New Toys!

Sina got some really cool toys this year for Christmas.  Thanks so much to our families from all over who continue to spoil our little girl!  Actually, the mail is catching up at our consolidated mail room on post, so more packages (as well as Christmas cards) continue to pour in.  We feel so loved!

Anyway, I took a few pics/videos of some of the toys Sina is totally diggin'!

The first...a cool Disney Princess ball tent from her godparents, Charisse & Jacques, and their little boys, Joshua & Justin...

After Malu set it up in her room, he called her in.  Her reaction was priceless.  I mean, I'd never heard her squeal so loud!  I didn't catch the squeal, but I got this video clip.  Sina's new thing is to yell "Ah la la, Ah la la!" when she's really excited about something.  Translation--"I love it, I love it!" or "I love you, I love you!," when she's excited about someone.  It's so adorable.

The second...a piano mat from my sister, Rosalynn.  Noisemakers are always a winner!

Got a cute video clip of this as well.

We haven't opened a few other toys she received because, frankly, we have no room!

Not sure everyone heard, but yesterday, we found out that Sina has bronchitis, although you wouldn't know it because she's still carrying on around the house as seen in these video clips!  Please pray that she gets better soon though!



Toys!

In the last four or five days, Sina has received two packages from one of my closest friends, Vickie.  Talk about being loved and talk about toys galore.  Sina was just beyond excited.  She sat next to me in awe as I opened each toy.

Let's see....she got a Leap Frog My Pal stuffed animal (apparently, you can program it to spell your name), a Teach Me Baby learning kit (that has books, puzzles, flash cards, puppets and blocks!), a Glo-Worm (that she is clutching ever so tightly right now as she sleeps) and a cool bib.

She also got...the Juppy--a portable baby walker that helps your little one learn how to walk without putting strain on your back!  This thing is way cool.  We love it.  We actually had Sina walking around in it while we were at the flea market this past weekend.  All the mommies around us were asking where we got it from.  It was a hit!  Sina loves it.  After her first few times in it, she got the hang of it and, after realizing she was walking somewhat on her own, stomped her feet repeatedly in excitement.  Big smiles all around.  We caught a video of her first time testing it out in our house.



Fun times!  Thanks to Vickie for thinking of us and for being so generous!

Well, the next time you guys hear from me, I'll probably be blogging from Normandy.  I have to use tomorrow evening to start packing for it and I desperately need to get caught up with some reading.  I hardly have any time to read these days and when I do, I find myself falling asleep within minutes.  I've been trying to read Water for Elephants for three weeks now!  No bueno.

Anyhoo...it's hump day tomorrow and almost the last day of this short week!  Can't wait!

P.S.  Before I go, let me throw this out there.....Dragonfly Designs is doing a giveaway on her blog!  Heather is giving away a $25 credit to her Etsy shop!  So hurry on over there and enter.  Or better yet, don't...I haven't one a giveaway in a long time!

Toy Story

Wow, February's been a bad month for blogging.  I just haven't been in the mood.  And I have a complex about making posts without pictures.  Otherwise I'd be on here a lot more.  I haven't busted out my camera in a while; probably because I've been working a lot and when I'm not at work, I'm at home helping with the baby or still trying to unpack our household goods, which arrived on Valentine's Day. 

Speaking of V-Day, it was a nice one despite having to receive our stuff that morning.  The movers didn't leave until about 1630 and after that, we had to help my Soldier get a spare tire for her truck.  In any case, I'd woken up to find a new laptop sitting on our dining table that morning, so I was happy the entire day.  We finished off the evening with dinner at the Italian restaurant behind our house.

So remember when I took that tour of downtown Stuttgart?  Well, I'd forgotten that I'd taken pictures of this really cool toy store, called Spielwaren. 

When we were released to go to lunch, everyone scrambled around trying to find a good restaurant to eat in.  The first thing I did was run to this store.  I was told by a lady in the store that it's the biggest toy store chain in Europe. 

You would've thought I was about 5 years old again.  I LOVE this store.  They not only have toys, but they also have stuffed animals galore, costumes and party favors.  I just love how everything is displayed--bright colors everywhere.  They have tons of girly stuff too, so I really could have gone crazy buying stuff for Sina, but I kept my cool.  I knew that I had to take pictures...my sister is going to love this.

My sister and I grew up with Sanrio (Hello Kitty) stuff.  She still loves that stuff.  I'll have to go back and get her something.

Remember my love of lady bugs?  Well, they have this tea set and I'm dying to get it for Sina.

Stuffed animals with matching bedding.

They even have stuff for adults.  I love these colors and the polka dots.  They're so much fun.

This place was bleeding pink and red everywhere.

An entire top floor of teddy bears.  Craziness.

So what a fun place.  I'm sure Sina will love it too.

Tomorrow, we head out for a USO tour to Salzburg.  We decided to start out small as far as venturing out goes.  Salzburg isn't too far away--about a 3-hour trip.  Can't wait to show you guys some pictures!