a chip off the old block

Nana came to visit Baby Noah this week and brought along a few mementos. First came Daddy's favorite book as a toddler: The Little Red Caboose. Daddy used to read it every day. Literally, every day. Charlotte received her own, less-worn, copy. She's proceeded to read it every day too. Twice each night. 

 

Nana also brought her book of notes from Daddy's first years. A small sampling, produced below, could be used to establish paternity of Charlotte in a court of law. 

6.5 months: Climbs steps.

15 mos.: Absolute pain; gets into everything; got into Crisco shortening; spilled vegetable oil all over floor; puts crumbs from cookies on cat's head; pulls bathroom rugs out from bathroom; climbs on chair and clears tables; sits on secretary [desk]; has smile on face continuously but is not a kisser; no one wants him in their room.

17 mos.: Sits on cat; kicks cat; bit Amy; pushes chair to kitchen counter to turn light on and off; climbs into highchair with his bib when hungry; gets on chair and puts shades up; pee-peed in hallway closet with door closed when diaper was not on.

17.5 mos.: Knows all parts of body--ear, eye, nose, teeth, hands, hair, head, belly, toes, arms, mouth; lays on living room windowsill while looking out window; dances around house.

21 mos.: Wanders all over; climbed fence and went next door into [neighbor's] screened patio and climbed on lounge chairs; dive bombs on cat; walks down stairs without holding on.

23 mos.: Calls himself "Andrew;" will not say Troy; has a mind of his own; is a real tease; has to have bandaids all over his legs and arms; is a real handful; gets into something constantly; lets cat out of house all the time.

26 mos.: Talks very well and all the time; says "I hold it" instead of "Me" or "Troy;" teases constantly; will say "Dumb Brett" or "Dodo Brett" just to tease Brett.

well, at least she has a future as a publisher

Baby Noah gave Charlotte a gift for his birthday: a camera. [Yes, Charlotte receives gifts even for other people's birthdays...]

Here's a sampling of what she photographed. She was particularly interested in her feet, the floor, and her scooter. But one picture stands out from the rest. [Maybe she was just channeling her "inner Noey."]

noah maximilian is here!

August 14, 2013 - 4:04 am
7 pounds 15 ounces (3621 g)

 21 3/4 inches (52,5 cm)

After taking his time for a bit, our little boy was all of a sudden eager and VERY quick to arrive: In a speedy delivery, Noah Maximilian was born mid last week. After a few days in the hospital, we've been settling in well at home.

Charlotte is excited about her baby brother and already gave him the loving nickname Noey. 

san diego memories

Before leaving San Diego, we did a family photo shoot on our beach -- to capture some of the memories we've collected during our Southern California life in the past years.

We've made many happy memories during this time: most importantly, starting our family.

Troy moved to San Diego first -- as a bachelor (albeit attached) -- to pursue graduate studies. In Baja California, he proposed to Sandra who joined him after two years of DC-California long distance. We planned our German wedding from San Diego, and got married. Then, we added a little doggie to our growing family: can you believe Penny Lane was 12 pounds when we got her?! Shortly after, we got pregnant and welcomed Charlotte Sophie, our (energetic!) bundle of joy. Two years on, we got pregnant, again... and are now eagerly awaiting the new family addition in DC! ;-)

Things we'll miss about our California life: the community and dear friends we've made through university, doggie and baby connections... the ocean and beach down the street, for our evening walks and for Penny & Charlotte to romp around... the weather... the pleasant climate and outdoor activities... our Sunday stroll over the Farmers' Market up the street... watching Eagles games at 10am! And so much more.

girls can play dirty too!

funny bunny

For Easter, Charlotte had fun coloring eggs, searching them with her friends, and meeting the bunny (although that encounter was initially a little suspect ;-)

cheeky

Charlotte has always been a free spirit...

In April, she could exhibit it to the fullest in Oma and Opa's back yard! 

Those Germans...

On a pretty balmy day (for European Spring!) Charlotte ran around butt naked to her heart's content - with so much fun, it was hard to get her back into clothing ;-)

In April, Charlotte also became more cheeky in another way: she discovered and expressed (verbal) humor for the first time. Knowing her animal sounds all too well, she started to think it's funny to tell us that the doggie goes "moooh" or the cow goes "woof woof". When asked if she's making a joke, she giggled even more.

She truly is our funny bunny!

birth day

As we're eagerly awaiting to celebrate the next birthday in our family, baby's due date has come and gone... 

No news yet!

Apparently Mama's belly is very comfy ;-) 

So let's see what the next days and week bring.

[Beautiful baby shower diaper cake that our friends made!]

thank you and good night

You've been a great audience.
I love you San Diego.

See you next tour!

big sister

Especially when looking at some older pictures from the last months -- as we catch you up on our adventures... you will notice that Charlotte has definitely lost her baby looks and traded them in for some unruly goldie locks!

And after hanging in there and patiently growing her wispy hair for two years [sporting a mullet for quite a while] she's actually excited to be wearing pig tails now -- frequently asking Mama to
"do her hair" since mid-July.

So Charlotte is a big girl now, and ready to be a big sister too!!

For months, she's already wanted to "HAVE the baby" -- only to always hear that it still has to grow a bit and isn't ready to leave Mama's belly just yet.

Now that we tell her the baby is coming very soon, she wants to alternately "hold, kiss, hit, hug and poke" it. With the promise of such stormy sisterly love, the baby hasn't decided yet whether to make a due date appearance. Compared to our busy bee, we might have a more laid-back character this second time around... or, the baby simply does not follow German heritage and convention to be punctual.

a place to roam free

 




We have many stories to tell from the last months... but let's start now: Here are some snapshots from the park this weekend. [We did promise belly pictures after all!]

DC is very green - with virtually every street tree-lined, and many parks.







This one is a particularly good one: it's close to our house, secluded and basically just lots of grass surrounded by woods, and -- most importantly -- dogs can roam free! [Daddy read that Ted Kennedy used to walk his pooch here too.]

So Penny had fun running around, as did Charlotte!

After all, there were lots of sticks to collect, trees to climb, and dogs to run after!