Baby # 5...

...is a 

girl!

I/we went in for the anatomical ultrasound yesterday.  We were quite the family squeezing into the small ultrasound room.  The tech took pity on me and went for the gender at the beginning so Joseph could take all of the kids home.   I had been thinking that the baby was a girl so I wasn't too surprised.  Kimball was disappointed that the baby was a girl and Joseph had thought the baby would be a boy.  Joseph isn't disappointed and Kimball will come around.  Rebecah is really excited to have another sister.  Lincoln and Annika are oblivious to all of it and probably will be until the new baby arrives.  Now to decide on a name.

This little lady moves around quite a bit.  

Third Grade Musical

Every year the 3rd Graders have a musical and it was Kimball's year for it--MUCH to his dismay.  Kimball loved singing when he was a little boy, but about the time we moved to New York he changed completely and doesn't like to sing at all.  For the last 4 months we have heard many complaints about the chorus musical.  Kimball still participated and we were proud of him for doing something that he dislikes so much.  In his defense, the music did seem a little babyish for 3rd graders.  Kimball was a mosquito and the musical was called SWAMPED.

In addition to the musical the 3rd graders performed 3 songs that they have learned on their precorders this year.  I was actually really impressed with how well the kids played their precorders.  In my day we had recorders and now they use a smaller version called a precorder. 

Kimball really wanted a costume at the last minute so Joseph threw together a costume about 15 minutes before we left the house.  Glad it was Joseph doing it and not me!

Veteran Honor Poster

For Flag Day at school the kids are having some activities to honor Veterans.  Each student had an opportunity to make a poster about a family member who is a Veteran.  Both of my kids wanted to make a poster for Grandpa Zimmerman so they worked together--with a lot of coaxing--on their poster.

 

I enjoy hearing my Grandpa share his army experiences.  In 2000 we had a family reunion and my grandpa handed out a typed account of his army experience.  It was really interesting to read about the different food rations he had and how he would trade his cigarettes and coffee rations for chocolate or fruit bars.  Most importantly, I enjoyed reading/learning about how he was wounded in the war and how his loyal friends dug him out of his foxhole when a bomb hit near him and buried him.  Here is a paragraph from my grandpa's account sharing what he learned from the Army:

"To summarize my Army experience, I would have to say that I learned a great deal about life and myself.  Basic Training was a challenging experience from the physical standpoint and learning how to survive against an enemy that was there to kill you was a way of life that I had not even thought about before.  Being in combat against that enemy was very realistic and I am glad that they prepared us well, even though at times we thought the instructors were unreasonable.  One does not know what lies ahead and especially so in our younger years.  Thank goodness, the older and experienced men knew what we needed to learn.  The camaraderie that one learns is also a valuable lesson in trust and dependency upon others to achieve a desired goal.  Living through and recovering from a very traumatic experience helps one realize that life is precious and I am thankful for each of the wonderful days I have lived since.  My advice from all of this is to count your blessings and live each day as if it's your last."

Warren Zimmerman

Grandpa recently enrolled in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.  You can go see his name and picture at: 

http://www.thepurpleheart.com/

Mother's Day Surprise

Yesterday for Mother's Day we updated our Willow Tree family.  We told the kids that there was a change in our family room and they had to discover the change and what it meant.  They are very excited with the new addition.

I was relieved that it is only 1 this time!  Coming mid-October.  I'm hoping for Thursday, October 13th so all of my kids can be born on a Thursday.  I also hope to be home from the hospital before the babies' second birthday!

*Please no comments on social media until you see us post things.  This includes when the baby is born.

18 Months Old

The babies hit the 18 month mark just over a week ago.  Time sure has gone quickly.  The babies are so fun and I love their individual personalities.

Lincoln is still all about mom.  He loves me, what can I say?  He doesn't like to share my attention with anyone.  He is probably my pickiest eater which is a little challenging since he won't eat most fruits and vegetables are hit and miss.  It's weird because I have fed him the same way I have fed all of the others.  At least I can still sneak spinach in most soups and sauces and he doesn't mind that.

He has a blanket that he loves for sleeping, but we save it for sleeping 97% of the time so he doesn't feel the need to carry it around.  He does like to suck on it which is a little gross to me so it gets washed frequently.  He stopped taking a pacifier a few months ago all on his own.  I'm so glad we never had to take drastic measures with our kids and their pacifiers.

