False alarm and imperfect muffins

Today shortly after I dropped off Emma at kinder garden at 9h and pottered off home to recover from a week-end of toddler-induced activity, I received a call from kinder garden telling me Emma had thrown up and was probably ill.

Emma on her way to school this morning

I immediately went to pick her up and was pleasantly surprised when she greeted me with her usual loud "Meine Mummy! Meine Mummy!" (my Mummy) just in case someone else were to claim me.

Her teacher informed me that she did not have any fever and admitted she did not seem ill (not in the slightest) but since she had thrown up...
After a few questions I gathered Emma had in fact thrown up while running around on the roof after breakfast in her fleece jacket in the sun (she apparently paused in her running to do this). I figured she probably got hot and choked up but just to be sure she was not coming down with the "abdominal flu" already contaminating some of her fellow kinder garden-goers, I took her home.

After a light lunch of soup and yogurt and a nap (still no fever nor vomiting) I decided we would stay in and try and make some muffins (enough walking to and around and from the Imperial Zoo on Sunday).

Admittedly, I had one of those "quick mixes" in the cupboard but I figured as a first cooking-at-home-with-Mum-experience it would do.
Emma's Stargroup class now cooks on Thursdays but so far, Emma had not been interested in the slightest -surprise, surprise- unless she can eat the ingredients...

I got her tiny table and chairs set up in the kitchen (there is no table in our kitchen) so that she could actually participate properly, got out the mixer, figured out the instructions in German , measured out the milk and checked that we had eggs and instructed Emma to lay out the muffin paper cups... Then, I realized I did not have the required amount of sunflower oil (we use Olive most of the time). Preggie brain = a lot less organized!

Off we went to the shop on foot.

... So about one hour later (once we had named the colors of all the cars on the street, done some standing somersaults, tested the temperature of the shop windows -she literally touches them to see if they are hot due to the sun and announces "c'est chaud Maman" or "non, ça va", walked down a zillion stairs, collected some more chestnuts, sung Incy Mincy (wincy?) Spider and Frères Jaques) we finally got home and back to the muffin mixture.

Here are the pics. The muffin making actually went ok.






Emma

• did inevitably eat some of the mixture and especially the chocolate chips
• managed to get some of the dough mix in the paper cups (although she kept losing patience when it took a while to blob off her spoon resorting to waving the spoon off in another direction predictably leaving traces of the dough mix across the table and floor)
• alternated ordering me to stop ("arrête Maman!" when I tried to scoop more mix on to her spoon) and complimenting me ("Bravo Maman! c'est bien!" when I successfully blobbed some dough in the paper cup)
  
• enjoyed helping with some of the cleaning up (handing me the spoons and wiping her table) and being picked up to watch the muffins rise

However, when we finished eating dinner tonight and it was finally time to taste them,
she took one bite and said "gâteaux pas bien" (i.e. cake not good - although the correct form in French would have been "bon" and not "bien") and asked for yogurt instead. (Note that this is the first time ever that Emma has turned down a cake, biscuit or muffin and although I'm sure she enjoyed dinner I somehow doubt it was all due to a full tummy.)

After having tried them myself, I have to say; Emma definitely knows a home made cake from a "quick mix".

Child rearing and politics

Sometimes getting to school (read kindergarden) can take ages. That's part of the reason why I drive there although it would only be a 15 minute walk at a normal pace but I think we could at least triple that with Emma.

Emma's curiosity (a wonderful trait, yes I do realize) means she is still prone to stopping and checking everything and everybody out (the beggar on the corner, the man raging at the trolly that won't come undone from the row, the gardener watering the plants, a moving van...) and what seems like stalling (I think this is part of her trying to make the point that "I'm the one to decide what I do, Mamââân" phase).

During her observations she is so totally absorbed that her brain filters uninteresting appeals "Emma, on va être en retard à l'école" (Emma, we're going to be late for school) like a person turning down the volume of their hearing aid so as to read in peace. But then sometimes we see a familiar child from afar (or a teacher or a garbage truck, which she loves, or something else interesting in the right direction) and I can say "Emma, regarde qui est là" (Emma, looks who is here) and luckily for me it usually works.

Sometimes I even find the right words to convince her that putting on her jacket is a good idea - "comme Maman/like Mum" doesn't always work nowadays, but "regarde, il y a des poches!" (look it has pockets!) is a winner!

Who knew child rearing taught you about politics (as in telling them what they want to hear so that you get what you want)?

