Germany

Noah and I are having a great time out in Germany with Josh. The house we're sharing is amazing and the people are also amazing. The only thing we don't have is our own kitchen, but like I said, the people who live here (Josh's friends) are amazing so it's not even an issue. I've been cooking for everyone to try to thank them in some way. We haven't been to many places yet. It's hard to go anywhere with a baby who has a naptime and a husband who has a job. However!! We managed to make it out to Heidelberg to see the castle. It was awesome.

the walk up to the castle

mmmm castle


Heidelberg down below

Christmas is huge here. They've even got Christmas markets out in the parking lot in front of WalMart. We've been to Luisenplatz a few times in downtown Darmstadt to visit all the Christmas shops they have set up. It's like a Christmas flea market. Thus far all I've blown money on is candy... mmmm German candy is so delicious. It's not as sweet and I love it. They have a spiced hot wine called Gluwine that is sold throughout the market to keep you warm and for a mere 2 euro you can keep the cup. I plan on taking more pictures at Luisenplatz during the day so they turn out better.

Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) at Heidelberg

I've been so happy to just live with Josh like a real family that I haven't been really pushing us to go explore. This may be stupid, but I think we'll be back in Europe eventually. We're going to see Frankfurt and a few other places here before we leave and that's good enough for me. It's very hard traveling with a baby! Especially here in Germany where it's more acceptable to bring a dog into a restaurant than a child. Anyway... I am off to answer emails. Just wanted to drop a little note :)

da zoo

It was so warm here yesterday that Noah and I decided to go to the zoo. The zoo here is open 365 days a year since it's not really consistently cold until maybe late January, February time-frame. We went at just the right time because every single animal was actually out! We also were inadvertently following the feeding schedule because we watched them feed the snow leopard, gibbons, capybaras, lemurs, fossas, bears and pelicans. It was a banner day at the zoo :) I actually brought my camera, but didn't take a single picture because I left it in the car. I've been sorta neglecting Noah the past few days, trying to get the Christmas presents taken care of before we leave for Germany. So, I wanted to do something just me and him... I think the camera would have gotten in the way of me sharing the moment with him. Anyway :) It was awesome! We had a great time.

new montage

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And we're back, Ladies and Gents

We're back in San Antonio. I can't really say I'm happy to be back, but we're leaving in a few days for Germany so I'll get to see more people I love :) I think I can be patient until then. Now I'm going to be lazy and sample an email I sent back to Ohio when I got back.

We made it here safely, but extremely late. We finally got home at around 12:15. We had about 8 hours in just layovers. Noah was awesome. He was an angel. I was surprised how much he remembered about flying... he knew that standing in the line meant we were going to fly on the plane and eventually get home. We had a false alarm at one point in Pittsburgh where they allowed 25 people to board and then everyone else was waiting for another 30 minutes. I was NOT ALLOWED to venture far from the line and I was lucky I finally convinced him I was allowed to put my bag down. He just kept saying "NOOOOOooo PLANE!!! on a PLANE!!" He slept through most of both flights. He loved watching us land, but only on the first flight because the 2nd flight he was completely knocked out and didn't wake up until the cabin lights came on. I couldn't praise him enough for being so good.

When we got home he was SOOOO excited. He was calling for Emma and pointing to everything and telling me what it was. He ran to his room and brought me one toy at a time... "my blocks here! PLAYLOOO here! (he was most excited about the playdough) mooomies!". He also started Nemo himself and let himself out into the backyard. He really missed his 4-wheeler, wagon and tricycle. When it was time to go to sleep he somehow managed to lower his crib rail (it must not have been locked). He cried a little because it still wasn't low enough for his liking, but I told him we were going to get a bed so he went to sleep.

So, we bought him a bunkbed with a desk and shelves and drawers built-in. We won't actually get it until we get back from Germany, but they ordered it for us and it'll be waiting. What we DO have is a mattress with a built-in bunky board and some Cars sheets. I rearranged his whole room and even cleaned the carpet. He was such a happy guy :) Right now I am taking a break from unpacking toys. I've only got one suitcase left to unpack and I'm hesitant since I'll just have to pack again. I can hear Noah moving around in there... he's just laying on the mattress on the floor. Did I mention he was extremely happy? All day long whenever we were home he played outside with his dirt. He missed his dirt too hahaha. We saw a little boy with dark hair at Sears and Noah said "there Jake!" and I told him Jake was back in Ohio far away. It was sad for me.

I am doing OK. My asthma doesn't like San Antonio. I miss everyone at home already. Hope you enjoyed my update :)