So most of you know that Sofia "passed by 4" and on her birthday turned 5. The next day she announced that she was 6, and a few days later when we were talking about going to David James' birthday party and she asked how old he was, she sanguinely stated "but I'm 7 now".
Today at Home Depot a woman asked how old she was, and she said "I'm, almost 5". I didn't say anything. But, it came up again at dinner, when Kent said something to Sofia about being 7, and she said "no, I'm almost 5!" Kent asked, "What happened to 7?" Sofia responded, "It passed away."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
sofia meets dinger
Dinger is the mascott of the Colorado Rockies. We went to the game for Sofia's birthday, and she was a very lucky girl! First, the usher gave us a real baseball used by the Rockies during practice (Kent was thrilled!). Then, a group of ushers came to sing Happy Birthday to her. Then, she got a picture with Dinger, and and autograph on her ball-cap! Lucky girl!
sofia's birthday
Sofia turned FOUR on May 28th! (According to Sofia, she passed by four, turned five on her birthday, the next day she was six, and a few days later she informed us that she's now seven.) We celebrated the following weekend with friends, family, pizza and cake in our back yard. It was a beautiful day!
Friday, June 19, 2009
catching up
I've fallen way behind on my blogging this past month, and things just seem to be speeding up! Here's a quick update:
Sofia has enjoyed her new freedom these summer days, spending most of the days outside playing with our next-door neighbors, Serenity, Faith and Kaylee. We are so glad she gets along with these girls so well, and that they live right next door! They divide their time between our backyard with the playhouse (now the "clubhouse"), and Serenity's trampoline. We've also visited Dinosaur Ridge twice, and have spent time in many parks! This week she's in a "Camp of the Creative Arts" every morning for 2 hours. She really loves it. It is Spanish and art, and at the end of July she'll do another week of Art and dance.
Emerson is making leaps in his development. He is very clear in his communications (at least to us!) and definitely says "no" when he doesn't want something. His "words" are:
caa-caa = cracker (I think is a generalization for "food")
haaa = hello / hi
mo = more
Sofia has enjoyed her new freedom these summer days, spending most of the days outside playing with our next-door neighbors, Serenity, Faith and Kaylee. We are so glad she gets along with these girls so well, and that they live right next door! They divide their time between our backyard with the playhouse (now the "clubhouse"), and Serenity's trampoline. We've also visited Dinosaur Ridge twice, and have spent time in many parks! This week she's in a "Camp of the Creative Arts" every morning for 2 hours. She really loves it. It is Spanish and art, and at the end of July she'll do another week of Art and dance.
Emerson is making leaps in his development. He is very clear in his communications (at least to us!) and definitely says "no" when he doesn't want something. His "words" are:
caa-caa = cracker (I think is a generalization for "food")
haaa = hello / hi
mo = more
He is also starting to stand on his own, and walks holding onto our hands. He loves animals and noises - so far, all animals say "roar"! He loves the book Goodnight Gorilla, and looks for the lion in it. It is fun to see how he "reads" to himself in the car!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
international travelling, part III
Three kids in the car!
At the North Sea with Emerson and Nikolas
At the North Sea with Emerson and Nikolas
The famous lighthouse
Princess Sofia visiting the sheep
After Kent left, Tina, the kids and I, took a trip to the North Sea. It was about a 5-hour drive from Berlin (THREE car-seats in the back, we were packed in!). We stayed in a barn that had been remodeled to have 4 homes, on a sheep farm, and all we could see around us were other farms. We were only a few kilometers from the Sea. We walk to neighboring farm to get fresh cow's milk, had eggs and bread delivered every morning, and heard the sheep bleating all night long. The best thing was, Sofia could walk out our patio right to a playground with a trampoline, and over to visit the animals, all by herself! She was really proud of that. I honestly think Sofia would have been happy had we never left the farm.
We rented bikes and a bike trailer, and rode to the sea to visit the picturesque red-and-white lighthouse in the picture. We also walked out on the beach to the sea. I have never seen such a beach so long! It started with sand dunes covered with grass. Then the sand was all wet, as if the tide had just come in, but we walked about one kilometer to get to the water! In the picture we look bundled up, but really it wasn't cold, especially in the sun, but very windy. The water was much warmer than I expected, so I could imagine going into it in the height of summer.
Tina and I made wonderful dinners together, and had so many discussions over a bottle of wine and candlelight after the kids were asleep. It was so wonderful to reconnect in our new identities as mothers! I don't think we've spent so much time together in a long, long time!
