Family, Friends, and Flats!

Wow, has it been a long time.  Exciting things definitely have been going on over here!

After the last post, life slowed down until our trip to Tallahassee.  I have to admit that I was stressing about the plane rides alone with Jakob but it seems that the worst is behind us (knock on wood).  It really wasn't too bad and I KNOW that the extra seat he snagged for almost every flight meant a world of difference!  We had a great time visiting family, friends, and being involved in a good friend's wedding.  My parents were awesome and took off a long weekend to babysit while I had fun with the gals during wedding festivities.  The whole trip was a much needed relaxing vacation for me.  And I think that's a win-win when Jakob got to visit with family too! :)  Poor Paul had to be here for almost 3 weeks by himself but he went skiing some, hung out with friends, and got a lot of work done.  So it wasn't a total loss!

Jakob's huge feet are on the right next to his friend, Logan's, feet.  They are only 2 months apart...

LOOOOOOOVES swiffering/moping

We also signed Jakob up for a Kindermusik class and have gone twice.  The first class took him awhile to warm up but by the end of the class today he was laughing and having fun and petting all the babies.  :)  He was especially intrigued with the giant doll and throwing balls everywhere.  I'm sure he'll enjoy it more as we keep going.  It ends in May and we may just have to sign up again if the price is right!  Jakob also started walking the day before Paul's birthday!  He saved it just for daddy!  He will walk all the way across the room now and be so proud of himself. :)

Before our trip, Paul and I decided we should sign up with a flat-seeking company to help find an apartment.  We are getting tired of staying out of/sneeking into our room when Jakob is sleeping when we know it is possible to find something we can afford with an extra bedroom.  We were realistic though in our expectations and knew it would take some work and time but the guy at the company was very discouraging.  We signed up anyway and when I left I told Paul (jokingly but half hoping) to find us a flat- adding that it would be great if we could move in by May.  AND IT WORKED!  Well, telling Paul worked!  The company maybe called once with a terrible lead.  But a friend forwarded Paul an email with a family leaving their flat with an extra room, right below our price max, ready in April, and 2 stops from us closer to downtown!  Paul visited and made it clear how much we would love a room for our son and they helped us tremendously by giving us the application days before the other interested parties!  Paul applied complete with a picture of our family and we got the flat!!  We are SO incredibly excited!!  I have not seen the inside but from what Paul has told me I think it will be great.  We will have to give up a dryer and have a walk to the tram stop but it is quiet and more square meters!  The pediatrician will also just be a 7 min (if that!) walk away.  How awesome!

So now we have some shopping to do.  :)  Of course my favorite part!  We'll need wardrobes (which hopefully we'll get from a friend!), a new couch, a futon maybe for Jakob's room (LOVE being able to say that!), a bookshelf, some light fixtures, and other accessories.  I'll try to keep the expenses to a minimum though since we'll be doing some traveling this year.  The day after we get the keys to our new place we'll be off to Brussels and Amsterdam for a long weekend and then a few weeks later my best friend and her family are coming to visit and we'll probably head to Milan for a couple days!  Then a couple months later we'll be off to China.  Wow, time is flying.  Right now I just can't wait to see our new place.  :)

And of course I take way too many pictures so here is a slideshow from our trip to the states.  :)  At least I can finally post this!  Tonight Jakob decided he would get out of a bath by hiding the tub plug and then be sneaky and climb on the kitchen table while we were busy searching... He is more than a handful but at least he's cute.  :)

One year later

Jakob at ONE

- 22 lbs 9 oz, 30 in long, 18.5 in head size (pretty much average for everything)
- does not walk but climbs on everything including your face
- gets mad if you try to get him to walk with only one or no hands being held but if distracted he can stand unaided for awhile
- eats fruit, dairy, carbs, and meat but veggies are still a work in process
- understands lots of what we say and has learned lots of 'tricks'
- actually cuddles now to watch videos with me (I LOVE this!  It melts my heart.)
- takes one big nap after lunch (this took lots of work but was needed)
- seems to almost always be laughing and smiling
- enjoys lots of people and parties a lot!
- very curious about animals and other babies but is shy for at the least the first 20 minutes in playgroups
- dances to music even if it's just me or Paul singing
- still drinks breastmilk a few times a day
- babbles back when you ask him a question
- shakes his head no, sometimes it's because he's tired, sometimes he means no, and sometimes just because
- crawls around with something in his mouth most of the time but never a pacifier (he doesnt care for one)
- wipes the table with his bib and the floor with anything cloth
- feeds himself with a fork (sometimes prefers a fork to hands) and has almost mastered the spoon

Jakob is such a joy and is the perfect fit for our family!  We love him so much.