Hello belly, good-bye feet & Emma update

I recently ordered a belly book on Amazon so that I could chart this pregnancy's progress and have something to give the little one later in life. (I also did one for Emma but it was sent to me from Singapore from my sister and hence a slightly different format).

I realize now how easy it is to forget certain details - like, who knew that my tummy was already this big at nearly 10 weeks?!

and I am sure all of us will enjoy reading up on bits and looking at the (by then) out-dated ultra-sounds just like we already love looking back at pics of Emma and exclaiming at what a big girl she is.

Speaking of which...

Emma constructing a lego house

Emma on her way to school for her first day in the bilingual bigger kids class

Emma at the breakfast table in her bilingual class with her doll Nicky next to her

How is Emma doing in her new kindergarden group? Well, it's been a week now and the first few minutes are still a bit heart wrenching because Emma always asks me to stay and cries a bit when I don't but it thankfully only lasts for about a minute and then she dives into the activity at hand.
She still goes back to the younger group to take her nap after lunch and they all come together after that for tea-time and play. Every afternoon when I pick her up she yelps with joy and is happy to show me what she has done (baked a muffin, made a puzzle/collage, etc.) and some new toy she has discovered.

The other day she even said "Emma, sit down" (in English!) before sitting down to put her shoes on to go to school. I think she really enjoys languages - nearly as much as she likes music!

Next week we go to our first trial music class... I'll keep you posted!

Week 8 and 2 days

Today was a big day.

I had my first preggie pilates lesson on the reformer (= revolutionary Pilates machine) and although I felt slightly pooped at the end of it, I survived.
Admittedly, it was rather uplifting to be told by the 6 month pregnant mother doing the class with me that at 8 weeks all she could manage was to sleep in between kindergarden drop off and pick up of her 3 year old.

We had our second ultra-sound today and actually saw baby's heart beat! Pretty amazing especially considering that he/she is merely 13mm big!



Everything is just dandy except my blood pressure (90/60) which is perpetually making me feel like I am about to faint (not nice when you are driving). Yay! to salty crackers and fruit smoothies (I have out on 1,5 kg since pregnant). Hopefully only 3 more weeks of this before I feel totally boosted by all the 2nd trimester hormones - yay! yay! yay!

And uh, I've taken to drinking chamomile tea in the evenings - helps calm the tum before bed-time. Bananas and Weetabix are my new best buddies.
No, not feeling like a gran in the slightest... especially not when napping after lunch, dragging myself to the car and needing help carrying groceries. Oh, and wanting to climb back into bed at 9am (but I don't 'cause I have loads of more interesting stuff to do and anyway, I nap after lunch remember?!).

Finally another piece of good news: Emma is moving to a bilingual (English & German) bigger kids group in her kindergarden as of Monday. Yippee!

Morning sickness goes on

I am in the throws of morning sickness and it's really REALLY horrible! I feel like I am hung over without even having had any of the night before fun.

Whatever I smell, taste or swallow in the mornings seems to make my stomach heave. Luckily the intensity of the nausea seems to abate as the day goes on... as long as I don't let myself get hungry. Hunger pangs = nausea.

Problem is, I get hunger pangs about every hour and some foods I usually enjoy make me feel even worse. So far I really need to avoid: tomatoes/tomato sauce, cucumbers, vinegar, some yogurts, white cheese, blueberries... Agh! Basically anything acid. Don't ask.

On the contrary, white rice, corn, salty crackers, peanut butter, (it's been decades since I last had peanut butter! ) chips, white bread, walnuts, almonds, raspberries and bananas make me feel better. But uh, how healthy is that? Tomorrow I'm going to try potatoes.

As for proteins (on top of nuts) ham, minced meat, and eggs are neutral if I eat something nice and dry with them.
This is going to be one gastronomic first trimester!

(to help with morning sickness here are some diet tips

some more and a few more)

Emma's first haircut

At 25 months, we finally took the plunge and decided to take Emma to the hairdresser in an attempt to even out what little hair she has and make her look a little less like a mad scientist.

I think she quite enjoyed the experience and the end result is much prettier than expected.

Trampoline fun - Emma's new passion

Emma is not so hot on "swimming" in the sea, but the "popoline" has totally won her over... No matter that she hasn't quite figured out how to jump on her own yet.

At any rate, it means that by bedtime we're both totally beat and sleep like logs.

Emma's hearty appetite & morning sickness

Our first night was a bit rough due to Emma feeling uneasy in an unfamiliar bed (luckily I was asleep just an hour after her so I patiently managed the repetitive waking later in the night - self-complimentary tap on the shoulder ) but last night was smooth.

