A zebra checking out Isabelle
After we spent the day at Wilhelma, we walked around Stuttgart until our train left. We walked to Schlossplatz and down Koenig Strasse that was filled with shops. In this picture you see King Wilhelm Jubilee Column and behind that is the Neues Schloss (New Palace).
A picture of the Altes Schloss (Old Palace).
Allie and Jamie on our train ride back "home" to Tuebingen
Me and my girls!

Wilhelma wildlife con't...
I did not zoom in on this shot. You could get very close to the fences and the animals...too close! In one part of the park, there was just an electric fence keeping the animals in.
Allie loves to lick the Baby Bjorn.
A wart-hog
Isabelle loved to be running rampant and stand on the fences for a better look. Here she is checking out some swimming hippos.

Wilhelma
A frilled lizard
A Moorish building with a large lily-pad covered pond
Beautiful flowers were everywhere
One of the many greenhouses at Wilhelma

We took our first day trip to Stuttgart. It was the first train ride for Isabelle and Allie. Isabelle kept saying, "Whoa", and thought it was alot of fun. Allie slept almost the whole way (1 hour train from Tuebingen), and liked to look out the window when she was awake. Stuttgart is famous for Mercedes and Porsche but is a very beautiful city with alot to do. We walked about 15 km around the city on Saturday. We walked 4 km to Wilhelma through The Palace Gardens. The Palace Gardens are an enormous park split into 3 levels. There are bike paths and ponds, with large trees that canopy the walk-ways. Our main destination that day was to visit Wilhelma which is an extremely large zoo, with gardens, greenhouses, and gorgeous scenery. We couldn't even get to all of the exhibits, but were glad to see the things that we did. Of course the zoo was a huge hit with Isabelle and us too! We couldn't believe the amount of animals, insects, reptiles, and water-life in the aquarium that Wilhelma had. We hope to visit again soon.

I thought that I was the only basket-case in the house!

HI Allie! Isabelle still is all about her little sis!
I thought that I would take a picture of Isabelle helping me "clean". I figure that I would want to document a moment in time that I didn't have to beg, plead, demand, or pay Isabelle to help me around the house. Let's just say she is a little more help then I need...I found her with a whole roll of toliet paper undone on the floor, the toliet brush in the stool, with her little hands cleaning it today. Thank goodness that I had just gotten done cleaning it.
I prefer my fingers...not my paci!

On our way down from the castle

A glimpse of Tuebingen through the castle's "arrow slits"
The rooftops of Tuebingen
Beautiful Schloss Hohentuebingen
An early discovery at the castle...check out the 3rd paragraph

We pushed the stroller up some very steep alleys, carried it up some stone steps, and pushed some more to see our very own city's castle, Hohentuebingen. It was a fortress and Hohen means "high" in German. When we were able to catch our breath from the climb, we realized that the trek was well worth the view.

This toy is soooo tasty.

Going....
Going....
OVER!

I thought the first few times of her rolling over this day were a fluke...but fortunately I had my camera out to capture her 3rd roll-over.

Isabelle gets her first taste of Nutella. She really, really, really liked it. I am estimating that it approximately has 152 grams of fat per tbsp.

I give the prettiest smiles!
Isabelle gets close and personal with a statue in the patio garden. Everyone...even something made out of stone needs a hug.

Our landlords took us out for a boat ride on the Neckar River. This type of boats are special to Tuebingen and are steered with a very long pole. They call them "punts". The evening was so relaxing and we got to sample some of Helmut's homemade cider, but was swiftly interrupted with the mega melt-down of the century by Allie. As she wasn't sure the whole city of Tuebingen could hear her, she continued on with her hysterics a little more. Of course she calmed down as we were nearing the dock.

This past weekend was the annual Stadtfest in Tuebingen. They had multiple beer tents, picnic tables, entertainment ranging from oompa bands, 12 year olds playing Deep Purple at another stage, and African drummers with dancers on the street corner. On every street, the city was alive with people. They had delicious food, like their local rotwurst and of course delicious beer! Hefeweisen and Pils are the more popular types of beer in Southern Germany.

