A Look Back: 2013

2013 has been anything but uneventful:

Within the first week of 2013 I found out I was expecting our first baby.  It was a rough start with two months of non-stop nausea, but the rest of pregnancy treated me well.

Despite getting bigger and bigger, our travel adventures continued.  In Germany we visited Hamburg, Garmisch, and Flossenburg.  We took a day cruise down the Rhine River and went camping an hour south of our house.

We also went to Paris, Prague (again), Switzerland and Turkey (with family). The grand finale before the baby came was visiting Israel in June, which was my favorite trip so far. Not being able to breath well and having my body overheat were minor inconveniences of pregnancy, but seeing Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was definitely worth it!

I spent the next few months making sure I had everything ready for a baby.  I basically ordered everything online: carseat, stroller, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, sheets, pack and play....  Even with all the preparations, I had a hard time anticipating the birth TOO much because it meant Hyrum would be gone already.

Hyrum deployed to Afghanistan just a few weeks before my due date.  It was a sad goodbye, but we're now halfway through the deployment and going strong. [Army strong!]

Santiago was born on September 13th.  He was cute and lovable the day he was born, and has gotten even cuter each day.  He Skyped with his dad for the first time from the hospital.  My mom spent most of September with me in Germany cooking, cleaning, and helping with the baby.  Fortunately the nights weren't too sleepless, and after a month or so the motherhood fog started to clear.

Despite a government shutdown which closed our passport office, I finally got Santiago's passport 2 months after he was born.  We got tickets to come to Utah and arrived by Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, Hyrum was putting in loooong hours in Afghanistan doing many of the same human resources tasks he was doing back in Germany.  He planned holiday parties, coordinated the visits of Generals and celebrities, and helped mentor his counterparts in the ANA.

Tiago spent all of December getting spoiled by relatives, and now expects to be carried around whenever he feels like it.  No sitting allowed.  There was plenty of holiday food, a little exercising, and non-stop family partying.

We're in Utah ringing in the new year, listening to fireworks as I type this.  In 2014 we are most excited for Hyrum to return home from Afghanistan and meet his little boy.  Hyrum is also looking forward to the World Cup in Brazil.  (And would like to watch in person, not just on TV.)  We're planning many European travels in our heads, trying to see how much we can cram into our few years overseas.  We can't wait to see how Santiago grows-- when he talks, walks, and of course, learns to play soccer.

Happy 2014!

We made butter... I mean Baklava

Last May, when we met up in Turkey, we (over)indulged on baklava:  regular, with pistachio, chocolate-covered... all of it.  So when my mom suggested we make some, I invited over Matt and Amie to join in on the fun.  

Here's how you make baklava: butter, butter, and more butter.  

Matt, applying butter to phylo dough

me, laying out phylo sheets to get covered in butter

Mom, melting butter and sugar to pour on top.  We figured the easiest intake would be through a straw. (kidding)

Amie mostly didn't participate. Maybe she felt bad that she wasn't in Turkey to eat baklava with us. 

The finished stuff.  YUMMMMM

I'm happy to say that it's not all gone, even after a few days.  We've been spacing it out so we don't go into sugar comas.  And for the buttery recipe:  the pioneer woman.

Santiago- 3 months!

At 3 months, Santiago loves to smile and even sometimes laughs.  (Especially when Aunt Amie bounces him around.)  He likes to stare at people and will follow them around the room with his eyes.  In the last month he has started drooling like crazy.  Most people would say he still doesn't have much hair, but I notice lots of hair!  ...it's just short, light, and thin.  He makes noises like he's trying to talk.  In general, he interacts so much more than a month ago.  He finally recognizes me; for the first few months I don't think he really distinguished between people, or cared much who was around.  He's happy, healthy, and fun to have around.

Proof that he does smile:

And some serious drool:

He's also started putting his hand in his mouth:

  

Movie Theaters

Life continues to be much more busy here in Utah than it was in Germany.  Last week we went to see the new Hunger Games movie. I learned a few things about movie-going in the USA...

1) You can pick your own seats.  Actually, you have to pick your own seats.
2) Some movies are XD, which means more expensive, and apparently surround sound with a bigger screen.
3) There are machines at the theater where you can buy your tickets.

The whole experience was in huge contrast to our  theater on-post in Germany:

• cash only
• no tiered seating
• no air-conditioning
• (also no previews)
• one screen- if you blink, you miss the movie you wanted to see

I'm going to fit in all the movies I want to see while I'm here!  

Gratitude - 5 days late-

Happy Thanksgiving!  (A few days late)

 

Here are a few things I'm thankful for this year:

• I'm so happy to be in Utah spending time with family this holiday season, instead of hanging out by myself back in Germany.  So. Much. Better.  Good food, and good company.  Plus, when the baby cries in the middle of the night because of jetlag, there are two other adults in the house who want to jump up and take care of him. 

• I'm grateful for Tiago!  I'm glad he's finally here.  He's the cutest member of our family now.

