Jane 11 months

Such a delight to raise this little squish!  She is more interested in walking with finger assist from mommy or daddy.  When she is distracted with a toy or paper, she will take a few steps on her own.  She loves to pull books off the shelf, play with the telephone cords, climb anything, and talk/scream "uh-uh" when she wants food or water or being held or sees an animal.  Jane traveled to Spain and Gibraltar this month.  Her highlight of the trip was eating sand, watching the monkeys swing from the trees, and splashing in the Mediterranean sea. 

Finally caught Jane walking on video.  June 21, 2016.

Spain

Getting to Spain was a little painful, but we sure enjoyed our time there.  We took a late night flight and didn't get to our hotel until about 2am.  The next morning, we had a good breakfast, rented a car, and took off to Ronda. 

 Kate on a Spanish horse in front of the bullring in Ronda.

 The bullring. 

 We had the opportunity to watch the horses perform their Spanish riding lessons.

 New Bridge.  Brings old town and new town together.  Stunning. 

Gibraltar was a delight.  We took a private tour up the Rock of Gibraltar to see the caves, view points, castle, and of course the MONKEYS! (also known as Barbary macaques). 

They were everywhere!

 Seriously cool and scary at the same time! 

We met the cutest grandparents on one of the beaches of Gibraltar.  They loved on Jane and built sand castles with Kate and shared the shade of an umbrella with Bryan and I.  So nice to meet good people!

Bryan and I had to do separate trips to Caminito del Rey because they had an age restriction of 8 years or older.  Bryan's group left at 11am and my group left at 5pm.  This was our main reason for traveling to Spain.  Totally worth it. 

 The bottom is the old pathway.  The top is the new pathway that was completed last year.  Quite the adventure!

Some of the old pathway has fallen below and the rebar is sticking out.  Would have been a seriously been scary if the new path wasn't built.   

 Our last day, we spent on the clear beaches of Nerja. 

We can't wait to go back to Spain!

June 2016 Happenings

Kate is still quite the climber.  She has figured out how to cross these ropes to go down the "fireman" pole.   

 Jane's first kiss.  We are really going to miss the Eickbush family!

 A trip to the Weltenburg Abbey and Brewery with the girls.  You can take a boat or walk.  I opted for the boat ride.  Beautiful Danube River. 

 Lessons on sharing candy in front of the Victory Hall in Kehlheim. 

 A trip to the Snow White castle in Lohr.  A definite highlight for Kate. 

 Lohr Castle

 Going down the slide with dad at Wohlpiland. 

Our first German 1/2 marathon completed together!  It rained the whole time...

Lake Garda and Verona

We stayed at a cute little camper/trailer about 200 meters from the beaches of Lake Garda.  The campsite had its own grocery store, pools, playgrounds, and restaurant.  A perfect recovery place for Bryan as he recovered from surgery.  The first two days were warm and sunny.  The next two days were rainy and cold.  European weather for you!

 

Here is our cute little camper!

I wish the haze would have cleared.  It would have been such a gorgeous view! Definitely a trip we need to take again. 

 Hanging out at the swimming pool.  The water was a little chilly, but all the girls got in!

 A light drizzle didn't keep us from having a fun time in Verona.  We saw the arena, Romeo & Juliet's balcony, and the Roman amphitheater.  Beautiful, clean Italian city. 

 Kate and I did not rub Juliet's breast (It's supposed to bring you a new lover). 

 Beautiful!  This is close to our campsite, Peschiera del Garda. 

 An awesome gelateria we found in Verona.  As many flavors shaped into a flower.  Kate LOVED it. 

On our drive back home, we were finally able to see some of the mountains.  Such a beautiful area and wanting to go back soon!

Wunseidel Rock Labyrinth

Also known as the largest rock labyrinth in Europe.  This was the perfect hike for Kate because she could explore in the rocks, up the stairs carved in the rocks, and jump around.  Finally, we got her to hike on her own without constantly asking daddy to carry her. 

 

Afterwards, Kate and Jane shared a popsicle. 

Jane 10 months

Can you believe she is 10 months old? Jane is such a sweet baby.  These last few days she has been a little on the cranky side- not sure if she is teething, sick, tired or just really hungry!  She prefers to stand or upright crawl.  She has taken a few steps on her own, but isn't too balanced at it.  She is climbing up the stairs and chairs and people and the cozy coupe.  Her favorite food is yogurt.  She can hear you open one up from a room away!  She is adventuring more in the food department- macaroni and cheese, broccoli, cheese, peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  I am still breastfeeding but not as often.  This month Jane went to Italy for the first time.  So far, she has been to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, USA, France, Slovakia, and Italy.  We love our little Jane-jane! 

Jane's crawl

This is how Jane crawls these days- upright.  So silly!

(9 months)