Diana is One!

Okay, so yes I totally failed at keeping an updated blog last year with monthly posts about Diana's progress. #SecondChild.

And instead of going back and backlogging the entire year, I went for the photo book route and made a 2018 family photo album. So if you really are dying to know how our year was. Give me a ring. Come have some cookies with me and we'll look through my family photo book. I think that's going to be our new thing, a family yearbook. However, these pictures of Diana turning one are just too stinking cute to wait for them to be printed in a book next year!

After a bit of deliberation, I went with a Floral First theme for Diana's first birthday. It had the perfect amount of sweetness and sophistication that I want Diana to carry with her throughout her life. We had pink and white roses, ranunculus, peonies and baby's breath everywhere! Then I found some cute decor items on Etsy. Fun Fact- I had never bought anything on Etsy before; I may be an addict now. Woops!

My sisters-in-law are incredible. One offered to host the party at her home to accommodate both sides of the family, and the other agreed to make Diana's smash cake with her sweet decorating and baking skills. God knew what he was doing when he put Ray in my life. I got a good husband and the sisters I've always wanted.

Not pictured is the picture book we had all the guests write a little happy birthday note to Diana in. 

Chocolate Cake Pops- it took me the entirety of the movie Beauty and the Beast to make these. Worth it? Probably not, but they were delicious this one time :)

Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Pretty proud of my piping job here. And I loved the cupcake toppers I found on Etsy. 

Diana got a whole new wardrobe! Which was exactly what she needed :) The hand-me-downs disappeared after sz. 9-12 mo.

Lots of cousins to help with the gift opening process!

She managed all this carnage on her own. She loved that cake!!

The pictures probably don't do justice. It was beautiful though. Exactly as I hoped it would turn out. And Diana seemed to enjoy every moment- especially the cake smash :)

Merry Christmas 2014!

So I suppose it has been a while again. But really there are only two things to say that happened in November:

• Thanksgiving was delicious. My brother stayed with us and we bid my parents farewell as they left Germany for their next adventure.
• Ray Kickstarted his very first game!

The game is called "Build Up- The Tactical Block Stacking Game." It is tons of fun and 100% Ray's brain child. He came up with the idea, rules and prototypes. Then went on to design the blocks, make the blocks, sand and paint the blocks, create his kickstarter campaign, get it funded and then mail all 100+ copies. I could not be prouder. But also, it is a huge relief having that over. Our house was covered in blocks for far too long...

And yes, that is someone sleeping in the background; it's Ray's mom! She came to visit us for a week at the start of December and got roped into helping sand and paint blocks for a few days. We didn't work the entire time though. We made sure we traveled and had some Christmas market fun.

We first went to Brussels, Belgium to see the light show, and eat all manner of delicious Belgian treats. The light show was absolutely beautiful. They put thousands of lights on the exterior of century old buildings and then light the facades to the beat of cheerful seasonal tunes. Here's the Grand Place during the day- just try to imagine the walls lit in hues of red, blue and purple.

They also had a "live" nativity. Meaning life size mannequins and some live sheep in a partitioned off section of the stable. The scene included a young girl who we're not sure how got into the story- but there she is.

There's Ray and his mom too.

After coming home from Brussels, we went the next day to one of our favorite places: Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This small, beautifully preserved medieval town will never tire or bore us. Especially at Christmas time. The festive decorations, huge Christmas tree and tempting treats kept us mesmerized for hours.

Here's Vicki standing just outside the main square in front of some sweet homes and shops.

We ended Vicki's week long stay with a visit to the Heidelberg market which we took the train to get to. It was a fun ride and beautiful market set below the towering castle. It was all over very quickly and the next day we had to take Vicki back to the airport to send her home. Thanks for coming to visit!

Ray and I had a splendid, quiet, peaceful Christmas to ourselves yesterday. We slept in, and then leisurely enjoyed opening gifts from each other while cinnamon french toast baked in the oven. Ray got lots of techie toys: wireless speakers to go with his pocket projector, a digital sketch art app for his iPad, and  a stylus to fully utilize that art app. He also got a new notebook to keep all his game ideas/sketches in one place, and a "How to brew your own Root Beer and Soda Pop" book. He has been very excited about all of these; I really can't wait to try some of the authentic, classic sodas he'll make from this new book.

Ray gave to me this year a FitBit, a calligraphy pen set and how-to books, crochet supplies, cake decorating supplies and a baking scale set. I'm so excited to hopefully develop some crafty talents next year with all of these awesome gifts!

Our cute 2014 Tree. We waited until a week before Christmas to get it, but I think we still found a pretty excellent tree. Loved waking up to this Christmas morning.

Ultimate in-home movie experience. Here's Ray playing with some of his new toys.

We spent several hours talking to family over Skype, which was the perfect way to end the day. We miss our families very much and think of them often. A new year is around the corner and maybe it will bring more time with family. But for now we're grateful for technology that keeps us close. 

To one and all then, we may not be geographically close, but know we think of friend and family often and are thankful for you in our lives. Merry Christmas!

Allow Me to Sum Up

Yes, I know. I pretty much fail at maintaining a blog. Earlier this year I was all for it! "A post a week" I thought, "that's doable..."

Ha. Right. Here we are 4 months since the last update. Woopsie! So here's a quick breakdown of what happened since last we wrote.

July

My best friend in the entire world came to visit! Talisha was here for 10 days. In that time we:

Rode the ICE train to Paris for a weekend...

                                                                    Went to Trier...

Joined the Night Watchman Tour in Rothenburg ob der Tauber...

Had a girls spa day in Baden-Baden,





 Saw and toured tons of castles along

 the Rhine River...

Faced fears on a cable car ride,

                                  and ate delicious chocolate, fries and waffles in Brugge, Belgium!

Yup, it was pretty much a freaking awesome halfway point of the summer!

For the rest of the summer we worked without much to report. School started and we continued to work. Our biggest news in regards to work is that I was made a full time employee with benefits (yay, healthcare!)

August

Nothing huge this month. I completed my first sewing project; a super cute skirt that I absolutely love! We also went to a medieval fair with some friends. We all found out about it last minute and Ray and I noticed on the flyer that if you dressed up, entrance was free. So we threw together some medieval costumes and enjoyed a fabulous evening of frivolity.

September

Wait for it... We moved into our own apartment! After searching and searching we finally found a sweet, little basement apartment that we loved. It's closer to work and the big(ger) city, and we're having just too much fun having our own place again. We've been here a month now, and still don't have couches, but we'll get there. :) Pictures to come once it's actually presentable. 

The Now

Just getting ready for Halloween and working like crazy. Which is partly why we still don't have couches, it's impossible to find time to go get them! Ray is going to a gaming convention this week to promote some of his designs and network into the business. We are both nervous and excited as he pursues his dreams to be a board game entrepreneur! 

We are also counting down the days to New Years Eve again. This year, we are going to London! We just reserved our seats on the tour and are looking forward to getting to the city to do some sightseeing during a fun, exciting and meaningful time of year. We have heard the firework show in London is the best in Europe. We'll see how it compares to Taipei, Disneyland, and the fireworks that flew on the New Years Eve when Ray proposed. (Awww...) ;)

That's the news from Germany! We're excited for all the coming holidays and planning out all the Christmas markets we want to visit. So expect posts of those coming soon!