There's no place like home

Lys and Alex are off to Australia (I hope). I saw them through security at Chicago (Alex oblivous to the queue formed to pass through screening, Mum passing through a minute later). I'm missing them both already.

Hopefully Alex is fast asleep as they wing their way through the air. (can't resist, must include photo)

Happy Birthday!

For those that missed it Alex turned 2 on March 2nd. We celebrated with a cookie monster party and an icream cake. Cookies and icecream - the two major food groups!

Thanks to everyone who came to the party and for the lovely presents.

Alex had a great time playing with all her friends and eating cookies!

Growing up fast

I can't believe that this Friday is Alex's second birthday! It's really hard to see that two years have passed already. Anyway, in honour of her impending birthday, here is a photo of her - going on 30! Note the combination of high heels with tracksuit - plus ubiquitous bag.

Pretty...

Hmm, Alex has learnt a new word and I'm not exactly sure how. She now denotes many things as "pretty". Today she came out of her room with two bibs around her neck and told me that they were pretty. Last week when Brett brought some Mardi Gras beads home from work, she pounced on them and declared them "mine, pretty". I'm doomed to have a girly girl. Help?!

This is the way we brush our teeth...

We've finally managed to get somewhat of a routine for Alex's teeth brushing. Now that she actually has a mouthful it seemed much more important. The thing is that she is now aware that mummy isn't actually putting any toothpaste on her toothbrush (despite the pantomime) so now I will have to go out and buy some toddler toothpaste. Brett asked whether they make it awful tasting to help teach them not to suck it off the brush - but no such luck. Flavours such as bubblegum and tuttifrutti abound, sigh. Oh well, at least we get through the ABC song before finishing.

Counting Down...

Only 27 more sleeps until we leave for Australia - yay!

This is especially nice as the weather at the moment is particularly awful. When the daytime temperature doesn't get out of the teens (in fahrenheit) it's not good. Plus, even though they ploughed the roads when it snowed, there are still some roads covered in snow that make difficult driving.

Anyway, a nice indication of the weather we're having is this photo of Alex - all bundled up in her snow suit, balaclava, boots and mittens. She doesn't mind sledding, so long as she's with mummy or if it is on the flat, so long as she's pulling the sled.

What are you looking at?!

Well! Alex has finally decided that washing her hair is ok. A few weeks ago she started crying blue murder when we washed her hair and seemed really freaked by it. So over the past 3 weeks we've been gradually coaxing her into having it washed again. Now she proudly says "now close eyes!" when it's time to wash the soap off. This photo was taken partway through the coaxing back process - when we were just wetting her hair with water to get her used to the idea again. I just love that she is looking directly at the camera - but it really shows just how long her fringe has grown!

Cinderella never had it so bad!

Well, I made quite a discovery at the library today. I was reading all about this girl called Cinderella and I swear we could be twins. I too, sleep on the floor and have two ugly step sisters (one is very ugly) and they make me do all the work. Here I am doing my daily sweeping, then there is the dishes, the laundry, the shopping - the list is endless. Unfortunately I have no fairy godmother to send me to balls - the stepsisters have seen to that. I suspect they might have read this story themselves.

Lipsic...lipsic mummy!

OK, so tonight I went to do my Mary Kay colours - trying to find a good combination for an upcoming wedding. After 3 eventful, funfilled hours, I ended up with no eye colour and several different types of lipstick and gloss. Jokingly I suggested to the ladies that my husband wouldn't be able to resist me as soon as I entered the apartment - not to give too much information!

In fact, when I arrived home I found a bathed and pyjama-ed Alex reading "Fox in Socks" with her daddy and there was no romantic "dip" in the living room. Instead I got grins, giggles and lipsmacks from Alex who kept saying "lipsic, lipsic mummy". So when she came for a kiss for bedtime, she got a kiss on the hand and a lipstick tattoo that she oogled and wanted 'gain. You can't keep much from her!

Eventually I did get my kiss from Brett, a much more sedate affair and a question as to whether I'd had fun...and I had!

But I still need to work on my eye colour!

The Queen's Christmas Message

Dear Loyal Subjects

Happy New Year! We hope that this letter finds you all well. We do apologise to all for the tardiness of this letter. The bureaucratic efficiency of the Empire is not what it used to be. Our very best wishes for 2007 – We’re hoping that it surpasses this past year for you.

The year that was has been quite a novelty. We have moved from the immaturity of infancy to the wisdom of toddler hood, along with its requisite responsibilities for establishing Our unique stamp on the Empire. This has resulted in some interesting times for the Royal household, the least of which has been the introduction of a “thinking throne”.

