Father's Day in Strasbourg

We spent the weekend in Strasbourg, as I had a seminar on Monday, which we used as an excuse to visit France. Besides celebrating my birthday, we also could celebrate (American) Father's Day. Father's Day in Germany is in May (around the American and German Mother's Day) and involves fathers heading to the forest to drink beer and/or parade around the city. Chris, instead, almost got some flowers from Myrna.
And he did get a beer with dinner that we enjoyed while listening to a band during Strasbourg's Festival of Music Sunday evening.
Myrna quite enjoyed France, flirting as usual with anyone in her eye line, smiling and giggling while people spoke to her in French (my reaction too when spoken to in French). She had her first try with a high chair Saturday morning at breakfast. She loved sitting at the table with us and eating her cereal as we ate ours - think it's about time to make that a regular meal habit. And speaking of firsts, Chris snapped a photo of me at dinner on Sunday while Myrna was on his lap. Think this is the first photo of me sans Myrna since her arrival.

Thirtyones

This weekend we've been celebrating 31 in Strasbourg, as I had a birthday on Friday and Myrna too is in her 31st week. Good times indeed.

Exploring the City

This last weekend we took Myrna on a "hike" up Schlossberg. Ok, it wasn't really a hike, more like a nice walk. Sadly we didn't go to the very top, since that involved lots of steep stairs, and when you have a baby attached to you, you're a little more hesitant. But we did get some great views of the Altstadt.

We are slowly acquainting ourselves with our new city. One of the first things we had to do was find a Kinderartz for Myrna. She had her first appointment this week. For the first time since March, she got weighed, and she now clocks in at a very respectable 6025 gms (or 13 lbs 4.5 oz) - that's way bigger than a newborn, and getting close to three times her birth weight. She's 64 cm (25.2 in) long, which actually puts her on the growth chart. She had lots of fun smiling at the doctor and nurse. The shots even weren't that bad; by the time we picked her up she had stopped crying. This was a much better reaction than last time in Bellevue. Perhaps German shots are more gentle than those in the US (a study I will not be a subject in). She's now out of her newborn onesies (into 3 month) and rocking some 6 month clothes. If you look real closely you might see a chubby leg on the girl.

More pics are (as usual) on this month's picassa page.

More Pictures

As requested, more pictures have been added, to the new June Photo Album. Check out her ability to sit (and fall).

Moving on Out

Myrna becomes more and more mobile each day. She's got rolling down - from back to tummy and tummy to back - and once on her tummy, her pivoting skills are amazing. Theoretically this means she could get from point A to point B, by rolling, pivoting and rolling again, but thankfully she hasn't quite figured this out. Any day now, I'm sure she'll figure out a crawling motion, just so she can get her mouth closer to those dirty socks on the floor. Rolling and scooting on the living room rug/blanket is all good, but when it comes to making (and eating) meals, she likes to see us, so that means moving her into the kitchen. Our routine was that she would sit peacefully in her car seat, but as you can see, she's figured out how to crawl out of her seat if not fully belted in.

Step 1: Get out of a sitting positionStep 2: Realize you're doing something you shouldn't be.Step 3: Get a little scared.
Step 4: Tilt the car seat by holding onto the belt.
Step 5: ? We've yet to see what her plan is from this point on.

Totally Punk Rock

Chris decided to let Myrna wear his beloved CBGB t-shirt when she eats. It works far better than a bib, as it completely covers her. Furthermore, we learned this weekend that carrots do stain.

The new digs

Yet another new place that we never really saw before renting it. It's quite large, meaning Myrna finally gets her own room along with a crib (thanks to this Tuesday's trip to Ikea). She's taken to it quite well, and for the first time since we've landed, she's been again sleeping through the night, so I think she likes it.

She shares a room with the "office" and "guest room" (for all her slumber parties she has with kids old enough to sleep in a real bed).
The kitchen is large, with lots of counter and cabinet space (a plus), a microwave and toaster (two things we haven't had in Germany) and equipped with more cooking supplies than we'll need. The one thing it does lack (there is always something lacking in German kitchens) is a freezer in the fridge.
And that black thing next to the oven - we're not quite sure what it is - it's not a dishwasher, or freezer or trash-compacter....

The spacious living room is where we spend most of our time rolling (literally - that's what she does most of the day)
Then there is our bedroom, complete with more closet space than we've had in a while. While we decided we could deal with the separate comforters and ginormous German pillows, the duvet covers on the bed when we arrived just were not going to cut it.
I mean, how could one choose between leopard print and Coca Cola. It was going to be a fight every night. Thankfully, Ikea was well supplied with alternatives, and we never did have to sleep in the Coke Jungle.