Around the House - Early August

I turned away for a minute and when I found Michaela, she was playing with this hat on. She has been wearing it around the house a lot lately.



Found herself a nice little seat in the pantry/closet.



Has been loving wearing our shoes around the house lately. This was the first time she tried to put Daddy's boots on....oops wrong feet!

Okay, let's try this again and concentrate a little harder...

Yes! I did it! :) And you can too!

4th of July

Michaela loved her giant soft pretzel.

Then, she thoroughly enjoyed waving her flag and dancing to the live music.

and I like this photo...

Yes, it is the end of August, and I am just finally blogging about Independence Day. Sorry!

Fun Pool Day

It was a nice hot, sunny day, and we spent the afternoon with some of our new friends at the local pool (which was sooo nice).

Michaela started out like a true German girl, eating a pretzel on the blanket...

She hadn't been to a pool since she was 3 months old (and it was her nap time when we arrived), so it took her a little while to warm up. First she sat at the side, then got her feet wet...

Then, she dove in and really loved it, but of course, I had to be with her so I couldn't take pics. There was a little sliding board in the middle of the baby pool that she loved and did over and over again. Of course one of her favorite parts of the afternoon was trying to get her hands all over baby Ethan. She rocked him and gave him kisses (and had to be redirected when she started clawing his eyes out trying to pick him up)...

House

We lived in 1/6 of this building (the top right apt) for almost 2 years...



In March, we moved into ALL of this house...

We LOVE having 2-3X the space and especially being able to let the dogs out the door and not take them down 3 flights of steps with baby strapped on several times a day. However, with Mike gone for the past month, I am definitely missing the community of the latter. The neighborhood in which we live is cute and surrounding area beautiful, but communication with neighbors is difficult. We are enjoying having another (and more) German experience.

P.S. I was experimenting with placement of flowers....they are not in that random placement anymore. :)

40 straws, $200, 200 Q-tips, and 20 pairs of socks

What in the world do these things have in common you ask?

They have all been strewn on the floor in various rooms of my house in the past 2 days! Of course, these are only a few examples of the hundreds of things strewn on the floor everyday. Whatever the 13 month old can get her hands on will be emptied, examined, and tossed aside. She is very into taking things out and putting them back in (and especially into other things) right now. So this money was tucked into the wet bag (where dirty diapers go) and other nooks and crannies. My wallet is emptied several times a day, so that was nothing new.

The little thing got her hands on the box of straws and carried it around the house with her randomly throwing straws throughout the whole first floor. The Q-tips were my favorite, though. We have a huge bathroom upstairs with shower with glass door. Yesterday while I was showering, she managed to pull the box of 750 Q-tips (biggest box I've ever bought) down from a high shelf. She then pulled q-tips out by the handful until I quickly wrapped up my shower and jumped out to get the box from her. Of course, I didn't want to waste all of the ones she had already gotten, so I leaned over, picked one up, and used it on my ears. She watches EVERYTHING I do VERY carefully and copies immediately these days. So, she then started picking one up, putting it in (or around) her ear and tossing it, on to the next one, in the ear, toss, etc.... She is now obsessed with Q-tips (even more than before) and has been putting them in her ear (only the right one) all day.

Not all things that she throws on the floor (and herself) can be quantified or else the list would be MUCH longer...

Oh, and I almost forgot the dog food. How could I forget that one (all the time!)? Instead of eating the dog food herself or merely dumping the bowl all over the floor, she's getting more creative in her old age. SOUP! And they ate it too.

P.S. I still plan to update a bit for the last few months that are lacking. I just know that I will never be able to keep up with backlogging if I don't at least add a few recent things as they happen.

Completing the Story

Well, I sure left you hanging, didn't I? If you are still checking in with us, then you deserve some updating. My plan was to get all caught up during my break between semesters, and now I have one week left, so hopefully I will be all caught up by the end of the week! ;)

To finish the story from the last post...