We are now extremely verbal and no longer require Our servants to speculate on Our every whim. Instead, We now enjoy conversing with them and Our ‘Council of Friends’ at length about the matters of the day. Although they only understand every other word, they are slowly improving. Our most preferred method of communication is “librarian style” – showing the book pages as We read to all the surrounding subjects. We also have a new hobby of labeling things and people - red is a particularly prevalent colour in the mid-West!

Now that We have come of age and are more aware of the state of Our affairs some subtle changes have been made to Royal protocol. Contrary to earlier protocol, pink, lip gloss (thanks Aunty Chelle), and handbags are now required accoutrements for all outings and We require that Our servants are dressed more modestly than We.

We have also enjoyed our debut at the start of the social season. As is appropriate for a young woman of Our station, We attend at least four Royal balls a week. We are still quite the social butterfly although some of the lesser nobility are having trouble understanding the concept of royal sovereignty over all We survey! These trips are essential relief from the tedium of the Royal Palace. Servant no. 1 enjoys the ancillary benefits of making new friends with some wonderfully talented women.

Servant no 1. has been keeping herself busy through her Community Aide position in Family & Graduate Housing as well as with several volunteer positions in various organizations. We are the unofficial patron of F&GH and enjoy excursions to the office to charm various staff. There are all manner of toys and stickers in the various offices just hoping for Our royal patronage which We occasionally indulge.

We deign to spend some time with Servant no 2 on Saturdays overseeing the laundry which until now has rarely been done to One’s satisfaction. Between hanging clothes on the rack and putting away dry clothes, We practically do it Ourselves. This does give Servant no 1 some much appreciated “me” time that she’s yet to learn how to make the best use of. We also enjoying swimming with Servant no 2, blowing bubbles, jumping into the pool and going under the water. We can climb out by Ourselves but do not feel comfortable floating on Our back. Royal floaties have been requested,

Servant no. 2’s studies are progressing well (so he assures Us). Several of his classmates are to spend the coming year in different countries or states within the US continuing their studies so we are sad that they will no longer be around to visit with.

It seems that this past year has been the year of babies, both here and in Australia. A dozen of Servant no. 2’s classmates had babies (or their wives did) whilst in Australia several of Our friends had new babies. We are truly ahead of Our time.

After an enjoyable sojourn to Australia for Christmas last year, We had some bad news about the Queen’s great grandmother being sick with cancer. We and Servant no 1 made a quick trip to Australia in August and managed to see her for a couple of hours before she died. While it was great to see people (albeit briefly), it was a sad reason to be back in Australia.

We had a number of visitors this year, Grandma and Grandad in Summer, and then Aunty Chelle in Fall. We almost don’t miss not being in Australia for Christmas – ok, that might be a slight exaggeration. Given the questionable judgments of Servants 1 and 2 concerning Royal protocol in Our formative months, We deem it necessary to visit the colonies in March and April 2007. One hopes that Her subjects in the colonies have not experienced the same restrictive treatment that She has experienced at home.

Wishing you a festive season and a New Year filled with opportunity.

HRH Queen Alexandra

Christmas in Australia's hot

Well, usually. Though this year they had snow in three states! But we missed the usual Christmas hurly burly and nice weather. We did get some photos of what family in Australia had been up to:

• checking out the Christmas Bell flowers on a Christmas picnic, and
• performing quality control on Alex's Christmas present.

Anyway, we were happy to hear that all had a wonderful time and we are really looking forward to seeing everyone in a little over two months time.

Jingle bells...and chocolate coins...and tootsie rolls...

My goodness, who knew that such a little girl could eat so much chocolate in one day! Santa had been very good to Alex and left her gold coins, Hershey smarties, m&ms and a HUGE tootsie roll. Thankfully we have curtailed her consumption to the candy cane of Hershey smarties and just under half the chocolate coins. She has been far too busy playing with her "Saschi" doll and tea set to eat anything else.

But Brett and I, well we managed to work our way through some Australian wine and some lovely cheeses, and Brett made a wonderful Christmas lunch - which I didn't have to cook or clean up after! Yay - there is a Santa Claus and he cooks!

Then our afternoon (and well into the evening) was spent either on the phone or the internet chatting with Australia. Well, with Brett's six siblings, it takes a good hour to get through everyone - and that's if they are all at the same place. This year they seem to be spread out everywhere. My family was also pretty spread out, though mum and dad did have James to keep them company.

And so it is "sleepy time" for Alex, and we'll see just how good her nighttime routine is. Will she sleep through the night? Or will the sugar coursing through her bloodstream keep her up and active until the wee hours? Brett and I have our fingers crossed...

