How did it compare?

Us, as a family of four

One question that I've gotten quite a bit since Baby H came along is: How has having a baby in the US compare to having a baby in Switzerland? They were very different experiences in a number of ways, some good, some bad, but different. My doctor was also very interested, as in her opinion, Switzerland is viewed as the pinnacle of socialized medicine.

As I said, they were different. To start off with, before the baby arrives in the US you start going to the doctor once per week. I don't recall doing this with K Bear; maybe it was every two weeks when we got to 36 weeks? Additionally, if you are going to a public hospital in Switzerland, your doctor will not deliver the baby, as they don't have privileges at the hospital.

I had one appointment with the hospital doctor who would deliver K Bear prior to her arrival so she could get familiarized with us and we could meet her, but other than that I saw my doctor until I delivered, then not again until my six-week follow up after K Bear arrived. One HUGE advantage of this is that your doctor is generally on time for her routine appointments, as opposed to the ones in the US where who knows how long you'll have to wait.

 

As far as the delivery experience, I can't really compare. Mostly because Baby H came so much faster than K Bear. We were at the hospital for about 15 hours before K Bear arrived, and it was a total of three before we had Baby H in our arms. And yes, I did have time to get an epidural...I don't know how people do it without. Both were good experiences- loved our midwife in Switzerland and loved our nurse here too. In both places, the doctor pretty much comes in to catch the baby upon arrival.

Post-delivery is where Switzerland really outdoes itself, and I can now see why my friends in the US thought I was crazy when I said we would stay in the hospital for a number of days. We stayed in the hospital for about four days after K Bear was born, and it was a great experience. In the US, not so much. After 36 hours I was so ready to get out of there and get home.

In Switzerland you typically have one nurse caring for you who only disturbs you when necessary; not meaning for random crap they think they need, they typically come into your room if you want them there for something. In the US, on the other hand, they tell you is that you need to rest, but I have never seen so many people come in and out of a room at all hours of the day and night as I did at the hospital here. BK finally had to tell the head nurse to put a sign on the door for no one to come in to do things. Whether it was taking my vitals, doing a test on Baby H, cleaning, bringing a meal, or whatever...there was constantly someone in and out of my room. It was crazy, and I couldn't wait to get out of there!

The other thing is how much it costs to have a baby here. With private "first tier" insurance in Switzerland, having K Bear did not cost us anything. As in, zero dollars. I think we have pretty good insurance here through BK's employer, but we're getting bill after bill for Baby H's delivery, hospital stay and random other stuff, and it adds up.

On a side note, I know many of you may be thinking...it's because Switzerland's taxes are so high that medical care is so good and so affordable. Not so much. Our tax rate in the US is higher than in Switzerland. So yes, I do think there is a solution to our health care system mess the US is in right now.

The last thing would be more about aftercare. In Switzerland, a midwife comes to your home for 10 visits after the baby is born. She does all of the routine things that you do when you see your pediatrician here at two days, two weeks, one month, etc., such as weighing, checking on eating, helping with breastfeeding, and checking mom to make sure things are normal there. In fact, in Switzerland, you don't actually see your pediatrician until you go in at two months for your child's first vaccination. So having to get out and go to the pediatrician when we were a day out of the hospital was a bit of a shock.

And even though I didn't deal with this, Switzerland actually has the "worst" maternity leave in Europe, with only 14 weeks paid leave (80% pay). Most women I knew on maternity leave actually took way more time than that. And even though being a stay-at-home mom is not for me, I also very much realize that I am not, and would not, be ready to leave Baby H at daycare right now. And don't worry, I also very much realize how fortunate I am to have this choice right now.

Baby H's arrival

My three bullet points

We still need our outside time!

A couple of weeks ago BK and I went out for some brief shopping and a date night. It wasn't our first night out, but after adjusting to life as a family of four, it was our first one after again realizing that we really had to make time for ourselves and our relationship, not being distracted by everything happening in our lives or only talking about K Bear and Baby H. We hit up The Usual and Ellerbe Fine Foods, both great places on Magnolia. Ellerbe might be my new favorite place to eat in Fort Worth.

One of BK's questions at dinner was: "If I had to identify three bullet points about our life since we'd moved back, what would they be?" For those of you who know BK, this is such a him question, but it led to lots of good conversation about what we'd both experienced here since moving back home. I don't think he even gave me his bullet points, but here are mine. 

