growing up

We were all a little stressed. We had been sitting as a family in a florescently lit office signing papers with a notary in order to refinance the house we own in Oklahoma. Gotta take advantage of these good interest rates, right? We had to take the kids, because, well, we had no babysitter and we just had to take the kids.

I was laughing to myself about how grown up we are with our kids and our mortgage and our signatures, and yet how young we still feel, because we can never seem to get our paperwork done with ease and organization like real adults. I had just returned from driving all the way back home to retrieve our passports that we forgot to take with us the first time around. It was an hour round trip.

Not a fun hour.

I was waiting to sign my name one last time. Alaina was patiently waiting in my arms, and for some reason, I decided to let her nibble on my finger. That's when I felt something sharp. Her first tooth! It's amazing what a first tooth can do to a mood. I couldn't contain my excitement, so I interrupted Tony in his river of paperwork and Graham watching his movie on the iphone and said, "Hey, Alaina has a tooth!" Graham about came undone with excitement and Tony smiled big for the first time all day (it was a hard day for him in particular).

Why do these milestones incite such excitement in us? I mean, it's just a tooth. A tooth she will use to bite her first apple and her first piece of chocolate and to smile her many smiles. Smiles that will light up rooms and melt away stress and remind grown ups to chill out. So, yeah, I guess that's pretty exciting.

it's official,

I'm a soccer mom, now.

Yep.

In other news, it was a great weekend for Graham. He played his first soccer game, ever, went to a birthday party, and cashed in his hard earned stickers for a light saber.

Confession: I don't know much about Star Wars.

 

Should I be saying something about "the force" right now?

6 months, 1 week, and a couple of days young

Let's talk about Alaina being SIX months old. Half a year. Half a year. She will never be a newborn ever again. She will never not be able to sit up again. She will never not be able to hold toys and play with them again. She will never weigh less than 17 pounds again. She will never not be able to join us at meals in her highchair again. She will never fit comfortably in the Bjorn again. Those days are over. Over. Already. Already.

How do I feel about it? I'm okay. Most of the time. Because growth is good. Really good. And so is health. And Alaina is totally healthy. So, I'm happy and content and at peace with the fact that her first year of life is already half over. Again, most of the time that's how I feel. Sometimes I long for magical powers so I can make time stand still for a few minutes. Or years. I've talked about this before. Cliche, I know, but I don't care, which is also cliche. So, I'm a cliche. Oh well.

I want to hold on to my baby for as long as possible. Because I love babies. Love them. I like to watch them learn how to eat. I like to watch as their eyes wander as they discover their own hands and feet and toys. I like the way they look at you and grab your face and put their mouth on it to taste you. I love how they tear sunglasses off your face and get giddy when they finally get a handful of your hair. I like to watch them smile as they wake from a good, long afternoon nap. I love when you accidentally fall back asleep after feeding them in the morning and then they fall asleep next to you and then you wake up and see the most peaceful sight in the world right on your pillow. I love their curiosity. I love consoling them when they cry. I even like changing diapers, sometimes. Weird. I know. I would enjoy having a baby around at all times. If I didn't loathe pregnancy, we might have four or five little critters by now...

Dot. Dot. Dot...

I am NOT pregnant.

No. I am not. 

final recap

Our last day in Garmisch was spent on top of another mountain.

It snowed.

 Brr.

 

Then, we drove down to Lake Garda and vacationed with this view.

 

It was warm and perfect.

 

And Alaina turned SIX MONTHS old!

What?

rewinding to recap

Okay, so, I'm a little behind on the blog... Of course.

Two weekends ago, as in September 8 and 9, we took a hike to where we could see all of Garmisch and ate some delicious apple strudel and Alaina tried to drink beer.

The next day, we went to the very top of the highest mountain in Germany and spent the whole day there. It was gorgeous (duh) and sunny and fun.

 We didn't hike to the top, though, (duh). We took a fancy cable car. Once we stepped out of the cable car, we were given the opportunity to hike over the the very tippy, tippy, tippy top (also known as the summit). I was scared and unsure and didn't know what to do, but Graham kept telling me he wanted to make it to the "gold thing." I just kept telling him to "focus and hold the rope!" I was literally shaking with fear, which was weird for me. I'm getting more terrified in my old age, I think. Or, maybe it has something to do with being a mom. Or maybe it was because I was on some really slippery rocks on the top of a very large mountain. I don't know, but I was really, really nervous up there.

 

After we made it safe and sound, we were going back over a very narrow ridge and Graham kept saying things like, "Mom, if I fell, I could break my neck."

"Graham! Can you stop talking like that! I am scared! HOLD THE ROPE! HOLD THE ROPE!"



I think I've mentioned that I was scared, and I was also a little annoyed with the way Graham was talking, but deep down, I was proud of my fearless little man.


 

More recapping to come...

brewmeister

From now on, Tony and I wish to be called the "brewmeisters."

 

More on Germany to come. Until then, I'll be out enjoying our last few hours here.

On to Lake Garda, Italy tomorrow!

love

 

in love with Italy

I'm up here in Germany enjoying some fresh mountain air and sunshine, and guess what? It has only been a few days, but I'm finding myself missing Italy.

For the past hour, I've been going over these pictures of my family in Venice and reminiscing about my new love for the old artist, Tintoretto. Look him up. Thank me later.

Murano glass blowing demo

Colorful streets of Burano

Last night, we went to an Italian pizzeria here in Garmisch, and it was so refreshing to be greeted with a "buona sera" as we entered the door. We ate pizza and sipped San Pellegrino bubbly water. It was delicious, but, obviously, I lamented about how it was not as good as the pizza in Napoli. We got back to our hotel room and I had to laugh at myself. My laundry was hanging out to dry because I didn't want to spend the extra 50 cents in the laundry room downstairs to finish drying the clothes in the drier. Indeed, Italy (land of no driers) has rubbed off on me...

 

Tonight, it is all German, though, because we are going on a tour of a beer brewery. I promise to keep myself from wishing it were a winery tour.