2 Kiddos and Summer Fun!

Well, I guess I'm not finding as much time as I would like to update this. Whatever relaxing time we find at home is obviously really savored.

Elise started her acclimation to the krippe at the beginning of May and did so good.  She had a lot of fun and didn't notice when I left (no surprise). Jakob watched over her a lot when other kids would get near her. It was a new experience for me because I've never left either of my babies at a daycare and this time I got to see how my other 'baby' is at school. Jakob jumps right in with his friends and barely paid me much attention. Elise has been on a 4-feeds/day schedule for awhile now (sometimes an extra one in the evening): 7/8am, 11/12, 4pm, and 8pm. Paul feeds her the first at home because I leave too early. On one of the first days we left Elise there without me, the leader asked if we could change to half day instead of a full day. Paul agreed but asked to check with me first since I'd be the one getting her. He decided to leave both of her bottles for the day there just in case I couldn't get her. Well, when I picked Elise up at 1 (after dropping her off around 8:30), they had fed her BOTH bottles- over 300 ml of breastmilk in 1 feed. I was looking around for all the puke and all they said was 'she was hungry!' and 'she's just so happy!' I was shocked. None of the baby group workers speak English so I didn't even try to explain not to do that and Paul explained the next morning. After that we had the problem of them giving the second bottle less than 3 hours after the first. So she would be hungry when I got home from work. They thought since she drank so much that one time that she was still hungry a couple hours later. I got Paul to suggest to them to put her down for a nap instead of feeding her when she seems a little fussy around that time and then wait at least 4 hours from the lunch feed to feed her. And after that things have been great! She sleeps more and is not clawing me for milk when she sees me. She loves the baby group leader and loves being around so much action. We are so happy for that. 

The weekend before starting work was our 6 year wedding anniversary! So we decided on the last acclimation day (my last maternity leave day) where Elise and Jakob were together at the krippe all day, that we would celebrate. We dropped them off and headed to the thermalbad spa. It was amazing. There are different pools with different temperatures and jets and soothing music. There is a sauna and a rooftop spa that was so awesome. We will definitely go back if we ever get the chance! We then went to lunch and I did some 'back to work' shopping before picking up the kids. Perfect way to have a day date without having to pay an arm and leg for a babysitter. My start back to work was very smooth. It took some time for us all not to feel so overwhelmed with the new routines but we're in a good groove now. After a couple weeks I had plenty of work. I have enjoyed being back but was also surprised to see how much hadn't got done! More reorganization took place while I was gone so some people had been laid off. At least one person from every group was supposed to go but somehow my manager was able to save us- probably because our group is only 4 people with a lot of work. I know, based on logistics, I would have been the one to go if he had been forced. I am able to pump twice at work (in a conference room with no locks) so breastfeeding is still working out which I am so pleased about. And Fridays off have worked out so well. I get laundry and usually at least one other chore done so that Saturday we can spend more time having fun as a family. Jakob even knows it's laundry day and asks in the morning if that's what I'm doing and then puts on his crocs to 'help'. He comes down to the drying room and hands me clothes pins for awhile until the bucket of water left by the dehumidifier is just too much of a temptation. ;)

Elise has only stayed home once so far with a fever- Paul's first whole day with just her. It was good for him to see what her routine is at home so he can communicate it better to the krippe. She got Roseola last weekend but luckily the fever started Thurs afternoon when I was on my way to pick everyone up for the weekend. :)

Here's what Elise is like at almost 8 month old:
- Army crawls everywhere since she was 5.5 months. She gets up on her knees and even feet like in downward dog but won't move that way. She pushes herself up into a sitting position with ease.

- Eats solids like it's her last meal. Right now her favorite vegetable is kohlrabi (a white sweeter radish, tastes like broccoli) and for fruit it is raspberries (Jakob too) and nectarines. But she eats lots of finger sized veggies and fruit and sometimes some bread or potatoes or pasta. She will practically crawl onto the table if she sees the food and I'm not giving it to her fast enough.

- Screams bloody murder if she is not getting something fast enough whether it is food or toys or a nap.

- Adores Jakob. Will let him do almost anything to her. Including picking her feet up from under her when she's pulled up onto something.

- Claps when she's happy and if you're holding her she squirms a lot and laughs into your neck with a squeal. One of my favorite things. :)

- Already enjoys skyping with the family. She recognizes her name too!

- Gets upset if she crawls to/toward you and you don't pick her up or get down on her level.

About a month ago we went on a hike from Stanserhorn (where the hiking pictures were taken). We rode in the cable car with an open top deck! It says it's the first in the world but who knows. Jakob loved it though and had a special place inbetween a couple old ladies who we made friends with on the ride up. We took the hike down from the top that was supposed to only take 2.5 hours but it turned in to a really long day. After stopping many times for Jakob and having a picnic lunch Jakob was getting tired. So Paul had to put him on his shoulders. Jakob did really good walking though and took the really steep beginning part like a pro, hanging on Paul's hand and doing a trust exercise everytime he wanted to jump down a step. It was very warm and Elise just slept on me most of the time. I still love baby snuggles. At a farm we even saw a truck being hooked up to a pulley to be pulled up and over the raked up grass on a very very steep incline. So crazy!

