Jane is One!

And just like that, Jane is one year old.  We are crazy in love with her.  Our family would not be the same without her squishy, giggle-y, cuddle-y spirit.  She started seriously walking June 20th.  Bryan claims she did a few steps June 16th on the beaches of Spain.  She feels the most confident with a hand to hold and usually signs for someone to walk with her.  Lots of new words and sounds this month- "da" for dog, "ba" for bird, "boo" for book, and of course "mama" and "dada".  Our family took a vacation to Croatia/Slovenia and she loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand and rocks.  We can't believe she is getting so big so quick! Stop growing now!!

Happy Birthday Jane!

 

Mom's attempt to make a "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" cake the day after a super long vacation. 

We had friends and family come over for a small barbeque, the Sebourn family and the Ellison family.  All the kids helped Jane open her presents.  She received a dress, soft foam blocks, a tunnel/castle tent, play dough, puzzles, and crayons/markers/paper.  Ohh...and lots of fun stuff to tear up!

We have been practicing blowing out candles with Jane for about a month, but she still needed help from her patient big sister Kate.  Afterwards, it took awhile for her to dig into the cake. 

Not so shy now!

We love our Jane-jane!

Croatia and Slovenia

We had such a blast on our big summer vacation.  I know it seems like we are always on vacation, but I have been planning and waiting for this trip all year.  We had lots of beach time, sunshine, and relaxation- which can be hard when you live in Europe and want to visit every city/country.  We spent three days in Slovenia and eight days in Croatia.

 Day 1: We drove to Slovenia and checked out the city Ljubljana.  Spent the night. We have found that bringing Kate's little balance bike is a game changer.  She loves roaming around the city centers and doesn't ask to be carried the whole time. 

Day 2: Drove to Postojna cave.  Super cool cave that is 109km long with a train that goes super fast.  Don't stand up or you might just get hit by a stalactite.  Drove to Predjama castle.  One of the coolest castles we have seen.  It is built into a cave system that will lead out onto the other side of the mountain.  At one point in history, there was a one year siege and the attackers couldn't figure out how the castle dwellers were still alive!

Day 3: Plitvice Lake National Park

 Hiking through gorgeous cascades of waterfalls for hours!





Day 4: Drive to Split for some beach time and then onto Dubrovnik

 Bacvice Beach- the perfect sandy beach for both girls to enjoy!

 Day 4-9: Hang out in Dubrovnik

 Banje Beach- perfect view of the old city

 Amazing food

 View from our apartment

 Walking to the old city of Dubrovnik

 Dubrovnik

 Looking at the bottom of the ocean with these neat boat with a glass bottom.

 View of Dubrovnik from the boat

 

Day 9: Starting our drive back home with many stops

 





We stopped at another sandy beach called Prapratno.  Another perfect beach to build sand castles and splash in the water. 

 We went to Krka National Park.

You can actually get in the water here.  It was surprisingly warm!

 

 

We also made a stop in Zadar to listen to the Sea Organ.  We then drove through the night to Bled, Slovenia (but got stuck in a crazy wind storm).

 

Day 10: Hiking at Vintgar Gorge

Day 11: Finishing our drive back home

 

Luxembourg

Spontaneous trip to Luxembourg over the fourth of July weekend.  The weather has been a little crummy this summer.  Lots of rain and clouds that make it hard for planning outdoor activities with the kids.

On our way to Luxembourg, we stopped at a princess park called Marchen Paradies.  There were little houses with characters inside that told the story of Snow White or Rumpelstiltskin.  There were also little rides for the kids.  It was cute and a perfect little out of the car activity.    

 

Afterwards, we made a pit-stop at Heidelberg.  Beautiful city and castle ruin. 

The little town we stayed at in Luxembourg had a medieval festival going on a few streets over from our apartment.  We caught a few moments of sunshine, followed by rain and wind.  One thing I love about Europe is the constant festivals and markets you run into without planning.  Super fun way to interact with the people and culture. 

We made it to the famous Chocolate House across the street from the Grand Duke in Luxembourg.  The hot chocolate doesn't disappoint and they really do have like 30+ flavors.  The flavors are stuck to a spoon and then you dip the spoon in the hot milk and add cream and homemade marshmallows.  So good! 

 We explored the casemates of Luxembourg City- long tunnels built in the rock to defend the area. 

 The last day was spent at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial for the 4th of July.

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...