The Many Faces of Eli

Having a one-year-old can turn the most mundane tasks into a spectacle. On Friday, the Wilson clan has to head to renew our residence permits (or visas) to stay another year in Austria. They issue us these cards that look remarkably like drivers' licenses that we show when we leave and enter the country. So we have to take a passport photo of each of us to put on the permits. This is fine and dandy for me and Jeremy since we took pictures last year, and we just reprint them. But Eli's definitely won't pass. Last year, we went to a professional passport photographer to get Eli's because he was only a week old. We had no clue what they needed in terms of dimensions either. However, it was WAY too much money to do this again. Plus, how hard could it be, right? Well, unfortunately all my antics in the past getting him to smile for the camera has come back to bite me in the...well, you know. He now will show off at the drop of a hat...or camera. These were the 12 we got (in order) before he ran away. So, without further ado, here are the many faces of Eli.

I'm-Up-To-Something Eli

Did-You-Hear-That?! Eli

Mugshot Eli

Used-Car-Salesman Eli

Comedian Eli

Don't-Mess-With-Me Eli

Pitiful Eli

Cheesy-Grin Eli

I'm-A-Tiger Eli

Sweet-Face Eli

Shocked Eli

I'm-Over-It Eli

I think we're going to try to make Sweet-Face Eli work...even though they don't allow smiles in passport, visa, and driver's license photos in Austria. I hope they get over it. Don't they realize I'm dealing with a one-year-old here?! I'm just shocked we were able to get him to sit long enough to take 12 pictures. :o)

Feeling Better

This is what I like to see…a smiling boy! The past 2 days, Eli has really turned a corner and started feeling (and acting) like himself. God bless amoxicillin! :o) He has started babbling again and finally eating like a normal, growing boy…as seen by the spaghetti smeared on his face.

The last thing left on the list is to get his body back on his normal sleep schedule. Since he was so sick, I felt like attempting to get him off the Central Time Zone wasn’t a good idea. The only way to do that is depriving him of sleep during the day, and I did not think that was smart with bronchitis! But 1am is not a good bedtime for him OR me. :o) I’m going to start slowly getting him on track, so we’ll see how that goes.

You may be wondering about the pictures I’m taking. We also have a PAS (point and shoot) camera that Jeremy bought very cheap in Japan. It doesn’t take the best pictures, but I’m still going to continue documenting our life until we get a good camera again. Hope you don’t mind!

I’m really not wanting our blog to be a “woe is me” place, but I actually kind of find this funny now. It’s interesting how something very little can snowball into a giant mishap. Since Eli is a mere babe, he doesn’t understand mucous should be coughed up and spit out. So, he usually ends up stimulating a gag reflex and vomiting (as witnessed on our trip home). Two nights ago this happened when we were attempting to put him to bed at a measly 10:30. He coughed while crying and threw up his supper in his crib. Jeremy and I proceeded to strip his bed, crib bumper, and him to clean it all. Our washing machine has a “Baby Cycle” that really gets grime out. Since we didn’t want all of his bedding to be stained, we threw it in before going to sleep. The cycle runs on hot for 2 hours, so it wasn’t completed until we were well into dreamland. Unbeknownst to us, the bumper threw the washing machine off balance, which pulled the water hose out. Water proceeded to fill our dining room and laundry room and sat all night long. The wood floors started bowing, and water seeped into the ceiling of our basement/office. Needless to say we woke up yesterday morning to an absolute mess! Luckily, I don’t think the floors are very noticeable, and after having 3 fans pointed to the ceiling in the office, it seems ok too. Now we just have a bit of a musty smell in there. And I was even able to get the last of the stains out of the bumper with some good ol’ Naptha. Seriously, if you don’t have this stuff, it is amazing. Jeremy’s Granny always makes sure we have some, and I’ve been especially grateful for that since having Eli! Anyway, back on topic. So, moral of the story is something as simple as a baby coughing can really throw things off track. But this is the day that the Lord has made no matter what, right?

Something else I have been wanting to share with you is pictures of our new church building for the International Chapel of Vienna. Since I’m always involved in rehearsals and leading the music, I never have time to do this. However this past week, I was too sick to sing, so Jeremy stepped in at the last minute to lead. (Thank you, sweetie) So, I took pictures during rehearsal while Eli toddled around my feet.

Here is the auditorium, which sits around 250 when all the chairs are packed in. Notice the awesome screens for text for songs.

This is a lounge area that is right inside the door. It is complete with a full kitchen and coffee bar! (Please ignore the toddler stripping the tables)

Here you can see the glass partition that separates the lounge area and the auditorium.

The church shares the building with a Christian kindergarten that meets there during the week. This means the nursery facilities are awesome! It’s like a dream world for Eli. No way does this kiddo miss me while I’m gone!

We have really been enjoying the new place the past month. We feel so blessed to have this at our disposal now. We also hope that by being in such a prime location, we will pull in more people in Vienna!

And lastly, Eli moved up to a front-facing car seat while in America. He loves it! Not only can he see me, but he can see everything else around him. He is so much happier in the car. On the way to church Sunday, we were driving over a particularly bumpy road. He decided it was the perfect time to get some vocalizing going, so he could hear his vibrato. This went on for miles, and I was able to capture a bit while holding the camera over my shoulder for a few seconds...too funny!

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The Long Road Home

On Tuesday we began our very long, very grueling trip home from the States. It was NOT a pleasant trip. I feel like before I go back and blog about our complete vacation, I should begin with the ending in order to explain some things.

