Back from a short weekend trip to Italy

We are just back from a short weekend trip to Italy. Jacob's sister, Annelisa, and her husband, Brian, just flew in for some time in mainland Europe and England. We will let them tell more about their days here in Italy, but in a nutshell Jacob took them for a whirlwind tour on Saturday to see lots of beautiful Italian sights. We filled their day with lots of good Italian eating as well. On Sunday morning they were off to Venice, possibly Florence, and then Rome. They will fly in to Geneva Tuesday night to see some of Switzerland!

Here are the weary travelers on their first day in Europe. They looked really great for having traveled so much and they were really troopers to be up and at it all day! Here they are eating their first gelato in Italy after an Italian pasta/pizza lunch at Ada's.And here is just a message for Brieanna, Mason, and Sophia. Your mommy and daddy love you and miss you sooo much! They are in Italy eating gelato (Italian ice cream), pizza, cioccolata calda (Italian hot chocolate), and biscotti (Italian cookies).Brian and Annelisa even joined us for late night pizza and Italian hot chocolate in Jessi's parents' neighboring town of Piazzola Sul Brenta. They both agreed with us that Italian pizza is pretty fabulous.The pasticceria (pastry shop) that we got our hot chocolate at also has all of their Easter (in Italian "Pasqua") pastries and cakes on display and beautifully decorated. They particularly like to decorate with bright orange, bright yellow, and bright green here in Italy for Easter.In other happenings, on Saturday afternoon, Abram helped Grandpa with some yard work. Abram stuck with it for a few minutes and put the dandelion weeds in the plastic bag, but soon he had to supervise from his Wiggles car!
Grandma and Abram reading a new book. He really liked this one.Chloé playing with her daddy. Thanks for the new cute Easter outfit, Grandma Berg.

Water Coloring Activity

I came across this activity on a blog and decided to try it with Abram. We began by dying the three glasses of water with a few drops of food coloring each. Before Abram was able to dye the water, I had him predict what color it would change to (which was obviously the color of the dye bottle). We did this activity yesterday for the first time, but being that he did not ever go to sleep during his nap time, he was tired and he had a difficult time understanding which colors to mix to get particular colors (orange, purple, green). So day #1 of this activity was mostly spent exploring and experimenting with the water colors, water dropper, and plastic egg carton.

While I was doing the dishes this morning, Abram stood up to the counter again and was able to create orange, purple, and green from the primary colors by using this new chart I made him. The words and colors combined in the color combining equation was too difficult for him to understand, so the colors displayed alone was more helpful and readable as a guide for him. He loved this activity! This activity might just be prepping us for some Easter egg dying.
And just a bit random:
Abram is my dancer and he was showing off his "stand on my head with one leg in the air" move last night. He can stay like this for more than 10 seconds! Look at that form with just his toes and handstouching the floor!
And Chloé is such a big girl and likes to sit up and play for long periods of time now.

So come outside. . .

As Chloé was taking her morning nap, Abram and I were cleaning house and preparing to go outside to enjoy the beautiful spring weather we have been having this week. We live in an apartment here in Switzerland, which may seem very inconvenient for accessing the great outdoors. We don't have our own yard and are only able to savor our small approximately 8' x 10' deck for easy convenience to the fresh air. As I was getting ready to take the children out, I started feeling sorry that I didn't have a yard for such a convenience. But once we got outside, I remembered what I love about living apartment style here. Every major convenience that we enjoy is just a short walking distance from our apartment. So although I have to bundle the kids up to go out, once we are strolling down the path, we can do just about everything - grocery shop, play at a variety of parks, drop mail in the post box, take a walk to the lake, and the elementary school, etc. I am even now in the mind frame that if I have to load the children in the car to do something, I will make sure that it is not something I can already do in our little neighborhood. Aside from playdates and my occasional ALDI run, packing children in the car along with a stroller and then having to unpack and repack and unpack again is not always worth the trip now.As we left our apartment this morning, the mailman was delivering mail to our apartment. Postmen ride motorcycles here with a trailer that carries mail on the back. And if a little boy didn't already think that being a postman was cool?
And I am amazed again this spring at how much little children LOVE to swing. Here are some of our self-timed photos this week. If you can't get your 2 year old to pose for pictures for you, teach him/her how to do the self-timer. Look how posed Abram is for these!
We are not able to go outside now until Chloé wakes from her fairly regular morning nap now. Since it was so close to lunch time, I threw some ham/cheese/bread in the stroller along with a blanket and we had a "picnic". I couldn't believe that more people were not out picnicing like us, until I realized how much more Abram played at the playground instead of ate! And I don't think I have posted Abram on his bike yet. This ride is almost like a second pair of feet for him now. He loves to ride his bike!