Our general feeling about Baby H (Photo credit: Rooted in Love)

I feel like my life can really move forward now that Baby H has come along.
Not that I didn't have a life before, but with all the moving, shipment stuff, getting settled, finishing renovations, and getting ready for Baby H, now that he's here, I feel like I can start thinking about what happens next for me. It's kind of like, our life is in order and we actually live here, so now I can think about what I'll do next. 

One thing that goes with this is that I am so not meant to be a full-time stay at home mom. When I've said this to family and close friends, they all act like this is obvious and, of course I'm not meant to be at home. I'm not sure what's so different about the US versus Switzerland, but it is just not my thing. I'm not quite sure what my professional life will look like, but it will look like something.

Mawmaw with her four

Nani with her four

We wanted family and we definitely have it!
This is a good thing, don't worry, but SO different from what we've had for the past three years. Friends often ask if we see one of my family members every day. It's not every day, but I would say we probably see someone from either my or BK's family probably four out of seven days during the week. In the past week it has been Thursday (both), Friday (both), Saturday (both), Sunday (his), Monday (his), Tuesday (his), and Thursday (mine). Even on the days we don't actually see someone, we typically FaceTime with someone. Yes I know it's a lot, and it's not for everyone, but it's been good for us.

On most weeks, seeing family also includes someone watching the littles for us so we can go out. Win-win for everyone! I keep asking BK if/when he thinks the new will wear off! This brings me to my third bullet point...

The one pic of BK and I since Baby H has arrived

BK and I are still working to figure out how we work being back here.
Even though we've lived here before, we lived here as a family of two, both successful in our careers, no kids, and pretty much doing whatever we wanted to do. Obviously things have changed a bit now that we're back, and we're working on navigating what that means for us as a couple. Just like living in Switzerland, where for the first time in our marriage we were completely by ourselves (no family or friends close) and had to learn what it meant for us, and how we would work there as well. Moving back here is the same, just with different circumstances.

A couple of weeks ago BK came home and said he was trying to do a good job at balancing home, work and friends, to which I replied that I pretty much only had home right now, so I really didn't want to hear how he was balancing, because I felt as if I didn't have anything to balance at the moment. Not exactly the case, but like I said, we're trying to figure things out, and it's a work in progress. Adding Baby H to our family would have taken adjustment regardless, but add making a move back home from being abroad to that, and you have a few things to adjust to.

So yeah, that's where we are right now, always a work in progress and figuring things out. The one question we always get is: Is it good to be back in the US? Most definitely.

The waiting game

HG and K Bear enjoying the fountain

Obviously it's been quite a while since I gave any kind of update about what has been going on with us...as in since late May. Yikes. Just a little has happened since I posted last. I think we were about to leave for Florida with BK's family. We had a great time at Rosemary Beach with everyone. It was a nice getaway and provided us some great quality time to catch up and spend with BK's family as soon as we moved back.

K Bear has been busy with lots of other activities this summer

Ah yes, then came the moving. I really don't even know how to start to explain the process we've been through- let's just say it hasn't exactly been easy. After we returned from Florida, we moved into our temporary apartment and the work really started on both our new house and our old house that we were hoping to get on the market soon.

In reality, our new house was totally move-in ready, as a family of five was previously living here. But when we bought our house we knew this would be our house that we raised our family in, and we wanted to really make it ours and make it feel like home to us. So we've pretty much painted every surface in the house, have redone the master bathroom, added some things to the kitchen...and then there's the furniture- a story in itself.

As you may or may not know, we got an air shipment and sea shipment when moving from Switzerland. Our air shipment arrived shortly after we did with no problem. Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the sea shipment. Somehow water got into our sea shipment container and nearly everything had mold or some kind of water damage to it. They immediately threw away our couches, mattresses, and a number of kid things. Then we were left with a huge pile that needed to be assessed as to whether or not they could be cleaned or not- in the end, most could not be cleaned and were thrown away.

