Paris...

The Arc de Triomph
A world map with cocoa bean markers showing where cocoa trees are grown...Chris visited 6 chocolate shops and 1 chocolate factory on this trip! Heaven....yes.
One of our favorite Van Gogh paintings from the Musee d'Orsay. The blue color is amazing.
The Eiffel Tower by night. Add a tasty crepe and it's perfect!

Happy 1st Birthday to Cole!

Cole turned one yesterday! We celebrated Sunday night with pizza & cupcakes, and Cole was not shy to dig in!

Birthday Tent

Chris and I gave Cole a bright red tent for his birthday. Even though his birthday is tomorrow, he's been playing with his tent for a while. He's 1...he doesn't know the difference yet, and I couldn't wait! I need to control this before he becomes more aware of gifts! Ohhh....

Ostermarkt

Today we visited a traditional Viennese Easter market downtown Vienna. It was perfect weather to enjoy the amazing displays of handpainted eggs. I decided this year to invest in my own Easter eggs and make an Easter tree. Traditionally, people buy pussy willows and hang Easter eggs on them. I'll post a photo of our tree soon. The other picture is of me, my mom, and Cole on our way to the playground this afternoon.

Folks, We Have a Walker!

YES! Cole started walking yesterday with Chris in our living room. Today on our trip to the park, he bee lined straight to the swing and I captured it on video. The best part is that Omi, Aunt Jane, and Grandma Jean are all here to witness it!



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BREAKTHROUGH!

Cole was so sad that he cried when Chris left for work this morning.

You may remember Chris's sad blog post a few months ago...so this is BIG!

Fun with Omi & Grandbob

Omi and Grandbob came for a visit last week. While they were here, Chris and I spent a weekend in Paris! Cole had a great time with my parents. They gave him a new train for his birthday, which is coming on the 26th, and taught him some new words. They went all around downtown Vienna together, and Omi and Grandbob braved going out to dinner with Cole. Wow! He now knows where to find the star, drum, car, light, and Elmo. It's really fun to watch him learn. He's pointing at things, too. Yesterday he was so fascinated with some flowers in the kitchen that he didn't touch his snack. Oh well!

dinner with friends

Our friends, Ares and Katharina Kaftalli, came over for dinner this past weekend. We hadn't seen them since before Cole was born! It was great to catch up and hang out.

Cole can KICK!

Cole learned a new skill tonight when some friends were over for dinner. He kicked a ball across the living room! If only he could walk by himself...soon! He's pretty good at walking just holding my one hand, but often gets frustrated and wants both hands so he can motor along, like he's doing in this video.


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Stuff It!

The other night we had pizza for dinner. Cole had already eaten, yet didn't skip a chance to grab for Chris's plate. Chris gave him a few bites, which only left Cole wanting more!

In other news, we are pretty sure Cole understands a couple words now: ball and water. He and Chris have been practicing. Fun!

Stair Climber

Yes, Cole can now climb stairs. Unfortunately, it's probably only safe (and time efficient) for him to climb a few at a time, which means I still need to carry him up when we get home. But at school today, he and Chris practiced while I was at chapel, and I was lucky to get a picture!

Let's Sing!

Each Thursday, as you know, I go to VCS and speak at elementary chapel. It's a perfect way for me to stay involved at school at still take care of Cole at home. Chapel is a weekly thing where kids grades K-5 come together to sing, watch drama, and hear about practical ways to grow in their faith. So this semester we've been learing about the fruit of the Spirit, and today's fruit was goodness. I tried to capture a moment of singing from the back before it was my turn to speak. The big screen in the front of the room is an overhead with words, and the fifth graders lead the songs and motions up front each week. Enjoy!


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The Cat in the Hat

Book Month is upon us at VCS! Each year during the month of March, the VCS library hosts a bunch of events for readers of all ages. Kids play charades with favorite book titles, read books for a Battle of the Books competition, and have a reading race among other fun things. This year's reading race for lower elementary kids is a race to help the Cat find his Hat. And who is the Cat in the Hat this year? Our own VCS Business Manager...Chris Frank! He made his debut today at elementary chapel with a poem. He even had an accent. What fun!

P.S. Sorry for the bluriness of the photo...I didn't use a flash. The flash made the picture too dark!

4th grade Geometry Fair

If you were a patron of our blog a year ago, you may remember that the fourth grade classes, one of which I taught up until Cole's birth, put on the first annual VCS Geometry Fair.

Well, Cole and I had the chance to visit this year's second annual 4th grade Geometry Fair today. Cole learned about circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares! There were lots of new activities, and the kids were really excited about the crowds of people who attended. Above you see Amina (Nigeria) and Anna Maih (Philippines) teaching some kids about geometric word puzzles.

Avocado Patience

When we returned to Vienna in August, Chris decided to plant an avocado pit. He saw that our friends the Griffices had done that when we visited them in San Antonio. Now, for those of you who don't know, Chris is the best plant care taker that I know. He loves plants, waters them multiple times per day, and does everything short of talking to them in order to keep them thriving on our window sill. He even dunked one of our plants in our full bathtub once to revive it. It worked! So Chris first suspended this avocado pit with 3 toothpicks in a glass jar full of water. He made sure the water levels remained just so for months and months and months. Nothing happened. Until just recently! As soon as Chris noticed a sprout from his avocado seed, he transfered the pit lovingly to a real pot with soil. Now the thing is growing like crazy! Ta da!