Christmas in Europe

We left Saturday, December 17 for Germany.  Mario and I decided that it is worth it to spend a bit of extra money and fly a direct flight from Seattle to Frankfurt, which is only a 10 hour flight.  Miriam is a great traveler.  She loves to people watch and doesn't seem at all bothered by the take-off and landing pressure on her ears.  On both flights (there and back) she slept through the take-off, then was eating/drinking during the landing, so I'm sure that helped her ears. 

When we arrived in Germany, Mario had about 30 minutes to change clothes, eat a quick sandwich (and drink some coffee!) before he, my dad, my brother and my sister-in-law headed to a soccer match.  Miriam and I stayed home with my mom and took a nap, made cookies and enjoyed being in Germany!  (It was cold and looking like snow, so I was very excited about that.) 

That week before Christmas, we visited several Christmas markets, walked around various German towns, visited the base, wrapped Christmas presents, played games, baked cookies, played outside in the snow (!!!) and watched Miriam show off her increased mobility.  (She was starting to crawl before we left for Germany, but she really took off once we got there!)  Miriam had a hard time adjusting to the time difference (9 hours) and was often awake from 12-2 am, wanting to play and stand up on the bed. 

Christmas Eve and Christmas were both a wonderful time, although a bit subdued as about half of the family got sick.  (I didn't, but Mario and Miriam both got a bit of a stomach bug.)  Miriam liked holding on to wrapped presents, but wasn't as interested in opening the presents.  We got some great pictures of her in her Christmas dress, sitting in front of the tree (see below). 

After Christmas, we'd been planning to take a 3 day trip to Eastern Germany to visit some castles and go skiing.  With the illnesses, we decided to stick closer to home and just take day trips. 

New Year's Eve found us at a Chinese buffet, which has become a family tradition over the past few years.  Miriam enjoyed being the center of attention at the restaurant, as she let out many squeals of delight while we were eating.  In Germany, at midnight on New Year's Eve, they shoot off fireworks for hours.  (Even in the tiny village where my parents live!)  It looks, and sounds, like the 4th of July, right outside your window.  We were worried that Miriam wouldn't be able to sleep, but we luckily got her to sleep about 5 minutes before midnight.  With a little help from us (plugging her ears to help block out the noise), she thankfully slept through the fireworks, as we had to leave the house at 6 am the next morning to head to the airport. 

I'll update more about Miriam specifically when I do her 10 month old post next week.  For now, I'll leave you with pictures from our trip.  (There are a lot of them.  A couple explanations - my brother is on crutches because he broke his leg in Thailand, and we used the wheelchair to help him get around in several towns.  As a bonus, most of the time when he was riding in the wheelchair, he got to carry Miriam around!  The last couple pictures of her in a blue and white dress were taken the night before we left.  It is the first dress my mom ever sewed me, and I have pictures of me wearing it when I'm a bit younger than Miriam.)