Ramstein with Friends

I had 3 dentist appointments in one day down at Ramstein almost two weeks ago. I had something weird going on with one of my back molars and they had to do a root canal on it at the end of August and I had to finish that, prep for a crown and get a crown put on my tooth. While we are overseas, the military will pay 100% of my dental work, so I might as well get it all done while we are still here! Unfortunately Ramstein is 3 hours away and we already shipped our car. We do have our little "beater" that our friend loaned to us to drive around, but I don't want to drive that thing very far! My friend Lara thought it would be fun to come with me and we could bring our girls to have a little getaway. Not sure if it was very fun for Tawney and Norah, because they were mostly stuck with us while we shopped around! We enjoyed getting to eat at our American restaurants, shop around and we even got to attend a cute Pumpkin Festival in a nearby town. I'm going to miss these girls when we leave!!

It was fun to spend a little more 1 on 1 time with Norah. I feel like it is Adeline that always gets to do things like this, so it was fun to take Norah. Adeline about lost it since she wasn't able to come with us and was really upset. When we were at Ramstein, I let Norah pick out something little to bring back to Meika and Adeline. She also was concerned about getting the girls little pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. She was so excited to get home so she could give them her presents. This little girl has a heart of gold. She would give the shirt off her back to someone.

Bocket Farm

About a month ago my friend and I brought our kids to the Bocket farm, which is in the village right next to ours. We celebrated Adeline's birthday there a couple years ago, but hadn't been back since. It's a shame, because the kids love it and it is super cheap! The owner gave each kid a head of corn so they could take the kernals and the green parts off to feed the animals.

Secret Garden Playground

Remember how I mentioned that behind the house of the people that own the cute little ice cream shop down the street, there is a cute little playground the kids always beg to play on? I had several times seen the front of the playground, but had never ventured through and behind it. If you climb up the stairs at the entrance, you walk through two different bridges of sorts that lead you back through the trees and hedges.

A couple weeks ago I finally decided to climb up and back there to see what all the fuss was about. I fell in love with it and could see why the kids always scarf their ice cream so they can run back there and play make believe. It reminded me of when I was a kid and all of the fun we would have had!

Freeze Time

Can I please just freeze time? I love all my kids ages so much right now. I know it keeps getting more fun, but it just goes way too fast!

Meika at 2.5 years

Oh Meika, how I love this stage she is in! Please don't grow up!!

Meika at 2.5 years
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-Has been completely potty trained since May/June. May/June timeframe she still had accidents here and there, but she is pretty solid now. I don't really ever see her go because she just does it herself and is pretty independent about it.
-Has been dry at night time for the past week or so. I am going to make a chart and see if we can go another week or so before I ditch the diaper. She has been napping without a diaper for about 2 months.
-Loves cows!!!
-loves bubbles
-makes me sing "I am a child of god" and "twinkle twinkle" every night to her when she is going to bed. She makes Abe sing "Lead Kindly Light".
-Still attached to her "bear bear" and sadly her binkie at night. I am waiting till after our move to take that away!
-Pretty good eater and will usually eat whatever I give her.
-Is obsessed with riding her bike and is crazy at it. I'm pretty sure she could ride a two wheeler right now if we could find one small enough. I can't keep up with that girl.
-lots of energy
-Has the biggest imagination. She is constantly entertaining herself and playing make believe. I love just watching her play and listening to what she comes up with. It amazes me.
-Likes to cuddle and is pretty affectionate
-wants to keep up with her big sisters
-super easy kid and I can take her anywhere. She is very well behaved and fun to be around.
-starting to get a little sass, but I can still reason with her
-loves dressing up and changing her clothes a million times a day
-Will only wear dresses or skirts

Norah 4.5 years

Norah at 4.5 years old
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-sensitive
-VERY giving and great at sharing. Sometimes her sisters will throw fits and Norah always ends up giving up what she has or sharing something that means a lot to her. She has a heart of gold.
-Likes to get a reaction and can be a little defiant sometimes
-naturally athletic. She is a maniac riding her bike and has no fear.
-Is in her own little "Norah world" and has a crazy imagination
-has a great memory and is always coming home and telling us the german words she has learned at school.
-has quite a sense of humor and is a little clown at times
-gets worn out quickly
-knows what she wants and is very decisive
-will only wear skirts or dresses
-homebody
-loves carrots

Some random conversations I wrote down that I thought were funny:

Norah was asking me what would happen with having a birthday party since we will have moved to Colorado. I told her that of course we would still celebrate her birthday and she could have a party. She asked if she could have a "snow"birthday party. Adeline asked Norah what she would do for that kind of party and Norah said, "Go sledding, drink hot chocolate and get in a warm blanket and cuddle!" Adeline said, "Norah, you can't just cuddle for your birthday party!"

Norah is always super sensitive to smells and has somewhat of a gag reflux. Just guessing… but I think she gets that from me! If Abe tries to hug her when he is drenched with sweat after working out, she starts screaming and running away from him. Sometimes when he is close to her and cuddling or whatnot and talking close to her face, she will get a disgusted look on her face and say, "Ew, your breath stinks!". Sometimes she will even gag a little bit. The other day when driving the girls home from school, Adeline was talking about how they can't bring Peanut butter to school because some kids are allergic to it, but no one in her class is. She explained that some of the kids are allergic to sunscreen, dust, etc. Norah piped up and said, "I am allergic to dog poop smell!"

Adeline at 7 years old

I like to take some new pictures of my kids every time they have a birthday. It took about a month to finally get my act together and haul the kids out to get Adeline's pictures done. I took a handful of Adeline and then I took a couple of the other kids as well. Adeline is quite the poser and was having fun taking pictures. That is until it was getting a little cold and she was starting to act "hangry". My photographer friend Danielle has an amazing field right by her house and she took me down there so we could take some pictures. I wish I always had a field like this around for photo shoots! So happy I got pictures of my kids while the flowers were in bloom.

















Adeline at 7 years old
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-Has blossomed in reading the past year and is now reading chapter books
-Her favorite subjects in school are art, PE and writing. Her least favorite is math.
-She is a little bit indecisive. She likes so many things that it is hard for her to narrow down what she really wants.
-Loves riding her bike and doing anything active
-Leader
-sweet
-She is a very good writer and great at art. I am always amazed at what she has created.
-Loves adventures
-Loves being with friends
-Is usually pretty responsible
-Teachers pet at school. Her teachers think she could never to wrong! I wish she would do the same at home! ;)
-Loves trying to entertain Anders and is pretty good to her sisters. Norah and Adeline are good buddies and are always playing together.
-has a hard time going to bed
-impulsive
-Strong willed
-competitive
-creative
-pleaser
-perfectionist
-Is in to listening to music and loves KidzBop

It is crazy to think that my first born is already 7 years old. She is an amazing little kid and it's fun to watch her grow. While at times she can be a bit difficult to parent (strong willed!), she is a joy and is a sweet heart. She is 7 going on 17 and feels like she is old enough to do what she wants! She is fun to be around and is always game to do things. She continues to be my little energizer bunny and is always looking for something to do and is not ok with being bored. She has all the motivation in the world when it something she wants and will work hard to get it! Adeline, you are a super special girl and I love you so so much! I know great things are going to happen while in our next move to Colorado and you will be very pleased with all the fun english speaking friends you will meet. I think you will be in your element there :)