Christmas 2012

It was great to be back in the States and see family and friends, show off my little baby bump, and get some of the food we had been missing.  We went back a week early so we could go to a friend’s wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding, and we got so see a lot of friends that we might not have been able to see otherwise.  I drank cranberry and sprite with a lime (wild, right?) and Tim enjoyed having a sober driver again.  Tim’s mom got to come babysit while we were at the wedding.  We went to work the next week, and my parents got to babysit.  That’s one advantage of living far away, parents are always eager to babysit.

The week before Christmas, Tim had to go to Korea for meetings with customers.  Ben and I had a full schedule of errands, doctor appointments, a trip to the zoo, a trip to Great-Grandma Aholt's, and Christmas shopping.  At 17 months, Ben was 26.5 lbs and 33” (12kg and 84cm), eighty-fifth percentile for both.  And he was diagnosed with his very first ear infection, a mild one.

The new sea-lion exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo.  If you waved your hand in a circle, this young and playful sea-lion would swim in a circle.

 Getting a ride on Great-Grandma's walker.

 Bath time with Nonna.

Once Tim was back from Korea and his mom was out of school, we started spending more time In Cape Girardeau, and hopping back and forth between Cape and St. Louis.  We had a family Christmas, visited with friends, and enjoyed Ben’s time with the grandparents.

 Trying to take some steps.

 Opening presents.  He could do it this year, but once he opened one, he wanted to play with it, and wasn't interested in opening more.

 A party at the Fords' house.  This time I was drinking margarita mix on the rocks.

 Uncle Danny and Aunt Britton, recently engaged.

 Still loves the swing.

 Family Christmas Eve with my parents, Grandpa McCord, Uncle Mike, and Brandon and Missy.

 More presents on Christmas morning.

 "Touch it" the light, also obsessed with the fan.  We turned it on and off at least a hundred times in the weeks we were there.

 Big family Christmas in Okawville.  After seven babies born last year, there were four this year, and I think five scheduled for next year.  All 11 of Grandma's babies were here this year.

 Ben spent a lot of time in this car that belonged to his second cousin.  Didn't care at all that it was pink.

 We went to the City Museum with cousins Carrie, Anne Marie, Katie, the babies, the husbands, and Kathleen.

 During one of our trips to Cape, it snowed.  We got a good 6-7”.  It was plenty for Ben to go sledding, almost too much, since he hardly weighed down the sled.  Tim’s parents have a small hill in their back yard that was perfect, and Ben could go all by himself.  He could even get started on his own. He absolutely loved it!

 Out to dinner for Grandpa's birthday.

Spending time with friends, Nick and Trish, Kevin and Tiffany, and babies.

 Lunch with Monica, her kids, and her mom.

  Fun with Laura, Jeff, and baby Cecilia.

 Back to Cape, going to the bouncy house and playing with more friends.

 Reading with Grandma.

More time with Uncle Brandon and Aunt Missy.

Ben did so-so on the plane on the way to the US.  He got antsy and didn’t want to be confined to the seat, and since it was during the day, he didn’t sleep much.  And we think this was the first time his ears bothered him, since he screamed through our whole descent. 

We were kind of dreading the plane trip back, but he did really well this time.  I don’t know why we even bother to bring toys.  His toys are so boring compared to the things to play with on the plane.  The seatbelt, the dinner menu and emergency exit diagram, Skymall magazine, water bottles, napkins, the seat light, the people behind him….  And he even took a couple naps and let us eat.  Next time we make this trip, he will have his own seat.

Christmas Market

In early December, we went to a Christmas Market in Verona, Italy, to do some Christmas shopping.  One year we may make it to a big one in Germany, but this one was nice, and it was only two hours from our house.  They had cute little booths set up selling ornaments, crafts, nativity items, spiced wine, and fresh baked breads, and sweets.  And chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

They also had a North Pole area set up for pictures with Santa. Babbo Natale, as he is called in Italy, looks the same as he does in the US, and the kids write the same letters (and the parents use the same warnings to be good), and he does the same thing on the night before Christmas.




