Wordless Wednesday

Frohe Weihnachten!

Christmas Morning 2009

Colin must have known it was Christmas morning because he was up earlier than usual today. Last night after he went to bed we got the "snow drifts" taken down so he could get to the tree and presents. When he walked into the room he immediately smiled and ran to the tree. He went straight for his Batman PowerWheels. We showed him how to make it go and he was OFF! He didn't want to give it up but once we showed him he could rip into the paper on the presents under the tree he forgot all about the PowerWheel. He did really good opening everything, and didn't fight too much to give up stuff he really liked and move on to the next gift. There are a lot of pictures that show he had a blast and loves all his new stuff! Thanks everyone!

Here is video of Colin entering the living room and seeing his gifts


And of him riding his PowerWheel around

Santa Claus

Visiting Santa

We took Colin to see Santa today. I wasn't sure how it would go because he is usually friendly to people, but sometimes costumes and hats can scare him. The two people in front of us had kids Colin's age too. The first boy went and sat right down without any fuss and was perfectly content there. The second little boy went and he cried a little and wasn't too sure about the whole thing but overall there were only a couple tears. Then it was Colin's turn. He probably traumatized every child in line behind us and was by far the loudest kid I'd heard since we'd been there. Shelby went up there with him to try to introduce them and Colin just freaked out. He wanted nothing to do with Santa, period! Being the mean and evil parents that we are we told Santa just to hold him down and smile for a few pictures while Colin fought and screamed. He wailed the whole way out of the building and when we saw another Santa walking around the BX later on he cried when he saw him too! lol I have to admit I'm only slightly sad I didn't get the adorable smiling baby on Santa's lap picture. This was probably my last shot at a screaming terrified child on Santa's lap picture, and while I feel a little guilty I tortured my child for 90 whole seconds, the picture is totally worth it!

Reindeer Kisses

Busted!!

One of the biggest fights over decorations this year has been Colin climbing on the dining room table to play with the reindeer and sleigh that sit on top. I have no idea why but he likes to pull out the santa and give the reindeer kisses. He sneaks up on the table any chance he can, today I caught him on camera.



Going in for the kiss...


Planting one on...

Wordless Wednesday

Tradition

I love Christmas. I love to bake, shop, decorate, wrap, sing the same songs over and over, eat the food, fight the crowds, share in the spirit and all things Christmas. Some people think it's a pain, but I side with Andy Williams (who, hands down sings it best) It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I read on a friend's blog about Christmas traditions. She also struggled with infertility and her beautiful adopted son was born 5 days apart from Colin. It got me thinking about our traditions and wondering what other people do. So here are some of our traditions...

1. Tree and lights go up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

2. Each year everyone chooses an new ornament (I'm gonna need two trees soon if we keep this up!)

3. We drive around and look at lights on Christmas Eve.

4. We adopt angels off the Salvation Army Tree or a whole family in need.

5. I go shopping on Black Friday.

These are things we didn't do this year (because he is to young) but I want to start next year when Colin is older:

1. Leaving cookies and carrots out for Santa

2. An Advent calendar to countdown to Christmas. There are some amazing ones here in Germany in all different shapes and styles.

3. Opening one gift Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning.

4. The Elf on the Shelf (google if it you don't know what it is) because I'm all about an easy sell for a month's worth of good behavior!

What traditions do you have? Leave me some comments with how you celebrate and maybe I'll find a few more traditions to add to the list.

Sledding & Snow Fun

Sledding and Snow

Sunday afternoon the snow started coming down pretty good and we ended up with about 6" on the ground when it was all said and done. There was already 2-3" on the ground from the few days before so that made for a nice blanket of snow on everything. Shelby was heading home from work right after the snow had started so none of the roads had been plowed and it took him forever to get home. Colin and I had already been outside early that morning shoveling the snow from Saturday night off the walkway and sidewalk, so we didn't rush out to play in the falling snow again that afternoon.

Monday morning we got up and shoveled and swept again and I decided to take Colin to the doctor. He'd had a runny nose for a couple days but all of a sudden it had turned to the nasty green stuff and he'd been running a low fever. I figured the doctor probably wouldnt do too much, but I wanted to have him checked out now rather than put it off and wind up in the ER on Christmas Eve or day. So off we went to the German doctor because base had no appointments, typical. I don't mind a bit because the German docs seem to be better and they don't over-medicate and hand out stuff as easily as the American doctors do. Turns out Mister Colin has an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection. That's the trouble with a "happy all the time, easy going kid", they never let you know they are miserable! I thought he had a cold the way he'd been acting, if it wasn't for the fever I'd have never known! So a trip to the German pharmacy and three medications later we make it home again.

