As they grow

It's been a while since I've filled you all in on what the boys have been up to lately, so here ya go!  It's been really cold here lately so we've had to really bundle up in order to go outside.  Luckily we have a lake and park close by so if we need to get out of the house we always go there. We started a new gymnastics class for both of the boys, which is a great way for them to burn off some of their energy, especially when it's so cold outside.  We are getting ready to celebrate Zach's birthday later this week.

Gabe enjoying his Christmas presents.

Gabriel:  What is this boy not doing?! Seriously, he is the type of child you have to watch at all times, and if he is quiet for a second he is getting into something.  He can climb on anything and everything: step-stools, tables, couches and chairs, and the list goes on.  He has gotten so fast lately and loves to run around with Isaac.  He has actually gotten pretty ornery and will take one of Isaac's toys and run away as fast as he can.  He then gives the toy to Isaac as soon as he asks, he just loves the thrill of the chase.  He also has decided he likes to go to time-out, so the other day he hit me several times just to go to time-out.  It was seriously the cutest thing though, he would be sitting in the time-out chair with the biggest grin on his face.  He continues to eat everything and would probably eat constantly if I let him.  He is finally off the bottle, and officially a big boy. (Makes me sad he is no longer a baby).

Isaac moved up to a big boy car seat

Isaac:  Today was a big day for Isaac, he went on the potty all day and did not have any accidents! This is a big thing for him because we have been working on potty training for a while, but with our big move here we've had some set-backs.  He also called my Jesse (Toy Story) all day and he was Buzz Lightyear.  I was pretty flattered by this because Jesse is his all-time favorite and his best friend, so I'll take it.  He has the best imagination and our days are spent pretending to be various characters. He just started swimming lessons this past weekend and he's loving them.  He continues to say the most hilarious things and the other day in the shower he asked Zach if he was using girl soap because it really smelled like girl soap.  He has become a pro at using his bike here, which if you haven't seen them they do no have any pedals.  They are amazing and teach the kids to balance at a younger age.  The other day he went down a hill and lifted his feet the entire time, it was amazing!







With love,
Janelle

Refreshed

 Back Home Again

The boys with Santa, Gabe was a little horrified, but didn't cry

And we're back after a long break for the holidays!  I will admit, before we went home for the holidays I was feeling a bit down in Germany.  It was cold, which makes it difficult to get out with the boys and no car, it gets dark at 4 pm, and the Germans aren't the friendliest of people.  That being said, I was a little worried about coming back after being spoiled in America.  However, much to my surprise I feel very refreshed after spending time with family and friends, being surrounded by friendly people, and eating delicious American food (I literally ate Mexican food 4 times)!

Sweet little Annie came for a visit.  And Isaac is just in love with her!

This post will mainly be of pictures of our time at home.  We stayed at both grandparent's house, although my Mom definitely got the worst of it because the boys were sick (and puking) for half of her time, although they were champs at cleaning up puke :) Besides the sickness we were able to visit with extended family, friends, and our pup Harper, who the boys could not get enough of.  We went to Target several times and the first time I went I brought Isaac with me and man was that boy in heaven.  He was literally running around the store picking out everything he wanted from Toy Story Band-Aids to Spiderman macaroni and cheese.  He told me multiple times this is his favorite store. We made sure to bring some of those staples back with us.

 This is how the boys spent most of their time with Harper, either riding him or curled up with him.  He is seriously the best dog and it broke our hearts to leave him again.

                           The boys on Christmas Eve.  They are turning into the best of buddies.

         Christmas morning with the Kleiner's. B-Pa is a little Christmas elf who spoils all of us!

                                   The boys with Grandma, Papa, and Uncle Trevor.

We are now home and finally adjusted to the time difference.  It's nice to be back in our home and back on a schedule.  I definitely have a better attitude about being here and am looking forward to visits from family and friends and doing some traveling of our own.  Hope you all had a lovely holiday season filled with family and fun.

With love,
Janelle

My little 3 year old

Hello friends,
   This past week we celebrated Isaac's 3rd birthday.  What a sweet boy he has become.  I have to say 3 is looking like a fun age.  They start to say the most hilarious things and they become compassionate for others.  What an amazing thing to see your child develop feelings and ideas.  Some of the things he has said recently that just crack me up; pointing his finger in the air saying "That's an idea," and "Oh Mama, I'll be so happy."
   Isaac had a fun filled day on Thursday.  He got to open a present in the morning when Daddy was home and have some treasured Macaroni and Cheese for lunch, followed by cupcakes and presents after dinner.

