Italy with Granny

While my mom was here, we all headed to Italy for a few days. The five hour ride down went remarkably well. Most likely because Granny was non-stop entertainment in the backseat and there was tons of food.

When we got there, the fun just kept going. They goofed around a lot on the floor which was especially remarkable because the tile floor was freezing.

When we got too cold, we turned to board games of all sorta of types and sizes. And complexity. And spontaneously revolving rules.

Jelly Bean tended to focus on slippers to keep her feet warm. Can anyone be more adorable?

Thankfully we all also had the Mr.'s almost constant cooking to warm us up.

Although it rained most of our time there, we took advantage of the one nice day. We got out of the house and into the beautiful little villages at the bottom of the hill and along the lakeshore.

Of course, ice cream and other sweets were included! 

We also took a little field trip to this place. This beautiful, glorious place.

Afterwards we all took a walk....

Like Granny, like grandbaby. 

...and a massive, massive nap. 

Only now, more than two months later, reviewing these pictures, did I realize the gift my mother left behind. Pictures of the entire Steinbach clan. Pictures of small moments of parenting usually missed. THANK YOU for those beautiful pictures, Mom. Thank you.

Two pictures of all four of the Steinbach clan! Amazing.

Thank you mom.


xo

The Michael Jackson of Socks

Continuing the crunchy mommy theme ... gotta be a "FaceBook friend" to get that reference: The Mr. and I buy into the concept of 'free feet' (who comes up with these names??), which essentially means that little people get to enjoy moving around barefoot, without socks or shoes, until they are able to confidentially walk on their own. We aren't crazy though, everything in moderation; when we are outside or in a house that is honestly cold, PJ has socks on - usually layered socks - but inside he is generally barefoot.

We've been doing this since PJ was just starting to move around on the floor. He is obviously a huge fan because he has become the Michael Jackson of socks: one sock on, one sock in his mouth. Even when we put socks on his little feet, he takes one off faster than we can look. Thankfully it is getting warmer, cause I keep finding him like this:

"What? One sock is enough. I've got my style to think about."

Sometimes we even have to struggle to get the socks ON him in the first place. I think he does it because it makes us laugh so hard.

xo
p.s. Mom: this one is for you.

First Vacation

We just got back from our first vacation with little man. We went to "the center of the world": Lago Maggiore in Northern Italy. We've been there a couple of times* and thought it would be good to have our first family vacation in a location that we both know and enjoy.

This was also PJ's first extended car trip. The trip usually takes about five or six hours. On the way there, we left at 3am (or something equally as insane) and it took us about six hours to get there. PJ was a great sport, enjoying each of the rest stops, and then quickly falling back to sleep in the car. The way back home was another story, but lets focus on the positive, shall we?

PJ and his favorite friend at our first rest stop.

Thankfully most of the rest stops have kid corners and are pretty children-friendly. PJ loved this one is particular. He is a huge fan of slides already.

Long car rides are made a little less painful when slides are involved!

When we finally got to the house we were staying at, PJ explored all the rooms and quickly laid claim to them all, including the patio.

"I claim this land for the Kingdom of PJ."

Then there was no stopping him as he explored the yard, crawling through grass for the first time. He wasn't a huge fan of how the grass felt on his hands but his curiosity got the better of him. In the end he had a great time throughout the week playing with us on the patio and in the grass.

When we go to the Lago house, we tend to do a lot of nothing. This time wasn't much different: we spent most of the week relaxing at the house, enjoying the amazingly warm weather. Having PJ around made "nothing" so much more interesting though. Especially as he started clapping (see video above) and making faces at us.

"Check it out, mom, I'm a wild little boy."

Can this kid get any cuter?

Seriously, this kid totally cracks me up.

We did, however, get out of the house a few times. We even broke with all tradition and crossed the lake in a boat. I get car and boat sick easily and it took a while for my stomach to catch up with us when we landed. PJ loved the waves and the rocking though. No complaints from him!

PJ's first boat ride was a big hit.

Another day we went to visit a church that sits high up on a cliff, surrounded by raw beauty. The weather could not have been better and it was a great way to spend an hour or so.

Mommy and PJ on a very sturdy rock wall, enjoying the sun and fresh air, while Daddy repeats, "Get off there! Its dangerous!"

All in all: an awesome vacation. Even more to come soon!

xo
*in fact, we got engaged there and PJ was born 9 months after our last vacation there

Baby Led Weaning

Have you heard about the latest craze: Baby Led Weaning (BLW)? It's basically handing your baby "food in a suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they don’t they won’t...No purees, no ice cube trays, no food processor, no potato masher, no baby rice, no weird fruit and veg combos… just you and your child, eating food that you enjoy with you and your family." (source: http://www.babyledweaning.com/)

The first time I heard about BLW on some online mothers group, my reaction was "you have got to be kidding me" and "another rich, stay-at-home, gotta-be-perfect-mommy, woman thing". This reaction included eye rolling and heaving.

I seriously have. to. stop. doing. that. (This is a trend, has anyone else noticed??)

Because PJ, would call BLW something like: I-eat-what-you-eat-and-that-is-so-much-cooler-and-don't-try-those-mushy-things-or-I-will-shriek-without-end. Remember the shrieking without end picture?

