Greece - Day 7 (Athens and heading home)

For some reason, this last Greece post seemed to take forever to come together. One little snippet at a time, it came together, though, and 5 months after our trip the last of the photos are finally being posted.

In all honesty, our final day in Greece came much quicker than we anticipated.  But since our flight didn't leave until the afternoon, we decided to take full advantage of the small amount of time remaining to us.  We set our alarm the night before so that we could get ourselves ready and enjoy a quick breakfast before heading out to see a little bit more of Athens before heading to the airport.  Our main objective was the Roman Forum near Monastiraki Square.

On the way there we passed this really interesting campus - the Technolopolis.  It's an industrial museum that's a popular venue for local events.  

Unfortunately, upon arriving at the Forum gates, we realized we were a little too quick getting out the door - the Forum was still closed.  With about half an hour to kill, we walked down to the Square just as stores were starting to open.  The walk there skirted the perimeter of the Forum and we got a great view into it from some of the walkways outside its walls.

Our view of part of the Forum from outside the walls.

A perfect morning for a walk-about.

View of the Acropolis.

More of the Forum from outside the walls.

The most scrumptious spanakopita we tried during our entire stay in Greece.  Just enough pastry, just enough spinach and goat cheese.  YUM!

Certainly the BIGGEST bougatsa we tried while in Greece, and also one of the best.  Both from our favorite bakery in Athens.

While putting around Monastiriki, we had a few epiphanies about Athens.  In some ways, Athens seemed like two worlds living in parallel.  On one side you have the ruins of millenia that millions of people come to visit, take photos and proudly say "I've been there".  On the other side, you have a modern society fighting to not be driven to a similar fate.  The photo above is just one example to us of this dichotomous parallelism.

After a very scrumptious second breakfast of bougatsa and spanakopita, we were finally able to enter the Roman forum.  At first we were the only ones there, which made the visit that much more special.  Most of the actual forum has been restored, and it truly is magnificent.

Looking down the corridor of pillars on one side of the forum.

In pictures like the one above it's really easy to see where some of the restoration work was done.

Atticus posing - what else?

Atticus, cool as a cucumber, posing with Milayla.

The wooden beam roof structure is amazing!

Pillars, and lots of them!

More pillars, yay!

After we left the Forum, we walked around the site. Below, Laura and Atticus pose along one of the trails.

The remains of pillars from the original forum site.

One of several ornate sculptures recovered from the original Forum site.

Above the Forum on a small hill sits a temple.  It was a bit of climb up there with the stroller, but we managed alright.  Totally worth it, though, as the view was incredible.

Daddy and the kiddos in front of more ruins.

Mommy and Atticus with a great view of Athens in the background.

Of course, before leaving Athens for good, we had to stop in one more time at our favorite bakery, and to our absolute delight, they had our favorite little Cretian cheesecakes.  They were a perfect way to finish off our stay.  Afterward, we hurried back to our hotel and headed to the airport.  Greece, in general, was an amazing experience.  We got to see so many perspectives of life there (perhaps more of some than we cared to!) but we were grateful for the experience.  If asked again whether we would go back, the answer would be a resounding "yeah!".  There's still so much more to see, and if we're lucky, someday we'll get back down there.  

Passport Photo Pros

We get to go through yet another trip to renew residency permits (I've lost track of how many times we had to visit the Stadtamt this last year - 5 at least) which means we also got to go get another round of passport photos. The employees at the photography studio know us by name now. Believe it or not, Atticus and Milayla have gotten quite quick at getting good pictures. They know to close their mouth, open their eyes and look at the camera; they don't look particularly happy about it though (can't say we blame them there).

It's a skill that I never thought I would appreciate so much in our children, but it has helped the process go so much smoother! And every time we go through the paper work we get even more efficient - we'll be pros in no time.

While the process of going through the pictures and paperwork so often may be beginning to wear on us, we are very grateful to have encountered so many helpful employees who have been patient with us as we learn the German language and the protocol. It certainly has made it much easier to handle!

Milayla's Quilt

Growing up everyone in my family always had a quilt that was especially for them. Not just any quilt though. It was a handmade quilt designed with the receiver in mind by my Grandmother (my mom's mom) and a good portion of the sewing and quilting done by her as well (however my mom lovingly completed the work after Grandma's passing). We loved those quilts. They were always draped around us. They were the blanket of choice when we were curled up on the couch with a good book or getting nursed back to health from having a horrible bout of the flu. There are memories stitched into those things that will never be forgotten. 

As happenstance would have it, my mom has an incredible talent for sewing and quilting and took up the charge to make quilts for all of the grandkids (not an easy feat for a number going on 13) so that all of her grandchildren could have the same experience we had growing up. So with my dad as her design consultant she set to work and as a team they produced some beautiful results. Atticus received his blanket two Christmases ago and was instantly attached it like it had always been there (It can be seen on his bed in this post). I am in constant awe of how much it suits him. They really picked everything just right for him.

