Thanksgiving in Germany

We had a great Thanksgiving. We decided to visit Aleks' brother and his family in Germany while Isaac is still under two and we only have one kid. It was a lot of fun. We got in early Thanksgiving morning, slept for a while and had a nice turkey dinner that Harmony prepared. We took the boys to the park. Jack is seven months older than Isaac and they had a lot of fun playing together.

Isaac really enjoyed Jack's toys and Jack was kind enough to share.

We spent the weekend in Belgium. Our first stop was Waterloo where we learned a lot of interesting stuff about the battle there and climbed a large monument. Isaac was really excited that there was a lion on the top. It was really windy up there, but cool to see the battlefield.



We spent a lot of the weekend with the boys in strollers and they were good sports.



We spent a day in Brugge. It is a really cool city that has been dubbed the Venice of the North. Back in the day is was a massive port, but then the harbor silted up and it faded away. Now it is a massive tourist destination, though November was fairly quiet. We saw the chocolate museum there, complete with a full size chocolate statue of Pres Obama.




We took a break and gave the boys a break from their strollers. They had a lot of fun running around and burning off energy.


There were a lot of horse drawn carriages cruising around. That was one of the best kid-friendly things there. Isaac loved to watch the horsies go by.




Another fun break for the boys was putting them on the merry go round. Isaac and Jack loved it...



...until it ended.



We stayed in a great bed and breakfast. Isaac and Jack loved to meet up on our bed for some play time. They only had one head butt, but there were no tears shed since they were having too much fun.



The last day in Belgium we saw a lot fo WWI sights. That was really cool. We started in the town of Ypres and drove through this monument to get to a great museum documenting the battles that took place there. This was the home of Flander's Fields where nearly four years of trench warfare took place. It was pretty amazing to see.


We trekked around the area, looking at old trenches and cemeteries. The area is dotted with them. I can't imagine living through that.




Isaac did well snoozing in the car.



Back in Germany, we went to Aleks' old house. He lived here for about five years as a kid.



We went to a Christmas market in nearby Mainz. It was really cool. Isaac loved the nativity with all the animals.



I guess that we did not learn our lesson in Belgium, because we put him on another merry go round, which he loved. The aftermath from this one was exponentially worse than in Belgium. I am pretty sure that everyone at the market could hear him shrieking. It probably did not help that he had not taken a nap that day...



The next day we went up the Rheine. It is littered with castles and cute towns. We saw a few castles.



We had to wait for our tour of one of the castles. Thankfully they had goats that kept Isaac really entertained.



I took a little trip to Athens for a conference for two days. It was really pretty, though I missed Aleks and Isaac. The mediterranean climate was pretty nice, compared to Germany.




My hotel had a great view of the Parthenon.



When I got back, we went to Heidelberg and saw the castle there and puttered around town. It was a fun last outing for the trip.



The last night there, one of Aleks' childhood friends and his wife and daughter came over for dinner. We had a really nice time with them.

Animals!

Isaac has a slight obsession with animals. I was getting breakfast one morning and turned around to see this scene. Isaac wanted to be in the kitchen by me, but also wanted to keep playing with his animals. Thankfully our garbage can was just the right height for him to set up shop.

One little monkey

Isaac loves it when Aleks gets home from work. This will provide some evidence as to why.

Isaac is really into his songs and stories right now and loves trying to do all the actions.

Cousin Benjamin

I went to see Sharon and Mike's new baby today: Benjamin. Melissa was really nice and babysat Isaac so I could head to the hospital. Isaac is totally fascinated by Henry and did really well. He arrived a bit earlier than expected so he is taking time to continue developing and picking up new skills in the NICU. Things seem to be going well. Sharon is recovering well and enjoying the hospital food.

We are excited for Isaac to have a new cousin that lives so close. He is pretty cute. Here are some shots of him in the NICU from earlier today.

Trick-or-treat

Isaac had his first trick-or-treating experience tonight. Isaac enjoys his costume a lot. He has a bit of an animal infatuation and zebra is one of the words that he says best (he probably is better at saying no, but I was not about to figure out a costume for that).

We went to a nearby neighborhood where we have several friends. People really get into the spirit of things there and Isaac was not really sure of what to make of it at first. The first house had a women handing out candy with an alien mask on. Isaac was a little nervous at first and then started to shriek when she gave him candy. It was a rough start, but before long he really got in to it.

We ran in to some friends who were out with their kids and they took a photo of the three of us.



After Isaac had accumulated a few pieces of candy in his bucket, he would try to give people candy when they offered it to him. He actually managed to get rid of some of his candy. We really liked that approach. Eventually he managed to eat through the wrapper of a kit kat and realized what what in his bucket. He no longer tried to give away his candy. Then we had to deal with his begging skills (see previous post). Unfortunately the bag of pretzels that someone gave him was just not enough competition for the chocolate and air heads. Bummer.

Making Mischief

Isaac is a master of mischief these days. I have been enjoying making pumpkin chocolate chip bread and little muffins and Isaac LOVES it. He really is perfecting his begging skills with these.

This morning, Isaac took advantage of Aleks being otherwise occupied to take part in one of his favorite restricted activities. Aleks managed to catch him in the act. He really knows that he is not supposed to do this.

Fall time fun

We have been having a nice fall and trying to enjoy the last remnants of good weather. I am really dreading winter this year. Oh well.

A few weeks ago we took advantage of a great New England tradition and went apple picking. Isaac had a great time and loved the farm animals and eating apples.

Last weekend we went to Drumlin farm again. Isaac loved it even more this time. The leaves are starting to change colors and it was really beautiful.




He really liked the drinking fountain there and has been working hard on his skills with these.

My parents drove across the country for a visit and stayed with us for a week. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately we did not pull out the camera very much, except the first night that they were here. Isaac had a super droopy diaper, and to save his dignity I am not going to post some of the really funny pictures from before we changed it. This one will have to suffice.

As a preview of coming attractions, here is Isaac's halloween costume. He LOVES it. He likes to cuddle with it and look at it. Zebras are a recent obsession, perhaps because it is one word that he can say really well.

Finally, here is another recent discover Isaac has made. He has realized that he can climb on the toilet and up to the bathroom counter. He then realized how fun the sink faucet is. I guess that the good part of this is that he does not like it when we leave the toilet lid up because it impairs his climbing. So at least we do not have to worry about him playing in that water.