It snowed some more while we were at the doctor so when we got back we had to sweep the sidewalk...again. Then we decided Colin needed to have a little fun after being so good at the doctor. We loaded up the jeep and went to the big hill in our village to sled. Half the town had the same idea because there were lots of kids already out there. At first Colin didn't want to walk in the snow or go in it because it was deeper than what he was used to. His first sled ride down the hill he looked a little nervous. After a few runs though he was having a ball and loved flying down the hill with us. He was also very excited to see a big furry dog out on the hill watching the kids sled. He kept pointing to it and saying "dog" and laughed when the dog followed his kids down the hill on their sled barking the whole way down. We didn't want to keep him out in the cold too long and when it was time to go he cried because he didn't want to leave.

Today we had some rain and snow mix so most of the snow is gone :( We are supposed to be getting more soon though. Hopefully it will be enough to sled in. Colin is already feeling better after a day's worth of medicine in him. Hopefully he'll be back to good by Christmas. I was hoping to take him yesterday for his picture with Santa but being sick and all we didn't get it done. Maybe next year...

Wordless Wednesday

Let it snow!

Snow and Pool

We woke up this morning to a nice white blanket of snow! It has been coming down on and off all day long. So nice! After a yummy breakfast courtesy of Shelby we went to the pool on base to let Colin swim. We did good on the roads up until the pool parking lot. It wasnt plowed and I parked my car and when Shelby went to park next to me he slid on the ice right into my tail light and busted it! Guess the big bad Jeep wasn't so tough in the snow...grrr! LOL We had fun in the pool. It was pretty neat to sit inside in the swimming pool watching the snow fall outside through the big glass windows. After some lunch Shel headed in to work and Colin and I came back home.

Day 6 - Munich

Munich

On our last day we decided to visit Munich, which is Munchen (MUN-chen) in German. It is the third largest city in Germany but was surprisingly not bad to drive in or overly crowded on the streets. We knew we couldn't cover it all in one day but decided just to wander around the Zentrum (inner city) and check out the markets and see what we should plan for next time we visit. The Rathaus is GORGEOUS! There are several Weinachtsmarkts that kind of run together in the main Marienplatz. I know I saw everywhere I go is beautiful but this place was extra pretty, lol. The gothic rathaus building with the huge lit Christmas tree and all the decorated Christmas booths scattered around was awesome. This market had all kinds of fun stuff to see. There were many things we saw here that we hadn't seen at the other markets. Loads of handmade ornaments of all kinds, floral decorations for the holidays, hand carved nativity pieces, toys, hats and scarves, wines, cheeses, meats, candles, liquors....I could go on and on. We easily spent the day wandering the market streets and soon it was time to head back home to pack up and get ready to go home tomorrow.

On this vacation Colin discovered Twizzlers. We always have a 5 lb tub in the house and Shel and I eat them all the time. We kept the tub on the floor of the backseat and once time Shel gave Colin a Twizzler to see what he would do with it. Colin is no dummy and he chowed down! From that point on any time we tried to sneak into the Twizzler bucket and grab one out, even if we tried not to let Colin see, he would notice what was happening and scream bloody murder if we didn't give him one. He would practically wake up out of a nap if he heard the bucket move, lol.

For dinner we went back to our favorite little restaurant one last time. We ended up eating there three times this vacation, lol. It's run by a German man and Irish woman and the food is delicious! The inside was done up so pretty for Christmas and the lady loved Colin. She spoke good English and would chat with us when we came in. Everything we are there was excellent. Tonight I ended up having a steak with mushroom cream sauce and Shelby had rabbit leg in a red wine tomato sauce. I've never eaten rabbit before but if it all tastes like that I'll keep an eye out for it on future menus! If you visit Oberau the name is Conlan's or even if you stay in Garmisch it's only 10km up the road and it is worth the trip!

