Do you? Are you?

Brady constantly amazes us with his speaking ability (and I know I've blogged about it often!). He still has some cute phrases that are clearly baby talk. While Bill works on correcting him, I have to admit I hate to hear these cute things go when he learns the right way to say things. So, in an effort to preserve these in my memory, I thought I would blog some of my favorites:

• When Brady tells us he is doing something, he says, "Are you... (i.e. running, eating, jumping, etc.) I guess this comes from the days when I would say, "Brady, are you eating?" So when he says this, he is usually in the process of doing it.
• Similarly, he also says, "Do you...(i.e. like it, etc.)" He uses this one a lot, and usually with new foods. Again, I'm assuming this comes from Bill or I asking if he likes it. So, if he says, "Do you like it?" He actually means "Yes, I do like it."
• Speaking of "yes"...Brady doesn't use this word. He says, "okay". So, if we say, would you like some dessert? Brady says, "Okay!" Brady, are we going to Music Class today? "okay!" It's cute...but we've already started working on saying "yes".
• On occasion of a temper tantrum, I'll usually hear Brady combine the two above into a two-way dialogue. "Did you get a time out? Okay." It's kind of sad...and makes me feel horrible, but I guess it's sinking in.
• "Lando" - This is Brady's way of saying "window". We will try to get him to say it correctly by stating, "W, w, w, w, w, window". He'll say, "W, w, w, w, w, lando." Cracks us up every time.
• And as he spends more time in his Spielgruppe, he's starting to mix German into his English sentences. Only a small amount at this time, but it's funny. The other day, Brady said, "I want das". And he occasionally says, "Das schmecht mir gut." (It tastes good!)
  

I'm sure there are more of these...but I can't think of them now.

Spielgruppe

Here in Switzerland there is no specific preschool for kids before they enter Kindergarten. Kids here go to their first year of Kindergarten when they are 5 years old. (And they do 2 years of Kindergarten.) So, in order to prepare kids for entering school, many parents put their kids in Spielgruppen. (Playgroups) These groups usually meet a couple mornings a week and have similarly aged kids. Basically it's a chance for the kids to play together with other kids and go through a preschool-like curriculum (singing songs, crafts, free play, playground time, etc.)

I felt it was time for Brady to join a Spielgruppe to get some opportunities to play with new kids and to help teach him more about sharing, etc. We did several visits to Spielgruppen and after some thought, picked one that a woman who ran the daycare Brady attended while I was doing my German lessons told me about. She also runs this particular Spielgruppe and we really like her. (Both Brady and I). Brady's playgroup is run in Swiss German, but unlike a few other groups I checked out, the leaders do speak English. (I just wanted to have the English background in case Brady said something in English, or for my own crutch in case my German failed me.) There are several bi-lingual playgroups, but they are very far away and didn't offer what we were looking for. There are also bi-lingual daycares, but in most cases your child had to be present for a minimum of 2 full days a week or 3 half days. I didn't really feel this much time was necessary.

So, we picked our group and Brady started 3 weeks ago. The first day, I stayed with him the full time. It was a very nice group of about 8 children. Parents are very involved in the group. The parents stay for the first 15 minutes of the group and sing the welcome songs with the children. One parent a week stays and helps out until right after lunch. So, it's a great way to meet all the other kids your child is playing with and to see how the group runs. The parents are also "officers" for the group i.e. financial officer, secretary, etc.

Brady has now had 2 days in the group by himself and has done very well. He now sings the welcome songs around the house and has even started saying more German. He occasionally says, "Nein" or "Ja". He's even said, "Mommy, my noodles are heiss." (hot) I think it's been a great opportunity for both of us and I'm excited to see how the rest of the year goes.

On a related note, it's amazing to me (again) how different Swiss German and German are. (I've made comments about this before.) The group leader hands out song sheets each week for the songs we sing. I can't even pretend to pronounce the words. For example, here are the words for the song Brady likes the best, "Schiffli Fahre" (boat ride):

Schiffli fahre
ufem See
ha-n-i schöni
Sache gseh

chunnt e Wind
und
chunnt e Schturm

gheit das
schöne Schiffli
UM!

Most of these words are NOT German. And the spellings don't even amount to anything sound-wise in High German. So, it's been interesting to say the least. The other parents in the group know that I can't speak Swiss German and have been very helpful in speaking High German to me (and oftentimes very slowly!). But they seem very supportive of me and Brady...and have made us feel very welcome. I'm very excited about this new chapter and Brady has been very excited about "school" when each Tuesday rolls around.

Airing our Dirty Laundry

Now normally I wouldn't think a blog post should open with a photo of underwear, but when it's a post about potty training, then perhaps it's fitting. I've been slowly getting my mind around the potty training that we will shortly begin. I've picked an approach...the 3 day potty training method. I've started talking to Brady about it. We've purchased several sets of "big boy" underwear to include Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder and Transportation themed undies. We've purchased the potty that we will use. (See below photo) I've purchased some prizes for helping to reward Brady for using the potty. So, with all this said...I still don't feel quite ready!

