charlotte's 2011

laterne, laterne

Wo wir gerade Feiertage haben... noch ein überfälliger Nachtrag:
Anfang November hatte Charlotte ihren ersten St. Martinsumzug.

Mit anderen deutschen Familien und Kindern sind wir mit unseren Laternen singend um die Häuser gezogen. Und danach gab's Glühwein und Erbsensuppe - für Mama und Daddy :-)

happy holidays

After a grueling 10-hour shoot and some 14,000 photos later, this is the best we could do. At least they're both looking in the right general direction. (The outtakes, by comparison, have Charlotte staring out the window, Penny trying to reclaim the real estate on her bed Charlotte was busy occupying, and the tree falling over. Happy holidays.)

and then came the rain

Sometime last week the skies over southern California opened up. It reminded me of a good DC summer thunderstorm: raindrops the size of marbles pouring down, leaving everything in its wake soaked through-and-through, disappearing within twenty minutes. It was enough to keep those with any sense inside, and those without running for shelter.

I don't know into which category Penny falls. On rainy days Penny economizes. She skips her meals and bypasses the water bowl throughout the day; Penny, it seems, understands that what goes in must come out.

When we left for our evening beach walk, the drizzling had stopped and a few rays of sunshine began peaking through the clouds. We had waited out the rain. Or not. About a quarter-mile onto the beach, the clouds came, the rain fell, nothing (and no one) was stirring, all was dark. Except Penny and I were stuck in the middle of the beach. Penny decided she'd had enough and made for the exit. I was having none of it. I was already dripping wet. There wasn't a dry spot on my body. A standoff ensued: Penny wanting to leave (!) the beach and me holding my ground, even as the ground was washing away beneath me. It was like bizarro world.

Eventually I prevailed and the rain relented. Okay, so maybe not in that order, but we did get our beach walk in after all. Of course, my reward was a chilly breeze causing me to shiver throughout our entire stay. I suspect Penny was laughing at me, knowing full-well into which category I belong.

you're so vain...

...you probably think this blog-post is about you.

The generous interpretation of this scene is that Charlotte is playing "Mirror, Mirror." More accurately, she's just giving herself kisses.

disco dog

Penny has gotten festive for the season too... she is happily sporting a night light collar for our off-leash beach walks after sunset. So we roughly know where she's frolicking around ;-) 

toy story

As we approach Christmas, it's funny to see that kids really don't need special toys to be happy and entertained... daddy's camera lens cover is interesting enough! ;-)

mit schwung

 

Achtung....!

Schau Opa, ich habe soviel Spass beim Schaukeln ;-)

block party

Charlotte LOVES blocks these days.



 






She loves all about them...

...pulling them out of a box, ... 

...turning and looking at them from all directions, ...

...throwing them on the ground, ...

...and - of course - putting them in her mouth!   

You can see her

"in action" below ;-)

 

[PS: Some other favorite past times include giggling, smiling at Penny, babbling, grunting, smiling at Penny, turning pages during story time, sitting, lip smacking, smiling at Penny, investigating tags on her toys, splashing bath water, balancing on all fours, and smiling at Penny!]

gratitude

We hope our loved ones in the U.S. are having a wonderful holiday.  

This year, we are grateful for Charlotte and Penny having made us a family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

sunday mornings in bed

 

As we head into the long holiday weekend, we look forward to some lazy days!

zum zähne ausbeissen

Na, zum Glück haben wir ja (noch...) keine! :-)

holy water!

On October 23, Charlotte took the plunge...
Luckily, the priest used warm water ;-)

Here is a little recount of her christening:

Contemplative right before church...
"Am I really making the right decision?!"

Mama telling Charlotte "It'll be all right, if not fun...!"

"Well, ok then, let's get going!"

Beautiful Mary, Star of the Sea church

Oma & Opa brought a baptism candle for Charlotte from Germany

Nanny and godmother-for-the-day Marie also telling Charlotte that
"It will be fun ;-)"

"See, not so bad - the water is warm, yay!"

"Well then, bring on more!"

Godfather Tom keeping Charlotte safe while Father Rafferty is
anointing her with blessed oil.

"You guys were right, getting baptized was quite fun actually."

Charlotte with godfather Tom and Marie -
godmother Kati was with us in thoughts from Germany!

Grandparents are great, Nana brought my christening gown -
which Daddy, Aunt Amy, Uncle Brett and cousins Nola and Fin
were already baptized in!

Family shot with Mama and Daddy

"The best thing about gifts is the wrapping paper - yum!"

Penny thought so too ... and was quite nosy ;-)
"Maybe there are also some treats in there for me?!"

Celebration flowers

"Getting baptized is great - 
especially if you get such a cool title afterwards!"

"What a wonderful day!"

...

"Now I can rest on the pillow that Mama and Uncle Marcel 

were baptized with."

showered with "love"

The events that we're going to describe today unfolded so quickly this morning that we could not capture any photographic evidence of it
(and you'll probably be glad for it ;-)

Charlotte was excited to demonstrate that she can pee like the boys!

After all, a far reaching stream is just so much more fun than a
boring little trickle...

[Luckily, Mama was quick enough to step aside.]

better than cake

For Charlotte's six months birthday, we celebrated with some 

carrot mash this weekend. 

She sure liked her first culinary adventure into the world of solid foods!

geburtstagsoma

Als Oma & Opa zu Besuch waren haben wir einen grossen Geburtstag gefeiert: Oma's 60ten!

Zur Feier des Tages sind wir mit dem Schiff in der San Diego Bucht gefahren. 

Das hat viel Spass gemacht: wir haben Seelöwen gesehen und Möwen, eine Menge Segelboote und grosse Marineschiffe.

A propos, Opa und Daddy meinten ich hatte den coolen Kampfpiloten-Look, mit Sauerstoffmaske :-)

great dog? or the greatest?

On the 31st we celebrated at a Halloween party. The guests of honor were a collection of babies ranging from three to fifteen months. Fittingly, Charlotte went as a cow; other costumes included a monster and a tiger. Also apropos, Charlotte managed to trick-or-treat at a grand total of one-half a house. (I'm rounding up here.) Upon leaving the host's house and beginning the twenty meter walk to the next one, Charlotte decided she was hungry again. She didn't even make it to her first doorbell. 

Dogs were also welcome at the party. Penny played nicely with the other two hounds. When Charlotte finally went to sleep upstairs, Penny played guardian. (It must be said that the dog whose house Penny had invaded was as gracious a host as his parents.) As Charlotte dozed off Penny laid beneath her. Here and there Penny would hear the commotion downstairs and walk to the banister, but she didn't often leave her self-appointed post. It's clear already that Penny loves her little sister. 

Post trick-or-treating but pre-sleep, Charlotte and Penny were both at the party downstairs. They managed to play together a little, with play here meaning Charlotte laying on top of Penny. Penny didn't seem to think that she was getting a raw deal and happily provided some hair for Charlotte to grab. The other guests were impressed with how gentle and peaceful Penny was as Charlotte, whose dexterity is not the most well-developed, petted her. As we notice every night on the beach: Charlotte loves Penny. She truly is a big goofy teddy-bear.