Germany Part One

We have been back from Germany for almost two weeks! Oy. What happened?

We had a great time, from beginning to end. The trip went very smoothly both ways. No horror plane stories. Considering the long trip, Miles did incredibly well. No freak outs, no tantrums. We were very lucky that the plane wasn't sold out (thanks to the economy maybe?) either way and we had an entire row of three seats to ourselves. At one point Frank was sleeping on the floor and Miles and I shared the row as our bed. On both trips, there was a little boy, Anthony, that kept Miles company now and then. Exchanging toys and snacks, it was good to have him there. It killed about 10 minutes here and there. Doesn't sound like a lot of time out of a 10 hour plane ride, but it was a nice distraction from time to time. It also helped that everyone else on the plane didn't seem too annoyed with a little boy running up and down the aisles.

It was a lot of fun spending time with family and friends that we haven't seen in a long time. Introducing my son to old childhood friends. Reminiscing about old times, recognizing places from the past, riding the train through familiar territory, wondering what it would be like living there again some day. Maybe.

Not to forget about all the eating! One delicious comforting German meal after the next. Eating whatever we wanted, because we only had so many days. Enjoying watching Miles engulf one pretzel after the other. Loving it as much as I do. Evenings of Miles sharing a bath with his cousins. It was the little things that made it so great.

Visiting Omi (87) and Nana (92) was hard. I am very glad to have seen them and to have seen them together with Miles.

getting ready

Next week we are off to Germany for 10 days! We'll be back with lots of pics and hopefully a "it was so easy on the airplane" story.

robe tradition

The last boy to wear this robe was my brother, 38 years ago. My four sisters and I stayed warm in it next, followed by my four nieces. Now it's Miles' robe. It's amazing in what good condition it still is.

Miles enjoys brushing his hair.

Incredible!

image from here: http://www.patrickmoberg.com/

What an amazing day! It's still hard to believe that this country has finally woken up and realized that things will have to change. A new chapter for this country and the world. A historic moment in so many ways. Maybe I will become an American.

sunday morning self-portaits

All about cars

It's all about cars these days. Everywhere we go, you point out the cars and trucks. At Loews, you needed to go climb up all the John Deere lawnmower trucks; at the playground, you climb in and out of the cars most of the time we are there. In the morning, we let you sit up front with us in the driver's seat for a couple of minutes. You love turning on and off the volume of the radio, the windshield wipers, etc. So much to do and see!

Will you be my cowboy?

I knew you weren't going to wear the hat, but I went to three different stores to find one anyway. I was successful at tricking you into wearing it around your neck at least.

There was a smoke machine in one of the yards. Here you look like a real cowboy, ready for whatever is next.

You walked confidently towards each house but of course you didn't know what to do when we got there and didn't take any of the candy people tried to give to you (that was a surprise). I think you will know what to do next year.