I’m finally coming to terms with my little baby not being quite so little anymore. He now has 2 teeth on the bottom and when he smiles, it just melts my heart. He can babble words that sound like “na na or ba ba.” When something is really funny he has a cute belly laugh and normally slaps his hand on his leg (hence the meaning of a real “knee slapper”). lol He has such a big personality for a boy that’s only 9 months old. Alex has learned to crawl all over the place as fast as a blink of an eye and his favorite things to get into are the things I don’t want him to touch (example: wires and outlets). He loves to eat, I know that sounds funny, but he truly does! When he gets older I guess we’ll have to bring him to a lot of all-you-can-eat buffets! 🙂 Sometimes Alex gets in a really aggressive mood and decides to bite us. We are trying to teach him that’s not a nice thing to do, but we know in the back of our minds that he doesn’t know any better yet. We’re just hoping this isn’t a characteristic that he carries on for the future, otherwise he might not have any friends. 🙂 Alex thinks it is much better to try something with his mouth rather than feeling it with his hands. For example, when he crawls over to our coffee table, he decides to lick it instead of touching it with his hand. Alex absolutely loves being outside and seeing other babies. He also loves old ladies! Whenever we go somewhere by public transportation, he tends to “flirt” with the old ladies by giving them a big charming smile and they just adore him. In the grocery store Alex enjoys screaming at the top of his lungs just to make sure he has everyones full attention. If I had to guess which part of his day was his favorite, I would say bath time because that is when he can get a lot of his energy out by splashing me, and getting the whole bathroom floor wet (to him this must be a sign of a mission accomplished). He’s a lot of fun and always keeps us on our toes. It’s just unbelievable how fast times goes by and how quickly everything changes. I want to treasure each moment.
Month: July 2010
Konstanz, Germany
On Saturday July 17 we took a day trip to Konstanz, Germany. By train it took 1 hour from our apartment to get there. When we arrived, we saw a dog-training session going on and then made our way over to the lake of Konstanz where there was a large festival taking place. As we got closer to the lake there were a group of Indians playing music and singing. It drizzled a little, but overall the weather held up quite nicely for the large clouds in the sky. From the lake, we walked through the city to see quite a few impressive buildings and gorgeous apartments, we climbed the tower of the Konstanz Munster Catholic Church and we also did some shopping in a really large mall (the prices in Germany are much lower than in Switzerland). It was a great day and we look forward to discovering other parts of Germany. 🙂
In case you’re wondering after looking through the pictures, Alex had impetigo on his little nose. It looks pretty bad in the pictures, but thankfully it healed up 2 days later after a little visit to the doctor.
“I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that!”
Assembling and disassembling the “pack n’ play” is a talent that no manual can give you, it simply takes time. It doesn’t matter how many languages the instruction booklet is written in or how many pictures are shown, it is just confusing! Claudio and I worked on this silly thing for so long and Alex just looked at us like we were the two craziest people on earth (which I’m sure won’t be the last time he thinks that!).
8 months old!
Alex recently had his 8 month check-up at the doctor’s. He weighed in at 21 lbs and is 29 inches long! The doctor said he’s quite a “big boy”! He is doing great and getting more mobile each day. Alex seems to be in the beginning stages of learning how to crawl and can make his way from one side of the room to the other in a matter of seconds by using a combination of rolling, crawling and scooting techniques. He really never stops moving! Alex is also doing really well at sitting up on his own. He still needs a little support, but he really tries his best to be independent. 🙂 No teeth have come through his gums yet but we have a feeling that it may be very soon! He seems to be wanting to chew on everything a little more than usual, which we didn’t even know was possible! ha! Alex especially loves to chew on bread and his teething rings! Recently his favorite things seem to be the tv remotes and spoons. Alex always seems to have one of these in his mouth at all times and once he grabs hold of them, there is no telling when he will let them go! He also loves to drink straight from a regular cup and pour half the contents onto the front of himself. 🙂 Whenever Claudio or I are eating or drinking something that Alex wants, he will literally grab it from our hands and put it in his mouth. He always makes sure that when we have a treat, especially ice cream, that he gets some too!
Most days I take Alex for a little walk to an animal park that is about 10 minutes from our apartment. They have a bunch of different animals; donkeys, horses, goats, birds, ducks, and chickens. Also, there is a playground with swings that are just the right size for Alex. He loves to swing and enjoys watching the other kids play.
We went to the pool with him for the first time 2 weeks ago, and although he was skeptical at first of the cool water and loud kids around us, he really enjoyed it! We have only gone twice this summer and look forward to going again with him soon. The weather has gotten really warm here these past few weeks, so it’s the perfect time to take a dip in the pool. 🙂
4th of July
I was so excited to celebrate the 4th of July here in Switzerland. I couldn’t wait to hang up the American flags and the letters “USA” from our balcony.
During the afternoon we went to an event sponsored by the American Club of Zurich, that took place at the Landesmuseum Zurich, which is a museum about the history of Switzerland. There was a live band and about 100 Americans celebrating together. Four marines came to present the flag and a man from the opera house sang the national anthem, which was done beautifully! It was a really fun day and it was neat to see everyone decked out in red, white and blue. I don’t think I ever realized how patriotic I was until living here in Switzerland. It makes me happy when someone asks where I am from and I proudly say “I’m American.” 🙂
Tales of an American-Swiss Family 