The steeple of the Stiftskirche. It stays light until 9:30, with the sunrise being around 5:30.

We thought we would give a little update on the girls and how they are doing. Allie will be 4 months old tomorrow! Where has the time gone??

ISABELLE:
Likes: to say "Mommy" 1000 times a day, her new room, picking out her own clothes (she likes patterns, purple, and anything that doesn't coordinate), attempting to jump up and down, meeting new friends.

Loves: Barney, Elmo, her sister, mommy and daddy, gummies, mac and cheese, suckers, watching her "movies", books, going to the park, and being outside.

Dislikes: potatoes (except french fries), being done with bathtime, trying new foods, not being able to be attached to Mommy's hip 24-7.

Hates: Being told "no", not being able to get down from the stroller in the store, when the battery runs out of her DVD player, when she can't see her relatives and friends on a regular basis.

New words/ phrases: She likes to stand on anything and exclaim, "I'm tall". "Happy birthday...cake". Everything she really really likes...she says "the best". She is obsessed with eye color...apparently she really likes "blue eyes", but knows that hers are green.

ALLIE:
Likes: her pacifier, bathtime, and to be held sitting up, to look at toys

Loves: to watch her sister, her mommy and daddy and anyone else who will pay attention to her, to look at books, to be held, stroller rides

Dislikes: being put down at naptime, to sleep at naptime, not being able to see Mommy, time-zone changes

Hates: having a coat put on, not being attended to right away, being hungry, not being able to see her relatives and friends on a regular basis

New vowels: Oooo, aaah, gooo, she is starting to laugh...more like a "huH, Huh"

Germany is so interesting!

I can hardly wait for the football season to start! GO HAWKS! I need to represent them even thousands of miles away!
I love the Hawkeyes too!
After 7 long years...finally Jamie is getting to know his family!
Allie is looking a little nervous...she hopes that Isabelle is just giving her a kiss.
When I am happy...I am very very happy...when I am not...I am freaking out.

They have an open-air market 3 times a week with local fruits, vegetables, and flowers in the Marketplace. Isabelle loves the fresh blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
Our landlord Rosi invited us to go with her to the market and showed us around the city some more. She and Helmut (her husband), have been so instrumental in our transition. Last night, we cooked a traditional Schwabian meal together and enjoyed some great German beer.

There are sunflower fields that dot the country-side. These sunflowers are for sale in the marketplace.

Allie enjoying a walk in the Marketplace.
Isabelle socializing at a local park.
The Neckar River flows through the city of Tuebingen. It is very picturesque. The city is so colorful with bright and beautiful flowers, and houses.
Locals boating along the Neckar.
The Marketplace.

We walked through the city this weekend. People mainly travel by a bicycle or walk, although there are cars that you need to watch for. The city has many alleys and windy streets and some really steep hills. We can see the city's castle from our balcony. The weather was nice this weekend with the exception of Sunday afternoon. It seems to cool down significantly when it is rainy...in the 60s. Down the street from our flat is a nice supermarket, a meat market on the corner, and a milk market. There are bakeries with delicious pastries and coffee shops and lots of restaurants. There are alot of Turkish restaurants as well. It is so nice to just load the girls in a stroller and walk to where we need to go. We went to Ikea on Saturday to purchase a crib for Allie and thankfully we had GPS in our rental car! The exits on the Autobahn are sometimes a little confusing...but Jamie thinks I just can't read a map! On Sunday, the stores are closed except for restaurants. We try to speak German as often as we can, but everyone seems to answer us in English! It is very frustrating! Jamie went to the clinic today to get oriented. He will be applying for our residence permit (so we can get a visa) and open a bank account. I hope to find a peditrician for the girls...as it is almost time for Allie's 4 month check-up and immunizations!