Petit Mignon with a side of Pois & Bébé au Lait

When we first arrived, Beckham was only 4 weeks old.  I had forgotten how little they are and how cozy, cuddly it is to have a little baby in your arms.  It is AMAZING!  However, I wasn't quite ready for all the attention he and I would get.  I already mentioned all the looks we got when we arrived at the airport with our gigantic "American" stroller and teeny, tiny baby.  But the looks have continued.  Every time someone would hear his little cry, or every time I would pull him out of his carseat, I would get these gasps and oohs and ahs over him.  And people aren't shy.  They will just come right up and reach out for him.  I have come to realize that people don't really go out with babies as young as Beckham.  Most of the babies I see are 9 months or older.  I don't know if, culturally, people are more nervous to take out young babies or it's not as accepted to walk into a nice restaurant with an infant (like we did one Saturday to celebrate my birthday!!)  So naturally, we must stick out, being out with such a young baby.

Over the last month, we have taken a number of short trips.  In a lot of ways, it is actually easier to travel while Beckham is so young.  He's not antsy to move about, we don't need much gear for him, and he's free when we stay or buy tickets.  Of course, on the flip side, it draws a lot of attention.  In early September, we took the train (Hayden's first) to Zermatt.  Once we arrived, there's a train that takes you up the mountain toward the Matterhorn.  On the way up, we sat by a number of "Grandmas" who of course were enamored by the boys.  They kept checking the temperature of Beckham's bare toes and one of the women adjusted my nursing cover for me.  I have never felt so taken care of!  On the way down, was a slightly different situation and I sat with a bunch of "Grandpas" with all their wives sitting across the aisle from me.  Not quite the same experience and a little awkward when I had to feed Beckham on the way down.  And then there was the group of Japanese tourists who came up to me to take a peek, ask me how old he was and tell me over and over that he was "kawai" - or cute.  I got to use the little bit of Japanese that I still remember from my college days.  :)

Train Ride to Zermatt

Check out all the beautiful flowers!

Our hotel

On the ride up the mountain

Out and about Geneva, I constantly heard people call him a "petit mignon" and sometimes touch his toes and say "petit pois."  It's pretty funny to hear what I would consider to be food references, used to describe Beckham.  But then again, we Americans use phrases like, "so scrumptious, I could eat him up!"

And little did I know that, when I bought my nursing cover, I would amuse a bunch of women one morning.  The brand is called Bébé Au Lait.  A cute little brand name in the US - even more hilarious here, among French speakers!

My petit mignon with petit pois is getting too big, too fast.  At two months, he has doubled his birth weight and is 10.5 lbs and has gained over 3" in length.  He is still a little guy, but tracking right on his growth curve.  He is, thankfully, a very content baby - rarely cries and has started to smile when he sees someone.  He can focus at about 1 - 3 ft away now, and he is getting so strong, picking up his head when he is laying on my shoulder and can hold his head up really well.

Strong little boy, keeping his head up!

Loves to move his hands and feet as if he is riding a bicycle...or possibly doing the cabbage patch!

Not sure if this was post-yawn, but cute just the same.  And look at that lil belly!

Hayden continues to be an awesome big brother.  He is always watching to make sure Beckham is ok and is the first to try and help.  When we're on the road, he will announce, "Beckham is asleep," to keep us updated as to his status.  When Beckham cries, he will start rocking him or will return the pacifier to his mouth.  This morning, as I left the room, Hayden said, "Don't worry Mom, I will keep Beckham safe."  I LOVE how sweet Hayden is to Beckham!

It's Not Wise to Buy Ice Cream In a New Country

Everything takes longer and is a bit more difficult, here in Geneva.  I chalk it up to new country, new rules.  But our neighbor, who was born in Geneva, insists it's also Geneva itself.  Add a new baby into the mix - who gets hungry every couple hours - and things become a little more interesting!

For example, when we first arrived, we tried to get my iPhone switched to Swisscom.  It went something like this:

1st Try
"Sorry, even though you already have Swisscom service at home, you can't connect your cell phone until you bring in your work permit."

Marty's work permit had arrived, but was waiting at the post office for pick up.  We abandoned the attempt that day and decided to try again another day.

2nd Try
First, we went to the post office to pick up the work permit.  The post office was closed until the afternoon. Strike one. 

We had heard that some people successfully used their work permit confirmation letter, so we decided to try that.  We also realized that we needed AT&T to unlock my phone, which they weren't planning to do until September.  So on the way, we got that done, but they said it wouldn't take effect until I synced my phone to my computer...which I didn't have and was coming via our air shipment...oh boy.  Still, we forged ahead to try and get this done, since we had only one working phone between the two of us and no home phone.

So, Marty went to Swisscom while I went with Hayden to get some lunch.  When he joined us for lunch, he came back empty handed.  They accepted the work permit confirmation letter - hooray!  BUT they now needed Marty's passport, which he didn't have.  Strike two.

Luckily, I had my passport with me.  So after lunch, we went to try again.  By this time, Beckham was hungry and started to fuss, so I literally walked in, showed my face to the guy, along with my passport, and then left Marty to complete the paperwork for my phone.  After a while, they successfully got my phone connected, despite what AT&T had communicated to us about getting the phone unlocked.  WHEW!