The plan for Michael's return with that aircraft changed again...he was supposed to fly to Greenland then Iceland, sleep there, and then continue. On Feb. 14, they attempted to carry out the plan. However, he was about 45-50 min. out from Greenland airport en route to Iceland when the entire cockpit quickly filled with smoke and he saw foot-long flames from the engine on his side. By the grace of God (and all your prayers, thank you), my Valentine survived an engine failure and made it safely back to the airport in Greenland. He then got to fly commercially back to us a few days later (just like I had wanted a few days prior). So, that trip ended up being 3.5 weeks instead of one, but he made it back in one piece and we praise God for that!

Yay! I finally finished that story. Now tomorrow I can give you some updates on Michaela and finally post a recent photo like EVERYONE has been asking for! :)

Crazy Little Adventure

called LIFE. I know I have so much to update with the past few months and all the milestones Michaela has hit, etc., but we are just going to jump in with what has been going on for the past couple weeks. Michael went to Arkansas on Jan. 25 to pick up a plane (he flew commercially to fly back as pilot of one of their RC12s). This trip was supposed to take 1 week....leave, take time to adjust to time zone, then a few days to get back with several stops for refueling and sleeping. He has been super excited about this as "this is what fixed wing is all about" - flying over the Atlantic, that is. Well, this 1 week venture has turned into several. When he got to Ark., the plane was not quite ready when supposed to be, so he got stuck in good old Mena, Arkansas for the weekend with 6 inches of snow. When he and his friend/co-pilot test flew the thing on Monday, they found some issues that needed fixed, so they finally get out of Ark. on Wed., stop in Lancaster and spend the night at my in-laws, and continue onto St. Johns, Canada. This was supposed to be a 1 night stopover also. However, they get stuck there for the blizzard. He starts flying to Greenland on Sunday and has to turn back because of indicator light and maintenance issues. After another day or two in Canada, he then takes the plane to Bangor, Maine (with indicator light on) to get the issues addressed. The mechanics there are fixing the plane as I type (maybe), and he thinks he will be leaving there and heading back to Canada tomorrow. If this next attempt is successful, he will sleep in Canada tomorrow, continue to Greenland to sleep the next day, and then stop in Iceland and Scotland to refuel and arrive back here in Germany on Saturday night (just a day shy of 3 weeks since initial departure). So, we will see if this happens, but we will also be excited to see him.





Meanwhile in Germany, Michaela and I (mostly Michaela) have been sick pretty much the entire time he has been gone (except for about 1-2 days in between). After a week and half of diarrhea, loads of snot, and high fevers, we have antibiotics on board and are on the mend, I think. Please pray for her to continue healing and for Michael's trip back.

Baby crying again...must go...to be continued...

8 month photos

So, where to begin after such a loooong lapse of no blogging is hard, but hope this makes up for some of it. While we were home we had some professional pics taken of MJ (last minute at JCPenney). Some of them were very good. Here are a few...

My apologies

Hello all! I just wanted to apologize for the long absence. Just when I was getting good at blogging more regularly, October was crazy. I had a big paper due 1st of November that made me feel like I should be working on if I ever had free computer time instead of the blog. We had a lot to blog about, though, in the past month and a half, and hopefully I will start updating you all on at least a few of those things very soon. Michaela is over a half a year already...crazy! My mom is here right now. She came for two weeks to keep me company while Michael was deployed, but he never deployed, so she is just enjoying time being a grandma, and I am enjoying time catching up on sleep and cleaning and more schoolwork while she is entertaining. More to come soon....promise!

Halloween Week

Just came in from handing out candy with Mom.

Earlier in the week, Michaela got to go the pumpkin wagon with one of her little boyfriends. Christopher is 3 days older than her. Their grandmas sent them the same exact froggy costumes, too, so we also got pics of them together as frogs, but I don't have those pics on this computer so you will have to ask (or see FB) for those.

(Thanks for the CUTE outfit Auntie Susie!)