Lincoln went in for his 6 month scoliosis appointment about 6 weeks ago.  His x-ray showed minimal to no change in curvature.  The doctor was so pleased that we don't have to go back for a year!  Yea!!

Now that it is warming up Lincoln loves to be outside, go on walks and swing.  I try to take the babies outside daily, weather permitting.

Lincoln did great while we were gone in Germany.  He was really clingy before and after our trip, but seemed to do well while I was away from him.  The first time we skyped with him he did start screaming and that was a little hard for me.  My heart hurt that he was hurting.  Lincoln is my tender one.  It doesn't take more than a stern look to make him collapse into sobs.

Lincoln is saying quite a few words, but my favorite is the way he says "arms".  It's just so sweet and cute.

At his well child visit last week he weighed 20 1/2 lbs.  I'm glad he has finally tipped the scales.  He is meeting all of his milestones and is perfect.



Annika is still our feisty fireball.  She lives up to her hair color.  She loves pencils and she can do a lot of damage within seconds if she finds a pencil.  It seems like we have to erase the walls at least weekly because she has found a stray pencil.  She is like a blood hound, if a pencil is in her reach she finds it.  She is fast.  She just runs from wall to wall scribbling as she goes. She knows she isn't supposed to write on the walls because she will sometimes find a pencil and look to see if we notice.  If we do then she smiles mischievously as she raises her hand to the wall.

Annika is starting to want more of my attention which is fun.  I love it when she comes to me for hugs.  Lincoln doesn't like to share me, but I insist.  Annika did great while we were on our trip, too.  She has been much more vocal when she sees Joseph in the mornings or when she hears his voice.  She loves her daddy.

Annika loves being outside as well.  She will get her shoes and coat quickly if she knows it's an option to go outside.  She knows we keep the stroller in the back of the van so when she gets outside she goes straight for the back of the van.  She loves animals and dogs but if she sees one up close she gets scared.  Annika will climb on anything, but refuses to sit in the swing.  She acts terrified if we put her in the swing.

At the well child visit Annika had gained 2 1/2 pounds and is almost 19 1/2 lbs.  I'm guessing she'll be over 20 lbs by the time she is 2.  She didn't like the nurse and didn't like being measured.

Annika is a big help.  She is good at stacking books and putting away toys.  She and Lincoln both like to help unload the dishwasher.

 

We were experimenting with the selfie stick last week and both babies got excited to be in the pictures.

Lincoln on the swing.  He loves it!  

We love our babies.  They are busy and a lot of work, but they take great naps and go to bed well too.  We are so lucky to have them in our family.

Germany Trip: Wrap Up and Food

We had a great time in Germany.  I have thought of our trip so many times over the last two weeks.  I would go back in an instant...but then again, there are so many places that I would love to visit in Europe.  Joseph and I never went on a honeymoon.  We were both way too practical to go on a trip when Joseph was still a student and we knew any money we spent on a trip would mean less money for us to live on later.  Anytime Joseph and I get away on a trip I always tell myself it was a catch up for never going on a honeymoon.  If we had gone on a honeymoon I would have have wanted to go on a European trip of some kind...no beach for me.  A beach is not my kind of vacation... ever, but Europe?  Yes, please!!  I guess our trip celebrating our 11th anniversary can double as our honeymoon!

A few things stuck out to me that were different from the United States....

1. Everyone smokes!  I thought a lot of people smoked when we moved to New York, but the New Yorkers have nothing on the Germans.  Every time we stepped outside we were overwhelmed with the smell of smoke.  Even at the restaurants if we ate outdoors we had to deal with people smoking and it really is disgusting.  

2.  We saw so many BMWs and Audis.  I know, I know, these are German made cars...after all, BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works.  Our dream car is to own a BMW sedan, but once again we are way too practical and we probably never will own one.  How can so many people afford them in Germany?  Maybe they are cheaper than in the US?  

3.  Beer, but that was a given.  Everyone drinks beer.  Every time we sat down to eat in a restaurant our waiter was probably always disappointed when we ordered water or nothing at all.  If you order water in a restaurant it is served with glasses and your pour it out of an 8 oz glass bottle.  We could choose between "still" water or carbonated.  Anyway, each glass bottle of water was roughly 3.50 Euros...that's a lot for water.  After a while if we had water with us in a water bottle we stopped ordering it.

