The Last Few Days

Last Friday I headed out to Rewe early in the morning because I wanted to stock up on food for the weekend.  Also I wanted to try my attempt at making banana bread in Germany.  You would think that you could just use your recipes from the States, but you can’t find all of the ingredients here.  And what annoys me even more than that is you go to GERMAN English-speaking websites and they list similar recipes where you STILL can’t get those ingredients.  ARGH!!!  So I jumped in and mixed up a few recipes to see if I could get it to work.  Here is the result.

Banana bread

It actually wasn’t bad.  I didn’t have enough bananas to make it really banana tasting, but it was quite good, for a first time messing with recipes and ingredients.

Someone enjoyed it:

Banana bread bite

I also took my chance and made a Quiche.  This was a lot easier to do in Germany.  It was also fantastic and CD enjoyed it too.

Quiche

After all of this we headed down to the Museum Fest down by the river.  We met up with my friends J and E, their babies, and their significant others.  It was funny because E had told us that if we go, we should not bring the strollers since it will be too crowded, but instead use the baby carriers.  Well, all families showed up and the men were all wearing the babies.  It basically looked like this:

Daddy Dudes

We all had a good time enjoying the scene and also getting some frozen yogurt from my friend H’s husband’s stand.  It was mighty tasty and when they open their shop, I will support it for sure!  🙂

Sunday brought us a weather change.  It was mighty cold and it rained while we were out for lunch.  Good thing we opted to go to a restaurant vs down to the Fest again on this day.

CD now does the sign for “more” and will only shake his head “Ja” or “Yes” to N…not me.  Figures.  🙂

CD likes to show his strength.  He likes to help me move things and also he likes to bend things.  Here is proof.

Music stick

This one he bent right when we got home from our trip from the States.  Literally, we walked in the door from the airport, he walked over to the toy, and BAM! the toy is bent.  He continues to bend it, and I continue to attempt to bend it back into the correct position.  It never works…on my part.

He took his bending skills into the kitchen also.  This is the third spoon he has bent.  And these are the ones we BOTH like since they are narrow.  A lot of the spoons and forks are wide and they don’t fit nicely into his mouth.  Remember how he makes the “O” face?  Well it is more of an “Oval” vs a “O”.  I guess it is okay since we have been using the metal ones more and more now since he likes them and is okay with not biting them or bending those.  🙂

Bent spoon

Monday, yesterday, our cleaning lady returned to see CD walking!!!  It was nice to see her…not just because she can make things really shiny and clean, but because we like her too.  She is very nice to CD.  He was shy in the beginning, but then I realized we had an issue.  Remember how I said he helps me clean???  Well, he wanted to help her clean too, which wasn’t good.  So we played on the balcony and in our room…and basically everywhere she wasn’t working.  I think we may head out next time she comes to make it a little easier… on me.

After our cleaning lady was here, I was exhausted from trying to corral CD that we just hung around the apartment.  I knew he needed to be outside since it was really nice out, so we just headed down to our buildings courtyard area and played in the playground.  CD picked me flowers, we rode on the swing (this one is a big kid swing so I had to sit on it and then have CD sit on my lap).  He loved it.  And then he found out that he could roam.  I allowed him because I knew he couldn’t get out and into trouble.  Well, he found his way to the concierge and they had a blast for about 20 minutes.  It was really nice.

Today we headed to the park with M and her son O.  You may remember his 1st birthday party, or our play date at our apartment.  Later on J and E came, but that was at the end when the kids were getting tired.  I love this park.  First of all, it is close to us.  Second of all, there are always people there.  Third of all, they have one play area where there are troughs where water flows through and then the kids can play in it.  I can’t really describe it without you seeing it.  It is pretty fun.  Fourth of all, this is the only area where I can corral CD so he doesn’t run for the exits at the park.  🙂  Fifth of all, there is a little stand where you can get some drinks, cakes, etc and then sit.  When we decided to sit and have drinks today, CD decided he was just going to continue to SCREAM, just to hear himself, at the top of his lungs.  At one point, I had to ask M to retell her story because I did not hear any of it, due to the yelling.  🙂

Here are some pictures from our park visit today.

Making new friends- CD is on the right

The older kids made a pool of water and when CD spotted it, he wanted to be the center of attention.  And what better way that jumping right into the “pool”??  That is what he thought…and did.  This picture is of him on the edge, because when he went into the “pool”, he needed Mama’s help to get out of it.