Also earlier in the week (or month...I can't even remember now since I am blogging soooo much later than what the date of this blog says)...Michaela and Mommy in their pumpkin pajamas.

6 months!

Michaela is 6 months old already!! In this picture, she is all set in her new high chair to try baby cereal for the first time. We tried it this morning, but it didn't go so well. We'll see if she is more into it again tomorrow.



A few days ago, she sported her first ponytail!!

Walker

My parents are strong supporters of baby walkers, and although they are made differently nowadays and not always recommended, I decided to try one. Found this one at the thrift store for $8, which made that decision easier. Michaela's not so sure about it yet and gets frustrated quickly when she moves backwards instead of forward, but she likes playing with the toys and playing with the little steering wheel. I think she will like it sometime soon.

Check out that crazy face.

The walker definitely does not compare to her most favorite fun all day...the jumper.

This is one of my favorite faces...the crinkled nose, heavy breathing (excited) smile. She does it OFTEN.And just another cute one. :)

As promised

Finally got a good shot of those little teeth. :)

Drumroll please...

We have grass growing!!!

This has been long awaited (by me, at least). When we first arrived in Germany and signed the agreement for this 3rd floor apartment, I brainstormed this idea to make a pee box of grass for the dogs (while we were still in the hotel) to use on the balcony in case of emergency. After almost a year and a half of hearing how I still wanted this box so badly for times when the baby is sleeping or it's just too early and the dogs want to go out, my handy hubby went to work. He thought that stones would be easier to keep clean and care for (and that it was too late in the season for grass to grow), so we perused several hardware stores (on and off-post) for a hard plastic rectangular base. We figured it wouldn't be too hard for the dogs to figure out since they had a big yard of stones to do their business on in AZ. So, Michael drilled some holes in the side of the plastic for the urine/rain water to drain off and immediately poured a small cup of water over the stones to try out his handiwork. When the water splashed both balconies below, that plan came quickly to a halt. So, back to my grass plan...2 weeks later, Michael encloses the plastic with a wood frame and plants grass seed. The box says that the grass will grow within a week all the way until the middle of October, but after a week, no grass. However, when I awoke this morning...look at that beautiful grass growing on our balcony!!! :)

Our Visit

We had a great visit with Michaela's great-grandparents and Uncle Gary this past week. Michael had a busy week at work but is now a pilot-in-command (yay!) and got a day of leave yesterday so that he could accompany us to Strasbourg, France. We all enjoyed it. Thank you, Gary, for all your help this week.

Teeth!

Michaela awoke with not one but 2 teeth this morning! All of the previous week's fuss and constant suckling at night are explained! I thought the bottom right tooth had erupted by Monday but then it seemed to go away, but this morning, both bottom teeth are definitely through! She kept pushing her tongue over the area the past few days so we couldn't see them when we tried, but this morning, I felt those sharp little teeth and have been able to see them when her mouth is open too. If she allows us to get a picture sometime soon, I will post it. She does like to cover them with her tongue though. Other news is that Michaela's great grandparents and Uncle Gary arrived this morning and will be here for a week, so we are excited about that. Also, she will be 5 months old already tomorrow. I can't believe I have a big 5-month-old baby with 2 teeth!

Jumping Queen

Michaela has figured out how to really jump in the past week and now LOVES her jumper. She will jump and jump with a smile on her face the whole time. I can get stuff done while she is jumping, so I love the jumper too. I tried to upload a video of her jumping yesterday, but it didn't work for me, but hopefully you will enjoy this one. She was jumping while I was washing dishes. I started clicking Michael's grilling tongs to entertain her, and she laughed a lot when they got her. This was after the game lost its novelty a little, but she was still enjoying it a little. Please ignore the cluttered laundry/trash closet behind her.

