IrishOboe

It’s hard to compare Vivienne with Joseph as a newborn.  I’m used to not having a life already, so that makes it all seem so much easier.  Of course Vivienne sleeps much more in the day than Joseph does, so that seems easy as well.  I am able to nurse her without pain, so not only is feeding her easy, it also means I can calm her at the breast if need be so we don’t have the long crying bouts we had with Joseph.  The nights are not easy as Joseph is still no used to her cries and wakes up upset and refuses to sleep and when he finally does Vivienne is up again, but that is getting slowly better, so hopefully this phase will end before we reach our limits.  Amazingly, they sometimes nap at the same time in the afternoon and we can catch up on a few winks, which helps.  Though that is the case mostly because Vivienne sleeps longer stretches during the day than at night, she’s still young.  We will very much miss Grandma, who is willing to get up with Joseph at 6am and let us sleep with the baby a bit longer.

Vivienne’s birth splotchiness is gone and she is so beautiful!  I’m enjoying this time with her and the family very much.  She passed her birth weight on day 6!

I was all excited to start this baby with EC (Elimination Communication) early on and create an intimate bond between me and my baby that included output as well as input and I was thrilled that from the first two days Vivienne made it quite clear when she had to poo in the night so I’ve been consistently catching all her night-time poos (usually three) in a bowl, which I empty in the morning and I just throw on a new diaper right from bed because there’s very little mess.  This was thrilling until the number of consecutive nights of only getting sleep chunks of less than two hours started catching up to me.  I’ve starting trying to ignore her cues (fussiness and grunting) at night in hopes that I won’t have to sit up in bed and take care of her, but she will have none of it.  She knows how nice it is to be rid of her excrement rather than sit in it and will wait until I finally decide to put her on the pot to go.  It’s happened too many times that I’ve waited and then she’s gone right away on the pot for it to be coincidence.  I’m hopping that she’ll soon not poo so often so I won’t end up cursing the day I learned about EC.  Interestingly, I’m not as good about catching her day-time poos.  It is also fun to see how much Stephan has grown as a father.  He takes care of Vivienne like a pro and is more relaxed about it.  He’s even happy pottying her and has already caught a few day poos.

So as babies go Vivienne is an easy baby.  We couldn’t have hoped for things to go better than they have.  We are profoundly thankful, though of course still tired as birth and infant care is never easy!

The rest of the story, for those who like the details . . .

 (More)

On January 21^st, 2012 we welcomed a precious little girl into our family.  Vivienne Linda Stücklin was born at home at 12:26pm.  She weighed 3840g and was 53cm.  We are a healthy and happy family and are so very thankful for all of God’s blessings and provisions.  Pictures coming soon in the usual place.  Birth story to come.

Tomorrow my mother arrives.  When she leaves we will be a family of four (God willing and the creek don’t rise).  Life will never be the same again.  That’s a bit scary, but we’re going to have a fabulous time!!

Dec. 24-26: In my 7 Thanks I said as much as that we had a wonderful time around Christmas with family but got sick took most of the week to recover, but recover we did, thankfully.

Dec. 30: I must acknowledge that official “sit-down” homeschooling has begun with Joseph.  He loves his alphabet puzzle so much and he loves the alphabet so much that he will often get out his colored pencils and a piece of paper and beg me to write the (upper case) alphabet for him to identify.  He likes it when I write the letters in a random order and let him identify them one at a time.  In other words, he likes being quizzed at 1 ½!

Jan. 1: Gotte D. came for lunch and we all enjoyed it immensely.  I had false labor at the start of her visit, but fortunately that was as exciting as it got.

Jan. 2: Stephan and I cashed in on a voucher from his folks to watch Joseph while we celebrated three years of marriage a night early.  We went into Lucerne and enjoyed a dinner out.  We got dressed up with heels and tie.  I figured it would be the last time in a while.  What a three years it’s been!  It feels like a lifetime and we had fun trying to recall pre-dating and dating life.  Even marriage without kids seems like a distant memory.  One thing can be said for sure about how long we’ve been married: not long enough!

Jan. 4: Today I sat reading on the couch while Joseph played with Legos.  Next then I knew he’d put every Lego away in the box, put the lid on and put the box back in the shelf where it belongs and then casually turned to something else.  I do a lot of picking up with him, and he sees me pick up after myself right away (usually), but somehow it still amazes me when he initiates it himself!

-Today he also did the whole alphabet puzzle by himself (with me watching and cheering him on).  The alphabet puzzles is always the first toy he goes for in the morning and after naps.  He takes that out and then asks for the number puzzle he got for Christmas saying “hum.” 

Jan. 5: Today Joseph pointed to the 9 in his number puzzle and said “nüün” to Stephan and then turned to me and said “nine.”  He repeated this, obviously very proud of himself.

-I let (!) Joseph play with a tack and paper that’s on my desk.  He successfully pushed the tack through the whole that was already in the paper.

- He’s started to let me know he needs to go potty by walking to the bathroom, grabbing a book and sitting on the pot with his clothes on.  We’ve started working on getting his pants off himself, but there’s a ways to go yet.  So far he’s waited to go until I’ve helped him get his clothes off.  EC has been very on/off and hit/miss.  I’m relaxed about it at this point and just potty him when I can and leave him in diapers or training pants otherwise.

There’s only so much computer time, much less blog time and it looks like 7-thanks have taken over bullet updates.  I’ll try to catch up a bite at a time.  Here are notes on Joseph over the past month or so.