After returning to Berlin, we had a few days of last-minute shopping and gift-buying, coupled with cafes and stops in the park. (Did I say we went everywhere by foot?) Then all too soon, it was time for Tina to take us to the airport for our journey home. We were sad to go, but looking forward to home, our regular routine, and of course DADDY! :)
The flight home was fine, but looooonnnngggg! It all started with out flight from Berlin to Frankfurt being delayed due to a thunderstorm. Then Sofia got sick as we circled Frankfurt before landing. Luckily I had packed extra clothes!! The Frankfurt airport is a nightmare of terminals, and I got my workout in with Sofia in the stroller, Emerson on my back, and all our carry-ons, as I went from one terminal to another, arriving at our gate just in time to board! Sofia is a good traveller, and besides a few moments of complaining, she was very patient. Emerson struggled with not having any really safe place to crawl around, but he did love smiling at the other passengers and getting smiles back! Both fell asleep (finally!) around 3 hours before landing in Denver.
All in all, we had a super-great trip. Everything went as smoothly as could ever be expected, no major hiccups, lots of fun times and experiences, and I look forward to our next one!
Monday, June 8, 2009
boys with a ball
This is just such a sweet picture, I thought it deserved to be uploaded by itself. Nik and Emmo are playing with a ball at Tina's house in Berlin.
Emmo Sings!
Mark it down, Emerson sang his first songs at 328 days old! :-) I think Kristen deservedly heard the first song, and I heard the encore. Besides the obvious nature side of things, Kristen attributes Emmo's bursting forth into song to her singing him to sleep for the past 11 months.
Me being the IT troubleshooter, I'm looking for what changed. :-) We listened to 2 hours of Chopin Sunday morning during breakfast. This event occurred too after he slept through an entire night for the first time...that we can remember! :-)
It's a really beautiful thing to think "I'm hearing this little person's first (or 2nd...) song", and I wanted to share it with friends and family. I remember Fia's first song too, we were driving to "Music Together" and she burst into song. Like anyone who has been on a walk with Fia or spent a few hours with her in the past few months knows, she hasn't stopped since!
Me being the IT troubleshooter, I'm looking for what changed. :-) We listened to 2 hours of Chopin Sunday morning during breakfast. This event occurred too after he slept through an entire night for the first time...that we can remember! :-)
It's a really beautiful thing to think "I'm hearing this little person's first (or 2nd...) song", and I wanted to share it with friends and family. I remember Fia's first song too, we were driving to "Music Together" and she burst into song. Like anyone who has been on a walk with Fia or spent a few hours with her in the past few months knows, she hasn't stopped since!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
international travelling, part II
We left Stuttgart on Wednesday morning, and drove to Berlin. We arrived that evening, and Kent heroically carried all our luggage up 6 flights of stairs (no elevator) to Tina and Ben's flat. We were so glad to be there!
I'll deviate for just a moment for a little historical information:
For those of you who don't know Tina (I'm sure most of you have at least heard of her), she and I met in Wichita when we were 16 years old. She started taking ballet at Metropolitan Ballet of Wichita, where I was also dancing. (Just think, Tina, if your host-family wouldn't have chosen that studio? We never would have met!!) I had by then 1 year of high-school German, and my interest was piqued. I was determined then to visit Tina after finishing high-school. I went over in 1994 and stayed with her and her parents for a few months. I will always be thankful to her parents for allowing this 19-year-0ld girl with no direction live with them for so long! Anyhow, Tina was my maid-of-honor, and we've managed somehow to meet up every 1-2 years since we were 16!
The impotus for our trip to Germany this year was the christening of Tina and Ben's son, Nikolas, who was born 10 days after Emerson. Tina had asked me to be his honorary godmother. (Honorary, because a. I'm not Catholic and she is, and b. they wouldn't ask me to take custody, living overseas.) Tina's sister Sarah is the actual godmother, and I'm more than glad to fill in the honorary position as the American Ambasadress! :)
I'll deviate for just a moment for a little historical information:
For those of you who don't know Tina (I'm sure most of you have at least heard of her), she and I met in Wichita when we were 16 years old. She started taking ballet at Metropolitan Ballet of Wichita, where I was also dancing. (Just think, Tina, if your host-family wouldn't have chosen that studio? We never would have met!!) I had by then 1 year of high-school German, and my interest was piqued. I was determined then to visit Tina after finishing high-school. I went over in 1994 and stayed with her and her parents for a few months. I will always be thankful to her parents for allowing this 19-year-0ld girl with no direction live with them for so long! Anyhow, Tina was my maid-of-honor, and we've managed somehow to meet up every 1-2 years since we were 16!