Our fun weekend in Zurich

So it has been officially six months since we moved away from Zurich. Leaving Zurich was a sad thing for me. I loved my life there and I loved raising Abram there. It was ideal in so many ways. I think it is a big reason that we decided that we wanted to live in Switzerland longer - it was good for our family. Jacob still doesn't quite understand why I loved Zurich as much as I did, but he was not home everyday as Abram and I went exploring around the neighborhood, village, and Zurich area.

I wanted to visit Zurich all winter long, but it made more sense to wait until the weather was warmer. Thanks the most to Jess and Talmadge Price who let us stay at their place while they were in Rome and also thanks to the Malm family who made room for us in their schedule at the last minute.

We arrived on Friday night to visit with Price's and then to see them off to the airport on Saturday morning. First stop on our trip. . . the Lindt Chocolate Factory of course! I love Switzerland at Easter time with all of the colored eggs and chocolate bunnies on display and to eat along with willow branches and spring flowers bursting out of every market shop.
Next, we stopped by our old apartment building to see some of our friends and former Swiss neighbors, Yvonne and Erik (as well as Sylvia and Reto with baby Cedrik). Little Jan (in the picture below alongside of Chloé- they are three months apart) was born in November after we had moved, so we dropped by a baby gift and visited for a little while. Abram got to play with his three year old friend, Saphira.From our old apartment, we took the bus to the park (Park im Grüene) that Abram and I used to go to often. I was surprised at how much Chloé enjoyed the bus ride. She loved watching all of the cars drive by as we rode.

Here is Abram at the park. Thanks to Joseph for bringing his trucks and diggers and shovels. Abram and Joseph are friends. Here they are standing next to where the donkeys stay. Abram actually requested going to see the donkeys. I was amazed that he remembered that there were donkeys at this park because we haven't been in six months. Since we got home, Abram has requested that we drive the bus to that park. Luckily, there is a park that is similar to this one here in the Geneva area. While Abram napped in the afternoon, I was able to drive over to Zurich International School where I worked last year, to see the other speech-language pathologist I worked with. She opened the school so that I could retrieve my materials that I had left since I did not work this year. Sarita is an excellent, talented speech-language pathologist whom I learned so much from. She will go back to Australia this fall to continue her work as a speech-language pathologist. Thank goodness for Facebook so we can keep in touch with each other.After Abram's nap, we headed downtown on the train. Jacob briefly reminisced about the "S8" train that is so clean and quiet with beautiful views of the lake. We got off at the main train station in Zurich and walked the Bahnhofstrasse which is the shopping street where only pedestrians and trams are able to walk/ride. It is also the road that I walk down and wonder where so many people made/got their money to spend (with all of the designer shops lining the streets - Louis Vuiton, Gucci, Prada, etc.). Tina Turner lives in the Zurich area and I always thought that if I "bumped" into her, it would be along this street. I guess I will have to visit again because there has still been no sighting of her!Per Abram's request, we hopped on the tram to go down by Zurich Lake to eat bratwurst and feed the ducks. We still remind Abram that his first babbles/words where "duckaday, duckaday" because I always brought him down to the lake when he was a baby under 1.This trip to Zurich was really a trip for "me". Abram took this picture of us at the Enge train station - a place we were very familiar with during our first few weeks of living here in Zurich. Thanks, honey, for continuing to make my dreams come true - to include visiting Zurich.

oh, I love you so.