Nov. 11^th: We had our first frost! (Okay, that’s not about Joseph, but I wrote it on his sheet so in it goes.)

20^th: Joseph says “mama” when he the Grandma bit.

25^th: Joseph knows upper case “I, S, W, M, O” and can place many letters in his wooden alphabet puzzle that Tante Anita gave him.  He signs ‘G’.

Dec. 4^th: Joseph no longer calls both of us “mama” but can say and sign “Bappe” and “Mama” correctly.  He takes great pleasure in this and sometimes says and signs them over and over in succession.  He does the same with “yes” and “no” (though he doesn’t sign them) and it’s terribly cute because “no” is a sweet word.  It’s “nein” that really means “no” to him.

12^th: Looking at some mammal bits I had spread on the floor to keep him busy, Joseph said “Caracal” (sounds like Karkal), “horse” (hs), “otter,” and more.  This were retired bits, though not long retired.

21^st: Joseph had croup again in the night, but this time I knew about the cold air trick and I stayed calm so Joseph recovered well and though he needed extra care in the night he would return to sleep after some rocking.  We’re all sick, but not as sick as we could be.  Here’s hoping we’re well by Christmas!

23^rd: Joseph helped me make dream cookies, taking the formed dough balls I gave him, dipping them in sugar and handing them back to me.  He did a very good job obeying and at the end he got to eat one.  Oops, he’s up from his nap now, but I should add that he’s very good with the upper case alphabet.  He can do most of his puzzle and knows most of the letters.  Even if I write them out on a piece of paper he can identify more than half (though he says oddities like “ba” for “Z” because Z is for zebra).

Oct. 27^th: Joseph says “ice” for “lights.”  He says “spices” and I can’t transcribe it, as with most of his words.  He gave me a kiss unasked for for the first time.  He found Daddy’s stash of paper for recycling (piled under his desk) and he put it in the recycle spot one piece at a time without any prompting!  We’d been giving him paper to put away for a while now, but this was the first time he did it on his own.  He can put books back in their shelves.

29^th: I spent a lovely day in Holderbank where we have missionary friends.  Stephan looked after Joseph, was it was lovely to just relax, enjoy good company and good food.  What a luxury!

31^st: We live in a Catholic canton so Stephan got the day off and we were able to visit the Swiss grandparents.  Stephan and I got to spend some romantic time at the Basel Herbstmesse (oldest, biggest, longest, etc. etc. fair in Europe or something like that) while Joseph enjoyed visiting the zoo for the first time!  Again, talk about pampering . . .

Nov. 3^rd: I’ve been experimenting with making our own peanut butter since it is rather pricy here.  From a bag of peanuts in the shell I made a batch for half the price the store sells at and we all liked it.  If only I could find unsalted shelled peanuts it would save a lot of the work.

4^th: Joseph signs “play piano.”  His signs are getting quite accurate.  It’s fun to watch!  More words: mouse, fish, squawk, and tea.  The last two are from a British book from V that is one of his favorites.  In the end they have a scrumptious tea and Joseph always supplies the last word.  (Now he has many such words he supplies in various books, I doubt I’ll write them all down.)  This morning he woke me up by giving me a kiss and then giving my belly a kiss!  How can you be upset at that?

7^th: Joseph officially doesn’t crawl anymore.  Of course he can, but walking is his preferred mode of transportation.  That means he’s slower at stairs, but is much more like a little boy than a baby.  Where did the time go?  It’s the shortest years and the longest days . . .

He signs “bread” and “banana.”  Swimming time is going very well.  I’ve been saying “one, two, three, jump” and letting him jump from the side of the pool into my arms.  Today he supplied his own “one, two, three” (with only the three sounding anything like the number) because he couldn’t wait for me to count to jump in.  I’m still working on teaching him that he shouldn’t get in the water without me there.  Pool time takes a lot of vigilance!  He can also consistently swim when I launch him from my arms to the stairs and pull himself out.  He is good at catching himself when he falls so he doesn’t hurt himself – even if it is slippery inclined tile.  This session he accidentally fell head-under twice and came up without a cough for any sign of surprise.

“Hot pot” and “pepper” sound similar, and both sound like “Bappe” (Daddy in Swiss German) but he still says “Mama” for Stephan and me.  “All gone” sounds like “kaka” which is also his word for “cracker.”

9^th: Joseph says trash (“ksh”) while holding a plastic bottle.  He wants to throw it away but I point him to the recycling.  Since then he grabs trash whenever possible (and mostly he’s right!) and throws it away in the kitchen trash, opening and closing the door appropriately.  What a help!

10^th: Joseph says “poo” when he needs to go #2.  That’s a great help, as he can usually wait until we can get him to the potty before he soils his diaper/underwear/whatever he’s standing over.  Said “bath” (ba).  He got out the AquaDoodle and then came to me saying he word for house/mouse/mouth (“auf”).  He was clearly asking me for something.  I then guessed he was saying “mouth” and by that he meant he wanted the AquaDoodle pen which we don’t let him put in his mouth.  I was right.  What a smart dood!

He can blow into a tissue.  (Yes, we’ve been sick.)

12^th: We visited D+A S.  It was a great pleasure, but oh, how a new place is so tempting for a toddler to explore!

13^th: Joseph walked down three steps without holding on to anything.

14^th: Joseph is now a help with laundry, and not just in spirit.  He can empty and load things according to instructions.  He doesn’t always follow, but he does enough to be counted a help since I can hang up laundry while he fills the washer with the next load.  What fun!

