Oct. 27th: 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.
29th: 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!
31st: 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. 3rd: 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.
4th: 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?
7th: 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.”
9th: 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!
10th: 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.)
12th: We visited D+A S. It was a great pleasure, but oh, how a new place is so tempting for a toddler to explore!
13th: Joseph walked down three steps without holding on to anything.
14th: 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!
15th: 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.
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 24th
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 25th+26th
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 27th-29th
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 8th
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 8th-12th
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 9th 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!
Sorry it’s been over a month since I’ve blogged. Needless to say, it’s been busy.
June 15th: 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 23rd : Climbing with a vengeance all over the beds and every bit of furniture he can reach.
June 26th: 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 27th 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 28th 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 29th 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 30th 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 1st 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 1st 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 3rd 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 6th 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 14th 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!
Some days everything seems to go wrong and other days everything seems to line up. Most days are a bit in between, but here is an account of one day to give you (and my future self) a glimpse into daily life here in our new home in Emmen.
6am Stephan’s alarm goes off. I’m already awake because Joseph needed a snack. He just want back to sleep so I do too.
6:15am get up and follow my morning routine:
Get dressed. Do a quick sweep of the floors. Process my physical inbox for five minutes. Water the plants. See the chives, marjoram and tomato grow!!!
10 minutes of “nesting” or making the house a bit nicer than it was the day before, today I wiped the coffee table, de-cluttered the window sill and arranged the candles there, found a home for some oversized sheet music that had been sitting around since the move, etc.
6:45am Joseph wakes up. I drop what I’m doing (nesting) and greet him. He pees on the potty. We dump it in the toilet together and play a little. I get us breakfast. Today he ate two little slices of bread and three scoops of yogurt. I had toast. I wipe up the high chair and table and notice Joseph grunting so I put him on the pot. Success! For some reason he also grunts before having to pee. We take care of the pee, say goodbye to Daddy as he goes off to work, I do the dishes and we play a little together and nurse (I don’t remember how often we play and nurse but it’s here and there and whenever). I finish my morning routine:
Open all windows to air out apartment (so humidity doesn’t get high enough for mold to continue to grow)
“Swish and Swipe” bathroom (wipe surfaces and toilet, brush toilet bowl) – 4min
8:30ish I start to work on my “important daily cards” where I alternate 10 or so minutes on a task with 10 or so minutes of focused play with Joseph. This morning practice was first up so I got out my harp and worked on adjusting the bray pins until Joseph crawled over to me and I gave him a little harp lesson. He loves the harp. I’m trying to teach him to be gentle. He actually seems to have learned a bit how to be gentle and has a better plucking technique than he did before. It used to be the “grab five strings and pull with all your might never releasing the fingers” and now it’s “grab one to three strings and pull sometimes releasing the fingers and making a nice sound.” I call the improvement, especially since he’s only had three lessons. What a smart kid! I tell him he can’t bother me while I’m practicing (it’s only 10 minutes!) and he listens until I’m almost done then when he comes to grab the strings while I’m doing a run-through of a piece I tell him “no” while I’m playing (that takes brain power!) and he starts crying. Fortunately I’m at the end of my practice session and we can make up. Total time the harp is out: 15 minutes. Not up to conservatory standards but I’ve learned how to make the most of the minutes I have.
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The best news of the week is the arrival of two babies, but that’s not my news to share so I’ll write about our move.
On January 29th our thinking changed and instead of planning to moving in the summer to Lucerne for Stephan’s new job with Swiss Steel we decided to move in March.
On the 31st we handed in our notice that we were leaving our current apartment.
On February 3rd we started visiting apartments in the Lucerne area and the next day we visited the place that would become ours. We visited it again on the 7th and signed the contract for it on the 10th.
The move is scheduled for March 1st and 2nd and we fly to Ireland for a friend’s wedding on the 5th. Life is just a little crazy with so much happening so quickly and a little one still needing love and attention, but we hope the earlier move will mean a peaceful household sooner rather than later! It’s been a little stressful, but we had a wonderful weekend off at BCF’s annual winter retreat in Lungern February 18-20. Joseph was at a great age for the trip since he could crawl around and discover the world inside without feeling cooped up. He was very social, staying up until 10 or 11 and then sleeping in until 8 or 9!
Joseph also likes to play “peek-a-boo” and can lift an object in front of his own face to play it. His favorite way to play it is to hide behind something, or to be standing behind something so he can duck his head a little and then peek back over the edge. We have a cute video of him playing this with his Daddy in Swiss German. Videos will come, but Daddy’s trying to pack for the move, too . . .
Saturday was a long day, but Joseph did tremendously well. I did the baby swim course with him this time as Stephan still had a cough. It’s so much fun and also very nice to be in the warm water. This time Joseph stayed awake and active the whole class. He was very active “swimming” after objects in the pool. He’s really just trying to crawl, and he’s hard to hang on to, but I tried to encourage him by moving him faster when he moved his arms and legs. Next week is the last class. I’m not sure how much he’s learned, but it’s been fun doing it anyway.
