France--Part One

We had a great time in Carcassonne!

Writing blogs posts has become nearly impossible, with David running and climbing on everything and Michael and I trying to get our job applications ready and out. It's very hard to find time on the computer that isn't work time! So, this will be mostly a photo share...unless David is more cooperative than I anticipate :)

In the airport, David took the German-French phrasebook from Michael, sat himself down in a chair, and set about "reading" the book. A German man walked by and bursted out laughing--David looked so serious! I didn't quite capture the moment, but it's still a fun picture.

David also loved the little ride-on airplane:

And now for France! Here is the old medieval city. Our apartment was just under the city walls, about a 5 minute walk from our door to the inside of the old city:

Here's the old church:

And, I'm sorry, but doesn't this gargoyle look like something out of Dr. Suess???


We had so much fun just wandering around and exploring the old city. Inside the inner walls are a ton of winding streets with shops and restaurants (and Best Western, believe it or not), but between the inner and outer walls it felt like an old castle. David loved it. All I could think was how much fun my brother Patrick and I would have had there as kids!!!

That's all for now! I imagine I'll have enough posts for the whole week given all of our pictures, so hopefully there will be another one tomorrow :)

Little Drummer Boy

It's Been Awhile!

The good news is, we've not been bored! The bad news is, it's been very difficult trying to find time to actually write a blog post. Right now, David is playing with some new giant Leggos, and I'm hoping that keeps him occupied for awhile. We spent the morning at the nearby playground with Anya and Emmanuel, then they came over for about an hour before lunch & naptime. Despite all that running around, David did not nap for nearly as long as usual!

Anyway, here's what we've been up to of late.

David has a new winter jacket, and I love it!

He took it upon himself to decorate it with some chalk.

With the hood attached, it makes him look a bit like Kenny from South Park. (They sell this jacket in orange, too :)

Sadly, David got his first big bump to the head last week. He was running and tripped and fell into the corner of our door-frame. It was very sad, but it seemed to bother me more than David.

He can go down a slide on his own now, which is cool...

Except that HE thinks he can go down THIS slide alone, too. He cannot.
I can barely stick the landing from this slide myself!

We had a nice little birthday gathering for Michael, with coffee and cake and a few of our friends. We were in the middle of changing our apartment a bit, so it was kind of a funny time to host. We've given David the bedroom, ditched our bed and replaced the couch with a sofa bed for us. MUCH more room, but at the time of the party, that meant no couch...but at least there was a lot of play room for the little guys!



(David's super restless, I have to rush here!) Most of what we've been doing lately is playing with Anya and Emmanuel! David and Emmanuel are such great little buddies, it is SO much fun to watch. They are really starting to play together, and it's adorable!

And, of course, a random PJ's shot. Love that potbelly!

The Baltic Sea

We had a wonderful weekend away on the Baltic Sea with some friends. I'd like to post more about it soon, but for now here's a fun video of David and Michael playing on the beach.

Three things to note:

(1) Despite what it sounds like, there were no gale-force winds. It didn't even feel windy, so I don't know what's going on there!

(2) Because of the (mysterious) rushing wind sounds, it might be hard to hear David...but I assure you he was giggling maniacally. This is important, because...

(3) Despite the gymnastics, David was just fine! OK, so I sort of gave the old Mom warning to Michael at the end, but David was having a blast :)

Now for a more serious note. We came home to the very sad news that Michael's grandfather, Gene Horton, had passed away. He was a really great man--a wonderful father and grandfather and a very entertaining poker player. Michael was able to get home for the week, which is really a blessing, and I'm sure the whole family would really appreciate your prayers right now.

David misses Michael (already!), so we watched this video over and over and over again this morning. He really is a daddy's boy!

This evening, I got to join David and Michael for one of their favorite activities: naked baby in a river time.

Here in Germany--or at least, here in Jena--when kids play in the water, they do so without any clothes on. It took some getting used to, but now it cracks me up! David loves being clothing-free, so he is a big fan.

Anyway, there is a beautiful spot in the river where someone has dammed off a little area and placed, inexplicably, a bath-tub. It's half buried, and the water around it is only a few inches deep, and all around the area are plants and manicured stones. Michael and David have played there a number of times, but usually while I'm working. This time I came along!

David's favorite part is throwing stones in the bathtub:

And if he gets splashed in the face, all the better!

Afterwards, of course, he claps.

These two shots just crack me up:

We went out to dinner afterwards with Timo. David was completely spent, and very, very hungry. No surprises there!