Sunshine and Good Times

Sorry if I have been a bit remiss in keeping up the blog the past few weeks but we've just been a bit busy.  I also realized it is hard to write when you aren't in your own space or at your own computer.  But here is a wrap up of the last two - three weeks of our stay in the States.  Since we last chatted Alison and I spent another week in North Carolina enjoying the mountain air and the constant attention of mom and mike aka Grammy and Grandpa.  On Friday we traveled to Raleigh to visit my step brother John, his wife Nancy and their four kids/ Ali's cousins, as well as my step-sister Shannon who flew up from Gainesville for the occasion.  It was such a great weekend we decided to stay an extra night (really no one wanted to get back in the car the next day).  But really it was a good visit.  Alison enjoyed playing with her little cousins and swimming in the hotel pool.  My only complaint - the weather turned rather windy and cold that weekend.  I could do without it.  Brrrr

The second week in North Carolina brought more quality time with the Grandparents.  I am pretty sure Alison was saying 'ganpa' more than 'mommy' and much to my mom's heartache no 'grammy'.  Mom and I got back to Asheville for some more shopping.  Grandpa of course loved watching Alison for the day.  Although I do vividly recall him saying that he had new found respect for me as Alison is a non stop busy companion.  On Friday we said our good byes and packed up the car and headed south.  We stopped in Savannah to visit my Aunt Polly, Luanne and her husband Tony and take a much needed rest.  Alison did great in the long car ride.  She slept for a long time and entertained herself for a couple of hours while awake.  Aunt Polly has three cats that thrilled Alison and were kind enough to hang around and let her screach at them.  It was pretty cute.  We headed out on Saturday morning making it to Orlando in the early afternoon. 

That weekend we stayed with my Aunt Cindy and cousin Chelsea in South Orlando along with Aunt Elaine and Aunt Diane visiting from south Florida.  Big thanks to Aunt Cindy for cooking us some amazing meals that weekend and letting us take over her place.  We also got some more shopping in for the new little Warm.  I even got out by myself one afternoon for a much needed pedicure since I knew Alison was in good hands with her Aunts and Grammy around. On Monday morning, Alison and I said our goodbyes and headed south to Jupiter. 

Jupiter was beautiful.  I really do miss that area and my friends.  We stayed in town with our good friend Karla, her husband George and their adorable boy Kai who is about 4 months older than Alison.  I had this vision of Alison and Kai just having the time of their lives playing together for hours on end.  Instead it was kind of like keeping a cat and a dog apart.  Kai was just enamored by Alison's cuteness and couldn't keep his hands off of her.  Alison didn't care for all the attention and basically screamed whenever Kai came within a two foot radius of her. Karla and I had healthy discussions about children's dynamics and all in all it wasn't that bad.  In fact when we said good bye on Friday they played a little bit of piano together and even blew kisses to one another. 

Playing in the sand

Highlights of our trip to Jupiter included two late afternoon visits to the beach, a girls night out with Karla and Dawn, a get together with friends, lunch with former co-workers, and a nice dinner with Kristin. The weather was just perfect last week in Jupiter.  I think the temperatures were in the 80's.  The best was just the look on Alison's face while she played in the sand and ran naked toward the ocean.  She had a blast.  And so did I although it was a bit exhausting chasing her everywhere.  We spent those two afternoons with our good friend Dawn and her little one Derek at the beach.  Wendy and Brianna joined us for one of those beach adventures.  There were just some precious moments of Alison and Derek playing together in the sand and chasing each other with this look of pure joy on their faces.  Plus there is nothing like a couple hours at the beach to really tire out the little ones. 

Good friends and babies

On Wednesday night, Karla and George were gracious enough to open their home to a handful of my friends to stop by for some good food and fun times.  It was great to see some of my former co-workers and friends.  It was quite a baby fest though with three pregnant ladies and four little ones under the age of two.  Good times.  Special thanks to Derek for taking over the grill duties. 


On Thursday, Alison had some professional photos taken.  Before she was born we purchased a photo package that included newborn, six month and one year pictures.  We were so happy with her newborn and six month pictures but obviously a bit remiss in getting her one year pictures taken. I had low expectations as I was tired, Alison was tired and I knew it would be hard to get a good shot as Alison rarely sits still.  Turns out they were awesome.  She really did a good job and captured so many of Alison's cute and serious expressions.  So the photoshoot, we had a delicious lunch with my friend Holly at one of our favorite restaurants, Leftovers.  Followed by a visit to the beach and dinner at Auntie Kristin's.  My apologies to Aunt Kristin as Alison was tired out after her beach romp and wasn't on her best behaviour.  Typical kid made me eat my words as I was telling Kristin how she never throws her food and what did she do that night but proceed to throw lots of it in a nice radius around her chair.  Oh well - live and learn.

