The BOYS!

Luke's Cowboys jersey finally came in!  I'm not sure why I didn't think to order one sooner than after the season started!  It took me forever to find a company to make a custom one for a reasonable price (I also got a 2T so hopefully he can wear it for more than one season)  AND I really only got it for a picture! :) 

 My boys!

 Luke kept turning to look up at Leevi....I think he was staring at his hat!  And it's supposed to be white with navy blue...grrrr..oh well!

 I didn't know whether to get him the same number as Leevi (his high school number), so instead I opted for his birthdate! 

 

 Luke wakes up occasionally for part of the game (we hate that football comes on here so late!!) but maybe he needs to start sleeping in his jersey to bring the Cowboys some much needed LUCK!!!

Hitscherhof Farm

The weather was gorgeous last weekend (mid-70's as opposed to the SNOW we had this past weekend!!!)  Pumpkin patches are rare in Germany, but since there is a large population of Americans in this area two German farmers have started pumpkin "patches" within the last decade.  There were definitely only Americans when we went!  They had a hay climb, a corn maze, and beautiful pumpkin displays.  There wasn't necessarily a "patch" to pick from but I suppose I didn't mind because they didn't get dirty!  :)  Quite unlike the red dirt pumpkin patch in Hawaii (that was the year Tiffany and I attempted taking 5 kids while Jim and Leevi were deployed!)

Luke was NOT in a smiley mood at all for the majority of the time there!  Every time we put him down he would do the "it's the end of the world cry" like he was scared or someone had pinched him!  And of course, he'd stop the second we picked him up! 

Right as we were walking to the car, the girls found one more area with cool decor.  Leevi had gone ahead to the car to load up the pumpkins and break down the stroller, so I didn't have his assistance for pictures!  Luke had snapped out of his mood and was super smiley!!

I love these next two!

And just for fun, each of the kids' first fall...Hailey is 8 months, Kai is 1 month, and Luke is 6 months

Kai Gymnastics

Kai was finally pulled from the waitlist for the 3-5 yr old gymnastics class...she goes on Monday mornings for 45 min. There are two instructors and 7 kids...she's been twice and LOVES it!  They do bar, beam, tumbling, and the trampoline...pretty FUN!  We are hoping that Hailey gets pulled from the waitlist soon too!!

 

The parents have to watch from a waiting room...there are large windows and a muted tv.  

 

 Pictures through the glass with a cell phone aren't the greatest!!

And a video...try to ignore all of the chattering moms! 

Room Pot Parcs

We had trouble deciding where we wanted to go for Leevi's 4day weekend in October...it's always a struggle to find something exciting for the kids, not too expensive, and not too far in the car!  Leevi heard about Room Pot Parcs from a friend at work, so we looked into it and found one less than 45 min from our house.  It was a great "Staycation" weekend with lots of family time away from the household chores that glare at us every weekend!  :)  The Kent family was able to join us which made it even more fun for all!  We went to Ferienpark in Hambachtal and basically it was a bungaloo apartment with a kitchen and two rooms...on site and included in the fees was an indoor waterpark!  We arrived Friday after school and swam Saturday, Sunday, and Monday until a late lunchtime and then spent the afternoon at putt-putt or a hike.  It's always nice when we can pack our food for the weekend and not worry about eating out for every meal...we brought lots of food, games, and other comforts from home.  We did dinners together with the Kents and then the adults played cards while the kids played....late nights, but lots of fun!!!!  We found a great place to take Leila (a military couple who opened a dog business)...they are reasonably priced and the dogs basically have free reign of their 3 story stairwell and all day access to a big yard!  We could have brought Leila with us, but she would have been a wreck locked in a new place all day alone...she had her own little vacation too!  Now that we've found a place for her, we plan on doing lots of traveling during the 4 day weekends that Leevi gets each month! 

The bottom right photo is of the walk from our bungaloo (and a park right outside our back door)

Lots of fun inside and out!

Goofy girls!

German putt-putt was pretty crazy!  (And it was pretty cold that afternoon!)  The bottom left photo was one of the holes...basically like a Par 3!

This was Luke's first time in water other than a bath!  He loved it and learned to splash...now he splashes everywhere...his bath, Leila's water! and he always wants me to pick him up and hold him to splash in the girls' bath (they love it!!) 

