THE CATES

****NOTE**** Update was made to Weeks 24-25


...and Hello to Lauren (our new Au Pair)



Whitney calls her Uma. The German word for Grandma is Oma and that is what she calls a good friend from our church. She created her own variation for Lauren all on her own. We use to correct her but now we're all use to it.

Her first weekend here we went to Bad Wimpfen, a very old medieval German city, for their anual medieval festival at the tower (built in 1204) high on the hilltop where the view was fabulous!

So much to do and see up there...

This is Jeremy writing again... I know, I know. I can already hear the moaning and groaning. I promise Amy will be writing and uploading millions of photos again soon. It is now 10:13pm here in Germany. Amy spent today recovering from jetlag and listening to each one of the three kids talk non-stop to her ALL day long. It's almost like they've been saving it for 2 weeks and now. After holding it for so long, it's just pouring out. I could elaborate with some colorful analogies but I think you get the point.

Mommy! Mommy! Guess what Mommy? Mommy... uh... I forgot what I was going to say... uh... oh ya! Mommy! She was a trooper. Fielding questions like a real pro, with the calloused patience of one who has been peppered incessantly with bullet like "mommy" questions ever since Connor could form a complete sentence. Each child has a different style in their quest to gain Mommy's attention. Connor starts his question with the ubiquitous MOMMY and then barrels through, undeterred by potential interruptions or any lack of acknowledgement on Amy's part. He gets his point across though. Aiden is a little more sensitive. He pulls the trigger, releases his "mommy" and then waits for the proper response. He needs a solid "what?" with the proper tone, pitch, and intent before he'll proceed. If he doesn't get the right "what?" he will immediately respond with a defiant and often times dejected "never mind". He let's it hang in the air like a piñata that hasn't burst, like ten bowling pins standing in a row, like a line of a unpopped bubble wrap that disappears into the horizon. It takes a while for him to recover and then of course you have to coax the next "mommies" out of him... but it's a pretty good strategy. Whitney is still developing her strategy, but I have a feeling that when she's perfected the art, she will be the queen and master, delivering her "mommies" with pinpoint, laser like accuracy. Needless to say... I've managed to learn to remain stoically quiet through it all, even though one of my favorite past times is to talk to my best friend.

Didn't mean to go off on that tangent. Just wanted to put something down for this week. Wouldn't want week 26 to feel left out.

Amy is out of town for training in Little Rock, Arkansas. And no, Amy has not forsaken writing in the first person... this is Jeremy writing again.

Grandma has been here to help out with the kids while Amy is out of town. It has been great being able to see her interact with the kids. Last weekend I was able to take her to Trier, Germany and Luxembourg to do some sightseeing. We had a great time.

Amy is extremely busy with her training and we haven't had a lot of opportunities to talk, but I know she's doing well. The boys and I are counting down the days!

********************************************************************************************
The kids were invited to a birthday party this week. It was really fun!







Whitney loved 2 things...



This little boy was crying every time the little dog walked past him. Whitney seemed annoyed that he was crying. She went up to him and stuffed her half-eaten peppermint patty into his mouth while he was in mid-cry. He immediately stopped and they were best friends for the rest of the day. lol!



Also this week we said goodbye to one of our favorite Missionaries, Elder Halpin. We miss you!

One day the batteries in my camera died and that was the day I stopped blogging. Lame, I know. I finally changed the batteries and started taking pictures again but the desire to blog was gone. Now... I'm back.

What have we been up to?













More random pics of us just hanging out...





Auerbach Schloss (Castle)






















Grandma Sheri is here! YAY!!! :)