Oh, and we were pretty lax with the camera when we were opening presents, so instead I've chosen to add her most recent photo taken on the Tuesday before Christmas.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

...And we spent it checking out the Christmas lights around town. It's one of the terrific things about this time of year in the States. Some people go all out whilst others make a statement by just having a blow-up Grinch on their front lawn. I've heard that it is truly amazing in the snow, but as we didn't have a white Christmas this year, it's something I have to leave that to my imagination.

Alex really loved looking at the giant "Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus" figures. Adding two things to her burgeoning vocabulary.

Afterwards we went to a Christmas carol service where Alex was mesmerized when the lights went out and the candles lit up. I'd really like to take her to a Carols by Candlelight in Australia - perhaps when she's older though and can stand to sit in one place longer than five minutes.

We also finished the Advent calendar tonight so no more "chocolate in calendar" for Alex. She wouldn't let us throw it out though and insisted on hanging it back up. I wonder if she will realise it is gone tomorrow? She did go down without a peep though, so perhaps she has been good enough for a visit from Santa. We'll see...

Merry Christmas everyone!

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten!

Who knew that there was such a lot to count? First the stairs to the apartment (7+7+8+4), then the number of different toys we have here. More lately it has been the parts of food Alex decides she doesn't like. She's started learning "One, Two, buckle my shoe" and has developed a cute way of saying "door" - "doorwy" and no matter how we get her to say other "oor" words, she doesn't change.
Between that and "E I E I O", our house is filled with "music" - actually, animal sounds.

However, with the progression of the Christmas season, Alex has also developed love of "Jingle Bells" - timing the "hey" part to perfection. She has also developed a taste for mummy's gingerbread "stars" which she would eat all day if allowed.

Ahh Memories...

Ahhh, the smell of gluhwein, freshly roasted chestnuts and fresh snow. It is this time of year that really pulls my memory back to Switzerland. I love this time of year and spent many a happy afternoon walking the streets of the Old Town with a mug of gluhwein in hand, people watching. I especially loved chatting with the friendly guys roasting the chestnuts in big bins whilst waiting for my paper-wrapped portion.

I think that makes winter here, different. No chestnuts (unless I want to cook them myself - where's the ambience?) and whilst I could whip up a batch of gluhwein on the weekend, would it do justice to the plowed cornfields that are my backyard? So instead we will visit reindeer farms and christmas tree farms and enjoy pecan pie with hot apple cider, and people watch.

I tried to find a photo from winter in Geneva, but unfortunately I didn't have the digital. So this one of late spring will have to suffice.

State of Emergency

Argh - the supply of vegemite has almost run out! And to think I thought that a kilo of the stuff would last. Well, we'll just have to wait until March when we head to Australia. Alex loves the stuff and usually steals half of mummy's lunch (flatbread with vegemite and melted cheese). I guess if desperation overcomes me I could always get an emergency jar from one of the international grocery stores here. Nah, I think we'll just tough it out, it will make the return to Australia all the more anticipated.

Let it snow, let it snow...

And it did. Yesterday we had a couple of inches that actually stayed around. So today Daddy decided it was time to test out the sled. In storage for most of the year, it had been recently moved to the front of the storage cupboard in anticipation of the start of winter. And so it was on a barely-above-zero day, that we three intrepid adventurers made our way to the famous "Hackberry Hill" of Orchard Downs. We managed several slides down before finishing for the day. We even saw some fraternity boys, who had mounted their sofa onto 4 skis, take it for a slide. Apart from a final fall - thanks daddy - Alex really seemed to like trudging in the snow. Here's hoping she likes to ski too! This photo shows just how big the sled is compared to her. And she still insisted on pulling it up the hill herself.

Alex's Revenge

OK, so those of you who know me, know that I bought a t-shirt for Alex that is black and reads "I don't do pink" (it probably should say "mummy doesn't do pink"). And now it seems that Alex has decided that pink is the best colour in the whole world - in fact, if you team it with silver sparkly bits it is even better. So here is a photo of her sporting a fancy ensemble that her Great Aunty Sharn gave her - complete with pink shoes given to her at her first birthday. I guess I had it coming...

Thanksgiving

We have just celebrated the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving with some friends on Thursday evening - lots of turkey and pumpkin pie for everyone. But the most important part of the holiday is the Friday morning shopping - known as Black Friday since this is supposedly the one day of the year that makes a difference between a yearly profit and loss. Alex and Daddy had quality time at home while Mummy tackled the crowds. And here she is with the spoils of the day!

Newsworthy

And before she's even two she makes it into the local rag. Wearing a skirt her Auntie Chelle bought her and sporting plaits and a bag that she refused to leave a shop without, Alex really enjoys herself at the local library story time.
Follows in her mummy's footsteps.