2016 in Review

[Previous years in review: 2015, 2014, 2013]

2016 was a pretty crazy year, both in general and for us. Nate had crazy crazy work hours most of the year, which made life difficult for all of us, but we still managed to do a bit of traveling.

January - We started the year off in the US [San Diego for all of us; then for work: Boston for Nate and Houston for me later in the month]
early March - I went to Budapest
late March - We went to London
April - Chase and I went to Ukraine
July - We went to Interlaken & Bern with Nate's parents
August - Chase and I went to Ukraine again
November - We took a trip to Zermatt/Matterhorn
December - We are ending the year in the US [Nebraska for Christmas and San Diego for New Year's]

Just like last year, Chase saw all of his living great grandparents this year. He even saw his grandparents twice each -- once in the summer when our parents each visited and once during the holidays while we've been in the US. He saw all of his aunts and uncles, and actually a good percentage of all of his relatives. In terms of his country count, he got a +1 for Great Britain so he's currently at 3 continents (NA, Europe, Africa), 7 countries (USA, Switzerland, France, Spain, Morocco, Ukraine, and Great Britain), and 7 states (MA, CT, RI, NY, NE, CA, NV). Hopefully we can travel some more next year (maybe to Italy and/or Germany) to get those counts up a bit more.

In regard to Chase, I posted about him turning two and his development in the months since then.

For crafts, I made another book for Chase and knitted him a sweater. All of those sewing things I mentioned last year did not get done, but I have high hopes for the coming year. We also took some family photos again this year. I don't think we had any home improvements this year.

Next year, we hope to travel more and I hope to do some more crafts! Happy 2017.

I will leave you with an Instagram collage. Follow me on Instagram, or on Twitter if you don't have an Instagram.

Chase months 25-32

Since this post of Chase turning 2 years old, he has changed and developed a lot. His biggest leap has been in language. He now speaks very well both in English and French. He knows lots of vocabulary that we sometimes are surprised he knows (especially in English because all of his exposure is at home). He loves songs both in English and French and sings them to himself quite often. He can count from 1-14 and then gets a bit mixed up. He now really likes the colors red and pink; he likes to wear red shirts and asks for drinks only in pink cups. He enjoys playing with legos, usually building cleaning trucks. He actually enjoys vehicles of all types: police cars, taxis (he calls them taxi cars), ambulances, diggers (he calls them excavators), cement trucks, airplanes, and helicopters. He loves "reading" books -- his favorites are a french one about transportation, one called Dragons Love Tacos (thanks to Katie & Mike for sending that over!), and one about colors (thanks to Sakina & Aaron for getting that for him from the Museum d'Orsay). He loves his stuffed animals Bagel and Bear and likes to make up little stories for them. He always complains of bumps in his socks (as Nate used to do as a child) and is still resistant to some clothing. His eating is not great but he's still growing quite well.

Here are some pictures from the last few months:

On a merry-go-round near his daycare

Walking in my shoes and blowing kisses

Reading a book in bed

Chase's happy face

Trying out his balance bike

On another merry-go-round during August 1st (Swiss Independence Day) festivities

With his new big boy bike

Making a crane out of legos

Previous Chase growth posts: 2 years, months 15-20, 1 year +, first 3 months here and here. 

Sweater for Chase

I haven't had time to do too many crafts this year, but I really wanted to knit a sweater for Chase. I started in July so I was sure to get it done by winter. Thanks to Nate's mom, Amy, for bringing some yarn from the US when they visited. I searched Ravelry for patterns that I liked and found a simple one with a zigzag around the middle (free pattern: ravelry link and pdf [warning: There is a slight typo somewhere in the measurements but I don't remember where!]). It was mostly easy, but there were a few more complicated stitches that I had to use youtube to figure out. I adjusted the pattern by making some zigzags on the sleeves as well as the body.

Some progress pics:

Thankfully, Chase humored me enough to wear it on Christmas eve for the family gathering and to church:

As you can see, it's still quite large on him. I'm hoping he can wear it next year, too. He doesn't love wearing sweaters, especially ones that go over his head, so I'm not sure how much day-to-day use it will get. However, I am glad I was able to make it for him and that it turned out quite nice. 

(Annual) Summer Trip to the Ukraine

Previous trips to the Ukraine here and here (and mentioned here from before Chase).

This summer, Chase and I visited the Ukraine for about 10 days. We spent our time in the summer house eating good food, picking vegetables, and watering the garden.

My grandparents offered to babysit Chase for two days so my uncle, cousin, and I could take a trip to Lviv. I have never been to Lviv, so it was really cool for me to go and check out. We had a great time walking around and seeing all of the history. 

Before leaving, we took our yearly group photo. Look how much Chase has grown! 

Trips Around Switzerland (Part III)

Previous trips around Switzerland: Part I & Part II.

Throughout this summer and fall, we explored more of the sights that Switzerland has to offer.



On this map, I marked our home (black house; Morges), Nate and my workplaces (black) and our trips in the last 6 months or so:
- Brown: Arolla & hike up to see the glacier (Oksana's work retreat)
- Pink: Rochers-de-Naye & hiking around
- (No symbol): hanging out by Lake Geneva
- Purple: Interlaken, Thun, & Bern: trip with Nate's parents
- Orange: Huge hike up to Col de Milon from Zinal
- Red: Ascona & Italian side (Oksana's conference)
- Green: Zermatt & Matterhorn

We hiked up to the Arolla glacier from the town. I had to use an arrow above to actually show the glacier because most of it is melted and gone.

We took a scenic train from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye and did a bit of walking around. Such beautiful weather and nice sights!

Throughout the summer, we visited the lake quite a lot, even swimming in the nicer beach area. The lake is about a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment, so it's quite convenient.

In July, Nate's parents paid us a visit, and we took the opportunity to do some traveling. On one day, we visited Interlaken, Thun, and Bern. It was interesting to see a different side of Switzerland (both in language and architecture). Interlaken was stunning -- the water was really that TEAL!

At the end of August, my friend Elsa and I took an ambitious hike in the Valais region of Switzerland, in the Swiss alps. We hiked up 1.3 km to 3 km above sea level at the highest point. It took us about 8 hours, but we saw beautiful sights and some animals along the way. 

In September, I had a conference in the Italian speaking region of Switzerland, specifically Ascona. To get there, it was faster to go through Italy than to take the train through Switzerland, so I stopped for lunch in Domodossola. It was so interesting to see how similar the Italian region was to Italy. 

Finally, in November, we took a trip to see the Matterhorn in person. We went to the tourist town of Zermatt, where Chase fell in love with the snow (we don't get much snow where we live since we're quite low in altitude and in a temperate climate). From Zermatt, we took the tram up to the Matterhorn, but it was -9 C so we only stayed for a few moments for some pictures before going back down again. It was a great trip. 

Overall, from all of these trips, I highly recommend Zermatt/Matterhorn and Interlaken. I think both were beautiful and worth seeing in person. The hikes were nice too, but not everyone is willing to do an 8-hour hike. Although it was a wonderful experience, some of the same views can be seen when you take a train up (like Rochers-de-Naye... although that place specifically is quite overpriced for the train). Our next step is to explore more of Switzerland to the east -- specifically Zurich.