First of all, Eli and I caught a cold in the States. Nothing too detrimental, but it was apparently exacerbated by the altitude and dry air of the plane. Eli screamed and screamed from Nashville to JFK. I’ve never heard him do this before, so Jer and I kept looking at each other like “what do we do?” He threw up about 3 times, so we figured it was his tummy. I was so thankful that I only brought him ONE change of clothes…not. Anyway, we just took turns passing him back and forth trying to calm him. He literally passed out from exhaustion when we landed, so we then thought maybe it was his ears. Who knows? This was when I wish my 1-year-old had a full vocabulary, so he could just turn to me and say “mother, it appears the high altitude of this flying apparatus is causing pressure to build against my tympanic membrane, which is quite excruciatingly painful.” So, we survived flight #1, but it was only just beginning.

I was able to find another outfit for Eli in the JFK airport just in case we had more vomitage. But Eli was all out of sorts. He would not quit screaming. We tried all kinds of things, and I even inquired about a doctor in the airport (no such luck). I was seriously worried he was getting dehydrated since he threw up so much and absolutely refused to drink or eat anything. It was probably the longest 2 hour layover of my life. I bought a brownie to console myself. We finally got in line to board, and we were very pleased to learn that the flight barely had anyone on it, so we would get an entire 4-seat bulkhead row to ourselves. As we boarded the flight Eli got quiet and we quickly realized why…yes, the other fun, bodily cleansing tool: diarrhea. This seemed to really help him though because he immediately started acting like himself! He even ate a little bit. Then he threw it up. sigh. What a grand 7 hours this is going to be!

The rest of the trip wasn’t all that bad, it was just really long. We were flying overnight, so we were all exhausted, and Eli was having a hard time sleeping. I finally got him to sleep by laying down on another empty row with him on my chest. Unfortunately since I was sick, my coughing kept waking him up. He did end up sleeping the last 2 hours in his car seat, much to our relief!

Our last layover was in Munich, which wasn’t too awful…it was just hard to function after so little sleep. I was able to snap a shot of Eli in his hideously, breathtaking JFK purchase. I seriously can’t believe I let my child wear this in public.

The Munich flight was pretty uneventful (thank goodness), and we made it home 21 hours after we left McMinnville.

Some of you may know that I got my dream present from my in-laws for Christmas: a Canon Rebel XSI camera. It was amazing. 12.2 megapixels of awesomeness. This was made even greater by the new lens Jer-bear got me for Christmas. We filled it up with great pictures from our trip including the mega 1st birthday bash for Eli. The icing on the cake of that awful trip home was when we were unpacking and discovered it was stolen out of our bag. And to add insult to injury, the culprit put Eli’s toy camera in its place. I’m of course amazingly distraught over losing such a great piece of equipment, but I’m just heartsick over those pictures. I can get another camera, but I can’t purchase those pictures of my little boy with icing on his face and him with his great-grandparents. Not to sound too dramatic, but I feel like this whole episode has taken away an innocence of mine. I was a trusting person, but now I feel violated and paranoid. I’ve never had anything stolen before, so this is a new feeling…and I don’t like it. I have made a resolution though to not let the ending of our trip veil the rest of our wonderful experiences in the States we’ve had the past two weeks. It was a great visit, and I look forward to blogging about it…but now you’ll know why there won’t be many pictures. My prayer is the thief will see the pictures on the camera and realize the importance of the events, and he/she will return it anonymously back to the airport.

Since returning on Wednesday, jet lag has hit us all pretty hard. Jeremy left yesterday to go to Salzburg to play the Mozart Requiem for Mozart Woche. Eli was still doing badly, so I took him to the doctor yesterday, and it turns out he has bronchitis AND an ear infection. No wonder he’s not in a good mood! The doctor said he is a special boy because any other toddler with an ear infection that bad would be screaming their fool head off. We are giving him 3 antibiotics and breathing treatments which is super-fun. I won’t even tell you how I’m having to pin him down to do that! He is enjoying all his new toys from his party even though he feels bad. These soft blocks have become a favorite for throwing!

Lastly, I feel I should blog about this since it goes way up there on the “I can’t believe it happened to me” list. I have never hit an animal with my car before. I kind of pride myself on that. I’m watchful of things in the road, and I slow down when something is close to the street. So, imagine my surprise when the first thing I hit with my car is the biggest game of all…a human. Yep. Yesterday when leaving the garage of the doctor’s office, I stopped to look both ways before pulling out. A jogger came up beside my car to cross in front of me, but he stopped and waited for me. Well, apparently just as I decide to pull out, he decides he’s tired of waiting and sprints in front of me. I, of course, hit him, and he went all the way up on the hood. I was absolutely flabbergasted! It was like straight out of Elf when Buddy gets hit by a taxi. If I hadn't been scared out of my skull, I probably would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. When I finally regained my composure, I calmly asked, “DUDE! Are you ok?!” He just got off the hood and held up his hands while saying “Alles gut, alles gut,” then walked off. Between the dent on the side from my worst day ever and the face print on my windshield, I’m really racking up a monster truck track record on this car. I promise I’m a good driver. Really.

Well, I better shower while the little one sleeps. I’ll try to start blogging about our trip soon!

Just A Note...

One Year Old

Wow! Happy Birthday, Elijah! Our sweet little one turned ONE today. It just seems like yesterday we posted this amazing video of his actual birth day.

There’s so much I want to say in this blog! :o) First of all, Eli, you have made mommy and daddy the happiest people in the world. We always sing “You Are My Sunshine” to you, and it’s such a perfect song. You truly are our sunshine each and every day. Even on the worst of days, when you’re fussy and I’m grumpy, it’s 10 times better than the days without you. Your daddy and I hope that we can be daily examples of God’s love for you. We will always strive to bring you up in His sight and try to guide you towards being a great man of God. Your name means “The Lord is my God,” and we gave it to you on purpose. It is the greatest and most important thing in the world. We love you, and we are so happy to be your blessed parents!

Ok, now that I’m crying, why not switch gears a bit? Prepare thyselves for the longest blog in the history of The Vienna Wilsons. Why not start by sharing what Eli has been up to the past month?