We left on Friday morning after a  quick stop in our old hood of New Haven and said our good byes to the D's and other neighbors.  We headed north to visit my Meemaw and Papa in Astatula.  I must admit I shed a few tears driving away from Jupiter.  I really miss that place, the beach, my friends, the yummy restaurants.  I told Erik I would like to come back there to live one day if the opportunity arises.

Ali is not so sure about her first close up with a fish

We arrived at my Meemaw and Papa's in time for a late lunch.  Alison was in a great mood, having basically slept the entire 2.5 hour drive north. She was really hamming it up for Meemaw and Papa and even caught her first fish (with the help of Aunt Kathy).  We then headed back to Orlando on Friday night to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Warm as well as visit with Aunt Liz, Uncle Robby and Cousins Caydy and Hanna.  We were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Erik on Saturday evening.  


On Saturday night we greeted Erik at the airport.  We were all so excited to see him, but none more so than Alison.  She literally wouldn't let her Daddy put her down for the rest of the evening, including when he needed to load the luggage and when we sat down to eat dinner.  She stayed in her daddy's arms and didn't let him out of her site for the next few days. 

On Sunday afternoon we had a really nice get together at the Warm's house with lots of friends and family stopping by.  Alison had a blast playing with all the other kids there, none more so than her cousins.  It really made me happy and yet kind of sad.  I wish we lived closer so she could play with all these great kids on a more regular basis.

So that bring us to Monday.  On Monday we had a cool 3D ultrasound of the new baby Warm, which confirmed that we are having a boy.  It was also the first time Erik got to see his soon to be little boy as he hasn't been able to come to any previous ultrasounds.  We also had a great lunch with Grandma and Grandpa at one of our favorite Greek restaurants.

On a sadder note, my grandmother which we called Nanny, or as she was known to others, Peggy Dooley Mitchel, passed away early Sunday morning after a 3 month fight with cancer.  I am glad that we are in town to say our goodbyes as the funeral will be on Wednesday.  I remember vividly many afternoons as a kid spent at Nanny and Papa's where they taught us all sorts of card games but most importantly the awesome game of Scrabble, which I still love.  Nanny never let you win she challenged you to be a better player.  We will miss you Nanny and your quirky sense of humor.  Tell the others up there we said Hi. I envision them playing some mean games of Scrabble in heaven.

Well that about wraps it up and will probably be my last post from the states for this trip.  We have a busy week ahead filled with visits with friends and family, shopping, SeaWorld, a funeral and wedding festivities on Friday and Saturday.  We head back to Switzerland late Sunday morning.

Ali and I enjoying a beach day

My nature girl

Typical look for Alison when Kai is close by

The beach is awesome

So fun

Brianna and Alison enjoy the beach

Naked baby

"Try it it tastes so good"

Classic beach photo

Meemaw, Papa and Alison

Good friends share good food

Party scene

Alison and Brianna

Karla, Derek and Alison

Back in the USA

What is about the things we spend so much time dreading end up not being that bad but the things we really look forward to tend to disappoint us.  That is how our trip back to the US has played out in the first few days.  I was seriously dreading the long flight with Alison.  How was I going to juggle everything (a car seat, a diaper bag, a backpack full of toys, my own purse, a stroller and a toddler), what if she had a meltdown, how was I going to get through customs with all our luggage?  Turns out we did fine and Alison was amazing.

This is the family room at the Zurich airport. Amazing right!

For starters we almost missed our flight out of Zurich as they were calling our name at the gate even though we arrived at the airport in plenty of time. We said goodbye to Erik with about one hour to spare until our departure.  Turns out it takes a really long time to get to Gate E from the security point in Zurich airport. Made even longer by trying to find the elevators in this crazy maze that seemed like we had to go down five levels only to go up four more. I was exhausted before we even got to the gate. Add in a not so quick diaper change and next thing you know it is ten minutes before our flight took off.  Luckily we made it and I got Alison settled in her seat for the 9+ hour flight across the pond.  She slept for a total of 45 minutes about one hour into the flight.  She was then up for the duration of the flight - all seven plus hours of it.  She watched parts of two movies, which she found fascinating, since she doesn't get to watch any TV at home.  She played with toys, she did a couple laps around the plane and she did something special to my Iphone that I hope I can fix one day.  For the most part she was really good.  I was just a bit surprised/sad she stayed up for so long.  She was definitely getting tired toward the end and I thought great she is going to fall asleep just as we land.  But she persevered.  I was dreading the trek through customs, picking up our luggage and rechecking through security with the little one.  But thanks to the kindness of strangers and the fact that she was super tired it all went rather smoothly.  A few people commented that that it appeared I had my hands full.  And I did but like I said it all went well until ...

