Malcolm Edward

It's a boy!! Malcolm Edward finally arrived (9 days late) on July 10, 2014 at 10:14pm after way too many hours of labor. (I will be able to guilt both my children will long labor stories!) Anyway, we are all very happy he has arrived. Inga is really happy being a big sister and having Mommy home all the time. Here are some pictures.

Proud Papa with baby Malcolm

My wonderful birth team (L to R): doula Megan, midwife Pat, and almost midwife Ebonee (1 birth and a couple big tests away from her certification)

Clean, fed, and much happier with the world

Daddy and his two kiddos

Grandma Lindstrom and her two grandkids

Very proud big sister

Guess who?

Guess who?

Malcolm looks a lot like his big sister did when she was a newborn. They are very different people, but definitely look a lot alike. They both have the Wiley chin, the Lindstrom nose, and beautiful baby blues. 

The Stats:

8 lbs 6.6 oz 

20.8 inches long

Old Man's Cave Hiking

It was a beautiful spring day after the rain cleared in the morning. Rather than listen to Inga whine while Sam and I tried to get some yard work done, I figured we could see some of the interesting parts of Ohio. We drove down to Hocking Hills State Park and walked around Old Man's Cave. We had been camping here last year with friends, but missed seeing Old Man's Cave because of rain. There were plenty of people there hiking especially college students and people with dogs. The dogs frightened Inga quite a bit although they were all friendly and well behaved. I also learned the new hiking uniform, at least in Ohio, is black, capri yoga leggings, a quarter zip workout sweater in a bright color, and cheap aviator sunglasses. Nearly every college girl was wearing this outfit. I am definitely old and behind the times. Inga walked the better part of a mile that included lots of stairs. At bedtime, Inga asked to go hiking tomorrow. Music to my ears.

  

Sam and Inga in front of the Sphinx rock face.

Lower falls

Family picture

Long tunnel where we found an Inga monster.

Ready for some lunch and a nap.

Christmas 2013

Christmas at Grandma Wiley's before we left for California

My Christmas post is a little overdue, but I can blame it on the new baby leaving me very, very tired in the evening coupled with Inga turning into a night owl. We went to see my parents for Christmas, which meant warm, sunny days. Inga had a great time visiting different playgrounds. She also rode a choo-choo train and visited San Francisco. 

Go slide! Playground #1 for the day.

She was very proud to have climbed up by herself.

Asleep at playground #2 while Mommy and Daddy ate our picnic lunch.

Riding the Christmas train through Niles Canyon.

She LOVED the sea lions at Pier 39.

Posing with the big Christmas tree at Pier 39

She fell asleep on the cable car ride to Union Square.

The big Christmas tree at Union Square.

Christmas Eve picture with her stocking

Christmas morning excitement

Helping Grandma Lindstrom make breakfast

The California coast near Pescadero

Sam and I left Inga overnight with my parents so we could go down to Monterey. We drove down highway 1 and stopped at several beaches that looked interesting. We found some great tide pools near Pescadero. We were able to visit with the Crains, who recently moved to the Monterey area, and then do some Wiley's Finest work visiting some retailers in the area. It was pretty awesome seeing our products on the shelf at stores all the way out in California.

The Travels of Fox and Ornery

Fox and Ornery are Inga's best friends and members of the family at this point. They go everywhere with us. Now, they are world travelers. 

On their first international flight

Resting on the train after a long flight

Posing with the Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux

Riding the gondola in Haute-Nendaz

Enjoying a beer

Riding the GoldenPass

At Trummelbachfalle

Taking a break on the hike down the Schilthorn

Another lunch beer while enjoying views of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau

International Travel with a Toddler

What I learned from traveling to Switzerland with my 2 year old:

For the long flights/train rides:

1. Child sized head phones + iPod: Load that iPod up with favorite TV shows, songs, and pictures of family. This was the most valuable toy during the trip.
2. Magna-doodle: Inga loves to draw, but crayons get lost too easily.
3. New books: New books are more interesting to read over and over again.

For carrying stuff:

1. Child sized backpack: Inga has a Northface backpack so she could carry her own toys. Yes, I ended up carrying this more often than Inga, but it was better than her rummaging through my purse for Mickey.
2. Ergobaby Carrier: This is the only carrier you need. There is no metal frame so it can be packed in a suitcase or backpack. It is also super comfortable. I never fly without it.
3. Rolling suitcases: These are easiest to take through the airport/train station when you have a child on your back. Just don't take too many. We brought 3 suitcases and only needed 2.

For going potty:

1. Bring your cheap US diapers. Disposable diapers in Switzerland are expensive. We packed all the diapers we needed for the trip. Best part is you free up more suitcase room for souvenirs as the trip progresses!
2. Public restrooms do not have changing tables, not even women's restrooms. The only place I saw changing tables were the berghauses. 

