Willkommen zu Hause, Papa!

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This is the sign on our front door. Translation: Welcome Home, Daddy! You can tell who colored which letters. Genna colored the "Papa." Hannah and I split the other words.

The first words out of Genna's mouth to him were, "Daddy, outside?" She wanted him to take her outside. Hannah was eager to show him the dinosaur that she colored for him, and to make sure that he saw the huge sign on the door that we all colored.

We pretty much hung out here all day getting housework done in preparation for daddy's return. Hannah learned to fold a hand towel today. I showed her once how to do it, and she folded it perfectly! She had a harder time with the regular sized towels, but I was still very impressed how well she paid attention and followed directions.

Genna got put in the "Naughty Corner" for the first time today for screaming. She did not like it too much. When her time was up and I explained again that we don't scream, I asked her, "What do you say?" She apparently has been paying attention to the drill with Hannah, because she surprised me by saying, "Sorry" and giving me a hug. Then she surprised me again by biting me on the neck during the hug. Then she got a little swat on the tush. She's a fiesty one when she wants to be! Where did these girls come from? Brian and I were nice compliant children, right? I guess I forgot my genetics when I pictured what our kids would be like. It didn't even cross my mind that they might have genes that my sister has. (Just kidding, Kristen!)

Tomorrow's the day we've all been waiting for!

Daddy comes home! I, for one, can't wait, and the kids are getting antsy too. Hannah prayed at naptime, "God, please, bring Daddy home safe and sound!" We usually just pray the Angelus, and I add in a couple prayers usually asking for the girls to take a LONG nap so I can get things done. But when we finished the Angelus, Hannah added in her own prayer for her daddy! So sweet! I know her daddy will be happy to hear how loved and missed he was these two weeks. Plus, we have another surprise for him when he gets home, Hannah has memorized the Angelus as well! I am so proud of my big girl! It is certainly no short prayer for a 2 1/2 year old. I love how she says the words "Incarnation" and "Resurrection." It's so cute!

Hannah got a nasty bump on her head today. We were waiting for the car next to us to pull out so I could get the girls in the car seats, and when it pulls out we start walking to the back door. I have Hannah's hand, and I kind of stop her with my hand before I swung open the door. She is not paying attention because she is saying "thank you" to the lady in the car (I give her credit for good manners) and keeps walking right into the edge of the door as I am opening it. I can't tell you how many times this has almost happened because she isn't paying attention. This time, however, I was rushing and didn't catch it in time. She has a big bump on her forehead! I am just glad she is short and it didn't get her eye. The way things are going lately, someone around here is going to turn me in to CPS. All is well, and all will be better tomorrow when daddy returns to rescue us from ourselves!

The girls are feeling better!

Here is a picture of the girls in their scrubs from the other day.

Well, the girl's are feeling better now. I have a sore throat but am surviving. Today I watched one of Hannah's friends because it was a German holiday and her mom still had to work. She brought dress up clothes, and I got a great picture of them dressed like princesses!

Hannah's not a midget, by the way, her friend is 5 years old! Just in case you were wondering!

We went on a crazy long walk after dinner for an hour and a half. With the 50lbs of kids and the weight of the stroller going uphill half the time, it was quite a workout. Hannah talked and wiggled the WHOLE time. Genna was almost unconscious by the time we got home. :) She just zoned out, I heard her singing on and off at the begining to her baby doll (or maybe to herself, I'm not sure). I love my children. I can't help but want a million of them!

Die Toilette Humor

I mentioned before how Genna started sitting on Hannah's potty a week or so ago. So today while I was cleaning the bathroom, she plopped down (fully clothed) on the potty again. Then she points to the toilet paper and says something that sounds nothing like "toilet paper" or any other word I know. I asked her if she meant toilet paper and she did her nod and "Uh huh." I was curious where this was going so I gave her a square. Sheryl Crow would die if she knew I gave away a square of toilet paper knowing it would be wasted, but it's for educational purposes. Anyway, she took it and immediately knew what to do with it. I cracked up and ran to get the lousy temp camera. These are the pictures I got. The last one is of her throwing the toilet paper into the potty when she was finished.

Side note, since the girls are sick they are both wearing their matching scrubs today. Normally we would all stay in our jammies on these days, but we were running low on milk, bread, and medications so we had to go to the grocery store. I will try for a picture of them together when Hannah wakes up from her nap.

My precious baby girls...

...are both mysteriously sick with different symptoms. I hope this doesn't mean they are going to switch diseases and then we'll all be miserable for twice the time. Genna has a cough that is unfortunately waking her up many times a night and causing an early end to her nap as well. Hannah has her signature "high fever with virtually no other symptoms" disease.

