The Arboretum

It has been unseasonably warm in Seattle lately, it's hard to believe that it is really January. Maybe this is because we've spent the last three years in a country that is serious about their winters.

My friend Robin is a nurse so she gets all kinds of days off mid-week, which has been great for us because Hadley and I get to spend a lot of time with her!  She is so good with Hadley and a big help to me, always helping get the stroller out or Hadley in her carseat, or just plain entertaining the little munchkin - she's a natural.  Yesterday we took a little walk around the Arboretum and though it didn't look like spring, it sure felt like it. Can't wait to get back there in April!

Ow!

And...we have our first real word!  Ok, she definitely says "dada" when Andy comes around but we've been patiently waiting for what would be her first random word (mine, was cracker). I know a couple of 1 yr olds with amazing vocabularies, so I've been listening for "actual words" amidst the baby babble to see if she was going to get after this whole talking thing. Today she bumped her head on the wall as she flew around the corner - she looked at us and said "ow"!  She definitely picked an appropriate word for her life on the run.

Speaking of running, yes, she does. Didn't take her long to perfect this whole walking thing - I haven't seen her crawl in at least 5 days.  And that was all while recovering from a nasty double ear infection (which we all 3 miraculously survived).  It is hard to beleive we have a bonafide walking, talking {almost} toddler!

Dr. Hotz, we miss you.

I had a doctor appointment earlier this week and I thought I would just briefly comment on the difference between the care here vs. the care in Switzerland. This was my first appointment since our 20 week ultrasound (which we actually did at 18 weeks so it's been a full month since the last time I saw the doc). I do love her - she's fantastic - but I saw her for a total of about 5 minutes today - in and out! Every time I saw the OB in Zurich we chatted for at least a half hour...plus had an ultrasound every visit. Come to find out, ordinarily in a low risk pregnancy the Dr. told me I would NEVER have another u/s for the remainder of the pregnancy. Seriously! Because I had a condition known as polyhydramnios when I was pregnant with Hadley (for all of you out there who asked me if I was having twins...this is why. You know who you are.) "Poly" just means that I had a very high amniotic fluid index which in some cases can be dangerous to the baby but as long as they keep an eye on it all should be well. So I do get an extra u/s here at 30 weeks as a precaution - but that will be it.

I am missing Dr. Hotz a little bit - from the u/s at every appointment, the constant bloodwork to check my iron (and subsequent iron infusions so I could skip taking the pills which cause all kinds of other fabulous side effects), the proximity of her office to my house (and not paying for parking), her matter of fact no BS attitude - everything! Right down to her bright red lipstick and heels.  Ok I even kind of miss the Swiss German accent, but only a little.

Anyhow, one last little tidbit...Dr. Johannsen listened to the baby's heartbeat via doppler (I guess gotta make sure he's still in there somehow since we're not doing ultrasounds :) and said, and I quote, "Wow, busy baby. Busy busy busy." I thought for sure my second child was going to be calmer... As Auntie Robin pointed out today - well, he's gotta keep up with Hadley!

*And here my friends is what the belly looks like at 23.5 weeks. I included both pictures because in the one where I'm holding Hadley I am really jutting it out there to support her weight. I had to prove that I'm really not as big as I look...yet.

Play date at Casa de Block

4 super cute kids, 1 frozen pizza, 2 dozen break and bake cookies...chaos ensues.

Hey kids, look at us!
*Hadley, Bennett Olsen (13 mo), Drew Maguire (10 mo) & Charli Miltenberger (7.5 mo)<

General kiddo chaos

Well at first they were sharing...


But then Hadley thought she'd get them all to herself...


But her plan didn't really work out


And Bennett was the clear winner here!


Charli the beauty


These two were into EVERYthing


B the Man


Just practicing

And....she's off!

Since the little one is getting more and more interested in playing with other kiddos as she gets older, I've been trying to find fun things around town for us to do during our days. We joined Gymboree and have a class every Monday for ages 10 months - 16 months and she just loves that! Just thinking about it get the song "Bubbles for Hadley...bubbles for Hadley" stuck in my head. But it's worth it. Julie, Jania & I also started a Thursday play group (time for some break and bake cookies at casa de Block today). Anyhow, yesterday when we didn't have any plans we went to Bellevue Square to run some errands and before getting back in the car we made a stop at the kids play area (gets harder to keep them in a stroller as they get older, no?). She loved it - we ended up staying for over an hour. And for some reason the conditions were just right for walking. There were actually close to a million other kids there but with my birdseye view in the video you can't see them. She made lots of friends (and also got whacked over the head a couple of times...boys)! I got this video for The Grandparents since they don't all get to see this too often:

Happy 31st Daddy!

