do's and dont's

Charlotte LOVES

Penny
Penny's toys
Penny's bed
Avocado
The beach
Buttons
Sparkly things
Daddy's glasses
Kissing Mama
Getting tickled



Charlotte HATES

Clowns
Getting her nose wiped
Getting her face wiped
Putting her arms into and out of sleeves
Having lotion put on her face
Bibs

happy valentine's

We hope everyone has a love-filled valentine's today - with lots of flowers, chocolates and kisses!

küchenhilfe

"Oh toll, kann ich in der Küche helfen?"

  "... beim Spülen und Abtrocknen?!"

 








"... ach nö, dann mach ich lieber einen Abgang!" 

sir, yes sir

We run a pretty tight ship around here. Eager to get basic training underway, Charlotte rarely waits for reveille to be played. The day starts with a visit to the head. (We're not sadists; we're just looking to instill a little discipline.) Once Charlotte passes muster, it's off to the (training) ground. Most mornings, 20 push-ups come first.

But some days, especially if it was a late night off-base, she tries to skimp when the instructor isn't watching and use her knees.

Someday she'll learn that the Panopticon is always watching. Busted, she's sent down to the brig for the rest of the morning.

guck mal

a christmas story

We'll soon be posting our Christmas pictures - as you can see, 

Charlotte and Penny had fun ;-)

  

reflections

good morning!

bärenstark

playdate

Beginnings of
a wonderful friendship...

hilarious

Mama and Daddy's jokes ain't bad...















 ...but Penny's are the best!

see you at home, dad

Girls' weekend was fun but I can't wait to get a daddy smooch again... mmmmhhh!

block party 2

Blocks are still really cool to play with.

These ones are fun too - dad even thinks I'm putting together some interesting new molecular structures...

... proving that I'm "his kind" of smart girl, hah! ;-)

happy new year

The best thing about 2012 so far?















Playing with the new toys!

penny's 2011

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!