In Bruges

I LOVE THIS PLACE.

Brussels

The Elizabeths
mmmmm. Waffles
Manneken Pis, (the only reason Andrew came:)

In all his glory
The Grand Place

Construction, Not so grand. In the background you can see one of the tintin comics on the wall.

I'm still dreaming about belgium waffles.... We might have to make one more trip.

London

The Tower Bridge

West Minster Abby

The red car on the London Eye

Big Ben
mmmm. Fish and Chips

London Tower
Helpful road markings

Princess Diana Ring
The Queen is in

Strawberry Fields

I love this picture because it really shows just how forever the strawberry fields go. I don't love my finger in it.

Highlight= The Minnie Mouse strawberry.

The Black Forest

Family Pictures. My Happy Mothers Day:)

Sooo behind at blogging by this point it's going to take me a while to catch up....... there are so many pictures to post!!! BUT these I am so excited about! Our extremely talented photographer/ friend Nicole Miller took family pictures for us. I am SO in love with them. It is such a miracle we got any shots at all. Will was stinky the entire time! Throwing fits and not sitting still. You can totally see it in his solo pic. Here they are!

Will is eating goldfish, The only way.....

The News

It's been a while and I thought I would write something before it gets to be two months. I've been really, really bad with the blog for a while.

So the big news for us... Will is a walker! He took his first steps two days ago and now we have a determined little boy. He goes boneless unless he can walk. So much fun:) It's so cute to watch him as he gets so excited that he giggles along the way to Andrew or I. He is just a sweet little guy we love him too much.

Ellie started German pre-school (which they call Kindergarten) at the beginning of January. It's been a rough start, but she likes it now ( about a month into it) and the German is coming along. I can imagine it's extremely tiring for little ones learning a new language. Which has been pretty evident in that she is exhausted and a little moody at the end of the day. Regardless it's a great deal for her. I tell Ellie all the time I wish I could go to her school, but I'm too old. They have a cooking class, craft time/art, science experiments, play time outside in the snow (in all the snow gear), gymnastics and more. When someone has a birthday they dress them up as a princess or prince, sing and eat treats. I really like Ellie's teachers, who have been a huge help in dealing with the language barrier and her transition to school- which meets everyday from 8:30- 12:15! It's a ton of school. I'll admit I've been trying to cut it to about 3 days a week instead of 5 against their recommendation. We'll do more as she gets more adjusted. Overall she has shown more independence and I think she is starting in small ways to come out of her "shell" something we have been hoping for her. She's a smart little one and I'm super proud of her.

Other than that we have been dealing with the other end of starting a new school-- the germs!!! We have all been sick. Everything you can think of- we've had it the past 2 months. I took Will in to the doctor today with another ear infection, cold and rash ( he's also teething 7 teeth)!! It's been a bad, bad winter. I hope it ends soon. I'm ready for the nicer crisp air of the spring already. Not the "my hands are bleeding from the sub-zero temperature" ice storms.

Yesterday it rained and then it froze, then hailed and snowed. Because it rained in the morning it was impossible to walk on the sidewalk without slipping. It was actually totally funny watching all the kids try to make it to school yesterday. EVERYONE slipped. Ellie slipped 5 times, I slipped twice, and everyone around us was falling and wailing and scooting along taking millimeter size steps. A lady salted the stairs and then right after she was done totally ate it at the bottom. No one was hurt, but what a mess! I know it's bad but I got a good laugh -especially at a little boy in a puffy blue snow suit laying on his stomach on the frozen sidewalk muttering out his frustration in German; so funny!

Our trip in January was to a small town in the Czech Republic called Cesky Kromlov. A friend of mine (thanks Miranda!) had recommended it a long time ago and I've been meaning to go. It was the perfect little visit. It's a small city with a huge castle surrounded by water. Beautiful. It was gorgeous at night the way the water reflected off the castle as it lit up the town. I also liked all the rugged rocky outcrops in the architecture of the castle and throughout the town. It was a really neat little place. Our next trip this month, I'm so excited for-- Switzerland and Italy- just a quick one because we will be back again over the summer. But still I'm excited to see at least some of Italy. We have a lot of traveling to do before we go home in September:)

The Castle

This was a fun little treat. The town is all about their Devil Santas (not really Santa--he's the guy that accompanies St. Nick and punishes the bad kids by beating them with reeds during Christmas). So every store sold a weird devil puppet of some sort. Those are easily two of the scariest things know to man= devils and puppets! So of course I bought one. This picture is pretty awesome--the little doughnut guy is this towns version of a sort of cinnamon roll. They wrap dough around a metal rolling pin, bake it, and then roll it in the sugar and serve it hot right off the pin. Here it looks like the Devil and the Trdelnik (the name of the cinnamon roll) are in cahoots or the devil wants to eat him. Either way, I loved this picture--it's pretty funny.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! Yes, I know we are a day late. But since I'm pretty much late for everything, why not this? Better late than never, and New Year resolutions are still a few days away.

First of all, I want to thank all my family and friends for housing us, thinking of us, and offering support these past months with Andrew away! He is home safe and we are back in Germany. It is so awesome having him back home and he has stepped back into taking care of babies like a champ! We have had a great time going to Christmas markets, being snowed in with the family, and getting over our jet lag.

On the 23rd my sweet little baby boy turned 1! I can't believe he is so big so fast. I really feel like I just came home from the hospital with my bundle and he grew up overnight. It's not fair. We joke about the fact that he doesn't look much like dad at all- so white and blue eyes to match. He had a fun little party here in Germany and he got cake-faced really fast--it was so fun to watch. Such a sweet loving little guy, a good listener, good eater, and all around pleasant person. I can tell he is the kind of guy already that people will want to surround themselves with--a real positive spirit.

Ellie is a bona fide big girl, big sister, and Disney Princess. She wears Princess underwear, paints her nails and demands to wear a dress or skirt every day--even in the snow. Although she is shy, she knows what she wants and is not afraid to stand up for herself. She is quite the artist and dancer, very good at accessorizing, singing, and riding ponies. :) She is sweet with animals and even lets horses, goats, and birds eat out of her hand (I've always been afraid of that!). She is my love, and it's astounding finally having real conversations with my little girl.

We wish our friends and family peace and happiness for the holidays. And hope your Christmas was merry and white! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!