2009 Was Very Fine!

This will be my last blog entry for 2009. This was one of the BEST and most memorable years we have had. God blessed Collin and I with a wonderful son. The new addition to our family was the highlight of the year for sure. Caden is such a joy to have.

This past year we also lost a loved one, TJ, Marisa's step-grandfather. His death was a big surprise for all and very sad. He is dearly missed.

We have also taken some wonderful vacations this year. Here is a summary by month of our travels and adventures.

We started the year off staying at a castle in Hornberg, Germany, in January, as we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.

In February Marisa went to Paris for 5 days with her good friend, Emily, who came to visit us for 2 weeks. While she was here we took her to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and visited the Medieval Crime Museum. We also went to Bad Dürkheim.

In March we went to Texas to visit family and friends. While in town our friends and family gave us 3 baby showers. Thank you again everyone for being so generous and welcoming of our precious son. It was nice to get to get see family and friends.

In April we went to Holland and visited Clara Maria Cheese & Clog Farm where we tried the best cheese in the world, ate dinner in Naarden Vesting, spent a day in Amsterdam, and part of a day at Zandvoort beach, where we saw the North Sea.

May was a busy month. We went to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, bought our first set of china at Villeroy & Boch, and spent a day in downtown Luxembourg City and saw the breathtaking casemates. Our good friends Philip and Jocelyn also came to visit us during May. We had a wonderful time with them. We went to the Schwetzingen Castle Gardens, took a paddle boat down the Neckar River, and ate at some nice restaurants including a castle in Bad Dürkheim.

June was the best month of the year because Caden was born. We spent 5 days in the hospital after a natural and drug free delivery. Germans recommend mothers stay in the hospital at least 5-7 days after giving birth. I was so tired that I honestly didn't mind.

In July Marisa's parents came to visit for two weeks and see their first grandchild. While they were here we went to France, stayed two nights in Brussels, Belgium, and an afternoon in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

For August and September we went back to Texas. Collin had training and so we took the opportunity to visit family and friends. We didn't get to see as many people while we were in town as we had hoped. It is very challenging to travel with an infant and he was having some stomach problems.

October we went to Switzerland and visited Interlaken and Spiez. Switzerland was beautiful!

In November we took a nice vacation to Portugal. We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Albuferia on the beach. We visited 6 different cities in the Algarve and spent a day in Lisbon.

December was a nice and relaxing month. We didn't travel very far, we went to a Christmas market. We were hoping to go to more but the snow and cold weather prevented us from going. We had a great Christmas and are planning on having a wonderful New Year at home.

We wish you and your family a safe and happy New Year. We hope 2010 is a great year for all!

Merry Christmas!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Sadly, we didn't get any snow, but we had lots of sunshine which is great especially this time of year in Germany.

First I'd like to say that Christmas seems to be a lot more fun once you have a child. Caden had a great time opening his first Christmas presents and playing with his new toys. He got visits from Santa Claus, the Christ Child, and the Christmas Man. The Christ Child and Christmas Man visit children in Germany. To make this Christmas better it would have been nice to have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins around. Hopefully we will be able to celebrate Christmas with extended family sometime in the near future.

I think it's funny how sometimes the simplest (and often cheapest) gifts make a child so happy. Caden's favorite new toys seems to be his Rock-A-Stack toy and a soft multi-texture rattle that he likes chewing on and shaking. His favorite "bigger" toy is Scout, a talking dog that says his name and sings songs about him using his name and different things he does. He laughs, smiles, and talks to Scout. He likes playing with his other toys too but these seem to keep his attention the longest.

This Christmas we stayed home and celebrated with the 3 of us. We read the story of Christ's birth to Caden and talked about why we celebrate Christmas. On Christmas Eve I cooked our main dish, we had beef tenderloin with blue cheese sauce, turkey bacon wrapped asparagus, stuff mushrooms, and chocolate pie. Christmas Day we had beef tenderloin, steamed asparagus, and steamed sweet potatoes. We also made creme brulee which was delicious and ate enchiladas for dinner.

Overall we could not have asked for a better first Christmas for Caden. He is such a wonderful child and full of life and love. By the way, I forgot to mention previously that he now knows his name. It's so cute, when you say his name he stops and looks at you. We love being parents and feel so blessed to have Caden in our lives.

Here are some pictures from our first Christmas as a family of three.

Caden sitting in front of the Christmas tree looking forward to opening his gifts

Caden and his stocking

Time to open presents!

Could you help me, please?

Wow! This is really cool!

