Buon giorno from Lake Como

Moya and i decided to take a little break before the madness of the summer tour, so we drove 5 hours south to Lake Como. And despite the fact that we have yet to see George Clooney at his villa, we have seen amazing views across the lake, great scenes at the pool, and this view from our balcony. Of course, it's no Puget Sound, but we'll put up with it. Tonight, the most violent storm came in that I've ever seen, and without warning. We had a light show for more than an hour. Thank goodness we decided to stay in tonight. We also watched the finals of the Euro Championship. Unfortunately, our host country, Germany, didn't show up to play and Spain walked away with the championship 1-0. Sophia told everyone she met on the way that she was going to Italy. They were all quite imrpessed.

Alexandra at 2 months...

A few views of our growing girl. Alexandra has lots of new tricks this week... She can almost get her tumb into her mouth, but most of the time it is her whole hand (party trick for the future)
She has to move her entire body to laugh & smile, which makes it really hard to take a non blurry photo!
She can lift her legs up into the air!

She smiles & her eyes stay open...
Her feet are uncurling.

We are all so in love...

Sleep Glorious Sleep...

Sleep will be a little hard to come by tonight, and not for the reasons you might think.
Alexandra is actually a sleeping champion (but I know this will all change when we get on that international flight in 2 weeks and throw a 9 hour time change into her little life), and slept from 8 to midnight, midnight to 5 and 5 to 8:30 last night. The night before she did a 7 hour stretch from 8 to 3am.
You just have to love when they hit that magical 10-11lb mark!
Sleep may be difficult tonight because Germany just beat Turkey 3-2 to advance to the European football championship FINALS!! The roars around the streets were amazing (and given it is 90 out right now we have ALL of the windows in the apartment open to try to get some air flow) and now people will be driving around the streets for hours honking their car horns and blowing air horns. Its actually quite fun to hear, and gives us a little view on the last world cup that was held 2 years ago in Germany. Party in every beer garden!
Check out the blog post from Troy's Munich blog for a photo of his beer garden party experience from the game last week!

Better Beater Batter Face

Sophia & I made brownies from a Duncan Hines mix I found at the store down the street. It was in their American Foods section. Interesting mix of food offerings: mayo, Paul Newman Salad dressings, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (which was impossible to find in France), Cheese Whiz, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups (1.50 euro for 2), Vanilla Frosting, Brownie & Cake mixes, and Marshmallow Fluff Creme. Everything properly overpriced of course.

I don't think I've ever eaten Fluff & Stuff in my entire life. But the brownies were good, the batter was even better...

Following the pure chocolate infusion, Sophia found her giant easter egg, and when she found it to be empty she thought it might make nice earmuffs.

Z update

Family life is always a bit crazy, no?

Alexandra is now 7-1/2 weeks old and had a fabulous drs appt today. Passed her reaction & hearing tests with flying colors. No concern about her feet anymore (they were a bit turned in & up from her squished time against my rib cage), and she is growing like a weed. 5170 grams (11 lbs 6 oz) and 59cm (23-1/4"). It is amazing how much her cheeks are filling out, not to mention her thighs. She is also really starting to react to us; following our voices around the room, smiling when Sophia comes into view, not liking being left alone, and so much more. We are already into 3-6 month clothing (although I think some of that may be the washer & dryer shrinking things so much more in Europe than they do in the US), and the 4 hours in a row at night has been a godsend given the schedules of the rest of the family. She is a joy...

Sophia is taking her roll as big sister very seriously, and is beginning to "mother" everyone in the family, even me. Or rather, especially me, "Mommy, don't do it that way, if you do it like that I don't like it." and more & more. It is a fine line between laughing from entertainment and laughing from exhaustion, and banging my head on the nearest door frame... As long as we keep laughing I think we will be ok.

Troy & I are trying to get as much sleep as possible, difficult given the marathon dinners we are having to talk & plan out the next month & his obsession with HEROS. It is unbelievable how quickly every day passes...Sophia & Troy trying out the Bjorns on their respective babies... Successful all around.

Playtime at the park. Just enough sun to warrant the sun hat!

Weekend in the Fountain

The museum directly in front of our apartment has put in a fountain on the corner for the remainder of the summer. It is a bit of a trick fountain, there are sensors on the ground which allow a portion of the water wall to stop, and you can run (or stroll) into the center before the wall begins again.
Sophia & Troy had a blast trying to create patterns in the water movements. After getting wet in the morning, I enjoyed the view from the dry land, and the entertainment of watching other people try to figure out the movements of the fountain. Most people thought it was completely random, and were a bit scared of running into the center. Once there, they weren't sure how to get out.
Sophia didn't want to leave...


Fountain Play from Moya Z on Vimeo.

Alexandra's Tummy Time

Exercise so early in life... Amazing how tired the babies get after only 1 min.


Alexandra Tummy Time from Moya Z on Vimeo.

I love how she tries to talk & even smile a little bit, even as her head is bouncing off the ground.

Park Time

Swimming in the fountains on REALLY REALLY hot days... In the future we'll stick to the swimming pools, I felt like I was having a M family/ afternoon with dad/ wet with no extra clothes experience...


SWINGS!! The thrill of having swings available has not abated.
Getting ready for the hammock at the lake!

City apartment living is great, when you have a balcony for a bit of air & dinners outside, but we spend a lot of time in the parks around our house. It is always a bit of a struggle because here in Munich, like in Paris, the park that is closest to us isn't the best one for Sophia (a bit small), so often we find outselves scouting out ones a bit further afield. The good thing is that every one is different.

Alexandra at 6 weeks

The development of a smile.


Our little one is becoming a chunky monkey! I think she is up over 5 kilos, we go to the doctor next week for her U3 exam. That would be about 4 lbs in 7 weeks - a very good eater & becoming a good sleeper too. The more noise surrounding her the better!
(Thanks Kate & Marc!)

Sorry for the delay in blogging - I am just amazed at how little time there is in the day, and night! Anyway, Alexandra is beginning to smile & we are all captivated by the joy! Sophia loves to put her face to face & I think Alexandra is finally beginning to see that Sophia is a special little person.

It has been remarkably hot here the past week, although we are in for a cool down the next few days. Poor Alexandra doesn't know what to do in the heat, except sleep. If we can keep her awake from 6-8 in the evenings, she still goes to bed at about the same time as Sophia, and then just wakes up 3 times to nurse in the middle of the night. Not bad, every 3 hours or so... Now if only Troy & I would get to bed earlier, then we would feel a lot better!

Hanging Out With Our Girls

We spent the past week hanging out with the girls around Munich. In the outdoor scenes, Sophia and Moya are walking to the Park Café and Sophia chilling out in one of the many fountains downtown.