The impotus for our trip to Germany this year was the christening of Tina and Ben's son, Nikolas, who was born 10 days after Emerson. Tina had asked me to be his honorary godmother. (Honorary, because a. I'm not Catholic and she is, and b. they wouldn't ask me to take custody, living overseas.) Tina's sister Sarah is the actual godmother, and I'm more than glad to fill in the honorary position as the American Ambasadress! :)
We did not have quite the jam-packed schedule that we had in Stuttgart, as in Berlin we had only Tina, Ben, and Nik to visit. We saw a few sights, but since we'd both visited Berlin before, we didn't feel like we had to see everything. Mostly, we walked, visited the local cafes, Biergartens, and playgrounds. It was the best time for Sofia!
The christening was on Sunday, and Tina and Ben threw a wonderful party afterwards for their closest family and friends. It was a great time! And, we didn't feel like strangers, as some of the guests we had met at their wedding when Sofia was 1 year old, and others we had met even before that! It was fun to see familiar faces, and a warm feeling to be included in this special group of people. Of course it was also wonderful to see Helga and Harald, Tina's parents, who I often have referred to as my "German family".
The christening was on Sunday, and Tina and Ben threw a wonderful party afterwards for their closest family and friends. It was a great time! And, we didn't feel like strangers, as some of the guests we had met at their wedding when Sofia was 1 year old, and others we had met even before that! It was fun to see familiar faces, and a warm feeling to be included in this special group of people. Of course it was also wonderful to see Helga and Harald, Tina's parents, who I often have referred to as my "German family".
Kent left on Monday, May 18th, to return to Denver, and to work. We were sad to see him go, but very grateful for the opportunity to stay just a little longer.
Tina and Nik, Sofia and Emerson and I, all left for the North See on Tuesday. I'll post that in the next installment!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
international travelling
Here we are, the international travllers! We made it to Germany and back with out (too many) hiccups! The flight over went really well. We left Denver around 6pm, so the flight was actually through the night. Sofia fell asleep soon after dinner, and Emerson did fall asleep as well, but his sleep was a bit fitful. We sat behind the bulkhead, so we were able to use a basinett for Emerson, luckily, so I could put him down from time-to-time. I did not sleep, mainly because Emerson's sleep was so fitful! But, I did close my eyes a bit. Kent sat directly behind me, Sofia and Emerson, so got some sleep, when I wasn't needing his help!
We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday, May 8th. It took way too long to rent the car (a nice black Audi station wagon (or "combi") with good acceleration, and get the car seats rented and installed. Finally we were on our way to Stuttgart to stay with Meike, a friend of mine from the Universität Stuttgart, and her husband Isidro. They actually live in Sachsenheim, just outside Stuttgart. Not 10 minutes away from the airport, I get "blitzed"!! That means a camera set up to catch speeders catches me... speeding! Now, you'd think - Autobahn + Germany = no speed limits! Well, not quite. There are areas where there are some strictly enforced speed limits. Unfortunatly, the camera was set up before I'd adjusted to looking at the German speed limit signs! (By the way, speed limit in German is "Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung". Nice long word.) We have yet to find out if the rental company got the ticket and if we have to pay for it!
It was a relief to finally arrive at Meike and Isidro's house! Meike was at a training in Düsseldorf, so her mom met us and let us in. She was really sweet, and fell in love with Sofia immediately! Later that evening she walked with us to a playground, then into the village to show us the Gasthaus (local restaurant with typical regional fare) for dinner. Isidro arrived just as we were leaving, to drive us back home - luckily, as it had started to downpour!
Edited to add... Meike and Isidro were wonderful hosts, and adapted marvelously to our chaotic lives with two small children! Meike had found some of her childhood toys, and Isidro got busy setting up a toy train in their kitchen! It was the hit! :) We are very grateful to them for everything they did for us! (We miss you guys, and hope you're having a wonderful trip in your Mustang along the West Coast right now!)...
Saturday we visited the market in Feuerbach, the village outside Stuttgart where Kent and I lived. It was nice to see the same Blumenhändler (flower seller) was still there! From there we took the U-Bahn (underground) into the city, where we met three of Kent´s former co-workers and Denis, a friend we made here in Denver. We had a nice afternoon in the sunshine!
