Settling in...

Andy and I are starting to feel settled here, in the sense that it's real that we live in Switzerland. We are adjusting to life in a quiet Swiss town where really the only thing to do is take walks, admire the beautiful scenery, and get groceries. We like our flat and it's starting to feel like home. I will say that sometimes I still feel overwhelmed with the constant 'newness' of it all. Besides Andy, I don't get to see very many familiar faces or see very many people who speak English, so sometimes, all I want to do is stay at home (which I get to do a lot!) and take walks with Carsten because I just want a familiar and non-awkward sitiuation. I think this feeling of newness is tempered somewhat for Andy since he has the same coworkers and everyone speaks English at ETH. Other than the occasional feeling of 'newness', both of us are enjoying Egg and Zurich.

Now that Carsten has adjusted to the time-zone, which took about a week, he seems blissfully oblivious to all going-ons that don't involve sleeping, playing, and getting fed. He really enjoys walks, both in the stroller and the baby bjorn, so I try to make sure we get out of the house at least once a day in the afternoon. Fortunately, the weather has been absolutely beautiful, with most of the weather so far in the 40s and 50s and even when it's colder, it only gets to just below freezing. This means that we can go outside, unlike in the Midwest where sometimes temperatures are so cold that a couple of minutes of exposure really isnt' good for infants. Carsten has now spent a week in his new kinderbed, and we still do find him in interesting positions (arm/legs out of the crib bars). Last night he woke up at 10 pm (went to bed at 8) and was upset because he had rolled onto his tummy and had one arm stuck up to his shoulder in the bars. It's interesting that he rolled onto his tummy in his sleep because a) this is the second time that I'm aware that he's rolled in this direction and b) he hasn't rolled in any direction at all this last week. I know that he's strong enough to roll, he just really doens't seem interested in it, which to be honest, is fine with me. A few more days of a non-mobile child is still a welcome thought :).

At church, for whatever reason, people keep asking me what my baby girl's name is. This is not something that I would be a problem because I think I dress him sufficiently like a boy. However, this last Sunday I dressed him as boyishly as possible, and no one asked me if he was a girl, so that was nice :). Here's a picture!

Thanks to my Grandma Hoogeveen for this cute boyish outfit!

I will leave you with one last thought: After I feed Carsten, if you walk with him or bounce or do anything except sit, you can hear (seriously!) the milk sloshing around in his tummy. So, does this mean he's constantly getting sloshed? :)