ANDREAS is 110% boy. The kid is obsessed with dinosaurs, planes, trains, boats, and cars. He adores pushing/flying/driving his little toys around the house.

He frequently latches onto one or another of them in an obsessive manner, meaning that a particular item travels EVERYWHERE with him for a day (or two or three). Interest in that specific object will then wane as a new one replaces it, but you have to be on your toes. A previous “must-have” toy can unexpectedly return to “cannot-live-without-it” status without any notice, and if it is not easily accessible (read: you don’t know where he last put it), panic will ensue. And so, Caleb has received many a mid-day phone call from Nancy asking, “Do you happen to know where ‘Gruenes Flugzeug’ (green airplane) is right now?” or “My life will be markedly improved if you could tell me where the VW is. . . please?!?”

He has recently also begun showing a bit of an interest in arts and crafts. His attention span is growing increasingly longer, so if we put some children’s stories or music on the radio and give him a dinosaur coloring book, we can occasionally buy ourselves a few minutes of (relative) calm. (Warning: he may still knock over an empty chair, color on his sister or Lord-knows-what else, or come up with some other mischief, so this is not a free pass to leave him unsupervised!) He had a lot of fun with fingerpaint recently.

Andreas is going through some typical 3-year-old “mean” stuff: hitting, pinching, teasing, jumping on, and otherwise aggravating his big and little sisters. He comes up with some hilarious but not appropriate insults, so Simona often comes running up to us to report, “Andreas hat mich eben stinkig doof Kuh genannt!” (Andreas just called me stinky dumb cow!). Not sure where he gets these, but I sometimes have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. We are trying to work on this behavior.

Physically, he continues to be relatively small. He had his 3-year well-child visit in January and weighed in around 31 pounds, which put him in the 50th percentile for weight. I don’t remember how tall he is, but I think it was around 95 centimeters (about 37 inches). Whatever it was, he is in the 20th percentile for height. He also had a bad haircut (I take full responsibility for the unfortunate mishap with the clippers!) in December, so he has spent January regrowing his hair. (These are before and after pictures from December. . . he looks much better now!)

He also had a sore nose (from a late-December cold) that he kept picking at, so it grew into a bigger and bigger scab. We had to enforce wearing a band aid on his upper lip and then had to resort to socks over his hands to allow it to finally heal up, but it’s pretty well healed now.

Despite his wild-man ways, Andreas does have a tender little heart and will sometimes crawl into your lap for a hug or a story- preferably about a train, plane, dinosaur, car, boat. . . He definitely idolizes his Papa right now, which is really cute to see. His laugh is contagious, and he is a sweet boy. He brings so much fun and energy into our lives.

You would probably be even more confused if the excitement about Christmas has been building for weeks, while at the same time, your family has been telling you that it is almost your birthday, too! Supposedly you are going to be three years old (no mention of Jesus’s age has been made). To top it off, the kind, well-meaning lady at church contradicts what your parents have told you: When she asks you, “Whose birthday is coming up?” and you tell her, “My birthday!” she gently corrects, “No, we are celebrating Jesus’s birthday!”

What?! What is with the tree, the lights, the decorations, the manger, the stockings, the presents? And for crying out loud, WHOSE birthday is it, anyway?!?!?

Such has been the world of Andreas over the past few weeks. He finally understands a *little* about birthdays and a *little* about Christmas, but celebrating these two events back to back was, I think, quite overwhelming for our 3-year-old.

Nonetheless, both events were wonderful celebrations. We rented a mini van and drove (yes, drove) to Iowa- cat and all- to spend the holidays with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Seth, Uncle Wyatt, and Aunt Grace.

Fun there began with cutting down our own tree on Grandma & Grandpa’s Christmas tree farm and continued with gatherings with both sides of the family.

The kids are lucky to have three living great grandparents in Iowa: Great Grandma and Grandpa Neil and Great Grandpa Lowell. This was Maria’s first trip to Iowa, so it was great for her to meet all of them!

This was the first year that we saw Simona take pleasure not only in opening presents but also in giving them. Andreas opened his very first present- a set of four airplanes from Grandpa- and became so absorbed that he couldn’t be bothered to open other gifts! Maria had fun pulling at the wrapping paper and crawling around in the chaos.

Andreas was pretty tired by the time his birthday party rolled around, but he rallied nicely after a quick nap and dinner to enjoy the festivities. We had baked a chocolate cake from scratch, so the kids got to help decorate it. He received another (larger) airplane and again was immediately enamored. I think this year was the first time he realized his birthday was “his” special day.