Mini beach

Getting my hands dirty

CD & O – But keep the old

CD alone

Here we come!  CD in the background.

As you can see in the previous picture, CD is carrying an orange bag.  In it contained nice sand toys and a girl’s summer hat.  He found it on the other side of the play area, picked it up, claimed it as his and then trekked it all the way across the play area to hand it to me.  I told him I did not want it as it was not mine and to put it back where he got it.  (Side note- J and M thought this was hilarious since their kids are a bit more reserved that CD).  Well, CD did not want to bring it back, so I walked it across and returned it to it’s spot.  Only for CD in his ventures around the play area to spot it and do what he did before…bring it back to me.  🙂  What a goof!

Orange bag

CD also claimed a blue rake and a really nice shovel as his while we were at the park.  It is nice because there are toys there so I don’t need to bring ours…I could have used a towel today as CD was covered in sand, water, sunscreen, sweat and smiles!

Orange bag and shovel

CD also found a group of older girls that he thought he would become friends with while at the park.  They were typical girls and had their “group” already figured out and wanted nothing to do with boys.  After one final attempt with a one-on-one, CD was shot down and devastated.

Older girl

CD went where any young boy would go when shot down by a girl.  He headed to his friend O who helped to cheer him up by a simple tactic.  O was holding onto 2 plastic bottle caps.  He handed them to CD when he saw that CD was upset.  CD took them.  CD stopped crying and forgot the worries of girls.  It was really precious to see O act like this.  He really is a little friend!  Of course, CD did not want to give the bottle caps back!  HA!

On our walk back to our apartment, we ran into our cleaning lady.  I, of course, was in a daze but she spotted us and said hello.

CD was so tired he went to bed like a champ.  We will see what tomorrow brings for us!

The other side of wonderful…Dream world

I guess in order to enjoy the sweet (see yesterday’s post), you must have the sour.  And that is how today started.  I did all the housework yesterday and thankfully so.  Even though I headed off to bed at about 10 pm, I could not fall asleep.  Then once i fell asleep, I had one bad dream after another, which made for a very restless night.

The first dream was that I had to shovel a neighbor’s house from snow because I was house sitting near my parents (and the house was actually theirs never happens in my dreams- it is usually never looks like what it really is).  Then after that, I was exhausted and went to go inside when I remembered they had cats.  This is where is gets worse so I will just skim over this part.  I was “greeted” by the overly large cats by being clawed at like crazy.  Once the cats left me alone, the children wanted something to eat so they decided to make grilled cheese on the gas stove, without any help and I couldn’t get to them to help…and that was a literal nightmare.  After the grilled cheese incident, it was time for their bath and we could not get the temperature of the water to be right so they ended up going into a scalding hot bath, even though I begged them not to.  UGH!  What a dream!

The one good dream that I had was that we were able to really communicate with our concierge and he brought us to a second-hand baby store in Germany where he knew all of the people.  Everyone was so happy there and so cheerful.  The people would refurbish and alter kids toys and sell clothes.  We had a blast and CD found a toy that he liked.  He also bit into a meat stick, I guess the closest thing would be like a fat Slim Jim. And everything was ok!

After all of this, I woke up at 4 am and could not fall back to sleep.  CD woke up at 6, so there was no real issue since I was already awake.  When I woke up, my neck hurt (and I’m still dealing with this now) and my right hand kept having a twitch in it.  

As the day went on, it did get better.  Remember, everything in perspective.  We played at bit around the apartment.

Pulling…or dragging Mama by the skirt

CD now likes to walk around the apartment either holding my finger or by holding onto a piece of clothing.  Lately I have been wearing skirts and he has had the joy of grasping all of the fabric and dragging me in his direction.

Just like Daddy

CD also LOVES to go and take C’s belts and just play with them.  Well, lately he has been into a kick of trying to put his own clothes on/off and so the other day I caught him trying to put the belt on himself.  With a little help today, he got it!

Later on in the day we went to meet J and E and have lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then we headed for a walk along the river.  It was lovely and when we veered away from the river, J brought us to a spot where there was a fountain.  There were a bunch of kids playing in it (very common here) and CD decided he wanted to try.  Well, we first started with his clothes on because he would not get close enough to the water.  Then I took his clothes off and that just made him want to RUN in every direction except to the fountain.  He wanted to greet everyone around the fountain, take other kids toys because why would he play with the ones I brought for him???  At this time I did not get to talk to J and E so they hung out by the strollers and on our blanket since I was too busy trying to contain CD who also wanted to run away.  🙂

Fountain Fun

Anyway, we had a blast at the end of the day and then headed home since it was getting late.  We took the U-Bahn and when it was our stop, the doors wouldn’t open.  I had pressed the button multiple times and so did someone else.  So we had to go to the next stop.  Well, the next stop didn’t have a lift (elevator) so we had to continue a little farther out to the next stop, which had access for a stroller.  We then waited and got safely back to our original stop.  Once we got to the elevator there, it was not working, so a kind gentleman helped 3 women, including us, with strollers make their way up/down the stairs.  What a nice guy!

