A Bunch of Hot Air

After a full day out with the boys yesterday - 8am - 6pm, I am enjoying a lazy day at home.  It's a bit backwards, given it was a bit overcast and damp yesterday, while the sun is bright and shining today.  Still, our flat gets cozy and warm with the sun coming through all our windows - sometimes even hot in the early afternoon.  Besides that, I feel bad that Beckham sat in his carseat for all but an hour yesterday, so he's getting a lot of good play time today to make up for it.

Our morning started, as usual, with dropping Hayden off for school.  Then I met a friend for coffee and made a new friend, who has just moved to Geneva from London.  Followed that with a quick trip to the grocery store, before returning to get Hayden from school (Wednesdays are half days).  Then we headed to the Hot Air Balloon Festival.  It's the farthest I have driven - 1 hr 45 min, following the lake and then up into the mountains.  I kept telling Hayden to watch out for balloons, expecting we would be driving to an open field where we would see a bunch of balloons.  Little did I know that we had to drive up a mountainside to get there.  It was the kind of mountain driving where there is a two lane road and then to the right, there's nothing.  Just the edge.

And then in the periphery, the view is spectacular...spectacularly high!  A view that would have taken my breath away, if I wasn't holding my breath and gripped tight to the wheel.  There is something that makes me nervous about being able to see just how high up I am and realizing how easy it would be to fall - no hill, no trees, no railing - just a drop.  I never liked those types of climbs and liked it less yesterday with two precious cargo in the back seat - one who kept asking lots of questions and the other who cried now and again out of hunger.  Not to mention the cars who are following and much more used to driving up windy mountainsides.  Needless to say, I was relieved when the switchbacks allowed me to be on the inside road and then when we finally got into the town!

Wednesday was the kid's day of the balloon festival, so much more family friendly and why I decided to do this by myself rather than wait for the weekend.  We unfortunately couldn't get tickets for the tethered balloon ride, so we watched the balloons, walked around, had a snack and got our own little balloon to take home.

I think Hayden enjoyed watching the helicopters come and go, more than the balloons.  We had a great view of it from our car.

Beckham is really antsy to get moving.  He is starting to get impatient when we sit still for too long and this week, he managed to go from a little blanket on our living room rug, to our sitting area near our fireplace.  He just kept rolling and rolling!  

Today, he was propped on the Boppy, on his belly (similar to the photos below) and managed to push himself up and over it entirely.  So alas, we will need to get out the gate to protect our soon-to-be-crawling little boy from our stairs.  

Our friends gave Hayden this blanket when he was born.  I love how B is hugging!

This is the look of a sleep boy!

You Are My Sunshine

It's a typical Geneva evening.  The rain started at 6pm and hasn't stopped all night.  I love the sound of rainfall, especially at night.  Especially when I'm not out in it!  I have come to get used to the gray skies and the rain.  It seems to come with the territory, literally, when you live near a lake surrounded by mountains.

So when we had a week of clear mornings, I just appreciated it even more.  The sunrises are amazing and I am in awe of how gorgeous our surroundings are.  No matter where you look, the mountains are in view.  And with just a short drive, we are in the Swiss or French Alps.  I try to make a point of looking around as we head to the elevator every morning.  I try not to get too distracted by the beauty, when I am driving Hayden to school, with the mountains in front of me.  This beauty is something that I don't want to take for granted!

I found myself having the same thoughts this weekend, as I watched my boys.  As a parent, it's easy to spend so much of my time and energy, saying no and setting rules.  As we try to teach Hayden right from wrong, it's easy to take for granted how amazingly sweet hearted and loving he is.  How smart, happy and creative he is.

Today, we went to brunch with Hayden's best friend Joshua and Joshua's family.  Another little boy accidentally knocked Joshua over and Hayden immediately went to him, gave him a hug and then went to get him a toy to comfort him.

When I watch Hayden with Beckham, it warms my heart.  He loves to make Beckham laugh, loves to make sure he's ok.  On Wednesday, we were driving home and Beckham was crying out of hunger.  Hayden said, in a voice very much like mine, "Aw, it's okay Beckham, we're almost home."

And Beckham is such a sweet, happy boy and reminds me so much of Hayden.  I am so looking forward to watching these two boys grow up together.  There is already mutual adoration and I love it!

And I can't forget Marty.  He is always present and never idle.  He will play with Hayden on a weekend morning and let me sleep in.  He will change a dirty diaper or do the dishes after dinner.  He is my wonderful husband and an amazing father!

So every morning, I will also make a point of being in awe of these three amazing boys in my life.  I thank God for them and am thankful for every precious moment with them!

Happy Half Birthday!

We have had a great weekend!  We had some friends over for dinner on Friday and had a lovely evening with them.  It was a great excuse to share a big pot of chili (with newly found cheddar cheese), chips and guacamole! After Hayden came home, I asked him to watch Beckham while I started dinner.  He said ok and I promptly started cooking.  When I peeked around the corner, my heart melted to see Hayden with his hand on Beckham.

 Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Hayden's classmate.  I got a taste of what it must be like to have a classroom of mostly boys.  While only about 1/3 of the class was there, it was fairly representative with about 7 boys and 1 girl.  European birthday parties are a bit different.  First of all, it's typical for parents to drop off their children and leave.  We were a bit on the fence whether to stay or go, and in the end, decided to stay.  I have to say, it's quite brave of the hosting parents to be willing to watch a bunch of 3 yr olds!  Not to mention 3 yr olds who have been given way too much sugar!  

There was SO much candy (prizes for all the games) and cake and juice and hot chocolate to go around.  We let Hayden enjoy it all, but we never really give him any of that on a normal day.  He has maybe had juice a couple of times and only had hot chocolate as a treat during our ski vacation.  I was a bit relieved when he actually passed on the hot chocolate and juice and asked for milk and when he didn't finish his cake.  :)

My budding artist handmade the birthday card for his classmate, Guiliano, decorating it with police cars, trucks and trailers.  He even taped up the "gift card" (so I couldn't get photos of the inside pictures).  I think he's pretty talented for his age - I think he gets this from Marty, as I am definitely not very artistic!

 Marty and I went out to dinner Saturday night - a real treat and something we should probably do a little more often!  We had a delicious 3-course meal and both enjoyed the local specialty, filets du perche - this time with a lemon cream sauce (and tasted better than it looks).  

Today, we took Hayden rock climbing at an indoor gym that we have discovered.  It's a great gym and this was only Hayden's second time climbing, but he did such a great job and I was so proud of him!  With every climb, he went higher and higher, to about 25 ft high.  We were both pretty impressed by some of his moves - he is definitely a natural!  Neither Marty nor I climbed, because then we would have two boys unattended.  But, this place is so close to us, that we are hoping to come back regularly!

Today, our little Beckham celebrates his Half Birthday!  I cannot believe it's been six months already!  It definitely goes faster the second time around and I know very soon, we will be chasing after him.  He loves to be on his feet and whenever he is sitting, he has started to rock back and forth as if to say, "let me down, I want to move!"

We were a bit busy today, so I didn't get his official 6 mo photos taken today, but before we left for climbing, I took a few snaps as he happily waited for us to get ready to go.

We are so unbelievably blessed to both of these wonderful boys in our lives!