Happy 3rd Birthday, Sweet Caroline!!

**Warning... this post has an excessive amount of photos of Caroline!!**

Why the long face?  She HATES her hair curly.   

 It didn't help that Emily laughed at her and said she looked funny.  Thanks Em.

But she's a doll, isn't she?

Yesterday was Caroline's 3rd birthday.  

No one has been more excited for this day than her older sister Emily.  Em is obsessed with birthdays.  She knows when all of our birthdays are as well those of several relatives.  It's often the first question she'll ask a kid when she meets him/her.  And she has been asking me how many more days until her birthday (on a daily basis mind you) since September. Her birthday isn't until April, Heaven help me!

Yesterday morning Em told C excitedly, "Caroline!  Today's your birthday!"  After which Caroline asked me very inquisitively, "Mom, is today my birthday?"   It was too cute.

We kept it pretty low key... since it was Saturday Ben was able to join in the festivities.  We went to the Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which is only a couple miles from where we live.

View of the city from the zoo, with a little help from the zoom

We made a cake, which the girls helped decorate.  We also got to talk to Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Steve on facetime, which was a special treat.  

C got some great gifts compliments of G&G and her Nana, but the most prized acquisition of the night was her Sleeping Beauty doll.  She has been asking for one for weeks.

Totally in love

She loved being sung to... 

 And blowing out the candles...

But when offered a bite of ice cream...

Denied!! 

She reacted the same way to the cake.  Not a single bite. 

 What is with my child?!  This is the third year she has turned down birthday cake, so you would think I'd learn.  

 On her 2nd b-day she balked at the offering of cake

And who can forget the infamous pictures from her 1st b-day? 

Her face says it all.

So what?  She'll never win an eating contest, but I love my CeeCee to death.  She is petite and loves to cuddle up in my arms.  I feel like I'm holding a little baby even though she's three.  She's got all sorts of spunk and personality and despite being small, she's a spry little one.  She climbs and runs like nothing else... she reminds us of a spider monkey. Her smile lights up her face and her dimples coupled with her high sweet voice are irresistible. Her imagination is endless.  She worships her older sister.  She adds so much to our family and we can't imagine life without her!!

 And thanks for indulging my gushing.  

How I Love to Go Up in a Swing!

This week has been, um, not so great.  The weather is back in the thirties with snow to boot!  Booo!!!

And our apartment that was supposed to be ready is NOT.  Double Boooo!!!

But we should be turnin' a corner soon... this weather can't last forever.  And our apartment should be ready next week.  Emphasis on SHOULD. 

BUT, I'm super excited because we just booked a trip to the NETHERLANDS for next month's tulip season!  We're going to take the bikes... it should be amazing.  (Emphasis on SHOULD.)    

So, last weekend when the weather was half way decent we found a great park just a five minute drive from post.  I have to laugh because playgrounds in foreign countries just aren't quite the same as back home.  They have different standards of safety and alternate definitions of "fun"... which are often a direct reflection of their culture.  

 So far from what I've noticed is that German playgrounds are more like obstacle courses... they require a lot of work.  This bridge, not so fun.  Caroline has to step over every single suspended log to get across it.  She didn't seem to mind. 

And this was my personal fave... 

It takes quite a bit of push power to get this thing going, hence the reason grown men are on it.  Oh, the things we'll do for our kids! 

Dad gets in on the action.  

They had a pretty fun zipline.  I saw a number of kids fall off of it.  And I literally had to sweep up a little toddler who walked right into the line of fire as Em came zipping down.  She almost clobbered him.   Would this fly in the states?  

Caroline lovin' life, this is right up her alley.  

 And what is this?  Couldn't tell you.

Nor could I tell you where the fun is in this.   

 And this was the ultimate worst piece of equipment.  What the h is it even supposed to be?  Both our girls wanted to climb up it and both ended up in tears as they crashed down to the bottom.  

Got to love the good ole fashioned merry-go-rounds.  Notice the overgrown kid on the left. I went on these all the time as a kid, but how often do you see them in the states now?   

And check this out... if you can't tell, this contraption is shaped like an octagon and all the swings face forward.  So, the kids are swingin' full throttle into each other's faces.  I'm sure it's designed so that you don't actually hit each other, but man, it sure looked  like they were going to.  

But really, we loved it because the girls loved it. I'm sure we'll be going to this park plenty over the next three years... and hopefully have no broken bones or scars to show for it. 

 And I can't complain about the yummy nutella/banana crepes that we inhaled.  That's incentive enough for me to go!   

Lazy Days

*Note:  I started this post about ten days ago, but didn't get it published

Some days are just too cold to go outside.  Today was one of those days.  But it wasn't so bad.  We....

made cookies

and enjoyed them.

We put together Geo Puzzles (Em's personal fave)

And danced around the table while Mom made dinner, which is quickly becoming a nightly ritual.  Notice the barren walls!  Can't wait for our stuff to arrive!!

Strolling Along...

Today we shed our coats and went for a walk.  It was quite lovely.  This first week of March the temps have been in the 50s, which is such a drastic change from the 30s we've been experiencing since we got here.  

 These vineyards are right outside the gate where we live.  Of course they're bare now, but I hear they are quite lovely in the summer.  They cover the entire hillside and there are tons of walking paths that weave in and out of them.  The Germans take their walking serious, which I love.  

The girls did awesome on our little walk, which is reassuring since I have big plans for us to hike in the Alps!! (I'm envisioning the closing scene of The Sound of Music.  Big hopes!)  But today was one of those days when I was completely content to be a stay-at-home-mom with these two little ones.  They enjoyed every aspect of the walk chattering excitedly about the chirping of the birds, the butterflies fluttering nearby, the color of the sky, the dead weeds they kept crouching next to to smell, the rocks, the river down below, and the trains that they saw winding through the city.  It felt so good to be outside with them.

There were spectacular views of the city, which my poor photo taking abilities can never quite capture, but you get the idea.

I told them to smile and this is as good as it gets!  

Blue Skies... Smilin' at Me...

In the 45 days that we've been here, yesterday was the THIRD time we've seen blue skies in Stuttgart.  Never have I been so happy to enjoy the sunshine and feel that hint of spring in the air.

This weekend we went on a "recon mission" as Ben called it.  We are still in the infantile stages of becoming fully comfortable with our surroundings.  This weekend's mission was to

1.  Locate the neighborhood swimming pool

2. Locate the neighborhood doner kebab restaurant

3.  Take the u-bahn downtown

4.  Locate the children's museum downtown

And I'm happy to report our mission was completed!

Ben figuring out how to buy u-bahn tickets.  We were at this machine for like 15 minutes trying to purchase a ticket.    

The girls LOVED taking the tram, although their expressions here don't quite match their enthusiasm 

Downtown platz 

And local artists are always fun to sit and watch.  Ben was enthralled by this guy.

   

This guy was crankin' out "Que Sera Sera."  He was so into it!

Not the greatest pic in the world, but see the lady approaching us?

She stopped to ask us if we would like a pic of the whole family.  After she took the pic (which didn't turn out which is why it's not posted) Ben asked her if she would like to get a picture with me.  And now random stranger is on the blog! Awkward, awkward.  Ben is just like that.  He loves to put me in awkward situations.  

More pics of downtown

And coming back home to Robinson Barracks...

 This is the view from on top the hill.  It really has an amazing view of the city... this photo does not do it justice!

And the girls are finally able to soak in some Vitamin D!