- Today Eli weighs 22 lbs. and he is around 30 inches long (it’s hard to tell with him being so squirmy).

- Eli is walking! And walking! And walking! It seems like overnight he just decided this was what he wants to do. He has started standing by himself as well. He’ll fall down, get back up and keep going! Even though crawling is faster, I think he is over it. It will be interesting to see what it will be like on the airplane!

- He has also discovered his voice. He babbles ALL the time now. It sounds so much like an actual language, I have to wonder what he’s trying to say. He does say “dog,” “uh-oh,” “daddy,” “mommy,” “my mommy,” and “my baby.” I’m thinking the last one is because I say “you’re my baby” to him all the time. He probably won’t like that for too long!

- Eli is finally eating better and has somewhat gotten over his texture issue. He now self-feeds quite a bit, but we still give him stage 3 baby foods to make sure he’s getting enough veggies and meat. He LOVES bananas and grilled cheese still…not to mention Cheerios. He will tolerate other things, but that will hopefully get better soon!

- Bath time is the best half-hour of the day. I usually just sit there and let him marinate for 20 minutes or so because he has such a great time splashing and squealing! He usually cries when I take him out, so I have to have a song or rubber duck waiting to quickly pacify. :o)

- Would you believe this happy boy has a temper? Oh yes. It goes away as quickly as it comes on, and it only happens when he’s told “no.” It usually comes with arm-flapping and a red face as well. I’m glad he still obeys, but it’s almost humorous how mad he gets. This is so shocking to me because Jeremy and I are so even-tempered. Yessiree.

- Eli still sleeps great. He sleeps around 11 hours at night (without interruption) and takes two naps a day. I’m so glad this is a normal thing for him! I like my sleep too!

- Luckily, we have not entered any stranger anxiety phases. He loves to be around other people! I have noticed that he really likes babies too. He will crawl (or walk) right up to them and head butt them. It really gentle, and I think he’s trying to mimic when I put my face up to his to cuddle. It’s pretty sweet as long as he doesn’t have much momentum going!

- He is kissing me and Jeremy! It pretty open-mouth and slobbery, but how could we not love it?

- Eli now has 6 teeth – 2 on bottom and 4 on top. I think more might be trying to come in because sometimes I’m afraid he’s going to bite the head off his giraffe.

- Some of his favorite activities include playing peek-a-boo, playing with a ball (or two), being read to (as long as HE can turn the pages), and riding on daddy’s shoulders. He always has to have something in each hand…even when he’s crawling or walking. It’s especially interesting when he’s crawling…

- Eli has definitely discovered throwing objects. I don’t think he’s throwing a tantrum, I think he’s just being a boy! If we put him in the pack n’ play, he will clear out every single toy in there. I’m sure to put only soft toys in with him because I seem to remember a story about a young lad that threw something out of his pack n’ play and took a chunk out of the TV. (cough, cough, Jeremy, cough)

- Eli has a happy dance. It developed around 8 months or so, but it never really went away. If he gets a toy or object he’s really happy to see, he will get on his belly, shove the toy in his face, kick really vigorously, and vocalize at the top of his lungs. It’s the happy dance, what can I say? It’s something to behold really!

I also wanted to use this post as an opportunity to document all of his firsts the past year. This blog has become my baby book of sorts, so I want to make sure this is remembered!

January 11, 2009 – Elijah Joel Wilson is born at the Goldenes Kreutz Spital on Sunday at 10:08am via cesarean section. He weighed 7 lbs., 11 oz. and was 19 ¾ inches long.

January 16, 2009 – Home from the hospital

January 26 – First doctor’s appointment

January 27 – First bath submerged in water

January 17 – First smile

February 2 – First move to a new house

February 15 – First church service

March 2 – Rolled over for the first time

March 18 – First flight going to America

March 25 – First laugh

March 25 – First trip to Walmart…is that related to the first laugh?? :o)

March 27 – First haircut, but we just really cut off his rattail!

April 11 – First power outage…we were scared without daddy!

April 15 – Sat in his Bumbo for the first time

April 23 – Started grabbing objects

May 3 – First time playing by the Danube River

May 7 – Got his exersaucer and LOVED it!

May 10 – First Mother’s Day

May 13 – First time sucking thumb

May 22 – Ate cereal (solid food) for the first time

May 23 – Sat without support

May 25 – First time to a playground

May 27 – First time to the zoo

June 9 – First tooth…bottom left tooth

June 13 – Started holding his own bottle

June 14 – Bottom right tooth

June 21 – First Father’s Day

June 27 – First time playing with a puppy dog

June 29 – First night away from mommy and daddy

July 1 – First time on a boat

July 2 – First time in a lake

July 14 – First time in a swimming pool

July 18 – Attended his first wedding

July 28 – First homemade baby food….and hated it!

August 18 – First time crawling

August 20 – Sat up by himself

September 13 – Ate his first meat

September 14 – First blow drying of the hair

September 30 – Pulled up for the first time

October 31 – 2^nd haircut

November 3 – First snow

November 19 – First time at an indoor playground

November 27 – First time decorating for Christmas

December 10 – First music class

December 14 – Took his first steps

December 18 – Stood up by himself

January 6 – First play in the snow

January 8 – First salon haircut

January 11, 2010 – First Birthday!

We were pretty low key with celebrating today since most of the time was spent packing and getting ready to leave tomorrow. Eli did get to open a few presents to have a few new toys to take on the airplane with him. Unfortunately, his cute little outfit got a bit of, ahem, poop on it, so we had to do a bit of a wardrobe change for the rest of the day. :o)

We are so excited about going to America! Family, friends, and food here we come. I only hope we don’t have to bring back a lot more suitcases to haul all of Eli’s stuff back home. I guess that’s a good problem to have, huh? I probably won’t be blogging much (or at all) the next 2 weeks in order to soak up as much time as we can with the fam. Ok, so back to packing, but I just have to say one more time…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELI!!!!