Emma's appetite is more varacious than ever after an afternoon on the beach and jumping on the trampoline (pics of that in a next post). Luckily for us, she is currently sleeping in so we enjoy a morning chat and tranquillement reading the Economist as we watch the occasional boat pass by. The good life.

The salty breeze and yummy tomatoes are a hit.

I just wish brushing my teeth didn't make me feel so sick... not sure my lovely family would be charmed by all-day morning breath, but I might consider mints if this goes on.

Tomorrow our Tata-yéyé (a.k.a Annabel, Emma's beloved auntie) arrives!

Everything is relative...

Everything is relative. A concept my Dad explained to me when I was a child by asking me to choose between a Rolls Royce and a glass of water and then repeating the question after having asked me to imagine I was in the desert after a full days walk in the sun and nothing to drink.

When I was pregnant with Emma nearly three years ago, I had expected to have morning sickness and was pleasantly surprised when it was in fact quite mild and short lasting.
These days, because of those memories, I feel a lot worse than I thought I would feel the second time around.

Expectations can be as much of a context as a real life situation.

Here we go again

We're off to Croatia to prolong the summer for a few days.

This morning as I closed up my suitcase in 18° C Vienna, I figured I might as well wear jeans to travel so I have a pair of "warmer" trousers just in case, but lo an behold they felt tight. I kept them on for ten minutes (just to make sure it wasn't the after wash effect) and then hopped on the scales: I have gained 2 kilos! Already!

Luckily I found a pair of post-preggie baggies that fit wonderfully and should still be ok in 10 days on the way back.
It's no wonder though, since I am absolutely starving all the time and eating (dried fruit, walnuts, salty cracker...) about every 30 minutes to avoid feeling sick (on top of three hearty meals a day!).

Here we go again.
I am now really glad that I got back to my non-smoking, non-pregnant normal weight before getting pregnant again - I guess if I did it once I can do it again.

Other than that I'm feeling just fine; slightly woozy and breathless (can't remember feeling this way so early on last time...) and I definitely need to nap after lunch if I want to hold up with Emma all afternoon. Certain smells have also become unbearable again (coffee, fish, smoke...). All normal.

If you're curious about what our little tadpole looks like right about now go here.

Well, we'd better get going...

Pregnant again

I have a secret that wants to explode out of me so although I'm writing this on Thursday August 13th, I'm pretty sure you won't be reading it for a while. Never mind! I have to let it out.

I think we're preggers again!!!

Not sure yet - still very early days- and the Clear blue test was not 100% clear so I'll have to redo it in a few days. But...

Much more reliable are the facts that:

• I'm peeing more often
• I wake up starving
• My boobs are tight and feel like I am a teenager once again
• I'm totally pooped by the time I get Emma into bed at 8pm.
  

All symptoms I recall from nearly three years ago when I was in the early stages of being preggie with Emma (who at that time had no name except "bebek" i.e. baby in Turkish since that was where we were living in the second half of 2006).

So exciting!!!

Anyway, I've booked an appointment with a gynae in 10 days time so by then we should know more.

A part from it being very exciting news in itself I am over the moon with the fact that the timing would be (is?) perfect! A Spring baby, just in time to enjoy the nice weather in Vienna without having to go through summer pregnancy. Plus, if my last pregnancy is anything to go by, I will be a lot less cold this winter. Yay!!!
And the age difference in between Emma and N° 2 is good too - by then she will be getting dressed on her own, speaking much more clearly and hopefully will not feel kicked out of the crib as it were.

I wonder... boy or girl? I was petty sure Emma was going to be a girl but right now, I don't have an inkling (yet).
Steph is in favor of another girl, having declared after an afternoon at the park watching some boys play, that boys were silly. (In actual fact, I'm quite sure he likes having a little Princess and finds the frequent teenage power struggle in between boys and Dads a bit daunting. Plus, he is convinced girls are easier and gets depressed at the thought of not re-using all of Emma's tiny clothes. ) As for me, I don't think I have a preference, as long as he/she is healthy and happy and it all goes smoothly.

Ohhh. I can barely sit still I am so excited! HOW am I going to be able to wait for another 10 days before knowing for sure?!!!


Oh, and yes, this was planned - or rather we had decided that we wanted to have a second babe as of Emma's 2nd birthday. Pretty quick ey?


