The Genoa Weekend

What a great weekend we had last week!  We decided to be adventurous and do a two night stay in Genoa with Leigh and family, so that Liam and Stirling could go to the aquarium there.  We had heard it was worth seeing, and thought it would be a nice idea for the kids.  There are so many things that could have gone wrong with the trip and somehow nothing did.  We had really easy drives up and down with a maximum travel of 2.5 hours, and our accommodation worked out great.  We stayed in two separate apartments just around the corner from each other and they were rented through the hotel Palazzo Cirocala or whatever it is.  The location was perfect.  We parked the cars on friday evening and didn't get back in them till we were leaving on Sunday afternoon.  We were right in the Porto Antico where everything we wanted to do was located.  Stirling and Liam had such a good time together wherever we were, so we were able to sit down and have decent meal times.  Even our dinners were at a regular time around 7pm and the kids were up till 10pm with no problems.  

We had a one bedroom apartment so Liam slept in a crib in the living area and we had Eowyn with us in our bed in the bedroom.  It was totally fine because we were basically all going to sleep at the same time anyway!  Eowyn was amazing and managed to sleep really long chunks both nights.  The first night she slept about 6.5 hours from when we were out at dinner till early in the morning.  The second night she slept from around 8pm at dinner again, till something like 4:30 am.  I couldn't believe it!  

 We went to a traditional typical Genovese restaurant the first night with homemade pasta and other tasty treats.  Liam and Stirling were thrilled to be together.  This photo was from when they thought it was funny to suck on lemons!

 Playing around after dinner on our way back to the apartments.  Not a meltdown in sight!

 The next morning James and I discovered a cute cafe place right by our front door that made crepes and fresh squeezed juice.  Perfect breakfast before a long morning at the aquarium!  Here's Eowyn hanging out, as she did most of the trip!

At the port there were naturally tons of boats to keep Liam occupied, including this really old one behind us.  Looks like a set for Pirates of the Caribbean!

The aquarium was bigger, cleaner and better than I had imagined.  We even got to see the dolphin, which apparently doesn't always happen.  Liam and Stirling definitely enjoyed seeing the different tanks of fish, but I think the best part of it was hanging out together.  Here they are rolling around on the ground in front of the dolphin tank.

Grayson is so eager to be part of the big kids group.  I love how they are all looking up to see the dolphin in this photo.

They had some great open exhibits with beautiful colorful fish from more tropical places.  We got to see them from above as well as straight on.  Here Liam and Stirling were looking down on one of the tanks.

The final bit of fun in the aquarium was the touch tank.  They kids loved splashing their hands in the water and trying to touch the ray or fish swimming by.  The photo is a bit blurry but you get the gist and at least you get to see Stirling with Gavin, James with Liam and Leigh in the background.

This tank had baby sharks in it.  I'm sure they were the non biting kind.  Or maybe they weren't sharks at all!

After the aquarium visit we had a lovely lunch at Eataly and then back to the apartments for a nap for everyone.  Later in the afternoon when we were all awake again we went to this indoor play and explore place for kids called Citta Dei Bambini.  Unfortunately it was closing just 30 mins after we arrived, so we made a plan to return the next morning.  But here's Liam in his element in the construction site area.  He loved pushing around the wheelbarrow and filling it with foam bricks etc.

We had a nice walk and some time outside while Gavin made dinner reservations (that's him in the background on the phone!).  Here's a picture of the little ones who were so very patient with all the activities for toddlers and adults.

Love this photo that I managed to take of Eowyn in the bjorn.  She's got the drool going on but the sun hat borrowed from Cassidy looks just adorable on her!

James had many fun games for the kiddos, including balancing on posts.

Sunday morning was a nice leisurely morning hanging out as I packed us up.  Liam and Eowyn hanging out on the bed a bit:

We met up with Stirling and co for breakfast at our little crepes place.  In this particular alley of Genoa there was no driving traffic so the kids spent some time dancing in the street waiting for their breakfast to arrive.

We spent a little while at Citta dei Bambini so the kids could explore the place a bit more.  They had a chance to play with giant bubbles, look at an ant farm, do more construction, and test out a bunch of funky mirrors, including this human kaleidoscope.

