Recent outdoor adventures

This past month we have gotten out on a few outdoors adventures, a few together thanks to having babysitters or hauling the kiddos along, and a few alone.
A few weekends we set off on our first real hike with two children in tow.  It is quite an accomplishment just remembering everything we might need for both kids, let alone the actual hiking. We hiked up from Aecherli pass  to Arvigrat, and it was quite a steep incline. John has to do much more work carrying Hannah when she is done "hiking", but Elliott is not the lightest these days.  All in all the 3 hour hike when very smoothly, except for me thinking about how sore my legs were going to be for our next adventure that was occurring in just 2 days....


John had to use a vacation day by the end of June that he had carried over from 2014, or he would loose it. Our friend Tammy was able to watch H and E, so John organized a bike ride for us that would go over two mountain passes. He has always wanted to do a bike ride like this together and this was our chance. I did thankfully get out on my bike more than normal the 3 weeks before our bike ride, as I was quite nervous for it. The first pass that we rode was Klausenpass, and it was my type 1400 meters of gradual climbing over 24 km or so.  I really did enjoy this pass, I was tired, enjoyed it.

Then from the top we rode down into the town of Glarus, where we had lunch and I had to decide if I had enough energy to continue or if we should take the train back.  I knew we wouldn't have many opportunities to do a ride like this together, so despite the heat and my fatigue I decided to continue.  The next pass, Pragel was only 1,000 meters of climbing but was quite steep at the end.... I was very happy to reach the top! Then to my surprise the first half of the descent was VERY scary for me, steep, windy, and bumpy.... and my hands were so tired that I couldn't squeeze the brakes too well.... I was just praying for safety!

 Thankfully we made it down safe and arrived in Schwyz with 2 minutes to spare for our train ride back to Altdorf... and of course finished it all off with a beer by the lake.

Our daily view and a perfect spot for a beer after a long ride

Last weekend John woke up at 3 AM on Saturday to ride three passes on his bike, Furka, Susten, and Grimsel... yes he is crazy!  He was getting a good training ride in for next weekend. He will be doing a 3 day bike tour through the mountains, sounds very intense to me!

I also got up early on Sunday, I am trying to get up early 1-2 times per week to get my workout in, to do a good long hill run. It was a 90 degree day, so running at 6 AM was the best option anyways. I did a run partway up the Buochserhorn and made it into a loop totally 1:45 of running, my first longer run since Elliott!  Now off to eat some more ice cream!

Elliott 5 months

Our little man turned 5 months last week! I can say that this past month went by faster than any of the other months.  We have been busy enjoying the summer days.  Although the weather varies a bit more here we have had some really nice sunny days in the last month. We have done a bike ride to Luzern, had visitors from Iowa, and I have continued to work 2 days a week.  I will just post a lot of cute pictures this month with a summary of what Elliott has been up to.

Smiley man, earlier this month before his 6 teeth came in. Yes, 6 teeth!

Hannah loves her little brother, most of the time.... just don't try to play with my toys!

Hannah loves "coffee"

Elliott wishes he could have a sip of Daddy's coffee

I am getting good at sitting

Elliott sitting and reading his first book

Hannah taking a picture with baby brother- aka sitting on Elliott.

5 month activity:

*as mentioned above, Elliott now has 6 teeth, two on the bottom four on the top. Thankfully he hasn't been too fussy with them.

*he currently has his first real cold, which has made him a little more fussy, but generally still happy.

*he has slept through the night for 4 nights in a row 7 pm to 6:30 am without needing to nurse!... we hope this is the new normal.

*he started to eat a few solids at the end of the month and is loving it. With all of his teeth I am hoping he can do finger foods sooner than Hannah.

* He rolls from tummy to back but not back to belly.

*He can sit unsupported for about 1 min, sometimes longer. 

* He still takes about 3 naps 1 hr to 1 hr 30 in length... 

* He is such a smiley baby, he smiles with his whole body!

