Sielatycki Christmas

Christmas Eve we drove into Portage just in time for Rob's famous dinner. He fixed us a 7 course meal and the theme was the seven deadly sins. It was absolutely amazing as always. Then Christmas morning we opened gifts and went to Grandma Dolly's house and did the white elephant and had dinner. It was so great seeing some extended family and catching up. We didn't take many pictures at all, we'll try and be better the rest of our trip.

Christmas with Sielatycki's

Christmas with Chris' Parents

We are back in the States and have been enjoying some down time. We flew into Detroit and went to Chris' parents house. We spent a few days there, celebrated Christmas with them and enjoyed some quiet time. Hope you all are enjoying your holidays too!

Christmas with Chris' Parents

Crazy Old Lady

I ran into the crazy old lady that lives in our building today and for the first time ever, I understood what she was talking about, it was great. She talked about the weather (basic German stuff) and how it's so nice that it's sunny even though it's cold, but how weird it is that there is no snow. Lance would have been so proud! She's actually a very sweet lady and loves Reed and always talks about how cute he is. She thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread.

Our Family Christmas

Today we celebrated our Christmas. I received framed pictures that Chris hung around the flat for me....finally, no more plain white walls!!! It was a great gift. Chris got some new biking clothes that he badly needed and Reed got a couple toys. We got up, went to Coop for breakfast and then opened gifts. The rest of the day we didn't do much. It was a relaxing day and it was nice just to spend it together.

Our Family Christmas

Getting Ready for Christmas

This past week we have been putting up a Christmas tree, trying to get packed to come to the States and doing some last-minute shopping. Tomorrow, Reed, Chris and I are celebrating Christmas so we will be taking lots of pictures and I will create a post for that sometime this weekend probably. Hope everyone is as excited for the holidays as we are!!!

Getting Ready for Christmas

At Home

We've been trying to take it easy and not do too much the past few weeks. We were so busy with the Yuille's coming, then the Koleszar's coming and then Reed and I going to the States and then we are turning around and going back to the States for Christmas in a few weeks so we are trying to enjoy our down time. We've been sticking close to home, going to the park and for walks and just relaxing as much as we can. Also, Reed is using a spoon by himself......it's not pretty.

At Home

The Past Week

I'm so sorry it's been so long, but we've been pretty busy. I spent two weeks in the States with no camera. Chris made me leave the camera so he could take pictures of whatever. Maybe in the future, he will make a new post with the pictures he took while I was gone. Anyway, I've been back a week and we haven't done much. Both my boys are sick so it hasn't been too much fun, but these are the pictures I have taken.

The Past Week

Hanging out and hiking

We've spent a lot of time with Koleszar's hanging out at home. They are definitely getting there quality time in with Reed!! He's going to be in shock when they leave and no one pays him any attention anymore! We've also been doing some hiking and even went to a winery. We've been having fun.

Hanging out and Hiking

Night Out & Appenzell

Thank goodness for grandparents!! They babysat and let us go out for a night. We didn't really take many pictures, but we had a blast. It was nice to get out and not worry about Reed. The next day we went to Appenzell. It's a really cute little town, Chris and I are actually thinking about taking a long weekend there at the end of November sometime. It was pretty cool.

Night out & Appenzell

More of the Koleszar Visit

We are having tons of fun with the Koleszar's. We've been going out to dinner a lot, doing some hiking and walking, we went to St. Gallen and just hanging out at home. Here are the most recent pictures of there visit.

More of Koleszar visit

First Few Days of Koleszar Visit

The Koleszar parents got here yesterday and we've been having a great time. I was shocked but they were the first people (outside of Rob) to not nap when they got here and made it all the way to bed time. We hung out at the flat, went out to dinner and just relaxed. Today we got up and went to breakfast and did some grocery shopping. After Reed had his nap, we went to Altstaetten and did some window shopping. We came back, had dinner and just relaxed.

Start of Koleszar Visit

Recent Pictures

These are just some pictures I've taken since Mandy and Rob have left. Once Chris' parents get here, I'll be blogging more regularly again. Just needed a break.

