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Monday, July 7, 2008

Still here . . . with the wind blowing through my hair on the Autobahn!

OK, so I did take quite a long break from writing, but it was only cause I was really waiting for some more silly experiences to write about and either I am getting used to things here or life on the farm just doesn't produce much drama. It's a little of both and I am quite pleased about it.

So, first updates then stories. Nothing new with me personally. I have a pretty good routine during the week of cleaning the house, cutting the grass, taking Cooper to the pool with other stay at home moms, and aerobics. There is a community center here that has aerobics classes that my neighbor and I attend and membership is only 46 euros per year. SO CHEAP!! It is great, and the classes aren't too bad. All in all, I am really enjoying mine and Cooper's new lifestyle. Unfortunately, Peter's work hasn't lifted any. In the last month he was only home for about a week. He just returned from a two and a half week trip to London/LA and he is back to the daily grind in the office today. He is working so hard and is so stressed that whenever he isn't working, he gets sick. Which takes away any fun time with hubby/daddy that we are craving. But Peter honestly feels that some things are changing in August, and his work life will ease up a little then. Guess I'll just have to work on my tan till then.

Cooper is a hoot. The man is going to eat me out of house and home, and he ain't but 17 months. This kid chows down. New interests include strawberries, grapes, chocolate, and yes, McD's Happy Meals. I know, I am a bad mom, but if you could see how skinny this child is, you would cave too. I am cooking things with heavy cream and giving him lots of high calorie foods to try to plump him up a little. But man, is he cute. We're still working on the walking. He is just so laid back and content that he sees no need to change from crawling. Our pediatrician isn't at all concerned since he has witnessed how strong Cooper is. The ped just says it will be a couple more weeks. Cooper loves to stand, and I make him walk holding my hand as much as possible. He can't be enticed to walk by the old method of coming to mommy or daddy. That just isn't exciting enough. But put the kid in front of a mirror and he'll take 6-7 steps no problem over and over. He loves to see himself in a mirror. He is also my little organizer, and always wants to make sure that all the drawers and cabinet doors are nicely shut. In his playroom, I often dump all the blocks out so that he can put them all back in the bin. And he has learned to put his toys in the basket at the end of bathtime. I am so proud that he is following his mommy's footsteps. I am just trying to decide at what age I should present him with his own label maker?

One piece of interesting news is that Cooper got his first real haircut (besides the mini cut that I let Uncle Al give him in Augusta). The interesting thing was that I wasn't there. I went shopping on Friday last week and let my neighbor who has 3 boys watch Cooper in the morning. She called me halfway through to let me know that 1. Cooper hadn't taken a nap yet and 2. She hoped I wouldn't be mad but she gave Cooper a haircut. Well, what could I say? No point in being mad, it certainly wouldn't bring any curls back. But it is short and although it is cute, I would have loved to have been there to see this rite of passage and take some pictures. The nice thing is that Cooper is now the spitting image of his dad, and it is really cute.

Kayla is just Kayla, and still afraid of life. Like her little brother she also loves her snacks, and I took her to the pet store to pick some out on her own. She was drawn to these 3 foot long "bones", or at least they looked like bones to me. They are called Ochsen Ziemer, so I figured that they must be from an ox. So I bought a package and gave her one when we got home. She scarfed all 3 feet down in about 5 minutes and seemed satisfied. When Peter got home and looked at the package he gave me a wry smile and asked me if I knew what they were. I told him that I figured they were some sort of bone from an ox. He proceeded to tell me that yes, they were from an ox, but no, they surely aren't bones. They are part of the PENIS!!!! I had to look it up myself and it is confirmed. I am completely disgusted, but Kayla doesn't seem to mind!

Peter's dad finally finished changing our VW Passat station wagon over to German standards. We just got it back and I am so happy to have a car with a decent engine. Even though it isn't really a "fast car" I have had a wonderful time on the autobahn in it. I have one rule that Peter and I both have to abide by on the road . . . anything over 100 mph requires TWO hands on the steering wheel. I don't usually go much faster than that with Cooper in the car, but it sure can make getting from point A to point B pretty exciting, not to mention faster! Without Cooper in the car, anything is fair game as long as we are careful. All I can say is that if any of you decide to come over, be sure to get an international drivers license, cause you just have to cut loose on the autobahn.

I guess that is about it for now. I am so psyched about the upcoming trips we have planned. Alan and April will be here in a couple of weeks and we will hit London, Paris, Prague, and some sights in Germany including a mountainous hike! Christina and Tabitha are still forming August plans for Germany and Ireland. And we will see you all when we are back in the US in October. We welcome anyone else who wants to make a trip over here!

Sorry I have been a dweeb in the e-mail department in the last month or so. I promise not to go so long next time. Please don't follow my suit and stop sending me e-mails as well. I love to hear from you all, and it really does make me feel closer to home. Let me know how you all are doing. Miss you all and can't wait to hear from you. Take care!

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