Day 5 - Partnachklamm & Innsbruck, Austria

Partnachklamm & Innsbruck

We started off the day heading over to Partnachklamm which is a gorge in Partenkirchen. Created by water the gorge is 263 feet high and 2,300 feet long. Once inside the gorge the view is amazing and is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen. The deep water is crystal clear and blue. Where the rapids calm some you can see trout everywhere along the large river rocks at the bottom. The walkway gets a little narrow at times and you have to crouch down in parts to get through. All of a sudden you come to an opening and the gorge disappears and you are standing in the middle of the mountain forest on a river bed. The whole gorge just pops up out of no where and then disappears right back into the earth. It was amazing. Later in the winter when it is colder the entire forge ices over and the walls are covered in ice formations. They offer torchlight tours at night through the gorge and they say the light reflecting off the icy gorge walls is something not to miss. We will have to visit again sometime to check that out.

After the gorge hike we went back into Austria to visit Innsbruck. It's a large city with incredible views that is set down right smack in the middle of the mountains. It was VERY crowded and busy the day we were there. Sundays everything shuts down so there isn't much to do besides go to festivals and markets. There were lots of Italians visiting too since Italy is only an hour or so away from Innsbruck. The market was huge and there were a lot of cool sights but trying to navigate the crowds with a stroller was challenging. Austria looks a little different than Germany, so it was neat to check out. After wandering around for a bit we headed back to the hotel to let Colin play and have dinner.

Day 4 - Zugspitze

Zugspitze

Saturday was a nice clear day which is what we had been waiting for. The highest peak in Germany is called the Zugspitze and is in Garmisch. It is almost 3 km high. There are several ski slopes all over the mountain and there is an observation deck, restaurant and weather center at the very top. You can get to the very top via a cog rail train or a cable car. We chose to ride the cable car up (an 11 minute ride) which gives a fabulous view but is a little scary. The cable car goes up on an incline until you get about halfway up to the top and then it’s almost like an elevator going straight up the cable. The view is incredible and as you start to rise up above the other mountain peaks and look down on them below you there aren’t words to describe the feeling. When we got to the top we walked around on the observation decks, where it was -9 degrees without the windchill! You can see for miles into Germany, Austria and, I believe on a clear enough day, to Italy.

We ate lunch at the restaurant on top of the Zugspitze and had a booth right next to the window with Alps peaks all around. After lunch we took the train back down the mountain instead of the cable car. We thought it would be a different view and we were right, most of the 45 minute ride back down is underground! Lol. We didn’t see too much on the ride down. Next we drove over to Partenkirchen to the Olympic Skistadion. The ski portion of the Olympics were held here back in the 1936 and it is still used for many large ski competitions. When we were done there we headed back to the hotel to relax and let Colin run around for a bit before we went to dinner.

Day 3 - Oberammagau

Oberammagau & Linderhof Palace

Friday we woke up to snow falling! It wasn’t sticking on the ground here in the valley where our hotel is, but we had a beautiful view of it falling all around us and incredible views of the snow covered Alps from our balcony windows. We got ready and headed over to Edelweiss, the military resort we were originally trying to stay in before we heard about our hotel. They have info about things to do in the area and discount tickets so we checked in there to see what they had to offer first. Colin got his first opportunity to walk around and touch the snow in the parking lot here. He was very intrigued and didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Later we walked around Oberammagau, which is famous for two things, their woodcarvings and their Passion Play. The Passion play is a BIG deal around the area. Apparently many many many years ago the people were facing some horrible plague and to get rid of the plague they promised to spread the word of Jesus and to retell the story of his life every ten years in an elaborate theatrical play. The next Passion Play is to be held in 2010 and if you wanted to get tickets or a hotel you are most likely out of luck, they sell out years in advance! Another interesting note about this is that the city enacts a no shaving law on Jan 1 of the year prior to the year of the play (so Jan 1, 2009 a law went into effect for the 2010 play) and the residents of the town who are prohibited from shaving! The woodcarvings are also incredible and this is the place to come for this type of thing and cuckoo clocks. They are half the price of the clocks in our area! We spent the day wandering the village and taking pictures of the buildings and shops and then had lunch there. The buildings here are all done up in traditional Bavarian style with lots of woodwork on them and artwork painted on the walls. It’s so rustic and looks like the pages of a story book.