Recent Pictures

Ebenalp

For Mandy and Rob's last day, we decided to do a little bit bigger of a hike. We took the train to a cable car, took the cable car up and hiked further up before doing the long hike down. It ended up being about a four or five hour hike and pretty challenging. It was much longer and harder than what we had anticipated, but it was well worth it. The view was amazing and we sat and had lunch around the lake. By the time we got on the train to get home, we were all pretty exhausted. Chris and I hope Yuille's had a great time and we really enjoyed having them here.

Ebenalp

St. Gallen

The next day, we went to St. Gallen, did some shopping and stopped and got dinner on our way home. We all bought some new clothes so it was a successful trip. We also went and took a look at this beautiful church. When we were done in St. Gallen, we headed home, but decided to get off a stop early to stop somewhere for dinner. It was a great meal, but it's too bad we missed the last bus home and had to hike back. It was definitely not a short walk.

St. Gallen

Wineries and Going Out

The day after Mandy and Rob got back from there trip to Germany and Salzburg we decided to check out the wineries and get a babysitter and go out for dinner and drinks. The pictures we took at the first winery were on the Yuille's camera which got broken so we no longer have, but we have a few off of our camera from the second one. It was a pretty laid back day and night. We just had a good time.

Wineries and Going Out

Oktoberfest

We decided to all go to Oktoberfest, including Reed. We were a little nervous because I didn't think it would be very family friendly, but it was great. It was very family friendly, we saw tons of other kids there and there are rides and all kinds of great stuff. It's like a huge carnival. It was much bigger than I imagined it and we had a really great time. We were really glad that we were all able to go.

Oktoberfest!

Yuille's 2nd Day, Hiking & Lunch

This day was really fun. We went for a nice hike, saw some beautiful sites and then ate lunch at this restaurant we had found not too long ago. It was really nice. After that, we didn't really do much, hung out and then went to dinner at Freihof. It was pretty laid back.

Yuille's 2nd day, hiking and lunch

Mandy & Rob's First Day in Switzerland

The Yuille's first day was very eventful. It was an exhausting flight, but Rob insisted on no nap. Mandy took a nap with Reed while the rest of us went to the bar. It was a beautiful day for it too! Mandy came with Reed later and we all went to dinner then. We went to our favorite Italian restaurant and while we were there, Reed was walking around and ran his face into the corner of a chair. Blood everywhere. Poor kid can't get a break, but we decided to stay for dessert anyway!

Mandy & Rob's First Day in Switzerland

Herbstfest

Today we were invited to a party at Reed's daycare. It was called Herbstfest, which means Autumn festival. The theme was potato's and had different games involving potato's. We decided to dive right in and threw Reed into the potato sack and he started screaming. He hated it and we just all laughed at him. I'm sure that's bad parenting, but it was pretty funny. They had a bonfire where you could grab some dough, that's right, dough, so much for marshmallows and you could roast some bread. It was really good, but very different. It was a good time and we enjoyed seeing Reed interact with some of the other children.

Herbstfest

Chris' Hike

Yesterday Chris took some guys from Singapore that are here on business for a hike. There was a whole group of his coworkers that went with them. Unfortunately I couldn't go with them, but we plan on going as a family in the next couple of weeks. Very beautiful pictures.

Chris' Hike

Lora's Evening with us!

My Aunt Lora comes to Switzerland on business rather often, so she was here this past week and she called and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner. Of course we did and so we planned a day and time in Zurich. She calls me a few hours before we're supposed to get on the train and says that she's coming all the way to Heerbrugg, which is an extra 1 1/2 hours. We were so thrilled and couldn't believe that she'd be so generous to do all that extra traveling just to come see our place. We took her out to our favorite Italian restaurant and afterwards went back to our place until she had to catch her train back to Zurich. We had a great time and it was so nice to see some family. Reed just fell in love with her and couldn't get enough of her goofy ways. it was so funny to see them interact. Reed will certainly miss her a lot!

Lora's Evening

New Pictures

These are just some new pictures of Reed. The don't really have a category, but I put captions to explain what they are.