For eating:

1. Bring some favorite snacks from home for those difficult days. I brought Nutragrain bars for Inga (aka Jammies) because they are her go-to snack food. I never did find something similar so I am glad I had an emergency stash.
2. Go to the grocery store. Buy snacks and PB&J fixings. Switzerland doesn't have the explosion of fast casual restaurants the US does and restaurants are expensive anyway. Buy yourself sandwich fixings, too, because the restaurants are expensive. 

I highly recommend picking a home base and renting an apartment. In Meurren, we had separate rooms so we didn't have to go to bed at 8pm. There was also a kitchen for making meals, which is a money saver and more relaxing. 

Finally, adjust your expectations to a slower pace. You will not go as many places or see as many museums. We did, however, talk to way more Swiss than I expected because we visited playgrounds and talked to other parents just like you do at a US playground. Inga helped us have more of those cultural experiences that many international travelers are looking for (well, at least I am looking for).

Stopping to observe the rushing water. She sees the wonder in things I have learned to ignore.

As my father-in-law says, "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right."

Swiss Cities: Luzern and Zurich

The last stops on our highlights tour of Switzerland were Luzern and Zurich. At this point, I was reluctant to leave the mountains. I should have known, but I loved the mountains the best. There was so much more hiking left to do! Well, I was the one who insisted on seeing Luzern and Zurich so we left the mountains and headed for Luzern.

It was really hot in Luzern and Zurich (30˚C) and there really isn't air conditioning in most buildings. It wasn't quite as pleasant walking around the old towns as we would have liked and with a two year old it is more difficult to sit at a cafe and enjoy a cold beer. Luzern does have an interesting old city and great shopping. We were a little annoyed by the large tour groups of Germans and Chinese that were always in the way. I walked to the iconic weeping lion memorial while Sam and Inga napped. It is a nice memorial and surprisingly quiet given the shopping mall and Swiss-Chinese (no joke) shops across the street.

Lowenplatz memorial carved into the rock face.

One of many fountains in old Luzern

Kapelbruche in Luzern (our hotel is on the left)

The best attraction in Luzern is the Swiss Transportation Museum. This is the only museum we visited on our trip and it was well worth it. It is a great museum for children; there are lots of hands-on activities. The courtyard of the museum has gravel pits with tricycle front loaders for building roads and a miniature port where you can offload container ships and load onto delivery trucks. There were also trains, lots of trains. Where we should have gone after the museum was to the Lido Luzern, which is a water park on the lake. We walked by it on our way back from the museum and Inga really wanted to go swimming, but we didn't have our swim suits with us.

One of the cutters used to make train tunnels

Train snow plow

Car inventory with automatic lift mechanism

Hands-on road building exhibit i.e. lots of rocks and tricycle front-end loaders.

We had one day in Zurich before our flight home the next morning. We hadn't done much research so we just walked around old town. Again, it was super hot and there was no air conditioning. We tried to find a playground, but didn't have any luck. There is really amazing shopping in Zurich especially if you have serious cash to spend. We didn't so we mostly window shopped and bought ice cream instead.

Street in old Zurich

Grossmunster

Street in old Zurich shopping district

Sushi tram! You eat sushi while driving around Zurich.

Our flight home was delayed several hours. We had gotten up really early in the morning to get to the airport. By about 11am, Inga was so tired she just fell asleep in Daddy's arms while we drank coffee and ate more chocolate croissants.

A very tired girl ready to go home

The Most Popular Trail in Switzerland

We decide not to go up to the Jungfraujoch, Europe's highest train station, because it just seemed like too long of a train ride for a two year old. Inga was super cranky that day so I know it was a good decision, but I really wished we could have gone to the top. It was the perfect day. Instead, we hiked from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. The trail is well deserved of all its hype. It was pretty crowded, but all the hikers were very polite. We had a great time and even found another couple playgrounds.

Ready to get on the cable car up to Mannlichen

The perfect view of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau (left to right).

We ate our sandwiches at the Mannlichen cable car station and took in the sights. Inga was ready for a nap at this point and not interested in pictures.

Inga did not want her picture taken. She will thank us in the future for getting this iconic shot.

Looking down on Wengen and Lauterbrunnen

My ultimate Swiss picture: cow and Jungfrau.

I loved the juxtaposition of the cow and BMW ad.

My good little hiker waking up from her nap.

We ate a snack and had some beers at the Berghaus Grindelwaldblick above Kleine Scheidegg. Inga made friends with some other kids and taught them to say "mountain".

Cog railway, Wengernalpbahn, that runs between Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald.

Hotels at Kleine Scheidegg below the north face of the Eiger.

Looking across the valley to Muerren and Gimmelwald