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Snippets of a Trip Update

We're back! Fortunately I had the foresight to take the rest of the week off work so it's a Thursday morning and jet lagged baby is (now was) asleep, Mr. H is watching NASCAR (recorded from last weekend) and I have a minute to provide you, my faithful readers, with a few photos and some snippets of updates.

On our porch in Switzerland
Portrait of the happy traveler on a train

I'm having a hard time remembering back almost two weeks ago when we were racing to catch our flight in Dallas but here's a few things I do recall:

Why we aren't at all surprised American Airlines isn't doing well
We had 4 separate flights with American (and two with British Air) and three of the four were delayed (only one weather related). That caused our luggage to miss the connection and left us in Switzerland the first two days with no luggage. Of course I packed 3 outfits and plenty of food and diapers for Biscuit and nary a pair of clean underwear for myself.

The thing I never thought I would do
Drug the baby. But I gotta tell ya, a half teaspoon of Benadryl makes an international flight a lot more tolerable for all involved. She was a real trooper (and I don't think this will lead to any lasting drug problems! :)

A beautiful view
We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary in Europe and used it as an excuse (twice) to go out together (without Biscuit) and go to the top of tall mountains for the views. I think a picture is worth a thousand words here. The other mountain we visited was in a solid fog bank, no views there.

To sleep, perchance to dream
Despite a jet lagged 8 month old we did get some sleep. She napped (or didn't) on the road every day (on trains, busses, in her backpack etc.) and slept in our bed with us at night.

The cutest thing we didn't capture on film
Biscuit helping me hold onto the metal pole on the Airtram at the Dallas Airport. Her chubby little hand gripping the pole. Trust me, it was adorable.

First runner up on the cutest thing we didn't capture on film
The cute new tricks on licking her lips and then puckering up and making a fish face with her cheeks pulled in

Constipation update
remember that last post? We got FOUR POOPS THAT SAME DAY! I guess it resolved!

Crawling update
So she gave up on learning to crawl during our trip and cut her first tooth instead. We're still waiting for a full appearance but it's broken through the skin as of the Fourth of July

Baby Travel Tip
Snap tape (that you buy at the fabric store) makes the best pacifier holder ever. And, for us, the pacifier was perhaps the most critical equipment we had with us

There are approximately a million other fun things to tell you about but I don't want to bore so here's a picture

Report from foreign lands

Short version: the trip is going even better than we could have hoped!

Highlights:

• Biscuit slept the entire international flight from Texas to London except the 2 hours we spent on the runway awaiting a repair to the airplane
• The views everywhere have been amazing (in Adelboden, Switzerland and Chamonix, France)
• The family has been getting along great

Lowlights:

• Biscuit did not sleep at all the first night in Geneva
• Biscuit learned to sleep with her "taggie" but the taggie now resides near the train station in Spiez
• Our trip is almost over :( We leave Chamonix tomorrow for Geneva then home

Random:

• We needn't have brought any baby toys, the child has a new paper obsession and has been shredding magazines, napkins and placemats across Europe and when she needs a break from that, an empty water bottle is the toy of choice
• I think I fed her sour cream (or maybe cream cheese) in an attempt to give her plain yogurt last night. Whatever it was, she loved it!
• Now she is constipated...bananas or sour cream? Who knows....pears and peaches only today.

Ok, the internet is 1 Euro per 10 minutes (yikes) must go without proofreading

Au revoir!

Cast of Characters

Unlike Sactownkid, I haven't been posting too frequently but for the next 2 weeks I may not post at all. And here's why......(drumroll)....

We'll be in EUROPE.

More specifically SWITZERLAND

More specifically, right here in Adelboden.

But lest you think this trip will be all fun and games, let me introduce you to the cast of characters with whom the hills will be alive:

Me

Mr. H: the only one who isn't a blood relative

Biscuit: Who, conveniently, decided that THIS WEEK is the EXACT WEEK she would like to learn to crawl. Last week she'd sit in my lap for hours. This week she only wants to work on her new skill. This also mean she's stopped sleeping. Hmm, 12 hour plane ride is looking good.