First Salon Haircut

On Friday, we took Eli to get his very first salon haircut. This would technically be his third haircut. This first one was me just cutting off a rattail that he was born with, and the second I trimmed in the back and around the ears....which was horrendous. Jeremy had to hold his face still while I attempted to cut amidst the screaming and crying. Now that it was long in the front as well, I wasn't going to attempt it. Especially since there is a chain of salons here in Vienna that cut children's hair under the age of 4 for free!

I really, REALLY didn't want to get out in the snow and sleet to do this, but we're getting one-year photos made in America. So, he has to look all dapper! It was an absolute mess getting to the salon (especially since it was in a completely different place than we expected), but it was worth it in the end! Eli was a champ and was smiling at himself in the mirror. He only fussed when we had to hold his head down to cut across the nape. It also helped that the stylist was super fast!

The pictures aren't the best because Jeremy was afraid to blind the woman with flash as she was wielding a sharp object around our child's head. I can show you the finished product tomorrow on his one year blog! :o)

Unfortunately, we aren't going to have a huge celebration tomorrow because we'll be packing all day long. That's right, on Tuesday we'll be leaving on a jet plane to America! I know I always say this, but I'm pretty nervous about flying with a one-year-old. On such a long flight, I'm afraid he'll absolutely wear me and Jeremy out wanting to walk everywhere. Not to mention, since he's a ham he'll want to babble and show off to everyone in the aisles. Luckily, we will have a seat for him on the long flights to put his car seat in for naps. We plan on taking some new toys and Baby Einstein on the laptop, so hopefully all will be well! Ok, so off to bed because tomorrow is a great and long day! :o)

Yay For Schnee!

Yesterday I vowed to get Eli out in the perfect, white snow in our backyard. We got about 7 inches or so, and it just screamed to have a child thrown in it. We were given a snowsuit by a friend that her son had outgrown, but it was for babies not yet walking (in other words, the feet don’t poke through). I did want to actually sit him in the snow, but I was afraid that some might seep in at the zipper hole at the feet. So, what is the next best thing to snow boots? Ziploc bags.

I figured if they were good enough to keep our chicken safe from freezer burn, then the same could be applied to baby toes. I’m redneck, I know, and I’ve accepted it.

Before we went romping, I wanted to get a picture of the three of us and the untainted snow behind us. One of these days, we’re going to figure out a way to get this child to smile at a tripod. Any suggestions?

At first, Eli was moderately tolerant of the cold, wet stuff. I think us dancing around like fools trying to get him to smile kept the tears at bay. He looked so cute in the white snow suit, but it was a little like Where’s Waldo. Luckily the blue hat helped us out!

He eventually warmed up to the snow (ha ha) and started showing out a bit.

However, he was NOT happy that we wanted to make a snow angel. Rule #1: Do not bundle a mobile child up to the point that he can’t move, then lay him down. Radioactive meltdown is just minutes away, and he will be no snow angel. Maybe a snow puss? Anyway, the snow angel was cute anyway!

Daddy got him happy again by throwing him around…

Right into a tree!

All in all it was a fun time playing with him in the snow, but I think we enjoyed it more than him. Next time I think I need to invest in some snow boots and a suit he can walk in. Oh, and FYI, the Ziploc bags worked like a charm! :o)

Tomorrow we are going to attempt to have Eli’s hair cut for the first time in a salon. As you can see in the first picture, it is getting way too long. I hope the beautician is willing to flirt with Eli a bit, so he’ll be a good boy! Wish us luck!

Walking Into 2010

Am I the only one who thinks 2010 seems like it’s still way in the future? I remember when I was a little girl, and the years 2000 and 2010 conjured up Jetson-esque images. Well unfortunately, I do not have a cheeky robot named Rosie, but I am enjoying 2010 thus far. I guess what I detest most about this year is it makes me feel old. Do you realize that we have entered the year of mine and Jeremy’s 10 year high school reunion? Yes, we are THAT old. Not to mention, I have a little boy turning one in only a week! *sigh* I guess I’ll just apply more eye cream over the next few days and make myself feel better! :o)

All joking aside, this entire year has been great (all four days of it)! As I mentioned in a previous post, we all loaded up on New Year's Eve and went to the Reynolds’ to enjoy their view of the city. We had a fun time playing games, eating tacos, and talking before midnight struck. Luckily, Eli passed out in the car seat on the way, and he was just dandy to stay there during the party. I brought the pack n’ play just in case, but there was nary a peep from him even through the bombing fireworks. Unfortunately, a thick fog settled over Vienna, so we were only able to see the fireworks closest to our building. It was difficult, but I was able to catch a few shots of the magic.

I like this one because it shows how close the fireworks are…some were even shooting them from their window. I do not support this decision, don’t worry!

And this one just makes me laugh because it really looks like we’re under attack!

On New Year’s Day, I was able to have a night out again! We left Eli with some good friends of ours, the Gardners, and we all went to see Jeremy play 1st trombone in an opera called Die Fledermaus. This a HUGE deal here around New Year’s because it is set around a ball in Vienna. I haven’t posted one of these types of pictures since we first started this blog, but here is our great view of the stage with a classy, understated way of pointing Jeremy out in the orchestra. :o)

I think Dick, Linda, and Jennifer enjoyed getting to see what Jeremy does for a living too!

I loved going to the opera. It was so much fun getting all dressed up and staying baby-food-free! I love my little boy more, of course, but it was such a treat getting to be out for a night. Here we are all dressed up…we clean up nicely, don’t you think?

Yesterday we had our very first church service in our new building. I was so nervous leading because now the worship team is on an actual stage. I felt very exposed, but all went well, and the most important thing was God was praised! We dedicated the building for His purposes and glory, and I look forward to all the services to come. I’ll try to take some pictures this week! If you live in the Vienna area, please join us at Kagranerplatz 12 at 4pm on Sundays.

