A Good Friday

Today is Good Friday and the first day of Hayden's Easter/Spring Break.  He gets TWO weeks off!  The kids here get so much time off!  This is his 4th major vacation - each ranging from 1-3 weeks long.  I recently chatted with one of my Swiss neighbors about this very fact.  She was walking home after taking her boys back to school after lunch.  Yes, that's right.  Kids usually get shorter days on Wednesdays (Hayden gets a half day) and usually go home for lunch from 11:30 - 1:00.  There are of course options to "pay and stay" for lunch or after school hours - after all, this is one of the most expensive places in the world to live.

I'm excited for this break because Grandma and Grandpa are coming next week!  I have our entire 6 weeks mapped out on a calendar - long trips, day trips, things to see and do.  We haven't seen them since Beckham was born so it is a real treat for us all.  It's their first time abroad in about 40 years.  I hope they are more excited than anxious about the trip and will enjoy exploring the culture as much as we have.

Hayden's teacher gave me an enormous envelope of artwork yesterday!  It was so big, I could barely manage it, the stroller and the umbrella as I walked back to the car.  It's so much fun to see all their art projects and the teachers also send home their learning workbook, which includes various activities and songs that they learn in English and French.

We have also been doing our own art projects at home, in preparation for Easter.  Hayden's now at the age when he can understand a bit more about why we celebrate Easter.  We'll still do our egg hunt, but we're adding some Jesus stories in to teach him about His sacrifice for us.  We've also been reading to him from the bible each night and he has really been enjoying it.

Sadly, Beckham has been under the weather this week.  It started as a fever but then progressed to a raspy cough.  It's the first time that he's seemed really bothered and we have had two restless nights.  Thankfully, big brother is around to take care of him!

Beckham has started to go from crawling to a seated position.  It adds another layer of nervousness whenever I put him down to go do something.  Hayden, however, thinks it's great and exclaimed several times this week, "Mom, come quick, Beckham is sitting all by himself!"

Today, Beckham crawled over to me and tried to pull himself up by grabbing onto my legs!  I really do hope this boy slows down.  I'm not ready for a walker yet!

Stars, Stripes and a Little Union Jack

After 8 nights away, Marty returned from his US trip Thursday morning!  We were happy to have him back!  What a difference a few months makes.  His week long trips from September - December were a bit harder on me than this last trip.  Hayden has really turned into a great little helper and Beckham has a pretty regular routine these days.  It also helps that I'm more familiar with Geneva now too!  Still, it was quite tiring since his trip spanned a weekend plus Hayden's day off from school Wednesday due to parent teacher conferences.

It felt a bit like Christmas when Marty came back.  It was his first trip back to Cincinnati since we had moved, and when I knew he was going, I started ordering things for him to bring back - three suitcases full!  With the cost of things here and free shipping in the US, it was worth the wait - bedding for the boys (mattress and sheet dimensions are different here), clothes and shoes, pictures and artwork for our walls, picture frames (also different dimensions here).

While Marty was gone, the boys and I successfully navigated the tram and train to the chocolate festival, Beckham cut his first tooth but also took his first tumble (crawled right off our bed, thankfully a platform) and also turned 8 months old.

I also attended Hayden's parent-teacher conference and learned how well adjusted he has become over the past months and that he has started to speak French to the teachers.  Hayden has also started to speak French at home and when we're out in public.  Around the holidays, it was a word here and there but I could tell he was understanding his teachers when they spoke to him in French.

Now in the past couple of weeks, he has started to say phrases.  When he said his first phrase, it took me by surprise and I had to do a mental double take to realize he was speaking French and what he was saying to me.  Now that I have come to expect it, I usually reply to him in French.  On Wednesday, he had the day off from school and we had lunch at a little cafe.  He was thirsty but I had my hands full with Beckham, so he went up to the server and asked for water by himself, "de l'eau s'il vous plais."  It is pretty cool to think that he has picked up so much in the past 7 months and has now gained the confidence to start speaking.

Friday was a busy day for us.  I dropped Hayden off and then Beckham and I took the tram into the city for a sign language class at the library.  Imagine going to a sign language class where both teachers only speak French, one is deaf and reads lips - but can't read the lips of an American trying to speak French. And all the sign language is Swiss sign language - very different than American sign language!

I do love the library and I have gotten a couple French language/overdubbed movies for Hayden each time I have gone.

After the class, I met a friend for lunch at a very popular Swiss bistro.  Her daughter is a couple weeks older than Beckham, so we were quite the table with two hungry then tired babies, not to mention the two strollers parked on either side of our table!  I've mentioned before that people don't seem too keen on babies in restaurants, and there was an older woman who did not look very pleased.  Thankfully, the  servers were all very nice and even came to coo at the babies from time to time.