Caden is such a happy and sweet child!

Here's my first ginger bread house

Christmas dinner

Getting ready to go on a Christmas Day walk

Collin flying his new remote control airplane, it's to the right of the tree

6 month well-baby and Texas Christmas

We took Caden to his 6th month well-baby appointment yesterday. He is doing great! The doctor was impressed with how well he sits by himself and how well he interacts with everyone. The doctor even sat on the exam table with him while she did his exam and let him play with her stethoscope. He loves grabbing and biting everything. He laughed and squealed for her. Caden now weighs 20 lbs 6 oz (95% percentile), is 27.2 inches tall (75% percentile), and his head head circumference is 44.5 cm. He has always been a big baby and his growth rate is to be expected since he was in the womb. I think it is amazing that the growth rate of a baby can be traced to the development in the mother's womb. Of course most people just measure the growth rate after the birth.

Caden got 6 shots, 5 needles and 1 oral. We ended up getting him the flu and H1N1. We were really torn on whether or not to let him get those but the doctor convinced us. She said it was our decision but she highly recommended it. She said the flu and H1N1 can be fatal to infants and young children. If he were to catch the flu or H1N1 then he would most likely spend at least several days in the hospital, sometimes more. Depending on the severity it could be life threatening. Collin and I discussed it and decided the risk of him getting it and being hospitalized outweighed the risk for a reaction. Since Collin and I both have had both vaccinations and did not have a reaction we thought it would be pretty safe for Caden. It is just a lot of shots for a baby. Overall he did great. He didn't cry as much as he did at his 4 month appointment. It seems like he only cried for a minute or so.

Last night we went to our friend's Dave and Juniper's house for a Texas themed Christmas party. The Tex-Mex food was great and there were probably 30+ people or so. We met a lot of new people and had a great time.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Caden doing his daily push-ups

Caden serenading us with his "microphone"

A Great 6 Months

Caden is 6 months old today! We can hardly believe how fast these past 6 months have gone. It is amazing how much he has grown and changed. Caden is such a blessing and we are so thankful to God for giving us this precious child. He is truly a gift from God.

Caden is such a happy baby. He smiles and laughs all the time. It is so cute to watch him. He also is very focused. We can easily play with different toys for 20+ minutes at a time. He likes to see how all the different toys work and will watch something again and again while trying to grab it and play with it himself.

As part of his first 1/2 birthday, we decided to give him his first haircut. His hair was getting pretty long and starting to cover his eyes and his ears. I was sad that we had to cut it so soon but after we were done I am glad we did. He looks so cute with his new haircut.

Caden goes to his 6 month well baby appointment Tuesday, so we'll get his measurements then. One of our favorite memories of Caden from these past 6 months was the day he was born. It will be a day we'll remember forever, when we saw him we immediately fell in love. I remember immediately holding him after he was born and treasuring his beauty and admiring his small body. Other favorite memories include Caden's first bath, first vacation, first plane ride, the first time he smiled at us, the first time he laughed as us, the first time he cooed, the first time he met his extended family, the first time he tried solid foods, the first time he saw snow, and his first haircut to name a few.

Now Caden can sit by himself and play. He continues to be more and more interactive and mobile everyday. He is not allowed to watch TV or look at a TV when it is on. However, we do Skype with some of our family and friends. It is so cute, at first he kind of ignored the screen, now he actually "talks" to people we Skype with. He will smile and laugh. He loves to stand on our laps or on the floor with us holding his hands. He can also stand holding onto another object as well. He loves listening to music. He grabs everything within his reach and usually tries to put it in his mouth. He also has become much more vocal, squealing, laughing, and babbling all the time. It is so much fun to see him smile and laugh.

Caden has eaten solids for a few weeks now and LOVES all of the vegetables. He has only tried one fruit, pears. He likes whole grain rice cereal the best out of the grains but has learned to like oatmeal. So far he has eaten these vegetables: peas, squash, carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes. He eats about 1/2 to 1 Tbs of grains and half a container of baby food a day.

Caden is now sleeping 9-10 hours between feedings at night. I have become more rested and am really enjoying our new schedule. He usually wakes up and will eat then sleep for another 2-3 hours unless we have somewhere to go.

I started taking him to an infant massage class this past month. We have gone to two classes. Caden really likes it and loves looking at the other babies in the class.

Here are some pictures of our precious baby starting with his first haircut and counting down 6 months.