Saturday, August 15th

We are definitely expecting N° 2!!!
After the not so clear result on the previous test I decided to
a) wait a couple of days until my period was officially due
b) use a digital test that actually tells you whether or not you are pregnant in so many words... and ta-da!


We are preggers! 2 weeks since conception and 1 month since my last period. 1 month preggers and 8 more to go!

My feelings?
Im-pa-tient! However did I manage to wait 9 months before meeting Emma?
Can't wait to see the gynae next week so I can meet her (hope she's nice and good and will see me through the whole bit) and basically be reassured everything is as it should be (I am 36 you know!)
Can't wait till the second trimester when I will feel boosted by all the hormones and stop feeling tired!
Oooohhhh. Im-pa-tient!

Friday 21st

Well, we've told family and close friends and though it was great doing so, now I wonder if we should not have waited until Monday. The Monday (meeting the gynae) just around the corner!

Today, I can't help thinking I was much more excited when I found out I was expecting Emma... Maybe 'cause she was my first? Maybe 'cause I saw the doctor right away and hence could rejoice knowing everything was ok? Maybe 'cause now I know the pregnancy is only the beginning, whereas the first time round the birth seems like your goal (end)? Maybe 'cause I was so focused on her (the belly) not having a child to care for in the house?
I don't want to feel blasé about this pregnancy but I am so relaxed about it I often forget about it entirely. Hopefully once I start seeing a belly, I will feel it is more real.

Sinon...:
I'm still feeling tired but my hunger is less voracious.
I think my jeans feel tighter already. Oh-oh.
I've ordered some kaki colored Croc boots in case my feet swell again and I can't get anything else on - perfect for the park!



Saturday 22nd

Today we are 6 weeks pregnant! (counting from the first day of my last period i.e. Gestational pregnancy) Only 7,5 months to go!!! Yay!!!
Oh, and I found some interesting reading on feelings during a second pregnancy


Sunday August 23rd

We're thinking of names already, seeing as it took us forever to find a name we both liked for Emma... and I found this gallery of popular names by country which could come in pretty handy. It's nice 'cause it has a small selection of boys and girls names per country instead of the zillion or so you find on most sites. Tomorrow is D-day: we meet the gynae and hopefully have some more information etc. From what I have calculated on my own, next Tuesday we reach 6 weeks of Gestational pregnancy whereas Fetal age is just over 3weeks. (Usually there is only a two week difference in between the two, but my menstrual cycles tend to be on the longish side at 33 or so days so there you have it). This probably means we'll have to wait until we return from Croatia to hear a heartbeat and start talking dates. Oh well.



Monday, August 24th

I've just come back from the gynae's and am over the moon to be able to say she was professional and nice and reassuring - Yay!!!! and Pheew! I feel a lot better now that I know we are in good hands!
As for the babe, well, all is as it should be. Estimated due date for now is April 20-21st. We'll know more in a couple of weeks after our next ultrasound.

Foot picker

Emma's interest in her feet continues.

Before she was only bothered if they were dirty or had something stuck to the bottom of them, but now she checks them out quite often with special focus on the area between the toes searching for some sock fluff or sand.

Her favorite times to do this are when she is in the stroller while I do a quick errand or while she sits in her favorite chair as "Petit Ours Brun" is loading in the DVD player.

Go figure, some toddler stuff I guess.

Emma's feet

Emma's interest in her feet continues.
Before she was only bothered if they were dirty or had something stuck to the bottom of them, but now she checks them out quite often and picks at her nails (yuck!) when she has nothing better to do -like if she is in the stroller while I do a quick errand - or while she sits in her favorite chair as "Petit Ours Brun" is loading in the DVD player.

What the...(2)?

Sharing your bedroom with a tree anyone? (in the centre of Vienna)

What the... ?

Hairy motorbike spotted in the first bezirk of Vienna. Maybe the rider misses his, uhm... camel?

Welcome Sasha

Emma's third cousin was born on July 11th at 7h43am in Singapore.

He is reported to be healthy and handsome. Stats are: 3,030kg and 50cm

His Mummy said it was the easiest of her three births! Proving that it doesn't necessarily get harder with age - or maybe to him being the first boy?

Below a pic of Sasha's sisters (Emma's older cousins) Tara (2004) and Lana (2006)

Congrats to his Mum, Dad, Sisters and Grand-parents!

Potty training - back to nappies

We're changing strategies.