Fun action shot of David!

A random lookout tower we found on a hike!

 

 The hotel had a mascot named Koos (a bunny)....Kai loved him!!!

On the left is the drive there and on the right is the drive home....fun weekend!!!!  It was nice to have just a quick drive home on Monday with plenty of time to get unpacked and ready for the next week!

6 month comparisons

The three kiddos at 6 months old...they are all within about a pound of each other (although, surprisingly, Luke weighed the least, but I suppose it is because he crawled over 2 months before the girls)  I put Luke in the middle to get a good comparison between the girls...he usually reminds me most of Hailey, but to me it seems there is a little of both in him...they all look alike, yet totally different.  

And a little note that I forgot from Luke's 6 month post....he gives the sweetest, most disgusting open mouth slobbery kisses!!!!!!  So stinkin cute and gross at the same time!  :) 

Happy Half Birthday!

Wow, half a year already!!!!!!  We just couldn't be more in love with this little man!  He had his 6 month check up on Friday and is 18.8lbs...he was 18.2 at 4 months, so I'm guessing he didn't gain much because he's on the move!  He's still in the 60% for weight...although, I don't completely trust this current weight because he was crawling around on the scale!  He is finally sleeping for longer stretches at night (7-8 hours) and usually a total of 12-13 from the time he goes down AND he's a champ at sleeping in (I usually have to wake him up at 8 when I take Hailey to school...today he (and ME) slept in until 9:15...high five Luke James!!!!

Love, love, love the photo on the left (just had a 16x20 canvas made of it!!!!)  This series was actually the first I shot...it just takes one!   That leaf on the log was there when I set him down, so I just left it...of course he found it and then he fell over backwards! 

He was talking to us the whole time!

There were way too many good ones to choose from!!!!!  It was so hard to attempt this by myself...adjust the camera settings, worry about the shadows (or him falling over!!!) 

Kai brought this duck along to help Luke smile and of course she felt he needed a picture of his own when we finished.  If was a gorgeous fall day, so after we picked Hailey up from school we went to the park and Hailey wanted a turn with my camera. 

His first time in the grass....

He's a big show off!!!!!!  He pulls himself up everywhere and has finally come close to mastering being able to sit himself back down (verses just falling!!!!) 

The underwear/diaper gang!

The end of the day while waiting on Leevi to get home is always the craziest....I'm trying to get dinner ready and Luke is into everything in the kitchen OR he'll pull up on my legs and I'm forced to attempt to help him balance with food fingers! 

He is unintentionally into EVERYTHING! 

His curls come in when he's sweaty!!!

Naptime has become challenging because he'll stand in his crib and not lay back down!  He'll get himself to sleep about 75% of the time...I really didn't push the issue until he could find his own pacifier and I'm certain that being able to get himself to sleep has tied into him sleeping longer stretches! 

Leevi and Luke at 6 months....I feel like Luke looks more like the adult Leevi than the baby Leevi!  I also think Luke looks a lot like my older brother...need to get some baby pics of him to compare!

Leila's new place to hang is under Luke's crib...I often forget to check and see if she's there when Luke goes to bed at night and she gets locked in!

 He just melts our hearts!!!!

Pumpkin Festival- Gartenschau

There is a very popular garden close to our house that is known by the Americans as the Dinosaur park.  There are dinosaurs year round, but during the fall every year they have a pumpkin festival.  Ironically, last year we went to a pumpkin festival that had a dinosaur theme (that place is now a pretty far drive...their theme this year is Switzerland)  This year's theme at Kaiserslautern Gartenschau is "Under the Sea"...pretty awesome!

The gardens also have awesome kid things...fountains, creeks, playgrounds, water features!  It was a warm day and we wished we had known about the water fun!  A tidbit from Kai:  there is a "tight rope" that stretches pretty far across a section of the playground (rope up high for your hands and one below for your feet"  Kailee mastered it pretty quickly and self-proclaimed that "she is awesome!"

And pics of the dinosaurs that are there year round...

Animal fun and a cool swing...

And a really cute video that Hailey took of Kailee being eaten by the dinosaur...we were rushing out of there to make it to Awanas on time, so you'll hear me hurrying them up at the end!