When Milayla was born she instantly took a liking to Atticus' quilt as well, which did not go over too well with her big brother, who was happy to share but kindly suggested Milayla get her own quilt. So Grandma consulted with Grandpa about ideas and got to work. 

On their recent trip to visit us they brought the quilt with them for Milayla to finally have a quilt of her very own. The result was perfect. It even has quilt squares that my grandma had made. Seeing those squares along with the familiar fabrics they are made of brings back a flood of wonderful memories about my grandma. I love that the quilt has memories already woven into it and the love that was stitched into each thread. I love that it has the capacity to weave itself into Milayla's life like my quilt wove itself into mine. And, most importantly, Milayla adores her special quilt. How incredibly thankful we are for all the planning and hard work that went into ensuring that both Atticus and Milayla have a quilt tailored just for them. What lucky kids; and they know it too.

giggling away as she plays on her quilt

Atticus and Milayla love laying out the quilt so that they can roll the ball, read stories or pull out the stuffed animals. 

I love how Milayla tackles us to give hugs and kisses :)

And a nice close up of those incredible quilting squares. Beautiful!

Submarine Excursion - U2540

Atticus is one very lucky boy. While Grandma and Grandpa were here, he got to go on a very special excursion with them all on his own. They took him to the U-Boat Wilhelm Bauer (U2540) in Bremerhaven. Since I wasn't there I can't really make too many comments on it, though I can comment that Atticus came home beaming with excitement about everything he got to see and getting to do it on his own. One-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa is pretty awesome.

Apparently Atticus was a little apprehensive to go inside the submarine, but once inside he was pretty captivated by all the little gadgets to look at and hallways to explore.

And once he got into the captain's chair, he was sold.

 Can't say that I would ever want to do a 6 month stint on a fully staffed submarine (58 people for this particular one) but judging by the pictures and Atticus' account it looks like a pretty cool thing to at least go and explore. Perhaps Atticus will have to take us and show us around one day now that he is the expert!

The Laufrad (running bike)

That Laufrad that Atticus got for his birthday is sure a favorite around here and boy, is he getting good! 

He was out the other day with Daddy to practice putting around on his own and called for Mommy to come out on the balcony and watch (of course I took my camera with me :). 

It was fun to watch him and see how confident he is getting, but my favorite part was after he was all done going across the yard he stretched his arms up toward me (on the 3rd floor) and said "Mommy, hug!". So sweet. And we are so impressed with his determination to get this Laufrad figured out!

Atticus' 3rd Birthday

We sure had fun celebrating Atticus' birthday. We actually celebrated it a few days early so that Grandma and Grandpa would be here for the celebrations, but for all intensive purposes, it was really his birthday. So, on the eve of his birthday Atticus got to open one present (kind of like Christmas Eve and opening pajamas :). It was, of course, his brand new birthday outfit to wear the following day! I don't think I have ever seen a kid so excited about getting new clothes and socks - seriously, he was pretty happy about it.

After the birthday boy was in bed we got to work decorating so that it looked like this on Birthday morning...

And as soon as Atticus was up, Mommy was in his room with her camera taking pictures of our little 3-year-old.

Happy Birthday, Atticus!

Thankfully, Atticus was pretty happy about it and once he had his new birthday outfit on he was happy to oblige me for some photos. I snapped a few, but the poor lighting in his room in the morning hours made for some blurry photos. In any case, I am posting them because I love how he kept posing for me. He insisted on choosing his own poses and here is what he came up with.

Love the bedhead!

Leaned up against the wall

Still a little sleepy...

This pose cracks me up. He was so insistant on doing it.

After a few poses Mommy had to break the news that the rest of the photos would need to wait until later, he was a little sad about that until I told him it was time to go open presents; that sure put a smile on his face. 

Everyone else was already waiting in the living room, including Milayla who was pretty anxious to give Atticus the birthday present that she helped pick out.

Milayla, the lucky girl, got to sit with Grandpa and watch Atticus open up his gift from her.

And when Atticus saw what it was (a transport truck to transport an esa space rocket)...

there was no hesitation in running over to Milayla to give her big hugs and kisses to say 'thank you'. 

As a direct result of Milayla's birthday gift we have been watching a lot of rocket launches around here. They are requested daily.

Atticus was pretty ecstatic about all the rest of the spoiling that he got from Mommy, Daddy, Grandmas and Grandpas and even GREAT Grandmas and Grandpas too. It was a lot of fun to see his unbridled emotions to each of the gifts. Here are just a few. 

And just when he thought it was all done (and had even put his new apron from Grandma and Grandpa on to eat breakfast) Daddy rolled out one more present. Any guesses....?

Here's a hint: It goes really well with this fancy schmancy blue helmet. 

"Oh, I think it's a little big."

"That's better..."

"What's that, Daddy? This is only one part of the gift?"

"I'm so excited I can't look!"