Emma's kindergarden teacher told me that Emma was "not comfortable with being in underpants" (without nappies) to the point of not playing and participating as she usually does. Also, when they "put her on the toilet seat she seemed stressed". (this broke my heart, really...)
Her teacher told me that she was probably so concentrated on what was going on between her legs that she could not freely take part in the activities.
After two accidents, they put her nappies back on. They reassured me that she might be ready in a couple of weeks and that they will gladly have her in undies again when she can say she needs to go.


When I was told this I immediately thought "ok, back to nappies and we'll take it slowly. We can use the underpants and potty at home and she'll get the hang of it eventually without the stress. There's enough stress in life as it is, and it's not like potty training now is life defining." As Steph puts it: "Emma is a diesel; she needs a while to get started but then she is hard to stop". After all, she did walk at 19 months!

But when I picked her up this afternoon, what a contrast to this morning when she was casually waking to school wearing her underpants and stopping to proudly show passers by her new sandals. She was whining, crying, cranky. Gosh! Is this all due to being without nappies at kindergarden!?
Since then, I noticed she actually has a fever, so she's now safely tucked into bed having skipped dinner, hopefully sleeping it off.
Come to think of it - I'm not feeling that great either. Maybe we're both coming down with something... As long as it's not the H1N1 Virus.

Potty training tribulations

A lot of the stuff I read said that one of the main reasons potty training dragged on for ages or became a nightmare was because the parents needed to be ready and dedicate time. Apparently, you need to be 100% committed and really observe your child every second, show no emotion when an accident happens and praise them to the moon when they finally do something in the potty. Sources differ on how long you should leave your child on the potty; some say until you get something from them, but most say for 5 or 10 minutes at a time but initially every 20 minutes and always after food or drink. Many say success lies in making them feel good when they pee/poo in the potty.

So after a couple of weeks of putting Emma on the potty first thing in the morning and when coming home from the park (keeping her in nappies the rest of the time) we took the leap and put her in big girl undies on Saturday. The potty was familiar, she had seen her poo before (in the potty and seen us empty the nappy into the toilet) and the prize sticker board was stuck to the bathroom window with a sheet full of colorful stickers ready to be used.


Well, as far as I'm concerned this has been the hardest most frustrating time with Emma ever.

I think she got bored with going to the potty, although we were reading books and singing songs and watching nursery rhymes on YouTube while on it, as recommended by many. After 2 days full of far more accidents than successes (there goes the positive reinforcement) I think she no longer knew what the potty was for. (Too much entertainment on the potty perhaps?)

Often, she would pee about 1 minute after we got up and had finally pulled her pants up. (A word of advice here, get undies that are as big as can be without them falling off your toddler. Emma got fed up trying to pull her undies up over her bum and kept wanting to walk off with them around her ankles. By the time we had the undies back up it was nearly time to go back to the potty!)

Despite having a garden, it's also been really hard staying in for nearly 3 full days (instead of going to the park and seeing friends as we usually do. We even kept her home from kindergarden yesterday figuring it wasn't really fair on Emma nor the staff to send her off while she was still having so many accidents.

Mostly, I have found it supremely annoying to have to ask Emma a zillion times a day to get on the potty, only to be told "Neeein Mamâân, Neeeiiin!!" and then having to find all sorts of motivating tricks to get her off, only for her to pee on the floor 30 seconds after getting up. That's the terrific two's for you I guess.


Mornings are particularly difficult: we get her up about ten minutes before her usual waking time so that her nappy is still dry and go straight to the bathroom. If her nappy is dry, she pees in the potty, no problem. We wipe her and put on some dry (not clean or dirty but wet and dry) big girl undies, empty the potty into the loo (she likes that) and stick a sticker on the board (she likes that too!). Then off we go to get dressed.

This is when things go south. While we head off to make breakfast or while she is running to the kitchen she actually pees again, and again and again - within 5 minutes. And lots too. Then today she peed again during breakfast. Every time we rush to the potty in case we can catch some pee, change undies, clean up the mess without any fuss.

I think we went through at least a dozen of undies-a-day during the first two days.

Initially, when pee landed on the floor, Emma would get a bit upset, look very worried and call me. Now she looks like she couldn't care less and comments that the puddle needs to be "nettoyé" ("cleaned up" in French). Is this "no reaction" attitude to accidents really helping?
We tell her that it's ok, that she is just peeing and that next time she should do it in the potty. But she doesn't seem to get the going to the potty part yet. Although she participates in the applause when our plastic duck toys pee in a potty (tupperware) during bath time.

