weekly update!

This has been a warm week! We've spent a lot of time just in and around the pool. Niklas is getting so good at paddling around with his water wings already!! I'll be adding some video clips farther down, but even they are outdated already. He just gets better and better everyday! We also spent a great day at White Rock this week. Mirko and I both love the ocean and love the salty breeze from the ocean so it was relaxing for us to be able to spend a day there. It was also wonderful to be able to spend the day with Mom and Mel and Aunt Erna, Uncle Walter and Ron!

Another highlight for me right now is my 25th grad reunion. Last night the the grads got together and tonight we'll be having a dinner with our spouses as well. It was so much fun and so interesting to see everyone again!!


And so, as mentioned above, here are a couple of video clips made this week of Niklas practicing his "swimming":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WNb9JC0aqM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQJ__MdKPsw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrjC1SGYas8

and a clip of Niklas doing his spinning around until he's dizzy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wMog-Yj5Nw

and finally, a link to our Picasa Album with pictures of the week:

20090628-0702

Mirko and Ron's hike up Mount Cheam

Mirko and my cousin, Ron went hiking for the day today up Mount Cheam. It sounds like they had an exciting day dealing with gravel roads and steep trails disapearing into the snow, clouds and sliding down the snowhills on their way down. And I'm glad they found their way up and back down again safely!

Mount Cheam as seen from Lady Peak

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheam_Peak

Mount Cheam

A popular trail leading through alpine meadows to the summit of Mount Cheam, a prominent peak towering over the eastern Fraser Valley.

Statistics

Total Distance: 8.4 km (return) Estimated Time: 4.5 hours Average Grade: 15.8% Structure: Linear - Return

Elevation Gain: 715 m Start Elevation: 1447 m Min Elevation: 1397 m Max Elevation: 2112 m

http://www.clubtread.com/Routes/Route.aspx?Route=73


Here is a link to the picasa album with pictures of their day:

20090629 Mirko Ron Mount Cheam

Mirko is here!

We've had an exciting week. Last Saturday, Mirko arrived and joined us in our hotel in Seattle. Niklas was already down for the night when he got to the room so he didn't get to see his Daddy until the middle of the night when he woke up. He was so excited to see Mirko and of course didn't want to sleep anymore. Eventually, he fell back to sleep while sitting up and then plopped to the side on top of Mirko's pillow. It was so cute.

After some serious shopping and good eating in Seattle. We loaded up Donna and Scott's Big Foot and headed up to Cultus Lake for a bit of camping. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we still had a great time and really enjoyed the old forests around the campsite. Niklas loved being outside so much. I can tell he takes after his Papa in his love for nature!

We just had a great evening with Donna and Scott, Cindy and Kurtis and Emma, Mom and Mel and Donna also invited Aunt Erna and Uncle Walter and Ron down. Lots of great food and fun conversations!!

Now we feel tired from 4 nights sharing a lumpy camper bed with a toddler and are looking forward to sleeping a "real" bed again! So this will be a short update, but as usual, here is a link to the newest Picasa Album (and there are a lot of pics!):

20090618-27

another update!

This afternoon we're heading across the border and tomorrow we'll be meeting Mirko in Seattle!!! I am so excited to be seeing him again and am so curious how Niklas will react to seeing his DaDa again!!

Both Niklas and I are a tiny bit stressed right now. I'm preparing for going on a camping trip with Mirko and Niklas right after we get back from picking Mirko up as well as getting ready for our Seattle weekend. Niklas is not liking me trying to get other stuff done and not be just sitting there waiting to entertain him whenever he wants it. So it's been a bit of a hard couple of days for us. He's also still working on getting his last eye tooth in and is prone to be grumpy because of that right now too.

Here are a couple of video clips from the week:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQEXJW2SkNM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyjSReZyfr0

and a link to the newest pictures:

20090613-16

time for another update!

One more week and Mirko will be on his way here!! Next Saturday we'll be heading off to Seattle for a weekend of shopping, good eating and (of course!) picking Mirko up! I'm so excited and happy at the thought of seeing him again after so long. I'm also very curious how Niklas reacts to him. We've been skyping everyday so he sees Mirko everyday, but of course, that's not the same as having him with us in person!! I just wish all the kids were coming with him as well. I miss them so much!!!

Niklas got a new tooth this week. His lower right eye tooth. That makes tooth number 15 for him!! He is also making a few leaps in the speaking department. He has said his first name clearly meaning the person it was intended, "Scahh" (Scott) and has started saying "mum mum" (finally, calling me something!!!!). Mom and Mel both heard him say "hi Grandpa" after trying to get Mel's attention (I wish I had heard that one!). And he will hold "conversations" with people. It's so cute: he sits beside someone, looks them in the eye and starts talking "ya ya YA ya yayaya ya ya" and will tell them all sorts of interesting stuff (I just wish we knew what he was saying!!). It is just so much fun to watch his development.

I did try to catch a bit of him reading a book. He has his own type of voice that he uses while reading:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3oj6V00D_w

and here's a short clip of him dragging a bag around the house. It looked as if he had packed up and was planning on running away! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BADaM7IWws

and a link to the newest pictures of the week:

20090607-12

update!

Well another week has gone by and we've been enjoying cooking hot weather here this week. This is not Abbotsford how I know it!!! I came expecting a lot of rain and have been surprised with high summer temperatures and sunshine! WOW!!

