And she's off!

Love this happy face!

One of these days I'm going to write Emma's monthly update on time, but not this month. She's almost eight months old now so I figured I better take a look back at the month leading up to her seven month birthday!

The majority of this month was spent back in the U.S. with family and friends, so it was especially fun to watch and see how Emma's surroundings and people helped her learn and grow (Emma's Grandpa Souders was especially good at teaching her how to high five, but I'm afraid thus far he is the only person Emma wants to give a high five to!).

At the beginning of this month Emma was just starting to scoot around on the floor, but by the end of the month she became a very proficient army crawler! Sitting still quickly became a thing of the past as she realized when she saw something she wanted she could get it.

Emma also was just starting to sit up a little on her own about the time she turned six months, but by the end of her seventh month she was doing it easily and had even figured out how to manuever herself from her tummy into a sitting up position! And the final big development was she figured out how to wave. It was cute to watch during the last couple weeks of the trip when every morning as we walked into my parents' kitchen she would be looking to find grandma so she could wave at her!

Emma was pretty excited upon our return to Zurich to use her new crawling skills to chase the cats!

Demonstrating how well she can sit up and help mom open all the Christmas cards!

Although Emma gained some comfort with our relatives and friends during our time back she still maintained a very strong attachment to me. There may not be a greater feeling in the world than feeling loved and needed by your child, but I can't lie and say that it wouldn't be all that bad to just have a few minutes to myself too! Luckily Emma's grandparents helped provide many more minutes than I think I've had to myself since before she was born.

Carrying on the Souders family tradition of making an orange Christmas ornament the year you are born. It dries up and shrinks a little each year, so the smallest orange on the tree is usually the oldest person!

While we were watching Emma learn how to move much more proficiently, she also continued to develop her vocabulary. Much of the month she was still enjoying repeatedly saying "mama," but she also added "baba" to her repetoire. And her sampling of foods tried grew by leaps and bounds as she continued to be a good eater and tried new things like yogurt, egg and many other fruits and vegetables.

The start of self-feeding... Gerber Puffs, Emma's favorite and we don't have them in Switzerland! Good thing we stockpiled them in our luggage and we have a grandma who sends care packages!

Love the expression in her eyes trying to get that last puff in her mouth!

And of course, it wouldn't be January without being a little sick too. Yet, I can't complain at all (and I don't think Emma can) that this was her first time being sick and it was only a small cold and cough. It also is probably to be expected for the amount of traveling and meeting people we did in a short amount of time. Lucky for Emma all she got was a cold while her parents got the flu too!

Just being goofy with her bath towel

I would say I can't wait to see what Emma is going to do during the next month, but I pretty much already know what that is (unless something huge happens in the next four days). However, what I can tell you is that she's not slowing down... not one little bit. I think I can be pretty confident that she is my daughter!

Here's a look at Emma's seven month photos... there will be no more sitting in the chair with monkey because someone no longer sits! And she clearly becomes very quickly distracted sitting on the floor with monkey too! I think the photos tell the story quite well, no words needed.

And when she's not crawling.. she's running!

 

 

 

A gift from God

Although people always say it, I didn't truly realize what a special gift from God children are until I had my own. It is such an incredible blessing to watch Emma learn and grow everyday. She helps to teach me just how amazing every little thing is in life as she discovers and experiences it for the first time.

Realizing just what a blessing she is, we wanted to be sure to have her baptized as soon as possible. Yet, while we are living abroad and not an active member of a church here we were indecisive on the best way to go about it. After discussing it with our church back in St. Louis we decided to baptize her here ourselves and then have a reaffirmation ceremony back in St. Louis over the holidays to celebrate with all of our family and friends.

Both days were very memorable for us as a family, and we could not have been happier that all of our closest family was able to be with us in St. Louis for her reaffirmation. Here's a look at the two special days - wow did she grow a little between the two!

 

July 29, 2012... Baptism in Zurich

December 30, 2012... Reaffirmation of Baptism in St. Louis



Aunt Elise & Uncle James (Emma's Godparents)

Grandma & Grandpa Souders

Souders family

Jones Family

Aunt Rachele & Uncle Andy

Quite possibly my favorite moment from this special day... Emma and her cousin Tabitha.

My favorite days

Some of my favorite days living in Switzerland and being a stay at home mom are those that I feel like I fit in like a local and seem to "know" what I'm doing with my daughter. I've been lucky and had quite a few of those lately... It helps me realize it really is the little things in life. And when I don't have one of these days or moments all I can do is laugh and move on. If someone wants to give me a dirty look for being a foreigner or a mom who's child is crying, so be it. These are my favorite days...

