Welcome Home Paul & Jodi

After spending a week at the beach, we decided to drive to D.C. to meet up with Ben & Toni to surprise Paul & Jodi at the airport, as they are moving back to the states from Germany. The only information we were armed with, was knowing that their flight arrived 5/23 around 3pm. We didn't know the airline or flight number, but we did some research & narrowed it down to 2 or 3 flights & it all worked out. They were very surprised to see us there! We all had dinner together before Ben & Toni drove on to meet friends at a cabin in Virginia. John, Elise & I hung out with Paul & Jodi through the weekend & drove back to Charlotte on Monday. It was an impromtu visit, and we ended up staying at their empty house in Belle Haven, because of some mixup with their government temp housing. It was almost like camping - we got air mattresses & a little food and had fun. Elise met her uncle Paul for the first time, and squeeled with glee over their dog, Bailey.
Paul & Jodi - we're so glad to have you back on this side of the ocean! We look forward to many more fun times. p.s. Jodi: I know you won't like me putting pics on the blog with you in your glasses, but as an explanation to all the readers - she's having lasik done shortly and has to be out of her contacts for weeks before the procedure.

Outer Banks

We spent last week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina and had a great trip! We met my friend, Jessica & her little girl, Hadley, as well as some of their friends from NY. It was breezy & beautiful. We took a tour of the Wright Brother's Kitty Hawk museum & climbed the hill where they took their first flight. We also visited the sand dunes & climbed over them - what fun! We had a good vacation, but it certainly is a different "kind" of vacation with a baby - we felt like we packed nearly every square inch of our Jeep. The water was cool, and so Elise and I only dipped our toes in the water, but John took out the boogie board & did a little swimming too. I'm sorry to do such a small post, but today I've got nearly 8 piles of laundry that bids for my attention - and we have John's parents arriving tomorrow night. Lots going on here in Charlotte!

Boating Fun!

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. We certainly had a fun few days! On Saturday we were invited to join the Walker's on their new boat. It was a picture perfect evening to go out on the water & Elise really loved her first boat ride. She even got to dip her toes in the water & seemed to think she could walk out onto it. The last picture in this boating series shows Kaylie & Elise both getting tired & resorting to their "comforts." Thanks Walkers for a fun time! I also enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day - however we didn't get out the camera and snap even one picture...I was too busy relaxing. After church John made me his wonderful French Toast for brunch & after a nap, we took Elise for a walk & then out for a Mexican dinner at Zapata's. The day still wasn't over, because after Elise went to bed, John obliged to watch a chick flick with me, August Rush. I felt very loved and it was one of those times when I laid my head on my pillow to fall asleep & felt all God's blessings in my life. I have so much to be thankful for.

Outdoor Living

Elise has a newfound love of the outdoors - a baby swing! Thanks to our friends, the Uecker's, for letting us borrow it. She can see it hanging from the patio door & we've been enjoying the beautiful spring days by being outdoors every day.
We've even taken a couple meals out on the patio, too. It makes clean up below Elise's chair much easier...but I did see a few more ants, so we'll have to be careful how much food falls to the ground out there so they don't decide to try to get inside for more.


We are excited to get away to the Outer Banks for the first time since moving to North Carolina. We'll head to the coast in the middle of May & stay for a week. It will be fun to explore that area. We've heard so much about it. After we return home we've got a list of visitors coming and going for the next several weeks, so we'll be busy, but that's what the summer is about!
Other than getting shocked each time we fill our gas tanks at the pump, life here is pretty normal and not much new to report. Hope all you readers are well & ready for warm weather, suntans & a little relaxing in the next several months!

Yogurt

Elise is catching on to so many things. This past week she wanted to try to use her spoon in whatever we were trying to feed her & so I grabbed my camera & let her try a little herself.
She didn't get much in her mouth, but she knows what to do. John and I are both amazed at how much she seems to understand already. We also sat on the floor with her & she's starting to try to walk back and forth between us. She can only do maybe 1-3 steps, but she's practicing & she'll be ready to take off on her own pretty soon. Hard to believe our little baby is growing so quickly & will soon be one!

Things going on here

This weekend I planted our summer flowers. I scaled way back and only put flowers in a few pots to save myself time later from watering and keeping up with the extra task. I'm amazed at how much Elise understands lately. I showed her how I would water the flowers & when I handed her the watering can, she showed me that she understood what I was talking about. Also, you can see the little video clip below - she's started to understand that she needs to put things away in the basket for the dishwasher. With all this new learning, she's also learning to get into things - and so fast! She decided to pull several books off the shelf & look through them, and then she moved over to the bathroom where she pulled every extra towel out that had been stored in the cabinet there. I'm constantly monitoring her, however, she seems to be able to do these things at warp speed. In the time it takes me to pull a load of laundry from the dryer & place it on my bed she has explored & pulled apart another shelf, cabinet or drawer.

The weather has been pretty good for getting outside, and so we've had lots of fun playing with Kaylie next door. Elise has been content to ride along as Kaylie pushes her in her little Barbie truck. Kaylie gets a workout, but she doesn't seem to mind - it's so cute to watch.

John has an exceptionally busy week ahead, and Elise and I have a few outings planned as well. Life at the Brandenburg's just keeps moving along. At times I still find myself looking for Ceasar when we come home, and with the passing weeks we're getting used to our quieter house; however, Elise is gradually making up for it with her babble. Lately it's been lots of "Mama, ma, ma" or "Dada, da" and she's really working on some new teeth, too.
Thanks for reading...later!

Little Helper