The rest of the week was filled with indoor and outdoor play. The weather was great- highs in the forties or even fifties, and little to no precipitation. Highlights included a long romp at the playground, games of hide-n-seek in Grandma & Grandpa’s back woods, a bonfire, and a trip to the shooting range! Grandpa let Simona and Andreas each take a turn.

Overall, we had a wonderful time and can’t wait for our next trip to the Hawkeye State.

So though gift #2 made us merry, you may think, “In light of #1 and #3, #2 wasn’t very bright!”

But, I’m glad we went ahead and bought the new camera anyway. Our kids are only little once, so we want to capture as much of these years as we can. My parents bought a video camera when they really should not have, and they have never regretted it. We all enjoy watching those old videos now.

I have a feeling we will feel the same way about owning a camera that a) does not specialize in blurry photos; b) takes pictures of more than just people holding very still for a very long time while it “thinks”; and c) is not cracked and barely working.

So far, we’ve had fun playing with the new camera (it’s a Canon EOS Rebel T2i, in case you care) and are learning to use its many settings. I’ll be working on a few update blogs, so hopefully the upgraded technology will be evident here shortly. Here are two sneak-preview photos that would not have turned out with our old camera:

Until next time, Happy New Year!

We are so glad that Maria is a part of our family and can’t get enough of that seven-toothed grin and those slobbery kisses. Though we occasionally feel a twinge of nostalgia for the warmth and frailty of brand new life, we also relish the excitement of watching her discover her world and become her own person. I’m sure before we know it, she’ll be dancing in her big sister’s footsteps, but for now, we’re happy she’s just who she is: A bald, sweet little ONE year old.

Happy Birthday, Missy Miss. Alles Gute. Wir lieben Dich!

- Strolling along the Inner Harbor

- Playing in a spray fountain at the Inner Harbor

- Taking in the Grand Prix from Caleb’s office

- Exploring local playgrounds

- Running a race (Nancy) in Montgomery County (suburbs of DC)

- Date (courtesy of Nancy’s visiting mom!) consisting of brunch at Miss Shirley’s, a stroll through Lexington Market, and a visit to North Point State Park.

- Apple & pumpkin picking

- Two-day getaway with friends to the Shenandoah Valley

- And fun around the house

What? Sweet Simona, kicked out of school within the first month?

Yes. Back in early September, we received a letter from the city school board that three of her immunizations were not up to date and that she would need to be fully vaccinated by September 12 in order to continue attending school. We thought she current on all shots, but the school office insisted she was not.
So we quickly found a doctor and scheduled appointments for her and Maria (9 month check up). Fortunately, the doctor and the nurse both confirmed that she was fully compliant with all CDC-recommended immunization schedules and didn’t charge us for the visit. (Glad Maria had an appointment, too, so it was not a total waste of time!) The nurse also offered to upload the records to a system that can be accessed by city agencies, including the City Schools.
After two more trips to the school front office, I was told that that should take care of it.

And then I got home after a long morning of wrangling three children at the dentist’s office, complete with the bad news of cavities, only to find a message telling me that Simona was out of compliance and that, for the sake of her and the other students’ health and safety, she would need to be expelled. After a few frantic phone calls to the school and to her doctor (and to Caleb, in tears!), we finally found out what the problem was.

The school had incorrectly entered her date of birth to show that she was born on 12/06/06 instead of 06/12/06. Meaning that she would not have been born yet when she received several of the vaccines. (Also meaning that she would not be old enough to be in Kindergarten yet, I might add. . .) The computer was generating an automatic “non-compliant” message. After reassuring the secretary that I was sure Simona was born in June and that yes, I do have the birth certificate to prove it, she believed me and corrected the date, oh-so-graciously not requiring me to bring in the birth certificate (which they already have on file anyway!). Problem instantly solved.

Phew. Education and future preserved; expulsion from Kindergarten avoided.

Anyway, in August, we stayed in DC for a week before coming up to Baltimore. While there, we revisited many of our old haunts, including “our” playground- the one where I spent countless, countless hours with Simona and Andreas. Especially Simona.

Here are a few LOT of glimpses of them at that playground over the years. Believe me, there are many more that I didn’t include. It’s a fun way to see them change over time. Enjoy!

Hope I didn’t bore you too much. Happy Fall!

Simona received her “Schultuete,” which kids typically receive when they enter first grade as a mark of their official transition to being school kids. Since Kindergarten is the start of elementary school here, she received it today.