Next we stopped off at Linderhof Palace, one of King Ludwig II’s many palaces. This is the one he actually spent the most time living in. We didn’t go inside to tour the interior, just walked the grounds and saw the outside. Colin had a blast running in the snow there and talking to the geese on the lake, who swam right up to greet him. After the Palace we stopped at the Kloster Weihnachtsmarkt. We walked through the market that was all covered in snow with the Christmas and moonlight shining all around, gorgeous. When we got home Colin was pooped. We skipped his bath for the night and let him run around the room for a bit. When we said “are you ready for night nights” he actually walked to his room and stood at the door (which was closed) and when Shelby opened it up Colin went in his room and walked right over to his pack n play which is his bed at the hotel. He must have been tired!

Day 2 of Alpine Adventure Trip

Driving to Garmisch

On Thursday morning we got up early and headed to Ludwigsburg, which is very close to Stuttgart to go to another Christmas Market. I didn’t get too many pics of this one but it was very cool. It is called the Baroque Market because there is a Baroque Palace in the background. We had brats and some potato soup for lunch at the festival before hitting the road to Garmisch. It didn’t take long on the road before we started seeing snow. I figured we’d have to get closer to the Alps than we did before there was snow laying around. Even though Garmisch is in Germany, the shortest way (not necessarily the fastest way we discovered) to get there is to go through part of Austria and come back up into Germany, which is how we went. I was excited to check off another country on my list of visited. That area is beeeeeutiful! OMG I couldn’t say anything besides how crazy gorgeous it was there.
During the drive we figured out that in Colin’s 15 little months of life he’s been to 4 different countries already. We also calculated that he has only spent 7 months of his life living in the US since he was born. The rest have of the time he has lived in Korea and Germany.

Day 1 - Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt

Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt

We packed up and left for Stuttgart, where we planned to spend the night and check out the Weihnachtsmarket there. The barracks where the military hotel is located sit up on top of a huge hill where you have an amazing view of Stuttgart down below. It is a HUGE city compared to what I expected. I have people come in to Chili’s every now that come to visit Ramstein from their base in Stuttgart and they make it sound like it is a hole in the wall. They must be crazy because we saw a huge city with loads of activity and things to do. OK there might not be a Chili’s, but they have just about everything else there...including Starbucks. I’d gladly trade Chili’s for Starbucks!

The Weihnachtsmarkt there was huge and it was lit up and decorated very pretty. Colin was fascinated by watching a little train ride around the tracks through a mini village. Maybe next year he will be big enough to ride the train. We didn’t spend too long there, just browsed and grabbed some dinner at a seafood chain called Nordsee, and then hit up Starbucks for dessert. After that we got a little lost trying to find the parking garage, lol. Shelby and I have had this ongoing debate about why you must take your parking garage ticket with you when you leave your car. I say you must and he says you don’t have to. The reason I say you do keep it with you is because you do not see any tickets laying on the dashboards of the German cars. Also, the way the parking garages work here is you enter the garage and take a ticket. When you are ready to leave you find the machine to pay and insert your ticket, it tells you how much you owe based on how long you have been there, you pay and it validates your ticket and spits it back out at you. You go to your car and take the paid ticket to the exit and then insert it to get out of the gate. Sometimes there are automat machines all over the garage to pay and sometimes they are only on the ground floor near the walking entrance/exit to the garage. If your ticket is in your car you may have to go way out of your way to go get it and then go back to a machine to pay. Shelby agreed those were ok reasons to take your ticket with you but still didn’t see why it you couldn’t leave it in the car. So here we are wandering around downtown Stuttgart when I come up with reason number three why you keep your parking ticket on you instead of in your car. Because there are 50 different parking garages in a downtown area and your ticket has your garage name and address on it. If you get lost knowing what garage you are in and the address of the place is a huge help. I think Shel has finally decided I won that argument and guess who wants to carry his parking ticket with him, lol.

Heidelberg

Heidelberg Weihnachtsmarkt

The last day of their visit we headed to Heidelberg to show the family the castle and do another Weihnachtsmarkt. We've been to the castle before and yet another rainy day didn't make for many good pictures this trip The market had lots of good finds and we enjoyed walking around despite the rain and wind. We pigged out on brats, brotkartoffeln (potato dish) and some other German festival foods. I tried gluhwein, a red, spiced wine served hot during the Christmas season. It was just ok, I'd like to try it again somewhere else and see about it. I love Heidelberg because they have a Starbucks! I got a venti Lebkuchen Latte (gingerbread latte) that totally made my day.