Aunt Laura (my 22 year old sister): She just graduated from college and at one point was going to get a trip to Nepal with Grandpa D (our dad) for a gift. Through a little bait and switch she got a trip to Switzerland with the whole fam. This trip is a bit tame for the child that just spent 4 months in Southeast Asia. Not that a girl can complain about a trip to Switzerland but let me introduce the rest of the traveling party.....

Grandma D (my mom): She's really gotten into traveling over the last 10 years (I think this is her fourth trip to Europe) but she's usually been on a formal tour (with a tour bus and guide). The one trip she did without a guide was planned to the minute with excursions and sights. It is KILLING her that we have NO PLANS WHATSOVER. Just some hotel rooms and a rail pass. I should also mention (and she can't get offended because she has to agree this is true) she's a wee bit emotional lately. Not sure of the cause but in the past 3 months I can't recall a family outing that didn't involve spontaneous crying. Now if that doesn't make the son-in-law uncomfortable, I don't know what does. And remember Aunt Laura? Great girl, love her to death, she has identified EVERY BUTTON our mom has and exactly how to push them. As an added bonus, I seem to have inherited the spontaneous crying gene and Biscuit is a baby so spontaneous crying is what she does.

Get ready for the waterworks.

Grandpa D (my dad): The sugar daddy of the extravaganza. He basically hates to travel unless it involves a car ride across Nevada, a tent and a national park. As far as I can tell his last international trip was to Vietnam (for the war) and I'm pretty sure he stayed on the ship. Needless to say this is a big step for him. He's trying to ease into the big wide world by pretending he's in a national park (called the Alps). Day hikes and coffee drinking are the only things on his itinerary.

So there you go. You aren't so jealous anymore are you?

I'll try to find a computer in Adelboden and post updates on this trip for your amusement.

If this website happens to move over to Clubmom in my absence, hello! Pleasure to meet you! Stop by after July 6 for a recap and in the meantime, take a gander through the archives.

I needn't have rushed home

So when I called Mr. H at 5 pm as I was getting ready to leave work, he alerted me that Biscuit had missed her afternoon nap and was likely to melt down soon. I hurried home hoping to have a few minutes before she fell asleep. I needn't have rushed.
This was the scene when I arrived home at 6 p.m. The best part of this photo is what you can't see. The Speed Network showing the car race that lulled them both to sleep. Biscuit has inherited a love of cars from her father and car races are one of the few things that hold her attention on TV (although not tonight).

And now, for what I was actually planning to blog about, my before and after project.
Before (a pillow case): After (a dress) on a rather uncooperative model: And, finally, a belated Happy Father's Day!

Construction Zone

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately, I've been taking it easy. Finals were over last Saturday and graduation was today and work was super busy in between so the blogging just had to give. Photos of graduation coming soon.

But now, a very exciting update about our home, our construction zone. Since Mr. H is on summer vacation, he's had time to rent a jackhammer and go to town on the back steps in preparation for our new deck.
Before:

After: Proof that Mr. H could totally be a contractor if he decided to give up the teaching gig:

Have you ever noticed on construction sites how the workers just leave food trash ALL over? At my sister-in-law's house the hole for the tub was filled with fast food wrappers. I heard someone say they had to remodel and found soda cans in their walls. Um, ever heard of a trash can folks? Me either, the soda bottles and cups are still lying in the yard.

Happy Father's Day Mr. H!

Put a fork in me

I'M DONE (with school that is). I finished my last final Saturday morning and we hopped in the car to attend my sister's college graduation. Photos coming soon but just a note to say how lovely it is on a Sunday evening to not even be considering how many pages I have to read or papers I have to write or presentations I have to practice or ANYTHING. A bit funny when just a baby and a full time job feels like a vacation.

And speaking of vacation, Mr. H is officially on summer break. Teachers put up with a lot of crap but the words: June, July and August might just make it worthwhile.