Alexandra at 7 months...

So we have a little drooler on our hands... Alexandra turned 7 months this week (I'm a few days late, blame it on Thanksgiving!) and is just the most amazing personality! Her eyes continue to get bigger (and those of you who know me know what a miracle this is!), and are staying blue as far as we can see. The hair is a bit sparse at this point, but very much like Sophia's at a similar age.

Her new trick is to lean forward from a sitting position & put her weight on her hands. Sometimes she does quite well and manages to balance in an "in between position" for a few seconds before going back to sitting.

Sometimes she is able to scoot right to the edge of the carpet in this way (notice the nice extended drool of concentration), and then she likes to play with the hardwood floor.

Through it all she smiles & invites all of us to play with her on the ground. It is hard to just let her play, knowing that sometimes there is a big crash**

**notice the big red blotch on the side of her forehead.

Through it all her great personality is shining through, and she is really loving the interaction with people right now. Older ladies are the most fun for her, for there is no fear and they smile, and it has been great practice for my German by interacting with them.

She still saves lots of laughter for Sophia, and is quite content in the car every day as I tell her we are going to pick up Sophia, and she gets to play with all of Sophia's friends at the school. The older girls (8-12 year olds), LOVE playing with her, and we often hang out around the school yard for 30 min after school gets out so they get lots of practice with entertaining a 7 month old (it is not that hard!). Alexandra loves the big girls...

Home with Daddy

Troy got home from his mammoth traveling schedule last Saturday, and we finally will see him over the next couple of months, as there is another travel ban in place for the region. This is becoming quite the norm in the area as all kinds of companies are cutting back. Rumor has it the BMW factory shut down for 6 weeks.

Anyway, Troy is home and the girls are thrilled, as am I...

Sleepy Girl, sleepy girl...

I have to say I'm a little bit proud when I see this photo. (My heart is glowing) Knowing how much I loved escaping into books, and still do, I'm thrilled that the last thing Sophia wants to do before she goes to bed is to have 5 minutes more with a book. It's hard to say no, and doesn't really even make sense to when I go in 5 min later & she is asleep with the light on, books in hand.

Personally, I don't know how she ended up in this position, but she was able to move her fingers.

St Martins Day in Germany

Last week we celebrated St Martin's Day at Sophia's school. The week before we had all made the lanterns, and the kids had special lights (no candles this year), and the singing & walk were done during the day so it wasn't exactly the same as last year... Of course last year it was zero degrees & pouring while we were outside.

Anyway, the kids had prepared a number of songs, and were able to perform them with & without the parents right next to them. Sophia was a bit embarrassed at first & would barely look at us, but it was so great to see all of the kids perform, and to finally hear the actual songs (rather than her interpretation of the songs) that she had been singing for weeks!

St Martin's Day from Moya Z on Vimeo.

Alexandra at 6 months... Check-up

An interesting check-up today to say the least... Sophia is on a 2 day break for Parent Teacher Conferences (ours is postponed because Troy is traveling), and so she had to come with us this morning.

Alexandra was a star. She went thru all of her tests with flying colors (apart from not being able to pay attention to the hearing test because Sophia kept talking & running around the room so the ear attachment kept flying out of Alexandra's ear as her head was spinning). And the doctor felt she has a very good personality because she didn't cry when he was throwing her around in the air to see what her reactions were. (all of those body movement tests that they do to newborns in the US, they still do to the 6 month olds here - I've forgotten if they did it to Sophia?!)

So then we came to the shot. I have to say, one of the best things about getting immunizations in Europe is the combined shots that they have. For the 6 immunizations that Alexandra received today she only had one shot. AMAZING! The other amazing thing, the drugs are from a US company (the doctor keeps telling me that as if to re-assure me that it makes the meds safer for my daughter), why don't we have this in the US?

Anyway, Alexandra handled the shot like a pro. She looked down at her leg, and made a squeak saying "Wow, that hurts." And then looked at me when it was over. At the same time Sophia is in the corner screaming "THEY ARE PRICKING HER!" over & over again with tears filling her eyes.

Then Sophia looked at me & said, "I'm never coming back here."

Alexandra is now 71cm (about 28") and 7,240 grams (almost 16lbs). No teeth yet, but the doctor said it is way to early for that... He was surprised when I told him how early Sophia got hers! Safely above average in both height & weight. Basically a happy & healthy child. And very smile-y (that threw him off a bit...)

We start them early

This evening as I was getting dinner ready I put Alexandra in the entry to play, and Sophia brought her computer to play with as well. Before I knew it, both girls were on their stomachs, enthralled by the screen.

At least they were learning the alphabet in French... ;-)

Take my picture please!

Can you tell we take a lot of photos? We were walking downtown last weekend, on a beautiful fall day, when Sophia saw a very photogenic pillar, hopped behind it & yelled, "Take my picture daddy!" She actually wouldn't move until we took the photo.
As it happens, she picked a good spot. The residence of the Hapsburg family is behind her left shoulder, and Odeonsplatz behind her head.
She's already got a good eye!

Hope for their future

What joy & what a celebration this week! I'm a bit sad to be missing all of the celebrations in the US though - we went to bed on election night late (about 2:30am) thinking it may be another long decision, and after I fed Alexandra at 5:30 I turned on the computer in time to see all of the major networks declaring Obama as the president. What a time in US history! I feel like the torch has been passed once more to a new generation...

I'm so glad hope is more powerful than fear.

What a wonderful gift to give to our girls...

Alexandra at 6 months...

So I'm a few days late, but what a month this has been! Alexandra is now a non-stop babbler, when her big sister lets her get a word in edgewise... Sophia is still the one guarantee to bring a smile to Alexandra's face, and it is amazing to watch the two of them when Sophia gets out of school. Alexandra's whole body starts moving, like she has so much to tell her about what we did that day & how much Sophia was missed. It is so great to see!
Alexandra has almost perfected the art of the perfect sitting position, and when she falls backwards & lands on a pillow she just starts laughing! She is such a happy baby...

Halloween 2008

Although we didn't really participate in any Halloween activities, we did dress up in the Halloween spirit! Germany isn't really big on Halloween celebrations, but Nana kitted the girls out (tatoos included!)

I think that next year we are definately going to have a Halloween lunch. Lots of kids running around & a fun way to spend the day on fall break!