We celebrated in Vienna this year with some close family. There was a lot of great food and a huge tree.
On the 24th the "Christkind" came and brought all of us too many gifts.
On the 25th Santa also came in the morning. He sent his gifts by airmail, which traveled round the globe and had a stopover in Australia on the way to Austria....
Anyways, Nia must have been a very good girl last year. She got so many cool gifts...
After the holidays, we went to Bad Ischl, Salzkammergut to spend a week in the mountains and near lakes. Beautiful. Not enough snow, but more than enough good food.
In the last year Nia grew 14 new teeth, 10 cm, and gained 3 kilos. Now she has 15 teeth, measures 85 cm, and weighs about 11 kilos. She is a big girl now!
Nia goes to pre-kindergarden. It a beautiful "forest-kindergarden" in the Wienerwald. 15 sweets kids and 4 great teachers. They have a huge garden and their own forest. Nia enjoys it and learns a lot every day. Fingerplays, songs, pottery, painting, and cooking. The beginning was a little tough, and lots of tears flew. Now she is cool with it.
Nia talks so much. All day. Nonstop. Sentences, some of them already grammatically correct. German. English. Even jokes. And lies.
Fun at the end of summer: Nia loves funfairs. Carousels, trains, bouncy castles...
And she loves jewelry. She calls necklaces "elegant".
The fall:
Nia wants to do everything alone now. She will loudly announce "alleine" or "alone" whenever she wants to accomplish something all by herself. She loves getting dressed herself. Not that easy. Mama and Papa have to be very patient sometimes. (those are pants in the picture - 2 legs in one trouser leg)
Halloween: Nia's first horror flick....
On November 11th, Nia celebrated her first lantern fest at kindergarden. All the kids make their own lanterns and have a little march singing lantern songs. Then they share a piece of bread with other kids. Super cute. And exciting. Mama did it too as a little kid. Nia has become a very good eater. She especially loves sour food, such as grape fruits, olives, pickles, Sauerkraut, and of course salad...with lots of vinegar...
People who eat a lot have to burn a lot of calories. Nia loves running. Not necessarily running to a destination, just running itself. For the sake of running.
And dancing of course. Every day. Alone. With Mama or Papa. With her babies. With Jesus. Shaking her booty.
Nia is such a girl. She loves her baby (called "Baby"). She covers it at night. She takes it for walks in the little stroller. She feeds it. She burps it. She hugs and cuddles and kisses it. She takes it to kindergarden every day. She talks to it. She disciplines it when it doesn't listen. She changes it.
What can you do on a cold Sunday winter morning in Vienna? Exactly. Sledding!
And then, on December 21st Nia turned 2!!!
Terrible two ;) And sweet little sunshine two...
Mama and Papa picked Nia up from kindergarden on her big day. At home a lot of gifts were waiting for her...
Good night, birthday girl. Blow out your candles.
Nia had a very intimate birthday party this year. Nearly all of her friends had fallen ill, so Nia shared her birthday cake with her family and her loyal friend Liam.
A real party also has a busy dancefloor...
Nia had another birthday party in kindergarden. Another cake, more candles and songs, and a crown on her head. Too bad Mama and Papa weren't invited.
This summer is unfortunately coming to an end. Before we have to start wearing sweaters and boots again, and before the 3 of us go to school (Mama and Papa to work, and Nia to pre-kindergarden!) let us share some special moments from the last months with you.
There was so much to do. But before we get into detail about trips, let usgive you anupdate:
Nia is starting to speak. She has an extensive vocabulary already (in both English and German), and she is learning a lot of new words every day. She also repeats everything we say like a parrot.
Nia has 10 teeth! Finally she has molars too, which makes eating much easier!
Nia became a good eater! As some of you might know, she was very picky and a very "bad eater" for a long time. Now she loves food and likes tasting new things. Olives, octopus, fish, salad, lamb chops.... Yummy! (she also likes singing the Yo Gabba Gabba song "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy..." (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33yb9_yo-gabba-gabba-theres-a-party-in-my_fun))
We went on several trips, but there was also a lot of action and adventure in and around Vienna and at Oma's place in Upper Austria:
first wheels
In Oma's garden. Naked and thirsty. Cy Twomby in Vienna's Museum of Modern Art. Nia and he have the same drawing style...
at Schönbrunn Zoo with Sophia
cleaning is so much fun...
In Pöstlingberg Grottenbahn. A dragon-train goes around in a cave lit with fun lights, on the way you can see dwarfs and fairy tales... really old school... Mama and even Oma did it as kids.... with Auntie Edda and "Uncle" Christoph Stitch, Christoph's dog. It was love at first lick... DUNK!!! Mogli. She just loves running water... A reading session with Papa. Please note the partnerlook! Favorite book at the moment: "Ouch!" - it's about animals with little injuries... VIDEO: a little dancing session with Sophia music: "No one" (Alicia Keys) sung by Nia's favorite singer, 3 year old DeLyla (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qml1aIbvNcw)
In July Nia took her first trip of the summer. It was a girls-only-mini-vacation around Dubrovnik, Croatia. Mama and Auntie Edda accompanied Nia. It was very relaxing and a lot of fun!
On the terrace of our hotel room. Girl's talk...
We stayed in a tiny village near Dubrovnik. We spent most of our time at the beach and in the water...
VIDEO: Nia having fun with stones..
Sea and sun make tired... We also spent some time in the old town of Dubrovnik. Pretty.
Later in July Nia went on a tour of Austria. First we went all the way to Carinthia to visit some of Mama's friends. BBQ, Brettljause, lakes, mushroom hunting, fun! Everyone spoilt Nia too much! Then we continued our journey to Tyrol. Mountains, mountains, mountains... In August Nia went to Greece again with Mama and Papa. This time we went to the island of Lesbos, which is covered with olive trees and surrounded by fish. Needless to say, Nia ate tons of olives and fish... probably her favorite foods at the moment...
Surprise! Aunt Edda was on our flight!
Cat lover! (And donkey lover too!)
Nia and food: After the olive massacre...
peach lover junk lover Believe it or not, Nia ate most of that octopus (she calls it "octojuice"). VIDEO: watermelon & beach party...
First thing after waking up, Nia collected her sand bucket and shovel, and went straight to the door. Ready for the beach (or as she called it "Sandkiste" (=sandbox))...