Not what you want to see when they unwrap your stuff

It was really unfortunate, but ultimately you quickly realize that there's really not much that is irreplaceable. Somehow only two of the paintings we'd been collecting were not salvageable, and all the others made it. Additionally, Kate's baby book and all of our wedding pictures somehow made it as well.  There were some things they marked for disposal that I could not bring myself to part with, and others they attempted to clean that I can't bring myself to use, so have been thrown away. Obviously we made it through, but it was a process to say the least! And to get back to the furniture, needless to say, we have pretty much gotten all new furniture for the house, as nearly all of ours was ruined.

Abbs, Lala and K Bear with Mimi and PopPop for the 4th of July

K bear has been a trooper to say the least, pretty much rolling with the punches and adjusting really well. I'm not quite sure what she would do if we had to go back, as she' so used to seeing Cookie, Mimi, PopPop, Abbs, Lala, Nani, Aunt Linds, Mawmaw and everyone else, we would have serious withdrawals if we weren't so close. BK and I love it though, and it's exactly why we wanted to move back. I have a little guilt that we haven't gotten out and been social with all of the neighbors, but we have had a lot going on to say the least, so the time will come, and we'll be friendlier neighbors.

Sometimes we miss things from Switzerland, like kid-sized grocery carts

Right this second we're pretty much just playing the waiting game for Baby H to make his appearance. If he doesn't come before, he'll be coming into the world sometime on Monday. So now I'm to the point where I'm crossing random stuff off my list, that in theory I wanted to get done, but I figured they'd eventually get done somewhere down the line. I never thought I'd actually get them done before Baby H arrived. For example, updating my resume and cover letter for when I would like to start looking for work at the end of the year and picking out a bridal portrait for BK's parents' house (11 years later, but that's beside the point).

It's been quite a whirlwind to say the least. And now that we're settled Baby H is going to come along and do his thing. I hope to post again soon, but we'll see how that goes. I'm sure the next time I post we'll be a family of four!

Bonjour, Texas!

Our little traveler has done great!

When I last posted I think I was sitting on the floor of our house in Montreux while movers packed everything around me. I mentioned that I wanted to post before we got swept up in the craziness of relocating to Texas. And that is exactly what has happened!

Empty Montreux house

K Bear and I have been here for about two weeks now, and BK has been here for almost a week. I would say we're settling in, but that's not exactly true just yet. When K Bear and I arrived, we had two nights and one full day in Fort Worth, then turned around and left for Ole Miss, where TR graduated from college. And yes, for those of you who went to college with me, this is the same sister who was five when we started college. I would say more, but I think that about sums it up...let that sink in for a minute.

Aunt Tay and the babies

Anyway, we stayed at Ole Miss for a few days, then got dropped off in Kilgore to visit BK's family, including going to our niece and nephew's softball and baseball games. Even though it wasn't a long visit, it was really good to get to see everyone for a couple of days when we first got here. Papa dropped us back in Fort Worth after a couple of days, and since then we've been doing all sorts of things to get back into life here.

H1, Nani and K Bear at the baseball game

I would say I'm not sure what we've been up to, but just to name a few, we have...

• Spent lots of time with family; K Bear is currently obsessed with her cousins.
• Been accepted by a new doctor and had the first appointment; all is good with Baby H.
• Started a new job- BK, that is.
• Closed on a house; and yes, we were under contract before seeing it in person.
• Started updating said house.
• Received our air shipment from Switzerland, so we do have some of our things now.
• Bought two cars.
• Slowly gotten into meeting friends out to socialize during the day at the zoo, museum, and other fun kid places in Fort Worth.
• And tomorrow we're headed to Florida for a week-long vacation with BK's family!

Fun with little MG (Swiss friend, also from Fort Worth) at the museum

I say we're not quite settled not only because of everything listed above, but also because we're about to make a number of moves in the next month. We've been staying at Mimi and PopPop's house for now, are now going to Florida for a week, will be moving into a furnished apartment for a few weeks while we wait for the rest of our household goods, and finally will move into our house sometime around mid to late June. Whew!

K Bear has handled things pretty well. She's been a bit clingy at times, but it's a lot of change for anyone to handle, much less a two-year-old, so over all, she's done great. One other report as well- Tobs arrived the same day as K Bear and I a few weeks ago and has been great with everything. He's showed PopPop's dog who is boss, and is generally happy as long as his people are around.

So that's the latest for now. As I mentioned, we're headed to Florida tomorrow for some sun and sand, but hopefully I'll have more to report soon.

