How we ended August from my phone's perspective

Phone photos from the last two weeks...

I think he's pretty handsome in my glasses!

 

We spent the morning at our favorite park - Kurpark Oberlaa!

Of course, the only photo I took was on the bus on the way there.  Oops!

Then that evening, Gregory joined us for an outing to the Belvedere Palace at sunset.

 She was exhausted on the tramride home!

 A couple days later, Mom made oatmeal cookies, and Evangeline was a huge fan!

"Save me, Mom!"

Yes, Nathanael is in his undies, tackling Dad and Mr. Bear.

Nathanael and I had a date to IKEA!  I love watching this boy create.

 And Evangeline has really been into the blocks lately, especially fitting the different shapes into the proper holes on the lid.  I'm so proud of her!

Boston comes to us

We were so blessed to have dear friends from Boston visit us this month!  The time together was incredibly encouraging.  We "get" each other in so many ways, and having young kids together (the joys and frustrations) only adds to that.  We're so thankful for their visit and will treasure the days together for years to come.

We attempted to show them the typical Vienna for tourists while also throwing in our beloved Vienna for families.  I'd say it was a successful time together -- full of fun and laughter and even some tears.

Typical Nathanael, climbing a rock in the center of Vienna

 

In St. Stephan's Cathedral.  I'm sure they were discussing something of immense consequence.

The four littles having fun together in our home

 

Nathanael was "working on his letters" while waiting for his buddy to wake up one day.

(Jet lag is no joke with two little ones!)

The girls, just chillin' while Dad and Nathanael rode bumper cars and the other big brother and parents were riding the Riesenrad

 

 And of course we had to take them on the Prater train.  The boys were getting tired at this point.

 We can't wait to make more memories together!

Third conference in two months!

Evangeline loves to sleep with one hand behind her back.  Here she was, completely sacked out (and sick) at our organization's annual conference in Germany.  She and I were both sick and thus spent a lot of time in our hotel room.

And do you see a trend?  Here she is sacked out on Dad on the busride back to the airport.  I'm not so sure Dad wasn't snoozing as well.

And that is all I have to report on the week-long conference.  We were EXHAUSTED!  But we're thankful that we made it through this season of work conferences.  Although valuable, these things are really tough with young kids!

9 years

Nine years ago, we said, "I do."

 We celebrated with a quiet evening and a bottle of champagne, both rarities in our home. :)

Making strides

Out of desperation, we finally purchased a second-hand walker for Eva.  She absolutely loves it!  It is the first time she's shown much consistent interest and perseverance in standing and getting around on her feet.  We are excited for her.  And of course, it was fun that the seller turned out to be a sweet Turkish mom in a neighboring district!

These two are so much fun.  After Evangeline and I pick up Nathanael from Kindergarten, we often spend a bit of time in our home park before nap/quiet time.

Summer fun

Nathanael drew this the day Grandpa and Grandma left.  Apparently it's Grandpa and Grandma on top and Nathanael on the bottom.  He misses them so much!

And this remains our favorite summer activity -- sandbox in the shade!  Fortunately, we have a plethora of parks nearby from which to choose, so we can almost always find a suitable one.

She's a year old!

We had a special "early" celebration for Evangeline's first birthday with just our family and Grandpa and Grandma in attendance.  (Gregory and I had a conference to attend on the actual day.)  So to begin the celebration, I had her try on my childhood dress.  Isn't she adorable?!

I made her cupcakes this year, decorated with strawberry and blueberry flowers.

She seemed to enjoy it, to our surprise!

Gifts were fun, for sure.  But big brother Nathanael really wanted to be in charge.

What a precious one-year-old!  We love our Eva-doll.