[Not sure why the only picture I have of Santiago alone on Thanksgiving is without his pants...]

•   I'm grateful for helpful people.  Before being pregnant and having a newborn, I always felt like I could do everything myself and didn't need help.  That might have been true, but it definitely changed when I had a baby.  Now I am very appreciative of the little things people do to help me out.  This became even more apparent when I was traveling to the States by myself with a baby, stroller, carseat, 50lb suitcase and diaper bag.  We took the train to the airport, which has about 4 steep steps to get inside.  Strangers helped me get all my stuff in, and out.  They showed me where the elevator was.  The lady at the Delta ticket counter kept the seat next to me empty, even when the entire rest of the plane was full.  Another flight attendant helped me get my bags through Passport Control because my stroller was sent to the baggage claim instead of the gate.  The man sitting next to me on the airplane took my bags down from the overhead compartment, and offered to carry it for me.  It was surprising that in a part of the world known for being cold and independent, everyone was jumping up to help.  And I appreciated it!  Not just because I needed the help, but was also a reminder that people are good. 

Tiago's first airplane trip!

• I'm grateful that Hyrum's deployment is passing quickly.  I can't say its half over, but I think I can say the hardest part is behind us.  It's not an ideal situation, but we're all doing well, and April will be here before we know it.

• I'm grateful for all we've been able to do this past year.  Germany is far from family, but the trade off is being able to travel so many places.  It was fun to see some incredible places before Santiago was born.  Future traveling will probably be a completely different experience. 

Let it Snow!

For the last few weeks, I've been feeling Christmas-y.  Maybe that's because I'm visiting the States in less than a week (!), so any Christmas I want to have in my own apartment has to happen now.  I've wrapped all my presents, bought (and listened to repeatedly) a new Christmas CD, and taken pictures of Santiago wearing reindeer antlers.  (I'll post some as Christmas actually gets closer).  

And today, we got our first snow.  So I bundled Santiago up in his adorable snowsuit and we went for a walk so he could enjoy it.  In all reality, he probably didn't care.  It was just cold, like normal.  Then he fell asleep.  

Bonus: a few more pictures of Santiago, and his many faces (and big eyes)

Dinner with our Landlords

Last week I invited our landlords over for dinner.  (We live on the floor above them.)  They always get so excited when they see Santiago on our way out to the car, so I thought they'd enjoy spending some more time with him.  (And they did, well, the wife did.)

Two things worth noting:

1)  It was interesting to hear some of the history of this area. They both grew up within a few miles of here, so they've seen a lot in their 80-ish years.  There was a town called Langenbruck located where Rose Barracks (our post) is currently.  In the mid '30's, Hitler decided that it was a good area for shooting practice, so the people in the town were given some money and then told to get lost. The training area expanded over several years, then was obviously taken over by Americans after the war.  She said that she went to a school that used to be where the entrance to the post currently is.  [I think the Grafenwoehr training area had been around longer, and I think they were probably trying to say that the Vilseck/Rose Barracks area was expanded in the 30's.  The two bases are about 19 km apart].  There is actually still a cemetery you can go to on post that is from the former Langenbruck town.

[source]

2) I decided I like the idea of hostess gifts!  It was nice when they came over and gave me a nice box of chocolates.  Not because I need chocolates, but it showed their appreciation.  And once the guests were gone, and dishes were done, I could kick back and eat a few chocolates.  I feel like in the LDS culture, when a dinner invitation is made the automatic response is, "What would you like me to bring?"  So then the person hosting the dinner either says, "Nothing, don't worry about it."  Or they try to think of what side dish someone could bring to fit into their already-planned menu.  Wouldn't it just be easier if we assumed whoever made the invitation to dinner would provide the dinner, and then we bring a small gift of appreciation instead of a side salad?  Another nice thing about hostess gifts is they don't need to be shared at the dinner.  It makes me wonder if the gift being store-bought vs homemade makes a difference in whether or not we feel inclined to share with guests.  Store-bought things are already packaged, so its easier to put aside for later.  (In the case of my landlords, they actually put the chocolates in a gift bag, which I didn't even open until they were gone.)  Whereas flimsy saran wrap is the only thing that separates a plate of cupcakes from the guests, who have probably been eyeing the cupcakes already.  At the end of the day, though, homemade treats usually taste better... 

So those are a bunch of random musings about hostess gifts.  I'm going to try to be better about graciously accepting invitations, and then bringing a gift of appreciation.  Flowers, or a box of chocolates, or something else that crosses my mind. 

Do you like when people offer to bring a side dish or dessert when you invite them for dinner?  Do you ever receive hostess gifts from American friends?  Would you like to?

Hyrum's Skype Birthday Party

This year we celebrated Hyrum's [32nd!] birthday through Skype.  He's now one year older, and one year wiser. 

He started the party by opening "poppers", which he didn't know would shoot confetti all over his room.  [not sure if that's been cleaned up yet or not.  sorry!  you live and you learn...] Then on to the balloons.  No birthday is complete for Hyrum without some soccer balloons. 

