I know it has been awhile. Many of my friends and family have been asking me what happened to my blog and when I was going to start it up again. I really will to continue to post when I can, this winter just got busy and Alani figured out how fun it is to sit on my lap and mash the buttons while I’m trying to type so blogging has gotten significantly harder. I will do my best to catch you up on what has been happening the last few months here in Berlin. 
First of all, Alani turned one in February and has been growing and doing new things every day. It is really amazing to remember what a little butterball she was this time last year not really doing much. Now she is walking and trying to talk. Currently she has really hit her toddler stride and gives the occasional temper-tantrum. She has is also very sweet though and loves to give kisses all the time. Her favorite thing to do right now is run after Schnuckel and boss the poor dog around. Alani is also obsessed with shoes and books. She is currently also carrying a little suitcase everywhere. Not sure why or where she is planning on going, but it is pretty funny (pictures of Alani with suitcase).
I’m in the process of getting geared up to teach preschool in the fall. It will be a big change from teaching high school biology, but I’m really looking forward to it. The place where I am going to be is a bilingual Kita (German word for preschool) so I will be working with a German teacher all day. I’m really hoping this helps improve my German as well. Alani will also be going to one of their schools which makes things less stressful for us.
Valentin is working hard currently and is under a lot of pressure at work. However, he still loves to spend time with Alani. Every Saturday morning they go out for daddy/daughter breakfast at the hotel down the street from us. I usually join them at the end and have a coffee. It is so cute to sneak in before Alani sees me and watch them enjoying their food together. We also try to get out and see something with her every weekend like a park or the zoo or whatever occurs to us.
We have also made some wonderful friends here in Berlin which makes life much richer (picture of Alani holding hands with her friend Olivia). We are currently enjoying the beautiful spring weather and grilling on our porch every weekend with them. There are many wonderful playgrounds in the area for Alani as well. She loves to swing and slide. If she gets sand on her hands she holds them in my face until I wipe them off, which makes playing in the sand a very slow event.
That is it for this little update. I will try to post something about Germany again very soon.