At dinner he asked for some cheese (signing) then he held his piece of cheese out to me and said “chs” (cheese) and then turned to Stephan and said “ka” (for Käs – cheese in Swiss German if I knew how to spell it).  He’s used German and English words before, but this was the first time he showed us that English is Mommy’s language and German is Daddy’s.  Raising a bilingual baby is amazing!  He understands as much of what Stephan tells him as he does of what I tell him – even rather complicated sentences.  I don’t know why it amazes me.

He knows his body parts in German and when we read the book that talks about them he points to each part, including his bottom.  So cute!

15^th: Tante A gave us some money to spend at the fair on Joseph.  We bought a wooden Alphabet puzzle.  Joseph loves it.  He knows a number of letters from his signing book, but needs prompting from us to say the letter before he can say it.  However, the other day he picked out the “I” and said “eye” and he’s done it a number of times since.

He says “muesli.”

He says “ppph” and does a very good “potty” sign if he notices he’s peeing.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t use the sign much when he needs to go.  I have to read other clues (taking off the diaper, hopping off my lap, suddenly getting still, grunting).

Notes from Stephan:

Says “ma” while holding a fist to his mouth for “mommy milk.”  Says “please” (psh).  Climbs up on chairs and then tables and beyond . . .

When it’s time for the Bible readings and prayer he becomes very excited, holds his hands in the air and says “maaaay!!!!” for “Praise the Lord.”

He blows kisses.

He loves to pick up the pot after going and walk it to the bathroom himself.  This is a dangerous affair, but he often makes it there without spilling and then dumps it in the toilet as well.  

My notes aren’t so well organized and I missed several events in the past month or so, guests over, family outings, and other good times.  We are so thankful for the close friends and family we have here and for their love and support.

22^nd: Joseph says “ma” along with his perfect sign for “more.”  Cracker is “kaka”

25^th: We went to the library and the toy library today.  Joseph loved both.  We came home with a Fisher Price workbench for 2-Fr for a 4-week loan.  I think toy libraries are a great idea.  Do we have them in the states?  Or are people too afraid of germs?

26^th: Joseph says pear, plum, wolf, and can name all the farm animals/pictures on his memory cloth cards (rooster, hen, house, tractor, pig, sheep, cow, dog, cat, goose, etc.).  I can tell which memory card he is holding based on what he says, but it took some time.  I doubt anyone else (besides Stephan) could get more than a few.  He signs and says bread, but it can also mean peanut butter.  He signs help, play, potty (but he doesn’t use it enough!), and banana, to name a few – it’s getting hard to keep up!

-Mom sent me the bear that she gave me when I went off to college.  She re-loaded it with hugs and Joseph knows it.  Now when he wants a little Mommy time he brings the bear to me and we sit down and take turns hugging the bear and having a group hug.  He also comes to me for kisses if he’s fallen and hurt himself.  I know have the magic kiss!  (And so does Stephan.)  We only got the bear yesterday, but already today when Joseph was particularly upset about a bump and taking longer to calm down I asked if he wanted to go get his teddy and have some hugs.  He stopped crying, went to the other room (sniffling) and brought the bear back for hugs.  I asked him once and in a very normal tone of voice and speed.  It is amazing what he understands.  It’s time to stop thinking we can talk about all kinds of things in front of him and assume he doesn’t understand!

13^th: Joseph has two 2-year molars breaking through. 

-He moves his index finger (right hand) back and forth and hisses at the back of his tongue to sign that he wants to brush his teeth, which he has to do every morning when Mommy brushes hers.  We brush his teeth with paste every night, but maybe he knows better.  In any case, he now gets it twice a day, once with and once without paste.

-We took a walk wearing no diaper and split pants we got from China (curtsey of Stephan’s coworker).  Well, I wore normal pants, but I also didn’t pee in on the sidewalk.  It was embarrassing.  He didn’t give me any sign, just started peeing after we’d come up out of the underground passage that goes under Seetalstrasse.  At least he didn’t pee in the tunnel!  Split pants work, though . . .

That was Joseph’s first time crossing under and over the street.  I let him go where he pleased, with proper traffic instructions, of course.  He had a grand time!

-Joseph knows the names of all the farm characters on the cloth memory set that Gotte Diana gave him.  He can say something similar for all of them, but when asked, he can find whatever you ask for.  We did get a video!  Up in the usual places (though most of you have seen this already).

-Joseph makes a beautiful sign for food now – it’s exactly right!

-I like to take Joseph for walks where he’s free to roam (off the main street).  Once we took a 1 ½ hour long walk and he walked the whole way!  (I’m too pregnant to carry him far.)  He needed some coaxing and encouragement to make it home, but he did it!

16^th: Joseph says “bushi” (which means baby in Basel German) when pointing to my belly.  He says “I’m a whale” which is a line from one of his books.  He points at one of the German library books and says “bagger” which sounds a bit like “kaka” but it’s clear what he wants (it’s a construction book).  She says “shoes” and “socks” which sound like “shish” and a short “ah” respectively.  The first thing he does when he comes out of the bedroom is go directly for his shoes saying “shish” and asks me to put them on.  He wares them all day and would go to bed with them if he could.

17^th: Joseph adds “tongue” and “baby” to his vocabulary.  Baby is particular clear.

