The cousin sleepover: indoor fun

Cousins Jakob and Anna stayed over for a few days while their parents were traveling. They are great kids, but it definitely affirmed that four children are enough. Even so, we can't wait to have them visit us in Texas one day.


Five kids at the dinner table (Keira is probably right behind me on her favorite couch). Lennon loves to sign "more" (especially when there is food involved), so all of the other kids quickly picked up on that, no matter what language they spoke.

Anna lived in Katharine's nightgowns, and Katharine was always sporting some interesting custom head decor.

The couch runaround was their favorite game- dressed or naked.

Most of the time the game centered on the kids being chased by Lennon, who had a lot of fun despite being oblivious to the whole setup.

Tipped over arm chairs made for a pretend carriage.

Lennon was constantly playing catch with everyone.

Training for the arm chair high jump. Who knows, it might be an Olympic sport by the time he grows up.

Katharine gets points for artistry.

All the kids loved to draw. Anna was quite good.

Video games are fun, even when you only have a PlayStation and small TV. Jakob also had a DS, so we played some Mario Kart and Zelda as well.

Winding down with some Deutsch Disney.

The Baptism

Keira and Lennon were baptized on Sunday, January 4th. There are a few extra pictures in this post, since that was the main point of the whole trip.

This is Iria's 500+ year old church.

Inside, Keira takes the plunge.

Lennon did great, until he discovered a fun new toy in the form of the pew's creaky coat hook. Sounds can carry in that old church :)

Lukas and Katharine got a kick out of seeing Jesus in "his underpants" on the cross. It was the first time that our kids had ever seen a crucifix, and I don't think that they really quite understood what it represented. That aside, it was still a really nice service that was capped off with a fine rendition of "We Shall Overcome" (all the more impressive considering that most of the congregation spoke little to no English).

We had lunch at the church's reception hall across the street. The one Wi-Fi spot that I ever found in this town was in the far corner of this room, and it would sputter in and out if you weren't facing in the right direction.

Thorsten- Lennon and Keira's very cool godfather.

Keira slept, so Lennon was the center of attention.

Anna and Katharine had a lot of fun with the flowers that they got from the ceremony.

Thorsten's wife and mom decorated the baptism candles, and Iria's sister Anita made the baptism cakes. The candles are a big tradition in Germany, and they become little family heirlooms.

Lukas liked the deserts (especially the cheese cake).

Katharine liked posing.

After lunch we took the kids outside to a small castle that was adjacent to a playground. Europe is so cool...

I think Lukas started to get tired of posing, but that in itself makes for some fun pictures.

The Walter family: Stefan (older brother), Linda (mom), Anita (younger sister) and Iria.

Oma with Lennon and Keira.

Iria always jokes that she never gets to be carried, so after a few Swabish beers I swept her off her feet and got the photo to document it :)

Happy Birthday, Katharine!

This post will read as the 22nd, but since I have not officially gone to bed yet I'm going to still consider it the 21st :)


Happy Birthday, Katharine!

Ludwigsburg

We took a trip to Ludwigsburg early on, which was only a 15 minute train ride from Linda's house. The kids loved the train, and Iria and Katharine loved the shopping :)

Iria and Katharine returned to Ludwigsburg near the end of the trip to tour the castle/palace. We had planned to bring the boys, but Lukas had an inopportune temper tantrum which cost him (and Lennon and I) the trip. Maybe next time... I hear the gardens are amazing in Spring/Summer.

New Years

On New Year's Eve we all enjoyed an enormous "New Year's Pretzel" and then had some champagne. I succumbed to jet lag and fell asleep early, only to be roused from my bed at midnight by the sound of fire works. They were setting them off in the streets, and it felt like we were in the middle of an enormous fire works show. Very cool.

On New Years Day we visited Iria's sister on her farm in the country. Cousin Jacob immediately bonded with Keira, cousin Anna became fast friends with Katharine (dolls appear to be the universal little girl language), and Lukas took a walk outside with a barn cat.

Christmas

Lennon was still jet-lagged on Christmas and woke us up at 4:30 AM, but after that the day was a lot of fun. We opened presents later that morning, built snowmen after lunch, and then had a 'Jesus birthday cake' that my Mom made to finish the day off. Katharine's favorite presents were her 'Wizard of Oz' dolls, Lukas's was his pirate ship (we would end up lugging that thing to Germany), and Lennon loved his toy balls (he is easy and cheap to shop for).