Peeking out of the cave

Although it is not yet Groundhog's Day, we have apparently seen our shadows and have hidden ourselves away in our cave for about ten days now. It looks like we might be climbing out of it however.

Here is some coverage of what has happened in the cave:

The Vin has been giggling away. He has even done some Tigger flying.



Some reading.



And some sneezing.



We have been doing some movie watching.
Some reading.



And some house planning.

Jekyll and Hyde

Thursday was our walk to the agency and do yoga day. Mr. V was not incredibly pleased with all of this. He has been a bit of a grump lately. Some people say he might be teething. We have seen no evidence of this, but I am kind of hoping this is true, and that this new personality is not just who he is becoming :)

But after getting home and changing him, I gently let my fingers graze his belly as I took off his onsie and he curled up and let out a REAL laugh. Like the laugh of a little boy. It took me completely by surprise and I just kept tickling him to get him to do it again and again. After I ran to get the camera, he had had enough and wouldn't do it for me. He is NOT my performing monkey!

Today we had physiotherapy #2, and he was, you guessed it, grumpy. I think that now he is officially 3 months old, he expects more of a pattern in his days and wants to eat at certain times and sleep at certain times and I am messing him all up with my appointments.

Mr. grumpy pants

Mr. giggle puss

Stripes

We are waiting for a cold streak to hit here, and I was told to take advantage of the 'good' weather while we have it, but the good weather is actually quite cold and windy. It is hard to pull out of the cozy, warm apartment and head out into it, but it is pretty great to get out the house at least once a day.

Before we headed out, I snapped mr. v in his mr. stripy outfit. That cute bib was a gift from a deputy director general of the IAEA. Spiffy, huh?



We went for just a walk around the ring, and mr. v was grumpy before we left. About 10 minutes into it he fell asleep - stayed out for only 20 minutes - and then woke up screaming and crying the rest of the way. All that would calm him was being held, which was very hard on me. Holding a slippery baby (slippery because of his little snow outfit) and steering a stroller in some pretty strong head winds was not easy or fun. Here is a nice shot of him between whining and crying, I captured the grumpy, 'I am not having fun' face.



As soon as we got home and I laid him out on the bed to remove his snow suit, he began with the giggles and smiles. Jerk.



Then once Andi came home, I decided to head out on my own for the same walk (I am trying to lose some of this pregnancy weight, so I am trying to get some exercise in every day) and as soon as I got back from the walk I got a big smile from the guy and he matched me grunt for grunt for a nice 2 minute conversation. He is a cutey, but man alive sometimes. I swear. Sometimes.

We visited Andi for yoga and lunch yesterday, where Vin was shot doing what he does best. I thought it would be fun for you to see why we have a bit more laundry in the hamper these days:

Shaking his tail feathers

Weekend gets

We headed down to Slovenia for the weekend and got to enjoy some time with Andi's family, and mr. v's aunt, grandparents and cousin. Andi and I celebrated an anniversary while we were there, so we were able to leave the boy with his grandparents and head out for a couple of drinks and dinner to celebrate. The conversation was good, the food was good and it was great to get back to the boy at the end of the night.

We also got a lot of great stuff from Andi's sister who has stuff left over from her baby, and has been sitting, waiting for a baby to use them again.

We scored a crib, a lay down stroller (because ours is in the shop), clothes, and shoes. Oh, mighty, wonderful shoes! Luckily, she bought stuff that is very unisex and works great for our boy!

Aren't they cute!



I can just imagine mr. v walking with me hand in hand to kindergarten, wearing these little blue numbers.


Ohh, and puddle jumping in these blue wellys.

We are set on snow boots and school shoes until the boy is about 3 years old! niiiiice.

Waiting for the stroller pick up

We bought a brand new stroller in the States at Christmas time. This was suggested to me by people here in Vienna who know how expensive strollers are here, and how cheap they can be in the States.

It is true, in the end we were able to get a 300 dollar stroller, where here it would have cost us over 600 euro.