So, BLW it is! The Steinbach Clan is Baby-Led Weaning. All Hail King PJ.

In some ways BLW is a pain in the ass. It is super messy. Little man has been learning all that coordination stuff, like picking things up, getting it towards his mouth, opening his mouth at the right time, holding the food still enough for long enough, then biting, chewing/mashing, and finally either spitting it out or swallowing. Watching him learn to eat on his own at such a young age has impressed upon me just how hard eating really is. Way to go us adults for figuring it all out and not having about half of it land on the floor.

There is also the whole salt issue. Babies can't deal with salt and PJ really can't deal with too much salt. His skin flushes with a rash quickly and he is generally uncomfortable. Since we live in Germany, the land of extra salt in everything (and then 90% of people still add more salt), we have to be somewhat careful giving him meats and the like when we are out, and we've learned to cook low-salt.

And, lastly, not everyone reacts well to watching a little baby eat real adult food. We've been accused of encouraging him to "play with his food", "making him grow up too fast", and "not caring if he chokes". Ouch.

But in most ways, BLW is awesome. With exclamation points: !!. Nah, three of 'em: !!!

BLW is awesome!!!

PJ has eaten so many types of food and he enjoys almost all of them. Bread? Sure! Fruit? Absolutely! Meat? More! Asian food? Yeah! Spicy foods? Totally! Cheese? Yummy! Yogurt? Yes! Sweet Food? Bring it on! I highly doubt we will be dealing with a restrictive eater in a few years (I pray!).

And also, meals are almost never a fight. There are no "lookey here - in comes the airplane!" moments. PJ takes what he wants from a small plate we prepare him. He eats until he is full and then we wash his hands.

No one is whipping up separate dinners for him. We have a fabulous vegetable steamer that my colleagues gave me that we use that for our vegetables these days and we are all eating low salt meals the majority of the time. So, everyone is eating healthier and we are all saving time.

If PJ gets hungry anywhere and we are out and about: no problem, no stress, no oh-shit-I-forgot-the-baby-snack-again. Just find something that he can hold in his hand (or that we can break into pieces small enough) and problem solved.

When we are at home or at a restaurant, both the Mr. and I get to eat our dinners when they are warm and tasty. Until you've eaten cold food for months, you have no idea just how precious this really is.

And, lastly, the pictures are awesome, of course. These are just three of way too many from our recent vacation to Italy.

Does this yogurt make me look adorable or what?

Hahahaha: I have the complete apple! The apple is mine!

You're saving more of that pizza for me, right?

xo

Goodbye 2010 - You Were Good to Us

2010 is coming to an end and I, for one, cannot believe that it has already been one complete year since we celebrated the beginning of 2010. So much happened this year, most of it really good and some of it, eh, well, not so good. But like all good personal historians and people who chose to remain sane, I find myself concentrating on the positive.

The Steinbach Clan celebrated our first year of happy matrimony as well as many small moments of shared happiness like this one, this one, and this one. The Mr. also finally revealed to the world his dance moves.

2010 brought some pretty significant changes to how I view myself:

• I started responding to “Frau Steinbach” with the understanding that its me.
• I finally got unlimited German visa, more than seven years into this adventure.
• I started writing again – even trying some new stuff like fiction and attending two excellent workshops one in Scotland with Joanna Paterson and one in Ireland with Irene Graham
• I started growing towards the role of mother.

2010 did include a few sad moments. I lost a dear friend and faithful writing fan. The Mr. and I also said goodbye to our little Peewee. Happily, I reached 30 and finally broke the curse of crappy even birthdays. Thanks again to everyone who helped celebrate my new decade!

But we sure did travel a heck of a lot this year:

• Ireland
• Italy (where we came home with a little bun in the oven)
• Vancouver and unlimited Sushi (yes, it turns out this was my highlight looking back)
• Our honeymoon in New Zealand – there are so many blogs, but I chose the one that remained in my heart at the highlight
• London
• Scotland

xo

Fun Little Tidbit – Sharing Shoes

The Mr. is about 4 inches taller than I am. I can easily fit the top of head under his chin. Yet, we wear the same size shoe. It is fun for me because I get to slip into and out of his shoes whenever I want to. The Mr. loves this about me, almost as much as when I hound him about new home improvement projects. It isn’t as much fun for the Mr, since he isn’t really all that interested in the majority of my shoes.

While in Italy the Mr. and I took a hike and his bad knee started hurting again. That made him not happy.

I was wearing my Nike Free, so we decided that we’d take advantage of our identical shoe size and swap shoes.

It was a successful change. We both got to enjoy the rest of the hike pain free, including:

A view onto the lake

Fairy mushrooms



The valley where we got engaged. We sat underneath the tree that has been since been cut down.



And even took a little moment for a kiss.

xo

Images of Italy

Last week we enjoyed a full week in Italy, along the Lago Maggiore - also known to yours truly as “the center of the beautiful world.” In the case that you doubt said title, photographic proof:

But, it wasn’t all breathtaking views, excellent red wine, and cozy dinners for two. There were also the hours and hours of reading;

Deep conversations on the balcony with a cool beer and a warming sun;

Cut throat games of trivial pursuit;

Relaxed cappuccinos in the sun;

And, last but not least, super excellent (not just excellent) red wine.

Ahhhhh, Italy. I’m not done with you yet!





xo