Lastly, I’ve had this exclaimed to me so much this week: “Eli is WALKING!!” Yes, yes, our sweet boy has decided that walking is the way to go. Every chance he gets, he is up and at ‘em. He still resembles a drunken sailor more than a marathoner, but he’s getting there!

I hope all of you are having a great new year so far!

Ich Habe Schwein Gehabt!

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve, and we are pumped about what 2010 has to offer. You may be wondering about the title of my post. Around this time, the Christmas markets are replaced with New Year’s markets, and they are filled with various types of pig knick-knacks. It is considered good luck to have a pig in your home to ring in the new year. I looked it up, and apparently this dated back to the good ol’ days when people had diddly squat. You were considered to be very lucky and wealthy to own a pig. This was because they reproduced quickly and basically ate your garbage. Nice. So, when someone runs into luck in the Germanic countries, they say the phrase above, which means “I have had pig!” I’m assuming this is where our American tradition of eating pork on New Year’s Day comes from. Well, I figured a little pig could always be used around the Wilson home, so say howdy to our newest addition…Wilbur Wilson.

He’s cute and not at all dirty! A big thank you to the Wilson family for getting this for us! Speaking of which, why don’t I tell you about our fun on the 29th? We went to the dress rehearsal for the New Year’s concert, and it was great! It was nice to have some time without the babe and just sit back and listen to good music. The Musikverein just has amazing acoustics. I’m so thankful for our friends, the Reynolds, who kept Eli for us!

Oh, and just FYI, Jeremy is not playing the in concert this year. Please watch it on PBS if you have a chance, but don’t be searching for my handsome hubby. :o)

Afterwards, we did a little walking around downtown Vienna because the Christmas lights are still adorning the city. A stroll around the Ringstraße and down Kärntner Straße was worth braving the cold!

Aunt Linda was even able to capture this cool picture where the moon was peeking behind the clouds at St. Stephen’s.

We were starting to get a bit hungry, so I decided to walk them down to a schnitzel house that it supposed to be very good. I was warned that no matter what time you go, the line will be out the door…as Dick, Linda, and Jennifer are demonstrating for us.

Luckily, Jeremy still hadn’t returned from picking up Eli, so we didn’t have to worry about him getting the chills. We were greeted by these signs that made us very anxious to get eating!

We didn’t have to wait very long, and it was worth it. This was definitely the best Wiener schnitzel I’ve ever had. Not to mention, it was GINORMOUS. A good rule of thumb is, if the schnitzel is bigger than your head, then it’s a good schnitzel.

Jennifer was very brave and had blood sausage strudel. She said it was really tasty, but I just took her word for it!

More importantly, Eli had his very first schnitzel as well! He loved it, but I assumed that would be the case since he was birthed in Austria!

Tonight we are heading over to our friends’ apartment to watch the bombing fireworks of Vienna. If you watched our video from last year, you know what I mean…it’s insane the amount of fireworks that go off here! Our friends have an apartment on the 8th floor with a terrace that overlooks the city on the outskirts of town, so it should be a great view. Prosit Neujahr!

A First Christmas

It’s hard to believe this was Eli’s first Christmas since he’s so close to being one year old…but it was! It was difficult not being at home (hence my Christmas Eve blog), but we tried to make it the most special first Christmas for our little boy.

Christmas Eve was pretty busy because we had our church’s candle light service. This is a big deal for the Chapel, and we wanted to make it really special since it would be our last in our current building. We have our first service at our new building this Sunday, and we are pumped! But more than anything, we wanted the service to truly reflect the reason for the season, which is Christ’s birth. We sang lots of carols and specials, Jeremy played “O Holy Night” on his trombone, and we ended with a candle lighting while singing “Silent Night” acapella. Did you know that “Silent Night” or “Stille Nacht” was written in Austria? It’s pretty amazing! You can actually visit the church where it was first sung. Anyway, it was a special night, and we hope others were blessed by it as well.

On Christmas, we had a very relaxing day! Jeremy had the entire day off, so we took advantage of it and said absolutely NO WORKING ON ANYTHING! We decided to make a very good Rachael Ray recipe called Christmas Pasta. Apparently, she makes this every Christmas, and I know why!

It was so yummy. It calls for like 5 different kinds of meat, but we opted for only 2. You can click on the link above to get the recipe for yourself. After lunch, we decided to open those presents! We videoed the present opening, and I love this picture of Eli helping Daddy set up the tripod.

We went very low key this year because we know Eli is going to get an overabundance of stuff in the States. It doesn’t help that his birthday is right after Christmas. It was a lot of fun watching him open presents though!

He loved the wrapping paper, but I think he liked the gifts too!

We were also happy to open a few, but we didn’t play with the paper near as much. :o)

After opening presents, we made a birthday cake for Jesus. My aunt Tricia does this every year, so we decided to start the tradition. It is a chocolate cake that stands for our sins, white icing that represents the purity we have after Jesus cleanses our sins, a green ring that is the everlasting love in God, and 12 red candles that symbolize Jesus’ blood that covers our sins 12 months out of the year! I also tried to spell His name, but ran out of red M&M’s…oh well! It looks ghetto, but it tastes great! We sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus and blew out the candles. We hope this helps Eli remember the true meaning of this holiday!

We spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies and playing with Eli. He seemed to enjoy his first Christmas, and we look forward to all the fun ones to come!

The day after Christmas, we were in a whirlwind to get all the décor down. Yesterday, Jeremy’s aunt, uncle, and cousin came into town from Tennessee! They will be here till the 10th of January, and we’re excited about their time here. Today we are going to the New Year’s concert dress rehearsal with them. This will be my first concert in exactly a year. Yep, the last one I went to was the dress rehearsal last year, and I looked like this…

Thar, she blows! This year, I should be slightly more comfortable…and no one will be rubbing my belly during the performance. :o)

Merry Christmas from the Vienna Wilsons!