Unfortunately, three days after we got the stroller, and we boarded our flight to Amsterdam...the Delta stroller handlers decided to tie the stroller to some rope and let it drag behind the plane for the entire flight. Or that is was it ended up looking like once we got off the plane and went to grab the stroller at the airplane walkway.

So the Delta/Air France sent us a 'replacement' stroller and were to come and pick up the damaged stroller from us today...then send it to Germany to be repaired...then send it back to us. Kind of a convoluted system, wouldn't you say?

Well, anyway mr. v and I had to stay home all day today because the damaged stroller pick up was scheduled for the ever convenient window of 'anytime between 9-5'.

The guy came to the house, saw the stroller, asked where the box for it was, I said, 'what box?', he said, 'It should have a box to protect it while traveling', I said, 'the insurance lady didn't tell me that' he said, 'well, I will come back on Monday and you can buy a box for it this weekend.'

So we will be doing the stay at home, waiting for pick up thing again on Monday.

In the meantime, mr. v and I played.



We experienced our first major diaper blow out.

And we went for a walk with Andi in the evening.

Physiotherapy

We had our first of ten physiotherapy appointments yesterday. My OB suggested this as a good way to repair from a 9lb baby.

I think each visit will build upon the last, but this time was super subtle movements. It is like kegels, but a bit more comprehensive.

As I was working with one therapist, another therapist was playing and entertaining mr. v, who was sat on the mat beside me. Yes, was sat. I learned this phrasing from my British love, Hazel.

He was very charming and happy and sweet the entire hour. It is very nice to be able to take him anywhere and to know that he will be the darling little snuggle pants that we have grown to love.

And here is mr. v doing his own form of physiotherapy:

Monkey pants

Yes, I know it is sideways. It is a video taken with my camera and I am not smart enough to realize that while you can take photos in both the vertical or horizontal positions, the same is not true with video :) I do eventually figure it out and reposition the camera.

Mr. v went 4 plus days without a poop, so Andi and I engaged in the ancient art of tribal poop song. To learn how you too can bring poops to little boys, click play.

Walking and walking

Here is a video of Vinny on one of our trips on the Ubahn. I thought he had just done something great, or was about to do something great, so I quickly got the camera going. I am not sure if there is anything good on here or not, but heck, he is cute so any footage is good footage, right?

Today we didn't wake until 11am. Is this still the jetlag, or is this bordering on laziness now?

We had a little breakfast, threw on a cute outfit walked the 5 miles to the Agency to have lunch with Andi and Ying. It was a super beautiful day, and very warm between the gusts of wind, so I only wore a light shirt and jeans. But if you looked at the other people on the street, you would think we were in Antarctica. Everyone had hats, down jackets, gloves, scarves. More than once I saw people look at me, and then whisper to their walking companion.

Halfway there I felt very self conscious. I began to wonder if I might be suffering from menopause. How else could I be so comfortable while everyone else is super bundled up?

We ate and chatted with Ying as she gave loves to mr. v.


Then Andi and I walked the 5 miles back home again. Stopping in at a wonderful coffee shop for some of the best chai tea I have ever had!

Mr. v rode Andi's bike part of the way home.


And here is a car that was hit by a tram on our street!

A productive day

We spent most of yesterday cleaning and getting organized. I pretty much did everything I wanted to do, save going to yoga class.

Vinny has been a bit cranky the last day or two. I blame the vaccinations and after giving him some paracetamol (tylenol) in droplet form - he calmed right down and slept through the night. I was very surprised when Andi brought him to me at 5:30am for his first feed of the night. I thought it was around midnight or 1am. Perhaps this is a good sign for things to come. Mr. v has been a good sleeper so far, so it is just gravy anything more we get from him.

I opted for the bjorn instead of the sleepy wrap today, solely out of convenience.

V is super sweet. Loves his dangly toys. Loves being naked. Kinda hates tummy time. Loves, LOVES, waking up (we get the best smiles just after he opens his eyes). Produces the biggest burps after Andi burps him. Digs his pacifier. Loves to practice standing. Smells like cotton candy. Can produce projectile poo. Makes me sad when he sleeps, cause I have to wait until morning to play with him again.

The first immunizations

Another lazy day, with the exception of our family visit to the pediatrician for mr. v's first shots.