Paris & Versailles

Paris & Versailles

Tuesday morning we got up earlier than early to head to Paris. I saw my second sunrise of the week (second sunrise since moving to Germany too, lol). It is about a 5 hour drive to Paris and we arrived right about lunch time. Traffic in Paris is INSANE. Thankfully smart Shelby got us a hotel on the edge of the city so we just barely had to drive in it and then we parked in the hotel garage and took the subway around. The hotel garage was interesting. It was a tiny little opening covered by a tiny little door. We rented a van for the week so that everyone would fit in one car and this little van barely fit through the opening. We had to pull the mirrors in and Shelby had to maneuver it just right to get it down the ramp without taking out the front end! After checking into the hotel we caught the subway towards the Eiffel Tower.

We ate lunch at a little cafe right near the Eiffel Tower and then afterward walked over get some pictures. To go up in the tower you have two options, the elevator or the escalator and stairs. The line for the escalator and stairs is of course very very short. The line for the elevator is hours long. The trick is to get there early in the morning, but we were too late for that. Since it was a cloudy rainy day we decided to skip waiting to go up in the tower since we knew the visibility was pretty low. We could either wait all afternoon to go up in the tower or go check out some of the other Paris sights. Shel and I left the choice up to the family since we live just a few hours down the road and will surely be back again.

We got lots of pics and let Colin run around in the grass near the tower to burn off some energy. He had a blast chasing this big black bird that wasn't afraid of him at all. It would taunt him by letting him get almost within reach and then hopping off. Colin would follow and this went on until the bird hopped through a hole in a garden fence and Colin couldn't go after him anymore. Colin protested by crying to his daddy about it.

Next we walked around the Paris streets for a bit on our way to catch the subway to the Notre Dame. The Notre Dame is incredible. In most of the churches I have seen here it is the inside that is the sight to see. The Notre Dame is the opposite, the inside is beautiful...but the outside is a work of art. Every inch of the building is covered in ornate details and the architecture is unbelievable. By the time we were done there it was time to catch the subway and head back to the hotel. We ended up having a delicious dinner in the hotel. Shelby and I had crawfish bisque and escargot for an appetizer. For my meal I ate a french salad that had very thinly sliced, raw beef and fresh parmesan cheese on it. The meat was marinated in some lime juice and seasoning so I believe it was slightly cooked from the acid in the juice, much like in ceviche. It was delicious though! I had creme brulee for dessert too, mmmm! Shelby had some trout for dinner with crepes for dessert.

The next morning we woke up and headed for Versailles, which is about 30km away from Paris. The Chateau de Versailles was the palace of Louis XIV in the late 1600 - 1700s and also where the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 at the end of WWI and ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers (basically the rest of the world). The palace is ridiculous! We must go back in the spring or summer when the garden grounds are pretty. The gardens go on for miles and can be viewed from all the huge windows in the palace. Inside there is marble and gold from top to bottom. Elaborate paintings decorate the walls and the ceilings in every room are masterpieces of art. We saw the bed of the king, where he was greeted every morning by a doctor and a parade of people. And, the bed of the queen, where she birthed NINETEEN children publicly for an audience to prove the legitimacy of the heirs! The palace was much more than I expected and worth seeing.

When the palace tour was over it was time to hit the road back to Germany. We spent a little time (felt like a lot of time) in Paris traffic. We learned that in Paris the cars ride between the lane lines and the motorcycles ride on the lines. They zip in and out between the cars and do not have to stop for traffic. Even the motorcycle policemen did this so it must be legal, lol. We finally made it back to Thaleischweiler in time for some pizza and salad from the bar and to get a good nights sleep.

Trier

Trier Weihnachtsmarkt

Monday we took the family to Trier for the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) and to sightsee. Shelby and I have been there before but were excited for the Christmas market. The Christmas markets all have a huge Weihnachts pyramid and the one in Trier is huge and amazing. I'm sure they are all incredible, but this was the first one I'd ever seen so I was impressed. It rained a lot most of the day but we braved the wet and cold to make sure we saw all the important sites. We hit the Trier Cathedral, the Roman bath ruins, the colliseum, and the Christmas market. We bought all kinds of goodies and gifts and had some delicious fresh German gingerbread, which is called Lebkuchen here. The rain made it difficult to take pics but I did get a few to share.