After another tasty lunch at Eataly we were ready to pack up and head back home.  We had a smooth drive back with two napping babies and made it home with a bit of time before dinner.  Perfect!
It really couldn't have gone any better!

School has finally ended and the sun has been peeking out a bit more in the past few weeks so that it feels like summer is here.  We have had a few nice hot days and some in between but I'm still nervous that I won't get to see Eowyn in all her summer outfits because our days just haven't been that consistent.  She's already 3 and a half months, which just boggles my mind.  Where has time flown?!

As usual I we have a trip to chronicle, but before that I wanted to do a general recap on things round here.  They have been full on and mostly great, although the end of year stuff at TASIS can always get to be a bit much.  The other big issue was what would be happening with child care stuff in the fall.  Sarah, who has been helping us out since before Eowyn was born, was scheduled to graduate in Sept leaving us with a big old void.  Unfortunately for her, but great for us, things have worked out so that she won't graduate till March, so it gives us a little more time and consistency.  The number of hours will change, but at least it looks like I will have regular help in the mornings from her so I can still work.

What else?  Eowyn is chatting up a storm these days.  Her smile lights up my heart every time, and there's something so familiar when I look into her shiny brown (yes, I do believe they are brown!) eyes.  She has even started to giggle more which is truly the most precious sound on earth.  The big change with her is that she suddenly decided that sleeping on her belly wasn't doing it, and so as of about 2 weeks ago she's been primarily sleeping on her back.  But because of that and her flailing arms we have been swaddling her so that she doesn't always disturb herself.  Many times it's successful, but we still have issues with her whacking herself in the face.  She is also mostly out of the swing for sleeping (though last night I can't say what was happening!)  But she's been napping in her crib if we're home, and her first sleep of the night has been in the crib too.  If we get her in bed on time she will often fall asleep on her own, which is wonderful.  Maybe she needs a pacifier popped in or something once or twice, but mostly she's good.  There were even a couple of days she did 2 two hour naps during the day, which was totally text book.  Most often she'll nap her 20-30mins in the morning, maybe twice and then take one longer nap in the afternoon.   Still, we have more routine than we did with Liam at this point, I think!

And finally an update on the things Liam says!  Recently I asked him to do something like come for a diaper change or whatever.  He looks at me as says: "Let me think about it....um...no".

Not even joking.  So then I told James and because he realized it was funny of course he did it multiple times over.  The other thing that cracked me up the other day was when I asked him to take his shoes off and get ready for nap.  He says to me: "I take my shoes off and then help with the groceries, how bout that?"  Little fire cracker!  

Us on our first night out at the graduation senior banquet

Oh how I love these two!  They are just so cute!   

Little babaganush!  She is such a sweet thing

Always intense with her gaze and so alert all the time! 

A bit blurry, but I love the interaction of the two of them

Liam and Eowyn sharing the blanket

Reimer/Kasdorf Clan return to Lugano...for a visit!

We have had a steady stream of visitors this year, which has been lovely, especially with the added downstairs space so that nothing feels too crowded.  The weekend before last, our dear friends (Keith and Charlene) who left TASIS two years ago, came back for a mini visit with their two babies.  So we had a house full with 2 two and half year olds and 2 infants and four adults.  Despite what it sounds like, it was decidedly easy and a really lovely weekend.  Here are the two new babies: 

Jonas is just 1 month younger than Eowyn

Eowyn sporting her double chin!

Otto and Liam have seen each other for brief moments over the past 2 years, but obviously it took a bit of time to warm up to each other.  The best part of it all was that we have basically the same schedules so it was easy for the whole house to have quiet time in the afternoon for naps, and no-one was rushing too much as that just isn't an option with little babies.

Char with a full lap - Otto and Jonas hanging out 

Eating lunch on campus - Keith and Otto

Otto playing around after lunch on campus

We had a really nice afternoon and early evening at Kat and Eric's on Saturday, where the 3 boys were reunited.  Otto and Drake are born just 2 days apart.  We had a tasty barbecue and celebrated a belated birthday for Char.

Char, Kat and Jonas

Keith, James and Eowyn

Drake and Liam on their riding toys on the balcony

Mamas and baby Jonas

Papas and baby Eowyn (not looking too happy)

Finally the three boys together!  Luckily each of them had some sort of vehicle to ride otherwise there would be major trouble in toddlerville!