I am not sure what he was immunized against today, but it was a whole heck of a lot in just two syringes. Before the appointment I was advised to stick on these little bandage like thingies that are supposed to numb up his leg a bit before the visit. They seemed to have worked because when it came time for the shots (one in each thigh) mr. v gave out just a small whimper with the first and a bit of a cry that lasted all of 3 seconds with the second.

He is a super brave guy and handled the whole thing really well.

What was a shock to me was that the doctor suggested that we start him on solid foods next month. Next month? Didn't I just come home from the hospital with him last week? Solid foods? WHAT?

We all sat around, well actually we bounced around, both Andi and I on our yoga balls and mr. v in andi's lap, while we watched Desperate Housewives, and then we were off to bed. The plan for tomorrow is some cleaning and hopefully I can get to yoga class.

A visit to our land

This photo is from a few months ago, because when we finally got to our land today to take a picture of what it actually looks like now, my camera ran out of batteries. I may post a photo from Andi's camera once his is recharged.

Here is a photo of our land on Sunday.

Again we slept in until 10am. And again when I say we, I mean me. Andi and V played together from about 7am until I woke and then we all just hung around the house pretending to clean and be busy for most of the morning. At around 1pm Andi suggested that we put on our coats and walk over to visit our little plot of land. So that is what we did.

I don't think I had enough of a coat on, but mr. v was well bundled up and Andi had on only a long sleeved shirt. After about an hour and a half, we two were chilled to the bone! But it was about 1C today. Not so bad. Not sure why we were so cold.

The land is doing just fine. Our neighbor has already dug his cellar and the two lots in the back have a house beginning to bud on them too. After we solidify our plans, our house will also enjoy a groundbreaking to begin construction of the cellar.

We were not brave enough to walk home from the land, for fear of mr. v waking up and getting too cold. So we hopped on the Ubahn and were home lickity split for some dinner, a bit of laundry and yoga ball bouncing with the V.

House planning

On Saturday, we slept in until about 10. And when I say we, I mean mr. v and me. Andi is always up at the crack of dawn doing dishes or laundry or playing a 4th hour of his computer game where he pretends he is biking in the tour de France. What fun, right? :)

After a quick breakfast and some fun with dangling toys, we shot out the door toward our noon appointment with an architect for some house planning. It wasn't as long as we thought it was going to be and basically all we needed to do was tell him yes to this wall and no to that wall and we want this bathroom smaller and take away that room. He will send us new plans later this week. But after the appointment, our realtor invited us to visit his home. He has the same home as the one we are building, and it is good to see what it ends up looking like. What the floors and walls and windows and stairs will look like.

I think we were pleased with what we saw. We made a decision about our south facing walls. Or the wall of windows they will become. But now we are debating hardwood or tile floors. Andi is pushing for the wood, so we shall see if I cave in. I am just not sure. Any advice?

While he finished up with his last appointment. We all went out for some pumpkin risotto, mushroom ravioli and then a slice of Malakoff cake and chocolate crepes.


It is still super cold here, so in the evenings we hole up in our cozy apartment and play with our dangly toys.

The cuteness

As requested...

A walk to the city suburbs

It was about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, but still freezing cold. Mr. v and I woke up, had some cereal, played with our dangly toys and had a couple of conversations, and then packed up and headed out for our 3 hour walk to and from Vienna's old crazy person hospital, designed by Otto Wagner.


It is one of my favorite walks because it is always an even 3 hour walk with one big hill and for about 2 of the hours, there is a tram you can jump on if you need some help.

Mr. v was not so impressed and slept through the whole thing.


We came home to clam spaghetti and a nap followed by a fun bath where v splished and splashed and seemed to really love the action. He is loving water more and more. Not so much the getting out the bathtub part - warm water to cold air is not so much fun. Another great day if you ask me.

Tomorrow we meet with the builders to begin planning our house. We have no idea how we are going to start, and it is all going to be done in German, so we will just cross our fingers and dive in.