I have done two major grocery trips since we have arrived. The first time was last Thursday, when Hayden had his first full day of school, and I had more than a couple hours to get things done.  So Beckham and I went to the nearby shopping center to run a few errands plus get groceries.  GPS has been essential for me to get places, given all the new exploring and slightly different driving rules (like roundabouts).  This time, the GPS failed me and sent me through the center of town, which is technically the most direct route, but during morning traffic and on a very rainy day, it took me an hour to get to the shopping center, when it should have taken me 20 minutes.  One hour spent...

After feeding Beckham, getting something to eat, and picking up a couple other things at the store, we went into the COOP to get groceries.  One of my main objectives for the trip was to pick up various treats and toys as incentives for Hayden, who had reverted from staying dry all night long to having accidents overnight and during naps.  We have officially discovered sugar, specifically chocolate, since my move, so one of the things that I bought was chocolate covered ice cream bites. 

After getting groceries, we headed out.  In this particular shopping center you have to pay for your parking inside, rather than at the gate as you exit, so I paid, got the car loaded, and then...of course, had to do a diaper change and feed Beckham.  Lesson learned:  Once you pay the parking ticket, you only have a short time to exit before they think you are somehow cheating the system! 

By the time I was ready to leave, about 10 minutes had passed.  I got to the gate and it wouldn't accept my ticket.  So of course, I had to back up, go and park again, and run in (leaving B in the car, which I hate to do) to pay the ticket again. 

To add insult to injury, the GPS freaked out and couldn't tell where I was, as I left the parking garage, and I had to guess at which way to go.  I knew I was just one exit off the hwy, but I wasn't sure it I had to go N or S.  Of course, I guessed incorrectly and all of a sudden I was headed to France!  Luckily, that sounds a lot worse than it is - it is just one exit away, but as I drove to France, I wondered whether they would stop me and how long it would take, given I had groceries in the car, including those ice cream bites.  Once at the border, I decided to take a chance and just make the U-ey and when nobody stopped me, kept going.  It took 3 hours to run just a few short errands!  Thankfully, the ice cream was still intact by the time I got home.

Today, was my second trip and Marty suggested that I go to France to Carrefour, where groceries are supposed to be cheaper.  I hadn't been before, so this would be an entirely new experience.  I went right after dropping Hayden off at school.  It is such a strange drive.  I went through farm land and windy roads into France, so it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere and not about to get to one of Europe's largest grocery chains.  Then the roads opened up and I passed the first McDonald's that I have seen here, before arriving at the Carrefour.  Given it was a new store, I had to meander around to get grocery and non-grocery items.  Marty had requested ice cream, and I reminded him of my last grocery trip.  Still, he convinced me that I should be ok, if I didn't run any errands afterwards...ok.  Lesson learned:  When you go to Carrefour, bring your own bags. 

They don't have plastic and paper bags, so you have to either buy a plastic bag or buy one of their reusable bags.  I bought one plastic bag, but as I was packing up, the groceries didn't all fit.  By this time, I had paid, and the cashier was staring at me, waiting for me to finish packing up my groceries, before she would start ringing up the next customer - talk about pressure.  So I asked her how much for another bag and she told me 10 cents.  I fished out a coin and she told me it was a Swiss Franc and not a Euro - of course it is!  The few Euros that we had were at home, so I had to forego the 2nd bag, try and carry the last of the groceries while pushing the stroller and get to the car (note: I had the small stroller, not the Beast.) 

On the way out, Beckham was asleep, but once on the road, he started crying because he was hungry.  It is a stressful feeling to have a baby crying in the backseat and trying to decide whether it's best to hurry home or pull over to feed him.  Again, with the ice cream in the trunk, I thought it best to keep going.  At least, I was already in France, so all I had to do was get the navigation to cooperate and take me home.

I'm looking forward to when all of this is second nature and much easier...and when Beckham gets a little bigger and isn't hungry so often so I have a little more time to work with! :)



The Beast comes in handy, getting groceries from the garage to our flat!



Firsts for My First...and My Second

On Monday, August 27th, Hayden started Pre-School at Collège du Léman.  He will be in a French speaking classroom with about 18 other children who are also not native to Geneva.  While it's not the first time he's been in school, we wanted to make a big deal about his new class, teacher and friends.  He was so excited on his first day.  The younger kids have to wear uniforms - white shirts, khaki pants and a red pullover/jacket.  When they come in, they have to switch into inside shoes - Lightning McQueen for Hayden, of course.  Hayden entered into the class and made a bee line for the toys, with the other boys.  Marty's co-worker, Chuck, and his family also moved to Geneva and their little girl is in Hayden's class.  We hung out with them Sunday night and so, on Monday morning, Hayden went up to her and gave her a hug.  It was very sweet!

For the first week, he had half days on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesdays are always half days.  So Thursday was the first full day and my first chance to get a good chunk of time to run errands.  Everything takes longer - partly it's Geneva and partly because it's all new.  I spent about 3 hours getting to the store, feeding myself and Beckham and stopping at a few stores to pick up a prescription, some additional uniform shirts for Hayden, and groceries.

Beckham turned one month on August 20th.  We took him for his check up recently and he's gained over 3 pounds and 2 inches in the last month.  He's still little, but he's growing pretty fast!  He's much more alert and awake these days.  I love these early months, when I can be at home and soak in the baby time and snuggles!