After lunch we drove out to visit some of Stephan’s old university friends in Bremgarten. Joseph slept almost the whole two hour drive. We enjoyed the time and Joseph tasted his first snow. He seemed pleased enough. We couldn’t stay too long because Diana was hosting her annual Thanksgiving pot luck and I didn’t want to miss it. Joseph was a champ and slept again on the drive. We’re spoiled. At one point we drove past Etinhard. Stephan said that’s what we’re about to do . . .
Though we arrived only in time for dessert desert they had saved each of us a plate of dinner. Yum, yum! Joseph started to get a little tired, but he did well enough being with people and crawling around.
Sunday some friends from church showed me how African moms carry their babies on their backs. It’s simple, so a bit scary (no knots, just tucks!) but it gave me the currage to try the Moby wrap on my back though the instructions say not to do it before 12 months. Joseph liked it and I got SO much more done! I even vacuumed with him in it. I’ve yet to get totally comfortable with it and Joseph needs time to adjust as well, but it is so much more practical to carry him on the back than the front and I’m excited to get better.
One funny anectdote: Stephan was holding Joseph while we were eating dinner when Joseph neatly grabbed the napkin in front of him, brough it to his mouth and spit up – catching all of it on the napkin. It looked for all the world like it was politely on purpose.
Yesterday our family headed out to the Birsmatte farm where we have our vegetable co-op to fulfill our obligation of labor in exchange for cheaper veggies. We didn’t plan much how we’d work and take care of Joseph at the same time, and I think it was better that way. We just went with the flow. I think I would have been intimidated by the thought of nursing Joseph while squatting in the fields or wielding a hoe while carrying Joseph on my chest, but it all seemed to work out when it had to. At first we parked him by the well-traveled path and went into the fields almost out of ear-shot. That might have worried the strongest Free-Range Kid mom and I wasn’t so happy with it myself. We ended up carrying the stroller to the middle of the field where we were better able to check on him. After a bit he wasn’t happy and we tried putting him on my back with the wrap, but he didn’t like that much and it made the work tougher for me. Though he was tired he wouldn’t sleep so I finally put in him the wrap (in front) knowing he would sleep, which he did almost immediately. I figured out how to hoe standing straight up and squatting instead of bending to pick the weeks closer to the fennel. We actually quite enjoyed the work and finished three rows of fennel from 10am to 12:40. We were quite tired and hungry at that point and contemplated getting MacDonald’s down the road, but decided that would be too ironic given that we’d just worked on an organic farm and had organic vegetables at home that needed to be eaten.
I feel very unpoetic, but I haven’t been getting loads of sleep, so this will have to do.
The past two weekends our family has gone to France for rehearsals for my gig this Saturday. We haven’t seen much of Strasbourg as we arrive and leave right on the edges of the four hour rehearsals. While it hasn’t been easy, it’s worked better than I had thought it would. Daddy and Joseph usually did well without me and I was able to focus on my work. It’s nice to play and it’s nice to have at least one paying gig after three years of such a random study. The group is very nice and a pleasure to play with. After four hours I’m ready to be back to being a full-time mommy. I wouldn’t want to be away for much longer than that.
Otherwise life continues in a somewhat normal fashion. Well, the house hasn’t been cleaned in a few weeks and it’s starting to drive me nuts, and I haven’t been able to fit any runs in, but I suppose there’s a season for everything. ECing has had it’s ups and downs – or should I say catches and misses. It felt like Joseph went on potty strike yesterday as he’d refuse to pee and then go almost as soon as I took him off the potty. Today, however was encouraging because I decided to brave the walk to PEKiP without a diaper – for Joseph, that is. I wasn’t too surprised that both ways he held it in and I didn’t get a drop on me. On the way home he went on the potty as soon as took him out, but when we got to PEKiP he was first of all asleep for a while and then there were too many interesting things to look at to bother peeing in the potty. I’m also a little uncomfortable putting him on the potty while in the group, but I caught one out of three pees and so I count it a success. I’m still not sure what I think of the whole thing. I’ve tried nearly a day without a diaper and it worked rather well but also took more time. I suppose it takes less time as you get used to it, but it’s still nice to just have him in a diaper and not think about it.
Last night the family went indoor rock climbing with church friends. We each got enough climbing in to make us happy and Joseph did a wonderful job being passed around. He is now strong enough to hold on to my thumbs as I pull him from lying onto his back to standing and he takes on more of the work when I lift him up so he’s hanging. In a few years I’m sure he’ll be itching to climb the walls as well! If it weren’t such an expensive hobby, I’d be tempted to do it more than every two years.
I'll leave you with this mini-story. As the ladies of the nursing home where our church meets filed out of their church service I stood with Joseph facing them and they all enjoyed that. Of course I got the usual dose of free opinions and I found it super funny that one lady said "Oh, he has cold hands!" and the very next lady said "Oh, he has such warm hands!" I suppose that should teach me not to take everything everyone tells me too seriously.
This weekend was the best weekend yet with little Joseph. We got to be together as a family the whole weekend and we got lots done and had lots of fun!
We no longer sleep in on Sunday morning for obvious reasons. Joseph is always ready for some entertainment much earlier than we would like, but it has the added benefit of leaving us with lots of time together before church. This time we went up the hill behind our apartment and watched the Basel flight club launch and fly gliders.
We didn’t have time for a ride, though . . .
In the picture below you can see our apartment and the pool I swim in. They almost fly over our place! (More)