New Pictures

New Do

Well, we broke down and cut Reed's hair. We were trying to grow it out, but he kept breaking out in this weird rash on the back of his neck, so to get us all a little more sleep, we cut it off. It's amazing how different he can look after just a haircut!

New Do

New Bike & Park

We finally remembered to take pictures of my new bike. Yes, it is bright green, but it's all they had. This is just Reed and I riding around our parking lot for some pictures. It has a basket on front and a kid seat on back, it's quit a load!
There are also a few pictures of us at the park. Nothing too exciting. Hope you enjoy.

New Bike & Park

Reed Update

I just wanted to update everyone on Reed's growth and how he's doing. He's officially off the bottle, it's been several days now and I can't pack up his bottles fast enough. He's been on regular milk for some time now, but on occasion he still likes it warmed up. He is capable of walking, but refuses. He'll go in phases where he'll walk for a day and then not walk for weeks. He's stubborn like his Dad.
He has just recently started throwing temper tantrums when we leave the park, his favorite are the swings, and he loves matchbox cars and bath time. I got a bike with a kid seat and so we have been enjoying bike rides together, although he enjoys poking me in the rear and laughing. Today I actually felt him slump over like a sack of potato's so I stopped to see what was going on and he was fast asleep sucking his thumb. He's always exhausted after daycare.
Outside of that there is nothing new. We are just looking forward to Mandy and Rob coming to visit.

Day at Home

The weather lately has been cold and rainy, so Reed and I decided to have a day at home doing nothing. Reed's new favorite thing is to pretend anything is a phone and putting it up to his ear and saying "Hello." He does this with food too....not pretty. He also likes to mush food up in his hands and then rub it into his hair really good. He thinks this is hilarious. I tried something different and put captions in some of the pictures. Hopefully it works out well.

Day at Home

Zurich

This past weekend we went to Zurich for a long weekend. We had an absolute blast and we were not ready to come home on Monday. We stayed in a luxurious five star hotel, only a few blocks from all the action in downtown Zurich and we had a ton of fun. Friday night we got in later than expected, it was past 8, Reed was exhausted and frankly so were we, so we went straight to the hotel, ordered room service and got Reed to bed. The food was amazing and we inhaled it.
Saturday we got up and decided to go out and find some breakfast. There were plenty of bakeries and little outdoor cafes to choose from and then we decided to bum around. We did lots of window shopping, we would stop and let Reed walk and stretch his legs, we ate lunch on the go and we did all of this before we realized we didn't have a diaper for Reed. By this time he was getting pretty tired anyway and instead of making him sleep in his stroller we headed back. We all took a nap before we headed back out to the streets. We went down a different road and realized that there was a huge festival going on the entire weekend. We walked around, drank some beer and people watched. We had dinner at a restaurant at the festival and then finally made it back for bedtime.
Sunday we got up and went straight to the zoo. We had lunch there and took our time seeing all the animals. Reed loved it! In fact, he loved it so much he decided that he just wasn't going to nap that day. After a long day, we went back to the room to try and get a nap in and it just wasn't going to happen. We decided to go back to the festival and get some dinner and while we were walking around, he finally passed out. He woke up cranky and not hungry so we didn't spend much time at the festival before having to go to the room and get Reed to bed.
Monday morning we had breakfast in the room, again, excellent food. We really didn't want to have to leave, but Chris only took a half day on Monday so we had to get back so he could go into work. We had a fabulous weekend and can't wait to have another weekend away!

Zurich

Our Flat!

I finally got my flat clean enough to take pictures for the blog.....well, not really, but it's not too bad. The only room I could never get clean was the kitchen, so I finally just took everything and put it on the kitchen table, took the picture and put it back. For those of you coming to visit, please do not have any kind of expectations of a clean flat, it's just not gonna happen. Another note for you visiting, when we have people visit, Loki's crate and food will not be in the guest room, it will be relocated to our room so no worries.
The pictures start with our master bedroom, sorry about the second pic, it's a little blurry, but it's just our closet, and it ends with the view from our balcony. I got a pretty cool picture of the view. I know this took awhile. We still have no decorations on the walls, no television and we don't even have all our light fixtures yet. We're working on it, it's just taking awhile for us to get organized. I hope you are able to get an idea of what our flat looks like. Don't get your hopes up, it's really small.

