15/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

I really thought I would get a non-portrait post up sometime between the last and this one, but here we are. Oh well. I have been working, however, and hope to share them soon. A couple having to do with how I approach my wardrobe and one on what I think about wearing makeup, what role it plays in my life, and a few of my favorite products. I hope these posts will be encouraging to you all as well as useful!

But now, on to the portraits.

Sebastian | It warmed up quite a bit, but we were hit last week with some more cool weather. I have a feeling that this might be the last of it. The glorious rays of sunshine certainly are welcome amidst the chill, and I am reminded to enjoy these last days of bundling kids in their sweet little vests and hats. Seb has also been battling a cold for nearly two weeks now, so he's stayed home from Kindy the last 3 days. Mostly it's going well, but I'm finding it difficult to get my errands done. Seb has grown accustomed to being able to play freely all morning at Kindergarten, but at home, I split my mornings between play and errands, but mostly it's errands. Bruno is used to this, but Sebastian isn't. We have daily battles over him wanting to take his bike to the city (he has to learn to listen a bit better before that happens), which are just a stressful way to start the day. I find myself loosing patience quickly on this topic. He gets to ride his bike for at least an hour, if not 2 or 3 on a daily basis, so the "More more more" attitude is exhausting. It seems that the more we go outside with our kids, the more they want to be outside! We go out as much as we can, which is a lot, but my chores, like cooking, cleaning and laundry are sorely neglected because I just can't be outside all day and get all my inside things done. If Seb and Bruno woke up early, we could get started by playing outside and then run errands, but we can't do that and be back in time for lunch. I am starting to get nervous about how our lives are going to change in this respect once we're back in the states. What will happen when we have to drive everywhere?

How do you balance your kids play time with your chores and responsibilities? Does this "always more" attitude resonate with you? On average, how much time do you spend outside with your kids? Is it daily?

Bruno | The theme of this week must be survival, because Bruno is teething like I've never seen teething before. Until this week, I honestly dismissed most "teething talk" from parents because I was like, "Okay, so they drool, are a bit fussy, yada yada yada, but it's not that bad." Clearly I had never had a toddler teeth like Bruno is teething. I'll spare you all, but let's just say none of us are getting much sleep these days. However, and most importantly, I'm so thankful for a husband who helps with both the kids all night long, and for the way Sebastian can sleep through most anything, for the opportunity to snuggle warm little children in bed with us, for hot coffee in the morning, and for tylenol. This, too, shall pass. Tonight we're going to make up our couch bed so both kids can fit in bed with me tonight and Cody can actually get some sleep in the living room. Wish us luck!

14/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Sebastian | This big kid learned to ride a bike over the weekend. (I took this picture while Cody ran back into our apartment to get Seb's helmet). He has had a balance bike since his 2nd birthday, and then a couple weeks ago he started riding a bike with training wheels. the combined experience of balancing, and then pedaling meant that he literally got on his bike without training wheels and started riding! Cody was with him at the park when he started, and was shocked that he didn't need any help. We're so proud of this little guy. He doesn't want to do anything else now, and keeps talking about buying Mama, Dada, and Bruno bikes so that we can ride with him.

Bruno | This face. Bruno is teething constantly, and gets worked up pretty quickly. Everything is difficult from changing his diaper to putting his shoes on to getting him to realize that hitting is not actually a form of affection (unless you're a couple of lovestruck teenagers, that is, but he doesn't need to know that yet). But the other half of the time he's like this. He is super affectionate and wants to give us all kisses at bedtime. A few nights ago, he said, "Kuu Kuu!" to Cody. It was dark, as he was taking him into the bedroom to put him to sleep, so Cody naively accepted the kiss. Bruno had let his pacifier drop out and was sticking out his very slobbery tongue. Cody said he had Bruno's spit dripping down his chin (!!!!), but Bruno was content that he got to give Daddy a kiss, and went right to sleep. Ha! Oh the love of a parent, right?

I like Birkenstocks

Images by some of my faves: TOP & BOTTOM

I have been gearing up for this changing weather with thoughts about what few items I would like to purchase for the warmer months. After moving to Germany in August, I must say that my thoughts on my personal wardrobe have changed drastically. I left most of my closet in Ohio, and brought only the things I truly loved and a few that I didn't love, but knew I would wear nonetheless. To my surprise, my suddenly limited wardrobe gave me the extraordinary freedom to finally be creative with my wardrobe. I've never been more excited to open my closet and get dressed for the day.

If I lived in a land of eternal Winter or Autumn, I would be set.

I am still not even close to being bored with my tiny collection of sweaters and cardigans, button-downs, my 2 pairs of jeans, and a few basic tanks and tees for layering. I also have 3 scarves that I rotate, and most mornings I have a hard time deciding which to don, because I still love them all. I purchased one in Berlin a few years ago, one is from Italy and given to my by my dear friend Courtney, and the other I purchased this winter at the Reutlingen Christmas market. My wardrobe is not the center of my universe, but it means something to me. I get joy out of the few things I have, and I feel like they express who I am, as much as something like clothing can, of course. Basically, I feel comfortable in my clothes now. I wear the clothes, the clothes don't wear me.

