Vermont, Bradford Road style

Danny and Janine prepared for Germany's eventual beat-down of Argentina by dressing the part.We got stuck in some vicious 4th of July traffic in Vermont, but got lots of pro-Germany comments once we got out of the van. Here a German checks out his bunk bed. Danny was quite upset when initial reports indicated the bunk beds were missing. "I will never sleep!"Leigh entertained herself with a puppy.Danny ensnared a baby sitter in a whiffle ball game.Chasing Elsie.Theo the birthday girl.
This older dog did not fall for the "eat this rock" trick.Elsie said, "I love her. She is so small, like a doll . . . I think she loves me."

Christmas!

To our surprise Li-Li was up first on Christmas morning. But it wasn't long before big brother woke up and ran to see whether Santa had come. Indeed he had!


We managed to lure the kids away from the tree to do stockings first. DHV had to help Leigh with hers.

After that it was on to the big stuff. Danny was pretty excited to get his own "conpoonter" just like Daddy's.

Leigh mastered her ride-on toy without a hitch. She hasn't quite figured out how to move it yet but she enjoys getting on and off and pressing the buttons.

Present opening came to an abrupt halt when Danny got to his Wiggles car and figurines. He spent the next several hours playing with these guys and singing "toot toot chugga chugga" at the top of his lungs.

In the meantime, Leigh got dressed in her Christmas duds and sported a barrette for the very first time.

Eventually, DHV gave the Wiggles a rest and decided to try out that laptop. It has a variety of letter and number games on it and he gets pretty excited when he gets the answer right. "Yeah!"

Leigh's Busy Ball Popper also provides entertainment for the whole family.



When Sandma and Sampa Vining arrived we headed back to the tree to finish opening presents. DaDKV assembled Danny's fire truck while Leigh looked on, plotting her next move.
The Grandparents V scored big with this Eagles helmet and practice uniform.

Who wouldn't be scared of this guy....
...especially once the hiking sticks from the Bradford crew come out!?!?! (We hope you're ready Elsie and Theo!)

While big brother was busy dressing up and playing football, Leigh took the opportunity to get her mitts on some of his new stuff.

And eventually they settled into some nice parallel play.

A Merry Christmas was indeed had by all!

Nikolaustag!

We enjoyed the German tradition of Nikolaustag so much last year that we decided to make it a family tradition. So on Saturday night we put the kids' boots outside, dressed them in their Christmas pajamas, and watched the season's first snow fall just in time for Nikolaus' arrival.

DHV ran straight to the porch door on Sunday morning to look at his boots.

"I see one clementine Mommy!"

This was definitely exciting stuff.


Both kids waited patiently for Janine to come downstairs.

And then they inspected their treats.



The clementines were a popular item. DHV proclaimed that he would eat them for lunch. And he did.


Thank you Nikolaus!

Halloween

Halloween did indeed happen in Connecticut. Unfortunately, our photo documentation of the event is sorely lacking. Perhaps this is because most adult hands were occupied (pushing a wheelchair or a stroller or leading an excited pirate up and down the neighborhood steps). Or perhaps the light rain played a role in our failure. In any case, here's what we've got:

The crew setting out

Moo!

Ahoy matey!

Despite the lack of pictures, a good time was had by all. DHV even graced each candy giver with a foreceful "trick or treat" and a quiet "thank you," making us all proud.

Danny's Third Birthday

The little guy turned 3! The Germans spent a lot of time shopping for him. Everything is so cheap here compared to the Bundesrepublik Deutschland that they'll spend hours at Target buying stuff.
Safety goggles and a power drill. That will make a kid happy.
Leigh took the opportunity to grab an old power drill.
The Germans sharing an inside joke.
All the ladies putting their heads together. I thought the world might end if all those tips touched and formed a singularity.Li-Li tolerates her party hat.

August/September

Here's some pictography of what else has been happening here in New Haven.
We finally got to meet Nick's girlfriend, Jessica. This is our best picture (sorry, guys, but Nick more so).
And we found out that dear ole Nick is getting married! We think once he saw that Matt could do it, he figured he could, too.

Germans arrived. Here's Neen's mom showing Leigh a doll from Deutscheland. That Neen's niece to the left.

DHawk got this viscious 3-horned noisemaker. It's very loud. Louder even than cousin Miki.This is the Hawk after falling asleep in the van. He likes the DJ look.Some more photos from the Bradford's visit - Elsie maxing out our swing.
Then she climbed up but wouldn't come down the slide, no matter who did the catching.
This was Arthur's face after Maggie told him she dropped his iPhone in the toilet. Don't mess with this guy!Danny and Theo sharing a moment.