Leaving for the states on New Years turned out to be more stressful than we had hoped mostly because everything likes to close between Christmas and New Years. So we rushed with the permits when we found out we could do Elise's without her passport and got those with a few days to spare but when her passport hadn't come by the 30th we called and emailed around and were able to go to Bern the next day to pick it up- the day before flying to the states. Talk about cutting things close. But we made it and our flights were smooth. Elise was only 1.5 months and was so good. I stayed for 5.5 weeks and was able to see a lot of people and even get in some relaxing.
Jakob had his birthday party (3 years old?!) and has been talking about birthday parties since. My mom borrowed a bouncy house for a month and he was in heaven once he got over his initial fear. I made him a 2 layer vanilla chocolate cake with a road '3' on it and put cars on the road and then we had a piñata. Most of the kids (including Jakob) were too little to understand the piñata=candy concept though. I say this every year but we were so blessed to be able to celebrate it with family.
Flying back alone with Jakob and Elise was something I was very much dreading. In the end, we survived. The main ordeal was when Jakob fell asleep right before boarding our plane to Zürich after being up for 10 hours and would not wake up to get out of the stroller and walk to our seats. With Elise strapped to me and me carrying everything (which I made sure to keep to a minimum) I was pretty useless when it came to moving a sleeping 38 pound 3 year old. Some nice man saw my struggle and thankfully carried him to our seats. I really don't know what I would have done. But because Jakob fell asleep then, he never slept again which meant I didn't sleep either. I loaded up our 150+ pounds of suitcases and met Paul at the end of a very long journey at what was still 2am US time and passed out before lunch on our couch. It took a good week to catch up on my sleep but we managed and Elise did pretty well with jet lag. It definitely gets harder the older they get.
Paul left 2.5 weeks into my trip and came back to work on finishing his PhD which he defended beautifully on March 14. He spoke so eloquently and I was so proud to be by his side. He was asked questions at the end of his talk by his advisor and 2 other professors that have helped some along the way and was able to answer everything thoroughly. The people he works with put on some amazing games for him and we had a nice apero. We could have partied all night to celebrate but our kids brought us home. ;)
We also celebrated Fasnacht a few weeks ago (pictures a few paragraphs up). It's basically the Swiss version of Mardi Gras and we all went to the parade where everyone dresses up and confetti is thrown everywhere. The people who dress scary are scaring the evil spirits away. The costumes are always pretty elaborate but since we didn't dress up one of the scary people painted our noses purple. They tried to get Jakob but he ran away. Jakob also celebrated at the krippe over the whole week. We brought snacks for everyone a couple of the days but since we have very little imagination and costume material Jakob only dressed up one day. He didn't care though and just enjoyed the food and confetti everyday!
A couple weekends ago, we went to Grindelwald where the weather was so perfect that one day we took a train to the top of Europe (Junfraujoch) and the next day Paul and Jakob did some sledging- both activities that Jakob loved. It was great family time and we were so thankful that my parents paid for our hotel as Paul's birthday/graduation gift. At one point I wanted to hop out for some quick shopping and just to be nice I asked if Jakob wanted to go since I thought for sure the tv would win and he said 'yes'. And I asked multiple times and always got the same answer so we had a mommy-son date and it was so nice. Although I realized that he must know what 'shopping' means because he had a store and item in mind that he really wanted. He did get some things but only 1 extra thing (car) that I wasn't out for anyway. ;)
Elise is 4.5 months old now and is so curious. She needs a lot of stimulation or else you'll hear about it. If Jakob is in the room, she is focused on him and is content. But if no one is around and she rolls to grab a toy and is on her stomach for too long or can't get to a toy then she is mad. She is already lifting up her chest and stomach to try to move so I'm sure it won't be long before the rocking starts and she's off. She is a quick eater and already reaching for my food. We might start on a few small things next month if she continues to be interested. But her weight and height are already putting her at the top of the charts. She's a big girl and resembles Jakob so much. She does some great shocked wide eyes and could stare forever. We love her so much- including Jakob!
2 months ---------------------------------------- 4 months
So now we are anxiously awaiting Paul's parents to come and help celebrate Paul's accomplishment some more. They will come for almost 3 weeks and we will head to Mallorca for a week and they'll even be here for Elise's dedication at church! I have done some major spring cleaning/clearing and it feels so good. With only a month and a half left of maternity leave I'm trying to soak it all up. Elise sleeps like a champ from 8pm-8/9am and has one month before starting to acclimate to daycare. I just hope she gets a more consistent feeding and napping pattern before then. I've attached a slideshow from our time in the states. Enjoy!