Might she be too young, you ask? Indeed, I have wondered. According to my book, not, since she mostly wakes dry from naps and her nappy is even dry if we wake her in the morning which indicates some bladder control. She can also follow simple instructions, is "aware when doing a poo", is "eager to participate", can "point to the different parts of the body when you name them", has "the ability to sit and occupy herself for 5 -10 minutes"...


The one thing most sources seem to agree on is that you should be totally consistent and never put your kids back into nappies once you have removed them, however tempting (and it is, believe me!) all the while letting them sleep in their nappies until they have been dry in the day time for a couple of weeks.

My friendly neighbor whose son is 4 - 5 months older than Emma, said she waited for her son to tell her and just lets him run around naked and pee in the garden during the day (he doesnt' ever go to kindergarden). If he tells her he needs to go, she takes him to the bathroom. According to her, no training is necessary and children will learn all by themselves when the time is right, all this "training" is coercive, ruins children's "souls" and dates back to the 70's when they had no idea... This said, her son (at nearly 2,5 yrs) goes to bed in between 9pm and 11pm, sleeps in a bed attached to hers, is still breastfed, will only ride in the car if she sits in the back with him, throws all the couch cushions on the floor and jumps on them (to name but a few)...so I'm not convinced about letting the kids lead the way.

Having said that, Emma had a great time with us on this long week-end full of attention, applause, reading and stickers. So much so that she was not that eager to go back to kindergarden today. On the positive side, she made it from home to kindergarden in dry underpants. I left her with a stock of undies and trousers and hopefully the fact that other children are using the toilet will help.

Despite all the "never go back" advice, I think if we haven't made any significant progress by the end of the week, I'll give it a rest and try again in a month.

If you have any suggestions or have spotted something in our tribulations that you think I might have missed, or have any constructive advice drop a comment please!

Café Prückel & cafés in Vienna

One of the nicer sides to Vienna is it's cafés and restaurants. which we are starting to discover on our weekly adult evening out (thanks to our wonderful Italian babysitter) as well as on some Emma-free mornings.
In most cafés in the winter or when it's cold, the smoke is an issue, but right now we're able to sit out on the terraces despite the fact that it's 13°C outside and raining.
The choice is huge. A variety of cuisines. Some places are trendy, but many of them are really old, majestic in size, charming in spirit and still authentically perspiring their past with a unique appeal.

Sometimes the waiters seem to date back to the 50's too. On more than one occasion I have had the feeling of walking into the past as if through a time machine. I love being served my espresso on a little silver colored tray with the indispensable glass of water. The original linoleum counters or floors, antique lamps, shelves, coat racks and of course, tables and chairs or benches just make you feel as if you're suddenly on the set of Bewitched and Endora is going to appear in a cloud of blue smoke.

One of my favorites is Café Prückel in the first district of Vienna. It is beautiful, has high ceilings, free WIFI, an authentic 50's feel which I am fond on, lovely cakes and coffee served on silver trays by waiters dressed in black and white, lots of magazines to read and comfy chairs. Some photos below or on their website...

N.B. originally written on June 23rd but posting now...

Another potty debate

The wiping. Yeah.

As you know, I've been reading up on potty training and have pretty much settled on a method (a mix between Gina Ford's and Tracy Hoggs') which hopefully will work . So today, following Tracy Hoggs advice, we bought Emma some "big girl" undies so that she can feel wet and we can simply pull them up after having finished up on the potty (instead of having to get her up on a changing table and put another nappy on which was something I was having a hard time with).

Which brings me to my little dilemma.... after she's done her business on the potty, I need to clean her up and the "how" to that - after pee mainly - still puzzled me a bit.

Too much reading doesn't always help!

Indeed, although practically all the books specify that for hygienic reasons it's important to "wipe girls front to back" I was still sort of puzzled as how to (teach a little one to) do this. And surprisingly, being a girl myself didn't really help on this "front to back" bit if you see what I mean. (Getting a bit graphic here I realize, sorry!)

So, anyway, if you're having similar dilemmas and want an entertaining and informative (and anonymous!) read which shows there are lots of different things going on in the "wiping down there" area, please check this out. Although the videos are no longer available, the comment section is overflowing with a variety of experiences from people potty/toilet training toddlers or not.

As for us, I'm thinking, we're going to use the potty as frequently as possible (asap out of bed, before going to "school" , as soon as we get back home, before dinner, before bedtime...) for maybe another week and then go for the big girl undies during the day. Maybe I'm optimistic, but since Emma has now successfully peed & pooed in the potty a few times and is often dry after naps, I think she's getting it even though she has not so far asked to use it.
I'm still not sure what we're going to do out of the home though... I read about a portable potty and people actually keeping a potty in their car, but hopefully by then Emma will be able to "hold" and will not be too scared about using a toilet.