Thursday within

Although it was warmer today, mr. v and I did not set foot out of our apartment. We did get visitors however. After sleeping in until 9, feeding mr. v and then having him nap again at 10, I had about an hour to make breakfast and coffee and do a whirlwind vacuum-mop-dishes-straightening up and then another feed before wonderful Hazel came over to visit.

(...and here is mr. v engaged in his new favorite activity)

It was great. A bit of tea, chocolate biscuits and chatting (just a smattering of gossip) certainly warms the heart. Hazel's husband Ian even stopped by for a chat and cuddled with mr. v a bit.

It was a lazy dinner of frozen pizza and mr. v plopped down for a fuss free night at 8pm. An all around fantastic day for the two of us. Andi and I are having some stress with the idea of house planning and sorting out all the loan and legal stuff in German. I am sure it will all work itself out.

In another side note, here is a photo of all the loot we scored from the city of Vienna just for having a baby. This was all a very welcome gift - a beachtowl, a child's backpack and lunchbox, denim overalls and a tee, pajamas, a sweat suit and five burp towels!

Baby carriages galore!

We headed out again today to face -11C temperatures and visit the carriage museum located on the grounds of Schonbrunn. Since we have brought a stroller into our lives, we decided to see how it compares to baby strollers throughout the ages.

On a side note, along our walk we saw the cute way the Viennese gardeners protect the tulips hibernating below.


The carriage below was built (in 1835) for the children of the Archduke Franz Karl, Archduke and Emperor Franz Joseph, Archduke and Emperor of Mexico Maximilian and Archduke Karl Ludwig. These boys all took turns playing emperor, coachman and footman. How does it compare to our Maxi Cosi? As you can see, mr. v was very impressed by the entire museum. Zzzzzzzz

This little green garden carriage is the oldest children's carriage from the Vienna court still in existence (1790-95). It was built for the oldest children of Emperor Franz and as such was also used by his daughter Marie Louise (wife of Napoleon), who was born in 1791. But still, they didn't have a neat piece of plastic to protect them from the rain, like mr. v does.

The son of Napoleon and Marie Louise, born in 1811, was given the title "King of Rome" and seemed to be destined for a lustrous future. This blue garden carriage was not merely intended for use, but rather was a highly symbolic insignia signifying the great future of the heir to the throne. It does match up to the Maxi Cosi in a few ways, it has a sun shade, mudguards and gilded eagles. Oh, gilded eagles? Well the Maxi Cosi has a cup holder. Beat that!


And here is our mr. v and the Gloriette


and mr. v and Schonbrunn


After our trip, we ran home quickly to get warmed up and took a 2 hour nap. Aaah, how decadent.

Moving along at 2.5 months

So we made it to 2.5 months. The boy came in at 9lbs and has grown and grown since. Unfortunately, the weight I gained during his 9 months inside has not decreased as quickly as his own weight has increased. Therefore, we have turned toward the stroller to get moving a bit more. This will hopefully serve two purposes...to provide mr. v with more diverse surroundings than our living room, and to help me to shed some of this weight.

Today, we braved the -8C temperatures and made it the 5 miles to the Agency. It was BITTER cold.

Mr. V is entertaining us everyday with new sounds. He spends most of his morning and evening talking to us with long moans and hard staccato grunts. He was lifting his head at 2 weeks, smiling at 5 weeks and is now at 11 weeks doing his form of a laugh, which includes a huge toothless grin accompanied by a loud grunt. then repeat. over and over again.

Early on he had a hard time yawning without a cry or whine and he has been toughing out 5am stomach cramps since the day he was born. But with the end of the first 3 months, he is getting easier and easier. We are able to leave him on the floor to play with his dangling toys while we eat or cook or clean. He even conquered a 20 hour trip to, and a 14 hour trip from the States for Christmas. The jet lag is getting to all three of us, however.

All in all, mr. v is pretty great. His smiles are ridiculous and I am very glad that we are slowly moving out of 'survival mode' and are moving toward being able to just enjoy each other.

I am unemployed again, which suits me just fine for now. Being ok with moving from a two person, two income family to a three person, one income family is a major turning point for me. As is being ok with being a one income family that will spend most of 2011 planning and building a house.