That's all until next month... it is a big month, Hannah turns 3 and Elliott 6 months, and we will have been in Switzerland 2.5 years!

A day away and a weekend in Ticino

This past Thursday was a catholic holiday so John had the day off of work.  Our friend Tammy, who has been watching the kiddos while I work, watched them the whole Thursday holiday so John and I got to go on a kids free hike.

The blue routes are the more difficult Alpine routes

 There is a mountain, Chaiserstock, that John has been wanting to hike to the top of ever since we moved here. The weather has been warm for a few days so we were hoping the snow would be melted, at least enough to make the hike doable. We initially drove up a VERY narrow road to get to the small cable car that took us part way up the mountain....
this was a very small cable car that would only fit 4 people, usually the cable car we take can fit at least 10 people if not 50. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful, but unfortunately there was still quiet a bit of snow. Which meant that we zigged and zagged a bit more than if we could have clearly seen the path. Unfortunately we came to a point in the trail that was steep and looked like a rock slide had occurred.. and  I got a little to scared to cross the loose rocks... it didn't help that we probably were two of the first people trying to hike up this 2500 meter. We still had a great time, got a bit of a sun burn, and gelato at the end.



We are so thankful to Tammy for watching the kids so that we could have some quality time alone.

hanging outside the house 

Hannah probably stealing some of Dai's food

Hannah and her friend Trini

This past weekend we went to the Italian part of Switzerland to stay with our friends Dai and Trini in a small house up in the mountains. We were a little nervous because it is quite a bit of work to pack two kids up to go stay in a mountain house, which you have to park and walk 5 minutes down a trial to get to, but it ended up being a good adventure.

Our view from the house, Italy is on the south side of this lake

The highlight was during our hike we stopped to bbq for lunch next to a river. It was a hot day so the water looked nice, but it was SUPER cold. I could only keep my feet in for a minute, but Hannah, who last year would have never gone in, loved hanging onto Johns, Dai's or Trini's hand and getting dipped in the water. It was so fun to see her have fun doing something that last year she would have never done.  She is growing up!

Our life in the last month, Elliott at 4 months

 
Well here I am late to post about our last month again!  We have had a fairly busy month as John's mom and her friend Susan came to visit for 10 days and I started back to work. I am working 2 days a week for 2 months and then just covering for vacations, whenever I can find babysitters :)!
I mentioned last month that the Dr here wanted me to take Elliott off his reflux medicine, but sadly it didn't go very well. I have learned that you are not supposed to quit these medicines cold turkey. Anyhow, he was off the meds for one week and has been back on them since then. At his four month appointment again the Dr recommended stopping the medicine, but this time we are going to slowly reduce it over 3 weeks..... And pray it goes ok!

John's moms visit was right in the middle of the month and it was so great to have some help, some time away with John and for the company in general.  John and I were lucky enough to sneak away for a 10 mile race in Bern, they say it is the most beautiful 10 mile race and about 20,000 other people joined us for it.  We then also got to spend the night in Bern which included a fantastic meal at an Indian restaurant. It was a good time away and we were so thankful that John's mom was willing to watch the kiddos.

The week after Johns mom left I started to work again. I am so blessed to have my friend Tammy coming to the house to watch Hannah and Elliott until the end of June, then after that I have several friends to watch the kids just when my boss needs vacation coverage. Daycare costs and our tax situation makes it too expensive to take the kids to a daycare or to pay a nanny. But it is nice to be able to work a little bit and it has been a good transition so far. And Tammy seems to be a baby whisperer. Elliott always takes nice long naps when Tammy is here. I am starting to think it is because he loves to eat and he loves his nice full bottles of milk, he is John's son and John mentions all the time that he is usually always hungry!

Elliott has only rolled a few times, I think mostly on accident. I think he is getting close to doing it more purposefully. He still loves to stand and always giggles when he is standing and does "So Big" at the same time. He has still been eating once for 10 minutes or so at night, between 4 and 5:30 lately, and goes to bed at 7, wakes up around 7. Overall it is ok, but I would love him just to go the whole 12 hours soon! Also I must note that Hannah has started to play with Elliott and give him quite a bit of attention.

