Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ice cream with Papi

Now...what is this you have there?

I think I want some of that!

Gimme gimme gimme.

Put it in ma mouf!!!

The boys heading back to the apartment through the park.

Mmrph?

This is my new bed. Do you like it? I do.

Springtime at the Zoo

I didn't get very many photos, but here are those that I did get of our second visit to the Vienna Zoo. It was a nice day, a bit of wind and cold, but it didn't rain on us and we got around to pretty much all of the park.

Us at the Ubahn station before we get to the zoo.

Cute little guy with a pilot's helmet.

Vin with the Orangutans. Not sure if he appreciated it at 5 months as much as he will in a year or so.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The April 10 walk in the Vienna Woods

Oh My Goodness! Trees! Did you see the trees? There are TREES here!
I am working a little backwards here, so bear with me as I take you back in time a bit.

After Vin and I came back from the States, and got over our jet lag, and the weather warmed up enough to do so, the three of us headed out for a nice little walk/hike in the Vienna woods. This is the same hike that Vin and I ended up doing alone the next day.

We met quite a few people on the trail as we were heading on up. This seems to be a popular one. But on the way down I think we took the steep route and we three were the only ones on the trail.

Vin was very good and seemed to really enjoy it all. We had to stop halfway through and I fed him on a stump to keep him happy. He likes the great out of doors...as you can see in the photos.

Us on the trail.

How do the woods taste?

Cuteness squared.

Vin showing Papi the way on the map
 And a little dance for you:

Friday, April 22, 2011

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Our first solo hike

Vin and I headed out on a lovely, sunny day for our first solo hike (a hike without Andi to guide us) and we got in a good 3 hour trip in the Vienna woods.

Well look at him...cool as a cucumber. Too cool to smile, apparently.
 It was about 11 when we headed out. It is about a 45 minute tram trip to the beginning of the trail and about a 2 hour or 2.5 hour hike/walk. A bit up, a bit down with cute little play areas and a couple of great restaurants at the top.

Vinny wasn't too huge of a fan once we got to the 2 hour point, but then eventually fell asleep. Thank God.

Us on the trail.
 We will try to keep it up and explore new trails on our own. We feel so brave, and a bit vulnerable when we are out there alone, but I imagine we will build strength and courage over time.

Finally...he sleeps.
A bit of the experience for you.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Bad Uncle. Bad.

So, having my brother here is usually a great time, a lot of fun and leaves nothing but fantastic, warm, fuzzy feelings.  But this time I think I will regret having him here. Just look what he has taught my son. Just look!


Out on the town in the April sun

Today we toured the city again for some sun and fun and shopping and snacks. We like to spend time in parks during diaper changes to get our junk all good and dried out.

Justin and I stopped by this little restaurant for some veggies and cous cous. Vin got some sweet potatoes, peas and milk. 


 Apparently Vin had a GREAT time at the restaurant with us. But you can find him laughing like this almost all the time he is with his Uncle.

 I have a firetruck on my overalls!!

I am totes walking, yo!!

And...we're back at 6 months.

Drrr...Drff drff drff
We have been off the radar for about a month now...and for a blog documenting the firsts in my son's life, a month is a very long time. For that I feel guilty and sorry - but I just have to jump back in and try again. So here we are.

Today marks Vinny's 6th month out in the world. He now regularly eats an afternoon meal and an evening meal. Usually sweet potatoes, bananas or risotto for lunch and cereal for dinner. He seems to really like the risotto and cereal, potatoes, green beans, peas, pumpkin, avocado and apples, not so much. But he is down with the cereal.

He had a rough time with the jet lag from our recent trip to the States, but after a week there and a week here, we are back on track. He regularly takes a nice morning and afternoon nap, along with his 10-11 hours of sleep at night; although his nightly sleep includes a couple of feedings. He now sleeps in a real crib like a real boy. A crib with a monkey, a lion, a giraffe, a zebra and  an elephant to keep him company. This is the crib that was our niece Katarina's crib, and also flew off the roof of our car when we were transporting it from Slovenia to Austria. He really likes it and sleeps like a champ. Vinny is laughing like crazy, loves his Uncle Justin, loves any type of swinging, bouncing, falling and swooping. A little danger and some G forces are simply the bees knees. I get a huge smile from him each morning. Being naked is his favorite way to live. He approaches crawling like it is a puzzle which must be solved at a dizzying pace. His hair is coming in brown but his eyes remain a dark, delicious blue. He has a very masculine voice for a baby boy. A warm, low laugh and a velvet gurgle. He regularly entertains himself. If he wakes before me, I can find him playing with his hands or staring out the window in the mornings or after nap time. He happily spends time on the floor practicing his rolling, working on his crawling, looking out the window and giggling at the ceiling or house plants. At 6 months I can clearly see a HUGE developmental jump. In the last couple of days he will see something he wants to touch, and reach out and touch it. He grabs and reaches for that which he desires. Vin loves to be held, but is cool on his own. He really likes to sleep and gets crabby without enough of it (a boy after my own heart). His chubby cheeks remain, but his belly is still taught and hard and lean. He is a good boy. A great boy. A really wonderful person to spend your days with. And we are both excited to explore the summer together. I am astounded to look back and think of the little pot roast we brought home just 6 months ago. A half of a year has made a little pork chop into a little boy. Perhaps too fast. I can't help but think our time together is slipping through my fingers too quickly.

I am naked and I want to crawl.

We were in the States for two weeks to go to a friend's wedding and then the last few weeks we have been repairing from jet lag and just living low.

Right now my brother is visiting us, having run in the Vienna Marathon this weekend and now we are enjoying being all touristy in Vienna this first strong Spring week of the year.


Twins!!


We first discovered the necessity of feeding Vin naked...and just recently realized
that we must not only feed him naked, but also naked
in the bathtub - to consolidate the explosion that is Vinny when eating.


...and engage ab muscles to get the crawl going.

Papi is playing soccer and Uncle J is commentator for me. I like soccer -
or 'fussball' as the Austrians call it.

And that is all for now...