After his haircut

Before his haircut (classic before picture)

6th Months

5 Months

4 Months

3 Months

2 Months

Almost 1 Month

2 Days

Christmas in Germany

We love Christmas. It's such a wonderful holiday celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love how many families are able to get together during this time. One of the hardest things about living overseas is that nobody else in our family lives overseas with us. Thankfully we have made some wonderful friends over here, attend a great church, and are enjoying our experiences. However, we still miss our friends and family back home, especially during the holidays.

We got our first snow last Sunday, December 13th. It didn't stick but Wednesday night's snow did. It was beautiful.

I thought I would mention a few German Christmas traditions in this post as well as a few differences.

Christmas Tree - Traditionally many Germans wait until Christmas Eve to put up their Christmas tree. Most Americans put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Several of our neighbors have their trees outside on their decks waiting for that special day.

Christmas Tree History - The first known Christmas tree was set up in 1419 in Freiburg, Germany, by the town bakers, who decorated the tree with fruits, nuts, and baked goods, which the children were allowed to remove and eat on New Year's Day.

The Advent calendar (Der Adventskalender) - The calendars are usually made of cardboard and have 24 small windows or flaps. One is opened every day leading up to Christmas. Behind each window is a Christmas scene or motif. Many calendars contain chocolate or candy behind each window, some even have small toys. I have seen most of them with chocolate. You can usually find these in the States and celebrate this German Christmas tradition from afar.

Nicholastag (St. Nicholas Day) - Germans celebrate Nicholastag on December 6th in Germany as well as in other European countries. On the evening before the 6th, children place their newly cleaned shoes (or an old boot) on their front porch in the hope that Nicholas might fill them with nuts, fruits, chocolate, and sweets. If the children have behaved well, their wishes will be fulfilled. Children who have caused mischief will receive only a switch, which symbolizes punishment for their bad deeds.

Santa Claus - Germans do not really have Santa Claus but rather the Weihnachtsmann (literally, "the Christmas man"), who is a direct descendent of Saint Nicholas. Or depending on the region in Germany, the Christkind (Christ child) comes and leaves gits for the children to open on December 24th in Germany. The Weihnachtsmann, much like Santa Claus, is depicted as a jolly old man with a long white beard in a red fur suit, with a sack of presents. The difference in Germany is that he does not arrive through the chimney, but rather slips in and out just long enough to leave the gifts, usually before children can catch a glimpse of him.

Christmas Lights - Germans tend to be more conservative with energy and therefore not many people put up Christmas lights. If they do it might be one string of lights in a window or a small reindeer light statute in their yard or on top of their house. Occasionally you'll see a few lights on someones bushes or in a tree, but from our experiences this is rare.

Commercialism and Christmas - Christmas in Germany is not as commercialized as it is in the States. Gift giving is much smaller and there are not nearly the advertisements for toys and gifts as one sees in the States.

Two Christmas Days - Both December 25 and 26 are legal holidays in Germany and are known as the First and Second Christmas Day respectively. What originally started out as a church celebration of Christ's birth has gradually become a family celebration. Businesses are closed, and time is spent visiting with extended family. Goose is the traditional fare on the First Christmas Day, or perhaps rabbit or a roast. These are accompanied by traditional German fare such as apple and sausage stuffing, red cabbage, and potato dumplings. The second Christmas day is usually a quieter time, a day for peaceful contemplation.

German Christmas Markets

Last Friday we went to our first German Christmas Market this year. We visited the Christmas market in Heidelberg. German Christmas Markets are a pretty big deal here. It is basically a big festival with lots of booths of handmade gifts such as ornaments, soaps, hats, scarfs, foods, candles, etc. They also have a few rides for the kids such as merry-go-rounds, and a few other things. Sometimes there is even an ice skating rink. There are also a lot of booths with food and drinks.

I was able to eat my favorite German festival food, a Kartoffelpuffer mit Knobisosse. It's basically a potato pancake with garlic sauce and is so good! So far we have only seen them during this time of year at the Christmas markets.

Collin had sausage and we shared some Heisse Maronen (roasted chestnuts). We love roasted chestnuts and had them the first time this year last time we went to France.

Caden had a great time too and even took a nap while we were there. He loves looking at people and Christmas lights.

Here are some pictures from our first Christmas Market outing.