This month was also the first flight of the airplane that John has been working on

 His low points are car rides and sometimes 45 minute naps... but I guess we all have downsides. His stats this month are: 6.77 kg... almost 15 pounds and 63 cm tall. That is all until next month.

3 months in

Elliott turned 14 weeks today, 3 months and a week, done with the fourth trimester, Crazy!  We don't have his next official check up until 4 months. But we have been to the doctor 2 times in the last month. He has been treated for silent reflux with Nexium for one month, so we had to go to get him weighed. Many reflux babies don't gain weight appropriately due to spit up or pain associated with eating, think heartburn but also in the esophagus. With the medication all of his symptoms improved as did sleep. So yesterday the Dr suggested going off the medication, as most babies should grow out of the reflux.  I am a bit nervous since the medicine helped, but I also don't want Elliott on medication if he doesn't need it... time will tell.
 
We have had many improvements in the last month. Elliott was never an awful sleeper, I could just tell he was uncomfortable. But now he has been in bed a bit after 7, sleeping until 3/4 am, eating for 15 minutes and then right back to sleep until 6:45 or so. We are hopeful in the next few months this will extend to no middle of the night feeding but an 8-9 hour chunk is pretty good... we just can't compare him to Hannah who slept 12 hours straight since 11/12 weeks. Also he goes down for most naps and bed without the pacifier and awake for the past week or so, with very little protest. Mostly he "talks" a bit and then is out.
 
Another big improvement has been Hannah, she is still jealous at times, but she has started to be more like Elliott's second mommy. Which to be honest is what I thought she would have been like from the beginning. She likes to have jobs related to Elliott and has started to give him kisses!  She does get bored from having to be in the house a bit more due to Elliott napping so much, but we try to make at least 1-2 naps of Elliott's out and about.... yes he still takes 4 naps a day!! Can't wait for that to decrease... really I love one nap a day but that is a ways off.... I will conclude with a few quick stats on Elliott.
 
*Weight 6.15 kg= 13.5 pounds, 50%
*Has found his hands and loves sucking on them
* Not yet independently rolling, will do so with a bit of help
* Loves cooing and talking
* Loves to stand with support
* Will tolerate 5-10 minutes of Tummy time
* Still sleeps like a champ in the Ergo when we are hiking or are out and about
* In bed 11.5-12 hours at night waking once to eat

Loaded up for a ride in the Chariot!

2 months

Today marks the 2 month mark for Elliott!  I am not sure I should be writing this update today as it was a challenging one, sometimes with Elliott, but to be honest the last 2 months has been HARD with Hannah.  She is usually so easy, and had no problem with any transition except for this one. She is definitely jealous and making it hard to enjoy Elliott who is actually a fairly happy guy. Oh well, this too will pass....
Today Elliott had his 2 month appointment today and is a healthy growing boy, except for possibly some reflux issues. He is still in the 50% for weight and head size- 5.51 kg and 40 cm respectively. He dropped from 50% to 45% for height.  He seems so big to me, so it is interesting that he is only 50% for weight.

He sleeps pretty well at night, still waking 2 times to eat between 11/1 pm and 4/5 am, but he goes right back to sleep for the most part... but I am definitely looking forward to this dropping to once a night, then maybe my bedtime can be later than 8:45.
He is good at holding his head up on his tummy and with head control while sitting.  I try to keep him upright for 15-20 min after eating to help with reflux, but when he is allowed to lay on his back he loves his little baby play mat.

We just purchased a Thule Chariot that is a nice bike trailer and jogger that he loves to ride in so far, with the infant sling installed... plus it allows us to go on family bike rides and runs again... That was our expensive anniversary present this year.
His next appointment is in 2 months, and I am excited to see the changes that happen in these two months... excited to say goodbye to the newborn stage.... I love older babies so much more!!
Also hoping we have a better report for Hannah in the next two months!