A Solid Start

I don't know how it's happened, but Beckham is already 7 months old.  More so, he has been getting serious about crawling.  This past week, he started to get on all fours and rock back and forth.  The other day, he got so much momentum that he catapulted himself forward and fell on his face - certainly a shock to the little guy!  He is almost always on his hands and knees and is often found scooting, rotating or rolling around.  I am guessing we will have a crawler in one to two more weeks.

Today, we started Beckham on solids.  I have to admit, I have been delaying the inevitable.  First, I waited until after our December ski trip, then until after our February ski trip.  It's just so much easier without all the extra logistics of having to deal with food.  I also found myself struggling a bit emotionally, with the transition.  I love snuggling with my baby when I feed him and feel so fortunate to have precious moments to do so.  Introducing solids means giving up some of those moments and I haven't felt quite ready for that.  Yet, of course, it is inevitable and as expected, Beckham took to it pretty well and by the second feeding, was eagerly taking food from the spoon like a pro.

We had Hayden give him the first feeding.  Hayden was so excited about it and picked out the bowl that he wanted me to use, then showed it to Beckham.  Hayden is such an amazing big brother and it was so cute to watch him share in this little milestone with Beckham.

Ski Week 2013

We just got back from a week of skiing in the French Alps.  Much like in December, we rented a chalet for the week.  This time, there were 5 families with 10 children under the age of 10 (most between 3-6 yrs.)  Happily, everyone got along and we enjoyed getting to know the families better.

It was a great week filled with fresh snow and sunny days.

Hayden's skiing has greatly improved - amazing to me as he only took 3 lessons during our last trip and this was his first full week of lessons.  By mid-week, he moved up into the 4yr old class, can ski blue runs and began doing a few jumps.  He scored a 13 out of 16 during his end of week test and moved up one more level.

Again, like our last trip, we had the option for catered meals.  We were spoiled by delicious meals and afternoon tea cakes at the chalet, prepared by a former hotel head chef.

I was thankful to get a full week of skiing in.  I skiied every morning while a nanny watched Beckham at the chalet.  It was a great chance to get my "ski legs" under me and improve on my technique.  Now, I can officially say that I enjoy skiing and look forward to our next time in the mountains!  Marty skied some of the best runs of his life, not including an unexpected fall over an unmarked cliff!

February 10th was Chinese New Year - we actually celebrated with dinner out the night before we left.  The guys organized a night out to a two-star Michelin restaurant Wednesday night, in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Beckham and I brought home coughs and colds as souvenirs, so I am hoping for a quiet week to recover and get healthy again!

In a Tight Spot? Find Your Happy Place.

Never have I had to worry about all dimensions of my car.  But now, living in Geneva, I find that I am constantly having to double check or scoot into tight places.  Take our garage, for example.  First, there is almost always a line of cars parked along the perpendicular of our garage.  I have wondered how this is possible, but now that I know my neighbors a bit better, I realize that one family rides their motorcycles during the week while the other typically uses their larger car (parked in their enclosed garage).

Then there's the actual garage spot.  We have the luxury of a double enclosed garage, but contrary to US garages, there are two individual doors and a concrete support beam in between.  The combination of this and the row of cars, means we have to use more caution when pulling into the garage.

The actual garage is also not very long - I think no more than 1 ft. of extra length.  So once parked, there's a lot of scooting in as close to the front wall as possible to allow for the garage door to close.

It's tight enough that Hayden almost always has to exit from the right side, where there is no wall.  It's a tight squeeze for me as well and I have no idea how I would have done this, had we moved before having Beckham.  There is NO possible way a pregnant belly can fit through!

And now that it is ski season, we have a ski rack on top.  We barely clear our garage with it on, and I now have to double check before entering covered parking.  Shortly after we installed the rack, I went into a garage where I typically go, only to hit the chains right outside.  I fit within inches of the top of the garage and there were some parts of the garage where I would not have fit.

For me, the driving has been relatively easy to get used to.  The roundabouts were a small adjustment compared with the parking.  In addition to the daily parking routine in and out of our garage, I have also had to climb in from the passenger side and have had to pull Beckham's car seat out of an open window.  Not to mention bailing on parking attempts when faced with narrow parking spaces and concrete walls on either side.  It's just all a little harder, especially when I need to open the door a little wider to get Beckham's seat in and out.  Geneva was just not made for large vehicles and for me, it's a small daily stresser, especially coming from the US when that was not something I ever worried about.  

We have had a couple of car troubles.  About a month after our move, our "check brake" light came on, followed by some squeaky brakes.  This was following a full maintenance check that was done before we got the car, so needless to say, it was a bit surprising.  The day we took the car to be repaired, I had to get Hayden to school, drop the car off and then take the bus home.  I picked the car up later that afternoon, only to discover that the brakes were still squeaky, requiring a return visit another day.

Today, after taking Hayden to school, the car wouldn't start.  I had to wait for a tow truck to come and get the car, then call a cab to go to the airport to rent a car (that is me, Beckham, two carseats and a stroller) to get home.  It took a total of 6 hours!  Beckham is my constant trooper in all this.  Waiting in the cold, taking cabs and buses, walking to and from bus stops and parking lots.  

Looking on the bright side - now we have new brakes for our next ski trip to the Alps.  And as Marty commented, "At least the car didn't do this last week when you were going up the mountain to the balloon festival." (Not quite the sympathy I had hoped for, but quite true!)

 I did also have some extremely nice people help me today - to call the tow truck, help me charge my phone (another unexpected surprise this morning - my phone was in the red because my charger had gotten unplugged last night) and let me and Beckham wait around the 2-3 hours for the tow truck to arrive. 

Staying calm and looking on the bright side.  I think this is a Swiss mindset when it comes to things like this, and in part, why they have made the top 10 "World's Happiest Countries."  People are more patient here - no horns honking during the morning commute.  No upset people while waiting in long lines.  Crime is pretty minimal - mostly petty theft.  People seem to enjoy healthy, rich lives - working during the week, active on weekends, resting on Sundays, spending quality time as a family.

Oh, another bright spot from today - driving a smaller car!  It was a luxury to open my door and comfortably step out of the car this afternoon!  I'm certainly going to enjoy it, even if for a day or two. :)