Big Christmas Tree

Some of the booths

Sweet baby laughing

Collin and Caden in front of the Heisse Maronen man

Yum, Kartoffelpuffer

Kartoffelpuffers in the works

They don't offer this in Texas

Today while I was in my kitchen making lunch, a salesman came to my door selling Christmas trees. He looked in my house and saw my tree in our living room and said he saw that I already had one and started to walk away. I quickly asked him how much they were for future reference and he said they start at 15 Euros. It is amazing how many sales people come to our house. I thought it was funny and ran upstairs and took a took a picture of his truck from our bathroom window. I love this time of year and the randomness that happens in Germany.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Tree

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We went to our good friends from church, Rey and Denise's house and had a wonderful Thanksgiving pot luck with several other families. Rey and Denise hosted Thanksgiving last year at their house and we had a great time then too. Our meal consisted of traditional foods like turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, corn, several other vegetables, and tons of desserts. Caden's first Thanksgiving was a success, although he did not try any of the food this year, I am sure he'll love it next year.

We also have a Christmas tree! Did you know that Christmas trees originated in Germany? It is no wonder real ones here are so pretty. The fake ones in America are designed after the live trees in Germany. Our church has an annual Christmas tree tradition. The German and American congregations get together and go to a tree farm in Bavaria, find a tree, the farmers cut it down, then we all go to a working mill restaurant and eat a wonderful German meal. Last year we just ate lunch but didn't get a real tree because it was snowing and I was pregnant, so we really wanted to go this year. The farm was huge, there were so many trees. This is the first time Collin and I have had a real tree since we have been married. It is a beautiful tree. Caden loves looking at the lights and decorations. One of the best parts about this tree farm is all trees are 15 Euros, no matter the size. Our tree is under 6 ft because we didn't want a really big tree. However, many people in our group got 12+ ft trees. It was a lot of fun. Now we can finally get in the spirit of Christmas. Sadly we left all of Christmas decorations in the States except for a small fake Christmas tree. So we don't have many decorations. Everything is so expensive in Germany and the Euro/Dollar rate is terrible. However, what we have is wonderful and I feel truly blessed to have some really cool German Christmas ornaments that we spent way too much for last year.

Here are some pictures:

Thanksgiving Day

Collin and Caden

Marisa, Caden, Courtney, and William

Denise and Karla

Scott and Rios

Rey

Rita and Perry

Andrew, Courtney, and William

Christmas tree on our car

Our tree is up and decorated!

Caden loves our Christmas tree

5 Months Old!

Caden turned 5 months old last Friday, the 20th. Time is quickly passing; Collin and I can hardly believe he is already 5 months old. We both feel truly blessed. We have the best baby anyone could ask for. He is a very happy child and loves to laugh, smile, and say "hi!" He first said "hi" to me when he was 4 weeks old. He has been saying "hi" a lot more regularly and responds with "hi" if you say "hi" to him first. Could we say it's his first word? We'll see how the rest of his first year turns out. Here are some of the milestones Caden reached this past month:

- Caden is now able to sit by himself. He can sit for several minutes at a time. The nurse that comes to our house once a month said he is doing really well and seems to be sitting better than many babies his age. He sits longer when he holds onto something.
- He discovered his feet and plays with them all the time. It's amazing how flexible babies are.
- He also has wanted to put everything he can get his hands on in his mouth.
- He's moving a little on his tummy, I wouldn't say he's crawling yet, but he's definitely trying to and moves some! When he does tummy time we'll put several toys in front of him and he'll reach for all of them. It's so cute and fun to watch!
- Caden hasn't grown much last month. He now weighs 19.2 lbs and is still about 27 inches long.

The biggest change since he turned 5 months old is we have now introduced solids to his diet. He tried organic brown rice cereal on Nov. 21st. I originally wanted to wait until he was 6 months old but decided based on his size and longing interest in our food to go ahead and let him try solids. He really seems to like it. All he has tried is the brown rice cereal. We mixed a bowl with breast milk and he gobbled it up and wanted more. So we put some in a bowl and added water. He ate it too. Granted I barely put any rice cereal in his bowl to begin with because I heard many babies just spit it out and won't eat it and I heard it was really messy. He was so cute; before he finished eating he grabbed his spoon and fed himself. He seems to catch onto things pretty quickly and he's been eying us as we eat. I look forward to letting him eat vegetables and later fruits.

Here are some pictures of our precious son.

Caden getting ready to try his first taste of solid food

First bite...and he swallows it!

Time for bite number 2


Caden has taken control, he is already wanting to feed himself.

One satisfied solid food eater

Caden sitting up before bed

Here he's exploring his gym sitting up. Yum, ladybug!
This was actually taken before he tried rice cereal.

2009 Family Portraits

On Halloween we had some family portraits made. We figured that was a good day to go since we were not planning on taking Caden trick-or-treating this year. We think they turned out really well!