Our Flat!

St. Gallen and more

We spent a day in St. Gallen and it was really cool. We found this red area. It was weird and soft, not really sure what it was made of, but it was neat. We have some pic's of Reed trying to sleep in his stroller and also some pictures of a hike we went on. We stopped at a restaurant to have a drink and we took pictures of the view. Very beautiful. On top of that, there are some other random pic's.

St. Gallen and more

Summer Fun

It's been a little cooler lately so we've been eating out, going to the park and just hanging out at the flat. I have found out that scrambled eggs with cream cheese is messy, Reed suffocates himself when he sleeps, we have deer in our backyard, and Reed loves the swings at the playground. I also added Loki in some pictures, he's so sad without any attention.

There is one picture that I took that I think looks exactly like Brady. Chris was able to pick out, can you? It blew me away when I looked at it after I took it. If you need hints, let me know.

Summer Fun

Reed's First Step!

Today Reed had a huge milestone and I caught it only on camera. He took his first few steps. It was great that both Chris and I could be there to see such a great event and we both clapped and celebrated. He was really excited and extremely anxious to get walking. He's obviously not yet walking, but it will probably be any day now.

First step

Fun Pictures

These are just some random pictures of Reed. The first few are of him trying on helmets. I want to get a bike and I think he will need a helmet, not sure, but it was sure funny putting them on him. He wasn't too thrilled about it.

The next few are of Reed helping his Dad in the kitchen, doing some dishes. The ones after that are of Reed playing the guitar with Dad and also giving Loki kisses. They love each other a little too much.

Some fun pictures

Dinner Party

Yesterday was Switzerland's national holiday. I'm not sure what they're celebrating, but it's a lot like the Fourth of July in the States. It was such a fun day for us. Reed let us sleep in until 930, we got up and it was a beautiful day out, not too hot, no clouds, could see everything so we decided to go for a hike. It was a nice hike since it was so clear you could see the mountains so well. Plus, it was just beautiful out.

We then came back and got ready for our dinner party. I had cooked the night before since we were having a casserole so I didn't have much to do, just swiffer the floors and we were ready. Our friends came over (and yes Mandy, we have friends) and we served wine, cheese, salami, bread and crackers. We chatted and had a great time. We had dinner and then just chocolate ice cream for dessert. We also had Grappa which is a liquor that is very popular here. Reed then made an appearance in his costume and went to bed.

We put Reed to bed and then played guitar, talked, joked and just had a great time. Then at about 10 we heard fireworks so we went out on the balcony to see if we could see them. We couldn't see anything so we decided to go for a walk. We dragged Reed out of bed, threw him in his stroller and took off. It was so amazing. People can set off REAL fireworks from there homes, so we went to this open field and you look around to all the mountains and just see fireworks everywhere! I have never seen anything like it, it was truly amazing. They were so beautiful. Reed loved them and just watched them go off and had a great time.

Sorry we don't have many pictures, but Chris said it would be creepy if I took too many pictures of our friends. I didn't get any of us when we watched fireworks because I forgot to grab the camera. I'm so disappointed. But we had a wonderful time and just had a blast.

Dinner party

Reed's 1 yr. check-up

This morning, Reed and I got up bright and early for his 1 year check up. The nurse weighed him in at 8.5 kg. (18lbs 11oz.) and he is 74.5 cm tall (2 ft. 5 in. or 29 in.). He is in the 25 percentile for height and only 5th percentile for weight. The doctor says that it is nothing to worry about and that he is a growing, healthy, happy kid. He's just skinny. It seems like the other babies his age are absolutely monster sized! He did have to get two shots. One shot he said would give him a slight fever over the next few days and the other one will give him a slight fever in about 10 days......oh fun.

