Blood Tests

Rana had blood drawn this morning for a few on-going tests.  

She wanders through the halls of the hospital like she owns the place and loves playing on the jungle gym in the waiting room.  She cried when the nurse poked her, but held her arm very still as they filled four tubes with blood (~30ml).  Proportionally, that's quite a bit for a 3 year old, who only has about two pints of blood in her body!  The doctors and nurses were very good with Rana and rewarded her with chocolate and a little toy in addition to the standard cup of orange juice for "donating" blood. 

Helau!

Carnival Celebrations before Lent.

Our little Lady Bug.

Costume and face painting 

for the party at Kindergarten.

Rana had fun watching the parade...

...and catching lots of goodies!

Rana remembered last year's celebrations and was very excited to pick out a costume and take part in all of the festivities. We went to visit her old friends and teachers at her old daycare, too. 

Rana is 3 Years & 8 Months Old and Walking on Ice!

Since the little pond in the park has almost frozen solid, 

it has turned into the neighborhood ice rink.

We braved the cold and ventured out on the ice today.

Rana loved it!

She was quite confident when walking on 

the parts of the ice covered with snow.

But soon discovered just how 

slippery the ice really was!

What great winter fun!

When is it safe to walk on the ice?!

The river has frozen over completely in several places, 

but when is it safe to walk on the ice?!

Apparently these people think the ice is thick enough, 

but I think we'll give it a few more days!

Frigid Cold Front

In spite of clear blue skies and lots of sun in Marburg,

the river is freezing over due to frigid temperatures.

Even half of the little waterfall has turned into ice,

and the ducks are walking on (frozen) water!

Indoor Activities

With temperatures below freezing outside, 

we've been finding creative ways to entertain 

ourselves indoors, including crafts...

and this fun window/tile decoration that 

Rana got from Nana and Grampa.

For days, she would rearrange it several times a day, 

sometimes in the traditional way,

and other times with a bit of post-modern flair.