Critter Chronicles
Germany
In The Beginning: Settling In and Oktoberfest
When I left off writing this series, Tony and I settled into our new house and took our first trip as a couple. (I just added pictures of that trip to that post, if you’re interested.) If you’d like to go back to the beginning of the entire saga, start with In The Beginning: When … Continue reading
>In The Beginning: Summer 2002
> Last week I mentioned that Tony and I had to live in a hotel room for six week before finally moving into our house in Germany. Those weeks seemed to stretch on forever, particularly in the beginning, before I’d tested for my SOFA-status drivers license and we’d bought a car for ourselves. We had … Continue reading
>In The Beginning: The Germany Adjustment
>Nine months into our marriage, we were finally going to live together. ~~~~~ At the end of my junior year of college – before we’d decided to push the wedding up but after we’d gotten engaged and Tony had received word that he would be stationed in Germany – I decided to sign up for … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: A Series of Unfortunate Events
>Germany in winter was magical; the snow that year only added to its charm and traditional feel. Little did we know, that charm was rapidly about to wear off, and we would experience some of the worst winter has to offer. ~~~~~ Before I continue with this story, let me first tell you about The … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: Baby’s First Christmas
>After Tony returned home from his trip back to the US, we set about preparing for Christmas. On Christmas day, Bear would only be eight weeks old, so we decided that this year would be the last one to keep it quiet. Tony had brought home the iron-on-your-name, $3 stockings from the drug store, and … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: Our First Week Alone
>After my parents and Becca left Germany to return to their lives, Tony and I started to get ourselves settled into our new life as parents. The first few days weren’t so hard; we were still on a high from finding ourselves in love with this beautiful baby girl, and finally having her home from … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: The First Thanksgiving
>I’m an independent woman. I come from a long line of independent women; my great-grandmother, Lala (aka Helen), attended college in the 1910s before getting married, raising four children, and then returning to work as a teacher when her own children were in school. After her husband died in the 1970s she lived with my … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: Fur Babies, Meet Bear
>{Note: This edition of I Bearly Remember is less about Bear, and more about the animals that lived in our home when we brought her home from the hospital. If this isn’t the sort of story that interests you, please skip it.} ~~~~~ “[Bear] was two weeks old and finally, finally, coming home.“ The night … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: The NICU Weeks
>”…And thus, we were a family.” It’s hard to remember those first three days in the hospital. I remember being tired; I remember learning to nurse my baby, and not having much success because she was so sleepy. I remember telling Tony that when he returned after his first trip home to let out the … Continue reading
>I Bearly Remember: The Birth Story
>I mentioned last week that I was going to start this series at the beginning… and I am. Today’s entry is the story of Bear’s birth. While it is not extremely graphic in nature, it is honest and with some details. For those of you who don’t want to read such things, perhaps this isn’t … Continue reading
