Interlaken, Switzerland

We took a trip the day after Christmas for a few days in Switzerland with Gigi and Poppy. They were here the whole week, and it was wonderful having family around for the holidays. The girls especially enjoyed all the attention! Hannah was pretty sad this morning when she woke up to find they had already left for the airport.

Back to Switzerland, it was beautiful, however, it was so very expensive I can't even believe it. I mean almost $70 for a small lunch. Just ridiculous! I had heard it was expensive, but I thought it was expensive like here in Germany. I didn't know it could get more expensive than this. I guess I am a cheapskate after all.

The room rate at the hotel was reasonable though and it was even a nice hotel. We were right next to the church in town , and we were reminded of that on the quarter hour all day and all night long when the bell rang. There was a beautiful river in front of the hotel and the Alps all around it. Genna loved the river, and kept asking to take a bath in it. Obviously, that didn't happen for lots of reasons. Here is a picture of the hotel...

...and the river in front is better seen in the next picture.

Here is a couple examples of the beauty of Switzerland:

The girls did great most of the time considering how we were dragging them all over. Genna, however, only wanted me to carry her when it was Hannah's turn for a rest in the stroller. She's a whopping 25 lbs now and, with the hills and me being pregnant and tired, it was not an easy feat. Here is a picture of the sad puppy dog face I got from her when Gigi (or anyone) tried to carry her. If it had stayed at that, I might have been able to resist, but then she started crying and reaching for me too and it wasn't pleasant for anybody. She is such a Mommy's girl. She would play with Gigi and Poppy, but she just didn't want them to carry her around much.

Hannah had a great time in the snow on the mountain! She also loved watching the para gliders, and clapped fiercely every time one landed. Genna was pooped by this time, so Daddy took Hannah to play in the snow, slide down the hills...

...and make snow angels...

...but then she had enough!

She had barely said a word to Brian about being cold, but upon seeing me she burst into tears saying she wanted to go home and she was too cold. (I guess she was being a tough little soldier for her Daddy.) She had a million layers on, but it turns out her socks got wet. We took her back to the hotel and she slept an hour like a log until I woke her up for dinner.

We didn't ski even though I am sure my husband would have loved to (no one else in the group was up for it). We just saw the sights, looked at Swiss Army knives and watches, and ate some good food like Alpkase (cheese).

Merry Christmas!

These first pictures were taken after a local Catholic Church put on a kid's play about the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve around 5pm. We poorly translated the information, obviously because we were very disappointed to find out a Mass was not to follow the service until 10:00pm that night. So, the grandparents stayed with the sleeping children while Brian and I returned for Mass that night.

Genna is hard to keep still for a picture these days, as you can tell from this next picture! (She's pretending to go to sleep. Don't worry, I didn't let her fall again! I've got to keep one arm good on her, right? In fact, that is my new policy...one arm must be usable at all times by all children in the Smith family.)

Then these next pictures were taken Christmas morning as the girls reenacted the nativity as they placed Jesus in his bed that they had been working so hard to make soft for him this Advent season. Genna was Joseph, but she wouldn't keep the blanket on her head for the picture. She's been a mover and a shaker lately. Hannah may be rubbing off on her.

How sweet! Happy birthday to you, Jesus!

Little Elves

I elfed my family. Go check it out before it expires.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1732611460

Christmas Tree Blessing

We blessed our Christmas Tree last night over hot apple cider and Hershey's kisses. (The apple cider, by the way was the culprit behind Hannah's first accident in her bed last night.) Hannah tried to say all of the responses and really enjoyed it, but Genna was just moving around and being loud (to be expected). As usual, I snapped a few photos of the event.

Daddy reading the blessing

The girls praying
(We only got Genna to sit still for a minute or two, but I got the picture!)

The girls hugging after we finished

Ultrasound

I had my first ultrasound today. The baby and I are doing great! The baby did measure about a week younger than they told me before, but I had suspected that anyways. They did not change my due date because the difference was insignificant enough. My blood work was all good too! The only thing the doctor was a bit concerned about was the size of my past babies increasing from 8 lbs 4oz (1 week overdue) to 8 lbs 11 oz (a few days early) which obviously concerns me too. I do not want to give birth to a 9 or 10 lb baby if it can be avoided. I did not gain too much weight with either of them, but I am still going to try to be even more careful this time. She suspects diabetes may be a problem, but I've never tested positive before. My mom was diagnosed after her third baby though.

I am putting a picture of the baby in his/her spot to the right under Genna's picture. Hannah said her baby brother looks like "a little tiny nut." Genna was saying, "baby", but I don't think she gets it just yet. I am sure she will by the end though, which will be new to me since Hannah still had no clue. She thought Genna was one of her baby dolls. Genna sure did act like one of them, laying around and sleeping all day where ever you put her.

A gift for Brian's boss for Weihnachten

I made this today for Brian's boss. His Christmas party is tomorrow. I wrapped it in plastic before thinking to take a picture of it. I saw Martha Stewart do one of these years and years ago and I have made several since then. It isn't too hard or time-consuming, and I love to do it (at least, I usually do...when I am feeling better). I need to get creative and make a different Christmas-themed object with the bread though.

Nicknacknames

Hannah calls nicknames, "Nicknacknames." These are just the most common nicknames for each other in our house. Most of them are only used by certain people, but some are more universal.

Hannah:
-Hannie (Genna calls her this too.)
-Hannah Banana
-Wiggle Worm (I started calling her this when I was pregnant because she moved constantly and stretched too. She made herself at home and would stick a foot out and leave it until I used both hands to push it back in. She has held true to this name ever since she was born too.)
-Kleine Maus (This means "Little Mouse" in German, which is what the German ladies call her. So, Brian has taken to calling her this as well.)
-Goofy
-Sissy


Genevieve:
-Genna
-Vive or Vivi
-Cheeks McGirk (Daddy calls her this because of those squeezable cheeks.)
-Munch (Daddy calls her this because she eats all the time.)
-Cuddle Bunny (I started calling her this when I was pregnant because she was in a tight little ball and didn't stretch or move all over like Hannah did. She has held true to this name ever since she was born too although she cuddles less the older and more active she gets.)
-Cutie Pants
-Monster (I call her this for absolutely no good reason. I say it when she's acting silly.)
-Sleeping Beauty (This is because she sleeps so late in the morning.)


Daddy:
-Sweetie (Hannah started saying "Good bye, Sweetie" in the morning to him because that's what I always say.)
-Daddy or Dad








Me:
Your Majesty (Hannah picked this up somewhere and started calling me this when she really wants something and is asking very nicely. I have to say, it works like a charm.)
-Mommy, Mama, or Mom