Just a little tribute to my sweet baby girl of seven months old. We had a fun morning at the pirate ship park with your big brother and some friends. You were just as easy going as ever - even swinging for the first time at the park. You slept on the car ride home, woke up pleasant as we packed into the house. You are so sweet and quiet with your new "bah - bah" and "gah - gah" babbles. You are very strong and over the past few days I have found you trying to rise to your knees. And then you even showed me this trick this morning. Look at me, Mommy! Oh, the love of a mommy for her sweet baby girl! We love you "goobears!" (nickname given to her by her daddy because she has "coo-ed and "goo-ed" ever since she was a tiny baby).Ever since I took this picture of Chloé on Abram's lap when she was 2.5 months old and Abram was 2 years and 2.5 months old, Abram likes to request to hold Chloé. Although she is still a baby, I forget sometimes and Abram reminds me when he asks, "Can I hold her?"
A few questions you could ask about this picture taken this morning (Chloé 7 months and Abram 2 years 7 months): Has Chloé grown or has Abram shrunk? or Who is holding who? Okay, so they both have grown. As you can see Abram's legs dangling further off the couch this time. He is actually wearing the same pants in both pictures - they have cuffs in them though so he is not running around in high water pants!

Fun Pictures from our Week

We are having a quiet week, mixed with sunshine and rain. There have been a few moments when Abram and Chloé have been particularly cute and I have been able to capture it on camera.

Upon my request, Abram independently set up a tea party for when I returned to his room after helping Chloé. You can see that he has developed quite the crew of friends: alligator and piggie at the table, along with his turtle, bear, and jaguar sleeping in his bed in the background.
Abram reading to his little sister. He was pretty good at keeping a hold of the book although Chloé has become quite the frantic and successful "grabber" in our house.I need to have Jacob photoshop and lighten this picture up a bit. Thank goodness for an SLR camera that snaps the picture moment so instantaneously.
Chloé, ready for me to fill the bathtub with water.
My friend, Jessi Price, is starting to take weekly photos of her and her daughter - because as moms we are so frequently NOT in the pictures we post. I think it is a great idea, but the few times we have attempted it (using the 10 sec timer on the camera and setting the camera on the tripod has been interesting to figure out) haven't been that successful. Abram has particularly had fun with it though as he has learned to push the button and run and pose for pictures. As you can see from this picture, Chloé is captivated by the flashes and beeps that the camera makes.
And this morning, we got a call from Jacob's parents telling us of the arrival of a new little grand baby of theirs, Corey and Mandy's fourth boy! (They do have two girls as well.) We are excited for them and I decided that you can never have too many Berg boys! Any girl who gets to marry a Berg boy is very, very lucky! I know - I am one of those lucky girls!

Developing Fine Motor Control

A few weeks ago, I was discouraged that Abram's pencil grip was still not moving towards "correct form". I remembered something I had purchased from Lakeshore Learning that might help him work on this, the Writing Practice Magic Board with Printing PracticeCards. The box that the board came in even shows a child holding a pencil correctly. Multiple inputs (visual, verbal, touch, etc.) ultimately has helped Abram progress in his correct pencil grip. (By the way, I love buying things from Lakeshore Learning Company because most of the toys also have educational applications/aspects to them).
Although Abram practiced writing on his board more when it was so novel to him, I thought it was noteworthy to post about. If you have a magnetic writing board at home, you could certainly just create a template (write some letters or words for your child to trace - I would also add lines to your template to help guide him/her even more in letter formation) out of a piece of paper for your child to trace and then have them move the paper to reveal their tracing on the board beneath.
Abram practiced on the board last week, but look what he just created all on his own and showed Jacob last night. He wrote some of his first letters. He said that he wrote "go".
And here are some of his emerging drawings of a face - see the circles and smaller circles inside? And as I caught him playing on his own a few days ago, he told me that he was playing the guitar. Lucky him, we were able to go down to our storage and dig out my guitar (that I barely know how to play) so that he could strum some songs of his own. When I think about it, strumming that guitar was also good fine motor strengthening practice. He has just started singing melodies with words with increasing accuracy over the last three weeks.