This is my favorite picture - Eowyn's face is just so sweet when she smiles that big smile, and of course Jonas is just a sweet little chunky boy!

Mother's Day and Stuff

I had a lovely mother's day this year with a weekend of James doing as much of the house work as possible and a delicious breakfast on Sunday of stuffed french toast.  Look at the size of it!  Just delicious.

Mothers Day Breakfast

It was also sweet to hear Liam say: Happy Mother's day! to me first thing in the morning.

Although I worked on Sunday at least I also got to come home to dinner and then this fabulous parfait for a dessert!  One of my wishes was to not have to plan meals, so all these yummy treats were thought up by James himself.

In the meantime my lovely little ones are bringing me tons of joy all the time.  Little Eowyn is just the sweetest thing with so many gorgeous smiles these days not to mention the cooing that is in full swing.  Baths are an instant calmer as she seems to just love hanging out in the water.

But even if we are busy with other things and leave her on the mat or chair awhile, when we get back she just beams at us as though she couldn't be happier to see us.  It makes me feel bad to go away at all!
She has also recently found her hands and so we see her often entertaining herself by playing with her fingers.

A little tummy time on a warm day!

Eowyn bathing with Liam and his letters!

4 Generations

It's been two weeks since our visit from Nana and Mims, and what a little whirlwind visit that was!  I'm so grateful and glad that Nana was able to finally come and visit us here in Switzerland to see our life a bit and of course most importantly, to get to meet Eowyn and spend some time with Liam.  The last time she saw him was about a year ago and naturally so much has changed.  A huge thanks goes out to Mims for bringing her here and helping her travel!

Unfortunately our rainy spring persists on and off, so the weather was not quite perfect for their visit, but we had enough breaks in the rain and glimpses of sunshine to at least get of the house some.  The three short days were filled quickly with lunch on campus a couple of days, a dinner out at Bellavista as an early birthday/mothers day celebration for Nana and Mims, and regular tasks like grocery shopping, playground visits etc.  Somehow that seems to be enough on our plates these days.

It's just too bad Nana got sick as I'm sure it dampened her spirits some, but otherwise Eowyn was quite content to sit with Nana for quite long periods of time (as long as hunger or nap time didn't get in the way!).  Liam being Liam was mostly too busy to slow down enough for her to get some lap time, but that comes as no surprise since he's always on the go.  Of course I always enjoy prying old stories out her!

Little Liam

4 generations at Bellavista 

Enjoying an early Mother's day dinner at Bellavista

 

Eowyn and Nana relaxing on the patio

Nana, Liam with a cheesy grin and Eowyn

Final morning - a gorgeous warm day!

Siblings in Spring

"Sweety little Girl"

  Lately I have been calling Liam my little comedian.  The things he is saying these days truly crack me up.  I love hearing him practice and try out new turns of phrase, and I'm always finding myself surprised at things he says that I just don't expect him to know.  I wish I could keep better track of all the funny moments, but some have already come and gone.  During Shirin's visit she made a big deal about the fact that he said "ockitopter" instead of Hellicopter.  Since then I have heard him say more than once that it is a HELIcopter.  He is so aware of everything we say including an old favorite of mine - "Oh shoot" - which he says in context, but which has recently been replaced with James' favorite "dang it!", which he also uses in the appropriate way.  I'll admit these aren't our proudest moments, but it is also kind of funny to see how quickly they catch on to things.  

In the last few weeks he has been practising talking about liking and loving things and especially people.  Recently he told me the he loves Drake and Stirling, but he doesn't like Sam.  And he proceeded to recount a time when Sam emptied out a dump truck full of sand. He has also listed James, me and Eowyn as people he loves (what a relief!).  Sometimes he begins a sentence with Actually, or Probably, which I find quite amusing.  He often asks to have his door half open, and he always requests just 6 mins to finish playing or doing what he's doing.  A few days ago I found him looking down on Eowyn who was crying on the mat, saying: "don't cry Eowyn, mummy's going to come and feed you quickly."  She is still "Floppy head" to him, and we hear his tone of voice mimic ours as he calls her "tiny little girl!"