-Joseph is a fish!  He’s been jumping off the side (from sitting) and into the water for a while without trouble now and I’ve started guiding him to the steps (underwater) and letting him crawl out.  He does well and asks for it frequently.  Soon I’ll try letting go a little before his hands reach the steps so he has to swim a bit to get there.  He can run all around the baby pool and does well when he falls.  He can do the slide by himself (belly down, feet first) and stop himself before his head goes under water.  Today he walked up the slide holding on to the edge and fell and ended up on his back.  His face was still out of the water, so I let him struggle a bit.  Unfortunately at one point in the struggle his face went in and he got a big breath of water.  Usually he recovers quite quickly, but this time I almost started to panic, but before it even looked like he was back to normal breathing he was back at walking up the slide again!  He has no fear!  That’s good – and bad.  I’m happy he loves the water and doesn’t freak out when he gets some water, but shouldn’t he learn his lesson?  I learned once again that often his cries are not over the accident, they’re over his purposes being frustrated  - so he wants to try again!

18^th: Joseph signs “please” now (both hands brush against his tummy sideways), which is lovely before he’s started saying “na na” for “yes please” and it sounds awfully close to “nei nei” which means no.  If I’m not sure what he wants and say “If you want it please say ‘yes please Mama’” and he says “na na” I then tell him that sounds like “no” and to please say “yes please” at which point he’ll either do the real sign for “please” or his old sign (hands clapping, or index to palm).  This is a great improvement to thinking he’s said no and then getting cries of frustration when we don’t give him what he’s thought he’s said “yes” to!!

-Today after I Swish+Swiped the bathroom Joseph tore off a bit of toilet paper and rubbed the toilet seat and lid before tossing it in the toilet – just like Mommy does!

-New trick found!  If he doesn’t want to eat (why doesn’t he want to eat?) if we give him a fork to eat with suddenly all his food becomes edible.  He loves every kind of food, the trouble is, it varies on the day, so I have no idea what he’ll eat at any given time.  He favorite food one day is detestable the next, the food he spurns today he’ll gulp down tomorrow.  What’s up with that?!

-We still do our Bible readings mostly consistently after lunch, which is when the BCP has us read part of Psalm 113 to start.  We’ll tell him we’re about to praise the Lord now and he’ll come to sit in our laps and will put his hands in the air saying “praise the Lord!” (I can’t transliterate yet).  Every time in Psalm 113 we say the word “praise” I raise his arms enthusiastically.  Sometimes he does it on his own.  In any case – he loves it!

-His favorite bedtime book is “Goodnight Moon” and when we talk about the “quiet old lady who was whispering ‘hush’” he always turns around and puts his face close to mine (since I always whisper the ‘hush’ close to his face).  Tonight Daddy was reading the story to us and when the time came Joseph sat up and put his face nice to his and a burp came out!  We’re no good at controlling our laughter, but Stephan’s much better than I am!  I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve – I think I’ll have to adopt Barbara’s “Just because I’m laughing doesn’t mean I think it’s funny” line.

19^th: Joseph likes to carry his potty to the toilet to dump it out.  This makes me nervous, but he’ll have to learn sometime!

-It’s been mentioned on the videos, but Joseph loves “In the Night Kitchen” in German (we only have it in German).  He has three favorite phrases from it that he says over and over throughout the day.  Picture teenagers quoting moving lines to each other – he loves quoting with us!  He goes “aaaaaahhh” for “Ruhe da unten” and “ti ki tiii” for “kikerikii” (rooster crow) and “mi, mi, mi, mi, mimmhhh” for “Milch, Milch, Milch für den Kuchenteig.”

-EC is hit or miss.  He doesn’t say when he needs to pee or poo we just have a good clue when he needs to poo and some clue if he needs to pee and we’re paying attention.  He does sometimes say he needs to go (and we can tell) but often it’s as he’s going or just after.  Anyway, I hope to be more consistent with the new baby and see things don’t go better.  Still, we’re glad for what we’ve done.  Wouldn’t it be lovely if he got the idea down before the baby came . . . ?

-Today after swimming he tripped when walking to the stone stairs and bust his lip on the lower step, poor thing.  After some blood and tears all was better again.

-I can’t keep up!  He fills in the last word “hot” in his Monet book “This garden has a shady spot for reading books when the day is . . .”  He says “apple” in the right place for “The Hungry Caterpillar” and he’s making other connections.  I think that’s why he’s started asking for the same book over and over again . . .

-The alphabet song doesn’t have anything to do with letters to him.  He loves the alphabet sign book PJS gave him and once each Stephan and I tried to sing the song while doing the signs.  He got a very serious look on his face – to him, that song means he has to stop what he’s doing soon and do what we want him to!

28^th: I realize that Joseph signs “train” and “siren.”  Both come from the “Baby’s First Noise” book that Grossmutti gave him (and where “airplane” was learned).  I wonder how many other signs he does that I haven’t recognized yet.  I wonder with words as well.  My observation skills are lacking and I don’t know how to train them!

7^th: Joseph consistently says “may” with a short vowel (rhymes with “re”) for “mommy milk.”  That’s a good word to have!  He’s walking more and more and while he still crawls, he will mostly choose to stand up and walk somewhere rather than crawl.  He knows most of his face parts and likes to point to them on himself or me when I name them.  He says “eye” fairly well.  When I show him bits he always tries to say the last one I’ve shown.  It’s so cute!  Try “California” or “ring-tailed lemur” with a 15mos old tongue! 

10^th: Joseph goes from sitting to standing with a shoe in each hand (one knee to standing without support).  Joseph still LOVES books.  The main reason why he fusses in the day is because he wants me to start reading or doesn’t want to stop reading.  I now have a spot on the couch where I sit and when I sit there he can bring me books to read.  He scrambles off my lap the moment a story is finished and rushes to find another one.  Then he brings it to me with the quick in-out breathing of one very excited little boy!

