Fun in the Snow

We all enjoyed a large amount of snow this winter!

Nathanael's favorite thing to do with snow: eat it!

My 32nd Birthday

This was my first birthday to have an awesome almost-three-year-old help me make my cake.  He was most interested in the "clean-up" part, especially with the icing. :)  We had fun making memories together and then showing Dad our mess!

Gregory organized care for Nathanael and took me out for a delicious Italien dinner that night.  Going-out dates are so infrequent for us that it made my birthday extra special this year!

Kindergarten!

We received a surprise call in February from the Kindergarten across the street.  They had a family move away and called to offer Nathanael the spot for the remainder of the year!  We were stunned, prayed a lot about it, and then celebrated this answer to prayer for Nathanael to attend half-day Kindergarten (pre-school)!  We'd thought he'd have to wait until September.  Here's our big boy on his first day.

And his second day was Fasching (kids dress in costumes), so we put him in this cool shirt, which he loved.  The kids got to eat apricot-jelly-filled donuts too.  Not a bad way to begin Kindergarten!

April update:
He adjusted really well at first, went through a few weeks of difficulty, and then slowly readjusted and worked up to his current attendance of three hours in the morning.  He loves going, loves his teachers, classmates, activities.  He frequently asks in the afternoon if he can go again.  And he's picking up tons of German, which was one of our biggest reasons for sending him.  Praise God!

Here are some pictures his teachers gave us after his April birthday party:

Happy 32nd birthday, Gregory!

We love celebrating Gregory!  This year, we made it a two-day celebration, in order to get two good meals in.  This guy loves to eat! :)

First, we had an impromptu dance party.

Then we had a roast leg of lamb.

And a blueberry cheesecake pie for dessert.  Yummm!

Nathanael helped open cards and gifts.

On the ACTUAL day, I arranged for care for Nathanael in the evening, and we went out on a date!!!  Gregory chose to eat at Friday's, and it was delicious!  He ordered a steak, something we haven't had since living in the States.  We love you, Gregory!!!

Christmas and New Year's with Family

My dear family visited us for the holidays!  What an incredible time this was to be together, reconnect in person, show off our city, and celebrate these special holidays together.

In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite pictures from those two weeks...

Date night at Vapiano's

 Hot chocolate at Schokotek

 Riding the U-Bahn together

 Christmas gifts

 Visiting the Christmas Market at Schönbrunn

 Bumper cars at Prater

 Birthday cake!

 Christmas Market at Rathaus

 Delicious Wurst at the Rathaus Christmas Market

 Christmas Eve Service at church

 Schönbrunn Christmas Market

 Christmas Day Raclette Dinner

 All smiles playing with Uncle Drew

 Prater Riesenrad

 Our last evening together

Autumn 2012

Autumn 2012 flew by.  As soon as we were settled into our home, Gregory and I both continued in language school.  And then October brought us our big news: a June baby!  With lots of illness for me during the first trimester, we simply survived each month, especially late October through early January.  Here are a few pictures from September through Christmas.

We discovered the local water park!

Nathanael's first chocolate chip cookies!

 Saturday morning pancakes!

 A Simit date with Mom after a stop at the local market

Cuddling with his animals

Fun in the sand on a chilly autumn day

Mom made a big mistake on his haircut, accidentally had the guard on its lowest setting!

Helping make dinner, showing Dad that he gets to wash the brocolli

Lunch and books on the balcony (with Mr. Bear, of course)

A BK date with Mom

Our news (which we made known around December 8th)!

Probably his last sandbox fun for the season

A family hike near the Lainzer Tiergarten

Winter has arrived.

Winter colds

Nathanael earned an ice cream cone for good behavior!

Our church small group, minus one

We decorated the American way, right after Thanksgiving!  (We also hosted some Austrian/German friends for a big Thanksgiving dinner, but sadly, we forgot to take pictures.)