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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Busted!

There has been the occasional chewed up diaper over the past 5 months but Jon and I have yet to figure out who was the culprit, Walter or Charlie.  Well, when I got home tonight this was waiting on the other side of the door… 

 
Someone was busted red handed (or should I say red pawed)!


I can only imagine Walter saying, “What mom?  This is my new collar… not the frog head lid to Leighton’s trash can……  have I told you recently that I love you?!”   I wanted to be mad but he was too pathetic!  Hey, at least we figured out who the bad dog was…

Until Later…

Friday, October 14, 2011

5 Months…

I think Little Miss Sassy Pants is channeling her inner diva in this picture.  It is totally frustrating because our darn child refuses to smile for the camera (or strangers... I think people think there is something wrong with her)… the mere sight of anything that can take a picture causes our munchkin to clam up or go into diva mode.  Jon and I tried for a good 15 minutes to get Leighton to take a happy picture and this is what we got.  So, this is what everyone out there gets for Leighton’s 5 month picture… one non-smiling diva!


She is still is an amazing baby though (minus the lack of smiles on film)!  She has some interesting hair at the moment… it appears as if she has stuck her finger in a light socket.  The only way to tame her mane is a headband and some lotion.   She loves her Daddy and has discovered Walter and Charlie and adores their kisses.  She also loves frozen carrots (teething sucks by the way) and her Jump-a-roo that our friends, Ruby and Rex let us borrow. 

The munchkin sometimes passes out from jumping too much… 
this time it was with a carrot!

Leighton’s favorite things… AND the dogs favorite thing too!  When a carrot gets dropped they get a treat!
 
Walter patiently waiting for his “treat”…
 
Leighton and her watch dog, Charlie… friends for life! 
(I totally did not pose them this way.)

Her favorite songs are Patty Cake and a little ditty I made up so that she can learn to spell her name.  I figure it is never too early to teach her, since it took me until middle school to remember how to spell my middle name.  With a name like Leighton Elizabeth Cumberworth, it might take her until high school with that many letters…  bless her heart!

 Until Later…

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Munich...

This post is going to have way too many pictures but here you go…

The serious stuff first.  We visited Dachau Concentration camp just outside of Munich.  I don’t really know what you can say about this… I am glad we went to learn, observe and pay our respects.  However, the experience is overwhelming, maddening and horrific all at the same time.  









Leighton got to meet her Uncle Mike and her future Aunt Charlotte…
Leighton, meet Uncle Mike… Uncle Mike, meet Leighton…


Can’t wait until you are officially part of the Family Aunt Charlotte…



Now… off to Oktoberfest! For beer, food and rides!










Like mother…

like daughter… yikes!

The Dubai Cumby’s might have gone a little crazy… 
don’t worry, Leighton was safe… don’t call CPS! 



I think German people dress like they live in the 80’s… the 1980’s and the 1880’s.  I have never seen more short shorts on men and old school lederhosen in one place in my life!



Mike and Charlotte also found some great bier gartens off the beaten path.  It was nice to sit in the cool weather and enjoy good food, cold beers and great company!



NO MOM, DON’T TAKE ME BACK TO OKTOBERFEST… 
IT IS LIKE 9pm ALREADY AND I’M TIRED!

You seriously did it… you took me back to crazy land, you guys suck!

Who brings a baby to Oktoberfest?!?   These guys!

Why is there no place for a baby stroller inside the beer tents?   
You would think they didn’t want babies here or something…

It’s 1:00am and I’m still awake… nice parenting skills, Dad... high five!

We also had something to cheers too… My brother Derrick and his wife, Cara, had a baby boy named Anders Link Mueller….. YEA!!!!!!!!!!! (but more on that later…)

Even though we might have pushed the Munchkin past her breaking point a few times, I think she really enjoyed her first vacation.   
Just listen to how much she loved Oktoberfest!


Until Later…



Monday, October 3, 2011

The hills are alive with the sound of… Hitler?

Next stop on our trip was Salzburg and Berchtesgaden aka Obersalzburg.  The train ride into town from Vienna was amazing.  Living in the desert with unnatural greenery all around you everyday makes you long for the real stuff… and we got it on our trip.  Salzburg is home to salt mines (hence the name) and is the home of the VonTrapp family in the Sound of Music.  The scenery is more amazing than the movie, but we didn’t stay in Salzburg.  We stayed about 10 miles away in Berchtesgaden… home to Hitler’s “vacation home”.  Our hotel was at the base of the mountain on which Hitler’s home was built and although it was most likely one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in… looking up the mountain kind of gave us the heebee geebees. 
Since Jon loves history, we spent most of the day getting lost, I mean hiking through the hills visiting different underground Nazi tunnels and Documentation museums… and then we took a bus up to the top of the mountain to visit Eagle’s Nest, aka Hitler’s house.  If you've ever seen those movies on the History Channel of Hitler at a mountain retreat.....that's the one.  Most of what remained from the Third Reich after WWII was destroyed, but there are still some remaining landmarks, Eagle’s Nest being one of them.  It was interesting to stand on that mountain perched so high in the sky… it's like you are looking down on the world (someone had a God Complex… you think?!?).  Anyways, when we were leaving we headed back into Salzburg and enjoyed some schnitzel, potatoes and beer before heading to Munich. 
People spoke German to us the whole time (I guess we looked the part) and we would just smile and say, “we only speak English.” Most people would just look at us, smile and say something else in German and walk away.  On the train to Munich, however, Jon had the same interaction but this time the guy spoke English.  This was the conversation;
German Man: What city are you coming from?
Jon: We just went to Berchtesgaden.
German Man: A man lived there once (with a little smile)
Jon: Yes, we went to Eagle’s Nest.
German Man: A very famous man
Or as Jon and I like to say… the man whose name we do not say.




From the Front of our Hotel…

And the back.

Leighton loving the grass again!
 


I looked over at one point and found the munchkin twirling the grass with her fingers… too cute!


We stumbled upon a mini museum at the Hotel Turken.

There were underground bunkers below the hotel.  This is a picture of a hole U.S. Forces blew in the wall when they raided the tunnels.

At the base of Eagle’s Nest.

Jon at the top… the cloud is blocking the most beautiful mountain peak.


Overlooking the house.


The little one just checking out Austria from Germany.


Then it was back to the hotel to clean up...

And Relax!

And then off to the bar....
That is a “menu” for the hotel's scotch collection… Jon was in his happy place!

Not a shabby scene to wake up to.

 The company wasn’t too shabby either.


One last photo op before we left.




Then lunch in Salzburg…



And off to Munich for Leighton to meet her Uncle Mike and future Aunt Charlotte!

Until later…