He says “wow” when he’s peed on the pot – in imitation of my enthusiasm, of course.  He walks to the bathroom, lifts the lid, flushes (he can reach on his own now) and lower the lid softly.  He still doesn’t tell us often when he needs to go – or we haven’t figure it out yet.  Today (12^th) he said “banana” for pot, but because he used the same word as banana and the bananas hang on the same bit of furniture the pot is (don’t ask) I didn’t realize he wanted the pot until – well, you know.

On the 8^th we finally found shoes that will fit his feet.  It’s getting cold and wet here and even I won’t let him out barefoot.  They’re pink, but he loves them anyway.  Two days later as we’re getting ready to go out and I don’t know where his shoes are I ask him to go find them for me.  To my surprise (why does it still surprise me how smart kids are?!) he remembered that in the morning he’d been playing with them and had brought them into the office.  He looked at me and thought a bit, then marched right into the office and picked up a shoe and brought it to me!

He knows “belly-button” in German.  I was reading the body-parts book to him and when we got to the belly-button he lifted up his shirt and stuck his finger in his belly button!  Daddy’s around enough for him to know a good bit of German!  Stephan reports he knows “eye” in German as well, but he knows plenty more than that!

12^th: Last night Joseph slept from 8:30pm to 6am without needing anything: no songs, no breast, no nothing.  Wow!  I woke up plenty, but how nice to just worry about myself!

Today we had another swimming date with birthday-buddy A.  Joseph became positively hyper, kicking and moving his arms in the big pool and then exploring all over the kiddy pool.  He’s getting good about keeping his head above water when he falls from standing and then getting back up again.  It’s hard to watch him and know the right amount of intervention.  Often he can fall and even have his face get submerged without any trouble.  But sometimes he doesn’t hold his breath in time.  He’s still alive so far . . .

I can’t keep up with all the new things he can and does do.  He’s really taking off!  It’s such a pleasure to be his mommy.  We’re still learning about “no” and obeying, but he has made so much progress!  When we go for walks and he walks down the wrong path I can call him back again and he obeys – not without some hesitation, but I’m pleased that he often makes the decision to obey.  It must be such a struggle between doing what he wants and choosing to listen to Mama.  If he needs a little time to make that decision, I’m happy for him to have it when it’s not critical, and he can tell by my voice when it’s really dangerous.  I think I’m okay with the idea that learning to obey immediately  comes gradually and can be better enforced with an older understanding.  It’s funny, though.  Whether he behaves well in public or poorly I’m frustrated that it’s not a true representation!  We had coffee at our pastor’s house the other day and Joseph obeyed us right away when we asked him to shut the drawer he’d discovered.  He shut it and went to something else and the pastor and his wife were very impressed.  Stephan and I were quick to point out that that doesn’t always happen that way . . .

15^th: I had to pick another corn from the garden because the stalk had blown over.  This time is was nearly ripe and Joseph and I quite enjoyed it!  (Unfortunately, Stephan was out of town so he didn’t get a taste).

Joseph can now push two duplos together (with a bit of luck).

16^th: Joseph deliberately practiced standing up from sitting on the ground without pulling up on anything.  It was fascinating to see him thoughtfully experiment and then celebrate his accomplishments!  And now, just a few days later, he’s fine squatting to get a toy and then stand back up with it without help, or to get back up into walking after having fallen.

17^th: Joseph loves to look through his books and read to himself when he can’t convince anyone else to read to him.  Today he was looking through “Neighborhood Animals” that DA gave us with one animal per page spread and he very clearly read (or knew from the picture) dog, cat, duck, bird, and then less clearly some others.  They sounded like “da, ta, duh, bir” more or less.  It shouldn’t astound me, but it does!

19^th: Today I showed him how to throw something away in the kitchen trash.  A few hours later he found a speck of something on the ground, picked it up, walked over to the trash, which is under the sink, opened the door, threw the trash out and shut the door.  I was so proud of him, and the speck of whatever was too small to worry about that fact that he didn’t manage to get it all the way in the trash can . . .

He started asking for the names of things by pointing to them then after I name them he tries to say the word.  That usually lasts a few times and then it sounds like he starts saying nonsense.  I wonder if he’s trying to say “Mom, this is how I say it. Say it after me!” or something else entirely.  There are a number of times where I realize he was clearly saying something to me, but only after the fact.

He gives sweet kisses (that aren’t bites!) on request, though he doesn’t always give it to the person you name, it’s very sweet nonetheless!

Sept 3: We went to a bike fair and got a new bike for me.  Mine had lots of problems and it couldn’t carry the kid trailer, so I’ve not been biking much at all.  It’s so much better shopping with someone!

Sept 5: Joseph knows the Lord’s prayer (English) and also the sentence that Stephan usually puts at the end of his meal-time prayers (Swiss German).  He loves to jump in with “amen” just after the last word and before we say amen.  He is so proud of himself!

Sept 6: I had the ultra sounds for Baby #2.  Joseph didn’t like the doctor messing with my belly, but the doc was still able to determine that everything looks normal.

Sept 9: Joseph has rediscovered bits and asks for them a lot.  His favorite is still family, but he also likes to laugh at Mommy when she stumbles over an addition problem.