We got home, had dinner and then it was time for CD to have his bath.  Well, lately he has been pooping right as I’m filling the tub with water for his bath.  (I KNOW, it has been a very long time since I talked about POOP!)  Well, today I thought maybe that routine has stopped.  So CD goes into the bath, washes up, we are draining the water and it is almost all the way down when I notice something in the tub….Yes, people, we have officially POOPED IN THE TUB.  At least it wasn’t when there was water in the tub!

And on that note, I’m saying goodnight to all!

What a great day

CD and I had a wonderful day today.  He woke up at his usual time (7:00) and then we started housework.  We moved some boxes and vacuumed and put the dishes away from the dishwasher.  And the whole time, I had a little helper.  Yes, it took longer to complete the tasks, but it was okay.  He held the vacuum with me as we ran it back and forth, etc.  And the best part was that the whole time he was giggling like is wasn’t housework…which made it not housework because I was giggling at him giggling at the housework.  🙂

He also showed his strength during this time.  We played on the balcony because today was also a glorious day weather wise.  Such a relief from the past few days.  It makes you appreciate it ever so more.

Lifting the baby tub

He decided that he would splash in it for about 2 seconds and then he decided that today was the day that he was going to LIFT the tub.  I let him as I knew he would not get hurt, and let me tell you, he was able to do it.  Good thing this time there was only a little water in it.

Success!

At least CD knows to bend from the knees when he picks things up.  Also he now loves to push things across the floor.  Pool Lifting – YouTube

You can see how much he loves to push/pull things here as he helped me rearrange furniture.  Furniture Mover – YouTube

Also, I had to switch the curtains that were in our room into CD’s room, and of course, CD was there to help me lift things…as in the curtain rod.

Ready for my jousting lesson

CD also worked up an appetite from all the lifting and work he had done, if you could actually believe that he had a BIGGER appetite than usual.  CD his breakfast and then I decided that I would eat before I put him down for a nap.  I prepared my meal and then all of a sudden I had someone trying to barter for my food.  CD would bring me toys in order to get a bite of my delicious meal.  The funny thing was that he had just finished eating about 10 minutes prior to me eating and he was a FULL baby.  Apparently I made it look SO good that I lost 1/2 of my meal to that “full” baby.  🙂

Barter Tools

We also started to dip things at meal time.

First dip…pinkie finger out

Second dip… fingers out

Breadstick Dip – YouTube

And we ended the day with playing at the playground, where CD refused to actually stay on the playground.  He wanted to explore the WHOLE park, and who should I be to contain the roaming beast???  It was nice when he did stay in the play area because there were other kids.  He made friends with a little girl whose dad was feeding her off to the side.  CD locked eyes with them and made his “O” face to break the ice.  The dad thought it was hilarious and then CD knew he could move in on the girl.  He made nice with her and actually gave her a big leaf…and then he took it back.  Apparently she wasn’t his soul mate.  He also shared his collection with me: a pinecone, 3 leaves, a stick and some random pieces of dirt.  Again, I accepted them all as lovely gifts.  We also met some other friends and rode on the see-saw for the first time.  CD loved that, but was a bit more reserved than his visit to the swing since he knew people were watching him.

Roaming with my leaf in hand

I want to ride the see-saw Mama…and we did

We then went to Rewe to get something for dinner and ran into CD’s pediatrician.  She recognized us and asked about our trip.  We told her it was wonderful and that CD is doing well.  It was funny because I had recognized her, but wasn’t sure if she would know us, since it has been a while since we had seen her.  It was nice to know that she actually did remember us- not just a “hey you” kind of thing.  It made me love her a little more.  🙂

Off to enjoy the last bit of the night.  Enjoy yours!

Back to the grind

This post is also just going to be quick bullet points for you.  Hope you don’t mind but I need to catch up on some of the stuff that has happened since we got back to Frankfurt.

