Christian walking - day II

We tried desperately to find the right cable to copy the video from our camcorder to the laptop today, but no luck. :( So, we instead did our best to convince a very tired boy to walk tonight after we got home and recorded it with the digital camera. It's not quite as impressive, but you can see him walk a little bit. Consider it a preview until we get that cable - hopefully early next week.

Let's see if this works:

Christian walked today!!

Christian took his first real steps at about 5:30 today. By 7:30 he was getting pretty confident and walking short distances easily. We got some video of him walking first to the tv, and then to Cliff and I. When we visited Christian and Leona this evening, he walked to them too. He's growing up so quickly!! We forgot the camera when we went to the Bocadillo, but was excited to show them his new skill. He was all smiles and seemed really proud of himself. He also enjoyed splashing in Tyson's water bowl. I think that made up for the park I took him to that he couldn't really play at. (It was a GREAT park for older kids, and he was sad when we left.)

Here's the video of the first time Cliff saw Christian walk:

Brugge, Belgium

We just have a couple of pictures, because we didn't charge the camera battery. The rest are on a disposable camera. :)

Jackson's vist (June 17 - 26)

These pictures were taken when my parents visited. Ironically, they had the same problem that the Izquierdo's had when they came to visit. The weather was bad on the east coast and they had to divert. They ended up missing their connection and got to Germany a day late. However, they made it here and we all had a great time. They had some good quality time with Christian and got to sightsee a bit. We visited Cologne, saw the cathedral, and took a river boat ride. We also went to Bruhl and saw a castle that was like a hunting chateau for the wealthy clergy and royalty. We also went to Manchau, a quaint little historic town in a beautiful valley. It was very relaxing. We also went to Thorn in the Netherlands, a town where all the buildings are white. It used to be a convent for rich women who did not have to take vows to become nuns, but could still learn there. It is pretty artsy now and they make great pancakes. My parents, Christian, and Jennifer also visited Sittard, Netherlands and to a castle nearby. I think the best parts, however, were just visiting, eating outside, and sharing a bottle of wine... at 11:30 at night, with the sky still lit. It was a great evening and a wonderful visit.

Mom, Papa and Mema's Visit (May 18 - 22)

Mom, Papa and Mema were the first to visit us in our house in Germany. After a long trip (delayed overnight in Newark due to weather, but they made lemonade out of lemons and added a trip to New York to their vacation) they finally arrived without any luggage. :) Luckily their luggage was delivered to our door later that night, and I think the trip went up from there. We went to Cologne to visit the enormous cathedral. We also enjoyed a cable car ride across the Rhine. Christian loved every minute of it. We had a beautiful view of the city and of the nude swimming area. (I think that was Mema's favorite part! You're never too old to look, right? :) ) We also went to the Keukenhof near Amsterdam, which is the largest flower festival in the world. They are famous for their tulips. I took Mom and Mema to Schinnen on Monday, but everything is closed on Monday! We learn something new every day. So, we went to Sittard instead to do some shopping. Papa and Cliff did some work on the brakes of our audi.

Cliff's 31st Birthday

We went to Düsseldorf for Cliff's birthday and had a wonderful time! It is a beautiful city with so much to see and do. There were a lot of little park areas for Christian to play in. The weather was perfect. The Rhine river runs through town with a promenade full of outdoor restaurants and pubs. There was a huge carnival on the other side of the river (which we'll have to try to make next year when Christian's a little bit older). There was once a castle there with a moat. Not much is left of it, but they have transformed the moat into a charming pedestrian walk way on a street lined with very expensive shops on one side and banks on the other.

Introduction to our Blog

Hey everyone. Cliff and I have talked about starting a blog so that all of you can keep up with Christian (we know who's most important! :) ) , so I'm finally doing it.

Here's a summary:
Christian is almost 11 months old. He can walk pretty well while holding on to things. I think he should be walking on his own any day now. He walked around the block by himself last week while holding on to the stroller basket! I was very impressed. He likes playing with cars and balls and playing chase. He has 6 teeth, but I think more must be coming in. He's drooling quite a bit. He's becoming far more interested in our food than his baby food. He can say "dad". He talks all the time now, but "dad" is the only specific word. He's starting to mimic us a lot more, which is cute and a bit scary. We'll have to be more careful around him. :) He watches everything. He can already open all of our cabinets in drawers, and loves to clear off all of the tables within his reach. He does wonderfully in his Sunday school class. The teachers love him, and so far we haven't had to deal with separation anxiety. He enjoys playing around the other kids.

Cliff has finished the first part of his training. He had his check ride on Friday. Today he has his first flight from GK. I think they flew to Denmark. They expect him to finish the second part of training pretty quickly, so they have him scheduled for his first TDY in a couple of weeks. He'll only be gone for a week, and they tentatively plan to have him do his check ride during that trip. That will be exciting for him. After that he'll be assigned to a real squadron (probably the 1st squadron, which most resembles life at Tinker from what I understand).