Gearing Up for Our Move to Germany

Kellan in Liederhosen, a gift from our
awesome friends Neil and Nicole.
Der Junge ist schön.  

Months ago, when I started this blog, I think I mentioned that we would be moving to Germany soon.  While some of you may have thought that was never going to happen (I, myself, was beginning to wonder), it is finally happening!

Quick recap:

Summer 2011: Matt was hired to be a pilot for FedEx and was offered a position in Cologne, Germany.  We accepted a two-year assignment.
Early Fall 2011: Matt quits his job with Booz Allen Hamilton and starts training to fly the 757 for FedEx.
October 2011: I quit my stressful job to be a stay-at-home mom.
November 2011: We sell our house and go to stay with my parents in Tulsa until what we thought would be December 26th.
Early December 2011: We learn we will not be moving until January 13th due to changes in Matt's training schedule.
Early January 2012: We learn we will not be moving until late February due to changes in Matt's training schedule.
About five days ago: We learn we will be leaving for Germany in two weeks, January 22nd.


SO, our airline tickets are booked, as well as two adjoining rooms at the Pullman Hotel, located in the heart of Cologne, where FedEx will be putting us up for about 30 days while we look for a permanent residence.           

The Pullman

Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

We will be reinventing ourselves to a certain extent over there.  FedEx is footing the bill to ship 1,000lbs of our stuff (which almost covers my shoes) and then providing us with seed money to furnish a new home.  There is the option of getting a furnished rental there, though they are expensive and somewhat hard to come by.  If you get an unfurnished rental, they aren't kidding about the unfurnished part - no fitted kitchen, no light fixtures.  Unfurnished.  That's right, no counters or cabinets, refrigerator or stove.  Hello, IKEA.  I have never gotten to furnish a home from scratch, so I am super excited about this part.  They have some really great flea markets over there, I hear, so I will definitely have fun with that.  Kellan is excited about all of it.  Especially the Liederhosen.

 Kellan is undergoing rigorous training to prepare for a smooth transition into German society.  Tonight, dressed in this traditional German garb, Kellan practiced his various daily activities, including but not limited to:
exploring the cabinets,

running and yelling with delight,

posing nonchalantly,

pushing his fire truck,

running his fingers through his hair (while showing off his adorable little bottom),

 and even throwing a tantrum.

This tantrum was prompted by me removing him from my dad's studio where he was turning all of the electronics on and off. I put him back in the den and closed the baby gate and this was the result.  He's just started to say a few words, that are usually unintelligible, but I'm pretty sure during this second picture he was saying, "You are a horrible woman!  What is wrong with you?!?" then he threw himself on the floor after the photo was snapped.  He found the Liederhosen was very forgiving and flexible for tantrum-induced acrobatics.

He quickly recovered from his tantrum, (I highly recommend the method suggested in The Happiest Toddler on the Block - it works like a charm most of the time).  After the tantrum, he began to experiment more with adding the hat to the outfit.  Unfortunately, it was too small for his 94th percentile head, so I had to add a strap to it.

 After getting comfortable in his Liederhosen, K began to practice traveling to various European countries.  I was able to get a photo of him practicing going to Ireland.

Top 'O the Mornin' to Ya!

10 days to Germany and counting...  WOO HOO!