Family Time!

We had a great time visiting with everyone in TX. It was really fun to watch Daniel play with his cousin Aidan - the "baby". To see all the pictures, click here!

Daniel and Cousin Aidan

Daniel and Cousin Aidan

Grandma Sharon with Daniel & Cousin Aidan

Grandpa Joe tosses Daniel in the air

Aunt Melissa & Aunt Jennifer with Aidan

Visit With Great-Grandparents Zuber

We visited with Daniel's great-grandparents Zuber a couple of times while we were in TX. Daniel got to play with toys that Mom used to play with at their house and took a little ride on PawPaw Zuber's walker too! Click here to see all the pics from our visit!

Daniel & Granny Zuber

Daniel with Granny & PawPaw Zuber

Daniel riding the walker

A Day at the Zoo

We took Daniel to the Fort Worth Zoo. I thought he might be old enough to appreciate some of the animals, since he is so interested in dogs and cats (both "Woof" - his one word). He waved at the orangutan and he liked the birds (flamingos and other large birds). But I think his favorite part of the zoo was the bamboo plants lining a portion of the walkway. He actually cried when I moved away from it! At the petting zoo area, we could barely get up to any of the animals (did I mention it was Spring Break and TOTALLY crowded!). The only animal Daniel got to pet was a chicken, which the zookeeper was holding up. He wasn't very interested in it, which was odd considering his earlier love of the flamingos. Click here to see all the pictures from the zoo.

Happy family at the zoo

Daniel & Allan by the flamingos

Playing with the bamboo - his favorite

Daniel petting the chicken

Visit with Aunt Dot & Fishing on the Farm

We took a day trip down to Corsicana, TX to visit Aunt Dot. We had a nice lunch and then Melissa, Daniel & Mimi visited with Aunt Dot while Allan, Granddad and Grandpa Joe went fishing out on the farm. As soon as we arrived at Aunt Dot's house, Daniel crawled over to a ceramic cat and started petting it. It was so cute! Daniel also got to play with the blocks that his dad used to play with when he was a little boy. A little bit later, we went out to see the fishing progress and get some pictures at the farm. To see all the pictures from today, click here.

Daniel petting the ceramic cat

Daniel with Aunt Dot

Daniel playing with blocks

Daniel with Grandpa Joe and a fish

Allan and Daniel fishing

Daniel with Mimi & Granddad at the farm

Fun at the Park

After we visited with the great-grandparents Carter, we went to the park with Grandma Sharon. It was a lovely day - great weather! Daniel went on the swings and down the slide for the first time. When he got to the bottom of the slide, he turned around and tried to crawl back up. It was so cute!

Daniel on the bouncy see-saw

Daniel on the swings

Grandma Sharon helping Daniel down the slide

Trying to crawl back up!

Video of the slide

Visit With Great-Grandparents Carter

On St. Patrick's Day we went to Weatherford, TX to visit Daniel's great-grandparents Carter. We had a nice lunch and got some great pictures outside their house.

Daniel with Granny & PawPaw Carter

Daniel with Grandma Sharon - On the SeeSaw

To see the rest of the pictures from our visit, click here.

Playing Outside

We had some nice weather in TX, so I tried to get Daniel to play in the grass. It was still pretty dry and prickly - and he wouldn't touch it! He just sat there with his hands and feet up in the air. It was pretty funny. After a few days he got used to it and would pull up little pieces of grass or flowers. He also liked playing in the fountain at Mimi & Granddad's house.

Not touching the grass

Playing in the fountain

Daniel's Early Birthday Party

The day after we arrived in Texas, Grandma Sharon hosted an early birthday party for Daniel. Daniel got to meet his great-grandparents Zuber and Carter. Aunt Jennifer made Daniel a blue bear birthday cake and a special heart cake just for Daniel. He wasn't really sure what to do with the cake at first, but as soon as the icing touched his mouth he knew EXACTLY what he wanted to do - get more cake in there!To see all the other pictures from Daniel's early birthday party, click here.

Daniel playing with Cousin Aidan

Enjoying his birthday cake!

Allan is Home & Trip to Texas

Allan is home from his "deployment" as of mid-March. We travelled to Texas to visit family for the last two weeks of March and had a great time! We did lots of fun stuff and ate lots of good food! Here is a family shot from the last day we were there.

Nurnberg, Germany

On the way back from Prague, we stopped in Nurnberg, Germany. This is the location chosen by Hitler for the Reichsparteitage - Nazi Party Rallies. He designed a huge complex of buildings, arenas, etc, only a small portion of which were actually built. After the start of World War II, the funding for the construction was moved to the war effort.

We visited the Nazi Documentation Center, a museum housed in one wing of the giant, unfinished Congress Hall. The museum focuses on the rise to power of the Nazi party. It was interesting to see the building itself and the plans for the finished building, which would have been a large arena-like building to seat 50,000. From the museum, you could walk out into the center of the building, which would have been the arena-like part (if finished). It was designed to be topped with a roof and skylight, but was obviously never finished.

Congress Hall - Nazi Documentation Center Inner wall of Unfinished Congress Hall

This would have been where the seating area was built.

Next we went to the Zeppelin Field, which was the site of the Nazis' biggest rallies, including those that you may have seen in photographs and video clips. We climbed up on the grandstand and stood on the reviewing platform that Hitler would have stood on.

Zeppelin Field - GrandstandMelissa & Daniel on Reviewing Stand

After viewing the Nazi sites, we went to the Nurnberg Old Town to poke around and get dinner. It was a neat little town, with most of the old city wall still intact and lots of neat old buildings.

Square in Nurnberg Old Town

Holy Ghost Hospital

Click here to see all of the pictures!

Prague, Czech Republic

This past week we took a last minute trip to Prague, Czech Republic for a few days. It is a beautiful city. We walked around the old town area, toured the castle complex and the Jewish museum (in several synagogues and the old Jewish cemetery) and had some great (and cheap) food. It was a great little trip. Click here to see all the pictures!

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Hall

View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge

Melissa & Daniel at a Cafe in Old Town Square

Jewish Cemetery

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle

Allan & Daniel with a Prague City View

Old Town Hall & Tyn Church at Night

Daniel Claps!

Daniel Clapping, Prague 2-26-09
Originally uploaded by mkrich

Daniel started clapping this week. I have been showing him how to do it for a while, so I figured it would come pretty soon - especially after he started waving. The first time I saw him clap was Tuesday, February 24. He was in his highchair and I was getting his cereal ready. When I came into the dining room from the kitchen, he was clapping. Of course I didn't get that on video, but we did get a few videos of him clapping while we were in Prague. In this clip he also makes the sign for milk. Enjoy!