We returned home only for me to find out that my Kindle had been taken from my luggage.  I only realized it since I complied a list of everything in my bags (because C had his laptop taken from his bag when he flew home).  I was upset and filed my claim…and now all I can do it wait.  Bummer.

CD bit my pointer finger on my right hand and I think he caused nerve damage.  Well, not that serious, but I can still feel it after about 2 weeks.  He somehow got a hold of my finger, bit down and then proceeded to pull my finger out of his mouth.  There was no stopping him.  Remember how they tell you if a dog bites you NOT to pull your hand out of its mouth because it causes MORE damage?!?!?  Well, they are right.  🙂  He is getting pretty rough with me, this just being one example.  He pulls my hair also, but he is actually trying to be nice with this one.

Along the lines of EATING things, CD still likes to “take” food.  We went to Rewe one day and I came home and was putting away the groceries.  CD LOVES to help me and so I turned around and he decided that I shouldn’t have to put away the fruit.  He took it straight out of the grocery bag and popped it in his mouth!

Just ripe enough!

CD now does the “eat” sign language sign and I’m so happy that these are working out for us.  He isn’t quite consistent with it, but it is a start and we have put in the hours to make it work.

He is also a growing boy as he doesn’t want the chicken that I cut up for him, he wants the HUNK of chicken.

Hunk of Chicken

Not my child…well, yes, but no.  Carrot Time – YouTube

We had one really messy meal where CD turned orange/red.  He reminded me of the girls I went to high school with that would use the tanning beds SO MUCH that they were actually orange.  EWW!  CD had fun being messy, and then wanted it washed off quick as he doen’t really like to be messy.

Messy spaghetti meal

CD’s highchair tray in the States was just a flat one.  The one in Germany has 2 cup spots (as you can kind of see in the previous picture).  Well, without telling him where to put his cup, as soon as we got back, he just plopped it in the right spot.  What a smart boy!  You can see CD finding the spot for the cup, among his fake and real chokes.  You can also hear him say “AHHH” after he takes a sip- thanks GP!!!  🙂   Placing the Sippy Cup & AHH! – YouTube

We went to park with CD many times and this will be a daily thing to run down his energy, as long as we both can stand it.  It has been SOOOOOOO hot here that it is uncomfortable to move.  He enjoys his park time as he gets to play, is around other kids and gets his freedom from me.  He likes to wander off and see how far he can go before he needs to come back for some reassurance.  They only thing that I don’t like is that he ALWAYS finds the entrances/exits and beelines straight for them.  All the other kids are playing nicely and CD is booking it to leave.  HA!

First Steps of Freedom

P.S.  These pictures were from the first few days we were back.  The weather played a MEAN trick on us and made us believe that it would be comfortable and cool.  That is why CD is in jeans.  Then the weather turned and showed its mean side- hot and muggy.

Playing with a leaf…or rock, etc.

Figures.  You give the kid a playground and he plays with leaves and rocks…and wants to give everyone to me, which I don’t want but as a kind mother, I accept all of his gifts.  But he must know that I don’t really want them.  So when I’m not looking, my bag became filled with the wood chips from the ground.  🙂

Now the sand

Just like playing with the leaves, rocks, sand at the playground, CD loves to play with the boxes of things instead of the toys.

Cardboard: The NEW toy

CD also had his very first swing ride.  You stick him in a baby swing and let him go.  Now, this took a long time to happen because there are only 2 baby swings at the park and people wait in line for them….and people never give up the swings either, so it is a matter of who has more will power.  We won one day and CD got to fly high…well, not too high.  There are no pictures of this because I was terrified.  At first he did not realize that he needed to hold on, even though he was encircled by metal.  This threw his weight off and he almost toppled out backwards.  My heart stopped and I reconsidered continuing with the ride.  He then realized what I meant when I told him and showed him to hold on.  After that, no one was going to take the swing from us because he was LAUGHING AND SCREAMING with PURE JOY!  No other kid has ever done that…that I have witnessed so far.

We had missed our concierge while we were away, but CD and he became friends quite quickly again.  We got to show him that CD is walking and he was very impressed.  He still carries him every once in a while to the apartment.  (I think he misses it so he still does it).  And CD still loves it.  We have started to play out on our balcony and we will catch the concierge “running errands” so he can wave to CD from below.

We had our outing to the playgroup meetup.  The first week back it was myself, a mom we know and her neighbor.  The neighbor had not met CD before and she kept saying how “LOUD” CD is.  (Remember the swing from earlier in the post???)  Our old friend said she remembers first meeting CD and thinking the same thing…and now she is just used to him being the boisterous one of the group.  🙂  The next week, it was just us, so we headed out to the Applewine Fest.  You can see the apples and the barrels in the first picture.