If you guessed a bicycle, you would be partially correct because it is actually a Laufrad. And unfortunately, we were all having too much fun watching Atticus process the idea that he had his very own bicycle that I forgot to take pictures of his reaction to first seeing the bike. So, to sort of fill the void, here is a photo of Atticus test riding some Laufrads at the store.

We were a little unsure how quickly Atticus would or wouldn't take to the idea of a Laufrad so we had really been gushing about how great they are for the previous month in an effort to get him excited about the idea. Any time we saw a little kid riding one, we made sure to point it out to Atticus and mention how neat it is that they have their own little bike just for them. We even had him take a spin around the store on one all the while saying "How cool, Atticus! It's just your size!". Then, when the moment finally came, he just couldn't seem to process that it was actually his bike now; not the kid down the street and not the one at the store - his. Taking it out for a spin would have to wait though, as it was time for Birthday Breakfast!

Atticus got right down to business and was eager to chow down on breakfast. He had been highly anticipating it since he had put his menu request in over a week beforehand: Peanut Butter Pancakes, Juice, Strawberries, Grapes, Bananas, Agave and Yogurt. 

He sported his birthday hat for a picture before the hat came off to get to eating.

When his hat started making it's way around the table, Atticus spared no funny looks as we each tried on the hat. Pretty sure he thought we had all gone mad (and maybe we had :).

I nearly escaped trying on the hat and being in a picture, but in the end, Atticus' handsome smile won me over. 

After we were all sufficiently stuffed, it was time to pack up and head to the park to try out the Laufrad!

Atticus was all smiles as Daddy and Mommy helped him get a feel for the bike and the steering.

Yes, it seems a little random to throw in a picture of a duck, but it reminded me of the days when we lived in Holland and the ducks used to follow us home from the playground because Atticus and the ducks were buddies.

Atticus was very proud of his new bike. As we rolled up to the mini-golf he took extra care to walk it up the stairs, park it and put up the kickstand. Then it was time for a round of Mini-golf (an Atticus favorite!).

(as a quick update on the bike, Atticus is making big progress and loves taking it out to learn more! A better update at a later date.)

Atticus is pretty serious about mini-golfing and for a good majority of the game we thought he might even win! With minimal assistance (as he preferred to do most everything on his own) he even had two hole-in-ones fill out his scorecard. 

Atticus sure loved having everyone there; Grandma and Milayla to cheer on, Daddy and Mommy to help line up holes...

and Grandpa to help retrieve the ball from those more difficult to reach places. 

When the game finally came to a close, it was time to head home for lunch and cake. Of course, the birthday boy got to pick the menu for that too. He requested hummus for lunch and when I asked him what he wanted to eat it with he said "Hm, maybe a fork.", but since the idea of eating hummus on a fork probably wouldn't have been as appealing to the other people present, we paired it with fresh bread and veggies. 

As for the cake, Atticus was very resolved in the fact that he wanted a Watermelon Cake with Quark (you can see our first attempt here). So as a Momma who tries her darndest to get her kids excited about healthy eating, I was very happy to oblige his request. And we were pretty fortunate to have Grandpa here to pick out the watermelon since we have not had the best luck with picking good ones! And Atticus' eyes sure lit up when he saw the cake he had dreamed of placed in front of him!

But when we lit the sparklers and began singing 'Happy Birthday' Atticus wasn't too sure anymore.

Perhaps sparklers weren't the best idea...

After we scraped off the ashes from the sparklers we added a bit more Quark, sliced the cake and enjoyed before it was time for a much-needed nap.

Post-nap we packed up to head out again. This time to go downtown, take a walk along the riverside and eat on the Pancake Ship.

Yay for family pictures!

Grandma and Grandpa on Die Schlachte

We attempted to snap a couple photos with the Birthday Boy before we headed into the ship, but he was pretty determined to check out the big boat. 

And can't say we blame him, the boat was pretty cool.

We were all pretty excited to try our respective Dutch Pancakes and while we waited for our order to come, Atticus passed the time by watching all the different types of boats that passed by.

These pictures of Atticus holding his fork crack me up. He loved watching out the window at the boats, but he was not about to take the chance of being unprepared to eat when dinner arrived.

Dinner arrived and the best things about it were that the Birthday Boy loved it and it came with an eyepatch which seemed to add a fair bit of amusement to the table.

(a small piece of advice: do not eat on the boat. Dutch pancakes they were not.)

After being somewhat unimpressed with dinner, we decided not to take our chances with dessert and headed to a favorite nearby Gelateria for some cones - a very much enjoyed treat by everyone!

When we finally made it home we were all tired but thoroughly pleased with how the day went. The Birthday Boy was particularly pleased and happy with the day - so much so that he asked if it could be his birthday again "tomorrow". We certainly did have fun celebrating the birthday of this very special boy, though the birthday will still only come once a year (can't have him growing up faster than he already is ;).

It was a fun day and we were so happy with how much Atticus enjoyed his special day. We are very blessed to have him in our family. 

Happy Birthday, Atticus!!!