I'll Be Home For Christmas

I'll be home for Christmas...

You can plan on me.

Please have snow and mistletoe,

and presents under the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me...

where the love light beams.

I'll be home for Christmas...

if only in my dreams.

The Toddler Emerging

I’m starting to see a very distinct toddler emerging from Eli. He is not the quiet, calm baby he once was. He now fusses when he doesn’t get his way (or toy), and he throws food off the table when he doesn’t like it. But with the hair pulling (I mean mine) also comes the fun. He is starting to develop this wonderful personality that adds a whole new dimension to my sweet boy. Lately, he has been constantly exploring new things, walking, standing without assistance, and coming out with interesting babbles and facial expressions. I was able to catch some at lunch today. This would be the big cheese while eating his grilled cheese…

I got a cute smile in between,

But it didn’t last for long!

Where does this boy learn these things?!

While I was cooking, he also discovered where the tupperware cabinet is located tonight. It started out pretty innocent.

He gave me a sweet grin while thinking, “I’m just getting started, mama.”

Then he happened upon all the lids in the back…

And it just went downhill from there! On a side note, he hated the supper I made and threw most of it on the floor. Apparently I’m a long way before I can open up a Baby Diner. Luckily I married a garbage disposal who will take care of the leftovers!

Yesterday we received a package of presents to open on Christmas. This, of course, only added more temptation for Eli to touch and mangle the Christmas tree. However, he’s heard me say “no” and shake my head plenty of times when he gets near the tree skirt. I was in the kitchen, and I started hearing him make a funny noise. I went looking for him afraid he had his fingers caught in something, when I saw this. He wanted to touch the presents so bad, but he just sat there groaning and shaking his head “no!” This video is proof that disciplining consistently does work…it’s just not very pleasant at the time! :o)

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Baby Steps

The past several days we have been snow bound here in Sommerein. It started out pretty sparse…

But today it was around 4 or 5 inches!

I’m pretty excited because there is a pond across the street from our house where the whole neighborhood has been ice-skating. I fully intend to head out there next year after I get some discount skates. I grew up ice-skating when I was a little girl, and I was pretty good. I doubt I can still do axels, but hopefully I’ll at least be able to keep upright. It will be fun to try to get Eli out there too…and even funnier to get Jeremy on ice! I’m thinking about bundling up Eli tomorrow and tossing him in that white stuff in our backyard and making an Eli-sized snowman. Ok, maybe not toss him…but roll him? I think he’s been cooped up too long in the house. Today I tried to take advantage of the extra time by doing some cleaning. This is the poor, sad face I got when I stopped playing with him to do my chores…

I’d like to entitle this picture “Do you love this vacuum cleaner more than me, mommy?” The answer is definitely a resounding “NO!” :o) He cheered up a little more once I let him play with the buttons.

Now, I just count down the days until he can run it for me! Which seems to be sooner rather than later. Last week Eli started taking a few steps here and there. He’s a long way from really “walking,” but he’s getting more confident every day. We caught him on video last night taking a few steps…with encouragement from Mr. Koala. :o) My little boy is growing up!

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Snow Much Fun

Today Jeremy and I decided it would be a great day to take Eli to his first Christmas market. We obviously didn’t consider the freezing cold and the snow that had begun to fall. I had a mom’s Bible study this morning, so Jeremy just decided to meet me at Schönbrunn after that. We are trying to conserve gas as much as possible, so he usually takes the train. However this morning, due to the cold (and the age of our van), he couldn’t start the second vehicle to get to the train station. So, he ran down to Sommerein and caught a bus to Vienna, which takes slightly longer. Unfortunately, it takes a lot longer if a car loses control in the snow and hits the bus, and you have to wait for another bus to come in order to continue your journey. Don’t worry, Jer-bear is just fine (cars don’t really hurt buses), and he even beat me to Schönbrunn.

Eli and I decided to change into all our layers at the study, but Eli thought it would be a good idea to leave mommy a nice big poop in his diaper two minutes after getting inside all those layers. So, he was stripped once again, cleaned up, then bundled once more before we headed out to the market. I have to tell you, I missed long johns last year. They don’t really make them in size “ginormous” for 9-month pregnant bellies. Luckily, we have massive amounts of heat radiating from us that helps, but I think I prefer long johns to the waddling.

It was a gray day, but Schönbrunn was as pretty as ever with its tree.

Eli was all snuggled down into his stroller footmuff, so he was as warm as can be. Wondering what a footmuff is? It’s basically a big, thick sleeping bag-ish thing that attaches to a stroller to keep babies super warm. Just google it…it’s a wonderful invention. What was I saying? Oh yes, Eli was warm. So, don’t worry, grandparents, we take care of your special little one!

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, Christmas markets are great places to put on a few extra holiday pounds. Jeremy and I were starving, so we had some awesome baked potatoes, hot chocolate loaded with whipped cream, and chocolate-filled krapfen. Yum to the yum! I even managed to do a little Christmas shopping, but I was bummed that the nutcracker man had apparently moved his booth to another market. I guess the nutcracker-sized void in my Christmas décor shall remain for another season. *sigh* We also made good use of the lack of people due to the snow to get a Wilson family photo!

Ok, so apparently Eli likes the taste of snow on polyester…let’s try this again…

There we go! And yes, despite the multiple, well-planned layers, we were freezing. Tomorrow I’m off to do Christmas shopping and Jeremy and Eli are having a boys-day-in. Do you realize it’s basically a week till Christmas?! I know that a certain little one is definitely looking forward to it. :o)

I've Been Elfed

I am procrastinating cleaning the kitchen, so of course I should wander onto a website that turns my family into dancing elves. I did this last year, but I still think it's classic! I also have a cute third person to add this time around, and Jeremy and I have better (or scarier?) pictures. I'm going to keep it real and make it down home and southern for you. Enjoy!

