Babies + Towers = Happy!

The past two days have been extremely baby-oriented.  I see my adorable cousins once a year, so I'm trying to create enough special moments to last me a year. :) I'd say that it's been working!  They have done so many cute, funny, awesome and memorable things that I can't exactly tell you all of them, but I can show you lots of pictures! :)


I will share my favorite moments, though.  I taught Finja (and kind of Louisa) 'auf' and 'zu,' which mean 'open' and 'closed.'  There is a hallway upstairs that is lined with built-in cabinet/closet things.  Finja grabbed the key and used it to pull open a door.  I told her 'auf' and then closed it and said 'zu.'  I repeated this a few times, and then Finja did it with me.  When I walked away for a second to talk to my uncle, who was just coming upstairs, Finja was excitedly waving the door back and forth, going "aufzuaufzuaufzu" really fast.  She did it the next day too, so I know that the knowledge stuck! :)

Also, the camera has maintained its intrigue.  As I was sitting on the floor and taking pictures, Finja came to sit on my lap again.  I would point the camera at things she knew, like her dad or her favorite toy or her shoe.  I was say, "Look!  Papa!" or whatever the camera was pointing at, and Finja would look around the camera to see if it was really the same as what was on the camera or wave.  I also showed her how to take a picture, and she loved pressing the function buttons.  Everytime I showed her something, she'd go, "Ohhhhhhh" like she actually understood what I was saying!  She also took some pictures of her own.  Here is the first picture that my cousin has ever taken!

 Oooh, ahhhhh.... :)

The twins are definitely different and unique.  Louisa is bossy and very active.  She also smiles more.  Finja kind of sits in dreamland for a while and also cries more.  She's also more of a cuddler, and always wants to be picked up.  I've had special moments with both of them, though, and I love them both so so SO much!!!!

Now here is what you've all been waiting for: pictures! :D

Louisa pushing a bear around in a stroller

"Spoons taste waaay better than the actual food!"

 Finja

Louisa looking extremely proud about... something

Both girls fell asleep while on one of our walks

NOM!

Playing with a plastic picnic set that used to belong to me

Louisa handing me a plate

Louisa looking in awe at the colorful fish mobile hanging by the front door

I CAN'T HANDLE THE CUTENESS

I'm told Finja has my eyes :)

Wrapping paper = awesome!

Louisa standing on the stroller and trying to open the front door.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) the door was locked

A very artistic shot of Finja's shoe taken by Finja ;)

The side of the desk in my room is magnetic, which Finja found very entertaining

Drawing time!

My beer...er...apple juice :) (my designated glass was in the dishwasher and all the other glasses were tiny, so I went with a huge beer glass instead)

Our finished piece!  I think artistic talent runs in the family ;)

Aw!  Sad Louisa! :(

Happy Louisa giving the big stuffed dog a drink

"Look!  A duck!"

This is actually my stuffed bunny that I lent to Louisa for a while :)

Happily looking at the garden!

You may have noticed that there are more pictures of Louisa than Finja.  This is because Louisa is easier to photograph than Finja.  Whenever Finja sees a camera, she stares at it with a serious look on her face.  She still smiles, but lots of priceless baby  moments are about two seconds long and totally impossible to capture.

My uncle and I also continued our tower genius-ness.  Baby toys are a great medium for this.  You'll see from the pictures that we are quite legit bosses. ;)

Colored pencils, the case for the pencils, and sippy cups

You'll see that the base of this tower is a pyramid that I am holding between my toes

Note the triangles

Very cool, you have to admit

A close-up of the precarious balancing act

Whenever one of the twins knocked part of it down, instead of rebuilding, we just worked around it :)

Circles and triangles!

Cool, cool....

My aunt, uncle and cousins were supposed to stay until Sunday, but the plans were changed and they left today. :( But we're making plans to see them again when my mom and sister are here, and I had a lot of fun with them already! :)

German word of the day: Spaß.  Pronounced ShPAHS.  It means 'fun.'  It's high time I taught you this word! :)

The Sunflower Project: They're getting so BIG!

Look!  The final big sunflower is sprouting!