Two questions we always get-

How life has changed with her in it and since living here!

Before we leave Switzerland and get all caught up in everything happening when we arrive in the US, I thought I would share two of the most common questions we get from people when they hear we're leaving Switzerland and returning to the US- and more than that, we're returning to where we came from. Most often people want to know: What will you miss the most? and What's the most significant thing you think you'll take back with you?

What will we miss the most?
I can honestly say I think we will miss the lifestyle, including travel, the most. I have really come to love that you're forced to live more intentionally. From costly trash bags that force you to recycle more to all the stores being closed on Sunday and having to plan ahead for that, you have to think about what you're doing in your daily life much more than when you're in the US and everything is open all the time, every day, nonstop, and always available. You also think more about the food you consume, as there are not really a lot of options between McDonald's (at least double the cost as in the US) and a sit down restaurant (also about double the cost). Additionally, you can't get everything all the time at the store. You typically eat fruits and veggies that are in season and meat is extremely expensive. Again, it just makes you think.

I also love that you're pretty much forced to be more active in life, especially in our case, when we didn't have a car for the first-year-and-a-half we were here. Even if you take public transport, you likely have to walk to the bus/train/tram station from where you live, then also walk to your final destination upon arrival. Whereas in the US, it's a struggle for me to get any walking in. The beautiful scenery you're surrounded with in Switzerland doesn't hurt either. On Sundays when everything is closed, often people use it as an opportunity to get out and enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, strolling along the lake, kayaking, or whatever suits them.

Ah yes, and I can't forget the travel of course. BK and I obviously love to travel and I can truly say I think we made the most of our time here in that respect. Switzerland is so central in Europe, and you can get nearly anywhere on about a two hour flight. And a cheap flight, at that! I will definitely miss exploring new cities all over Europe, discovering new cultures and sites in those places.

What's the most significant thing we'll take back with us?
This question is not asked in terms of physical thing, but more in the way of, how have we changed and what will we carry back with us. This has a lot to do with my answer above, as far as what we'll miss the most, but I hope we are more intentional in our lives in general.

Again, from thinking more about recycling and our usage of things in general, to being more conscious of how much food we buy, where it comes from and how it's produced, I hope we're more mindful. We've also talked some about how we'll live a few blocks from the park, and there's no reason we can't get out and walk or be active in some way in the mornings and on the weekends. I want K Bear to be outside as much as possible, regardless of weather.

And again, the travel. I'm looking forward to traveling in the US like we have in Europe, and looking forward to it even more because now there are grandparents and siblings near us who can keep K Bear and Baby H! Woohoo! There's no reason why we can't travel in the US just like we have in Europe. Like we've done while living in Switzerland, in November I fully intend to sit down with BK so he can map out when he can/wants to take time off from work so we can go ahead and get some trips and long weekends away on the calendar for the next year. I also have my mind made up that he and I will go on a kid-free trip before the end of the year, but I'll have to keep you posted on that one.

The movers arrived this morning, so things are getting real and the move will actually happen. They'll be done tomorrow and then K Bear and I leave the next day. Wow! See you soon, Texas!

What happens when we get there?

Our first night in Basel and totally clueless!

Now that you know we're moving back to Texas, having baby number two, and going through what feel like a million other transitions at the same time, you may be wondering how we're going to manage all of this. Don't worry, I'm asking myself this same question, and wondering how things will go.

When someone moves abroad it is considered expatriating from your home country; when they move back it's called repatriation. When we moved abroad I was constantly running across articles and blogs that talked about the difficulties of repatriation, or going back "home". At the time, when I was having many days when I felt like my head might literally explode, I could not fathom how this could possibly be the case. But now we're here, and I totally get it.

So how do I really feel about moving back? I think petrified is too strong of a word, but sometimes it feels close to that. Am I happy to be going back to Fort Worth? Absolutely, so please don't take this post as indicating anything else. But do I think it will be difficult? Definitely.

I know you're probably thinking, "But you're coming back to where you came from. How can it be that different?" 

For me, it just feels really different. We've been gone for over three years now. Life has gone on, people have changed, situations have changed, and things have happened in that time. The Fort Worth we left is not the Fort Worth we're going back to. By no means did I think things would stay the same, but I think when we get back I will truly recognize how much things have changed.