Last night was one of those difficult evenings where both children were basically screaming nonstop until I put them to bed early to stop the madness. With Brian away, these are the times I sometimes go crazy, but by the miraculous grace of God alone I didn't do too badly. Anyways, this was my warning of what was to come...two sick kids.

However, this morning was better. Genna only coughed while sleeping and so I thought maybe this is minor and will go away. Hannah seemed symptomless and back to herself. At naptime it seemed to finally get sunny and feel like it was in the upper 70's so I filled up the baby pool (which I have yet to get to do with the incredible lack of summer temps here). Hannah has been asking everyday to go swimming, so I thought this would be a nice surprise for her. By the time we got out there it was clouding up again and a little breeze had developed. I felt bad saying we couldn't swim when they were dying to get in. Well, even they weren't crazy enough to actually get in the water to stay. They climbed in, realized it was a little chilly, and then were content to sit outside of the pool and play in the water. Thirty minutes later it's raining and we're packing up. I did sneak some pictures of them before the rain though.

So we come inside get in warm clothes, and suddenly Hannah is laying on the floor under a blanket. Having done this countless times I know what this means. She has spiked a crazy fever again. So we head up stairs to get ready for bed and dose everyone up with a mixture of Tylenol, Ibuprophen, and some vicks vapor rub (for Genna's cough). The girls both lay on Hannah's bed and watch a little bit of a movie on the portable DVD player. Then off to bed for the kids and off to blog for me.

And so this day ends with a plea for prayers for our sick family who still has another week until her husband gets back.

Oh, and one other thing, I am including a picture of part of my bathroom because this is something i forgot to include earlier and my tub is one of my favorite things about this house.

These are a few of Hannah's favorite things...

Hannah's favorite songs are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Rockabye Baby. Her favorite color is red (like her fish). Her favorite prayer is the Hail Mary. Her favorite princesses are Ariel (b/c of the red hair) and Belle even though she's never seen the movies, just read the books. Her favorite animal is a tiger. Her favorite foods are strawberry yogurt cheerios, spaghetti, and PB&J. And her new favorite facial feature is a beard!

No one we know ever has a beard (obviously, with Brian's line of work). This new fascination came about today when she was looking at her Children's Bible. She said, "Mom, I want some color on my chin too." I looked at the page she was on and realized she meant a beard because all the men had them in the picture. I laughed and said, "Oh Honey, only boys can have beards." I explained what they are, but she kept insisting that she wanted some hair on her chin too. I told her that just wasn't possible, but maybe she could ask Poppa Boat to grow one next summer when he comes to visit. That seemed to satisfy her for the moment. Then as I was thinking about it, I thought I guess I could draw one on her for fun. But then that seems kind of weird, so I didn't mention it.

I just figured out how to leave an option for comments. So, please, feel free to leave comments now!

Dino night at the community center!

Last night I took the kids to a fun Kid's night at the community center. They had more bouncy things, and the girls loved them again. Hannah got her hand painted with a butterfly. She wanted a dragon on her face, until she heard the girl's mom behind us convincing her daughter to get a lady bug. I don't know if she thought it was a better idea once she heard it, or if she froze up when asked and said the last hing that she had heard. Genna got a T-rex fake tattoo on her upper arm. Hannah made a playdough dinosaur and a dino snout out of a styrofoam cup. It was a dinosaur theme night. Hannah ran into one of her friends and just had to show off her ladybug on her hand. She looked like such a big girl running over to her friend and talking to her like that. My first baby is growing up too fast!

Braver than I thought

Today the church we’ve been attending had a picnic after Mass and they had one of those big bouncy things there. Hannah loves to jump so we thought it would be fun for her. She agreed, but then got a little nervous when looking through the whole that she would climb through. She has been in one before, and so it just took a little coaxing to get her to go in. She had a lot of fun and had to be coaxed to get back out. Well, there were quite a few bigger kids jumping, and it wasn’t a very big area. Since Hannah was doing it, Genna just had to try it too. I figured she would chicken out so I agreed reluctantly. She crawled right in and over to her big sis and stood up (which impressed me because when Hannah was younger she could not stand up in those). I, of course, stood close by watching the older kids so I could correct them if they got too rowdy around my babies. She had a great time bouncing! It’s so interesting watching her personality come out. Who knew that the shy one would be the braver one! Hannah is so cautious that bravery isn’t really an option. I never have to worry about Hannah doing anything crazy dangerous, and she always watches out for Genna too.

Oh, Genna just recently learned to tell us how old she is! If asked, she will say, “One” and hold up her finger. I am very proud of my daughters!

Guess who sat on the potty today...

