August Update

August is almost over and we survived the first three weeks of school. Even though it was quite an adjustment, both children love to go to school/ preschool. Elliot enjoys learning new songs and tracing his letters and numbers, playing with his new friends and listening to bible stories at chapel time. Here are some snap shots his awesome teacher, Ms. Williams took: 

Elliot holding the flag during the pledge of allegiance:

Nap time is a favorite too:

This little boy misses his Daddy a lot when he is traveling and is oh so happy when he returns:

Amelia is excelling in 1st grade; especially since they are still repeating a lot of things from last year. She also had her 6 year old check-up a couple of weeks ago and while she might be petite, she is healthy and right on track. She is definitely getting taller (45 inches/ 114 cm) as I constantly have to sort out clothes that are looking short on her. We are working on her weight gain though (39 lbs/ 17.5 kg only). 

A couple of days ago, Amelia lost her third tooth and she was so happy that she even wrote a letter to the tooth fairy:

This is the face of a 6-year old when she discovered that the tooth fairy did not stop by to pick up her tooth. (Tooth fairy duty is a big responsibility and may should not fall on the person who had a busy week and a glass of wine for dinner.)

Luckily, the tooth fairy redeemed herself when she came the next night to pick up Amelia's tooth and left a sweet apology letter and some extra coins. 

On Friday, Elliot's preschool hosted a little Luau party. The kids dressed up in their best Hawaiian outfit, they danced the limbo, ate Hawaiian chicken for lunch, and had ice cream treats.

Usually, our work week flies by and we are always looking forward to the weekend. Working in the yard or around the house and going for a run in the park when the weather is not sweltering hot is always a must. Also, this week our refrigerator broke and we had to buy a new one, which will be delivered in a few days. Luckily, the weather has cooled down quite a bit this week and it felt almost fall-like in the mornings (60F/ 15C) and so we spent our afternoons at the park or relaxing in the backyard. 

Between these cooler temperatures and all the Halloween decorations in the store, we are definitely looking forward to pumpkin to start soon. I know, these two can't wait. 

Total Solar Eclipse 2017

Today, we experienced a once in a lifetime celestial event. We viewed a total solar eclipse that swept over the Continental United States and with us living near Nashville, we were in the 70 mile radius of the path of totality. 

Because we were in the range for totality, hundreds of thousands of people were estimated to come to Nashville to view this event. The schools and preschools were closed and viewing parties were  happening everywhere. We were delighted to host our dear friends from Cincinnati for this event at our house. We love spending time with them and seeing them and experiencing the solar eclipse with them was the icing on top of the cake. They arrived Saturday evening and after sleeping in, we just hung out at home, prepared some meals and just chatted and relaxed. 

In the late afternoon, our town hosted a Pre-Eclipse Party at the park near our house with free live music and a kids play zone. So we took our cooler, lawn chairs and enjoyed listening to some country music while the children built foam houses and played Gaga ball. 

Cooling down on a very hot day: 

Even though the schools were closed on Monday, both children learned about the upcoming eclipse. Elliot and his friends wearing their special glasses:

Amelia and her eclipse craft:

And then it was the morning of the big event. After a good breakfast, we headed over to my friend's house for a viewing party. Her family lives on a farm house up on the hill and she graciously invited us to view the eclipse from their property. 

The partial eclipse began at 11:58am and the total eclipse happened at 1:27pm, lasting almost 2:40 minutes in Gallatin, TN (the second longest time of totality across 48 States). To make the waiting time pass by quicker, there was lots of yummy food, games/ toys for the kids and good conversations among adults. Also, we made sure to put our special glasses on every few minutes to see the progression of the moon covering up the sun until totality. 

Here are some snapshots of what we saw:

Also, some interesting things we noticed while experiencing this solar eclipse: The heat and humidity got less, the more the moon covered up the sun. My body could tell that something was going on as during totality I felt a bit off. Most likely, this was due to the barometric pressure dropping so quickly. It got very quiet during the total eclipse as birds stopped chirping and there was no breeze going. The crickets started chirping closer to the end of totality. It wasn't as dark as one would expect because the sun is much larger than the moon. Also, we saw a beautiful sunset all around us, not just limited to the West. Maybe this little video I compiled will show you some of the amazing things we experienced:

And after 2:40 minutes the total eclipse was over and within a second, the sun was shining as brightly as on any other day. Even all the kids were enthralled to watch the eclipse and it was for sure a momentous event we won't forget. It's amazing how wonderful nature is. And best of all, we were able to share this experience with our friends. 

We are already making plans to go up to Ohio in 2024 for the next total eclipse, projected to last over 7 minutes...

Birthday Celebrations

On Thursday, my firstborn turned 6 and it was such a bittersweet day for me. I was happy for her as she has talked about this day for a long time as 6 seems to be an important milestone. But on the other hand, I now have a first grader and in only a few more years, she will want to move out and doesn't need me anymore. Despite my emotions, I tried to make it a wonderful day for her. Last sleep as a 5-year old:

And waking up as a 6-year old:

Of course, balloons and decorations and some presents is a must:

Because Derrick was on a business trip, on her actual birthday Amelia was only opening the gifts her grandparents had sent her. There were plenty of them to open and she loved all of them. Thank you Oma, Opa Dieter, Petra, Opa Juergen and Grandma and Grandpa.

Happy birthday song and some donuts before rushing off to school:

Mommy and her birthday girl:

I visited the birthday girl at her school for lunch with a special happy meal and her new Smurf friend:

Afterwards, Amelia handed out cookies in class and her classmates sang happy birthday to her. She felt so special with her crown and birthday shirt:

The rest of the afternoon, we took it easy and played at home since we were all tired from the first week of being back in school. On Saturday morning, we celebrated Amelia's 6th birthday as a family. She woke up early and ready to open her gifts from us: The guitar was definitely a favorite.

We also had planned a zoo trip that day as they offered a photo-op with three Disney princesses. Unfortunately, it was very hot and steamy and the line to meet the princesses was over an hour long so we just strolled around, looked at some animals, visited the playground and then headed back home to continue the celebration after nap time. 

Instead of cake, this girl wanted chocolate chip cookies and fruit salad. Why not, she is the birthday girl!

Daddy and his girl practicing on the guitar:

 She is such a daddy's girl:

 My two babies:

We finished off the weekend, by going to a pirate pool party at the YMCA on Sunday afternoon. It was sunny and not too crowded and lots of fun. There were snacks, snow cones and lots of water games. My two pirates in their attire:

Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell and Mermaids were there too:

It was the best ending to a fun-filled few days of celebrating our 6 year old. Amelia loved being in the center of attention and exclaimed several times that this was her best birthday ever...