I say others have changed, but look at BK and me. When we left, we were two people who had always lived in Texas, near family; were both working; had no kids; went out all the time; and hadn't traveled nearly as much. And now...we've been on our own, where it was just BK and I relying on each other alone; K Bear has joined our family, with Baby H on the way; I haven't worked in three years; we're much more intentional about living life; and have truly discovered how much we love to explore new places. I would say, as individuals we've changed, as a couple we've changed, and as a family- well, that's completely new since we've been abroad.

I've talked some to BK and a little to my parents about this, and I think they worry about me. I don't want you to be worried; I think I'm just trying to prepare myself for when our new reality sets in. I think we'll experience some growing pains as we figure out life in a new neighborhood, new house, new phase of life, new family of four, different relationships with family and friends, new career opportunities- the list goes on and on.

So bear with me if you think I'm a little slow to get on board and seem like I'm fully back "home." It will be a process, but stick with us (me) and we'll get there.

Believe it or not, I am actually counting down the days. Two weeks from tomorrow the movers come and we'll be on our way!

#2: Already over half way there!

So we announced that #2- Baby H- was coming along a couple of month ago. It was in February to be exact, but I haven't had a chance to post about this exciting news yet. And now that I can actually talk about what's happening in our lives I can be completely honest in my post.

As much as I hate to say it, Baby H is potentially already a typical second child?? I kind of can't believe that it happens this early on! With K Bear I took weekly pictures of my progress and sent them to the fam. With Baby H, not so much. So far they've gotten one picture of the baby bump at 20 weeks to mark the half way point. I seem to be too busy trying to upload pictures of K Bear to the photo stream we share with our families.

I thought I would answer some of the same questions we posted about K Bear when we announced that she was on the way...

Was this a surprise for you and BK?
We actually haven't had this question much this time around; maybe that's because most people know that we really don't do a lot of surprises in our life. It was not a surprise, but we weren't sure when it would happen. After I finished pumping for Kate, things were not happening with my reproductive system and doctors ultimately found a tumor on my pituitary gland (prolactinoma) that was repressing my reproductive system.

It is benign, and is the most common type of pituitary tumor, but still a bit worrisome, as it is in the brain. Anyway, it is treated with medication, and the tumor has shrunk, but it is still there. And things are obviously back to working again since Baby H is on his way.

Are you going to find out the gender?
Well, as I mentioned above...Baby H is on HIS way, so yes we know we're expecting a boy. The doctor was actually able to tell us at our 15 week appointment, and I kind of didn't believe it since K Bear made us wait until the long sonogram. And speaking of, we had the organ scan last week and all looks good; AND the doctor confirmed that Baby H is in fact a boy.

You always said you didn't want any, and now you'll have two?
Yes. One of my things that I was pretty set on when we decided we wanted to have a family was that if we were having one, I wanted two. BK was a little harder to convince after K Bear turned out to be such a happy baby, as he didn't want to mess a good thing up. But, as our siblings are very important to us, amongst other things, we obviously decided that we wanted K Bear to have a sibling.

I figure these questions are not so applicable to Baby H now: Where will the baby be born? and Will the baby have dual citizenship? As we're coming back in three weeks he will be born in Fort Worth and will be a US citizen just like K Bear. The funny thing is, I have absolutely no idea how kids born in the US even get a social security card or birth certificate. Where do those come from? Hospital? City? County? No clue...I should probably look into this. Now, applying for his first passport-easy.

I was also a bit surprised when people told me that it might be a difficult to find an OB who would take me when I'm six months pregnant and they're seeing me for the first time. I find this surprising because, say I hadn't had prenatal care before now. If you're a doctor, don't you want to make sure I have it as soon as possible? This concept is weird to me. I have been tentatively accepted by a practice who has availability to deliver in August, BUT they do want to see my records before they make the final decision.

I think that's about it for now. I would say that I will post about Baby H again soon, but as K Bear, Tobs and I leave Switzerland three weeks from today, that's somewhat unlikely. I'm sure there will be much more to come about our journey back to the US. Stay tuned!

Texas, here we come...and for good this time!

Not sure I can find this view in Fort Worth

Yes, that's right, we're moving back to Texas!