Amazingly enough, he didn't cry at all. He got a shot in the arm and watched the whole thing and just looked at the needle as it poked him and then looked at the doctor and was fine with it. The second one the doctor said would sting and that he would cry. Again, Reed watched the needle, the doctor inserted it and Reed made a sad face and a single tear rolled down, but not a sound. I think the doctor was shocked.

Unfortunately, they have some different shots here and he didn't want to do anymore today so we have to go back in a month for one shot, then he'll go in for a 15 month check up and he'll get more shots. Poor kid. Overall, his appointment went well and he is healthy! What more could we ask for?

Widnau Festival

One town over they were having a small festival so we decided to go. There were tons of shopping, rides and food, so we ate hotdogs and Reed was in a trance watching other kids on the rides. We had a great time and it was a great place for people with young kids.

Widnau Festival

Dinner

The first few pictures are of a beautiful church in Bregenz, Austria and the rest of them are from us just going out to dinner. The darn kid won't sit still for a good picture. Sorry that there are so many of them!

Bregenz, Austria and dinner out.

My Love

Reed was being super cute one day so I took some pictures. He thought it was hilarious when I put his pants on his head.....I know, what Mom in her right mind would do that? Only a Sielatycki. In one of the other pictures, he's got crazy eyes. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it. Chris wanted to blow it up, I poo pooed that idea. Just a few pictures of my happy baby.

My love

Reed's First Birthday

We never thought this momentous day would come, but our little baby is one! We spent the day just playing and not napping. It looked like it was going to rain so we ended up not going to the pool as planned. For dinner we had his favorite, Bratwurst and Rosti (kind of like hashbrowns) and we bought what we thought was one big rolled up cake with chocolate in the middle, but it ended up being little Twinkie things with chocolate in the middle. As you can tell by the pictures, Reed loved it and ate the whole thing even though he just ate a huge meal. We also tried to do a handprint and well....Reed doesn't sit still very well. He kept moving his thumb so it ended up being one huge lump as a thumb. We'll have to try again when he's a little older. He liked the way it felt though. He opened presents and didn't play with any of his new toys and then we put him to bed and he wouldn't sleep, I'm sure from all the sugar. He stayed up until 10! We finally told him he had to sleep because Mommy and Daddy were going to bed so he was out of luck. He had a great birthday and wished he could have spent it with all of you!

Reed's First Birthday

Day at the Pool

Yesterday we all went to the pool for some fun in the sun. Thanks to Papa and Nana, Reed has a floaty for the pool and loved it! Of course since Mom and Dad left the weather has cleared up and is hot, hot, hot! This week is in the 90's and sunny. Luckily it still isn't horrible at night time. Just a little note to view older posts since I've posted a lot in the past few days.

Day at the pool

Saturday, July 14th

Today we went for a hike with some friends. One of the guys Chris works with, bought a little grill you can hike with and bought us a bunch a food and we went for a short hike and then grilled out. It was so nice of Bernd, Chris' friend. He did everything from buying the food to grilling it and serving us. We had a great time and Reed decided he loved being on Chris' shoulders. He kept trying to look around so he could see Chris' face and then he'd laugh. What a weird little kid.

Hiking picnic

Birthday Celebration

To top off Papa and Nana's visit, we celebrated Reed's birthday. Of course they wanted to celebrate while they were here and it was only ten days early. Reed wasn't too fond of the cake, but then we all tasted it and ended up throwing the whole cake away. Reed's favorite toy was the balloons. We would nail him in the head with one and he would laugh hysterically....only a Sielatycki.

Birthday celebration

Heerbrugg

After we got back from Italy we bummed around town, did some more shopping and also did some hiking and lots of walking. I think Mom and Dad really liked our little town we live in.

Heerbrugg, Switzerland

Bellagio, Italy with us

After four days in Rome, we took the train to Bellagio, Italy to meet up with my parents and Reed for two days. It is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen and would like to go back someday.

Bellagio, Italy with us there

Bellagio, Italy

While Chris and I were in Rome, my parents spent a couple of days at our house and then took Reed to Bellagio, Italy. They were there two days before we got there and these are the pictures that they took while we were still in Rome. Somehow, one of the pictures of us snuck in there.