The weekend after we decide to head across the border to Germany to check out Konstanz- where everyone goes for cheaper stuff. We didn't get any groceries and that is probably where you save the most. We bought some stuff but we definitely won't be going back. We didn't do the tax forms correctly so we really didn't save anything but it was a fun day and Jakob loves riding the trains. I was breastfeeding Elise while we waited for the train to leave Konstanz and some old lady was telling me I didn't need to cover up and was just staring away at Elise. She was a character and had fun talking to us. A couple weeks ago we also decided to pick some cherries at the farm! This time we got kilos of cherries and a little bit of raspberries and had fun in the sun. Jakob's mouth was dripping cherry juice and the fresh air put Elise asleep for a long while. We went with some friends and Jakob loves holding hands with Ellen. Afterwards, he kept telling us how his hand got all sweaty and he had to switch hands. So cute.

Here are some things about Jakob at 3.5 years old:
- Loves having us read him stories.
- Insists on using a fork and knife to scoop up his food and even cut things. The krippe has taught him this. Most Swiss people do it to clean their plate completely.
- Plays with planes, trains and trucks all the time.
- Loves his sister and will do anything for her even if we don't ask him to.
- Wants to help with everything we do. We are learning patience here.
- Rides his balance bike with his feet up like a pro. He is probably ready for pedals but we are afraid he won't listen to us and will ride too far away.
- Is potty trained- even at night. He hardly ever has an accident in the day but at night some weeks are better than others. Right now we're in a pretty good streak of 5 days and no accidents! (knock on wood)
- Can take off and put on all his clothes, including socks and his easy shoes. Sometimes though he just doesn't have the patience or focus.
- Sometimes speaks more German to us than English. A friend at school showed him all about Spiderman (before that he had no idea what super heroes were). So now he does the hand motion and says 'Spiderman mach so!!' (Spiderman does this!!) Today at dinner Paul and I were talking and out of nowhere Jakob says 'Die Hund mach wow-wow!' and we always respond by repeating the English version. Right now I can do this but when he gets older I'm sure there will be way too much I don't understand.
- Is a super loving and sensitive boy that has so much going on in his mind he has a hard time listening. It's probably due to a good mix of his age and the languages mixing in his brain.

And last big news, we're moving!! It's not far from where we are now but it is an under-construction community. I happened to check a website for rental properties that I frequented every now and then just in case and they had the information listed. We only had a couple days til the application was due so after Paul's defense in March we came home and spent the next few hours til late in the night completing it. Since everything is under construction, they had you pick 3 apartment choices from the building plans. And a month later we were offered our 3rd choice! A brand new 108 sq m open floor plan apartment with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and a 9 sq m balcony. The rent is only a few hundred more than what we are paying now which is impossible to find in the city for something brand new. The catch is that we have to pay a large sum (basically a downpayment on a house) which helps pay for the mortgage on the land/building and our rent pays the interest on that. We get all the money + interest back when we leave so it's really just like a savings account. There will be about 8 buildings in the area, a school next door, a kinderkrippe underneath us in our building (which would be awesome if we got a space in) and lots of shops in the surrounding area. My commute will be the same and Paul's will be about 5 min longer. We have to wait til April to move in though so it's gonna be so hard to wait but so worth it. I am so excited for 50 more sq m of living space with 2 crazy kids and hopefully more guests! And Jakob's best friend in the krippe (who also has a sister a couple months older than Elise) will be living in the same community! It's going to be so fun and we hope to make lots of friends.

Vacations, family, and end of leave

Mallorca was so peaceful. When I was looking for places to stay, we had a lot of choices since we went during low season but it was still very hard to decide. I picked a 3 bedroom apartment right on the port and it was perfect. We were right in the city of Alcudia and our balcony opened up straight onto the port with restaurants and shops and a beach underneath us. We had a car so we drove pretty much everyday to a new site. We did the curvy skinny mountain road with a gorgeous view shared with tons of bicyclists (which makes it even more nerve-wracking). We toured Palma's cathedral and castle, saw europe's largest underground lake, took a scenic train ride along the west coast, and Paul and I even had a quick date night! We did some shopping- my best deal was finding Nike shoes for Jakob for 15 Euro although my pearl necklace and rings were a pretty good find as well. :) It was just a great relaxing time with some fun mixed in with good company. Although, when we first got there I accidentally left our passports on the plane and only realized when we were getting our bags (luckily the airport was very efficient in getting them for us). So I was hoping that did not set the tone for the rest of the trip and it didn't. Jakob could not get enough of riding in the car but Elise had definitely had enough by the end of our trip. Jakob is always talking about riding in planes, cars, trains, trams, and buses and never gets enough. Everyday he wants to ride something that we aren't.