I cannot tell you how excited I am that this day has finally come. Not the day that we're moving back, but the day that BK's company finally announced his new position, so we can actually talk about it. Things have been in the works for a little while, and we told family and a few close friends, but now it's public, so yay!

K Bear, Tobs and I will be back in about three weeks, then BK around a week after us. It's a very short time from now, and there are a lot of moving parts all happening at the same time, but we're excited to be coming back, to say the least.

If I'm completely honest, the move back is somewhat bittersweet, and I know that it will be a big change for all of us. We have really enjoyed our time in Switzerland, but we always knew it was a temporary thing for us. Family is such a strong draw for us and the timing is right at this point in our lives- with Baby K #2 on the way, K Bear getting older, me wanting to do something in my professional life, and BK being presented with the right opportunity- just to name a few.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have a million questions about the move back, such as: What is BK doing in his new role? Is LK going back to work? Where are you going to live? What are you going to do with your house in FW? What will you miss most about being abroad? I'm well aware that the list goes on and on, and sometimes I feel like we're presented with a question so often that it kind of takes on a 'question of the week' feel.

Hopefully I'll get back to you on many of the questions above, and now that I can actually talk freely about what's happening in our lives, will likely try to post a little bit more often.

To all of you in Cowtown- we can't wait to see you soon!

Easter at Lake Como

Harbor in Menaggio

Sounds fancy, right? But let's be honest from the get-go, how fancy can you really be when you're traveling with four kids, all under the age of three??

Little MG and K Bear playing play-doh

We rented a house in Menaggio with two other friend-families, the T's and G's, and yes we have four little ones between the three families, ranging from 1 month to 2.5 years. If you're traveling with a family or families, I would highly recommend renting a house; mostly because the kids typically have more space to run around, and in this house they had separate places to sleep, each family had their own bathroom, and the parents had space to hang out after the kids all went to sleep.

Getting some energy out at a playground on the Lake

We explored the area, criss-crossing Lake Como numerous times and enjoying time outside. The weather was pretty good, allowing everyone to get out of the house often, and also to enjoy plenty of food and drink of various terraces throughout the area. One of the first afternoons we found a great little place in Tremezzo, called Hotel Rusall, that had delicious food and an equally amazing view to go with it. The kids could run around in the courtyard, and being outside we didn't bother other diners too much.

K Bear and AT discussing something important

Taking in the view

During the other afternoons the kids stayed with a babysitter and the parents headed across the lake to visit Bellagio and Varenna. Both are charming villages on Lake Como, and are exactly what you picture when you think of an Italian village in the mountains. In Bellagio, we went to a great little wine bar, Cava Turacciolo, where the staff are passionate and informed about their wines, and they also serve great meat and cheese plates from around the area.

Ferry crossing Lake Como

BK and I out for the afternoon

All of the streets are like this...charming, but don't bother with the stroller

Church in Bellagio

Of course, we went for Easter, and our visit was not complete without Easter brunch together and an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. We all felt really grown up the night before, stuffing eggs for the kids, and talking about how much random stuff our parents made happen for us! The dads did a little bit too good of a job hiding eggs for the kids, kind of forgetting that they are all under three. We made it work though, and had fun finding all the little treats.

Searching for eggs; hoping for only eggs with chocolate

The dads didn't take the hunt that far, but K Bear was pretty sure there were more eggs

Enjoying her spoils

Easter night we had a private chef come to the house to cook dinner for us. It was a great way to end the trip, minus the couple of power outages we had due to weather. He sent the menu beforehand, and we chose three appetizers, a pasta course, a meat course, and dessert. They brought a white tablecloth, all the utensils, and good wine glasses, to really set the stage. Considering that we have to pay a babysitter for the kids anytime we go out, and we typically were enjoying nice meals together, the private chef coming to the house really wasn't anymore expensive than a regular night out.

Parent time!

We all headed out the next morning, as Easter Monday is a holiday in Europe, so everyone had the day off, but the guys also had to get back to work the next day. If you're traveling around Italy and want a relaxing getaway, Lake Como is a great place to find that- lots of fun times with great friends!

Little MG and K Bear relaxing together at the house

And just like that, she's TWO!

Happy girl blowing bubbles outside!

