Bye Vani, Weekend Update

We have had several exciting things happen over the weekend. But first, the sad news- Vani is back home in Germany! She and her parents were able to spend Thurs and Fri with us. Dave took everyone to a picnic on base. Vani went to a surprise party and Subfest. They toured the base and parts of Groton, New London. They went to Fort Griswold and climbed the monument. On the 4th of July, Klaus, Vani's dad bought us dinner - lobster and steamers!! They were very yummy and It was the first time that Klaus cooked lobsters at home! What would July 4 be without fireworks? Klaus and Dave went to get a "few" and Klaus bought a ton! Dave and Klaus really hit it off. They got Dave's motorcycle in riding order, cooked the dinner and were like two kids playing with the fireworks! (Thanks Klaus!) Sabine and I also had a good time and enjoyed talking about Vani and her son and taking care of the triplets. Before we knew it it was time to take Vani to the airport Saturday morning. The house has been very weird without her here. I was really used to her helping me without being asked and enjoyed her company. We all miss her tons and hope she can visit next spring! If you ever have the chance to host an exchange student I say Go For It! It is an awesome adventure and the past two years with Tim and then Vanessa have been great!

Onto the happier news- we have started giving the trio "real food" - aka mashed potatoes, diced peaches and cooked diced carrots. They seem very unsure but are not gagging too much or spitting it out. I have a few pics to share -








I am trying to add one diced food to each lunch and dinner. We are working with bananas, potatoes, carrots, green beans, arrowroot biscuits for right now. The faces they make with the new textures and tastes are quite cute! They each had 2 biscuits after dinner last night and loved them! I have been very excited to see them reaching for the food on their trays and they held those biscuits very well. Jess is really working on her pincer grasp, but the boys tend to shove the whole hand in their mouth!

Logan has reached yet another big milestone - he can now sit up all by himself every time he tries! He is the most mobile right now and is getting everywhere! He can go from tummy to sitting and back to tummy with almost hardly any problems. I love it when he smiles at me after he sits up- he is so proud of himself!
However, with this new found ability comes trouble - he is now crawling over the crib spacer! I managed to get a pic today at nap time - it is not the best pic but shows you how determined he is. I had already moved him back to his side once before. He was doing this no more than 5 minutes later--


I guess the second crib will have to go up sooner than expected!! I was hoping to wait until we got into the house in Groton later this month. Apparently, Logan does not want to wait!
We moved the crib and Jess' cradle into Vani's old room yesterday. It feels really weird not to be sleeping with them close by, but it is also better since I can now read and relax in bed before trying to fall asleep! OK, that is it for now but scroll down I posted about the new car seats earlier today.