Apple wine Fest

Apple wine Fest

For me it took me awhile to get used to walking everywhere again.  I missed it a bit because you are always active.  I can now say how I understand the differences in lifestyles of Americans and other cultures.  I will just leave it at that.

I also have had the “pleasure” of trying to get our tv to work again.  The box says “please reboot” and I have tried everything to get it to work again.  After multiple failed attempts, I called the company.  Now, I live in a country that doesn’t have English as their primary language, so I had to listen to the automated list a few times.  Now, I blame this mostly on me not ACTUALLY listening to it (I think it ran through about 5 times before I realized they were saying “press 1, 2, 3, etc for… since I had been multitasking).  When I realized it got much easier.  Then when I got to the person, well they speak German and it is really hard for me to understand when I can’t see their lips moving or interact with them.  So in the end, I have called about 5 times with each time resulting in them saying that they would have someone call me back who speaks better English.  Ugh.  My premonition:  The tv will never work.  

On a better note for me, I was able to get our balcony bench put together.  Now we have furniture out there so I can sit when CD plays on the balcony.  We have a balcony bench, side table, 2 chairs and a cafe table.  They all match and it looks quite nice.

I’ll lift the heavy stuff mama

Balcony Bench

I also got an iron, so now we won’t have wrinkly clothes anymore.  Yippee!  And I was able to hang some new curtains.  There are still some alterations that need to be done to them, but they look a lot better.

When we got back to Germany, I felt so much better and comfortable with having CD roam about our flat.  There wasn’t and isn’t much that he can get into trouble with.  So I would let him wander around as I would walk back and forth doing housework.  Then one day, I walked back to the living room and CD is sitting very proudly up on the couch…all by himself.  I thought: “Now I have to really watch him.  We don’t want any tumbles”.  He now can get up on the couch all by himself, but he still thinks he is invincible and can just walk right off the edge…he’s got another thing coming.

Another funny thing that he does is he loves to walk backwards and not look where he is going.  Most of the time he runs into a wall, or trips over a toy, etc.

We got to celebrate C’s birthday.  Happy birthday C!  We went to brunch and then headed over to the Kinder Fest that was going on near the Alte Opera.  We all had a great time at the Fest.

Lego Land

And then we decide that Lego Land should be Sand Land and vice versa.

Bringing Lego Land to meet Sand Land

And Sand Land to Lego Land

Moon bounce

Moon bounce Fun! – YouTube

CD is a fan of saying “I touched this” especially with the stove knobs.  He LOVES to do it to things he should not touch. So I tell him, “Yes, you did touch that, but we aren’t supposed to because it can hurt you, etc”.  And then he touches it again.  HA!

CD can also now cross his fingers and thinks it is funny.

He has a butterfly that is on a string and I taught him to twist the sting in his fingers to make the butterfly twirl.  He enjoys that too.

CD helps me unload the dishwasher and he always gets one of our spoons, since it is the only thing that can’t hurt him. He plays with it, smacks it against stuff, loves it, etc.  The other day as he was admiring it, he found someone else to admire too…as he found his reflection in it.  He now looks for that baby all the time.

Spoon, spoon, in my hand, who’s the fairest…

He also does splits in his crib.  When I go into get him, he will be standing up, but doesn’t want to get out, so he plays as I open the curtains, etc.  He then will slide one of his legs (most of the time his right one) out until he does a split.  Now, I will never get a picture of this because just the thought to me hurts.  OW!

CD ABSOLUTELY LOVES playing guitar.  Good thing C bought one that he will let CD touch.  Guitar Playing – YouTube.

CD continually has his finger in bellybutton, especially when his shirt is off, which is a good amount of time since it is so hot.  The “I love carrots” attitude makes him not my child, but this makes him my child as I used to do this all the time when I was little.  Bellybutton Find! – YouTube

C had to travel a bit last week and is gone this week so we are trying to stay busy and active.  It has been working out so far as we played on the balcony yesterday in our old baby tub, since it was so hot.  It is tough without air conditioning, especially if you are not one keen to the heat.  CD is running around in just his diaper and still sweating buckets.  Good thing Brother Bear S isn’t here, because he would not be surviving.  We had a lot of fun in the water…well, splashing in the water and then I cringed because the toys that could go in the water are all small enough to make it through our balcony posts.  We made it through the morning without anything falling, but the afternoon play session was another story.  Let’s just say I met our neighbor who lives below us to retrieve our green plastic cup that “fell” onto her patio.  🙂  She was very nice.  Notice the finger in the bellybutton in the picture.

