The Dentist

I've been to the dentist many times since January to get my teeth fixed after a 5 year dentist drought and 2 babies(which I hear does great damage to teeth). So for my last visit on Monday she ask me to bring Sam along since he has all his teeth and is turning 2 tomorrow.

We practiced for the week before to get him to open his mouth wide so the dentist could see his pretty teeth and cheered and clapped for him every time he opened it even just a little bit. He'd smile and get excited. So when Monday came we were hoping she could get a little peek at his teeth.
She was great! He was shy at first with all the equipment around and strange people but he opened his mouth twice for her and she said his teeth look great and was amazed at all the teeth he has (I have been giving frequent updates due to my insanely regular visits). When she was done she brought our a bucket of toys and he got to choose one which he has been carrying around all week and plays with regularly. And now for the reason for the post...

Sam today apparently decided he wants to be a dentist. He has been speaking about it all evening and got really excited when I pulled up the picture. He was even going around, opening his mouth and saying "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" So we'll have to see what the future holds for our little man.

Climbing everything

Ok, so this little man is climbing everything he can. Everything has become a step stool to something else and if he wants it he goes for it. Fear is not something that has even been considered at this point or discovered for that matter.
As you can see Sam can get to just about anything he wants to get at this point. We thought raising things to higher levels might help but... Not any more. I guess if we hung it from the ceiling that might work??? Any suggestions?

So this might look terrible but I'm really glad there are bars on these windows and that we are in the basement where the bars are. As you can see Sam has figured out the windows and if we were on the main floor or higher we would be worried about him falling out due to the lack of bars on those windows. So although they aren't pretty to look at, boy am I grateful for them at this point in my life.

Ok, so I know these pictures aren't great but we quickly put a stop to this one and so this is all I have. Just scroll down and watch him climb. No help or assistance was given just careful watching and ready to catch if needed.

Even though it was only the second time (that we know of) he had no problems whatsoever and made it up quickly and skillfully.
Yea, just look at that proud face! Sam, I hope that your whole life is conquered with as much enthusiasm as you put into it now and that you tackle all problems with the same determination. I just hope that in the future you will ask for assistance from your Father. Arnold will be there but even more so your Heavenly Father as He will always be there even when Arnold can't and knows how to help even better than Arnold can.

**Just a quick note...Apparently mother's revenge is great. I guess I was this way too. And Grandad...Are you going to take this little guy climbing in the future? I think he might need it. He's got a pretty good start as you can see.

Berlin...beware, long post.

Well, our trip to Berlin was great! We made it there and that was the first step. And here we are...
We made sure we had everything and then took off. This was one of our first views and I loved this bridge so Arnold took a picture for me.

This was some kind of cool building. Not sure what it is but looked cool.
This was another cool building on the other side of the path we were walking on. Again, not sure what it was but it was interesting to see the contrast of the two buildings.
Next we walked through a really cool park. Actually it was a rather warm day but that's another story. Anyway there was a playground and we had time so we stopped to let our little man get out some of the insane amounts of energy trapped inside of him.
I tried to get a fun picture of the beauty of the park but this was the best I could do. Just know that it was huge and beautiful.
Leaving the park after getting the passport info taken care of we saw this and thought it looked pretty cool. And yes, Sam crashed! Yea!
And this is the big gate. No I don't remember what it's called but it was big and fun to see.
Next we went to one of the coolest museums I've been too. They have collected old big stuff and I mean BIG! Take a look for yourself.






Yea, it's late and I'm tired...can you tell? This next picture is a building we passed all covered in Ivy...yea I'm stating the obvious I know. But it looked really fun since the wind was blowing and the whole building looked like it was breathing or alive or something.

Yet another fun looking building. I think the most interesting thing was seeing the contrast between the old and the new.
And finally, our last stop before going home... the train station.

We had dinner here to celebrate a successful trip. I think Sam enjoyed it.
Me too! :) I couldn't enjoy the veggies though but the rest was delicious!
Marie wanted some of what we got later as we waited for our train... I would too if I was her.
But Sam enjoyed it...
and so did I :) Hmmm....Yummy! :)
The best part of the train ride home was the space to play in so they could wear themselves out a bit. Did I mention I love the kiddie section we were able to reserve! :)
Sam had to explore everything which usually involved one of his favorite past times of climbing.
And finally....Cabin fever?
What else do you call it when you put cups on your feet and socks on your hands and then try to escape?

