A big year coming to an end

So 2014 is coming to an end, and what a year it's been! As BK and I sit here enjoying Baby K's nap time, and eagerly await cheering on the Frogs in the Peach Bowl, I figured I might as well try and squeeze one more post in. It will be quick, as I have at most 20 minutes before she wakes up.

So what have we been up to lately? Baby K and I have been in the US for almost three weeks now, and BK has been here for almost two. Sadly, this also means his time here is almost up and it's time for him to go back to Switzerland to work while Baby K and I enjoy one more week. Before we left Switzerland in December we did get one last weekend away in Davos. We didn't do much, just enjoyed the mountains and outdoors. The snow wasn't quite good enough to ski just yet.

The flight over with Baby K was good, fairly uneventful, which is always a positive thing when flying with a baby. It took her a couple of days to get used to the sheer number of people who were here and wanted to spend time with her. I always forget that she's really used to it being just me, her and BK at home in Switzerland, and underestimate how overwhelming seeing tons of new people is for her. It took her two days to warm up to my dad...needless to say, PopPop's feelings were a little hurt.

Since then, it's been a whirlwind; seeing people, getting ready for the holidays, and going from event to event together. Here are some of the highlights so far.

Nani came to visit our first weekend in town:

We got back to our "normal" routine of walking the dogs in the mornings:

We met Aunt K for dinner when she was in town:

Baby K has had lots of cousin time:

I've had lots of fun dressing Baby K in numerous holiday outifts:

BK and I had a date night and Baby K spent the night away from us for the first time! Aunt C, Abbs and LJ took great care of her. I think they all had a geat time too. Not to worry- I survived as well.

For the past week we've been in East Texas and Arkansas visitng BK's family. BK got me a new camera for Christmas, so since then I've been taking lots of pics with that instead of the iPhone. Unfortunately that means that I have lots of pictures that I haven't uploaded just yet to use. Hopefully I'll have more to come later.

We are back in East Texas to cheer on the Frogs and ring in the new year. The past few days have been spent relaxing and trying to catch up on some much-needed rest. We've been enjoying some good family time too. HG loves to help cook and bake with us when we're here.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas, spent with those you love! Here's to a great 2015!

Giving thanks in Switzerland

Thanksgiving came to Switzerland a few days late this year. And in case you're wondering, no, we did not have last Thursday off for the holiday. Thanksgiving is an American holiday, meaning the Swiss don't recognize or even acknowledge it here. If you're someone who had never thought about that, don't worry, you're not the only one- I've gotten the question numerous times.

Since we were away from our families for the first time this year, BK and I decided we should get some Americans together to celebrate. It also happened to be BK's birthday, so it was fun to have everyone over for that occasion as well. Our friends M, J, and Baby M came down for the weekend as well. We had the babysitter come Friday night for parents' night out to celebrate BK's birthday. We enjoyed a nice dinner out and drinks afterward.

I think this year is the first year I've ever been away from my family on Thanksgiving. Of course, being married and all, we have had to decide which side to spend the holiday with and celebrated beforehand as well. But this year it was just me, BK, and Baby K as a family. I was a little bit sad that we didn't get to spend the holiday with our families, but this year we decided to skip Thanksgiving and have a longer trip at Christmas.

All that said, Thanksgiving turned out great! I cooked a whole turkey (actually two) for the first time, made my grandmother's stuffing (with cornbread mix brought from the US), homemade cranberry sauce, and BK made mashed potatoes. All of the guests also brought a dish as well to fill our table.

                                          

The turkey was a serious source of worry for me leading up to Thanksgiving. Having never cooked a turkey before and wondering if it would fit in my oven were my two main concerns. I bought a 3 kilo (6 lbs) turkey as my practice run turkey, and cooked that one on Friday just to make sure I had some clue about what to do. I had to special order a bigger turkey, weighing in at 6 kilos (13 lbs), for the main one. 

They both turned out great, although I think the first one was a little better than the second. In all honesty, we probably could have just gotten by with the little one; everyone fills their plate with sides anyway, right? Now BK and I have turkey that goes on forever. I need to freeze it or something. Baby K may have turkey with every meal until we come to the US.

We had 11 people, plus two babies join us for the meal. Afterwards we enjoyed lots of lively conversation, getting to know one another better, and discussing how we find life here in Switzerland. Football doesn't typically come on for us until around 6pm, so we didn't watch all that much football until later when everyone else had started making their way home.

Sorry I don't have more pictures to include. Making that Thanksgiving meal is a lot of work! I got caught up in hosting and preparing and forgot to assign the picture taking to anyone else. Also, I think I owe the moms in my life a big thank you for all the years they made Thanksgiving dinner...and they should really have the weekend off from cooking after all that production! 

It was a new way to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we had a great weekend. This weekend we're off to Davos for some skiing (BK) and playing in the snow. And just 9 days from now Baby K and I are headed to the US for Christmas! See you all soon!

Parlez-vous le français?

Oui!!

Okay, okay, so I answered that question like I was fluent or something. I am not just yet, but have made tons of progress in the past three days.

As you might have guessed, I'm back at it again, and am in language school- this time for French. Thanks to Switzerland having four official languages, we are now living in the French speaking part, and have said auf weidersehen to German. For the next two weeks I am spending three hours per day at school in Lausanne, then after that will move to going two days per week.

I'm excited and having fun trying to bring French back to the front of my brain. Now that I'm being reminded of the French I know, it doesn't take me nearly as long to recall words and sentence structure as it did when first learning German. Although, it is strange that occasionally when asked about a word, sometimes I can only come up with the German word. Never thought that would have happened, but after 18 months of being immersed in Basel, it's probably a pretty natural thing.

Where is Baby K you may wonder? She stays home with a babysitter while I'm in school. We're on the waiting list for creche (nursery), but you often have to wait quite a long time before getting a spot, so in the meantime, a babysitter it is. I gave her Baby K's schedule in French, and they seem to be doing well together. They get out and stroll, she feeds her, they play- you know, the typical baby stuff.

A reassuring pic from the babysitter on our first day apart

One thing I really like is that she is a local; she is Swiss and speaks French with Baby K. Now that I've been going to class and picking things up again, I try to communicate with her in French. This typically involves me speaking to her in French (simple things) and her speaking back to me in English (she knows some). We're making progress.

I have to wrap this post up now. I have homework to finish before Baby K gets up from her nap.

A bientôt!
(See you soon!)