Balcony pool time

Splash Zone

We had some Lego time at home too.  You can see CD loves to pick things up and put them down (HA!) and also saying Bye in the video.  Lego Lift and Bye Time – YouTube

We also got a new pet.  I say it is our Italian Christmas Donkey – Chingedy ching, hee-haw, hee-haw.  He is made in Italy, is a donkey and is red.  Therefore, he is Dominick- a little inside joke.  🙂

Not too sure of each other- the standoff

I will show my approval by squashing your ear

But if you are out of line, I will take you down

But I will also help you when you fall

We built pillow towers and knocked them down.  And had pillow fights and fanned ourselves with the pillows.  We also “fluff” the pillows as we did back in the States for Brother Bear S.

Pillow tower

We also had a play date at our place today.  We had a play date set up for a few days with our friend O.  We then invited J and her daughter E and another mom and her daughter, thinking the girls are the same age and can play together while the boys, who are almost the same age can play together.  It was a HOT weather day and we tried to stay cool.  O and CD had a WONDERFUL time together as the moms did too.  J came a little later and had to leave soon after her arrival to meet up with the other mom since she could not make it.

We can share!

Reading the instructions

O showing CD how to do it

CD: “I got this one. Thanks for the help!”

Hanging out together

Having fun

It was great to see CD interact with a kid his own age.  We haven’t been able to have these interactions a lot since no one is around really- August is a big holiday (aka vacation) month and haven’t really seen any friends.  CD and O played so nice together and got along really well that both moms were extremely pleased.  It was nice to see how CD would act with someone else playing with HIS things, and he was very social with O.  They both loved the time together…and both moms are hoping it was enough to tire them out, since both dads are also traveling.

Well, now you are up to speed and will have to await the next post.  I know, I gave you so much info and fun stuff in such a short amount of time that you are going to be hungry for more.  Trust me, there will be more coming, but I must feed the beast first.  🙂  BON APPETIT!

What a long, splendid trip it’s been (part 5)

I did spend some time with friends and had a night out with Aunt C.  We went to a picnic and got pizza frittas.  There is nothing like being home and doing this.  And then went out for a drink.  It is so weird because neither of us had been out in the ‘hood’ in a while so it was like two lost souls trying to find there way.  Eventually we ended up in a very nice establishment and had a good time.  I was carded at the door and when the “bouncer” asked me where the DOB was on the ID, I hoped I had pointed to the DOB and not the expiration date!  HA!

Night out with the sis

Girlfriend Play Date

 

G-D and GP also watched CD, which was really nice.  I really wasn’t sure if any of them would have survived, but everyone came out with smiling faces.

GP Time- I get away with ANYTHING!

Just stay there and I will keep running past you

 

We went to VA for a short weekend trip before we headed back to Germany.  It was muggy and warm but we had a great time.  While we were there, we entertained the police and paramedics with our loud screams and funny antics.  As in “we” I mean CD.  🙂

Sweaty Head Hair

Oh no VA! Here I am!

Brunch in VA

 

Here my friends ends our trip to the States.  We had a good flight back to Frankfurt, but yet again, CD did not sleep.  A Bulgarian woman who sat next to us tried to help him to settle in, but it didn’t work.  I think both CD and I were a little bit afraid of her, but she was very sweet and kind.  He finally fell asleep while we were landing.

Now back to regular life in Frankfurt!  Look forward to another post soon!

What a long, splendid trip it’s been (part 4)

Since CD started to walk, I knew I would need to buy him a real pair of shoes so that he would be able to play.  Most of the time he still goes barefoot, which is best, but for our outings, we bought him some new kicks.  We were told buy the store that he has REALLY “wide” (aka “fat”) feet, so we had some trouble in finding ones that fit.  In the end, the pair that I liked the most did fit his foot.  We will see how long it will take before I have to buy CD another pair.  My growing boy!  When we tried the shoes on in the store, he just stood there and stared at us like we were nuts.  Once he got the hang of them, he was cruising all over the place.

Brand new kicks

New Shoes – YouTube

Kicks in the Cart

CD rode in a shopping cart for the very first time on this trip.  At first he didn’t know what to think…or do with his hands.

Don’t touch the germs!

