Caden is 14 Months Old Today!

Caden is 14 months old today.  He is growing and learning new things every day!  A few new accomplishments this past month.  He has mastered the use of a fork and spoon.  It's amazing how "clean" he is when he eats.  He can now feed himself cereal in milk with a spoon.  Yesterday, I sat a bowl of yogurt in front of him and he did great eating it too.  I was so proud.  He can feed himself French Toast and eggs with a fork.  Pretty much anything that we eat and is healthy we'll let him try.  Thanks to my sweet mother-in-law for encouraging us to let him feed himself with utensils.  I think he has picked it up quickly and is doing great!  Caden has also gotten better at not dumping his bowl or plate over.  He also no longer throws his cup on the floor.  If he doesn't want it on his high chair he puts it on the table. 

Caden feeding himself yogurt

He is full of energy and constantly on the go. Caden continues to have a sweet personality and is very friendly. He loves meeting new people and seeing people he knows. His can now "run" but sometimes falls over. Usually he catches himself, which is great. He gets into everything if we're not careful, including the trash. When I was cooking the other day he dug in our kitchen trash in less than a minute and had egg shells on the floor playing with them. Gross! He also has a tendency to want to dig in his diaper trash can too. Nasty! So needless to say, I do a lot of cleaning and cleaning up around the house. Caden keeps his mama busy. Not to mention when he takes his diaper off. Thankfully he has not taken any poopie diapers off yet. He now sometimes will point at his diaper when he needs to be changed. One of the benefits of cloth diapers, I think. Such a helpful young man! Caden also likes to get on his hands and feet and look upside down between his legs.

 

Lately, he is sleeping more and better.  He now sleeps around 12 hours at night and usually takes a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon.  He never slept that long during his first year for a nap, or if he did, it was very rare.  It's nice to finally be able to get some things done around the house.  I'm also able to get him down overall much faster for his naps.  Today I lucked out and got him down in less than 10 minutes!  That's the fastest I've ever been able to get him down except when I used to nurse him to sleep.  One new thing we have done is let him hold a blanket while we read to him and rock him to sleep.  He seems to really like holding a blanket, more so than a stuffed animal. 

A few of Caden's favorite toys and activities are: stacking boxes - he loves to stack boxes and other things; puzzles; his shapes sorting cube; his push popper toy; making music - on our piano, his keyboard, drums, and his xylophone; Caden loves to read books and some days he is very picky about what books he wants read to him; he's getting really good at identifying objects in picture books such as fruits, vegetables, and animals; he likes kicking balls, crawling through tunnels and under the kitchen table; bringing us things; talking; singing; and dancing to music.  Very recently he discovered he can turn off and on the lights with the wall switches.  For months he has enjoyed reaching for the pull cords on the ceiling fans and lights, but now he is tall enough to reach the light switches by himself so he's all over it!  He also likes opening and shutting doors and drawers.

Caden now weighs 24.1 lbs and is a joy to have.  Here are some recent pictures.

I'm pointing at you!

I love clapping and laughing too!

My Dad is the best!

I'm leaning up against my mom because I love her!

Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim

This past weekend we finally went to the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim.  It is a large museum that houses over 3,000 exhibits from all areas of technical history.  There are two large buildings full of old expensive vehicles, trains, and there are even a number of airplanes you can explore on top of the buildings.  There are also many war vehicles and tanks located outside the museum that are part of the exhibit.  The museum was very educational and a great place to see the history of automobiles and technology throughout the world.

In addition to the museum there is also a small amusement park outside the museum that looks like a lot of fun.  Caden is too young to ride on the rides now but there is a park he could play at.  Sadly we didn't have enough time to let him play at the park this time since we spent so much time in the museum.  There is also an IMAX 3D film theater.  Collin and I hope to go back and see an IMAX sometime on a date.  We just need to find a babysitter.

Here are lots of pictures.  Enjoy!

 Outside the museum

 There are wax people next to most of the cars showing what people wore from that era

War Helicopter

 Caden exploring the war tanks

 A fighter plane that you can actually pay to "fly"

Old Tractor

 Me and Caden waiting in line to walk through one of the airplanes on top of the roof

 Collin and Caden inside the airplane

 Caden sitting inside an old car

 I decided to join him!

 One of the many limited edition and expensive cars at the museum  

Two Years in Deutschland

Yesterday was our two year anniversary of living in Germany.  Have we really been expats for two years?  Some days it seems like only yesterday we moved here.  Other days it seems like we've lived here a lot longer.

Collin and I have grown so much since moving overseas.  Not only have we grown as a couple but also individually.  For me personally I have become much more assertive.  Germany has helped me in this regard.  I also have become more compassionate, thanks to all the loneliness and frustration that comes with living in a country that doesn't speak your language. 