I'll keep you posted...

Emma's Oreos

the Oreo effect:
Cookies and milk for the first time



and...

Looks like finger-spooning the cream is totally innate

and this is supposed to be summer?

Seriously?

And it's not just gray, it's cold too.
And it's been like this for weeks with the odd sunny afternoon here and there.

I just hope it's nice and warm when we get to Geneva in a month 'cause seeing as it's quite nice there now, I would hate for us to get the autumn coolness and rain in both places if you see what I mean...
Otherwise we'll just have to head to the south of France for a while or catch a last minute to the sun somewhere.

Emma these days

She says "bonne nuit" when we put her to bed and "goûte maman" (taste it Mom) when she feeds me something.

She has chipped her big left front tooth ever so slightly, so it looks like it has a rounded bottom corner.

She'll hold out whatever part of her body she has just bumped/scratched/hurt for me to kiss better.

She carries a coat, blanket or bag around like Linus and says "meine" (mine).

She no longer wants to drink milk from her bottle or otherwise except sometimes if it has some honey in it.

She grabs my hand and pulls saying "komm! komm!" (come! come!) but doesn't always know where she wants us to go once I put down the zucchini I am peeling.

She bellows out "hall-o-o" to whoever we cross on the street or at the park and she always introduces me to whoever she is chatting to by pointing at me and saying "mamâaan" and then glancing back at them to see if they got it. She then sometimes goes on to tap her chest while exclaiming "Emma!".

She likes helping me put the laundry into the washing machine but needs help when pulling her pants (trousers) up over her nappied bum.

At the sandpit, she'll calmly walk away from a child that is scolding or pushing her because she has added more sand to their bucket or borrowed their shovel.

She loves hiding behind the curtains and screaming "ahhhh" when you pretend to be looking for her and she never lets you actually start looking for her when playing hide and seek.

Above all, she loves books - especially pop up ones although she still lacks the "delicate touch" required to manipulate them.

She can repeat "mamâââân" 1000 times without saying anything else when you answer her - as if she were checking you're there (for her).

She still can't put her shoes on by herself and hates having dirty feet.

She's definitely the centre of the world to us.

Parenting style up-date

So... I took the test to determine what is my parenting style and as it turns out here it is:




In case you're squinting at the above: My highest score is Active (43), then Autocratic (34), then Permissive (26).
Well, I was pretty sure I was not permissive and I was hoping I was more Active than Autocratic... Maybe I'll take it again in a while. I'd also like hubs to have a go at it.

Although I have to admit, at the moment I'm finding it really hard not to act autocratic when Emma ignores calls to remove her shoes, wash her hands, come to dinner etc. Sometimes the "kneel down, place hand on child's shoulder and try for eye contact as you speak" works, at others she is already meters away, off to play will her Lego or her mini kitchen and frankly couldn't care less.

Just another phase...

Sitting in the sun and peer pressure at minus 2

As you can see, Emma does not like the sound of drilling. ;-)

At the moment she is rediscovering her water bottle which she had rejected due to kindergarden peer pressure leaning towards the smaller bottles that need to be tipped to drink (i.e. there's no inner straw).

Can you believe it? Not yet two but there is already peer pressure happening! I actually had to buy her one of the "tipping required" bottles because she was constantly borrowing other childrens' and refusing to use her non-tip non-spill one. Go figure...

Anyway, nowadays Emma is increasingly drinking out of a regular plastic cup which is kind of handy.



You've got to love the warmer weather if only because it is great for water sports and experimenting with drinking out of cups -and hopefully toilet training one of these days...

What's your parenting style?

I was listening to yet another podcast of Kids in Mind (downloaded from my favorite English language Swiss radio station's website WRS) which keeps me happily entertained in traffic jams here when I cannot listen to another word of German! and Dr. Rachel Melville-Thomas (child and adolescent psychotherapist who I think is absolutely terrific!) mentioned this website and this quiz about parenting styles.

Interested? Well, I was and am about to do take the quiz... I'll let you know how it goes and what kind of style I have.

If you take the quiz, let me have your thoughts (and your results if you don't mind)!

