Monkey Business!

let me introduce you to monkey buns,

one of the very few stuffed animals

privileged to accompany us to hamburg

jose & grace love their funny monkey

especially because it's from

their cousin paige's birthday party :)

the other morning the kids were

dancing with him to one of their favorite cd's

it was really cute, so of course

i had to get out the camera

although monkey buns is pretty cute

most of you want an update

on our other little monkeys

how are jose & grace doing with the move?

you know, we think they are doing really well

jose seems to have never skipped a beat

it's hard because neither of them can 'really' talk yet

so of course it's hard to really know how they've felt

but by his actions he seems to be

really happy and adjusted

jose is still jose, blessing people

that don't even know him

by just being who he is

he is such a love

grace is also doing well

since the move she has wanted mommy a lot more

i don't know if this is because of the move,

or if it is more her age (just turned 2)

and developmental or i'd guess

it's probably a mixture of both

i wouldn't say she's clingy--

she is still very independant

but she always wants to know where mama is

her personality is definitely emerging more each day

she is spunky, sweet, tender, fun & generally joyful

however, if she's tired, hungry or irritated

she's a very effective communicator :)

she is such a beautiful little girl

who has, like her brother,

definitely captured some hearts over here

the kids are, of course, growing a lot

learning a lot & changing a lot

being a first time mom,

it is exciting to see their progress

but at the same time it's kind of sad

to see them getting so big

it makes me miss their babyness!

both are starting to talk more

they are both saying 2 word pharses, like

"night, mama" "tank (not tHank) you"

"where daddy?"

it is very sweet to hear their voices

and are they speaking german yet, you ask?

ein bisschen (a little)

both say "danka" which is thank you

"tschuss!" which is bye

and can count to 10

they are both also getting stronger...

climbing up ladders at the park,

getting into their chairs

at the dinner table 'by themselves'

walking the multitudes of stairs

each day has had SOME benefit!

i have to say that these two together are quite the pair
they love eachother so much &

they have so much fun together
one of the first things they say when they wake up is

"grace?" "where brother?"
they are still in their double stroller,

and they bless people all the time
people usually stop and ask, "are they twins?"
we say, "no, he is 5, and she is 2--

he's small for his age, and she's big for hers."
wherever we walk,

they usually WAVE to whoever they see

--we didn't teach them to do this, mind you--
people are so caught off guard by this,

and it's fun to watch their reactions
i mean, to have jose & grace

smiling and waving at you

for no reason is pretty hard to resist...

and i think for germans especially

it is more out of the ordinary

it really brightens their days
the other day we were on the bus

and they kept waving to this one woman
she looked like the type

that might often get overlooked

she was so touched by them, and she kept waving back
the joy these guys brought into her life
in those 5 minutes made me feel like crying
they are so precious

as you can see from the pictures,

these little monkeys
know how to have a good time
whether in los angeles or in hamburg
they still love to
dance
laugh
&
just plain monkey around

thanks for caring about us,
krista