Here's a brief flashback to two years ago.  Collin and I arrived early Monday morning.  His new boss picked us up at the airport.  Our plane was delayed.  Neither one of us had ever been to Germany before.  We were each others only friend in a strange country.  That was tough.  We lived in a hotel for the first two months before moving into our house.  Our furniture did not arrive until almost 2 weeks after moving into our house and we had a lot of problems here.  We had one car for the first 8 months.  I got pregnant in less than two months of living here.  Collin went to work all day while I tried learning German and walked around the communities exploring our new country.  I joined some ladies' Bible studies and did a lot of thinking and writing. 

Our first weekend here our rental car got locked in a garage downtown.  We had no idea that they closed certain underground garages after 9pm!  It too a while to find someone willing to help us.  Finally after over an hour we were able to get our car out and head back to our hotel.  We quickly signed up for German classes after that.  We experienced the importance of knowing German.

Not having a job when we moved was very difficult for me.  I wanted to work but there was nothing in my field.  Once I was pregnant and my German doctor found out I wasn't immune to rubella I was told I couldn't go to church, Bible studies, or get a job until I was at least 20 weeks pregnant.  By the time I hit 20 weeks there was no point in finding a job because I had decided that I wanted to be a full time mom and stay home with our child.  Little did I know how tiring and challenging that would be!  At least once a week I think about the material things we could have if I worked, I'm sacrificing a lot of money for this child, and at the same time I could not imagine my life any different.  Sure we have less money than a lot of our friends but we manage well and still have been able to take some incredible vacations.  We have learned to do without and stay out of debt which means a lot to me.

Most of the time we eat at home.  If you've ever been to Europe you know how long it can take to eat out.  Caden does pretty well when we go out to eat but he has his moments and doesn't want to sit there more than 10-15 minutes sometimes.  However, I do agree with the Germans that going out to dinner should be a celebration.  I appreciate the fact that we are never rushed out the door after our food arrives with the waiter saying "I'll leave this check for you when you're ready."  It's nice having a table for an evening and being able to talk and take our time eating.  With the price of eating out, shouldn't it be a celebration anyway?  Eating out is considered a luxury.  Most of the people in the world prepare their own food.  One time in France we asked a lady where a good restaurant was.  She didn't know because she never eats out since she lives there.  She said she always goes home and cooks her food.  Interesting.  Could you imagine never eating out in your hometown?  I personally cannot.

Yesterday our neighbor finished a beautiful hand-carved copper picture of the Heidelberg castle for us.  We felt so honored that he made us such a special gift.  It took a while to make friends here but I know the few German friends we do have will be our friends for life.  I think about all our "friends" back home and wonder how many of them would be there for us if we needed something at 3am.  I'm sure if you are taking the time to read this then you are one of them and we thank you.

Our time in Germany is going quickly.  We would love to host any of our friends during this next year.  Germany is a beautiful country and there is a lot to see and do.  We live in a pretty central location in Europe and LOVE having friends and family visit us.

Here are a few pictures of our beautiful picture and a few of Caden too. 

Our good friend and neighbor, Michael, giving us the beautiful copper picture

He did an amazing job!

Our little guy in action.  I finally got a shot of him smiling while he was on the go.

He's such a happy and sweet child.       

Our Deutsch Freund

It's been a few weeks since I last wrote.  We have been super busy.  Two weekends ago our good friend, Bernd, came to see us.  He's German but living in Texas now.  He and his wife came and saw us a few months after we first moved to Germany when we were both pregnant.  We took a trip with them to Venice then.  He was on business this time and stayed an extra weekend to come see us.  We had a great time catching up and talking.  We were so glad he came to see us.  Caden thought he was fun to hang out with too. 

I will say I learn more about the German way everyday.  Bernd enjoyed teaching me about some strange foods Germans eat that I would NEVER eat.  For instance, Collin and Bernd were very kind to let me stay in bed Saturday morning while they took Caden and walked down town to the bakery.  When they came back I found out that Bernd stopped by the meat market and got himself a sandwich.  What kind of sandwich?  A RAW pork sandwich.  Did he cook it?  Nope.  So nasty!  Yes, our friend ate raw pork for breakfast.  He didn't eat it just one day but both mornings he was here.  Collin told him not to touch our stroller after he ordered that and to wash his hands and not touch anything because I would be grossed out.  Thank you, Collin.  For dinner one night Bernd ordered a dish that was cooked inside a pig's stomach.  However, at this restaurant they no longer cook it in a pig's stomach.  I was worried about that when he ordered it.  It's interesting how much the American and German cultures are alike and yet they are also so different.  All in all we were both very glad to see Bernd, catch up with him, and learn more about his country. 

Here are a few pictures from Bernd's visit.