After opening it to find some candy and a few small gifts inside, she and I walked over to the school. She was a bit nervous and cried briefly, but then she stopped and shyly went to find her cubby and then her name card on one of the tables. She has 23 students in her class. (There are two Kindergarten classes at her school.) When I left, I looked over my shoulder to see her waving hello to the girl seated next to her. And then I cried the whole walk home- partly out of sadness and partly out of pride that my little girl is growing into a sweet big girl.

By the time I picked her up, she was all smiles. Looks like school year 2011-2012 is off to a good start!

She also took swimming lessons in Germany (with the same swim instructor who taught me to swim!) and is now a certified competent breast-stroker. She passed the “Seepferdchen” (Little Seahorse) test, which is a nationally standardized swim test requiring the swimmer to a) jump into the pool, b) swim 25 meters without stopping / holding onto the sides, and c) retrieve a ring from the bottom of the pool (in relatively shallow water).

*Technically, second, but the first was not exactly “lost.” (See December 2009 if you need a refresher!)

Andreas is a busy, busy little guy.

Maria changes constantly and quickly!

Overall, these three kiddos keep me BUSY! I have been spoiled with plenty of help from family during these weeks of transition, but we are looking forward to settling into a new routine in Baltimore, too. No telling what antics these three will come up with . . . stay tuned!

We cannot believe that she is so big (and that we have been parents for so long)! Of course, as her parents, we cannot help but take every opportunity we can to brag, so here goes:

Simona is funny. Just ask Maria! No one can make Maria belly laugh the way Simona can with her silly dances and faces. Simona is also amazingly good at math. She can figure out basic multiplication problems (four times three, etc.) on her own, and she recently was able to tell us that half of sixty is thirty. She is learning some basic reading but is much better at it in German than in English. This not surprising, since we speak German here at home and since it is a much, much more phonetic language than English. Simona also has a kind heart and overall is quite empathetic. She is creative, artistic, and far more graceful and girly than I’ve ever been. She balances this with a love for swimming, bike riding, digging, and climbing. We delight in watching her grow into her own person.

(Just so you don’t think that all of the preceding praise is made up, I will throw in the honest truth: she can be harsh with her little brother, sometimes lies to avoid getting in trouble (bad move!), and doesn’t quite yet get the nuance between being proud and excited vs. being proud and boastful. But she tries so hard to please us and to be a “good person.”)

We celebrated her fifth birthday twice. The first event was a pool party on Saturday at our apartment pool.

Her second party took place on Sunday, her actual birthday, in “Berbree City,” as Andreas calls Oma and Opas house. Opa took the kids swimming and kayaking in their pool (yes, he put the kayak in the pool. . .) and then went on a bike ride to the elementary school playground. Simona got her requested meal of “hamburgers and mac-n-cheese,” supplemented by some tolerable green beans, followed by presents and ice cream cake. Sounds like a successful day by any 5-year-old’s standards, I’d say!

BIG NEWS
Our big news is that . . . we finally know where we’ll be moving! We had planned on “knowing” by graduation, but graduation came and went back in May. Lest you think Caleb was dragging his feet in the job search process, let me assure you: He was not. He spent many, many hours over the past year drinking gallons of coffee at various “meet for coffee” networking meetings throughout the Atlanta area. I think he knows every individual who has ever been even tangentially involved in the real estate industry in this city.

Along the way, we learned that a job search like this can be a bit of a geography bee. There were MANY places we considered moving during this job hunt process. Some of these were serious considerations, complete with actual interviews or job offers, Google map geography lessons, elementary school research, etc. Others ended up being long-shot scenarios– job postings to which Caleb deliberated applying, job leads that quickly dried up or ended up not being the right fit for us, etc.

A few of the cities we considered:
- Piscataway, New Jersey
- New Delhi, India (yes, the country!)
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Francisco, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Hanover, New Hampshire
- McLean, Virginia (near Dulles Airport)
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Atlanta, Georgia

But in the end, we are moving right back where we started: Washington, DC! Caleb has accepted a job in Baltimore, Maryland. We have been deliberating whether to move to Baltimore or DC, but for a variety of reasons, we have decided that at this point, DC makes more sense for us. We are very open to the possibility that the commute will be too much, so we plan to reconsider our situation after 6-12 months. In the meantime, however, we are excited to return to the District!!

We will be moving out of our apartment here in about 1 week and will spend time in Germany before beginning our next adventure: Round 2 in the Nation’s Capitol!