June, 2014

Here's what we were up to in June, 2014.

Mama turned 30-something so Grandma Ange babysat and we went to the HoDo Rooftop for dinner and Mezzaluna for a drink.

Tubby time!

Saturday morning walk to the park.

Swinging is our favorite.

Kids "Share a Story" event at Reault Farm.

Graham liked watching the singer on stage.

More park time.

Supper time.

We went to a Redhawks game with friends Krew and Kam (and mommy, Jamie)

More supper time cuteness.

Grandma and Grandpa Hill came over to play.

Learning to drink through a straw.

Grandpa taught him to say "ahhhh" after a big drink of water.

The high chair has become a frequent place for photo opps since it's the only time he sits still. 

Playing with Peyton and Jeanine on a Saturday morning. Water break!

I swear he had more fun than his expression indicates...

The big hightlight in June was, drumroll please........a trip to Germany to see Uncle Paul, Aunt Debora, cousin Len and Johanna, Simon and Emi.

The 8 hour flight was stressful with a 15 month old, but we made it and it was worth it to get to see this little guy. Hi Len!

After planes, trains and automobiles (literally), we made it to Paul's house and rested up. Then headed out for a stroll in town square/outdoor mall in Dortmond.

Debora, Paul and Len.

Grandpa Richard, Paul and Eric strolling. 

The crew. 

Learning how to play together. 

Len digging into his new toy/game that Grandma Ange sent over with us. 

Sharing the high chair too... 

The next morning Paul, Len, Grandpa, Graham and I headed to Len's "gymnastics" class to play in the gym with lots of new toys. 

"Singing circle" at the end where we sang (well, I hummed) German kids' songs. I'm sure Graham understood it all. 

Then we headed to Essen to visit Paul's school and get lunch in a cute neighboring village. 

Paul's classroom. With the substitute teacher since Paul was on paternity leave while we were there. 

Expanding on his real-life geography lesson. 

Bread and cheese were a big hit for Graham. 

Strolling

Heading up to the "Biergarten." Even I can translate that. 

It wasn't as inappropriate as it may seem in this picture....

"Pass the paci" with Uncle Eric. 

Playing in the backyard back at the house. This is where we discovered how much Graham loves tractors. 

Johanna playing with Graham

And Len loves sand. And dirt. And just getting dirty in general. Not to mention playing with his siblings. 

Happiest when he's filthy. 

Graham was pretty fascinated by this tractor too. 

Between swings and tractors, he was in heaven in Germany. 

Also a fan of chasing the chickens...

Treats from Grandpa...

And a different kind of swinging with Uncle Eric. 

Choosing our breakfast at the bakery. Big decisions!

 

Graham umm, approved. 

Content on the swing. 

Enjoying the nice weather.

Len showing Graham the ropes around the chicken coop.

"Here, Graham. This is how to dig in the chickens' feed." 

"Let me show you the wheel barrow, Graham."

"Am I doing it right?"

"Yep, I got this."

Back to tractors for awhile.

Playing in the field behind the house.

Fun with mommy.

Snack time.

Len thought the swing (and Grandpa) was pretty fun too.

Graham's expression was Mr. Serious for much of the trip...

...Swing time excluded.

Checking out the chicken coop a little more.

And more swinging.

Working on walking with Grandpa.

Drumming! 

On Thursday of the trip, we headed to the zoo nearby the house. We were up close and personal with the monkeys (or monkey-ish things).

Graham didn't have much interest in staying in the stroller. 

So much to explore. 

Len stayed relaxed in his stroller. 

And it sprinkled a little bit so he talked Graham into getting into his ride. I think this is the most hilarious picture of these two. 

But a boy gets tired, and the stroller was his refuge.

Len stayed busy.

I love this picture of Len and Debora.

Unfortunately it was the giraffes that Graham missed while he napped. Which he would have loved!

Walking back on the path. Beautiful.

Bonfire in the backyard. The boys had fun with playing with some bottle caps with Grandpa. Ahh, the simple things. 

At some point in the trip, we attempted a picture of the boys in the Minnesota Twins t-shirts that Grandpa gave them. This was the best we could do.

On Friday of the trip, we loaded up and took the train to Koln. The big attraction is this cathedral which is quite a sight as soon as you get out of the train station. 

It's so massive that I think it's impossible to get the whole thing in one picture.

This is how the boys got around. Big strollers and lots of bread. 

Cool city...

We took a ferry ride to look at the city from the perspective of the river.

Cathedral in the background, which, because of its massive size, is almost always under some renovation in order to keep up. Also...look closely for the cute little girl peeking on me.

Graham enjoyed exploring the boat.

Len working on his walking some more.

Train station.

Watching the sights go by with Uncle Eric.

Back at the house the he wanted to see the chickens again.

Silly daddy.

Before we headed home, we went to the Dortmond mall again. With the big World Cup soccer games going on, there was lots of excitement all around.

Including this....look carefully.

Graham had fun cruising. 

And breaking "the rules" by sitting face forward in the car while we were there.

And since it was the final night, we made an attempt at some family pictures. Of course we chose to do this moments before (or possibly past) the boys' bedtimes, so pictures were a bit of a challenge.

We managed a few good ones.

But mostly it was a challenge. 

It was good preparation for the flight home the next day. Which went better on the way home than the way there. These smiling pictures are still deceiving. It's just not a priority to take pictures when he's fussing and squirming. Weird.

But we made it home and had a great trip. These pictures from the park are from about 5 a.m. the next morning since Graham and I were both jet lagged and wide awake at 4:30. Why not go for a walk to watch that sun rise?

June highlights

• Walking everywhere. Loves curbs and inclines which is inconvenient since those take Graham INTO the street. 
• Talking a little. Mostly animal sounds and can respond to "what does a cow say?" "what does a sheep say?" Etc. 
• Not very good at eating fruits or vegetables.