Bellagio, Italy without Chris and I

Rome!

Mom and Dad offered to babysit for a few nights so we took off and went to Rome for our anniversary. We saw all the basic sights including the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum. We ate out, drank lots of good wine and did a little shopping. We had a great time and it will be an unforgettable 3rd anniversary.

Rome

Papa & Nana arrive!

My parents came to visit and we had a great time. These first few pictures are of Mom and Dad traveling to Heerbrugg and all the different modes of transportation and the first few days we just bummed around, did some shopping and just rested up. We also went to Bregenz, Austria. We saw the theater on the lake and did a little shopping. The next day we left for Rome and Papa & Nana took some pictures. They must have gone hiking, did some shopping and just took a lot of pictures. Hope you like.....

Papa & Nana come to visit!

And here we are experiencing technical difficulties......

Papa & Nana come to visit!

Bad News Bears

Mom and Dad finally got here and we couldn't be more excited! We've been eating out, walking around town, shopping and trying to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow we are going to Austria to walk around and do a little shopping there and then Sunday we leave for Rome!! There is one hitch in our perfect little plan......the charger we ordered and Mom and Dad brought....doesn't work for our camera. Talk about a HUGE disappointment! We went out and bought a disposable camera and then we'll get them developed onto a cd and put them on the blog. We couldn't be more bummed about our stupid camera situation! Hopefully we'll find a store that will have what we need and we'll get our camera back up and running soon.

No pictures is boring.

I know I'm not being great about keeping up with the blog, but without any pictures it is not nearly as interesting. I was able to download one picture before the camera died. Maybe this will liven things up a little bit. Not much has been going on here. We have our second lesson today and we are looking forward to it. This weekend we went hiking and shopping. We bought a few things for the flat. Nothing exciting. We are mostly getting ready for Mom and Dad to come. Pretty soon we'll have pictures from Rome on the blog. Only two more days before we get our camera charger and more exciting, only two more days before Mom and Dad get here!

Only one picture

June 22, 2007

Our very first German class was today. Chris and I are very frustrated and overwhelmed and ready to move back....okay.....maybe it wasn't that bad. We learned some of the basics and worked on some grammar. It was very overwhelming, but Chris and I are going to try and practice a lot and hopefully we'll get a better handle on it.
Today was Reed's first day (alone) at the daycare. They said he did great, played with the other kids and refused to nap. They felt really bad and said that they tried. It didn't surprise me at all with all the kids and the noises and all the fun stuff going on. Since we've moved here, he really hasn't had any interaction with other kids. He'll get used to it and be begging me to go in no time.
We also went out to dinner tonight at Don Camarillo. It's obviously Italian and very good. Too bad we had to take Reed. About 30 seconds in he was screaming and people were staring. It was great. We tried giving him food and he just threw it on the ground. We gave our server an extra big tip. I don't think we'll be welcome back there anytime soon.

June 18, 2007

Today was a very important day for Reed. He actually ate an entire meal on his own! It is a little odd because we kept trying to encourage him to feed himself and he would just throw food on the floor. Loki of course loved it but it was very frustrating for Chris and I and Reed would get really fussy too and then refuse to eat. It's just bizarre because he just suddenly decided that today was the day that he was ready to eat on his own. Of course it didn't hurt that we were having pizza for dinner, but it worked and he ate more than I had ever seen him eat before! He's such a big boy now! Hopefully he can keep it up.

June 17, 2007

Today was United States Father's Day and we celebrated by going to the pool with Reed. Chris had a great time watching him splash in the pool, I really wish we had a charger for our camera! We ate lunch at the pool and relaxed. After that we went home and it wasn't much fun for Chris. I made him help me clean out the guest bedroom and he made dinner for us. I didn't even get him a gift either. I tried, but I don't feel too bad, he forgot Mother's Day. Starting next year we are going to start celebrating Vatertag and Muttertag. Anyway, hopefully the next time the three of us go to the pool, we'll be able to take tons of pictures!