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Christmas Décor Galore!

I am participating in The Nester Christmas Tour of Homes this year…and no, I’m not participating in it just because the logo matches my house! I figured it was about time to show off my Christmas decorations. There isn’t all that much, but that’s what happens when you move across the world and start from scratch! Ha! We only packed our absolute favorites, so we’ll have to slowly start accumulating more. Jeremy and I were actually discussing the other night how much Christmas junk super-awesome stuff we left in storage, and there is a LOT. Oh well, tis the gift to be simple.

This is our family Christmas tree on the main floor. It has all of our crazy, family ornaments, and I foresee many handmade Eli ornaments adorning this in the future as well. We decided to get colored lights, since this would be the “fun” tree. Jeremy and I were reminiscing about the day when our mothers decided it was time for our old trees to be grown-up and have white lights…a sad time! :o) In case you’re wondering, my mom made the tree skirt.

This is our 2009 ornament…yay for trombone-playing snowman! It even has glasses!

Of course we had to have a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament! And if you’re wondering, I got both of these at Hallmark in July. Yes, I’m a Christmas nerd…I’ve accepted it.

I thought I should feature this, since I spend the most time protecting it from Eli. Something about these things are so alluring!

This is our entertainment center with our “fake” stockings. I’ve ordered new ones, but I don’t know if they’ll be in before Christmas…sad!

The elegant dining table that is usually covered in baby food…

My Willow Tree nativity scene…I love this! It was my first Christmas present from Jer-bear after we got married. Oh, and of course, my very first live poinsettia that we’ve named Pedro. I hope Pedro has a long and happy life with the Wilson fam.

My “fancy-smancy” tree up in the Grand Atrium. I adore the blue, green, and silver ornaments.

We really riled the neighborhood up by putting this in the windows for all to see. Austrians don’t typically put up their trees until Christmas Eve, but I say, “where’s the fun in that?!” We have (no joke) had people stop their cars and point at our tree. I’ve even seen people stop walking their dogs and just stand at our fence staring at it. They laugh and shake their heads. Meanwhile, who’s laughing when your real tree catches fire from the real candles you put in it?? Hmmm?? Me! (Seriously, we saw this happen last year in an Austrian home)

And lastly, what post would be complete without a picture of Eli? I always get so many comments on how much hair he has. But, with great power comes great responsibility, right? This would be the downside to having an 11-month-old with a lot of hair…I’m just sayin’.

Merry Christmas, ya'll!

One Month Away

Today my baby, my sweet little boy, is 11 months old. In just one very short month, he will be a one-year-old. I think I’m actually getting a bit teary-eyed thinking about this. Last night, Jeremy and I were talking about how it’s hard to believe that one day he will be too big for us to carry and too cool to smile at our silly faces. But right now, he’s not! And we will relish and celebrate every day with our special boy. :o)

I have to confess, an 11-month-old is a lot of work. I am barely finding enough time to blog as infrequently as I am! He’s a busy, busy boy, and here are some things he’s up to right now…

- He is a cruising machine. Eli is constantly pulling up and walking across, well, everything. Things he shouldn’t, things I wouldn’t, and things that are just plain scary to watch. He has redefined the phrase “cruisin’ for a bruisin’” for me! I don’t know if he’ll be walking before his first birthday, but I’m sure I’ll be kissing a lot of boo-boos before then!

- “Mama” has finally entered the vocabulary! In the past week, I have been elevated to the status of “Dada.” It’s about time. :o)

- Eli is now the proud owner of 4 brand-new top teeth. I didn’t think it was possible for him to get cuter, but he did.

- Now that he has bottom AND top teeth, Eli is eating finger foods. Grilled cheese sandwiches and Cheerios are by far his favorite. This is a new development, so we’re still working out the kinks…and the messes. The tiny OCD person inside of me is screaming as he eats. Wow, is it messy.

- He has started saying “Daddy” recently. I’m not sure if he knows that it’s Jeremy, but we pretend he does! “Bobbin” is another word that’s frequently used, and I’m leaning towards that meaning “ball.” Who knows?

- I have discovered in the past week that I gave birth to a ham. Yes, he likes to show off around other people. Twice this week we have gone to a place with a crowd of babies and parents. And twice this week Eli has crawled to the center of the room, cheesed it up and was rewarded with laughs. I seriously do not know where he learned it…

- Eli is a great sleeper. I feel really blessed by this because I know a lot of parents are still getting up multiple times a night at 11 months. He sleeps around 11 hours at night, and he takes one long nap (around 2 hours) and one short nap (around 45 minutes) during the day.

- Unfortunately, one of the things I am having to do now is discipline. With new explorations come new dangers, so I am saying “no” quite frequently. Eli really understands the concept, however he has a tender heart. Most of the time when I say “no” to something he cries and crawls to me for comfort. It breaks my own heart, but I’m glad he’s obeying!

- He loves music! I usually have various types of music playing during the day (but exclusively Christmas now), and he will bob along with me. I’ve been surprised how good he can actually keep a beat sometimes! He has even started vocalizing and singing a bit. Must be all that Mahler and Wagner I heard in concert while he was in utero. :o)

You know, so many times when I was pregnant, I wondered what it would be like to be a mother. And I have to tell you, it is the most amazing thing in the world. The past 11 months have been the best of my life, and I feel truly blessed that God entrusted us with such a precious gift. Eli, you are the light and joy of our lives…happy 11 months, sweet boy!