And I made Swiss Älplermagronen the other day and it was delicious!!

Jakob's First Christmas and Birthday!

So I guess I need to play catch up... Little dude had a checkup right before we left for the states and everything looked great!  We were very relieved even though I still caught myself over analyzing his emotions/actions for a couple weeks.  I can't read anything more about the disease or else I start worrying for his future too much.  He's such a strong boy and we pray to never see any effects of this!

Christmas vacation was wonderful!  We arrived a few days before Christmas and was over jet lag within a couple nights.  Jakob sat with Santa and actually smiled for the camera!  For a minute or two he was extremely interested in Santa's beard but finally decided it was ok.  I did so much shopping that looking back on things... I was a tad bit ridiculous.  But I got some great finds and had 7 pounds to spare on our way back (out of 140)!  Now I just have to go through all our clothes to make room.  Jakob loved all of the attention.  Christmas gave him some practice opening gifts for his birthday.  While we all weren't looking he even reached in one of his bags (by chance) and pulled out his gift and starting playing with it.  So cute!  But he did pull off wrapping paper and even was somewhat interested in what was inside.  I think it was a success.  We had an intimate gathering for his birthday party where he devoured his own carrot cake cupcake.  First he would just scoop up the icing but then Paul shoved his hand into it and then Jakob decided it was definitely edible.  :)  That night we went to El Jalisco's where they sang happy birthday to him and he was extremely intrigued but not near as happy as when everyone sang to him at his party.  We even went to Albany to visit Paul's family and then made it to the Tallahassee Museum on our last day where Jakob wore his new sunglasses (for 3 minutes) and really enjoyed seeing the animals.

We've been back for almost 2 weeks and it's so nice but we miss everyone already.  There is just SO much more action when we're in the states- sometimes that's good but sometimes it's nice to get away from the hussle and bussle.  Last week Jakob got his 1 yr shots and that was pretty uneventful.  Besides me realizing how easy everything is here.  I was 5 min late to our appt at 8:30.  We were seen after a few min, talked about the information he received from Jakob's hospital stay, talked about new stuff, Jakob was checked out, got 2 shots and we chatted a bit more (all not rushed even though I still forget things that I want to ask!).  Then we met with the secretary who was trained to take and test blood.  We waited for a few min in the waiting room for the results and then made our next appointment and were home by 9:10... using public transport and walking.  I just love it.  This was all after getting the hospital bill where we owe less than 3% of the cost.  I am in shock.  All this to say, Switzerland has grown on me and I am so thankful to be getting this experience with a child.  It has been a surprise to me to be in love with so many things here.

Yesterday, Jakob came down with a 103 fever and was feeling very tired.  I think we're over the hump now and he's getting better.  He's not really showing any other symptoms so we're just watching him.  Paul got some hand-me-down skis today and is really excited to get some boots and go skiing!  Im glad he's excited about it.  I really wish I liked skiing.  I think when Jakob is older I will really enjoy sledding with him.  :)

Well, hopefully I'll be able to do one more post before we go BACK to the states!  Ha!  Our downstairs neighbors are going to hate us when Jakob is screaming again through the night in a month and a half.  But I just have to come back for Carli's wedding!  Im so excited for her and really excited to see some special people!  But I am nervous since it will just be me traveling with a kid who can NOT sit still...  This may be my last time in awhile I can see everyone... plane tickets are just getting too expensive to be going back all the time- especially when little dude turns 2.  I hope but am not too sure about Labor day this year... :(  Especially since my brother is also getting married!!  In China!  Oh, geez.  I feel old.  But his wedding is at the end of July and we will go to support him.  It will be a great experience and I can't believe it is actually happening.  Here's a slideshow from our trip because I take waaaaay too many pictures!