Rothenburg and Mason

We've had a busy week.  Parker and I started school, we had to say goodbye to Bailey, we traveled to Rothenburg, and we welcomed Mason to our family!  To say that we are exhausted is an understatement!  The school week went well, nothing exciting or noteworthy to mention besides the fact that I was EXHAUSTED by Friday and went to bed at 8pm!  I think the whole working all day (after a 7 month hiatus) combined with being pregnant was just more than I was used too!  Parker did well and even used the "big girl toilet" at school :).  She is talking SO much more, and seems to be able to express her wants/needs much better after only one week.....I think being around the other kids (there are 12 kids in her class and three teachers) is helping her to verbally express herself more efficiently. 

Saying goodbye to Bailey was hard on everyone.  We decided not to "try" to explain it to Parker, both John and I felt that she was too young to grasp the concept of "sick" and therefore avoided the whole conversation.  Bailey had Lymphoma, stage 5, in the last month it had progressed from undetected to her lymphnodes, bones, and vital organs.  There was nothing for us to do for our sweet Bailey.  She will be missed greatly.

On Saturday, John and I dropped Parker off with a sitter (a lady that I work with at the CDC) and began our day of festing and puppy buying!  A quick note on Parker's day, Reyna (sitter) and her husband, took Parker and their son to the Play Mobil Park.  They had a blast!  Their day was filled with water play, bounce houses, playgrounds, and park food, as most of you know, this was right up Parker's alley!  Hopefully, I will have some pictures from Reyna later to post!  

After John and I dropped Parker off we headed to Rothenburg, which is a small town about 1.5 hours northwest of where we live.  Rothenburg is known as the "Christmas Village" for it's year-round Christmas stores and also it's Christmas markets, which begin the end of November.  John and I chose to go this weekend because the town was hosting it's annual Imperial Fest.  This is no ordinary fest (with rides, fest food, beer, and games),  this is a town-wide fest where everyone dresses in medieval garb and sets up the town in medieval fashion, complete with rope making, plays, and food.  We spent the afternoon wondering around looking in shops and enjoying the fest.  For lunch we ate at a great little Chinese restaurant, our first Chinese food since being in Germany :), also our first meal "out" alone.  We both enjoyed ourselves :).

Upon leaving the fest we headed south from Rothenburg to a non-existant tiny town of Wittleshofen to pick up the newest addition to our family, Mason.  After Parker spent three days searching the house for "her doggy", we both agreed that the best thing for us was to get another dog.  I can't lie and say that I was in total agreement....to be honest, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed with a new job and a new baby on the way.  But as usual John convinced me that he would handle the potty training this month while he's not on rotation and by the time "Baby" arrives, Mason will be good to go....we'll see.  One thing that I am sure of is that this was the right decision in regards to Parker.  Mason is a Bouvier de Flandres, I know, what exactly is that....all I can say is that he looks like a small bear.  He is a dark brindle and very fluffy, however he's not a "shedder", which was a must for me.  Mason is a very laid back, affectionate dog, he loves to follow us around and snuggle when given the chance. After one day he has clearly bonded with our family and Parker loves him!