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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

home sweet home

Here we are again! From Washington, DC...

The last months have been quite hectic and exciting: Daddy finished his PhD, went on the job market, and found work in DC. Mama wrapped up her job before maternity leave and had the baby grow "some" more [yes, you'll get a belly update too]. Charlotte grew like a weed herself - in size, goldie locks, vocabulary and toddler "wit" [she remains mischievous and cheeky in her terrible twos]. Penny said good bye to her beloved beach, took her first flight, and discovered East Coast squirrels & bunnies. We found ourselves a new home, packed up a household, bid farewell to San Diego, and unpacked some 327 boxes [or so the movers' record says].






Phew - so here we are!






 
The computer is finally connected again, the pictures are downloaded, and there are plenty of stories to tell. But you have not missed some of the big news yet: baby's due date is Thursday, August 8.

So we'll see what happens this week... stay tuned!

the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round...

Right around Thanksgiving, Charlotte discovered the fun in singing... and has added a steady repertoire of songs ever since:

Her first tune was  

Old McDonald had a farm... EE-I-EE-I-O! 

(which must have been a milk farm, judging from Charlotte's favorite animal to include in each verse ;-)

... and was quickly followed by many more:

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round...  (which Oma & Opa would call quite an "Ohrwurm" -

having had to sing it a **few** times during their visit)

Schlaf Kindlein schlaf

 

Twinkle twinkle little star

 

Kling Glöckchen klingelingeling

 

Schneeflöckchen Weissröckchen

 

Ich geh mit meiner Laterne... rabimmel, rabammel, rabum BUM BUM

Itsy, bitsy spider

Grosse Uhren gehen TICK TACK

Backe Backe Kuchen

 

Row row row your boat

5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - JUMP JUMP

Häschen in der Grube

and, of course,

Happy (birthday) TO YOU

♬ ♬ ♬

we've got news, lots

Many of you already know, or could guess from our lame presence here on the blog...

We've been busy with a few things lately:



Daddy is wrapping up his PhD, and found himself a job that will take the family (back) to DC this summer.

Mama has been growing a new belly, for a new baby ;-)

And Penny has been hard at work teaching Charlotte the basics of how to be a good big sister...

...leaving Daddy to wonder if he'll be a lucky guy again that can welcome another girl into this life, or whether he'll get some male support in the pack come August...

 Stay tuned!

the view from Penny's sand-covered snout