Genna! Here I am potty-training Hannah, and what happens my baby goes and sits on the potty to poop (with her diaper still on, but I am still impressed). She was acting like she was trying to poop, and when I asked her, "Do you need to poop?" She said, "Poop," got up, walked into the bathroom, and sat on the potty. She kept getting up then sitting down, until finally she came out for good stinky as can be. I know better this time than to think this actually means something, but it's cute if nothing else.

Genna has also learned to put her dirty diaper in the trash! And today while I was making lunch, Genna saw me cutting up her grapes and promptly brought me her bib saying "Bub" over and over. I guess she is growing up.

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!

Whew! I often have to remind myself how much I longed to hear that not too long ago. I should count how many times I hear that a day sometime, but I don't think it would be possible. Genna's first and favorite word has always been "Mommy," but lately it is getting crazy out of hand. All day long she says, "Mommy?" I say, "What honey?" She either continues the cycle or points to something to tell me what it is or to ask what it is. If I don't respond the word is repeated getting louder everytime. In addition to that, I have all of Hannah's "Mommy's" as well. Oh the joys of being a mommy! I wouldn't trade it for anything, but, boy, does it make me want to pull my hair out sometimes!

First Skinned Knee...

Hannah's was not too long ago when she was 2 1/2 years old, hence the earlier comment about her being more cautious.

Genna, on the other hand, got her's today at 15 months old.

Hannah's reponse was a big dramatic cry, a demand for a band aid, and even a bit of limping on and off for an hour.

Genna's response was to whine a second and point to her knee. I couldn't see her knee from where I was but told her to "rub it off" because I assumed it couldn't be that bad if she wasn't crying. She did and went on playing. Later I noticed there was a little blood, so I cleaned it up and put a band aid on it which only stayed on for a few mintues until she ripped it off and brought it to me.

I love that they are so unique!

Potty dances and a bruised face

Well, the potty dances belong to Hannah. She has finally started doing a "potty dance" to alert me that she needs to be encouraged to head to the bathroom! I can't tell you how happy this makes me since I was just having to keep her on a potty schedule. Sometimes she goes without being asked/reminded, but now if she doesn't I know when to remind her. Hooray! She is doing great with only one accident since the couch incident, and that was right in front of the potty. She just didn't quite make it there! I've never been so happy about an accident!

The bruised face belongs to Genna. She is really unaware of her surroundings! I guess that's a baby thing, but Hannah was always so cautious I didn't notice this with her. Genna has a bad habit of getting too excited (or sometimes upset) and throwing her head into a pillow, a couch, or a bed. She doesn't look first though and many times has wacked her head on a wall or a hard toy in the way. This time it was the edge of our end table (which is getting a soft cushiony thing put on it now). The couch is pushed up against the end table, and she thought she was throwing herself into the soft couch. However, she miss and got the edge of the table with her cheek. I am telling the truth, not 10 seconds passed before there was a dark purple line across her cheek. Poor thing! She only cried a few minutes, and it doesn't seem to bother her now (unless I wipe her face too hard on that side). I am glad she is resilient, but it hurts me everytime I look at that beautiful face with the horrible bruise on it. I would gladly go through natural childbirth again to spare my babies the pain of living and learning.

The House pictures...finally!

Here are a few pictures of the house. They are, in order: the backyard, two views from our windows, the living room, dining room, kitchen, toy corner under the stairs, and Hannah's room. To orient yourself, the living area and dining area are all in one big room which has 2 sets of double glass doors that open to the porch and backyard. The kitchen is across from the stairs with the toy corner, and all of that is open to the living and dining area as well. We like it. At least we are not tripping over toys and each other everytime we turn around anymore.

They are not the greatest pictures because it's with our cheapo camera since our nice one is being repaired. I couldn't get a wide enough angle to get much of the rooms, but it's something.

The girls are growing up so fast.

Genna is learning so much these days. She knows many animal sounds, her main body parts, and is really starting to enjoy books. Hannah always loved books, but Genna has not shown much interest in them until recently. She "reads" them to me by pointing to the pictures and telling me what things are. She even sleeps with a book on occassion. Her newest phrase is, "Feet first." This is what I am always saying to her when she is getting off the bed or couch. Today at the playgroup on post, she started doing "Ring Around the Rosie" with the big kids. She also cleaned up more than most of the older kids at the end.

Yesterday, I did a yoga DVD while the kids were playing. They both came over and participated. Hannah was doing Downward Dog, and Genna was trying to do the Sun Salutations. It was so cute!

Hannah has been telling me that she wants to "take care" of people or animals that are sad or hurt. Like the ugly duckling in the story, she said, "Mom, I'll take car of him." She seems to be very compassionate. She is doing very well with the potty training. I let her watch 30 minutes of a video at the end of the day if she has kept her panties dry all day. So she keeps her eye on the prize most days! She is even starting to tell me more often instead of me having to always ask.