It hit me today (even with all the above preparation activities) when I was getting Brady's new undies ready for the wash (and thinking how super cute these are!) what we are about to undertake! I'm super nervous, but kind of excited at the same time!

We've decided to start the 3-day potty regiment when we return from our Rome long weekend vacation in early November. So, if I don't return phone calls or emails within this time period...you know what's going on. Wish us luck, folks!

Brady Alexander Coyle Counts to...18

Brady doesn't really know how to count. He points at things he is "counting" and just starts saying his numbers. However, he does know his numbers in order to about 18. I say "about" because this is what he says, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 18!!!!" "18" is always yelled proudly. He is so cute. So, if you ask him to count how many there are of something, he always ends up with 18.

Brady also knows his full name and is proud of saying it. He also kind of knows how to spell his first and last name...if you start him off with the first letter. Check out the video!

For some of you, this is old hat...and you've seen Brady do it countless times. However, it's still super cute and something I wanted to document!

Highlights of our US Adventures

Brady and I visited the States for a few weeks in early September. We had an action packed trip that and enjoyed spending time with our families. We were able to take in "Day out with Thomas" while we were in the US as well as spend a week in Nag's Head, NC during our normal beach trek. I've included a few highlights below.

Day out with Thomas - Strasbourg Railroad, PA

Nag's Head, NC

Brady's first Miniature Golf Game (after getting a hole-in-one on his first hole...no joke!)

Monkey...a Swiss Citizen?

Many of you know some of the hassles we underwent to move Monkey over to Switzerland with us. We used a pet relocation service (yes...they exist), because we lived in a hotel for a week or so before flying over to Zurich. We also knew that we wouldn't be completely settled in when we moved into our new apartment. So, to reduce stress on Monkey (and ourselves) we used the pet relocation service. He arrived safely (and relatively happy) without any incident. However, prior to having the pet relocation service pick Monkey up at our home in NJ, we had to take him to the vet for a full examination and have our vet fill out tons of paperwork regarding the health and vaccination history of Monkey. Swiss law also required that we have a microchip identification device "installed" in Monkey. So, we did all this and Monkey was allowed into the country. (Note...it seems most Swiss cat owners allow their cats outside most, if not all, of the time. So, these microchip devices must come in pretty handy.)

A few months ago, Monkey had some issues with one of his hind claws and since he hadn't been to the vet in over a year, I decided it was time to take him. We trekked to the vet via bus (an interesting side story all together) and had him examined. Now, first of all, Monkey's hind claw was perfectly fine (although dirty), and he was healthy. The vet gave him an immunization that he needed. Then he asked to see my cat's health book. Whoops - didn't have that. Also hadn't had his microchip registered with the appropriate Swiss authorities. And on top of being totally delinquent with the first two items, the vet asked me if I was aware that my cat's front paws were declawed. (Shock and dismay in his voice.) I know this might not sit well with animal rights folks, and although at the time, I didn't realize that declawing is pretty stressful/painful for a cat, I am still glad we had it done. Apparently in Switzerland it's illegal to have tail/ear cropping or claw removal done to a pet. I was getting worried that we were about to get the boot right out of the country. I asked the vet if I needed to get some documentation that this was done prior to our arrival in Switzerland. He made a note in his records and said that we would be fine, that it was a "known problem that the US has". Hmmmmm. Then he gave me a health book for Monkey to keep track of his immunizations and also had me fill out the paper for registering Monkey's microchip with the Swiss company that keeps track of these (and of course charging me 50 CHF for the honor of keeping track of his microchip data). The funny thing about Monkey's health book, is that it's a pet passport. See picture below. So, I guess he's legit now. It even has a space for a passport-sized photo of your pet. (The photo is at least optional.)


Now, back to the declawing thing. I feel bad that I had this procedure done to Monkey to make my life easier. But I adopted Monkey from the Human Society and feel overall that his life is much better, even with the declawing. I do think it's somewhat frustrating that my vet made me feel like the worse pet owner ever, especially when the cats here in Switzerland spend all their time outside, half of them are missing eyes or tails because of cat fights. (We hear cat fights about once a week, at least.) Brady and I have a favorite outside cat that we see when we go to the grocery store and he's always got burrs and ticks in his fur. I don't see how that's any healthier. I've read countless articles that say cats that spend anytime outdoors often have more illness and shorter lives. So, anyway, my feathers were a little ruffled by the attitude this vet had towards me and Monkey. But I still think it's funny that he's legit even while missing some claws!

We're back....

Sorry for the delay in new posts. Brady and I took a 2 week vacation back to the US and since have been getting back into the routine of life here in Zurich. I have a few more posts that I'll be doing shortly to get us up to speed.