Sept 10:  I went to the Frauen Frühstück (lady’s breakfast) in Emmen (serving the greater Lucerne area).  I understood much of the talk, but I’m afraid if there was something profound I missed it.  That’s the trouble with where my language is.  I can follow along just find until something subtle is said, and then it’s lost on me.  Plus I’m still adjusting to the new dialects I hear here.  I was actually comfortable all alone in that new environment, but I still find it more awkward than restorative.  I’ve also been rethinking how I want to invest socially.  What’s the purpose of knowing people?  How many people can we realistically know?  What does “know” mean?  Are there as many answers to those questions as there are people?  This is a bullet update, so you’re spared any more on the topic.

In the afternoon we went to Swiss Steel’s Family Day and enjoyed food, pony rides (too scary), carrousel rides (a bit hit), and watching the big steel sorter crane operate.  Later in the afternoon we had a visit from Schola friend Nate, which is great.  He had a gig nearby and looked us up.  It was a pleasure!

Sept 11: We commemorated by celebrating life, love, and family.  Joseph spend the day with his grandparents and Aunt C and we picked up the filing cabinet we’d bought off ebay and then went to a wellness center (Sole Uno) for two hours.  I’d always wanted to try it, but it was super lovely to just enjoy some relaxing time with my husband.  That was babymoon #1 (we didn’t have one with Joseph).  Talk about a win-win situation!  Joseph loves being with his grandparents and they love him.  We are blessed.

Sept 14: Joseph has known for a while what “gentle” means and will softly stroke whatever it is with an open hand when you admonish him to be gentle.  He adores books and I’m trying to encourage that love without encouraging the whining that comes whenever we stop reading.  He reads the stories to himself as well and has certain intonations and expressions while reading certain books because he knows their stories.  I find it just too adorable.  DSTB might appreciate that he says “mama, mama, mama” when reading the Owl Babie’s book and he alternates soft babbling with loud babbling when reading the Big Hungry Bear (it follows “boom, boom, boom, the bear with tromp through the forest . . .” which I always read suddenly louder).  Those are two of his favorites.  Thanks for sharing with us what was special to your children!

Joseph signs “rain” and says “banana” though it sounds more like “min aye.”

Two girl friends from Basel (S+V) came for dinner while Stephan was out on a business trip so we had some girl time!

Sept 15: Joseph can notice that something rolls under the couch, then crouch down to look for it and flatten himself out so he can reach for it.  I would never have realized that those skills took such time to develop!

This morning Joseph got two more shots, poor guy, these hurt this time.

And the big news for me: Joseph is sleeping through the night now!  Since vacation he’s been getting better and now he often sleeps from 8ish to 5:30 without waking, and if he does wake he doesn’t need to nurse, he can be lulled back to sleep with singing.  This is so wonderful for me, though hard for Stephan because nursing didn’t wake him up but singing does, especially since he usually sings along.  Sleep is amazing.  I can be in bed for 7 hours and feel refreshed because the only baby waking me up is the new one resting on my bladder!

And I just discovered that Joseph can line up and close a buckle – the kind that you push in and pinch out like what’s often on backpack waste straps and the like.

Dates are not always accurate, as in some of the things Joseph started doing well before I finally wrote them down, but they’re not more than a month or so off.

Aug 16: Joseph points to things he wants and then asks for them politely by signing his “please/I want/yes/etc.” sign of clapping his hands.  Is that his first sentence?  This was also the first day back from vacation and we went right back into EC and had no misses (just one in his diaper after his nap).  The following days weren’t so good, but he hasn’t forgotten everything.

Aug 23^:  Joseph is in an annoying phase that shows his understanding of the forbidden.  When he does something he’s not supposed to he says “nei, nei, nei” (German “nein” for no).  On the one hand, it gives me a clue if I’m in another room that he’s doing something naughty, but on he other, he still does the thing he’s not supposed to!  Yet phases come and go quickly, now (Sept. 4) he is much better at obeying my vocal commands, though he still needs constant reminders.  Funny how just a few months ago it seemed impossible to teach him to obey.  Something worked, maybe!

Joseph has added a number of signs and words to his vocabulary.  His sign for cheese (he’s a Swiss boy!) is to rub his palms together in the direction of his fingers back and forth, which is not far from the real sign, which is more of a twisting motion.  He makes a tired sigh and places his hands on the sides of his head to say “nap, bedtime, sleep, etc.”  It’s so cute.  He signs a sort of “finished/play” sign when he is done eating and wants to get out of his highchair.  This is nice because he doesn’t do as much standing up in his chair as before and we can tell him to sit down and tell us if he wants to get out of his chair.  He sort of signs read, but it’s not so clear.  Sometimes it’s like his clapping (which is sometimes a finger pointing to his palm rather than clapping) and the sign for cheese one after the other, which looks a bit like “read book” but it’s not consistent.  What is consistent is that he always wants us to read him books when he’s on the potty.

Spoken words are still behind, but he now says amen after we pray.  It sounds like “may may” most of the time.  It’s SO cute!

Aug 26: Joseph climbed in and out of his stroller.  He’s now quite good at it and is getting rather bold with his adventures.  He loves being out of the apartment and climbing around on the stairs or in the gravel out front.  Often I can read a book while he does this but he can never get enough of it, asking to go outside almost as soon as we come in from being outside for a long while.

He’s walking more and more, but he’s still quite cautious about it.  He waves “hi” and “bye.”

Aug 29: He’s gotten more snuggly with age, which I must say I appreciate.  He’ll rest his head on my shoulder and give us hugs.  It was hard caring for him so much and getting so little physically affection, so I am very much enjoying this stage where he’s happy to just sit in my lap for a few minutes.

