This week wouldn't have been all that eventful had it not been for a 24-hour power outage we had in the middle of the week, but we will get to that in a bit. First, the activities. The girls played a lot with their little "ponies" this week. Even baby Rea got in on the action with her big sisters.
She spent most of her time tasting them.
Tay and Ri also went on a "safari" this week…around the house. They got dressed up and went around spotting various "animals" in the house.
Tay also decided she needed to make a shelter so she "chopped" down some trees to build the shelter. Here she is wielding an ax...
This photo just makes me chuckle every time I see it…I'm not sure why she is sitting there like this, but it had to do with the "weather" suddenly getting cold on their "safari," and her being left at "home" or something while her big sister went to take care of "something."
I also could not figure out what was going on here, but Tay was running around frantically and piling everything she could find on top of Ri...
…and Ri just stood there the whole time…not making a peep.
Then, there was a role reversal…and Ri was running around stacking things on top of Tay. These are the moments where I think maybe I should interrupt and ask what is going on…but I don't. It's just too amusing.
Tay did a little more baking in her Easy-Bake Oven. Here she is making red velvet whoopie pies. I didn't get a taste of this one because she wanted to save one for Theresa (babysitter) when Jeff and I had date night.
Here, Ri is sporting her "bracelet earring." But they used to be cookies. Or so I've been told. Three-year-old logic. Can you follow it?
Here, Ri is putting her baby to sleep. She said it's one of her baby sisters. :)
In other exciting news, Tay lost ANOTHER tooth! I can't believe it…her first tooth hasn't even come in all the way yet. I guess it's just the time for those little baby teeth to say good bye…I still can't believe it. The tooth fairy left her a Susan B. Anthony dollar for her tooth. She found it at 2am and came to tell me about it.
Sisterly love is such a fun thing to watch. After baths and before bedtime, the two little sisters were waiting on the big sister to finish up her bath, so I laid Rea next to Ri in the beanbag cushion under Ri's bed. The first thing Rea does is this when I go to take a picture:
Ri, in response, says, "NEIN." Hahaha…this means, "NO," in German. Look at that face. Rea moves her foot down…and then...
…procedes to try and kick her again in the face! HiYAH! Then Ri just couldn't stop laughing. This delayed bedtime by another 15 minutes. Lesson learned.
The biggest sisters are great, too. Tay has been bugging me and bugging me about wanting to carry Rea around these days, so with close supervision, I let her do it. Baby is not light and she's definitely very squirmy, so I just don't like to risk it sometimes. I let them spend plenty of time together, though...
Rea likes to prod around everyone's face…she's discovered she can poke with a single finger for more precision this week. Mostly, she goes for the mouth.
And of course…this face is back once more.
See?
Tay especially enjoys helping Rea stand up. She's getting so much better at it and is now getting brave and starting to let go…which makes her plop right back down, but then she's up for standing again.
While I'm talking about Rea, I'll go ahead with her photos for the week. She is on a mission to walk, I think. She has been pulling up on everything she can reach. After she stands up, she then spends her time looking at the ground to see what she can pick up. Here, she is reaching for a toy on the ground while still standing.
The little lady has been a bit under the weather this week, so she has been expressing her crankiness by perfecting the "back arch" technique. She especially loves to do it when being held and not getting her way, or while she is sitting in her high chair if she's done eating and doesn't want to sit there anymore. See?
Here, she is mad because I was busy taking photos and not picking her up.
Another arching of the back…this is really the first of my children to do this on a regular basis. I think Tay never did this, and Ri did this maybe a handful of times. Hm...
Here she is trying to stand up again all on her own.
She usually ends up plopping right back down.
I've been letting her spend some time looking at herself in the mirror lately because she has shown great interest. I thought maybe if I turn the camera so she could see herself, she might like it as well, so here's what I got when she was looking at herself in the camera…the duck face:
This one is particularly funny…stretching out her wee neck like a giraffe.
And that beautiful smile…she loves looking at herself.
I found this old headband and tried it on her. it was so light and soft that she didn't even notice it was there (or else it would have been rapidly removed). Look how sweet she looks! She looks like she's wearing a diamond ring around her head, actually.
