The Hills Are Alive . . .

Well, we're back from apartment hunting in Switzerland. It was a success!
Not only did we find a great apartment but we really enjoyed seeing the countryside around Geneva.
Unfortunately, this is not the view from the apartment, but still a great picture of Mont Blanc, visible across the lake.







Many of the villages are right along the lake and farther up the valley lie the vineyards. We will be living about a 20 min. walk from the lakefront. Switzerland is known for its white wine, so of course Daniel and I had to taste test one (or two).








The view from a cafe in the village of Nyon.













A portion of the gray one will be our apartment. It's an old house that has been renovated into four apartments. We're thankful that we will have three bedrooms, two upstairs and one on the main floor. That means that we'll have a guest bedroom!








view from down the street














And from the peanut gallery . . .

Smiley Baby

Morning is usually Analise's prime time- (who did she get that from?)
So this morning I tried to capture a few of the fantastic faces she shares with us!









Singing "Rise and Shine and give God the glory, glory" usually seems to get a good smile and sometimes even a giggle. But only with full out facial expression and hand movements . . . hmm. . . is she laughing with me or at me? I do look pretty ridiculous!









Long baby!
Daniel calls her Casper the friendly Ghost in these little nighties.
























Are you smiling or working on a project?















There, that's a good one!











That little tongue just doesn't quit!
I think she's having more fun discovering it right now more than hands or feet!
"Hmm, what's this thing in my mouth??"

Well, many of you know we leave again today to apartment hunt in Switzerland. We'll be back later this week.
Congratulations to Tia on the birth of Elliot James!! Yeah!!
Talk to you all later . . .

Swinging

As part of having the car for a few days we went shopping at "Toys-R-Us" - believe it or not they have one in France!
We shopped for a swing, a mobile, and two big packs of Pampers (can't have too many of those!)
So far Analise doesn't seem to be too into the swing. Maybe the movement is just still a little too much for her.
She LOVES the mobile however- more pictures to come on that!

Out and About

This week Daniel had a vacation from work so we took the opportunity to rent a car and get out of Paris. We went to the forest of Saint Germain-en-Laye to do some hiking on Wednesday.
The little lady is all set in her car seat.




Grady got to come along on the hike and I think he really enjoyed it- he didn't stop running once!
Poor little friend hasn't been getting the attention he's used to, but he's been adjusting well.
He's always very interested in Analise and shows his affection with his licks. Always in abundance!

Saturday we ventured down to the Loire Valley. We visited the chateau at Chambord.
It was about a two hour drive. Analise was great in the car and easy to travel with.
The chateau is known for its "double helix" stairwell- two stair cases that twist upward but never meet.
Here Analise and I are posing in front of the chateau. Look at that fuzzy little head sticking out!

Analise and dad- the little gal is pretty tired after a long day.



That's quite the hair-do Analise!
The guardienne of our apartment, who only speaks French, commented that she is very "punk." Do we have a little rocker on our hands?

Like Father Like . . . Daughter?

From day one Analise seemed to have a pensive face and sometimes even a scowl on her little brow.
When Deb came and brought some of Daniel's baby pictures, we laughed to see the scowl he was already wearing!
Hopefully she will grow up to have a good sense of humor and relaxed personality like dad too!







Who's that baby anyway?
That's Daniel!











Looks like a good little match.

Just Playing Around

It's fun to watch as Analise is becoming more observant of things around her.
No longer is it just lights that attract her attention, but moving objects, mom and dad's faces and her bright colored toys all get attentive stares.
We don't yet have a mobile that can hang over her head, but after playing with this toy from Grandma Johnson, we're thinking that might be a good next toy!





"Hmmm, I'm seeing singing flowers and flashing lights- suddenly I feel like listening to Bob Marley- very trippy!!"













Dad is enjoying some days off and was trying to work on an on-line statistics refresher course. Unfortunately his new girl friend kept him very distracted.
She was much more interested in the toy directly overhead than when we set it off to the side so holding it seemed to better entertain.








Just laughing and chatting with dad.












After lots of playing it was time for Analise to take a rest. I laid her on the bed and when I didn't hear anything from her for awhile, I went back into check on her. I thought I would find a little sleeper- but no! She was just looking around and not sleeping. That seems to be the theme lately- fewer naps, but thankfully longer at nighttime. Although, mom wouldn't mind a nap now and then too!

Help Me! I'm Falling!

We're Back!

Sweet dreams!

The little lady rode for seven hours (including lots of stops) without too much fuss.
With mom in the back and dad and grandma in front of the rental car, we drove to Geneva on Monday and back to Paris on Thursday.
Unfortunately we were out of battery while in Switzerland so there aren't any pics to show from that - I'm sure there will be plenty to come as we are planning to move there at the end of September.




Ha Ha!
Analise is starting to laugh and smile.
It feels like a reward and it always makes me happy, even at 3:30 in the morning (O.K.- definitely less happy then!)









The smiles are hard to capture on camera and often end up in some pretty weird expressions.
Her awake times are getting longer though, so it feels like a little more of her "personality" is coming out.
The curls still kill me!
Here we've finished bath time and I just want to style that hair-do! As it dries the signature "mo-hawk" always makes its appearance.





"I'm trying to pick my head up- but all this hair is so heavy!"












Another conversation with Coach Dad.
"Push through the pain! You can do it! 10 more reps!"












Post workout pain- "Oh it hurts! Feel the burn!"
Although we see enough of the sad face, Analise has been a pretty good baby and not too difficult for her new parents to figure out.
Maybe she just needs to stay away from those long workouts!

Tid bits

We've been busy with Grandma Mueller here and spent Saturday out in the city walking around. Analise did great taking turns snoozing in the stroller and looking around at all the sights. The only mishap was trying to bring baby, shopping bags, and buggy on the metro- didn't work out too well! But, we made it home and everyone had fun. This was her shopping outfit from Stephanie. The matching green clip really makes it!













Oops! Lost the pacifier, just can't seem to keep that thing in it's place!











Snuggling with Grandma, Analise found her fist to suck on. She's been "finding" her hands more and more and I think it's a matter of time before that thumb wanders in.










Today we had kind of a long morning. After eating and being awake, mom decided it was time for a bath. Yikes! Grandma Johnson can attest to the screaming that a bath can provoke and this was one of the worst. The tears flowed!
Afterwards, she was so worked up, we had to pull out all the stops- swaddle blanket, pacifier, shushing, rocking and laying on her side (all the five "S"'s- God bless the inventor of the "S's" - finally she settled to sleep and is probably feeling much better.




As a heads up- I'll be off the blog for a few days as Analise's passport came in and we're all going to Geneva for a few days. We're not able to look at apartments yet, but will be able to spend more time with Daniel (he has to go for work) and to enjoy the area. See you when we get back!

Just pics

Today's pictures are pretty self explanatory, so there's no narration except . . . Enjoy!