As most everyone who would read this blog knows, we decided to stay in Switzerland this Christmas since it was our last living here. While we naturally missed getting to see everyone, we selfishly had to admit it was nice not having to do any traveling for the holiday. Because we stayed local, we got to get a Christmas tree for the first time since leaving the US, we finally got to go to the Christmas markets in Vienna (more on that in another post) and thanks to lots of wonderful new friends, we weren't alone.
Daddy and Noah in front of our little tree
Mommy, Boston, and Noah
Planning a mode of attack
Dear Santa: next year please assemble toys before leaving... (and yes, that IS Matt putting it together... hehehe)
Digging the work bench Santa brought him- it even has a little piece of wood divided into three pieces, connected with velcro so he can 'saw' it.
Yes, I realize it doesn't look exactly like what a chicken does, but the fact of the matter is, when you're still working on oral and motor skills, you get a bit of artistic license on these things.
My friend Melissa bought Noah this 'interactive' book where you do an action on one page (ie. push the dot, tap the dot, shake the book, stand the book up) and the effects of that action show up on the next page. Noah is OBSESSED with the book- at first I had to hold his hand and do the actions, but now he has learned what to do. He picks it out nearly every night. One day when he was supposed to be napping I caught him doing this (it may be hard to tell, but this is him doing some of the book actions):
At the ripe old age of 13 months (just like his father), Noah finally sprouted a tooth. Well, more accurately, it is actually a fraction of a tooth. There is at least one more that looks like an imminent arrival (the bottom left front tooth).
I'm back poor, neglected blog. We came back from the US about a month ago, but our lives have been so action packed I haven't had the time or energy to post. This morning I said goodbye to my dad, who was headed back to Niantic, and then a couple of hours later goodbye to my mom, who was headed to Portugal. It was really sad to see them go. Being home with the little guy is awesome but sometimes it gets a little lonely, and it was nice to have them around. They were here for 3 weeks but it went by so quickly.
Now I can just drown my sorrows in blog posts :) I have a lot to write about- our niece Jade visited, we went to Paris, my parents came, Noah turned 1, we had a party, we went to Milan- the list goes on... so keep checking back!
(yes, this is a little late)
How fast a year goes, especially A.B. (after baby). At one year old, our little guy is toddling around the house, loves playing with Boston (particularly her paws), and finds pure joy in taking things out of boxes and putting them back in. He still has no teeth but can gum food like it's nobody's business.
Noah's actual first birthday was relatively uneventful since we had a bigger party planned for the weekend. We took some one-year pictures, Noah got to open presents from Vóvó and Grandpa and we had a little 'unofficial' cake, just because... what's a birthday without a cake!?
Who are these for!?!
Loving his new Red Sox gear
Vóvó helping Noah open his gifts
Super cool pirate towel
Blocks!
Yes, we repurposed the leftover collapsed icebox cake from Dad's birthday :(
Just a few days after Jade went home, my parents arrived for their annual visit. The getting-to-Zurich part was a little crazy (broken planes, cancelled flights... the whole nine yards) luckily they stayed for a while so they were (hopefully) able to forget some of the travel nightmare they endured.
The greatest part about the timing of their visit is they were able to be here for my Dad's birthday AND Noah's first birthday (since they are only a day apart). It was wonderful to have them here and they even got to travel around Switzerland a bit. The four of us (me, Noah, and my parents) also took a little trip to Milan, which was nice.
Hanging on the balcony with Vóvó
Cuddles with Grandpa
Helping Mommy prepare for the party
Icebox cake to celebrate Dad's birthday
Happy Birthday!!
Reading with Vóvó
Playing with the Ark Vóvó and Grandpa bought Noah for his birthday
First outdoor scooter ride on his birthday present from Mommy and Daddy
When we flew home from the US, we brought our 12 year old niece Jade back to Switzerland with us for two weeks. The first weekend she was here we surprised her with a trip to Paris. She was a huge help with Noah and I am sure if he could talk he would be saying how much he misses playing with her. More to come on Paris in a separate post.
She was great about trying new foods (even Escargot!!) and so kindly stayed home with Noah one night so we could go check out Zurifäscht.
In fact, Jade was quite lucky in that while she was in town, it was Zürifäscht. It is a 3 day city-wide fair that only takes place once every 3 years. They essentially shut down the center of town and millions of people come. 'Millions of people' is a lot for a country with less inhabitants than New York City alone. It was really amazing- lots of rides and food, air shows (which were astounding and we could see from our balcony), and a fantastic fireworks show (which we could also partially see from our balcony). At night the city turns into a giant club, with DJs set up one after another
We spent a lot of time at the Seebad, and Jade was here to see Noah start walking consistently. She was his personal walking coach :)
Jade at the Seebad where she spent many a day in Zurich
The guys just after they finished a very sour shot... clearly the other two are better at masking the pucker
Noah finally started walking consistently a couple of weeks ago. Given the fact that he started crawling and cruising so early (and has been doing it for so long), we thought he would immediately be running once he was confident enough to let go. Nope! He is practicing constantly though and gets a little better every day.
We went to Paris (one of my favorite cities) for the weekend while Jade was here. One thing is for sure, Paris is a challenging city to manage with a baby. The Metro is so old there is essentially zero accommodation for handicapped/strollers. We did a lot of walking though and I think we got Jade to most of the major sites. As it happened we were there during the gay pride celebration, which turned our neighborhood into a bit of a rowdy scene. Poor Jade was witness to more than one incident of drunken public urination (both men and women- yikes!).
Bastille Day Monument- this was quite close to where we stayed