I went to take a selfie with her and here's what I got...
…so I did it again. I think she's teething again…she constantly has her finger in her mouth…and...
…she has been running a low-grade fever for half the week! The fever finally broke today (Sunday) thankfully. She pretty much stayed attached to me (on my back or in my arms) for the better part of four days.
Even when she was feverish, she still had some smiles for me. Sweet girl...
That's for you, Mom. (At least, that's what I like to think…)
She wants to stand up so badly, I propped her up against the mattress to see how she'd like it. she LOVED it. She stood there like some "cook kid" for a long time before she decided her legs were tired and sat down.
Somedays, she has a thing against socks on her feet. She rips them off violently and proceeds to chew them with enthusiasm.
A couple more of her standing...
…playing with her toys.
Now, two more exciting events happened this week. First, the power outage. Baby and I were home FaceTime-ing with my folks around 2pm on Wednesday when the power suddenly went out in our house. I looked outside and a couple folks were standing outside of their houses and all their windows were dark, too, so I figured it was a neighborhood event. Apparently not. I did tell Jeff, but we didn't think much of it. Until…I woke up from my nap and noticed that the power was STILL out and the neighbor's television was on, so it was in our house where the power was out. Just so you know, it starts getting dark here around 4pm now…so I'm now carrying my flashlight downstairs to the power box to see if there is a switch down, and all the switches are up. Now there is no heat because there is no power to kick start the boiler to heat the water that flows through our heaters. Great. By now, Jeff is home and we are trying to figure out what is going on. Jeff goes to pick up the girls from Kindergarten and asks one of the teachers there to call the electrician for us. He comes by within the hour and checks everything, and then calls the electric company…who tell us that we have an overdue bill, so they have shut our power off until the issue is resolved. What?!? All the while, the kids and I are just goofing off with our flashlights. The baby played with the "light saber" and the other two...
…told silly scary stories in the dark.
Anyhow, the customer service branch and banks were already closed by the time we figured out what was going on, so it could not be handled until Thursday. We packed up some belongings and headed to a hotel. Luckily, that meant we got to eat dinner out, too. Rea enjoyed gnawing on some toasted baguette slices.
I enjoyed my delicious steak and salad. Yum.
The girls enjoyed their "adventure" and looked adorable sleeping in the hotel bed together.
And the next morning, Tay woke up with some bizarre hair, so I had to take a picture. Of course, she was thrilled. Not.
Lastly, we found out that King Tut was visiting Nuremberg, so we decided to take a trip to visit him. The kids were free (5 and under) and Jeff and I cost 17 Euros each (for the weekend tickets). The exhibit started out with two brief movies giving us a quick history of the pharaohs and then a more specific one on King Tut. Then we got to move in and see the amazing pieces. Luckily, we were able to take photos!
Tay was particularly interested in the chariot because she saw them in the movie "Prince of Egypt."
The throne.
She said, "He looks so young, like me!"
It was beautiful to actually see the pieces that I had seen so many times only on television.
After the visit, all three girls zonked out in the car on the way home.
Finally, I just wanted to share that we, as a family, are trying to eat healthier…so I've started making "bins" of fresh fruit and vegetables and leaving them in the fridge. Luckily, the girls are doing exceptionally well at eating through their fruit, and Tay is very good at eating all her vegetables, too, but Jeff and I need to get on it… ;)
Also, we tried star fruit for the first time this week. It was okay. Not super impressive. It sure is pretty, though.
As I was trimming this cauliflower, I thought it looked strangely like a jellyfish…or an octopus. Do you see it? Or am I just too tired from lack of sleep…?
Last, but definitely not least, I saw this at the local grocery store and was so excited! It takes me back to when I was a little kid and my family got this every once in a while and shared it for dessert…so delicious and beautiful. Yummy. :)
Well, that's it and for the first time, my Sunday update is finished before MIDNIGHT! HOORAY!
Good night, everyone, and have a great upcoming week! Happy (early) Thanksgiving, too!
