Busy August

It has been awhile since our last post. We have been very busy!

August began with a short trip to Göteborg to visit the Taubermans. The area that they live in is very pretty. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to know their new addition, Elias. He is very precious and adorable! Fabian is a very proud big brother.

When we returned home Erik's vacation started for the following 3 weeks. The first week we worked really hard around the house and Erik worked to finish the ongoing completion of our yard so that we could relax once our friends, The Beans (Derrick, Missy, and Maggie), arrived. They arrived the following week from Nashville. The two weeks that they were here were a blast! We forgot how much we really did miss each other and how much fun we have when we are together. Maggie is a sweetheart and she and Alex really hit it off. They loved playing and being together. Alex still talks about her all of the time. Their two week visit passed too quickly!!

Now we are preparing to go to Spain for 9 days. We will leave Wed., Sept. 5. and return on Friday, Sept. 14. We are really looking forward to some hot weather! (I know many of you in the U.S. are looking forward to cooler weather, though!)

The children have overcome several new milestones. Isabella can now pull up and "crawl" everywhere. Pulling up is pretty new and she gets a little nervous. So she mostly only tries when she has my hand or leg for support. Her "crawling" technique is a little different from the average crawler. I call it the "wounded soldier" crawl. She is on her rear end and she pulls herself with her hands and her right foot that is in front of her then she drags her left leg behind and uses it sometimes to push off with. It is a little unusual! She is also starting to show more of her loving, sensitive side. She likes to kiss and hug people, stuffed animals, pictures, and even her own reflection. She also LOVES watching other people and especially children. She had a great time with Alex and Maggie. She is very interested in others. She and Alex play very well together, although at times I think Alex would rather play alone because she wants everything that he has.

Alex has overcome the greatest obstacle yet. He is now considered TOILET TRAINED, FINALLY! I think Maggie influenced him greatly! So thanks for the little push Ms. Maggie Bean. Once we started it was actually easier than we expected. He, of course, can still have an accident here and there, but he is doing very well. (And he doesn't even use a diaper at night or at naptime!) Now we only have one in diapers and it makes a big difference. His English is also improving a great deal and talks to me more in English now and he picked up some new words from Maggie. Such as, "Cuz" and "Sure". He uses those a lot.

I hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the summer and I will be posting again after our trip to Spain!