 
 Ben wasn't too sure, so we took one together first, and just barely got one of Ben by himself.
 
 La Casa di Babbo Natale (The house of Father Christmas)
 

Thanksgiving Dinner in Italy

I have been having some technical problems (probably user error), but my blog seems to be working now, so I will try to get caught up.

For Thanksgiving dinner, I wanted to have a combination of American and Italian food.  And it had to be easy, because it is not a holiday here, so we had to be at work all day. Turkey was a must, and though I couldn't find, nor did I have time to cook a whole bird, I found a piece of breast that was basically cut like a roast.  I put that in the crock pot with carrots and onions.  I found a recipe for a traditional Ligurian (that’s a nearby province) dish with green beans, potatoes, and pasta, all seasoned with basil pesto.  I also made regular sweet potatoes, which can be hard to find here.  I usually get them at the international market.  Add some wine and fresh bread, and you have a perfect Italian/American Thanksgiving.  Notice only one wine glass.   We were able to Skype with my big family gathering, and we announced that I was pregnant.

For dessert, I thought about pie, but I don’t have a pie pan, no ready-made pie crusts, no canned pumpkin, no pecans, and no Karo syrup, so pumpkin pie or pecan pie would have been rather difficult.  Brainstorming in the dessert aisle, I saw the cannoli shells and crème mix.  I added some fresh steamed pumpkin to the crème (yes, fresh pumpkin is plentiful, but canned is nonexistent), and made pumpkin cannoli. 

Ben stuffing his face with cannoli and cream

Salzburg, Austria, November 2012

That evening after Innsbruck we left for Salzburg.  The border crossings were so easy, that we sometimes didn’t even know what country we are in.  We started in Austria, crossed through Germany for a bit, and then came back into Austria.  I still don’t know exactly where the borders were.  Ben slept most of the way there, and we arrived at about 7:30.  When Ben woke up, he was not happy, and the crying didn’t quit.  We finally decided to put him to bed, but we still hadn’t eaten dinner.  Luckily there was a restaurant in our hotel that let us “carry out” the food.  We both decided that we really like Austrian food.  Maybe because it reminds me of German food, which reminds me of my grandma’s and mom’s cooking.  My surprise favorite was the apple-horseradish spread that you pair with beef.  We made sure to find some at a grocery store before coming back.  We also enjoyed weiner schnitzel, pollo schnitzel, venison roast, wurstel, strudel, and one authentic Indian dinner.

The next morning, we headed for the castle fortress, Hohensalzburg.  A funicular brought us to the top.  Built in 1077 and expanded throughout the years, especially in the 15^th century, the fortress looked so imposing that it was never actually attacked.  There were a few decorations and furnishings inside, some museum exhibits, and great 360° views.

Marionette museum

Ben trying to figure them out

We spend the afternoon and evening exploring the old town and peeking into churches.  There are two Mozart museums in town, at his birthplace and another residence.  Mozart was baptized at the Cathedral, and was an organist there for two years.

A one-woman efficiently run Wurstelstande, tucked in a closet-sized room hidden in an alley.  Still, we had to wait 20 minutes in line.  So good!

Church of St. Michael from 800 A.D.

Salzburg Cathedral

Baptismal font where Mozart was baptized in Salzburg Cathedral.

 The castle by day and at night

The next day, we went to the gardens in Mirabell Palace. 

The fountain seen in the Do-Re-Mi song from Sound of Music.

On the way home, we stopped at the Swarovski Crystal World.

While we were going through Germany on the way home, we were on the autobahn.  It's just a regular highway that happens to have no speed limit.  We went kind of fast for a little while, but the whole adult-responsibility thing kicked in, and we didn't go crazy.  We did pass a lot of cars, and also got passed some, but we didn't see anyone that was really flying.