Swiss Cow Fighting

We happened upon a very unique event while we were at the chalet last weekend. The canton of Valais annually hosts cow fights. The female cows fight within their weight rank (3 tiers) and the best ones advance. I guess there are regional competitions and the cows progress to the ultimate competition.

The cows have horns and weigh about 700kg (1500lbs)

June slept and we kept her shaded from the sun. She is getting pretty heavy...

Leaving the cow fights

Some intense battles. The ultimate winner receives the title "the queen of queens."

Peek-a-boo

June looked too cute in the dress from the McMurtrys. We took a few photos before heading out to our friends' chalet for the weekend.

While at the chalet, Curt played peek-a-boo. I love this photo our friend caught on camera

And the adorable video :)

Erin's Visit!

We were so lucky to have Erin visit us for a couple of days. Erin and I were next-door-neighbors growing up. She had been touring Italy with a friend and made the trek up to see us.

The night she arrived we ate a fun raclette dinner. The funny thing is she introduced me to raclette back in the US a few years ago.

Macaroons at Laduree

A fun visit in Yvoire, France

The flowers in Yvoire are just starting to come out

June had a great nap with Erin

We had a fondue dinner her 2nd night

Thanks for the fun visit Erin!

Roll Me Over

June started moving more yesterday afternoon. I thought she was getting close to rolling over...but I told her she should wait until the weekend so Daddy could see her roll over too.

Last night we went to our friends' home for dinner and games. Right after the prayer Paul said something to the effect of, "Did she roll over?" Curt thought he was joking because we had just been talking about the fact that she hadn't rolled yet. Sure enough she had, and she did time and time again. It's now the first thing she does when she's on the ground.

So far she only can do back to front on the right side. Mommy has to help her when she's sick of tummy time.

P.S. When I got her dressed this morning I wasn't even thinking about the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day. We sure got lucky!

Sunday

Sunday I got up, fed June, got her ready for church and started getting myself ready. She apparently was pretty tired. She lasted less than 5 minutes after she was dressed:

Later in the day all 3 of us took a nice Sunday (2hr+) nap. I can't remember another time we have done that--we have all been really exhausted from being sick and I'm glad we're all on the uphill. June seems to be at 100%. I'm getting there, and Curt is barely following the recovery bandwagon in last place.

On the Move

June has been squirming a lot more lately. She's not quite into rolling over (unless Mom gives her a little push), but she's getting there. She's just so content wherever she is she doesn't have much reason to move.  

Monday I set her on the activity mat so I could get a few things done. 

A couple minutes later I walked back and found her like this. She's just adorable. Can't get enough of her.

Go Karts

We went to a go-kart track on Saturday afternoon. The reason we found this place is because of a Groupon deal a few months ago--and Curt LOVES driving go karts (or anything fast for that matter).

We enlisted the help of Laura, a YW in our ward. We traded her a race for watching June while we raced. It was a lot of fun.

FYI--the track is a mile long (1600m) and takes about 2 minutes per lap. That's an average speed of 30mph. These karts were not slow. They are 270cc automatics with good cornering capability. I was surprised at our average speed considering all of the tight corners. It was especially fun to overtake people during the 'races.' 

About 1/2 of the track

Glad we had a sunny day! Welcome spring!!

Food

My new thing is copying ideas and parts of dishes from restaurants we go to. So far it has been a great success:

Bresaola with herbed cream-cheese

Rucola/mixed greens with avocado, strawberries and croustillant de chèvre (goat cheese covered in a flaky pastry shell--generally it is deep-fat-fried but I instead use  pâte feuilletée and bake it in the oven, which is essentially croissant dough). The warm cheese is SO good!

Playing

Resemblance?

Aunt Candice pointed out a few times that June makes a cute Kewpie doll

We love our little girl!

June: 5 Months!

March 7th

5 months have come and gone and our little bug is as cute as ever. She continues to smile and giggle at Mommy, Daddy and anyone who talks to, or even looks at her. Her bubbly personality is contagious. June loves to listen to music and still occasionally sings along. She likes peek-a-boo, patty-cake, and really just being looked at. Any attention is welcome and rewarded richly.

Her schedule is not too different: eating every 3-5 hours, taking a couple of naps (including a 'long' afternoon one), going to bed about 9:30pm and waking up about 7:30am. She has only had one or two blow-outs in the last month and still doesn't really spit up, though she is a pretty good belcher still. She continues to grow fast and we love her chubby cheeks and thighs.

Her dexterity has improved and she is much better at grabbing what she wants and getting it to her mouth. A few time she has successfully put her binki in her mouth. Her favorite toys are her rolling-singing ball, Tigger, Sophie and her crinkle-cover books.

June got her first cold about a week ago. She started with a little cough, had way too much mucus, and is still fighting to get rid of that cough. Poor little girl. Curt and I are sick with the same thing--what a fun household. She's a trooper and has only had one or two cranky moments despite how sick she feels. Her happy personality wasn't affected by her illness (Mommy and Daddy can learn a lot from her).

Still an angel. What more could we ask for?

Our Bimba in Milan

We went to Milan for a weekend trip (with a little work included). We drove there early Friday morning through the Mont Blanc tunnel. It felt a lot shorter than I imagined (only 7.2 miles). Interestingly, it shortens the drive to Milan by 62 miles. It was 39.80 Euros to drive through it (not cheap!). As soon as we arrived we went to my office. I gave a training and Curt & June left for an afternoon daddy-daughter date.

They saw the Duomo downtown and visited the JPMorgan office (Curt needed to listen in on a call).

Curt took this on his iPhone.

Later, we spent more time in the Duomo and also climbed the tower

It was lovely to sit on the roof in the sun

It is a really impressive cathedral

We were also fortunate to get tickets to see daVinci's Last Supper in dining hall the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

We also enjoyed walking around the Castello Sforzesco.

The moon & planet were so beautiful. I wish I knew more about taking photos when I'm in such beautiful places. We do our best--and usually the place is so beautiful it makes up for our lacking photography skills.

It was Carnival time and everyone was constantly throwing confetti and using silly string. The city was such a mess. It was a fun time to be visiting though--everything was very lively.

Well, the sightseeing was fun...but as is typical with us, we enjoyed the food most. Curt has a co-worker who grew up in Milan and he gave us a list of recommendations. If only we could have had more room for food! Two best gelato places: Bastianello and Shockolat. Best restaurant: Casa Lucia. Best snack/lunch: Panzerotti at Luini. Inexpensive and tasty restaurant that budget tourists would like:  Da Maruzzella

June was an awesome traveler the entire time. She spent a lot of time in the Baby Bjorn. Mom and Dad took turns (she's not light anymore)

June was quite the attention-attractor. EVERYWHERE we went people stopped us to say, "Que linda!" "Ooo! Bambina!" etc. She's probably never had her cheeks pinched so many times. She was a little ham and would smile politely at everyone. Even the security guard at the Duomo talked to her and played with her hands while we waited in line. A little boy at a restaurant just couldn't stay away from her. He had to keep looking at her and give her kisses. It was pretty hilarious. He was her little principe. 

Curt made the comment that it seemed as if the Italians hadn't seen a baby for years--and he made a good point. With their birth-rate being lower than the death rate, their population isn't exactly growing. They have one of the lowest birth rates in the world.

We enjoyed church on Sunday--Italian church is much easier to understand than German or even French church. We then caught the train home.

Curt took this lovely photo of us. I figured I had to post it because I would have posted it of him. Not beautiful of me...but captures the moment. I love sleeping with my baby girl!