Then he warmed up to it and started yelling at the customers to get out of his way.  Or pay attention to him.  Whichever you want to believe.

Pay full attention to me!

He also told Aunt C where to bring him…to the balloons.  He spotted every one of the balloons in the store and wanted them all for himself.

Give me the balloon, please

 

We played A LOT.

Peek-a-Boo

Peek-a-boo & All Finished – YouTube

Baking time

Tonka Truck Time

TV- On, Off, On, Off

Bank ball

Reading the Paper

We are so glad that Aunt C left her birthday balloon with us.  Balloon Fun – YouTube

Punch Balloon

Walking Pal

Sending Some Emails

CD got this toy and loved it.  Charlie Brown Dance – YouTube

He also enjoyed this new toy!  New Toy – YouTube

Ed Grimly

Kermit x 2

Shades of…Green

 

We learned to support good causes.

Livestrong Band

CD learned how to climb stairs.  He mastered this skill in no time.  As soon as he knew how to do it, he always wanted to climb the stairs, or should I say, Mt. Everest.  Stair Climb – YouTube

He also accomplished the task of learning how to open door handles.  Thank GOODNESS that our door handles in Germany are a lot higher than the ones in the States.  Opening a door handle – YouTube

We also learned to high five and to locate our bellybutton.

GM taught CD how to make the piggy noise and Aunt C got it on video.  Piggy Noise – YouTube

 

We earned our keep and helped GP water the plants.

Watering the flowers

All in a days work

And N tend to the flowers and do the laundry.

Green Thumb

Laundry Time

Keep a-busy Cinderelly!

We also organized all the shoes.

Match the shoes

CD is doing one of the jobs I had as a kid, which by the way, I did not enjoy.  Now if I threw the dishes and glasses that I was putting away, there would have been a different outcome: an angry parent and a bigger mess to clean up in the end.  🙂  Putting the Dishes Away, Taking the Dishes Out – YouTube

There were thunderstorms that we loved and enjoyed watching and listening to on the front porch.  We were even able to catch a glimpse of a rainbow.  Not sure if you can really see it in the picture.

Rainbow time

 

What a long, splendid trip it’s been (part 3)

We did dine out a few times.

Picking my meal

I will NOT eat this!

Funny lunch conversation

And we all know after a good meal and good conversation, we all get tired so we had some snuggle time at the restaurants too.

Restaurant Snuggle

Lunch Date

CD showed everyone how much he loves to eat and how much he can actually pack away at mealtime.  A TON!

Feed the Beast

Feed Me!

I LOVE peas!

Yum!

Love my mealtime

Messy Meal

Upclose Messy Meal

CD ate some new foods.  Some he was given since he just couldn’t stand not enjoying the wonderful tastes, and some he took a que from Brother Bear and just claimed them as his own.  He had, just to name a few, wings, quesadilla, pizza, egg yolk, corn, along with birthday cake.  🙂

Stolen Apple from Daddy

CD drank/ate from those squeeze pouch foods when we traveled and they are great little creation.  He loved them a lot.

Squeeze me!

We had corn for the first time really.

CD Cob

There is a really good bakery and GP went and got rolls from it.  Well, CD loved them because they were the perfect size for him.

National Bakery Ad

There was pizza night.

Pizza Time

We also had ice cream.  Not a lot but we had to go to the creamery and see the cows, so you just have to get ice cream when you are there.  😉  We were standing by the fence and all the cows were in the barn.  Then one looked at us and decided to tell all of the gals to come over and visit.  CD was cool with it, I however was not.  Too close for comfort!

Moo!

Come here Moo-lissa

Moo-lissa and Friends

Cow Corn Meal

We learned to drink from a straw in no time.  Sipping through a straw! – YouTube

So then we had to go out and get him a straw sippy cup, which he loved.  Straw Sippy Cup – YouTube

Sip, Sip, Sip

What a long, splendid trip it’s been (part 2)

We had PLENTY of pool time.  It was one of our favorite activities.

Pool Time

This is how we introduced the big pool.  CD had no fear about it and wanted to jump right in.  What a water baby!

Pool Side Fun – YouTube

We also became fast friends with Brother Bear S.  It took each of them a little while to warm up to one another…I think Brother Bear S was not too keen on someone taking his cuddle time with N away, but in the end, they loved each other.  Brother Bear S started allergy medicine because he itches constantly.  CD picked up on us telling Brother Bear S “no itch” and he started squealing on Brother Bear S when no one was looking.  CD would let us know that Brother Bear S was itching.

