The Haps

Life with a moving baby has kept me busier than I knew I could be, and a year of German residence has kept me light on the stories. Though I'm not much better at the day to day, it has lost its air of oddity. When I hear the doorbell ring, I now know I will not be able to do much besides pantomime with the visitor, so instead of inviting the encounter, I pop my head out the window and, upon seeing a stranger, often decide to find a happy place and just wait out his or her departure. I can understand context-heavy German well enough to chuckle or give a sympathetic headshake, and I'm quick like a bunny to leave the scene once the conversation begins to demand anything further.

So what is up, then?

Will has found a bromance with a Haus Herr friend. Their second cinema date is this weekend. They meet at the Lowenbrau brewery, drink a giant beer, and then go to a pristine original language movie theater to watch a film with no wives nor baby monitors to distract them from their popcorn and enjoyment. Or from their movie theater beer. (They sell beer everywhere.)

I am gearing up for Kinderbasar season. These are basically large, one-day consignment sales of kids clothes. Having a euro-fabulous baby is impossible on a commoner's wages if you want to shop the boutiques. But the bazaars are a fantastic loophole. Last week I tried to go to one with two friends. True to form, my hastiness and ignorance led us to the drop off day for the bazaar instead of the sale day. Though we did find a kids clothes flea market (these are sub-optimal as you are forced to actually talk to the sellers, but there is still some good-getting). I left with a three items, including the pictured summer dress which is, I'm told, a very fancy brand, all for 9 euros. There were a couple spots in them, but I got them all out with the German equivalent to OxiClean. There is nothing like bargain-hunting and crafty stain removal to get my mommy endorphins going!

As for Edie, she wants to walk, but her Grissom-sized skull and wobbly legs just aren't there yet. She lets go of whatever thing she's pulled herself up to standing with to try and balance without hands. Two seconds is our current record. Little missy is also gabbing up a storm. Her vocab includes soft, hot, up, yes, no, dada, Sugar (as in the dog), woof (again with the dogs), sock, and hat. She can sign for "milk" and "all done." And she knows where her feet, toes, belly, head, and tongue are; how to clap, shake, raise her arms, or "please sit back down in your chair" when asked; and also where to find my nose (finding her own is still too subtle a concept, I think). Edie also loves hugs and kisses and gives them spontaneously to her baby friends and to Billy (if she can catch him) and Sugar. Life with a toddler is endlessly challenging, amazing, and often quite hilarious.

The dogs? Well, they are just fine. They are on a reduced-kibble meal plan, as their duties as clean up crew for Edie left them pudgy and infuriatingly picky about what scraps they would eat. This has made Billy more and more desperate for food, causing him to steal from Sugar's bowl and go after leftovers like a Schnoodle possessed. We think he's actually fatter than before the diet. Go fig. Sugar is increasingly wonderful to the baby, submitting to pets and occasional smacks, while grumpy ol' Billy is like a fat Lochness Monster, seen only for fleeting moments during Edie's waking hours. This weekend, they are getting swept away for a day at the lake with our friend and dogsitter Leanne, who loves them so much that she borrows them from time to time just for fun. For the record, if anyone is out there, I would love a day at the lake.

So, to summarize: absentee fathers, new baby duds, conversations with a 13 mo old, and spoiled dogs. And there you have it!