Honorary Great-grandmother

Tildy (my late grandfather's girlfriend) came along on the visit of the great-cousins and we all agree that she makes a wonderful and patient great-grandmother.

Three's company

Yesterday we took a tour of Switzerland's most scenic Bernese Mountains and visited my cousin Urs and his family. Gus got to meet his two great cousins (or are they co-cousins or cousins2, we can't figure it out). Len is 18 months and Nik is 3.

By the way, Gus was in good company for more reasons than just shared toys and shrieks. Urs and his wife, Eva, have so far chosen three-letter names for their boys to keep the pattern going. Funny, isn't it.

I know, I know, but OUR boy is WALKING

If you're not Daddy, Granna or Pap, we won't hold it against you if you're scrolling past this, but to us this is BIG - Gus is taking it one step further each day, running, turning on his toes and heels, sitting down, getting up...I can't wait for ya'll to see it for yourself.

A personal checkmark...

18.3 Km (about 12 miles) around Lake Greifensee
1:53 hours
= We (my brother Dominic and I) did it together!

Trick Question

This is a trick question for those in the know...who gave Gus this fabulous toy?...he hasn't been able to breathe ever since it came into his life...he doesn't know yet that it's too heavy and won't be coming home with us.

Sore & happy

More pictures, still

Still stepping...

More pics to show you what we did today.

Step by step

My feet are throbbing, my knees are stiff and my head is heavy - yet I feel awesome. That's what a day hike like the one we did today will do to me. My folks, Gus & I traveled to Tschiertschen yesterday and set out at dawn (actually it was 9 a.m. but it felt like dawn to me) to hike the 2,600 meter above sea level (I'm too tired to do conversion math) Weisshorn and back to Tschiertschen...about a 5 hour hike in all most of it on a tiny footpath no wider than my foot.

Here are a few pictures to bring you along...Gus was wonderful. He hiked along pleasantly in the Ergo carrier on my back the entire time

Party Swiss-style

They are loud, there's is lots of good food and Gus is everyone's entertainment -that's one great party at the Haldner residence under a beautiful blue sky.

A welcome sight...

Gus misses his Daddy, I just know it, even if he can't say it. Here he got so excited when his Uncle Dominic broke out in song with his guitar - something that his Daddy normally does for him. He is having a great time, being the center of everyone's attention...but he still misses his Daddy - we both wish you were here with us.

Auf Wolken...

Gus had a good day today, despite drizzly conditions we got out for a good run (complete with ferry ride across the lake - Gus' first boat ride), enjoyed an impromptu guitar concert by Uncle Dominic (that reminded Gus of his Daddy...he misses him), and finally got 2 balloons from Grossbape...he can't stop himself from having a great time...

Zürich encore

more snapshots...Gus is loving all of it.

A day in Zürich

Today, we all trekked to Zürich for a day of lazy window shopping - Gus loved the window at an old chocolatier shop.

Lake Greifensee Pool

my mom's pride and joy - Lake Greifensee where she spends her summers - Gus loved it too, as you can see here. The new baby pool is state-of-the-art, and he loved every feature of it.

...and another video clip

...and another one...because it's so cute...unless you have to hear it over and over and over again...

Cutting corners

Another one - mostly for Daddy - Gus amazes me with each step.

Gus goes and goes

This is for Daddy and Pap and Granna (and everyone else of course) Gus goes and goes. Check out his smooth transition around corners...it suddenly hit me yesterday...he picks walking over crawling now...he only crawls if he is tired or falls down and gets discouraged...otherwise he is on his feet constantly...

More pictures from Switzerland soon. We're having a wonderful time...Gus has a new toy for every day we're here...Groma and Grossbape are busy buying whatever Gus looks at...he's already got a toy lawn mover, a sandbox set and a talking (German ABC) snail...

Settled in Switzerland

Our first pictures with family. Gus finally got to meet Uncle Dominic. We're happy to be here.

Cleaning up...

Despite the fact that walking is still a balancing act, Gus loves to pitch in and help out with the compost and diaper pail - in fact, carrying stuff while walking is his new favorite thing...this morning he zoomed by me (me still lying in bed) with a harmonica and my Dostojevski paperback...later he made a run for it with Ukulele in hand, I even caught him with the broom this morning... maybe the flight attendants need some help with lunch trays later today...

Drink up (for Daddy, too)!

Another short little movie for Daddy. Gus got a new water bottle for his journey to Switzerland, a sweet gift from Auntie Berne - and he loves it, loves drinking from it, dribbling from it, sipping from it, and spitting from it - it's like a visit to splash mountain, all in a small blue Camelbak bottle.

Courthouse Falls

Just as we managed to get our pints of blueberries into the fridge our friend Heather called to see if we were up for a hike...so here we are at the beautifully serene Courthouse Falls. We're glad we went instead of cleaning or packing...

We live in a gorgeous place...this has been one of those golden days that I want to remember forever. I'm glad we got to go out and spend our day with good friends.

Tomorrow we sit.
And sit.
And sit.
And sit some more.
We'll be baaaack (say it like the Terminator).

Blueberry galore!

My friend Berne and I ventured to a U-pick farm this morning to harvest a few pints of blueberries. The babies cooperated and we had a peaceful & productive couple of hours and hopefully some baked goodies with self-picked berries in them down the line.