. I got back downstairs and I heard a door open and little footsteps - Luke was up. I went to take care of him - he still had his fever but he was actually kind of energetic. I got out the thermometer to take his temp, put the thermometer under his arm and within a few seconds, I got barfed on. I quickly scooped up everything and took it to the laundry room, gave Luke a bath (along with some Tylenol and anti-nausea medicine for little kids) and brought him downstairs with me so I could keep an eye on him while I was up. Brian came down to check on us - we were fine and I was able to get Luke to eat some crackers - and then he went back upstairs and got Hannah back to sleep (around 3am) and in her bed. I got Luke back to bed around 3:30am and then I crawled back into bed. Okay, here comes the exciting part...around 6:45am, I hear Hannah start to stir and fuss. I laid in bed, exhausted, wondering if I should hurry and get her another bottle, when I decided to see if she would be satisfied with popping the pacifier back in her mouth (I am kind of dumb when it comes to using a pacifier, Luke never took one so I never know how often I should use it or when I should use it, you know?) Anyways, I put the paci in and next thing I know, I woke up and it was just before 8am and I actually felt rested! I decided to get my rump out of bed and start my day before the kiddos woke up so I was able to enjoy my coffee without having to do 100 other things and Brian slept in until 8:45 or so AND took a shower all before Hannah woke back up. So it was a fabulous sleep night all around and I'm hoping we get another one of those HOWEVER, Hannah has been sleeping A LOT today so I think we're up a creek tonight when it comes to getting some decent z's.

Well now you know what we've been up to the past few days - it's been hectic and chaotic but it all works out and it is one of the many joys of mommyhood. :)

And, as usual, I have some pictures of the kiddos. Luke playing with Hannah BEFORE he got sick and pics of Hannah from this morning. Enjoy! :)

MILs last day

2009-01-31T09:15:00.006+01:00

My Mother in Law was such a huge help to us over the last 2 weeks. She flew into town on January 18th, quickly recovered from jet lag, was treated to a delicious German meal at our favorite restaurant and all of a sudden became the sole care provider for Luke - I went into labor on January 20th. Hannah Claire Davis was born on the 21st of January and for 3 straight days, Luke hung out with his grandma, while seeing his daddy a glimpse at a time. Not only did my MIL take care of Luke and become his favorite playmate, but she cleaned our house, did our laundry and constantly kept the kitchen clean. Now that Hannah is 10 days old and I have been home with her for a week now, I am feeling great - it is amazing the difference between your first child and your second, you aren't as overwhelmed and almost everything seems like old hat. We've been doing a lot of things with Hannah that we did with Luke (as far as feeding and sleeping) and we are so much more laid back (I didn't say completely laid back, do you not know me at all? I'm just saying I don't feel the stress this time around.) Anyways, my point is, now that we have gotten through the first week plus of Hannah's life, I do believe that my MIL gave us one of the best gifts we could have received, she took care of whatever our other child needed and took care of our house so it is easy for me to slide right back into the groove of things and not feel totally taken over by housework and kiddie demands. Dinah, thank you so much for making the trip out here to help out Brian and I. It meant a lot to us that Luke could stay at home with family while we went to the hospital to have Hannah. I am so glad that you got to have such quality time with Luke and with your new granddaughter.
Here are pictures from Grandma's last day in Germany - Brian took her to Regensburg to see the Old Stone Bridge, the St. Peter's Cathedral and historic downtown. The kids and I stayed home and that is why there is only 1 picture from their trip, yes, 1. Can you believe it? ;)

9 days old...

She makes this face quite often and it cracks me up - she cuts her eyes back and forth like she thinks you are up to no good.

What's this? Another pair of leg warmers? Yes, it is and I ordered more. :)

Luke and Grandma talking to Hannah

Luke is really great with her - always fairly gentle and never mean (yet!)

Poor Hannah - doesn't anyone see that her head is just too heavy to put back by herself? She's looking a little old man-ish here. :)

Kelheim

2009-01-30T14:24:00.004+01:00

We took MIL to the Hall of Liberation in Kelheim on Thursday. I know she came out here to help out with Luke when the baby was born, but I have been feeling great and was feeling bad that she didn't really see much of Germany at all before I went into labor. Kelheim was one of the first places we explored close to home once we arrived here so we decided to take her there. For a refresher on Kelheim - click here! It was COLD out but it was still so neat to see the hall and I think Dinah enjoyed the views of Regensburg from the tower as well.

My babies!

2009-01-28T16:09:00.005+01:00

More pictures...come on now, are you surprised? :)

Things are going well and we are actually getting decent sleep. I hope it keeps happening!

More pictures

2009-01-24T14:49:00.007+01:00

Here are some more pictures from the past 2 days. Hannah is modeling a couple of the bibs that I've made (what a cute model!) and she has been wearing baby leg warmers - aren't they the cutest little invention? And of course I have to include some pictures of big brother!