Liam and best bud Stirling at the playground in the middle of a bush

Hanging out at the playground

Our first dinner at a restaurant since Eowyn arrived!  Enjoying pizza with Leigh, Stirling and Grayson at Bellavista.  It actually went really well and we went early enough to make it to bed almost on time!

I am loving seeing Liam and Eowyn's relationship begin to develop.  I know these are just the first moments, but they are so very precious.  It's the little smile she gives him when he looks at her, and his sweet pats on the head or belly, and all the eskimo and real kisses a baby sister could want, that warms my heart.  He is desperate for her to get more involved and often tells her to look at the game he's playing.  He'll call me if she topples over from sitting, or if she starts crying, and he'll rush past me to be the one who puts the pacifier back in her mouth if needed.  I just love it!

To clarify, that is not blood coming out of her head, it's the stitching on the diaper changing pad!

As for Eowyn, she is so big. I can't get over it myself and I'm her mother and seeing her every day all day!  Still she just seems to already be so big.  We laugh to ourselves at how we hoped for a better sleeper than Liam, and didn't get one.  Poor thing, I am sure she would be a whole lot better if it wasn't for the reflux or whatever it is that makes it difficult for her to be on her back.  The good news is that after a while of trying to make her work in the way one assumes a baby should, we finally figured out how to work around her special needs and still get some rest and some things done.  So we have resorted to letting her fall asleep on our chests most times at night, and then after anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour we transfer her, belly down of course, onto the bed.  This way we get on average 3 hours sleep at a time out of her.  The last few days we have managed to get her to sleep in the swing for the first bit of her night time (normally starting around 9pm or so) and that's made it a bit easier for us.  She is feeding another couple of times during the night, usually around 3.5 to 4 hours in between.  So although our backs are buggered from bad sleeping positions, at least we are getting some kind of rest.  Of course we look forward to that getting better some time too, but meanwhile it's better than nothing.  Naps during the day are very often 10-25 mins long, especially the ones in her crib on her back.  I really do think it's the position that doesn't allow her to stay asleep.  Recently she has taken a few very short naps during the day, and then a longer one at some point in the afternoon, and that is either in the swing, or on me and then transfered after an hour or so.  Hey, we do a lot to try and make sure she gets her rest!  

We also now have a passport for her, so we are free to travel, though that will be an event in and of itself!

James and Eowyn on the way back from Zurich - passport mission complete!

Me and Liam on our way home from a thankfully uneventful, and fairly easy trip to Zurich

 SLEEP UPDATE!

Since I wrote this a few days ago things have started to shift towards some kind of a vague rhythm with Eowyn, which is very exciting indeed.  For the last week we have had a much fuller night's sleep.  The pattern I mentioned above seems to be sticking, and now we have been bathing them together around 6:30pm and then getting both ready for bed so that somewhere closer to 8pm she's going to sleep in the swing.  She'll sleep in there till her next feed around 11pm or so, and from then on we put her belly down between us after feeds (she no longer seems to need quite so much time on us, so after 10 or 15 mins she's often fine to be transferred).  She is also taking a short nap in the morning - around 30 mins, one long one in the early afternoon (2-3 hours!) and another short one around 5pm.  Or something close to that.  I'm really excited about this development but not so excited when we have to start taking away the crutches - like the swing!

Some cute pictures of Eowyn smiling and such!  These are all from the last week or so.

A farm trip

My doula Sabine invited us to visit her at her farm about 45 mins from Lugano.  So we spent Easter monday afternoon in the mountains, enjoying sunshine and incredible views.  Sabine and her family have been there for 19 years now and they raise pigs and sheep, make their own cheese, and grow a lot of their own produce.  We had a lovely visit and got to see some really beautiful mountain views.  Liam also had a chance to see lambs and piglets just a few weeks old!  He was slightly nervous of the sheep for some reason, but didn't seem bothered at all by the pigs, even the big ones.  Of course the highlight for him was probably riding in the wheelbarrow!

Sabine, Liam and James and a gorgeous view from the sheep pen 

Swiss mountain views

Liam wasn't quite brave enough to touch the lamb

The adorable piglets - this is a wilder older breed of pigs that supposedly is quite a delicacy

Liam gets a wheelbarrow ride!