If you have a bit more time, have a listen to some of the Kids in Minds podcasts which are really interesting ranging from "raising an only child" to "the roles of Dads", "Stepparenting", how to help your kid when confronted with a "new country, new school", aggession, homosexuality, leaving the nest, and many more...

Oh! and if your wondering how the potty training is going... Well, absolutely NO CIGAR (not one!) since my last post because Emma has changed her timing and is doing her business early afternoon when we are usually at the park or on our way back from kindergarden... I guess we'll have to wait a while...

Potty training firsts

Yesterday for the first time ever Emma pooped in her potty! Yay! (shhh! I'm actually trying to play it totally low key with her contrarily to much of the advice I have read on the web - I don't compliment her on getting her business done, nor do I clap and cheer while she is at it. So you see, the "yay" is just between us.)

Here's the story in case you're thinking of making the move too.

For some time now, the potty had been sitting in a corner of her bathroom (and the trainer toilet seat on the toilet) but Emma was absolutely not interested. Not even when I pointed the potty out as if it where a cool new toy.

Until last week the potty was just gathering dust.

Last week in Geneva, for lack of a shoe bench in our entrance, I even started using the potty as a chair where Emma could sit while I put her shoes on. And that did it. Introductions were made and the potty became part of her life. Every time we walked in, she would happily sit herself on her potty ready for her shoes to be removed and her slippers put on.
I was happy she was noticing the potty but wary she might consider it a chair.

Apart from leaving the toilet door open whenever possible and pointing out what Mum was up to, I didn't insist very much. I have been reading up on potty training, thinking that warmer days as well as Emma's growing maturity at 22 months and most importantly, the return of her "routine morning bowel movement" might make it an appropriate time for us to give it a try but it never seemed like the "appropriate time" since there was always something else going on (teething, traveling, new baby sitter, etc.).

After the first few days back at kindergarden and her sleeping patterns back on track, I figured: Why not?

So yesterday after her breakfast and a cuddle I asked her if she would like to use the potty. Off we went armed with a basket full of books. I pointed to the toilet with the soft and colorful trainer toilet-seat and she responded her usual "nein!" followed by a firm "no" so we turned to the potty. That was more like it! In a minute, there she was on the potty (no nappy and pants down) and me on the floor singing "the wheels on the bus" and "this old man". Every once in a while Emma would hand me a different book and stood up twice to give me a "bisou" (kiss) which she is big on at the moment. After about 10 minutes we were all done.
I wasn't too sure about how to go about the wiping and putting a clean nappy on since she was standing, but we managed. (I think pull up nappies would be the best option but unfortunately the kindergarden won't have them.)

After she was all dressed again, Emma came back to the bathroom and pointed to her poop in the potty, commenting something incomprehensible to me but she seemed very pleased with herself. We washed hands and brushed her teeth and I dashed back to empty the potty and clean up after she had left the bathroom having read that flushing a kids' "production" in front of them was not the appropriate thing to do .

We did it again today just as simply. Still not quite sure about "after part" since I would like to avoid lying her on her changing table again to put a clean nappy on, but it's hard to put a standard nappy on her while she is standing...
So if you have any ideas or tips on how to handle the clean nappy bit I'd be really interested.

More reading on the subject:

Potty donts
Potty training readiness video

According to HR Consultancy Mercer Quality of living 2009 survey (for criteria* read this post by Op-Expat Britta, I was unable to find it on the Mercer site) Vienna was ranked N° 1 city for Expats in terms of quality of life beating 2007 & 2008 winner Zurich (now at 2nd place) and Geneva (was already at 3rd place).

Well, well, well...Looks like we've lived in 2 of the top five cities so far. That explains why we're always so damn hard to please: Our standards are high through experience!
How amazing - but how wonderful really- that I never even think about security being an issue. Umph. Lucky lucky us.

As it happens, we're off to Geneva today.

Emma photo-update: the ice-cream effect

From very lady-like

to... ahem! Not quite sure what, but get those shoes of the cushions please!!!

2 (and a bit) more years to go!

I'm sort of throwing this down in the hope of remembering to dig it out when Emma is old enough to play - in the meantime I might just do some with Steph if he's willing to indulge me... (or rather if we find the time).

What am I talking about?

I read this post and was particularly delighted at the "nine" part of it by Catherine's son Ben and his friend Ava.

It's a hilarious and magical mad lib and I had no idea this is what they were called although I remember playing a version of these in my early teens with French speaking friends and finding it really fun. Hilarious sometimes, actually.

So, if your kids are old enough to play - at least 4 I think - give yourself and them a laugh and do some Mad libs!