Okay, let's talk food.  I love good food.  I wouldn't really call myself a "foodie", but maybe I am.  It probably started when I was little and my dad would come home from business trips and tell us about the food he ate.  We rarely ate out as kids because our family couldn't afford it and Joseph and I rarely eat out.  Ninety percent of the time I honestly prefer to eat at home because I'm usually disappointed if I eat in a restaurant.  

Anyway, we had to eat out while we were gone and I told Joseph if we were going on this trip we were going to enjoy the food and not just buy the cheapest thing we could or try to buy food in a store.  That is what we usually do on trips...spend as little money on food as possible.  

Here are a few pictures of our food for anyone interested:

I"m not exactly sure what type of food this was, all I know is that everything on the menu was seafood of some type.  We both ordered noodles and they were really yummy.  It was our first real meal after the airplane food so it tasted extra good.

German food is...German.  I can't say I loved it.  I tolerated it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite food that we ate.  We ate it on a few different occasions just so we could say we tried it.

This is a typical German breakfast.  Everyone was eating breakfast sandwiches...meats and cheeses.  There were also oats with different mix-ins, but you had to just let it sit in hot water to cook and it wasn't my favorite.

Here was a traditional German meal...a bratwurst on sauerkraut with bread and mustard.  Who puts mustard on their bread?  Gross!  This was Joseph's meal and he said it was probably the best German food he had on our trip.

This was my German meal and it was just okay.  I ate it, but I didn't love it.  

This picture and the next are more "fast food" German.  This was called a currywurst with french fries.  The hot dog wasn't spicy at all...it was more sitting in a bed of ketchup with chili powder sprinkled on it.

This was my "bratwurst".  Not what I was expecting.  It just tasted like a hot dog to me.  I thought a German bratwurst would taste more like a NY white coney, but this one didn't.  Joseph's wurst in the picture with the sauerkraut DID taste more like a white coney...just for the record.  I"m sure the German sausages come in a wide range of flavors, I just wasn't a big fan.

We took a break from German food and ate Chinese.  It's hard to go wrong with Chinese.  Since we were in big cities we could pretty much each whatever we felt like eating.  We had Italian one day although I can't find the pictures of it.

Not all of the German food we ate was bad.  We did indulge in some pastries that were pretty good and some German chocolate.  For me the best chocolate is the kind with a nice snap to it.  On our first evening in Munich we stopped at a candy store and bought a small package of chocolate and it had a nice snap and it was smooth and creamy in texture.  Definitely better than American chocolate. 

My absolute favorite thing that we ate while we were gone was a Doner Kebap.  We chanced upon it in St. Gilpin, Austria.  We wanted a snack to tide us over until we got home so we bought 1 sandwich and shared it.  It was SO good.  It was just street food, but for some reason it just tasted divine.  It was all I could think about our last day in Germany. When we arrived home from Rothenburg Wednesday night Joseph asked what I wanted to eat and I told him another Doner Kebap, but I would settle for a quick pizza place/deli across from the bus station because I was hungry.  We walked in and this store also sold my dream food.  We both ordered one because I wasn't about to share again.  It was so, so good!  It was just roasted meat with lettuce, tomato, cabbage and a dill sauce. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was amazing.  If I ever go back to Germany I'll eat one of these every single day!

Doner Kebap

And that was our Germany Trip!  Our flights home were uneventful and we were excited to see the kids when we arrived home.  They were excited to see us, too.  Lincoln was a little put out that I left him, but after a few minutes of smiling at him, talking to him and stroking his cheek he forgave me and we are best buds again.  Annika was instantly happy to see us and ever since our return she gets so excited to see Joseph every day.  She really is a Daddy's girl!

Germany Day 5: Harburg Castle and Rothenburg

Our last day in Germany we took a tour along the Bavarian Romantic Road.  We stopped at the Harburg Castle and Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Our first stop was Harburg for a quick tour of the castle.  Our bus was only there an hour so it was a quick trip.  Here is what Wikipedia says about Harburg castle:

The castle was first mentioned in 1150 and has never been seriously damaged by war. Unlike many other German castles which were built in the last 200 years or rebuilt afterWorld War II, Harburg Castle (de) retains the feel of the Middle Ages.