Chloe refusing food

Just yesterday and especially last night, Chloé started doing this when she was unsatisfied. It is a great little development to prepare me to change something for her instead of her just starting to scream or cry. She has taken to food a lot better than Abram did at her age. Or maybe I just know what I am doing more. She loves puréed peas and prunes as well as chewing on celery/carrot sticks, bananas, apples, and cheerios. She is not so much a fan of rice cereal, puréed carrots, or applesauce.

Abram, the Postman

While we were at the park this morning, a woman stopped and asked Abram, "Travaillez vous pour la poste?" We went out frequently this winter, but now we are starting to see more children at the playgrounds because it is getting warmer. Abram has recently picked up on the fact that the other children at the playground are not speaking English. He goes about in his play now, often speaking gibberish. I feel a little sorry for him because he will have to rely on things other than his great language skills for interacting with other children. Or maybe I am just feeling sorry for myself because I can't understand a lot of what the children are saying.Abram has taken interest the last few days in "mailing letters". So I thought we would write a letter to his friend and mail it to him. Abram was particularly interested in creating the letter/card. He lost interest when we wrote the address on the envelope and needed to put the stamp on, so I think I will do this activity again with him, so he can have an even better understanding of sending a letter.
It was fun to include photos and pictures of what we wrote so that Abram could "read" and understand the things we were communicating to his friend.
And of course, Abram ran to get his "auto" (Smart car) because he found an additional use for his letter to Joseph. The letter has not actually made it to the post box yet. Abram is having a hard time parting with the letter he created. Another thing to learn: the mail goes to the postbox and then to the postman who delivers it to Joseph's mailbox.

Weekend with the Petty's

Frank and Emily and Frank came this past weekend to visit us. It was a great time to spend together, catch up on "The Office" episodes since Christmas, spend some time out in the pending spring weather, and see Abram and cousin Frank become better buddies. (Some of the photos are from our camera and some are from Frank/Emily's, so feel free to cut and paste this whole blog post into your blog if you want, Emily :)
When they arrived on Friday, we went to Nyon's lakefront and enjoyed the ducks and park. Abram said "Look, those ducks have green hair!" He was taking notice of the Mallard ducks for the first time and their contrast to the female ducks who are brown and plain. As Aunt Emily and I tried to explain that the girl ducks had brown heads and the boy ducks had green heads, we quizzed him and asked him if one duck was a girl or boy and he responded, "No, that is a duck." I guess he doesn't quite understand that animals like ducks have males/females yet.As we left Nyon, an dog owner was getting his St. Bernard dog out of his trunk. He was a beautiful baby dog (if you can imagine that for how big he was) and the boys got to get up close to meet him.
On Saturday morning, we went to Annecy, France which is less than an hour from where we live. Jessi and the kids did this little day trip with Jacob's parents when they came last October. The weather was beautiful and the old, European city atmosphere was great. To start out, we passed the castle at the top of the hill and then descended into the old village.
As we walked down into the old village, they were having an antique market (or an old junk market as Jacob likes to call it). They have this market the last Saturday of every month, so you know when to come visit us Mom (Beth)!
Chloé with some yummy French bread. She could eat the whole thing if she had teeth I think :)Annecy has several canals that run through the old part of town. . .
. . . which then opens up to the Lakefront.
Abram and Frank really started to connect while we were at the lakefront in Annecy. They spent a lot of time imitating each other and laughing during this picture.We played at a great park right there at the lakefront before heading back home. The park was also the location of a memorable public restroom experience for several of us. When you leave the bathroom, the floor and walls flood with water for cleaning purposes. If you walk in too soon after the last person has left, then you are in for a big surprise as you are there for the bathroom cleaning. To say the least, Frank and Jessi both had wet shoes as they left the restrooms. Just one of many frightening restroom experiences to be had in France, we are sure!When we got home, the imitating continued and they started communicating and playing in the ways that a 16 month old and 2.5 year old can which included making lots of noise by pounding on the kitchen table.
Saturday night the boys took a bath. Abram had a fun time pouring water on Frank's head (which Frank likes). Ask Abram about pouring water on his own head though and the answer is "NO!" Recently, Frank has started lathering his own head with the shampoo - very clever kid!
Before church, we drove through downtown Geneva and got one last shot of our visitors. We had a fun weekend! Come again soon!