• I go to the grocery store and actually have a short (ok, very short) conversation in German with the cashier. It doesn't happen often, but I feel like a rockstar when I actually understood what they asked me and answered back appropriately (or at least so she could understand me).
• Emma rides in her stroller without crying. So far the stroller hasn't really been Emma's cup of tea, so I like to say we're doing "stroller training." She's improving as she gets older it seems, but there are many days where her tolerance is still very short. So when she rides along happily I shout for joy. And the other day when she was a happy rider for quite awhile and then wanted to get out by the time we got on the tram for the ride home I was happy to take her out and hold her. Even so much so that I sat in what I consider to the "cool kids" seat at the back of the tram. It is slightly higher than the other seats and seems to be the favorite spot for kids to sit. Yet Emma and I sat there while she looked so cute all bundled up with her pink kitty hat on. And she even must have been smiling at all the other riders because much to my shock I had someone help me get off without even asking for it, which rarely ever happens!
• I go skiing for the first time in the Alps and have made such great friends here that show me the way so I don't have to feel like I don't know what I'm doing when I get to the slopes. And when I make a complete fool of myself riding a "T Bar" for the first time all I can do is laugh!
• Going for a run in the snow. The last two weeks we have been living in what feels like a snow globe getting a small amount of snow each day. It is absolutely beautiful, but makes it treacherous to get outside somedays. Yet I'm starting to feel like a local as I strap on my Yak Traks and run without hesitation no matter the conditions.
• Emma and I go to a Mommy and Me yoga class and she is one of the few that plays happily the whole time while many of the other babies are less content. I feel like Swiss moms have perfect babies that don't cry, so maybe I fit more in at this english-speaking class with foreigners that don't have such "perfect" babies. Yet, knock on wood for the first two weeks Emma has been a little social butterfly in class.
• I get stopped and asked for directions and I know where to go! Of course, they asked me in English otherwise I would have no shot at helping them. But regardless living here long enough to know my way around enough to give directions makes me feel like I know what I'm doing!

I soak up these moments because I know they are fleeting. Especially right now as Emma politely reminds me that she's still in charge and if 15 minute naps is what she likes to do, so be it!

Emma feeling content definitely makes for a happy mom!

Stateside!

How strange is it that I was out of the country for over a year?! Occasionally it seemed like forever since we had been in the U.S., but truly the year flew by. Nonetheless we were so happy that Steve was able to get two weeks off of work to head back for the holidays and Emma and I got to enjoy four weeks in the states.



Trying to get a family photo... three of the five of us were being a bit difficult!

We headed back the weekend before Christmas and once again I have to brag that Emma, at just shy of six months old, did phenomenal during our 18 hours of travels (ok, well minus that diaper blowout when we were in the middle of heavy turbulence). However, by the time we arrived at my parents house it seemed like 5 am to us and Emma was thoroughly confused. Yet, to our surprise within four or five days she was almost on a completely normal schedule (I've come to the conclusion it's always best to expect the worst and then be surprised when it goes relatively well). We really are lucky at what a good little traveler she is!



Emma really loves flying, especially when the flight attendants and other passengers talk to her!



Dad & Emma during our layover in Canada on the way back... Emma's still going strong at about midnight Swiss time.

Just like the past year in Switzerland, our four weeks in the U.S. flew by, especially with a very busy first two weeks. Here's what it looked like... Arrive in Minneapolis and spend a few days with my parents and my sister's family, drive to Nebraska to visit my grandma and aunt & uncle, then drive to St. Louis to spend the rest of Steve's visit with his family and our friends there. From there it was back to Zurich for Steve and a flight back to Minneapolis for Emma and I to spend the rest of our time with my family.



The quick trip to Nebraska was well worth it - Emma loved meeting her great grandma and simply could not stop smiling! She also got to meet her great Aunt Margi & Uncle Dick, but unfortunately we didn't get a good photo together.

Without a doubt all of the chaotic travel plans were well worth it as it was so much fun to watch Emma meet nearly everyone for the first time! And we were so happy to have so many of you meet her - from family to friends and former co-workers! Although we do apologize that for most of the trip she had severe separation anxiety from her mother. So for all of you that were only able to hold her for about ten seconds before she burst out crying we are sorry, and congratulations to the very few of you that made it more than ten seconds!



Emma with her Grandma Jones!



Smiles with Great Aunt Mary!



What fun seeing old friends and finding out Emma will soon have more playmates!

I would be lying if I didn't say that one of the meetings that we were most excited about was Emma meeting "her" dogs for the first time. We were thrilled that she seemed to love them and was hardly afraid of them. Although I am not sure the dogs shared quite the same level of enthusiasm for her, they didn't seem to mind her. And let's be honest for those of you that know our dogs, Dakota is happy to meet anyone that will let her lick them (especially in the face), and Indiana just wants someone to pet him. Considering Emma already seems to enjoy the licks and by the time we move back Emma should be much better at petting I think they are all bound to become the best of friends! Steve and I also thoroughly enjoyed the time we got to spend with the dogs again. A week together wouldn't be complete without a trip to the dog park either - we were happy to see that Indiana has kept his frisbee skills in check and is still showing up all the other dogs, take a look: http://youtu.be/YCieQYQrDJ8



Emma and Indiana (with his new Swiss collar), future best buds!



