milano

vee took a
trip to milan
at the end of
september
to help
celebrate
her papa's birthday.

we decided upon
milan because
it is a short train ride.


(vee on the train to milan)

also
i have an old friend
who lives in milan
that i have not seen
in almost
20 years!


(vee with mario, my friend francesca's boy)

we were not sure
how traveling
would be
with a toddler
but it actually
worked out
better than expected.
it helped that
the italians
love babies.

they were always
smiling and talking
to vee.
they always offered
us their seats
on the train.





or offered us
a helping hand.

of course
the main thing
that we wanted
to do is
eat italian food
but...
the one thing
that is
very hard to do
with a toddler
is sit down
and enjoy
a meal together.
usually
we would feed vee



and
then one of us
had to follow vee
around
as she explored
the restaurant
and surrounding
neighborhood



while
the other person
ate their meal.



we often asked
the waiter
to bring one dish out
at a time
so one of us
would not
end up
eating a cold meal.

one of the highlights
of the trip
was grub's
birthday lunch
at the small.



not only was
the waiter/owner
incredibly nice
and accomodating




(there were animals by our table for vee to play with)

when he served us
our main course
he whisked vee
off in his arms
and carried her around
as he served meals,
opened champagne,
and took orders.

it was the cutest thing
you have ever seen.
vee loved him.
i only wish that
i had snapped
a photo
of it...
but i was too busy
enjoying
the wonderful food!

otherwise
we walked
around the city
with vee
in her carrier.



she took
in the sites
as well.



and posed
with dad
for photos.





in the afternoon
vee and i
returned
to where
we were staying
so vee could nap
and grub
could explore
the stores
unencumbered
by a toddler.

vee and i
would nap,
work on
grub's
birthday card,



and play
until
dinner time.



all in all.
a great weekend.

xo

12 months!

september 18, 2012!

before
we could
bat
an eye
our
wee grub
turned
o n e

. . . . . . . . . . . .

my friend
put it perfectly
when she said
that the first year
is simultaneously
the longest
and
the fastest
year of your life.

it feels like
a decade passed
in a year.



and just
look at her!
she is a bruiser.
no doubt about it.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

things have been
c r a z y
since my last post.
vee turned one
almost three weeks ago!
i feel like a bad parent
waiting until now
to write all this down.

in that time
i went to mexico
for a week.



grub
and wee grub
managed
just fine
without me....

and then
the grandparents
came to stay with us
for two weeks
to celebrate vee's birthday
with her.





i do not know
if it is that
vee heard their voices
on skype
or somehow knew
they were her
grandparents
but she warmed up
to them almost instantly.



right before
they arrived
vee started
some serious teething
and was in
quite a bit of pain
while they were
visiting...
her two top teeth
made their appearance
right before they left.



the pediatrician said
that now that vee
was one year old
she could
start eating beef.
he recommended
(i kid you not)
t-bone steak
(i laughed outloud).
grub is thrilled
to have an excuse
to buy
nice cuts of meat.

. . . . . . .

on her
actual birthday
she opened
presents
from family.




(one of her favorite presents. from grandma)

it was tedious.
she
really had
no interest in
opening things.
she got stuck on
the ribbon
of one box
and there was
no progression
from there.

on the evening
of vee's birthday
we tried to have
a little party
with a few friends.



that was NOT
successful.
i learned:
a) don't have party's
for children after 4pm.
b) keep it to family
(or very dear friends)
until they are old enough
to tell you
who they want to invite.

our weekend party
went much better
despite the bad weather.



vee's teeth seemed
to be bothering her less
and she was in good spirits.

i decorated.


(decorations courtesy of my friend elvira)

we made some
cupcakes...

 

and had some
friends over.
all people who
made an effort
to be involved in
vee's 1st year.

 

it was more like
a thank-you to them.

we even offered
vee a cupcake
(obligatory for
1st birthdays)





i was glad it
was a hard frosting
because i am not
fond of
baby photos
with food
smeared
on their faces.



vee was perplexed
and opted to dismantle
the strange device
and it never made
it anywhere
near her face.

i tried to
encourage people
not to bring gifts
but of course
many people brought
presents for vee.
i was so happy
that people
brought her
books
since that is what
she loves best of all.