Everything that CD had, Brother Bear S couldn’t help but want it too!

N would take Brother Bear S out for his morning walk with CD.  Here is one of CD enjoying the walk.

CD learned to feed Brother Bear and knew the routine to get him ready for his walks.

Bubble buddies: CD and Brother Bear – YouTube

I too got some quality time with Brother Bear.

We went to Claws-n-Paws where we got to see a lot of animals.  Again, CD loved the LOUD birds and he got to feed the giraffe.

Our trips that we took were exhausting to CD too!

Speaking of sleeping, CD could not really adjust to the time change, so every day for the whole duration of our trip to the States, he was wide awake at about 5am each day.  He spent LOTS of time with GM and N during those early morning hours.

Plus we got LOTS of snuggle time!

What a long, splendid trip it’s been (part 1)

***Disclaimer:  I might have missed some things, have things spelled wrong, grammatical errors, have the order incorrect but I hope you enjoy the post.  It is a long time coming and took a very long time to organize all of the information and actually have the time to get it into the blog.  I am now chasing a TODDLER!  In the end, I have my fingers crossed that I don’t crash the WordPress website and lose all of the work that I put into this post.  I already had a few heart stopping moments and think some things are not configured correctly because I lost the info twice and had to change some things in order to get it back.  I now have to post it in multiple posts instead of one.  Fingers crossed when I hit the “Publish” button!  If you hover over the pictures, you will be able to see the captions that I wrote, as they are not coming up when I post them…RATS!

We started our trip at the airport where and I did the unimaginable…I allowed CD to CRAWL ON THE AIRPORT FLOOR!  I cringed at it but I knew he would be cooped up in the plane and then have a long car ride to C’s parents’ house.  I also thought it would tire him, but it didn’t.  We got on the plane only to find out that we did not have the bassinet seats that we had reserved and the flight attendants had to beg people to move since the people in our seats refused to give them up to us.  Well, in the end CD didn’t use the bassinet as he was wide awake the whole flight.  When we got to the USA, we found out our stroller did not make it and we would have to wait for it to arrive at a later time.  In the end CD was awake for a total of 17-18 straight hours.  Poor little guy.

Since we were in the States for a long time, I’m just going to do some highlights of our trip.

We had our first Father’s Day and attended a baseball game.  Happy Father’s Day C!

CD also decided to give C a Father’s Day present and he STARTED WALKING!  He just up and went…well with a few falls, but that didn’t stop him!

We also went to the beach and had a great time.  CD loves the water and enjoys being nosy, so being close to people at a beach was a cup of tea to him.  We all enjoyed the experience.

CD also had 2 birthday parties.  What a life for a 1-year-old!  🙂

You can see the reason for the theme of CD’s first birthday in the background of the picture.  Ever since he was little, well, not that he is full-grown now 🙂 he has LOVED the book Barnyard Dance by Susan Boynton.  That book has been through the ringer with him and is still one of his favorites.  Also, I know the size of the haystack is not to scale to the barn, but it was a cute idea.  Thanks N!

Here starts the progression of CD inhaling the pig cupcake.  He SO enjoyed it!  At first he thought it was cool that everyone was staring at him and he didn’t want to end that so he just held the cupcake.  Then it was all over in a matter of seconds.  Poor Piggy!

CD Eating His B-Day Cupcake – YouTube

CD made it all the way through his birthday party being a good boy.  He even got to open a few presents.  And like any kid, he had more fun with the bag and wrapping paper than the presents themselves.  🙂

This was not a birthday present, but GM bought us a pinwheel to play with while we were in the States and that was one of the best things.  It lasted the whole trip after being used a TON and was indestructible…since both CD and Brother Bear S both played with it.  Thanks GM for a great $0.99 find!  See, not everything needs to have a big price tag.  (Remember that when you are older CD and asking for something outrageous).

CD also turned 13 months old!

We also celebrated some other birthdays while we were in the States.  Happy B-day Aunt C and Happy B-day Uncle TS!  Hope you both had great days!  We had dessert almost every night for birthdays or holidays.  No wonder why I now have to get used to walking all over again.  🙂  Every dessert was delicious!

The Long Trek Across the Pond

Long time, no see?  I mean, no type.  🙂  We have been busy on our trip but now our Stateside trip has come to an end and CD and I are getting ready for our flight back to Germany.  I hope all goes well and that it is an uneventful flight.

Stay turned for pictures and updates from our trip!