I'm a week late on this, but such is life! I can't believe that our baby girl is two! It's been a bit of a rough start, with those last teeth coming through and giving her a hard time for her first few days of being two, but she is as joyful and happy as ever. Oh Baby K...three years ago I don't think anyone would have thought BK and I would have a two year old at this point in our lives, but here we are. And much less, with another Baby K on the way!

The princess

Similar to last year, we had a simple celebration of her birthday, letting her open presents when she got up, then going down to the lake so she could scoot along, back to the house for brunch with friends, nap, and lots of playing- just what Baby K wanted.

Whipping up something in her kitchen

So what does Baby K like to do as a two year old? She LOVES to be outside doing just about anything- swinging, playing on the playground, blowing bubbles, strolling her baby, pretty much anything. She has recently started taking care of her babies much more as well as making BK and me lots of different stuff in her play kitchen. She's a whiz at puzzles and loves to draw and use stickers. At times she can be a dance machine, and others she prefers to just sing along.

Scotting by the lake

Oh yeah, one more thing...lots of people have asked when I was going to change Baby K's name on the blog. I guess the time has come, now that she TWO. So from now on when you read about K Bear (BK's nickname for her) you'll know who I'm talking about.

Mimi and PopPop en Suisse

Their first night in Switzerland

I've noticed that when people come to visit us, or when we make a trip to the US I stop posting. I'm guessing this is because I have someone new to share our lives with. I would say I would try to change it, but after three years it's not very likely.

Mimi and PopPop had their second visit to Switzerland at the end of last month. Things have changed a bit since their first visit to Basel right after Baby K was born. In fact, I told them that I really didn't have much recollection of their first visit at all. I guess it was the haze I was in after having Baby K and trying to get our feet on the ground?

Not sure, but we were very excited and happy to have them over this time around. They arrived on Saturday, and previously had let us know they wanted to hit the ground running on Sunday- get out and enjoy the mountains and scenery that surrounds Montreux, which is exactly what we did!

Small waterfall on our way up...and Tobs dashing across the bridge

I think BK and I may have taken it a little too far though, and we hiked up to Glion, just above (straight up from) Montreux. We hiked for a few hours, with Baby K riding on BK for most of the way and Tobs happy to be along for the outing as well. They were a little more jet lagged from the flight than they realized and the change in altitude was something as well. Afterwards we all came back, had a filling lunch and took a nap.

"Baby K walk" from her all the time now

Throughout the week Mimi, PopPop, Baby K and I explored a number of different sights in the area while BK worked. Although it's on our regular visitor circuit, we visited Gruyere and the Callier Chocolate factory, where we all consumed quite a bit of chocolate and cheese. If you're ever in the area, the chocolate factory is a great stop- I highly recommend. And yes, there is a tasting room at the end.

Before the tasting room...and chocolate in PopPop's hair

The next day Mimi, PopPop and I headed to Glacier 3000 while Baby K went to creche. I figured this was an activity best explored without her- although we're going back this weekend, and she's coming too. Glacier 3000 is a suspension bridge Tissot built between two peaks in a Glacier ski area 3000 meters (9800 ft) up. I've wanted to visit for a while, but for one reason or another we hadn't made it yet.

Tissot suspension bridge

It was great! It was pretty much cloudy and/or raining the entire time Mimi and PopPop were here, but once you get above the clouds the weather was amazing- cold, but amazing. You can see many of the mountain ranges and famous peaks in Switzerland from the bridge. We all really enjoyed it, and after going up to and across the bridge had lunch, then hiked around a little bit on the slopes. I liked it so much, we're going back again this weekend with friends visiting from Basel!

Mimi and PopPop on the bridge

Mimi and PopPop did have one overnight away in Leukerbad, a town known for their thermal baths not too far from Montreux. While they were gone we did some catching up and Baby K was fairly certain Mimi was "night-night" the entire time she was gone. When they returned, we explored Lausanne, visiting the cathedral and Olympic museum on a snowy Friday.

Lausanne cathedral

Saturday brought a funny/sad moment for us. BK, Baby K and I decided we would hang out at home in the morning while Mimi and PopPop got out and explored a bit. We suggested they take our car since it was (still) raining and cold, instead of navigating the bus and train system. They did, and all was good until PopPop pulled back into the garage and "rubbed the car wheel up against the stroller wheel." His words. When he backed the car out the stroller made a popping noise that needed to be investigated later.