Ali chillin' on the plane

Our flight out of DC was delayed an hour and half.  Well had she not been so tired this would have been a perfect opportunity to hang out in the United lounge which we did for a little bit until she kept running out the front door faster and faster (the more tired she gets the more energy she has).  So I said goodbye to the friendly folks and strapped her in the stroller for a tour of the DC airport. She passed out immediately as by now it was way past her normal bedtime and she had been up for a really long time.  Needless to say she wasn't too happy when I had to wake her up to board our flight to Charlotte. That leg was the most difficult as she was tired and restless. Luckily she greeted Grammy and Grandpa with huge smiles and proceeded to pass out for the three hour drive to their house.  All in all, a much better experience than I expected.

Now the disappointing aspect I didn't see coming. Apparently we are eating pretty well in Switzerland. And by well I mean good fresh foods, home cooked meals etc.  Except for the occasionally mac n' cheese or frozen pizza nights we are consuming really good quality foods.  For weeks I have been dreaming about the culinary delights of American food I would enjoy on this trip; Tijuana Flats, Chick Fil A, CR Chicks, Food Shack. I completely underestimated the impact processed American food would have on our system.  On Monday Alison had her first ever vomiting episode.  It is so heartbreaking to watch your little one feel so miserable and know that it was because you gave her something bad to eat.  Now in my defense Alison eats anything back home - weisswurst, curried eggplant, chili, so I thought a little veggie sausage wouldn't hurt her.  I was wrong.  I didn't think about the fact that her systems has not been exposed to preservatives, additives, strange unpronounceable ingredients found in typical packaged American food.  She survived, got it all out of her system and by Tuesday morning was feeling much better. Lesson learned. And Big thanks to Grandma Warm for telling me what to do as I really had no idea.

A few days later, I had my first run in with American food not agreeing with me in the worst possible way - food poisoning.  On Wednesday, my mom and I left Alison with Grandpa and went shopping in Asheville.  I took mom out for a belated birthday lunch at a chain restaurant of her choosing.  We both enjoyed a yummy meal until we got home that night and my meal decided to be evil. I had visions of the weekend Erik proposed to me and the night we left Jupiter, the last two times I had horrible food poisoning and I knew what I was in for. Ugghhh.  As I laid there tossing and turning on the bathroom floor, I thought about what I would write in my blog and for a few minutes I channeled my friend and fellow blogger Jenn C and considered including graphic details of my horrible night (as that is what Jenn would do). But then my blog is a bit more family friendly and I didn't want to scare anyone away.  Just know it was horrible awful.

Some fresh mountain air

What blog entry would be complete without my weather complaint.  North Carolina had been enjoying a mild winter with highs predicted to be in the 50's and even the 60's this week.  Apparently we brought the cold winter weather with us from Switzerland. We've had snow flurries with temperatures in the 30's and low 40's - brrrrr I say.  At least it has been sunny.

I also underestimated how much Alison and I would miss Erik.  After experiencing the dreariness that is the Swiss winter I had already decided in my head that next year maybe we (Alison and I) will come back to the states for two months, rent a place down in Jupiter and enjoy the Florida sunshine.  All our friends and family could come visit us in paradise.  After three days away from Erik, I am not so sure about that plan. I really miss him. And Alison has been extremely clingy since we arrived which is very unusual for her.  When I put her down for naps or bedtime she grabs on to me like a monkey clinging to its mom as it swings from the trees.  I am pretty sure I could let go of her and she would stay attached to me with her arms around my neck. The first few nights I let her sleep in the bed with me as she was just hysterical.  I never understood how people sleep with their children as really it was like sleeping with a bucking bronco, you never know which direction legs or arms are going or when you are going to get a foot in your face.  She also seems to get upset when we Skype with Erik in the afternoon, it is like it frustrates her that she can't touch him or be held by him. I may have to rethink being away for that long next year as I am finding it hard to think about going another two weeks.

I also had this vision of accomplishing all these wonderful things while I was here - yoga every morning, walks in the woods, reading, moisturizing, organizing taxes. So far I haven't even unpacked our luggage.  We did take one short walk in the woods and Alison proceeded to be carried for half of it by me (can you say clinginess). Back home I couldn't pick her up if I wanted to as she is fiercely independent and wants to walk everywhere on her own.

So needless to say our first few days have not been the picture of perfection that I had dreamt about. Oh well, not the end of the world by any means.