June 14, 2007

Today was a hectic day. I got up and went shopping at Rheinpark. I got a couple of things for the flat and was too tired to do much else. I went home, ate lunch with Reed and put him down for a nap. Then I decided to do the same and dozed for a little bit. When he got up, I realized I had to go grocery shopping so I went to Coop. I got home and felt really bad for Loki who had been in his crate all day so I took him and Reed for a nice walk. Luckily, since it's in the 90's, it didn't take long for Loki to get tired out. Once I got home, I was so tired and decided I wanted to do something fun and relaxing, so I took Reed to the pool. I'm so disappointed that I didn't have my camera. He was the cutest ever. He had so much fun and is starting to really like it. After that, we went home, made dinner, gave Reed a bath and went to bed. I think we'll all sleep well.

Cheese Journal

As per Mandy's request, our cheese journal so far.......

1. Appenzeller - We both liked this one. It has a little bit of kick to it, but not too strong. Good.

2. W?.............. - Sorry, we forgot the name, when we figure it out we will let you know and this was also my favorite. Chris said it's not as strong and didn't like it as much.

3. Walliser Bergkase - This one was really bland. Neither of us really liked it because it didn't really have any flavor. It wasn't bad, just okay.

4. Klosterkase - This one has some flavor. It seemed almost creamy when you taste it. We both like this one. It's not too strong and not too weak.

That's all we've got so far. I'm buying another block when I go grocery shopping tomorrow.

June 13, 2007

So far this week has been pretty uneventful. It's been pretty rainy so I haven't gotten out much, but today, Chris and I went to the daycare we're going to use to check it out, fill out paperwork and see how Reed likes it.
The only reason we need a daycare is so Reed has somewhere to go while we take our German lessons. We went in, filled out the paperwork and then let Reed play with the other kids for a bit. He loved it! It did take him a good half an hour to warm up though. At first, I set him down and he just sat and stared at all the other kids. It was pretty funny. They would come up and talk to him and laugh and he would just stare.
I felt bad, of course I'm the one with kid who's personality is as fun as staring at a wall. At least the daycare provider said that it's good that he's not clingy. She said that most kids won't leave there parents side the first time, but that he was doing well. He ended up having a great time and eventually played with all the kids.
We were very happy with our decision because the daycare provider is absolutely wonderful. She seems to genuinely enjoy children and she seems very organized. We can't wait for him to start!
I also want to apologize for not having pictures. We lost the charger to our camera. We ordered a new one and had it shipped to my parents house and they are bringing it when they come in 2 short weeks. We will be able to update our pictures then. We will also have the camera charged in time for our trip to ROME!!! No worries!

June 10, 2007

Well, our babysitter was right. When we got home last night, she said that she thought his teeth were hurting and so he had trouble going to bed. This morning we woke up and Reed had another tooth! He got his left, front one on top. It looks like the right one will be soon to follow. We spent the day putting together our wardrobe (it's still not done), then we went for a hike. It's been a little rainy the past few days so the bugs were out. We ended up running through the trail to get to the vineyards (where there are roads). We were sweating like crazy and the sun was just beating down on us. Once we got to the roads, we slowed down and took our time, it was kind of ironic that it wasn't until we got to the vineyards that I got stung by something. It hurt like crazy and I jumped a mile. It swelled up really big and just itched. It's doing better now, but after that I stated that our hike was officially over and we headed home. Darn bugs, they ruin everything. Before we left I even coated myself in bug spray. We're gonna start eating dinner now.