It's Beginning To Taste a Lot Like Christmas

It seems like most of the Christmas pictures I’m getting of Eli has him chewing on various Christmas decorations. That may be because in the past week he has sprouted 4 new top teeth! Good for him…bad for my tree. :o)

This past week has been so busy. On Monday, Jeremy and I spent most of the day organizing and planning Christmas music. It has been quite a job! There is so much good Christmas music, and we want to fit as much in as possible. We have fallen in love with many recent songs and some new arrangements of old favorites…I hope that the Chapel’s congregation likes them as much as we do!

Last Tuesday, we had a great time visiting with Hegan and Heather again. They came out to our house, and we spent the day playing, dancing to Christmas songs, and of course, eating. I was a bad picture-taker that day, but I did get one!

On Wednesday, I was supposed to get up and go to the doctor for a check-up, but I failed to do so. :o( Oh well, I was a good girl though, and I exercised! It’s something Jeremy and I are trying to be a bit better at making a priority. Especially with a little one so close to walking, and we know that we will be chasing him around soon! Speaking of which, I was able to get this video of Eli using his walker. He is getting so close to just taking off! The other day, he even tried to take a step on his own…but fell. We may have to harness him to the seat of the airplane when we fly back to the States in January. :o)

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Thursday was a very hectic day! I decided to take Eli to our very first Vienna Babies Club meeting. I’m not sure I even blogged about it, but way back last November (maybe December?), I met up with a group of women through the VBC who were all due within a few months of me. The point of the VBC is to put you in contact with other expatriate mothers who speak English. It’s kind of a support system for living abroad with children! My group meets weekly, but I’ve always missed for one reason or another. This week I went, and I think Eli was in shock! He’s always been around older babies, so it was odd being on the same level or more advanced. It was not for the faint at heart because 10 mommies and 10 babies (all 11 months or younger) in one room is basically controlled chaos! He seemed to enjoy it though, and I loved talking with the other mothers. I hope we can go again soon! I didn’t take our monster camera that makes better photos, so I only got a couple of usable pictures. Notice all the toys and blankets!

Friday and Saturday were completely spent preparing for Sunday. Not only did we have our first “real” Christmas service at church complete with new music and a solo for me, but we were also hosting our small group’s Christmas party. I was preparing main dishes, soup, and about 90 of these bad boys.

Oh yes….let that sink in for a moment. These are Oreo balls; only THE best thing ever! Joe and Megan introduced these to us back in July, and I am forever grateful (and about 5 lbs. heavier). If you’d like the recipe, you can click here…you won’t be sorry!

So, I’m still reeling from yesterday, and I think the Christmas party deserves it’s own post. Let’s just say that it involved guitars, pantyhose, and oranges. Enough said! :o)

With a Gobble, Gobble Here...

Sorry, it has taken me so long to post about Thanksgiving, but it’s been a busy few days! We were very happy to be spending Thanksgiving for the 2nd year in a row with the Shaffers. They are great hosts, and they know how to fill you up! Being Americans here for 20 some-odd years, they realize the best way to feel at home is to bring it to you. This year, I signed up to bring some southern to Austria. I was supposed to prepare fried squash and green bean casserole to contribute to the dinner. Unfortunately, squash is pretty hard to come by here (and we ran out of time looking for it), so I decided to make fried “green” squash instead (aka zucchini). Now I have never fried zucchini before, so I was a little scared at what the outcome might be. Well it turns out, Jeremy should have been the scared one. He was trying to help me cut the zucchini to give me a hand, and he was using our handy-dandy slicer. Wouldn’t you know it, but he got too close to the blade and cut his finger wide open. It was pretty bad. Luckily for him, I knew just what to do after my first aid course! Once it stopped bleeding, he returned to help me again, this time slicing with the other hand. Yes, you can guess it, he sliced a finger on that hand too. After much jumping and kicking of himself, he relinquished the rest of the cutting to me. :o) We do have video of the finished products (and bloodshed), but no pictures! Maybe we’ll post a video later. I do have to say that fried “green” squash tastes just like the regular ol’ yeller (or yellow, for you Yankees) squash!

Then we packed up and headed to Klosterneuburg, which is about 15 minutes on other side of Vienna from us! It is home to a beautiful abbey, which is pictured up above. I took that from the back of the car through the window, so it isn’t the best! It is such a lovely town though. We were greeted with the wonderful smells of Thanksgiving upon arriving at the Shaffers’. They really know how to get into a turkey and wield a knife!

We had a great time of eating and talking, and talking and eating. It was also great to be able to scoot all the way up to the table this year. An 8-month preggo belly makes things difficult! :o)

Afterwards, we gave Eli a break and let him out of the playpen to roam around. As always, peek-a-boo with daddy is a good time!

He was a bit more squirmy with me, and Jeremy caught my wonderfully candid facial expression.

That’s more like it!

I just love this one of him and Kristen. Eli was absolutely enamored with her necklace. And yes, he ended up breaking it. *sigh* One of these days, I will teach him that jewelry is for admiring, not for ripping off the wearer.

Kristen was also very gracious to let Eli play with her childhood Playmobil toys. He loved it. I have to admit, I had some fun with it too. I mean, they even had Playmobil hobos! Anyway, he still has a little way to go before he’s old enough for it, but it was a good distraction today while we continued talking (and eating dessert).

Yesterday, we began what I have been longing to do…decorating for Christmas!! I learned that decorating with a 10-month-old crawling around makes things go a LOT slower. But, a good kind of slower. :o) We did hit a stumbling block though. Back in January, we bought a clearanced Christmas tree, so we could have two this year…a fun, family one and a more formal one. When Jeremy took the tree upstairs to the Grand Atrium to start assembling it, we discovered that there was no base and the top was actually the middle part to another tree. Moral of the story, pull out a clearanced Christmas tree and assemble it before you stow it for 11 months! Amazingly, we still have our receipt, so we’re going to give the store a good talking-to this week. I’ll post pictures of all the décor after we have that tree up and completed. But, I will give you a little teaser photo…Happy Christmas season!