Lukas' Second Birthday

We spent a week in Wachenheim, Germany with Olli's family in order to celebrate Lukas' second birthday. We all had a wonderful time--especially Lukas! I'll need to put a few more photos on our blog later when we get them from our other family members because they will document our time at an animal theme-park as well as several outings to playgrounds nearby, but here are a few highlights of our time together from our camera nonetheless.

Lukas is eating a leisurely breakfast just before opening his presents. Notice the two candle holders. Olli's mom bought ten of them for Lukas beginning last year and the idea is to add one "bug/animal" candle holder to the "train" until his 10th birthday.

After breakfast and opening gifts we went to a Street Festival in the town where Olli's brother-in-law is the pastor of a church. Inside the church, we enjoyed Weisswürste (white sausages), Bretzeln (soft pretzels), and Apfelschorle (apple juice with carbonated water) for lunch while listening to a brass band. Lukas especially liked the band and would clap along to the music. Some of the members of the band kept looking over at him and smiling.

That afternoon, we had yummy chocolate and banana muffins that my sister-in-law made and Lukas attempted to blow out the two red candles. His breath wasn't strong enough so I had to help him, but that didn't keep him from later trying to blow them out again and again after we re-lit them! (see the photo below)

You must admit, it's also pretty difficult to blow out candles from such a distance! :-)

Here's Lukas holding hands with his cousin Sophia in the back of our car. Sophia and Lukas were both enamored with each other. They played really well together (with a few "toddler moment" exceptions) and would continually call out each other's name as a page if one of them was not within sight of the other. Sophia pronounces Lukas' name perfectly (Lukas still refers to himself as "Lu-ta" or "Me"), but they both call Sophia "Phia". They even learned how to go to sleep in the same room at night (after some song-singing, babbling and giggling).

Lukas and Sophia playing with some of Lukas' cars at a restaurant where we had dinner a couple of times.

Sophia and Lukas were queen and king of "copycat" games. One would say something or do something and the other one would follow suit almost immediately. Here they are copying each other in leaning back in their highchairs at the dinner table in the restaurant. Since they were occupied and relatively quiet we didn't dare protest against such behavior! :-)