This was truly a Medieval castle used for defense and fortifications and not for splendor and beauty.  I enjoyed hearing the history of the castle and how little things were added on here and there over the centuries.  We were only allowed to take pictures outside.

Walking up to the castle gate.

These walkways were very common as we walked along the wall of the castle.  Originally there wasn't a roof but when it became important to "keep your powder dry" and the use of fire was implemented the need for a roof was vital.

There were three "window" designs used in the castle wall.  One for pouring hot oil on the

enemies... 

one for a larger cannon like gun...

and one for a "regular" musket type gun.

The keep.  Inside there was a cellar used to store food-- and sometimes prisoners--during a retreat.  There was even a medieval bathroom tucked away in the corner.

The portcullis was added in the 1500s.

This is the well of Harburg Castle and was over 300 feet deep.  It was the life blood of the castle during times of siege.  Our guide said it was probably always in use during times of war to provide enough water for everyone seeking refugee...man and beast.

A closer view of the portcullis.

Our main stop of the day was Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  It was a city that overlooked the Tauber river.  The name means "Red fortress above the Tauber".  This town is rich in history.  In the 1500s it was taken over and a lot of the people were killed.  Then in 1636 the Black Death came and killed most of the remaining people.  Without people and power to maintain the city it became deserted thus preserving it's medieval feel and look.  

Apparently it became a Nazi ideal of what a German town should be like and it was defended during the ward.  Initially it was bombed, but when the Americans realized the historical significance they offered a ceasefire if the Germans would stop defending the city.  The orders from Hitler to defend the German cities at all cost was ignored to preserve this beautiful town.

This town was the model for towns in the movies: Pinocchio, Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang, and Harry Potter.  Part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was filmed in Rothenburg for those who are familiar with the movie.  It is definitely what one thinks of when they think of an old German or even Dutch town. 

I posed with this knight just because I knew Kimball would like it.

This is at the town center and it has a small glockenspiel.  It supposedly tells the legend of the Thirty Year's war and how the mayor of the city preserved the city from take over by the Catholic church be drinking 6 pints of beer in an hour while the army general looked on.  In actuality, the town surrendered and that was the beginning of it's downfall which led to its preservation.

Aren't these buildings so quaint and cute?

This is the Town Hall.  Half of it was destroyed and when it was rebuilt the exterior didn't quite match with the original color on the front of the building.  This is a side view though.

St. Jakob's Church.  In English it is translated to St. James's church.  I never would have thought that the names Jakob and James would be language counterparts.

St. James's church built in 1311 and was consecrated in 1485.  Various parts of the interior were added as late as 1520.

The stone and wood sculptures were just amazing and so detailed.

Front of the chapel.  The elaborate wood carvings tell the stories of Christ's birth and life.

It's hard to see in the picture, but at the center of the picture is a cross and legend has it that the cross has a drop of Christ's blood in it.  People come from all over as a pilgrimage stopping place to get a glimpse of the cross.

This is the Christmas Store.  There were actually multiple stores in the town.  There is also a Christmas Museum.  During Christmas time thousands of people come visit the town to do Christmas shopping and see the decor.  I can only imagine how beautiful it would be at Christmastime.  

Inside the Christmas store.  

I loved the wooden Christmas Pyramids.  The were so beautiful.  As with the cuckoo clocks they range in price and aren't cheap.

Burggarten.  "Castle Garden"

Rothenburg is famous for their "snowballs".  A pastry about the size of a baseball.  Originally they were just dusted with powdered sugar, but now they are covered in nuts, chocolate, caramel, you name it.  We sampled one and it was quite crumbly.  Not my favorite treat but I can at least say I have eaten a famous schneeballen--a snowball.

One last view as we left the town.  I loved this town.  After Neuschwanstein castle it was probably my favorite place.

On our way back to Munich our tour bus took the long way home so we could drive through the largest Hops growing fields in Bavaria.  For those who don't know, hops is used in the production of beer and we all know how important beer is to Germany.  We went an hour out of our way only to see empty hops fields and wires (hops apparently grow on wires) because the plants hadn't grown enough to be visible from the autobahn.