The one thing I always want more of, however, is shoes. I am a shoe person. Are you a shoe person? It's great to be a shoe person. Except, I have discovered, when you want to buy a pair of Birkenstocks and you live in Germany. But, you say, Birkenstocks are a German-made shoe! What could be more perfect? Well, I'll tell you how it is. I have lived in Germany for 8 months and have only now just realized that I have yet to see one pair of Birkenstocks worn out of doors. One can buy them at nearly every shoe store, but they are considered to be practical orthopedic shoes that people wear as slippers, or Hausschuhe. I'm pretty sure every German owns a pair, but they don't leave the house.

And here I was literally about to hit "sofort-kaufen" on German Ebay for a pair of my own. I don't dare buy them with the intention of only wearing them indoors while in Germany, because I know myself too well. I'll wear them outside, I just know it. I'll wear them to the grocery store and I'll wear them to H&M, and I'll wear them to the park. Once those babies hit my feet ain't nobody going to peel them off.

And so, my Birkenstocks purchase will wait. It's not that I generally care about what other people think of my shoes, it's just that if you're living in the country that invented the Birkenstock and people in said country say that it is strictly a house shoe, then you adhere to their standards until you leave on a jet plane to the country wear even flip flops (gasp!) are acceptable.

Do you like ugly shoes? I know Bethany does, and I love her for it (yay ugly shoe club!?). It must be our mutual Germanness. Side note: I think all ugly shoes were invented in Germany.

What are your favorite summer shoes? Do you thrive on a limited wardrobe? What purchases do you have planned for the coming months?

Update: After talking with our German friends, they assured me that no one would look at me cross-eyed if I wore Birkenstocks out of the house, but also that they did think it was pretty hilarious how Americans view them as just another pair of sandals. I love discovering stuff like this.

P.S. Here is a post by Design Mom about Birkenstocks trending, and one by Say Yes.

13/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Sebastian | I'll admit, I'm cheating just a wee bit including this shot of Seb from our trip to Paris last week. Tuesdays are my cut off day, and this portrait was taken on a Tuesday, so it still counts, right? Right. He was so excited to see "the tower" and was very disappointed that we couldn't go up into it. I love his blossoming sense of adventure. He regularly asks us if we can go someplace new. This is just the beginning, kid.

Bruno | He is stringing multiple words together at a time now, with lots of animated gesturing and funky noises thrown about in order to get his point across. Right now, as the weather has warmed up considerably and we have our wheels back, we are spending more time in the city again. We love this, and Bruno makes it a point to frequently beg to sit at a table, or bench and get something to eat. I love that he doesn't want anything extravagant—just a Brezel, and a spot to sit and people watch. These are some of the moments I will miss most about living in Germany. Somehow we'll figure out how to have similar ones in our next home.

12/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Chiming in a little late with 12/52, as we've been recovering from travel and decompressing after a great visit with my parents and two sisters. These (as well as 13/52... coming soon!) were also taken by my sister Joanna. I'm going to have to drag my camera out of hiding again to get this weeks portraits. I almost forgot!

Sebastian | Grandpa told Seb that this was a sycamore tree. He said, "Mama, here is a sycamore tree and I need to climb it!" ...like Zacchaeus. I love how this guy's imagination is blossoming and growing and changing.

Bruno | I think it's safe to say that last week was on of the most exhausting weeks of Bruno's life! He soaked it all up like a sponge, his vocabulary increased exponentially, and he is still wiped. So much of the best kind of fun with family here. 

11/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This weeks portraits are taken by my littlest sister, Joanna, a much more talented photographer than myself (I am still geeking out about the incredible family portrait she got of us this morning!). My parents, Jo, and other younger sister, Lydia, are visiting this week, and so, since they were getting over jet lag on their first day here, we kept our activities low key and took the boys to the park for the morning. I love these moments Jo captured.

Sebastian | Defying gravity all the time.

Bruno | A soccer ball love affair for this guy.

10/52

Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Sebastian | Won't let me cut his hair because he says he likes it long (I'm working on the, "But it still needs a trim" approach). He just recovered from a scary tussle with croup, which jolted him out of bed on Friday night, hardly able to breath. It was pretty terrifying, but we got it a little bit under control by talking to him calmly and taking him outside immediately to breath the cold night air—the #1 thing to do, fyi, if this happens to your child. Cody then walked him to the hospital where they gave him some medicine and sent him home less than 2 hours later in tip top shape. Throughout all of it, he still spoke to us mostly in German. Because croup is highly contagious, we kept him home from Kindy on Monday and Tuesday. A little longer than necessary, but we wanted to be sure that he wouldn't pass it to any other kids. Cody has been holed up in the library finishing his thesis, so I've had full days with Seb and Bruno. Cody comes home at 5, though, and I get a nice break and time to workout! There is something so refreshing about routine, even if it's a demanding one.

Bruno | Hiding behind the (sheer) curtains. Finding any reason to laugh hysterically and make a joke out of everything. Since Seb was back at Kindy today, Bruno was at a bit of a loss as to what to do after 4 full days at home with big brother, but he was a champ and played by himself nearly all morning. Occasionally, in a streak of rebellion, he would sneak out into the hallway to try to find some people more lively and entertaining than myself.