Aug 31:  At the end of our family Bible reading today Joseph said “amen” with us and it was so cute that Stephan wanted to hear it again so he said “And all God’s people said . . .” (we used to do this in middle school, the answer was supposed to be “hush” and it was to get our attention – it worked) and without skipping a beat Joseph said “minyum minyum!”  I don’t know if I’ve written it, but it has long been his word for food.

In the other news, I brought back a dairy making kit from the states and I’ve been having fun experimenting with different products.  I’ve made butter and butter milk, yogurt, lemon cheese, sour cream, and mascarpone with moderate success and so far only the cream cheese and the kefir has been a flop.  It’s somehow very fun and satisfying to make staples like butter and yogurt yourself.

Saturday, July 23rd

Stephan wanted to start packing the week before we left.  It seemed to early for me.  I wasn’t ready.  I had some projects I wanted to finish first and was still compiling lists of what to bring, but we used all Saturday to pack and it was a brilliant idea.  It took longer to pack than expected, as usual, but then we had a week to finish up.  In the end, the night before we left the house was spotless and the neatest it’s been since moving (even the fridge was wiped down!), we were all packed and ready and it was early enough to enjoy a little time together before going to bed.  It was such a wonderful feeling!

Flights with a one-year-old were not easy, but Joseph was as good as anyone could have hoped for.  It took forever for him to fall asleep on the long-haul flight and I ended up sleeping at the foot of my seat because he was sleeping in my seat.  Needless to say, it wasn’t a resful trip, but we arrived savely and on time in Orlando Saturday night and enjoyed an Outback meal with Grandma and Dad-o before unloading our stuff and crashing to bed.

Sunday, July 24^th

We had a full day planned with church, croissants, shopping at Penzey’s, grocery shopping (yippy!) and friends over for dinner.  It was a lovely first day!

Monday and Tuesday, July 25^th+26^th

I buckled down to work tearing through all the stuff in my room in hopes of eliminating a lot of the junk that Mom and Dad have been holding onto for me.  We also managed to fit a few hours of errands in each day as well, plus I got a haircut (US rates!).  Stephan and Grandma entertained Joseph freeing me to work, and though it was tiring, we were all impressed with what I was able to get done.  I went through all of my stuff and marked 1/3 to ½ of it for disposal/donation.  Later Mom reminded me that they hadn’t gotten down the stuff in the attic . . .  We’ll have to go again, but this was a major hurdle accomplished.

Wednesday – Friday , July 27^th-29^th

Still a bit worn out from travel, we got in the car with Mom and Dad for the three day drive to the Maggie P. where we’d have our main vacation.  Joseph did incredibly well in the car considering how much he used to hate car seats and how unused to car travel that he is.  It was work for me and Grandma, but we made good time each day.  The first night we were in a hotel, the second we spent with NMKB, making sure to play double sol and eat great food (the eat good food part lasted all trip – yum!).  On Joseph’s 13-month birthday he decided to walk with a purpose!  Before then he’d only done a few steps and didn’t seem so interested, but this time he purposefully walked from person to person – still only a few steps or more, but it was purposeful!

Friday, July 29- Monday, August 8^th

We spent a lovely week and a bit at the Maggie P. enjoying beautiful weather for the most part and plenty of great company.  Joseph adores his cousins, especially the closer in age they are to him.  One day they took a day trip and he was depressed all morning, sitting in the sand but not moving – he was so sad his playmates had suddenly disappeared!  He didn’t seem to have stranger anxiety at all and took only a little time to warm up to people.  Joseph went for a first sail with Uncle Jon and Stephan.  We played games and ate good food and had such a wonderful time I didn’t make notes in my planner.  Pictures are up in the usual place.  It was so wonderful to be back at home with family.  The move to Emmen has been harder on me than I had expected, and I’ve really been feeling like a foreigner and a stranger, misunderstood and insignificant.  How wonderful it was to be around people who know me and love me, focusing on my strengths and being gracious with my weaknesses.  I miss you all so much!

Monday-Friday, August 8^th-12^th

The long trip back to Orlando.  Mom and Dad flew home and generously left us their car so we could make a longer trip back down the coast visiting with more friends and relatives.  We had another nice time with NMKB and got to visit with the T’s.  We spent the 9^th in DC visiting with a number of friends from various stages of life for both of us.  We spent the night with friend’s I’d known since birth!  It’s funny how many of them ended up in DC!  Most of the folks we’d seen the last visit, but this time I met up with a friend from middle school, KT.  Our children are of similar age and it was great to see her again!

The next day we had a long drive to Summerville, where Stephan’s relatives are.  We made it in time to enjoy Great Grandma W’s pool before dinner.  Joseph loved it!  It was the perfect temperature for him and he had a blast practicing everything he learned at the Maggie P., mainly swimming underwater between Mom and Dad which he asked to do over and over again.  He also started jumping off the pool edge from a seated position while holding onto my thumbs and getting submerged before I pulled him up.  It was very exciting for me that he reached this step.  Though we’ve been going to the pool regularly I haven’t seen much progress, so I was thrilled that he did so much at the Maggie P.!

We spent the whole next day in Summerville and visited Great-Grandpa W’s grave with Great-Grandma.  We had dinner at Sticky Fingers with the whole crew and very much enjoyed our time there.

Friday we drove to Orlando and were very grateful that we had no major car trouble the whole trip.  We got back in the afternoon so there was time for more cleaning-up, packing, swimming in the pool, and a good dinner before trying to get some rest before more long hours of traveling.  We left the house at 5:30am the next morning and didn’t get back to Emmen until the following day in the afternoon.  We were very grateful to have Grossvater and Grossmutti waiting with their car for us at the Zurich airport.  By some miracle we fit all five of us plus five bags and carry-ons into their 5-seater car.  I very much enjoyed coming home to a clean house, though it was soon a mess again of stuff, but imagine what it would have been like if it was already a mess from before!