Turns out, the stroller was done for after that. I think maybe it bent the frame and then it popped apart. It was mostly funny because I really like to give PopPop a hard time about things like this, but also sad, because I was a bit emotionally attached to the stroller. I have no idea how many miles that thing has been, but it's been a lot of places with us, and it's what we brought Baby K home in. It was kind of on it's last leg anyway, but this forced me to go ahead and give it up. Don't worry though, I've moved on and the new stroller I ordered was delivered this morning.

Sunday BK and PopPop headed to Geneva to check out the Geneva car show, which is something best experienced "without wife and child in stroller", according to BK, while Mimi, Baby K and I had an easy Sunday morning. Sunday night we took them to one of our regular places we like to eat, where Baby K discovered again that she really likes to "cheers" everyone.

"Cheers Daddy"

One other thing- Baby K also got her first haircut. I knew that Mimi wanted to be the one to cut her hair for the first time, but also knew that I couldn't wait until May to get it cut. So we cut it the Sunday they arrived. It was just a trim, as we didn't want to take any length off, but it is much more manageable now and not so mullety.

First time in Mimi's chair

Mimi and PopPop are back and recovered from their trip and we are back in the swing of things as well. We have a busy few months from now until our trip to the US in May. I'll do my best to keep you updated!

The verdict on vacation

Soaking up the sun

I'm totally rewarding myself with a blog post right now. After about three to four solid hours of working on our taxes, I'm doing something that I actually want to do and is easy for my brain to process. The funny thing is, we don't even do our own taxes, but the sheer volume of information needed to complete two international (one US, one Swiss) tax returns is crazy. Also, I told BK I was going to fire my admin because she is way behind on her filing (obviously I'm referring to myself on this one).

So, what's the verdict on vacationing? The verdict is still out, to be completely honest with you. Our trip to to the Canary Islands was good, but not our best vacation/trip/destination by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn't bad by any means, but we came back feeling kind of "meh" about the whole thing. It was okay.

Don't be disappointed for us or anything, as obviously there are far worse problems to have in life, but I think a number of factors contributed to us feeling this way. BK ended the trip by letting me know that he is, "out on traveling with toddlers." I'm hoping what he actually means is that he is out on trying to take a relaxing vacation with toddlers.

I'm still up for taking Baby K on city and mountain trips with us, just not on ones where BK and I are trying to relax, because she's not the most relaxing travel companion. When we go to explore cities or hike and ski in the mountains, we're not really going to relax, so she doesn't impact that too much. Although she does get up at 7am every day, so there is that...

So cute, and absolutely covered in sand

Another thing that happens to us on vacation is that BK almost always gets sick. This is why he can never take time to disconnect, because when he does, it never fails that his body pretty much shuts down. Not the best way to start our island vacation. Not to mention that he then tries to deny that he's sick and ends up feeling worse and worse. I'm sure you know someone like this too. I get that he was trying to make the most of our time there, but still.

I also think that in the future, I won't suggest a destination without it being somewhere we really want to go. The Canary Islands were a good idea in theory, as we wanted somewhere that would be warm but not a long flight from Switzerland, but it just wasn't that great of a destination. The only place I could think of that it sort of reminded me of was Cancun. I've been once and don't plan to go back.

Lastly was the resort. We stayed at Roca Nivaria Gran Hotel, which was nice, but not really our thing. It has great reviews and there are tons of articles written about it, but it's almost like we expected too much from it. It ended up being more of an all-inclusive (we did not do), which is just not worth it for us. From the amount that we don't eat to the fact that BK typically wants a drink that is not included on the all-inclusive list, I would rather just do everything a la carte and stop having to answer the question about whether or not we were on full-board or half-board.

Out for a morning bike ride

So what did we do on vacation? It was actually quite relaxing. We spent time by the pool, Baby K went to the nursery for a couple of hours each morning and afternoon, walked along the beach, took naps, went to the spa, and tried various restaurants around the area for dinner each night. So not bad by any measure, but I think just a little less than we were expecting.

So the verdict on vacation is...I think BK and I will always travel with our children, we will just refrain from attempting to have a relaxing vacation with them. We'll vacation at some far-flung destination while the grandparents get to soak up some good, quality time with Baby K and her future sibling. A win for everyone involved!