Niklas and I have continued our routine of either hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's or hanging out at Donna and Scott's pool with times at the playground and waterpark mixed in between (as well as shopping trips to the mall!)

Niklas has been so happy this week and it's always so much fun to watch him interact with others. It really is a joy to be around him!

We got him some water wings for playing in the pool. He seemed a bit stiff and clingy in the life jacket so Cindy gave me the tip, that her kids enjoyed using the water wings for actually moving around in the water. It was a great tip!! Here is a video clip of Niklas's very first time testing out the water wings:

Yesterday in the water, he was even able to swim around without me holding on or supporting him at all!! I would let go of him and he'd stay afloat and paddle around with no support!! WOW!!! I am so amazed at this! Of course he still needs help and still looses his "balance" quite quickly and then needs a fast hand to support him again, but I am just so pleased at his progress!!!

Here is also a clip of him sliding at the playground:


and a clip I made of him just to show how much progress he has made with using a spoon to feed himself:


and a link to the picasa album with pictures of the week:

20090531-0605

weekly update!

Another week has gone by! We've been in Canada a month already!! We miss everyone in Germany so much and at the same time, I can't believe that a month has already gone by!! Time is just flying!!

The weather has been hot and sunny this week so we've spent a lot of time at the park at the playground and at the water park and in Donna and Scott's pool! I don't have pictures of us in the pool as usually it's just the two of us and I'm busy with Niklas so can't take pictures. He is getting more and more used to the water. Now that he doesn't cling to me so much, I am starting to try to teach him to move his legs and arms a bit in the water with the hopes that he might eventually learn to do a dog paddle with his life vest on.

We're still skyping everyday with Mirko and whoever is home at the time.

My youngest niece broke her wrist this week which also means the end of pool time for her for at least 4 weeks. Hope you heal quickly, Erin!!!!

I did something fun this week. I had done a comparison of Niklas with Mirko and I as babies and now I added a few more comparisons up to 18 months. It amazes me how much Niklas looks like Mirko!:

Here are a number of video clips of this week:











and a link to the picasa album with pictures of the week:

20090523-29

another update!

Happy Birthday, Joshua!!! I can't believe you're 15 years old already!! and I sure wish I could have beamed myself to Germany and celebrate with you!! Although, I guess with skyping it was a tiny bit like beaming Niklas and myself there!?

Niklas and I have been getting into a routine here in Canada. We usually get up in the mornings and while we eat breakfast, we skype with Mirko and whoever else happens to be home at the time. After that we usually go to Grandma and Grandpa's and stop at the park on the way there to play a bit. We get to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch and usually spend the afternoon with them before heading back to Aunt Donna and Uncle Scott's. Niklas is sleeping good and seems to be getting over whatever it was that he had. He still coughs a bit at night and has a runny nose but is otherwise healthy.

He's turned into a real meat eater! He is refusing vegetables and even fruit and only has eyes for his Uncle Scott's BBQed steak (or farmer sausage or whatever other meat he has prepared!)

We've also been in the pool for the first time today. The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days and it feels like summer has arrived!

It was nice seeing Aunt Hilda and Uncle John and their family for supper on Wednesday (I forgot my camara at Donna and Scott's so sadly don't have any pictures to post of that evening).

And it's been great seeing the progress Mirko has been making on the play tower for Niklas in the yard at home! Here's a picture I snapped with my laptop while skyping with Mirko:


Here are a couple of video clips from this week:







and a link to the Picasa Album with pictures of the week:

20090517-22

another update!

Another week has gone by. Niklas seems to be getting better. His antibiotics are finished and he hasn't gotten a fever again yet. His nose is still runny and he's still coughing quite a bit though so I hope he's not going to get worse again.

And one event at home that we missed, was Joshua's first ball. I feel sad to have missed it. It sounds like he had a great time and here's a picture that Mirko scanned in for me and sent me:

(isn't he growing up!!!!)

Niklas and I have just been hanging around. Either at Mom's or at Donna's. The weather seems to be changing constantly from rainy and cold to sunny and warm or humid so it's hard to know whether we'll be getting in some playtime at the park or not each day.

We've been skyping everyday with Mirko and the kids which is GREAT!!! Niklas is so cute how he waves and smiles and talks to them and sometimes even cries when someone says "good-bye". We miss them all A LOT!!!

Here's a short video clip of Niklas playing with a ball on Donna and Scott's front lawn:





and here's the link to the newest batch of pictures:

20090509-17

small update from Canada

Niklas and I have now been in Canada for a bit more than a week now. We haven't been doing much as both of us have been feeling sick. Yesterday I brought Niklas to see a doctor since his fever got extremely high (over 40° C!!). The doctor couldn't find an actual infection anywhere but since he had been sick for so long and has been getting more and more fevers, he was perscribed an antibiotic. I was so worried about Niklas yesterday, but after two doses of antibiotics so far, he seems to already be feeling much better and his fever is gone. It's nice to see him babbling and getting into trouble today! The smile on his face is a joy to see again!

It's also been great for me seeing my family again. Niklas is starting to warm up to them finally. It's been hard for him to be in a strange place with strange people and not feeling well.

I haven't been taking much pictures with us not feeling well, but here is a link to a few pictures from the week:

20090502-09

and a short video clip of him going up and down the ramp at the playground: