hey, hey, Cinderella

Went to a ball this weekend. In a real Castle, just like all those fairytales. What a good time and what a fabulous setting!

Local Treasures

We've been taking advantage of all the nice weather recently, taking to the bike trails for afternoon rides. Most often our destinations are local playgrounds where C can frolic and feed the ducks. My favorite is one just up the road in Gangelt tucked beneath the trees with a few walking paths that meander by a river. His favorite is one a little further afield in Niederbusch with a life size chess set and zip line that zooms him accross the mud pit below.

The boys and I had a lovely morning last week exploring new bits of Geilenkirchen. Found some swans in the central park and then after window shopping for a bit stopped into Cafe Schleypen - a highly recommended spot for yummies that we'd yet to try. C loved the case full of cakes he got to choose from. I loved the outside courtyard he could romp around in as we all three shared the homemade goodie.

Later, we lit off to the blueberry field to meet up with friends and U-Pick some incredible morsels. However, upicking German style is a lot different than our honor pay, overgrown, blueberry lot stateside. Here, the bushes are in precisely manicured rows and upon arrival you're assigned a bush, told to pick only that bush, and kindly asked to keep your children from wandering around to pick other bushes. Here too, blueberry picking must be an all day affair as we saw lots of locals with their lawn chairs and coolers, camped out amid the rows of berries.

next up.... Valkenburg
coming soon....POLAND and POTTERY
around the bend..... Scotland

WildPark Gangelt

Explored a local treasure recently, taking the boys to WildPark Gangelt -- part playground, part nature trails, part zoo. C 'tis the perfect age for it, by the time we leave here he will have outgrown it. Not a huge place, and that's part of its appeal. It's small enough that he can walk it an hour, still leaving plenty of time for playgrounds and picnics.

His favorite part was the beehive, where the queen was marked with a read dot. "Don't worry" he said, "the Bees aren't so scary"

Opeanyear 'round, I think we might just have to snag an annual pass.....

Baby Book Time-- the first year

At One Year....
He's a skinny little dude. 19.8 pounds (8th percentile, up from 5th percentile at 9months) and 30.11 inches (65th percentile, up from 22nd percentile at 9 months). Not walking yet, but doesn't like to sit still, not even to sit in his highchair to eat. Meals, more often than not, are little tidbits eaten on the go, but as he keeps growing, must be getting enough.


For his birthday we had some friends over to try out Daddy's new grill and the kids decorated cupcakes. I put strawberries all over B's as strawberries and watermelon are two of his favorite foods.

His newest trick is giving five and although he makes lots of sounds, the only sound that functions as a word (signifying a specific meaning) is cawya, which you guessed it, is his word for big brother. Big Brother is awful sweet to him. When B's in his crib, fussing to get out, I tend to talk to him as I walk up the stairs to get him, "Don't worry, baby, momma's coming". Anytime B's awake and begins fussing, C dashes off to wherever B's penned in, hollering to him along the way, "Don't worry, baby, Cawya's coming"

there's no escaping it....

We've got a pretty grand Netherlands-based, Goodwill-like chain over here. The Bis Bis. There are 4 within a short drive and a few weeks back we scouted them all looking for a dining room table. The Dutch love the modern, clean lines of IKEA furniture. Even expensive furniture showrooms are stocked with more expensive IKEAesque items. The result, the Bis Bis are filled with older furniture for pennies.

For example:
Our dining room table and 4 chairs (solid dark wood, with two leaves that pop up to comfortably seat 6 if not 8) -- 85euro

old secretary desks -- 60euro

old phone desks (for those of you in the know, like the one grandma and popo always kept in the kitchen in NC) 35euro

whole wall china cabinets 175euro

original singer sewing tables 50euro

AND, they'll deliver (although we have recently met neighbors with a pick up truck).

The Bis Bis has become our favorite place to wander, even though as of yet we've only bought the table and chairs. We went back today to pick up a fan [it's hot here this week] and a beer pilsner or two and unfortunately got skunked on both those counts, but 'twas still a fun outing, EXCEPT for the fact that while shopping we had to listen to most of Michael Jackson's Bad CD.

so, like I said in the title -- there's just no escaping it.