A perfect night

Go to sleep at seven pm? Not on the night of all nights when the "Little Festival in the Big Garden" is taking place, one of Hannover's most popular festivals that is always sold out months in advance. In fact we have never gone before, as it is pretty tricky to get ahold of tickets. This year though I got lucky on ebay!

The tickets: 30 Euros extra for the ebay experience.

The expression on our daughter's face and a mouth that wouldn't close all night: priceless.

The Herrenhäuser Gärten offer the ideal location for this magical event. More than 100 artists either perform on the 32 stages that are dotted throughout the gardens or simply roam the premises. It's a fairy tale come alive.

A doll with petite feet waving hello to Lia!

This is NOT the Pope blessing our daughter!


The artists came from 15 different countries.
On the trapeze: Uri and Noa from Israel!



I don't know how many flies Lia caught that night in her mouth!
Must have been a few.



Ballerinas in balls:



You can buy them as a souvenir.
Simply let the air out to make transport easier.


We didn't buy this one, she seemed rather lazy.


Performing artists from Ghana.
Can you find Lia in the audience?

Royal snails posing for a portrait.

A penny for Lia's thoughts!!!

Oh yes, we love little dogs. And puppets with gigantic heads, too!

It was literally a fabulous night that was topped off by spectacular fireworks. There was so much more to see, like the five crazy ants that were marching around the garden and that Lia fell in love with. I didn't catch them on camera, but I'm sure they will be marching around Lia's imagination for quite a while.

A perfect day

Lia spent the most perfect day at the zoo, where animals only played a side role. The main attraction was Martha!

It was supposed to be a family gathering with the dads drinking cool beer amid beastly odors and the girls chatting away, but unfortunately Martha's little sister Ida got sick and had to stay at home with dad. But Katja was more than glad to clink plastic cups with Thiemo. And while I took care of Ben, Lia and Martha had plenty of fun. There was a lot of catching up to do, as the girls last saw each other two years ago in Charlotte.


A cruise on the dangerous Zambezi river! Nothing for chicken. Err, where are Ben and Mom?

Wanna look at some animals? Nooo. Face painting is next!


The girls metamorphosing. Into what?

A butterfly! (Notice Ben's bewildered face. 'Girls. Uh.')

And the cutest cat ever!

Lia pretty in pink. And purple.

Animals? What animals? Oh those sleeping lions over there.

Time to wake those lazy beasts up.

And please note the rhinoceroses in the far back:

Can't deny that the zoo is the best location for wild fun. Especially for a cat and a butterfly.

"This is Olivia. She is good at lots of things. She is very good at wearing people out."

Ian Falconer, the author of this adorable book must know Lia personally. Olivia is jumping, hopping, running through the pages of this book. A lively and high-energy girl (lets ignore that she's a pig) who knows 40 very loud songs! (Sounds extremely familiar). And on rainy days she likes to go to the museum.

Guess where we took our little girl last time it rained? Right!

Lia in front of the 'Landesmuseum Hannover'. We spent a day at the museum. And it was not at all boring! There was lots of space for jumping, hopping, and running around! There were fish, and dinosaurs, apes, and art to admire.

Animals, dead and alive, to look at with Daddy and Ben,

and a nice game to play with mom. We were given a detail of a picture by Sandro Botticelli, an angel holding a white lilly, and had to find the original painting. Exciting and eerie to run around the museum in search of angel.



When Olivia gets home from her day at the museum, she is reproducing a piece of art by Jackson Pollock on the walls of her home. I half expected to find Botticelli angels on our walls, too, but if Lia is as artistically talented as Olivia, I somehow prefer our walls to stay white. And there's enough talent to admire in Lia's performance of her 40 very loud and very invented songs.

Fast and Curious

Here's curious Ben on his tummy.

And here is Mr. Fast and Furious on all fours!

Seen first with five months and three days.

We have no clue why he is in such a hurry!

Hey Ben, what are you thinking?

"Gotta take part in next month's marathon."

He is beating his sister by a month, who was on her hands and knees with 6 months.

And look at those two geeky bookworms.

Of course it's embarrassing when you know how to read but can only get places by rolling around on the floor.

Girls, girls, girls

Help! Too many girls!

Ben being courted by a bunch of wild ladies.

A prelude of what is to come?? Well, Lia and I were very happy to have the girls around. They came all the way from England. Next time, though, bring some more testosterone with you, ok, Alex? (Possibly not in the form of facial hair.)

The girls baking a cake

and sipping cider, ladylike.

Cheers, mate! Errr, milady!

Hello, I'm five

Man, this boy is growing! Fast!

Ben is on a growing mission, growing more hair, and certainly outgrowing his clothes. According to his doctor, he is two months ahead in his development, mastering all the tricks of a seven month old baby. Hey Ben, who are you trying to impress?? Probably his nutty girlfriend Francesca, who is also celebrating her birthday today! Francesca turned 1!!

Happy birthday, patatina!

Meanwhile Ben has decided to crawl. Head down, knees up he is able to move places and reach his sister's toys. Scary when you put your baby in one spot and find him on the other side of the room a few minutes later.

Here is a much matured Ben making his way across our living room.

Made it!

Happy 5 months!