Our first "kids" - oh how we've missed them!



Love at first sight!



Clearly they weren't excited at all for doggy ice cream... special treat to celebrate Dakota's birthday!

In addition to spending lots of time catching up with everyone and watching Emma celebrate her first Christmas (also her six month birthday!), one of the highlights of our time home was having both of our families together for the re-affirmation of Emma's baptism at our church in St. Louis. Lots of fun family photos from there will be posted in an upcoming blog.



Emma may have been a little jet lagged celebrating her first Christmas within the first few days of our arrival.



But she still kept smiling!



And she quickly got into ripping that wrapping paper off!

After two very high speed weeks to start the trip Emma and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the second two weeks a bit more low key back in Minnesota. Lots of playing with Grandma & Grandpa Souders and well as Emma's Aunt Elise & cousin Tabitha were the focus of our time. I would be lying to not say by the end of our time that we both were a little spoiled having all of the extra help around everyday!





Someone knew how to make Grandpa laugh! And maybe the opposite way around too!



It was a lot of fun to see Emma and Tabitha playing together with the rest of their family.

Emma's already watching Tabitha's every move...

Emma went to Sesame Street Live... but I'm not sure how much she enjoyed it as she napped almost the entire show!

Grandpa helped to teach Emma how to high five and wave while we were there - maybe not the best example here but she got pretty good at it when the camera wasn't rolling!

Sisters with our daughters!

Three Generations!

Emma loving on Grandpa



Someone had a lot of fun playing with her Grandpa & Grandma Souders!



After a month of so much fun with friends and family, we were sad to see it all end. Of course I had been a little nervous about all the traveling and people meeting for Emma going into it, but overall she did better than expected. While she is still certainly at an age where she is very attached to me it is quickly becoming clear that she likes to socialize with people around her too and it is fun to watch her do just that!

So after saying a few tearful goodbyes and with three large suitcases in tow (Christmas was good to us, and of course there were the essential American items that needed to be stocked up on), I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the flight back alone with Emma. Yet it helped to know that Steve was waiting anxiously for us on the other end and we had a few kind strangers lend us a hand along the way. It was back to Zurich and back to more adventures awaiting us. We sure can't wait to see what 2013 brings us!

Why is it so difficult to flush the toilet and turn on the light?

We enjoyed an amazing four week trip back to the U.S. over the holidays (more to come on our fun adventures while we were there). However, while we were back I noticed several silly little differences that I hadn't anticipated. Here's a look at a few of the differences that took me by surprise...

• Flushing the toilet: I caught you with this one right. Well the majority of toilets in Europe (and the ones in our apartment) are flushed with a button instead of a handle. It must have taken me a good four or five days of being back home before I stopped looking for the button everytime I flushed!
• Turning on the lights: Many light switches over here are buttons as well, not switches. Well just like the toilet I repeatedly found myself trying to push a button before successfully flipping the switch on!
• Disappointing food: Don't get me wrong I was happy to eat many of the foods I had missed eating for the last year (several of which I had craved while I was pregnant!), but I must say overall I was disappointed. We had a list of several restaurants and things we wanted to be sure to eat while we were back, and it must have been all the anticipation (and Steve might say different) but most things I did not find to be as good as I remembered them to be! Still good, just not what I had remembered.
• Grocery stores and shopping carts are huge: I expected this one, but it still caught me a little off guard by just how big our grocery stores are and how big shopping carts are! I don't ever use a push shopping cart when I go to the store in Zurich because if I do then I know I will buy more than I can carry home. So when we went to Target the first day we were back and got a shopping cart I found it massive and almost difficult to steer!
• Driving a car wasn't all that strange: It had been over a year since I drove a car, so I was a bit intimidated when I got behind the wheel for the first time! To my surprise it wasn't quite as scary as I expected (ok well maybe except for parking). However it is still so bizarre that after thirteen years of driving a car often multiple times a day I went an entire year without ever driving one!
• I don't know anything about car seats: There probably aren't many American moms out there that don't know how to operate their car seats with their eyes closed, well not me! It was a learning experience for both Steve, Emma and myself.
• Talking to strangers: I don't normally carry on lengthy conversations with people I don't know - I mean I think I'm friendly but I don't tell someone my life story that I don't know. Well maybe that is changing. The first time while I was home and walked into a coffee shop the man taking my order asked me how my holidays were. I found myself about to tell him every detail of my holidays simply because I could and he could understand me since we spoke the same language!

There are probably so many other things, but these stuck out to me right away. Now that we're back home I'm back to our new normal way of life and am no longer having trouble flushing the toilet on the first try!