(many new books from omi & friends!)

the party wound down
in time for
vee to have
her afternoon nap.
parents
and grandparents
relaxed
with a sigh
of relief.

how can we be tired?

my brother
just had
a birthday party
for his 6 year old son.
15 x 6-year-olds playing
miniature golf.
my brother
called it
mini golf anarchy.

how will we survive?

honestly
i am looking
forward to it.

after her birthday
i told vee
that
she better get
right down
to writing
all her
thank you notes...




she opted
for more exciting
post-birthday party
fun...



thunderdome-style
balloon cage!!!



oh well.

happy very
belated
birthday
to our
sweet
wee grub.



there is much
to say about
what vee has been
up to
but i will save
that for later.

until then...

xo

ps behind-the-scenes
pre-photo shoot
touch-up:

10 months

it was
a beautiful
sunny july day
when vee turned
10 months old.

as we approach
her one year
birthday
i cannot
help but get
nostalgic
for those
last
months
before
she was born...
the warm
sunny days
in neuchâtel
when
grub and i
would eat
dinner
on the balcony
and
take
early evening
dips in the lake
and wonder
how our lives
would change
when vee was born.

that was
a year ago.

. . . . . . . . . .



vee had another
eye appointment
on her birthday.
so we
spent most
of the morning
in lausanne.




in the evening
we joined
friends
by the lake
for
an apéro
and
pétanque.
vee hung out
with her favorite
frenchman, antoine.

. . . . . . . . . .



. . . . . vee's 9-month present from grub gets deconstructed . . . . .


vee is becoming
more mobile,
more curious
and more
determined.
she must grab and
deconstruct
everything
she can get her hands on...



she plays by herself
and often
seems to be reading
her stories out loud.

. . . . . . . . . .

this month
we started taking
her around in
the stroller
but due to
the chore
of getting
in down
the many stairs
in front
of our building
we quickly
gave up on it.

. . . . . . . . . .

our friend
derrick
visited
from
n. carolina
and vee
was very fond
of him.



he sat
patiently with vee
and played
coasters
and made her
laugh a lot.
he nicknamed her
lil' puddin' foot.

. . . . . . . . . .



i spent my
first birthday
with vee...



and she
had her
first
4th of july bbq.

. . . . . . . . . .

we had our first
"accident"
this month...
our pediatrician
warned us 
that we were entering
the age of accidents...
we were careful...
but
one morning
vee was on our bed
and
grub had gotten up
to make tea & coffee...
he had put up
a pillow barrier
on his side of the bed
and i had fallen back asleep...
and suddenly
i was jolted awake
to
t-h-u-m-p
and
W-A-A-A-a-a-a-h-h-h.
we don't know how
she did it but
we were lucky...
she just got a tiny bump
on her head
and she quickly
stopped crying
but
boy oh boy
we felt bad
(especially me,
since
i was sleeping
on the job)...
we now refer to
the incident
as
the day
we "broke her in."



. . . . . . . . . .

vee is not
really crawling
or walking yet.
she is an excellent
backward crawler
and wants to
"walk"
everywhere.
our
pediatrican
kindly corrected us
when we said
she was
walking with assistance.
apparently
what she is doing
is not considered
walking.
i am in no rush.
crawling and walking
means
nothing is safe
in our home
anymore...
it's like
when
we had a kitten
but worse.

. . . . . . . . . .

otherwise
we are
having a good time
with vee...
she is
harder
to keep up with
every day
but she
is always
easy-going
and smiling.
people remark
on it every time
we have a get together...
they always
tell us
how much fun
it is to have
vee around
because
she likes everyone
and smiles a lot.


(click on image to see video)

she certainly
makes us
laugh a lot.

. . . . . . . . .

next month
will be a big month
for vee (and us)...
more on that later.

for now
we are
enjoying
the summer
and
all the adventure
vee has in store for us.




xo