Happy 31st birthday to the best daddy, husband and friend ever! We love you more than anything!

11 Months

It is hard to believe in just one short month we will be celebrating Hadley's 1st birthday. We can't believe how fast this year has flown by. Before you know it she'll be getting her driver's license!

January 12, 2009
Height & Weight: 17 lbs 2 oz a little while back

Latest words: Definitely saying "Dada" for Andy, and we think she calls me "Nana". HA! She's also added some fun new consonants to her babble and often runs around saying things like "Qua?" That one is our favorite.

Favorite Things: She still loves her drawer in the kitchen, pushing anything around the house (sometimes the kitchen chair goes scooting across the room), playing in the bathroom while we're getting ready in the morning, wine corks, being naked so she can air out her latest diaper rash, and visits from all her Grandparents.

Favorite Foods: She positively inhales broccoli, I'd say that is the food of the month. Also discovered a love for blueberries and raisins, though the raisins are what led us to the diaper rash I'm afraid.

Dislikes: Having a sore bum and bumps & bruises from learning how to walk (all of which I have to say she takes in stride).

Accomplishments: Hadley took 5 steps on Christmas day and hasn't stopped since. She's taken to practically running around the house which leads to occasional headers into stationary objects (at the moment her noggin is covered in little bruises, poor girl) - I'd say she's still doing 50% crawling and 50% walking, but she's getting quite steady on her legs and can turn corners etc. while on the move!

Highlight of the month: Her first Christmas and celebrating Daddy's 31st birthday!

Have you seen my diaper?

When DaDa feeds Hadley

 

Grandma Vicki & Poppa Bruce

This weekend Vicki & Bruce flew over from Walla Walla to see Hadley (and us) and to help celebrate Andy's 31st birthday (which is on Tuesday)!

They stayed with Lea Friday night so we met them along with Lea, Sam & Eli on the waterfront on Saturday for Red Robin and a visit to the aquarium. We were all beyond shocked to find that admission to the aquarium is $17/person - but it turned out to be worth it and we enjoyed all the fish, otters and especially the female octopus named Buster. We all loved it, though I think Andy & Bruce may have enjoyed the animals the most!

Saturday evening Andy grilled up some delicious steaks and we had a nice relaxing dinner & visit which included the consumption of two bottles of wine between the boys. Vicki, I promise next time I'll have diet coke on hand!

Sunday, Vicki & Bruce treated us to Salty's on Alki's famous brunch. Not only was the food delish, but I think each of us managed at least two if not three trips back to the buffet. Hadley was busy as usual but with four of us to entertain her we all managed to eat way too much food! Thank you guys so much for coming over and as always, being so generous. Please come back soon!

Two Little Swiss Angels

Last year about this time I posted a blog welcoming two good friends' little men to the world (Townes Buckley & Bennett Olsen)...so it is exciting for me that exactly a year later there are two more little peanuts to add to the group! These two were both born in Zurich:

First - Nicholas Francis Peyer born November 22nd to our friends Sean & Petra Peyer...

Second - Emery Ruth Mark born December 27th to our friends Braden & Anna Mark...

We are already working on when we'll finally get to hold these two cuties in person, but for now our Skype dates are working out nicely!

Twenty Ten - The Year of the Little Brother

Two-thousand nine was nothing short of wonderful...we started off by celebrating Andy's 30th birthday with our great friends in Zurich. In February we had the best day of our lives with the birth of our beautiful daughter who brings never ending joy and laughter to our lives. In June we traveled to Montalcino, Italy and discovered possibly one of the most relaxing destinations on earth - where we hope to return one day soon. In August we moved back to Seattle and got to catch up with all our old friends and family which has been so nice. In September, we found out we'll be welcoming another baby in 2010 :) And in December we found out that that baby will the "The Little Brother" and we couldn't be more excited. December also marked Hadley's first Christmas, and we found out how much more fun holidays could be with children. It really was a priceless holiday for all of us. So 2009 comes to a close, we're sad to see it go, but very excited for all things to come in 2010.

Happy New Year to all!