Latest Teething Toys

TOES! (for some reason she switches them out for the fingers whenever the camera appears)



COFFEE TABLE (which I have been pushing to get rid of for awhile...I guess we will have to hold onto it a little longer since Michaela is putting it to good use)

Check-up

The clinic on-post lost its pediatrician recently, so after weeks of calling for an appt, we finally got a referral off-post, and Michaela saw the German ped. today. I hope we can stick with him. He is the one that examined Michaela in the hospital when she born and did the ultrasounds of her heart and hips. Anyway, the office visit is just a lovely experience. We walked in at 10:00 and out at 10:25, were offered water and coffee as soon as we entered, only waited about 3 minutes for the doctor who also did the vaccinations himself so no waiting in the middle for that either...wonderful. Oh, and it was a Saturday!

Anyway, Miss Michaela is still very healthy. She weighed about 14.5 pounds (6.61 kg), and they measured her at 67 cm (which I think was a little off cause that is like 26.5 in., and I measured her last week at 25.5 in.), with a head circumference of 41.5 cm. According to my charting of these measurements, that would put her at 95th percentile for height, 75th for weight and about 65th for head. She got more shots and did okay with that. She did the thing where she cries so hard that she pretty much stops breathing for a second or two. Michael had never seen her do this before and did not like it. She was fine as soon as he picked her up though. After hearing about her bowel changes this week and feeling her gums, the doctor seems to think that teeth are imminent. Michael and I both got our first teeth at 5 mo., so we'll see what happens. She definitely exhibits lots of signs and symptoms of teething, but I know these can last for a long time before a tooth actually appears.

AMSTERDAM!

Last weekend was a long weekend for Michael (being Labor Day and all), so we took a nice little family trip. We were planning on going to Denmark to see where Michael's dad was born and meet some family members, but Michaela really HATES the car after about 15-20 minutes of driving (forgot to mention that one before when I said she is only fussy when tired). When we found out the cousins live VERY far north, we decided to postpone that trip until a time when Michael can take leave and we will have more than 4 days to do all that driving. So, at the last minute, we decided on Amsterdam instead. We drove Friday and Sunday nights (with me in the back with the baby the whole time) so that we could do most of it while baby was sleeping. It worked out pretty well with only a few minutes of crying before sleep time each way.

While we were there, we were able to see the Anne Frank House (truly amazing that they were in hiding there for over 2 years), the Van Gogh museum, another museum with a lot of Rembrandt, some hidden churches (catholicism was outlawed for awhile), lots of bicycles, a nice tour of the canals by boat (didn't know Amsterdam was the Venice of the north, did you?), and many other things. Michaela did great on all the touring through the city. She loves being outside, seeing new things, and being worn by us, so it worked out pretty well. Michael LOVES taking pictures and took over 300 over the weekend, so it was hard to choose which ones to include here, so there are many below. :)


We are about to get on the tram, which we took many times (no subway as the city is built on water).


You can see where our modern rowhouses in NYC originated.

One of the nice views from the boat.

We are in a hidden women's colony (on an island) where dogs, roosters, and human males over the age of 3 were forbidden (at one time, not anymore, obviously).

On the boat tour, we went under several bridges. Michael got this one right before or after one of the bridges. He was trying to capture Michaela's face, because whenever there is darkness suddenly, her eyes bulge.

After the first long day of hours of walking and touring, the little chicky was still smiling and happy to be back in the warm hotel room.

Urinals right out in the middle of the main square for all the drunkos who can't hold it.

LOTS of bicycles. In Thailand, we saw entire families on motorbikes, here we saw entire families on old-fashioned man-powered bikes. The wagons for the kids were awesome (in front of the bike, however, they came with a hefty pricetag...we saw a used one for sale for like 1800 euro).

You, too, could be the proud owner of a cannabis starters' kit.

Or buy as many tulip bulbs as you can carry.

A quiet, pretty canal near our hotel.

Some nice park near the Van Gogh museum.

How Michaela spent much of the walking tour...

Michael and Michaela at the Italian eatery where we had lunch. Michael had to get some Pizza Margherita, of course. :)