When we got back from Mallorca, Elise was dedicated at church. It was so great that Paul's parents were here to support us and even pray for her/us. Then we decided to take a trip to the mountains to see some snow since the weather was going to be good. We booked a couple nights in Wengen in the Alps and it was dead. There were a few people skiing and there were only 2 restaurants open in the area and we had very small rooms (anything bigger cost an arm and a leg). But we took some train rides up the different mountain areas and it wasn't too cold to enjoy a day in the snow. We took it easy after that going to the children's zoo where we saw a sea lion show, Jakob rode ponies and an elephant and he fed the elephants and goats- he still can't stop talking about riding an elephant. Then we all hung around Zürich until it was time for Paul's parents to leave a few days later.

That week was short to celebrate Easter! We dyed eggs and Jakob loved it. I only boiled 6 eggs and Jakob was asking to do more (and still is) but I didn't want to get stuck with so many eggs. Next time I'll boil at least a whole box. I also decided to get a few Easter decorations and Jakob loved coming home to the bunnies stuck on the windows! On Easter Sunday Jakob woke up to Elise's Easter basket on the table and then had to find his (the European way). I filled it with a jump rope since he was using my measuring tape to jump rope, some chocolate, a rubber band gun, a pinwheel, and bubbles. He loved it all and then we went to church. Jakob tried to learn about Jesus and the cave but he just couldn't sit till long enough. When we got home Paul hid the Easter eggs out in the community yard area. When he was finished he rang the doorbell and Jakob got all excited because the Easter bunny was here! He ran down the stairs with his basket and then didn't have much motivation to find the 12 eggs. We had to guide him way too much. After a few, the old lady that lives in our building came out on her balcony and started talking to him and he decided that it was a lot more fun and starting running around finding them all and showing her. It was so cute and a few other people came out on their balcony and opened their windows to watch him. Seeing a kid's joy is just so infectious.

The next day was also an Easter holiday so we planted flowers in a few balcony planters. Now, after 4 years, we have flowers! We'll see how long they last but Paul is pretty set on keeping them alive. Elise starts acclimating to daycare next week. I can't believe the time has already come. Paul knows how spoiled everyone is right now with me being home because the flat gets cleaned during the weekdays, time consuming, good meals are made, and he just has to throw some clothes on Jakob and head out the door and I pick him up everyday. Now all of that will be changing when I go back in 3 weeks. Luckily, since I'll have Fridays off things won't be as hectic as before but weeks will still be busy.

Elise is 5.5 months old, still sleeps from 8pm-8am and is on the verge of crawling. Since we have wood floors she can pull herself along, push off things, and roll to wherever she wants to be. She loves action which means she's usually happy as long as Jakob is around. If I show her a picture or video of Jakob she smiles big and laughs. I was planning on waiting til 6 months to start her on solids but she wanted to be at the table with us and was always reaching for my food. So she sits in the highchair now and shoves food in her mouth- like bananas, avocado, zucchini, cucumbers, red peppers, and soft carrots. She will even put the food down to grab her sippy cup and do some body swinging to tip it up and get water. We all are very impressed. Jakob was no where near that interested or good with his eye-hand-mouth coordination at this age. She just knows what she wants and goes for it! Elise is still much more reserved than Jakob though. She doesn't have big laughs often and even when she does it's not super loud or big. But she for sure can scream. I guess she is probably more like me in those ways. :)

Jakob is a typical 3 year old boy- tests the boundaries, doesn't want to listen a lot of the time, and has a lot of energy. The krippe caregivers asked if he ignores us and disobeys and when Paul told me that I laughed. They were just making sure his actions were consistent. Since Paul's parents were here, he is speaking much better now. We understand most everything that he says and he likes to talk- especially when we are tucking him in at night. He loves Elise and will do baby talk with her. If she is crying in the stroller and he is standing on his platform on the stroller, all he has to do is bend down and talk to her and she stops and smiles.

Paul is now in his new role as post-doc. He enjoys it but is planning to move on to different things in the near future- here or somewhere else. Since I like my job but it's not my passion, I wouldn't be too upset if we moved. But we do enjoy it here and this is all Jakob knows as home. So anything would be a big change for him. I am looking forward to going back to work though. As tempting as it is for me to stay home, we know Jakob gets a lot out of going to the krippe (not just for learning German) and I feel better about my self when I have challenges and interactions with colleagues. It will feel good to be back in the swing of things but I will miss all the time I spend with Elise. I just keep telling myself she still sleeps a lot of the day with a few naps so I'll only be missing a handful of hours... still won't be easy though. :)