We had a Big Buzz Lightyear (as Isaac calls it) birthday party on Saturday with some of our friends.  All the kids had a great time and Isaac loved opening his presents and eating cupcakes.  I had the cupcakes on display and at one point Gabe comes walking over cracking up holding a cupcake in his hands with icing everywhere! That little stinker reached up and grabbed a cupcake, he couldn't resist. Man do these boys have a sweet tooth, I don't know where they get it :)

 Have a great Thanksgiving! And I'll leave you on this happy note, how can you resist this little guy?!  He may be wild but is so stinkin cute!

With love,
Janelle

Halloween

This past week we had our first visitors, friends from France with two little boys the same age as ours.  We all had a great time and the boys played so well together, even though they did not speak the same language! They happened to be here over Halloween and we decided they needed to dress up the boys and experience the tradition.  They didn't get the full experience though because not many people actually celebrate it here and we only went to 4 houses, 2 of which were our American friends! But the kids got to dress up and got candy so they were happy! It was impossible to get a picture of the 4 of them together but they all looked so cute.

Isaac trick-or-treating at our friend's house

Gabe knows where to find the good stuff

 We were also able to do some exploring of downtown Berlin and see some of the major sites, like the Berliner Dom pictured below.

The boys looked like regulars riding the subway

And we ran into a random Micky Mouse, which Isaac just loved!

The end of November my cousins from California are coming to visit and then we go home in December.  We are really looking forward to some much needed time with our family, friends, and pup Harper!

With love,
Janelle

Photo Shoot

Today we were able to get some family pictures taken by the wonderfully talented Nicky Walsh.  She came and took the pictures at our house and captured the boys in their natural setting (craziness).  She not only did an amazing job, but she got the pictures to us the same day!

With love,
Janelle

As They Grow

Every once in a while I will try to post updates on the boys and what they have been up to.  It's amazing how they grow so fast, especially when you don't see them in a while.  This past weekend we went to our first Halloween party in downtown Berlin at an activity center just for expats.  Gabe's costume doesn't come in until tomorrow so he had to wear Isaac's Plex costume from last year.  He made a pretty stinkin cute Plex though!

 Isaac (Spiderman) participated in a costume parade and when they called him up he shot the lady with webs, that boy kills me!

Gabriel:  He just turned 1 this past September and boy is he a wild man! We had a little birthday party for him and he devoured his entire cupcake, an eating machine.  Most days I would say he eats more than Isaac.

I thought Isaac had a lot of energy but Gabe is on a whole different level, sweet as can be though! He just started walking a few weeks ago and can already chase his brother, attack him with a sword, and climb on anything and everything. He loves walking around and riding this scooter.

Him and Isaac play pretty nicely together, they have their moments though.  Luckily Gabe is laid back and tough so not much bothers him.  There are a ton of parks around Berlin so when the weather is nice we try to keep busy outside.

Isaac:  He will turn 3 next month and what a little boy he has turned into.  He is talking so much now and the things he says just crack us up.  He is like a little me though because everything he says is exactly what I say with the same inflections.  He also loves to sing and is starting to learn words to his favorite songs.  The other day we were listening to a song by Amy Winehouse and he said "Mama this is my favorite song!" He is really into superheroes right now, so we've been making costumes out of foil, keeps him entertained for hours!  He will find any excuse to dress up like Thor below- however sadly the cowboy hat phase has ended.

The boys and I have found a couple English speaking playgroups where we have met nice new friends.  There is always something going on in the city and we have found many fun festivals and activities for the kids.  So far we are really enjoying our time here in Berlin!

With love,
Janelle

Our house

So I promised people I would post pictures of our new house and furniture so here we go.  To start off we live in a west district of Berlin called Zehlendorf.  It houses the American Embassy and during the Cold War it was where the American base was located.



We live off a quaint German street one block away from the Schlachtensee Lake.  Our house is separated into 6 different flats with families from all walks of life.  I actually really like living in a shared house because it creates a nice community.

Before we moved here we sold our house and all of our furniture.  We only brought an air shipment over with the essentials....toys mainly!  Since we did not ship our furniture over the company gave us a nice allotment to buy new furniture (yes I was very excited about this) that we get to bring back home with us!  After (too) many long days at IKEA we furnished our house!

Here is a picture of the living/dining room with a balcony overlooking the garden.

Next is the kitchen.  We were really lucky to have a kitchen already in place, the majority of time when people move out they take the kitchen (the entire kitchen) with them, and also mirrors, light fixtures, toilet paper holders!

Here is the guestroom, it is pretty small but perfect for guests, a place to put clothes and a bed that pulls out into a queen.

Here is our room.  Closets also do not come in the house so you have to get large wardrobe/closet pieces of furniture. (I didn't take a picture of our closets though).

Here is Isaac's room.  He moved into a big boy bed when we moved here.  He is obsessed with Toy Story.

And here is little Gabe's room.

We still have a few finishing touches to add, but for the most part we are all settled in.  We are realizing that we are spoiled here!

With love,
Janelle