June 9, 2007

Today was very eventful! We got up and went to Rheinpark, which is a mall that is only a 15 minute bus ride away! We bought some light fixtures and some curtains. It was a lot of fun. We also bought a hiking map for our area. We looked at cell phones, but still haven't purchased one. That will be next on our list. After the mall, we went home, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for our big night out! Our babysitter got here at around 6, we gave her directions and talked to her for a bit. She was really nice and we were both really comfortable with her. We left and the whole time we were walking to the restaurant, we were talking about her and how she was doing with Reed and what if he was crying for us.... then we got to the restaurant, got a beer and got over it. We had a nice long 2 1/2 hour dinner, had dessert and talked some more. We went to our favorite restaurant, Lowen. It's a German restaurant and we've eaten there several times and have never had a meal we didn't like. We were going to order a bottle of wine and then realized that it's pretty expensive, so we had beer instead. We still got out a little early, so we stopped by a bar on our street and had another beer. Then we got home because she's young and had to ride her bike home so we were home by ten. You wouldn't believe how cheap babysitting is here!!! It's only 5chf (chf stands for Swiss Franks) and that is only like 4 American dollars an hour!! We'll have a babysitter every weekend at this rate! Unfortunately, she said he didn't go to bed until 9, but I think she probably put him down and every time she heard him talking went and got him. We'll have to explain it better to her next time, but she did great for her first time here!!

June 7, 2007

Today a lot happened. We got our furniture from Ikea and Reed and I went to the pool. We were only there for about 1 1/2 hours, but only because it started raining. Reed loved swimming and was mesmerized by the other kids. The water was pretty chilly, but after getting used to the water, he was splashing and laughing and loving it. We'll go again another day when it doesn't rain and take more pictures. It was no fun running home in the rain!

June 7, 2007

June 6, 2007

Today, Chris called from work and asked if we wanted to go to Lindenhof Restaurant for dinner with some coworkers. They weren't going until 730 and that's hard with Reed, but it's so seldom we get to go to dinner with other people so we went. It's a great restaurant, we had been there before and they have the best cordon bleu in town! It was a nice night, so we ate in the garden. It was a fun time and Reed did surprisingly well, until about 930 or 10. It went downhill fast. I felt bad for the people with us, especially because one of the guys has a pregnant wife at home and it's their first. I bet he went home second guessing that decision.

Weekend!

Omigosh! We actually have a babysitter for Saturday night! Chris and I get to go out to dinner alone! She came very highly recommended by a friend and is actually her babysitter that I'm stealing from her. I can't wait!

June 5, 2007

Mandy insists that I try and do a journal every day so today, I went for a walk with Loki and Reed. I also did laundry. Exciting. Actually, we decided today to start a cheese journal. We're getting different cheeses all the time, but we can never remember the names of the ones we like. So this way, when we have company, we'll remember which ones the good ones are. I've also decided to go to the public pool on Thursday. I haven't had a chance to go, but I'll take tons of pictures and put them on the blog!

Katie

Recent pictures

Here are some recent pictures. Some of Reed and some of us hiking.

Hiking and Reed pic's

Old lady

A couple of days ago, Chris and I were sitting on our balcony, drinking a beer and crazy old lady started hollering at us. We look around and see her on her balcony on the top floor, on the other side of the building. For those of you who don't know about the old lady, she is a very nice little old lady in our building that always stops and talks to me. The first time we spoke, I asked her if she spoke English and she said no, then she asked me if I spoke German and I said no and so she continued on with her conversation. I had no idea what she was talking about so I just smiled and nodded and looked like a fool. Now, every time I see her, she starts talking and I just smile and nod. Well, this time, she was hollering to us from her balcony to ours. I have no idea what she was yelling, but she seemed happy and waved. I waved back and went back to reading my book. She kept yelling and I don't know what to do so I pretend not to hear her. She kept saying the same thing over and over again. I have no idea what to do with this crazy old lady. You would think she would realize by now that we don't speak a word of German.

June 3, 2007

Today we got up and took a bus to Gais. We then went hiking and stopped for lunch at a restaurant at the top of the mountain. It was absolutely amazing. We ended up in St. Anton and the entire hike was about 5 hours. Loki went with us and had a blast! It was a little disappointing because it was so cloudy and we couldn't get any really great pictures. We got back and realized our whole bodies ached. We plan on doing the hike again in a few months when it's not so cloudy, hopefully we'll get better pictures then.

Katie

Gais to St. Anton June 07

This is practically our backyard! It's great!

Hiking in Heerbrugg - May07

Since we've been here, he's started pulling himself up to standing, dancing and enjoying baths.

Reed May07