Sunday was "reunion day", where we met a group of friends from the university. It was quite an international group! There was Meike and Isidro of course (Germany & Spain), Ernest & Maria (Croatia), Jean-Marie (France), Jonathan and Austin and us of course (USA), and Victor and his wife and daughter (Sweden & Germany). Here's a picture of us all except for Victor and his family.
Monday was rainy, so we were off to a slow start. We visited the Märchengarten (fairy tale gardens) in Ludwigsburg, then headed on to Sindelfingen to visit our friend Sarah Kupke, who I worked with at kmp. where I taught English. Sarah is now head of a bilingual school, and her husband Joachim is an artist. They live in a beautiful 15th century house in old-town Sindelfingen. It was wonderful to catch up with them!
Tuesday Meike took a holiday to spend the day with us. We drove through the Schwarzwald (Black Forrest) to Freiburg for the day. Freiburg is a very "green" city, and the university really is geared toward environmentally friendly developments. I think the highlight of the day was a park we found for Sofia to play in! Oh, and I can't forget the "cocolatte" - a coconut latte at a cafe that Kent found. Delicious and refreshing! :)
Wednesday we were off for Berlin! Our trip took us over Nuremburg (famous for the trails after WWII), near Dresden (famous for the bombing) and Leipzig (famous for Bach).
We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday, May 8th. It took way too long to rent the car (a nice black Audi station wagon (or "combi") with good acceleration, and get the car seats rented and installed. Finally we were on our way to Stuttgart to stay with Meike, a friend of mine from the Universität Stuttgart, and her husband Isidro. They actually live in Sachsenheim, just outside Stuttgart. Not 10 minutes away from the airport, I get "blitzed"!! That means a camera set up to catch speeders catches me... speeding! Now, you'd think - Autobahn + Germany = no speed limits! Well, not quite. There are areas where there are some strictly enforced speed limits. Unfortunatly, the camera was set up before I'd adjusted to looking at the German speed limit signs! (By the way, speed limit in German is "Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung". Nice long word.) We have yet to find out if the rental company got the ticket and if we have to pay for it!
It was a relief to finally arrive at Meike and Isidro's house! Meike was at a training in Düsseldorf, so her mom met us and let us in. She was really sweet, and fell in love with Sofia immediately! Later that evening she walked with us to a playground, then into the village to show us the Gasthaus (local restaurant with typical regional fare) for dinner. Isidro arrived just as we were leaving, to drive us back home - luckily, as it had started to downpour!
Edited to add... Meike and Isidro were wonderful hosts, and adapted marvelously to our chaotic lives with two small children! Meike had found some of her childhood toys, and Isidro got busy setting up a toy train in their kitchen! It was the hit! :) We are very grateful to them for everything they did for us! (We miss you guys, and hope you're having a wonderful trip in your Mustang along the West Coast right now!)...
Saturday we visited the market in Feuerbach, the village outside Stuttgart where Kent and I lived. It was nice to see the same Blumenhändler (flower seller) was still there! From there we took the U-Bahn (underground) into the city, where we met three of Kent´s former co-workers and Denis, a friend we made here in Denver. We had a nice afternoon in the sunshine!
Sunday was "reunion day", where we met a group of friends from the university. It was quite an international group! There was Meike and Isidro of course (Germany & Spain), Ernest & Maria (Croatia), Jean-Marie (France), Jonathan and Austin and us of course (USA), and Victor and his wife and daughter (Sweden & Germany). Here's a picture of us all except for Victor and his family.
Monday was rainy, so we were off to a slow start. We visited the Märchengarten (fairy tale gardens) in Ludwigsburg, then headed on to Sindelfingen to visit our friend Sarah Kupke, who I worked with at kmp. where I taught English. Sarah is now head of a bilingual school, and her husband Joachim is an artist. They live in a beautiful 15th century house in old-town Sindelfingen. It was wonderful to catch up with them!
Tuesday Meike took a holiday to spend the day with us. We drove through the Schwarzwald (Black Forrest) to Freiburg for the day. Freiburg is a very "green" city, and the university really is geared toward environmentally friendly developments. I think the highlight of the day was a park we found for Sofia to play in! Oh, and I can't forget the "cocolatte" - a coconut latte at a cafe that Kent found. Delicious and refreshing! :)
Wednesday we were off for Berlin! Our trip took us over Nuremburg (famous for the trails after WWII), near Dresden (famous for the bombing) and Leipzig (famous for Bach).
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