There is no such thing as 'fast food' here, so it was after 1pm when we left and by the time I got back home, I had to hop in the car to go get Hayden from school.  He normally takes the bus home but we have started soccer (football here) and so I pick him up on Fridays so we can go to the pitch to play.  He has gotten pretty good over the past few weeks of lessons and I was happy because the sun came out this week!  Sunny and 50 degrees was SO much nicer than the cloudy, cold and rainy weather we had the prior two weeks.  

We are all so ready for Spring!  Geneva weather is such a mixed bag.  It actually snowed Monday morning and we have had the typical rain showers at night followed by occasional peek of sun in the early afternoon.  I made the mistake of washing Hayden's winter jacket and Beckham's fleece carseat liner and after several cold days, had to pull them all out again.  I'm convinced some wishful thinking and these cute school projects that Hayden is doing, will bring on Spring in no time!

Dunking his "Mr. Grass" in water to grow his hair

In the Blink of An Eye

How does it happen?  Suddenly, your little toddler is really a capable little boy.  And the tiny baby who was 30 minutes away from being born in the car, is equally antsy to be on the move.  It really struck me, today, how big the boys are getting.  I think it's because I'm solo-parenting for 7 days - the longest yet - and I have spent the past three days juggling morning, dinner and bedtime routines for both boys.  Over the past few days, I have asked Hayden to do more on his own and he has gratefully risen to the occasion.  This morning, Hayden got dressed by himself and tonight got ready for bed on his own.  It was quite cute.  As I was feeding Beckham and putting him to sleep, I put my finger to my lips to let Hayden know that Beckham was falling asleep.  So, as he changed into his pajamas, he would pop into the room to show me his progress.  First step, clothes off.  Next step, pull-up on.  Third step, pajamas.  He had a proud look at each step and at one point, signed "I Love You" and whispered it too.    Then, he came in, sat down, and started reading a book quietly as I finished putting Beckham to bed.

What's even sweeter is how much he takes care of Beckham and cheers him on.  Beckham has been getting better at crawling this past week and has figured out some cute combination of an army crawl and breakdance worm/caterpillar.  He scoots up on all fours, pushes forward, goes flat on his belly and then either gets on his toes or on his knees and then simultaneously pushes off and forward.  Sometimes he almost looks like he is swimming.  Last night, Hayden was encouraging Beckham to crawl by moving from spot to spot on the bed.  And Beckham was SO delighted.  He squealed (and sometimes screamed) with laughter, that only his brother can encourage, and then he went chasing after Hayden.  It was really so much fun to see them enjoy playing together!  I wish I could have gotten it on video!

Today we went to the chocolate festival.  Despite being solo, it seemed like a perfect weekend activity and a must-do when in Switzerland.  So after breakfast, we headed out, taking the tram and then the train.  After last weekend's traffic to the Auto Show, I knew it would be best to avoid driving and parking.  I initially had planned on us taking the bus, but when I found that the train was possible, I knew Hayden would love it.  He's been asking for months to ride the train, but we just haven't had a reason to do so, since our Paris trip in late October.  When I told him we were taking the train, he completely lit up.

The festival was delicious!  Tons of chocolatiers with wonderful samples.  Besides trains, Hayden has become a fan of chocolate.  So we both enjoyed the little samples and chocolate covered strawberries and marshmallows, courtesy of the chocolate fountain.  It's amazing how good the chocolate is here.  We brought some chocolates with us - Reese's peanut butter cups, Dove chocolates - really leftovers from our pantry.  There is such a noticeable difference in the taste - I have to admit, I have had more chocolate here than in the US.

fois gras chocolate pops - I did not have the courage to try one

Decorating a chocolate bunny (B and I had to wait and watch from afar)

One of our favorite chocolate sculptures

FREE samples!

Chocolate shavings like Tête de Moine

Me, 2 boys and an enormous helicopter balloon on the tram 

Beckham was just as cooperative as always.  When we got back, we tried bananas for the first time.  He was a big fan!  He has been eating really well these past couple weeks and seems to like everything we have tried so far - zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, avocado, salmon, cereal, and bananas.

 Of course, I am remembering how messy eating can be.  We are doing a lot more dishes now and I have found little bits of sweet potato in Beckham's hair and behind his ears.

I couldn't capture the wonderful laughter from last night, but was able to get some sweet brotherly moments this morning. I really hope these boys become best friends.  They certainly are off to a great start!