Thanks to everyone for making it a great trip!  We love and miss you all!

July 20^th Joseph stopped his play, looked out the window, blew a raspberry (tongue fluttering between lips) and waved his hand across his face just like I do when I sign “airplane” only he used an open hand.  It was clear what he meant!  He’s since used it a number of times and to show off.

I also had my first midwife appointment for the new baby.  We hear his heartbeat.  So amazing.

July 21^st I saw Joseph do all the triggers for the pop-up toy.  He may have done them before but I didn’t see (turn, push, rock, and slide).  I got five hours of sleep uninterrupted that night.  Sleep is amazing.

July 22^nd Joseph walked up 1 ½ flights of stairs sideways holding on to the railing support bars.

Sorry it’s been over a month since I’ve blogged.  Needless to say, it’s been busy.

June 15^th: Our little boy has turned into quite a climber.  He climbed onto our blue couches all by himself.  He is an able climber, and I might say a good deal less cautious than he is when standing, especially if you’re holding him.  It’s as though he knows you’ll keep him safe so he can push of whatever footholds his little feet find.  He also just loves to watch me brush my teeth.  He thinks it’s so funny.  Thankfully he doesn’t mind it when we brush his either.

June 23^rd : Climbing with a vengeance all over the beds and every bit of furniture he can reach.

June 26^th: Joseph started to stack blocks on top of each other and often successfully, though with the flattest side of the blocks.  He’s started to help me put away his toys when asked.  He’s gotten better and better, though he still gets distracted sometimes and wants to play more rather than just put things away.

June 27^th I gave Joseph his first hair cut.  It was so long over his ears and at the back of his head.  I was cautious, so I didn’t do too much, but it still looks funny over his ears.  I had him watch Pimsleur DVD’s but he still got annoyed with me messing with his head for so long.  Hopefully I’ll get better each time!  Today he was willing to stand alone for me if I was right there to catch him.  How exciting!  I thought maybe he’d walk on his birthday, haha . . .

June 28^th Joseph turned one year old.  We had a special family day where I took him to the pool and let him do whatever he wanted and stay as long as he wanted and in the evening we all went to the park.  In the afternoon we went to a friend’s birthday party who was born on the same day he was!  When he first arrived he planted him a tackle kiss!  The 1-year-olds had fun together and also with the older children.  He loved having all that attention and was in a great mood.  I should make a mental note that when he’s given enough attention he’s calm and happy . . .

June 29^th I wanted to make up for not getting much work done the day before because I was focusing on Joseph and it was a bad day for him!  From so much attention to so little, poor guy.

June 30^th We went to the new doctor in Emmen and praise God I am quite comfortable with her.  Finding pediatricians in the Luzern area is difficult because there aren’t enough.  Joseph got a clean bill of health weighing in at 10.6Kg, 75cm.  He’s only gained 1.35Kg since he was 6 months (that’s about 3 pounds).  He still has chunky legs and arms, but looks rather trim, especially in his birthday suit compared to what he used to be like.  Joseph was able to put small beads into a small-necked bottle, which I hadn’t tried him on before.  He transferred on bead from his left hand to his right and put all the beads in with his right hand.  He always throws balls with his right hand, too.  He did well taking the MMR shot.  In general he didn’t do what the doctor wanted him to right away, he was always interested in his own play.  Instead of pushing the car back and forth (which he’s done from a few months of age with his musical car) he was more interested in putting the little person in and out of the car.  It took a while before he banged two objects together when she asked, even though he’s done that for a while, too.  He can do a lot, but he does what he wants!

July 1^st we had a family birthday party for Joseph.  I set the timer and had names in a hat so that each person got 10 minutes of focused time with Joseph.  It worked well and Joseph loved it!  He enjoyed opening his presents and making a mess of his corn bread cake.  I hadn’t thought that it’s worth doing much for a 1^st birthday, but it was good for us all to mark the event and enjoy him.  I’m glad we did and I’m glad we have some family nearby to celebrate with us!

July 3^rd Joseph took three steps alone toward me!  Later that day he did 6, but that hasn’t been repeated.  Mommy and Daddy are more interested in him walking than he is!

July 6^th Joseph uses the word “hot” frequently and for a few things: hot things, forbidden things, things that have been hot in the past (left over potatoes from the fridge).  He’s good at letting his food cool before touching and eating it.  And speaking of eating, he loves it, especially veggies and fruit . . .

July 14^th I first noticed that he can catch a ball that I’ve thrown to him such that it bounces at the floor near him and back up in the air where he catches it.  I find that quite impressive!  He can do it often, though not all the time.  There’s a video of it now, but you’ll have to wait because Daddy just posted a bunch.

In the family news we’ve had US guests, a wedding where we both had important roles, another wedding where we could just enjoy it.  Joseph found himself on a grassy gentle slope but was too cautious to crawl down it – he scooted backward the whole way as he would going down stairs!  The garden has turned into a jungle.  I harvested a ton of weeds this weekend.  There wasn’t a trace of lettuce, carrots, zucchini, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, or onion.  I had thought all the sprouts looked alike so I was afraid to weed until I could tell, hence the forest.  It turns out they all looked alike because they were all weeds . . .  The corn grew well from seed and is doing fine.  We had a hail storm before I put up stakes for my transplanted tomatoes, but I tried to save them, we’ll see!