Prep for the Berlin trip

In the process of applying for Sam and Maries Austrian passports and stuff we had to go to Berlin basically to prove that they exist or something like that. It was a crazy trip and with the right preparation it turned out to be a lot of fun and not too expensive. :) Oh, I love trains especially the ones with kiddie compartments!

We decided to plan out what we were going to take to survive the day with the two kids. As we thought about it we decided to take out super stroller and boy are we glad we did. It was so nice to have and as you can see from the pictures when collapsed down it really isn't much bigger than the other stroller. It was easy to collapse and put back together and it held our stuff (diapers for the day, food, extra clothes, etc) and the babies so it was perfect for the trip! :)


This is the new ritual called babies sleep well dance. Yup, in hopes that the two would sleep well and get there quickly so they could be rested for the 6am departure the next morning and not be screaming the whole trip because they are too tired to cope with anything dance. I think Arnold did a great job, and for the most part it was a very successful dance. Maybe we should have him do it on a more regular basis. :)

Philipp is back!

Arnold's brother, Philipp, got back from his mission in Russia last week. We got to go to the airport to pick him up. For me this was the first time I've seen him since Arnold and I got married and it has been so much fun to see him again. He did a great job on his mission and I'm sure Russia is sad to have him go but we are glad to have him back.

Unfortunately most of our pictures didn't turn out wonderfully since there was much chaos with 2 kids and a camera in a strange environment. But we did get some cute ones of Philipp and Marie. She is very curious about her newly discovered Uncle and enjoys having him around.

This is the only other picture we have that shows his face. Julie, Christoph and Emily are also in the picture.

Welcome Home Philipp! We've missed you!

6+ months and almost 2 years

Well I have to admit I should have done this a few days ago but I haven't . We decided to have Marie's 6-7month checkup and Sam's 2 year check up at the same time since it could work that way so I guess it's a little later for her and early for him but it saved on trips to the Dr which always saves in sanity. So here it is. (I had to do the conversions so hopefully I did it right)
Samuel:
Weight: 28.5 pounds
Height: 34.7 inches
Head: 20 inches
Other: Handsomest little man ever and a delight to have around always.
Interests: Trains, Airplanes, Drawing (especially with LILA!), climbing everything, reading, running, laughing, and overall being an exhausting joy to have around.

Marie:
Weight: 17.6 pounds
Height: 26.5 inches
Head: 17 inches
Other: The cutest most beautiful little dainty girl you ever did see
Interests: Dancing, laughing, eating (boy does she enjoy eating), exploring everything, chewing on everything, trying to keep up with her big brother, and bringing smiles to everyones faces.
Newest achievements in the last week to add to crawling and standing up on her own...

Sits on her own (and eats grass on her own too along with other things but grass is pictured here)

Climbs stairs (luckily these are the only ones she has access too right now)

And for other random fun cuteness...

Boy do I miss eating corn. At least I get to enjoy watching 2 of my favorite people eat it. :)


Sleeping babies are always the best!

Chillin on the kitchen floor is always fun on a hot afternoon.

It was a very hot day that we chose to go out and pick berries so Arnold pulled out a hat or two. Sam found one for himself in the kitchen cupboards.

Crawling

So here's the start of the full crawl. I love how deliberately she places her hands each time and how she smiles the last time. She's just so happy and cute!

Starting to crawl

Yup, She's at a full crawl. It went through a few phases before she got there but she's definitely there now. Here's a video of just before the crawl. Kinda looks like she's doing the butterfly or whatever that swimming thing is. (no I'm not a swimmer and do not like the water much) Anyway, she's pretty fast at it and very mobile at this point.

Absence...

So I just want to do a quick apology for my absence. I have excuses of course like a visiting friend, getting REALLY sick with a stomach bug, no internet for a week. I think that covers atleast 3 weeks or more of my time missing. So here's to trying to catch up for the next little while.

In my absence a lot has changed, mostly with Marie. Here are a few pictures from today one of which might give you some ideas...

Matching babies. So cute but so wiggly. When will they ever hold still for a picture? And why is it that they always play on my lap? It is cute though.
Sam is so flexible. Not too many boys would play in this position for at least 5-10 min.
Any finally...

You can guess how she got there by the grin on her face. She is fast and determined. So now I just have to keep up with both of them. Lucky for me Arnold is going to be home for a while now. :)

Oh and for those who are wondering. I keep forgetting to put this on but the song Sam sings is Twinkle, twinkle little star. Just in case you were wondering.