Recent Videos

Here are a couple of recent videos of Lulu for you. The first one was shot yesterday of her eating breakfast. She LOVES yogurt. To the point that, if we let her, she will eat 2+ cupes of it a day. I kid you not! So, on this particular day, I decided to combine the yogurt with some blueberries we have in the fridge. When I put the bowl down in front of her, this is the reaction I got:

You would've thought they were rabbit droppings and not blueberries from that reaction, huh? She scooped them all up and promptly dumped them out on the placemat. So, I was pleasantly pleased and surprised to see her do this when I shot the video:



And the second video is from bathtime last night. I thought some of you might enjoy hearing the progress she's making in speaking. Clearly she understands both languages pretty well at this point. :)



You also can get a good sense of how quickly her mood can change nowadays. I think that's the hardest thing is not knowing what will suddenly turn a sunny, happy child into a temper-throwing toddler.

Isn't she lovely?

I don't know why, but I love these two photos I took over the weekend of Lulu. Something about the light makes my heart ache a little when I see them.

I guess it's just proof that she's getting bigger all the time, right?

State Fair

Lulu and I joined a couple of friends and their moms and went to the California State Fair on Friday morning.  The fair opens at 10am on Fridays and we thought it would be a good idea to go early to beat the heat (and wear them out a little before naptime).  The high was supposed to be over 100 degrees, so earlier is definitely better than later.

While Elliot and Mikey were playing in the "corn box" (like a sand box but with feed corn instead), Lulu decided that she would play "ride 'em, cowgirl!" instead.  She climbed up on these all by herself and happily entertained herself for a full 10 minutes.  And the pictures were too cute not to share:

And the rabbit at the petting zoo next door was a big hit, of course!

And then we went to the livestock nursery.  I gotta admit that I feel SO sorry for those poor animals.  Basically, they take a bunch of pigs, sheep, goats, and cows that are due during the state fair and when the animals are in the final stages of delivery, they TAKE THEM UP ON A STAGE and let them deliver where everyone can watch (!!).  Then, they're put in pens where people, especially kids, can point excitedly at them.  Because this was only the third day of the state fair, there were very few baby animals and mostly lots of pregnant livestock.  But, there was a 2-day old dairy calf.  Apparently, they let him nurse the colostrum from his mother and then separate them and start bottle feeding him.  So sad.  He was a cute little guy, too.

Lulu thought he was pretty cute, too:

We also tried out the petting zoo, but that wasn't a success.  Lulu liked the tiny baby goats but the bigger ones wandering around (and especially the deer) really freaked her out.  I think because they were so much bigger than she was.  She also wanted to sit down on the ground to pet the baby goats which wasn't the best idea (take 15 goats, deer, sheep, etc in an enclosed space and you have a LOT of poop!).

And she HATED the dinosaur pavilion.  The other moms wanted to go through it because it was indoors and they thought the kids would like it, but the not-quite-lifesize dinosaurs screeching and moving were too much for Lulu (heck, they were too much for me!).  She started to cry, so we cut out of there and just waited for everyone near the door instead.  I couldn't believe that in a display largely meant for children that they had two Tyrannosaurus Rexes fighting over the body of a dying Stegosaurus.  Yeah, I know.

Quick Slideshow

Just a few Lulu-centric photos from a massive collection (1500+) that I just started to upload/organize this afternoon. I will post more with stories of our recent adventure(s) soon.

Back in the saddle (again)

Lulu has been slowly adjusting back to her regular routine this week and part of that routine is daycare (or "Kindergruppe" as the Germans say).  She went for a little while on Weds and I stayed for about 30 minutes or so to help her get acclimated again.  She arrived in time for morning playground time, lunch, and naptime and I picked her up after afternoon snacks.  Then, yesterday I took her a little earlier in the morning--in time for morning snack time--and picked her up at the same time.  This morning, I took her a little earlier still and plan to pick her up after afternoon snacks.  She was crossing her arms and frowning on Weds, but she's gradually warming back up to everyone again.

And yesterday afternoon she got a lovely surprise from her Oma and Opa!  Three wrapped presents arrived with the cutest card ever.  Who doesn't love surprises that arrive in the mail?

As you can see, the books and the dress were a big hit!  And watch out at Christmas because she's really getting the hang of this unwrapping thing....