A 2 year old's definition of gravity

The other day I asked Hannah if she remembered what gravity was. She said gravity makes the ball come back down, and then she went on to tell me it makes her shirt go up. I was confused by this so I asked her some more questions to see what she was talking about. She explained to me that when she turns upside down, gravity makes her shirt go up. Brian and I were amazed since we never explained this to her. I guess she really does understand gravity!

It's just like riding a bike!

Well, yesterday, after Mass we went to a bike riding event. I rented a bike and Brian pulled the girls in the trailer on his bike. The event was more like a festival, I suppose. They closed down this major road to motor vehicles and in each town they had food and entertainment. So it was an adventure for me since I have not riden a bike for 12 years. We managed 30kms altogether, stopping only twice to eat, drink, and for Hannah to go on a ride. We ate snitzle sandwiches and waffles with cherries jubilee on top! I am very sore today. I decided that the reason people in Europe can eat sausage and pretzels all day everyday is because they are so much more active. I swear 80 year olds were riding their bikes!

It was really a great family day. The girls slept after lunch in the trailer. It was so cute to see them asleep on each other like that! They were such troopers! I think we will rest today! Poor Daddy had to go to work today though.

A fish is not the same as a child!

Well, I had some trouble with getting a fish for Hannah. I went to 2 different pet stores, and if you can believe it neither one would sell me a beta or a goldfish without saying I was going to put them in a full sized tank. They do not have fish bowls here because, as the man explained, they believe it makes the fish cross-eyed and crazy. I tried to buy this small rectangular plastic cage and a beta. The lady actually had the nerve to compare me putting a beta in a small "bowl" to me putting Hannah in a box to live! I was extremely upset by this, and so we left the store with Hannah asking me over and over, "Mom, aren't we going to get my fish?" In the car I had to explain that the lady would not let us buy the fish, but that maybe daddy could try for us.

I told Brian to just go buy the fish without asking any questions, and get a container on post for it to live in. So that worked and Hannah is now the proud owner of a red beta named, "Bologna." Let me tell you this is the most loved fish. He sleeps in Hannah's room and then eats meals with us at the table. Hannah tells us when he is sleeping that we have to be quiet. It's pretty cute!

Here's a picture of Hannah with her new pet fish, Bologna!

This morning we went on a family walk/bike ride. I walked, and Daddy pulled the kids in the trailer on his bike. We took a new scenic route to the grocery store and the metzgeri (meat market). We saw horses and deer while walking. It is a beautiful day!

Tonight we have company coming over, some people we met at the village festival that we attended a few weeks ago. They have 2 kids also and the older girl and Hannah played very nicely together. So hopefully we've made ourselves some good friends in our village.

Had a bad day

Well, I need to find a way to nip Genna's new screaming habit in the bud. My biggest struggle as a mother is handling all the noise, and her screaming to express some urgent message is not helping. If I tell her no or Hannah tries to take her toy back, we are met with a high pitched piercing scream. It's got to stop. It is even more upsetting when it is in the library!

Hannah's almost 4 day dry panty streak came to an abrupt halt when I left the girls with Brian for an hour and a half while I went to the grocery store. The worst part is that it was on our couch. So now I have a challenge ahead of me...to get the couch cushions clean and smell-free.

At the grocery store, I dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce that broke and soaked into my flip flops. I wanted to cry at this point, but I didn't.

Tomorrow is a new day! Thank God for that! I hope to venture out to the german pet store to get Hannah a goldfish. I promised her one once we got settled in Germany. She wants to name it Bologna, I think, but that may change by the time we get it.

We love Germany!

Brian is loving taking the girls out in the trailer hitched to his bike! I have to say, I secretly enjoy the quiet while they're out too! Hannah says she does not like the bumps, but otherwise she enjoys it. Genna is usually content once they get going, but when she does get upset Hannah assured me that she takes care of her little sis. She told me that she rubs her head if Genna gets sad. What a good big sister!

The house is almost set up. The last few things are going to take a while since I need Brian's help and his time right now is somewhat limited learning the ropes at his new job. I am looking forward to getting some pictures of the house up though. I love the house! It is nice to have so much more room and not trip over toys just walking through the living room. We have a nice little play corner under the stairs and another one on the 3rd story.

Hannah has been dry for 3 days in a row now during waking hours! Praise God!

Genna is getting her last 1 year molar, so she had a hard day today. We had an incident while changing a particulaly nasty diaper too. Let's just say I now have a lot of disgusting laundry to do as well. But what else is new? If it's not that it's Hannah pooping in her panties or Trinity, the 3 legged cat, puking on a rug.