Ali has her own book shelf (thanks Grandpa)

On a happier note, we are having a great time hanging out with Grammy and Grandpa.  Alison loves playing with her Grammy and Grandpa - she now says "ganpa" as much as she says "mommy" every day.  There is something so joyful about seeing your parents go gaga over your little one and her returning the affection. Alison makes these funny faces and loves to use the remote control like a telephone saying her funny version of "halow".  I feel bad for my mom who thinks all this food poisoning is her fault as she picked the restaurant and fed Alison veggie dogs.  I say I feel bad as she has had to nurse two sick children in the first few days of our visit. 

Well we are off to Raleigh tomorrow to visit my step-sister Shannon, step-brother John and his wife and kids.  We are really looking forward to that visit. Keep your fingers crossed that no one gets sick.

Ali wore out Grandpa

That is all from here. Oh if anyone knows anyone that wants to buy my VW Jetta at the end of the month let me know.  We need to unload it in Orlando while we are there.  It runs great and would be a good starter car for say a teenager learning to drive or really anyone who needs a good car on the cheap.

Nap time

Spoiler Alert... It's A ...

So fair warning if you don't want to know the sex of our next little munchkin then stop reading.  I have to put that disclaimer in as many (all three of them) of my Swiss friends told me not to tell them. Apparently it is not common here to find out, in fact I had to remind the ultrasound tech several times that we wanted to know.  And for those of you going what the what?  Wake up!  I've been dropping some big hints lately, but only a few people got it.  Yes we are pregnant again, expecting another little one in early June!  We thought hey we don't have enough stress in our lives, quitting my career, moving to a foreign country, being far away from friends and family, raising a spunky one year old - sure throw another life changing event in the mix.  Seriously though, we are very excited!  I may not have been those first few months of not feeling so good and adjusting to a new life in a foreign land but feeling much better now and getting excited.


Apparently Erik knocked me up before we left the U.S. and now we are having a little Swiss baby in June.  So far so good.  This pregnancy has been quite different than my last as the Swiss aren't all that concerned about my 'advanced maternal age' quite like the Americans.  By now with Alison I probably had a dozen or more sonograms.  Today was my third sonogram and I am in week 22 of my pregnancy.  That being said my ultrasound today was over two hours long.  They are very thorough and brought in several other doctors and technicians just to be sure.  We all got a clean bill of health, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 2 feet, 2 arms and 2 testicles (or at least 1 that they could see).  Yep It's a boy!  Finally another boy in the Warm family.  Erik can finally get his wish of naming his child Luke.  Seriously we would have been happy either way but we wanted to find out the sex as not only had I left all my maternity clothes with Dawn in Jupiter since she was expecting but I also left her all of Alison's clothes that she had outgrown just in case Dawn was having a girl.  I figured it would be a long time before we had another one.  Surprise!

Daddy and Alison coloring

It has been interesting getting to and from the hospital where my doctor appointments are and in general just going to doctor appointments with a one year old in tow.  Alison has been really good at all of them.  During the first sonogram I gave her some toys to play with but as soon as she saw me lie down on the table she became very upset almost scared, like I had never seen before and I ended up holding her next to me the entire time.  It was really kind of sweet.  But it takes roughly an hour door to door to get to my doctor appointments as we have to take a train and two buses. Today I missed the train that gets us there the quickest so I had to call a friend to pick me up.  Luckily she was close by.

I can't speak for Erik but I am a bit nervous about #2.  Alison is a handful in herself right now, a very good little toddler but a handful nonetheless.  I am not sure how it is all going to play out with another little one.  I know eventually they will play well together but wow what a cozy, messy apartment this will be. Alison currently gets all my attention every day.  I am curious how she is going to do with the new little arrival demanding more of it. I know people do it all the time but I do believe most people I know have or had lots of help - friends and family close by to assist.  I don't have that here.  Thankfully, my mom is going to come over for a few weeks/months once the baby is born.  But then what.  All on my own with two little ones.  Oh boy.  I guess my life will never be dull.

She loves her yogurt

Brrrr

I know I often talk about the weather but holy cow we are getting a cold front for the next few days.  I took Alison out in it a few days ago as the high was 30 degrees and I thought I better get her out now as I am not taking her out for the next few days.  The last thing I need is a sick baby on a 10 hour plane trip.  It looks like Alison and I are getting out of town just in time.  Temperatures are not getting above the high teens for the next few days.  I can't tell you how excited we are to see everyone back home.  Keep up those warm Florida temperatures, as we want to hit the beach at least once or twice..

Ali eating snow

Well that is it from our end this week.  Nothing new except a little boy Warm on the way and heading to the U.S. on Sunday.  My next few blogs should include warm updates from the states.  Take care and hope to see you soon.