Have you given up on me yet?

Yes, I realize I am not good at this blogging thing. I try, but then I think my life just isn't that interesting for all you fine folks out there. I will get some pictures together today to try to catch this blog up on what we look like and what we've been doing. More soon......

Christmas 2008

We are always really busy at this time of year, and of course this Christmastime was no different. We all had a wonderful time. I hosted a raclette party, had a few friends over here and there, baked a ton of cookies, cakes, candies and lots of other fattening items. We had Oma over for Christmas Eve dinner, and then spent the 25 and 26th at her house visiting with the whole family. Collin and Savannah participated in a church Christmas concert, singing, reciting verses and playing the piano and the bells, while Heinz and I sang "Stille Nacht" with our small ensemble, and I played in a trio with my flute. After Christmas was no less busy, and we were blessed that Heinz had a couple of weeks off to spend with the family. We managed to find many things to do together, and at the very end of the vacation, we got several inches of snow!! Will post more pictures from our snowy adventures later, but meanwhile, here is a link to our Christmas pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mama0wolf/Christmastime2008#

More pictures....

Here are a few more pictures to keep you up to date. As I said earlier, Aaron does not enjoy his new food. We started with carrots, moved on to peas, then sweet potatoes, and even those he doesn't like. Believe me, after peas, sweet potatoes taste like chocoate mousse! I hope he will catch on soon because I would hate to have to accompany him to college if he's still nursing..lol!

First bite of people food....carrots

And here is the face he makes every time we feed him food!


A couple from the big kids....they are still pretty entertaining too!

We're back at last!!

Well, after four weeks of no computer, I finally bought a laptop from Dell. I really like it, and it's great to have wireless ability to surf and watch TV! I logged on a few days ago and uploaded a bunch of pictures to this blog, but then the blogspot went haywire and lost it all. Let's try again, and we may have to make it a two parter to make sure it all gets on.
Just an FYI...all is well here at the moment. Aaron is in the 97th percentile for height, so he's really long and fits into his clothes well. He could eat a little better. He loves nursing, but he's not all that keen on real food yet. He sputters, gags, chokes and makes terrible faces. I think he doesn't understand that it's supposed to be good. Oh well, once he gets a big juicy steak he'll be alright.
So..onto pictures!


Like the wig?



Some people just know when they're cute!


Drinking from a cup the first time.

He's quite good at getting the binky in and out.

Do not eat the dog!! (Though he does try every time he gets his hands on her and grabs a bunch of hair and puts it in his mouth....blech!)

Everybody needs a friend

Remember your first friend? (What's with this underlining thing, I don't know!) We all had our favorite lovies, stuffed animals or pillows that we liked to hold, didn't we?

Collin had yellow bear (aptly named for his bright yellow color and the fact that he is, indeed, a bear) Here is Collin at 3 months with his first friend.


Yellow bear was an accidental purchase, made when I took something back to Baby One that I didn't like and got a store credit. I just grabbed the first thing that cost 12 marks (which, looking back, was tough since Baby One isn't much of a discount store). I brought home yellow bear and showed it to Collin who immediately took a liking to him. Maybe it was because he is so brightly colored (the bear, I mean), but after that we put yellow bear in the swing, in the carseat, in the bed, and he was Collin's first friend.

For Savannah, it was Lambie. She still loves Lambie, and she still sleeps with him at night. Lambie was actually bought for Collin, but he never showed Lambie much interest as yellow bear took most of his free time. Savannah loved him because he plays La Le Lu (a German lullaby), and he is very soft. Lambie needs an operation now because the stuffing has literally been loved out of him. As soon as I learn how to sew, he'll get the needed surgery to fix him.
Here is Savannah with Lambie in the swing.



Now Aaron's first friend is Fritz. Fritz was given to us by Heinz's sister, Gabi. Aaron really likes Fritz because he is so soft and squeezable, and he's just the right size to grab onto and give a big hug. Here is Aaron, swinging with friend, Fritz.



Yes, friends are very important. They provide companionship, hugs, soft squeezes and they're always there for you. But no matter how much we love our friends, no matter how nice they are, no matter how cute and cuddley, no matter how tempting it might be, we should really avoid the impulse to


eat them!

Comparing kids....

So who looks like whom? Some days Aaron looks just like Collin and other days he looks more like Savannah. A friend told me recently that he looks like me, but most people say he looks like Heinz. Let's take a look and see.....

Aaron....



Here is a scanned photo (quality not so great) of Collin at about 8 months.


So can you see the resemblance? Aaron also has the really light blonde hair like Collin, big hands and big feet.

Here is Aaron again...his first day in the exersaucer. We didn't leave him in very long since he is still pretty young, but he liked it. It's probably nice for him to get a different view of the world.


And here is a picture of Savannah at about the same age.

So Aaron looks something like Savannah as well. Smaller nose like Savannah and the cupid's bow too. They both also have dimples.

Well, I don't really care who he looks like...he's just CUTE! We are having such a great time with him, and the kids are loving him like crazy.

On another note, Collin started school this week. His teacher is really nice, and he has 17 kids in his class. 3 are moving around December, so that will make it even less. I didn't take pictures of his first day because it was picture day at the school. I'll update at the end of the week and let you know how it's going.

Nothing exciting going on here....

It's been blazing hot these last days, and we've stayed in our wonderfully air conditioned house to escape the heat. I cannot sing enough of how great it is to have a/c. Never will I take it for granted again! For those of you who feel it is commonplace to have the beauty of being comfy all year round, let me assure you that many if not most Germans will tell you that being cool is not a necessity. Ah, but you see, it is not being cool that it is the problem, it's once you get hot and cannot get cool and you start to turn into a horrible, short tempered, griping, sniping....., well, you get the picture. Most places here have not grasped the concept of how wonderful it is to be able to come in out of the heat. So, when you visit someone, or shop at a store, go to a bank, pharmacy, hospital (yes, even there!), you will find the blinds pulled tightly shut, all lights off, and everyone in the house exerting as little energy as possible to avoid becoming hot. It makes for really fun outings, let me tell you!

Anyhow, who cares about all that, I'm sure you just want to get on to the pictures. I actually took these a few days ago, but I wanted to be sure and post them cause they are so cute!


The sweetest smile a mother will ever see!


Siblings...they do get along...sometimes!


I just thought this one was nice of the brothers.

Family time....

Summer is here, and we are staying cool. That hasn't been too hard since we haven't had very many hot days. The kids are playing outside much of the day, having playdates and staying up late. We've been making lots of "milkshakes" by mixing up yogurt, frozen berries and a bit of honey....very yummy and good for us too. Collin left today for a camping trip with his soccer team. I am missing him already. I gave him my cell phone for an emergency, and really, even if the emergency was that he's homesick, I'd be happy to hear from him. I'm sure he's having a blast and has forgotten all about his old mom.

Here are some pictures I took today....

Aaron is getting bigger and bigger.


Hey, this picture taking stuff is getting old!


Laughing it up....


Here is an almost identical picture of Collin laughing with Savannah as a baby. Aren't they sweet? Oh, the time passes so quickly and our babies grow so fast. I'm hanging on to every moment!!