Then a few real gifts.  Yes, this looks like a little black bra.  But I'm a much more boring gift-giver than that. [There's always next year.]  In reality, it's just an eye mask for sleeping.

I'm pretty sure he was doing a Napoleon Dynamite impression, which is why his face looks like this.  And I told him to watch the DVD enough during the deployment that we never have to watch it at home.

A little book to learn about the countries of the world.  [The book we had before was from 1990.  Even though that just feels like yesterday, a lot has changed in over two decades!]

Hyrum and all of his birthday loot.  His birthday cake this year was... drum roll... Swiss Cake Rolls.  And he loved it.  I'm looking forward to a better celebration next year (in person) but I'm pretty happy with our make-shift party via Skype.

If he'd sent me this picture a month ago, his birthday post would have been more timely. 

Santiago- 2 Months!

In the last month, Santiago has started smiling more.  [But he refused to smile for any pictures today!]  He has much more hair.  And still loves to stick out his bottom lip when he's sad.  He's a pretty quick burper, and slept for 8 straight hours a few nights ago!  Usually he wakes up once to eat.  And right now he's screaming... so we're going for a walk.

More cute faces from Santiago Suarez

Doesn't he look cozy?

This is probably not his most flattering look, but the milk-running-down-the-face look always entertains me. 

One morning last week I met up with some ladies in my ward.  Santiago was sporting a long-sleeved outfit, and I had a light blanket over him.  Then another lady showed up with a baby... and he had car-seat cover and snowsuit!  I thought, "Either that baby is really hot, or my baby is really cold!"  And since they can't talk, the world will never know. 

But it did get me thinking... and the last few days instead of wrapping him up in a blanket to go outside, I've been using his cute snowsuit!  Even if he's not cold, I'll probably keep using it because he looks adorable all bundled up like a snowman.  It makes me want to squeeze him.  Plus, this way I don't have to worry about a blanket falling off of him.

There's room to grow.  But its still cute.

Santiago inherited a lot of clothes from several people in our ward who were moving. This was his first Sunday wearing "real clothes" to church.  I think the green design down the side makes him look like a skater-wannabe, but he still pulled it off. 

One last shot from this past week:  Christmas is coming!  I've been wrapping all the presents.  It's mostly so I can send off a box to Hyrum.  [A little gift giving is one of the only things to bring some Christmas cheer to Afghanistan.  I wouldn't be surprised if they had to work on the 25th.]  Plus, I wrapped all my presents for family in Utah, since I'll be visiting in just a few weeks!!  [Santiago's passport finally came, so I could buy our tickets!]

Tel Aviv

We spent almost 4 days hanging out in Tel Aviv... which means we spent almost 4 days hanging out at the beach.  Jerusalem was great for staying busy and exhausting myself with endless amazing sights.  And Tel Aviv was perfect for relaxing and doing nothing.

I'm sure it has several touristy things to do, but we only hit a couple, and spent the rest of our time relaxing.

Tel Aviv is a modern resort town.  The entire city was built in the last 100 years.  Tel Aviv is as new as Jerusalem is old.  Just to give a little history, Jaffa is an old port town just a mile or two south of modern-day Tel Aviv.  It's old enough to be mentioned in the Bible... the town that Jonah left from, the place where wood arrived for building Solomon's temple, etc.  There was a small Jewish community there in the late 1800's, which started to grow as Zionism became more popular.  A few families decided to form a homestead society and settle outside Jaffa, with the goal of building a clean, organized Jewish town.  In 1909 this newly formed society met to distribute out 60 plots of land which had been purchased [in what is now Tel Aviv].  Growth wasn't very rapid until after WWI.  By the time independence was declared in 1948 the population was 200,000, and today the metropolitan area has over 3.4 million.

The city runs along the coast line, so there are long stretches of white-sand beaches, with restaurants and cafes all over the place.  It's known as the city that doesn't sleep, because people are out partying at all hours of the day.  [When we left for the airport at 3:30 am, the party was definitely in full swing.]

Here is the view from our first hotel-- right on the beach!  We took advantage and walked to the beach right after the taxi dropped us off .

Hyrum woke up one morning and decided to go for a run along the beach, and of course, ending at a sports stadium.  (I don't think it ended up being a soccer stadium, to his disappointment.

After a few nights in our fancy-for-us beach-side hotel, we walked a few blocks inland to another hotel, which put us right in the middle of a party. Every time we went outside, particularly after dark, it seemed there were people everywhere!  We had a balcony that opened up to the street so we could check out all the sirens, restaurants and nightclubs.  

And we were still only a few blocks from the beach, so we continued to go daily. :)

There is a lot of modern architecture!

Besides going to the beach, we checked out the local markets.  There is a big food market, as well as a street market with clothes, souvenirs, restaurants... pretty much anything you could want!

This is Dizengoff Square... the travel book mentions it, but besides a colorful fountain we weren't sure what the appeal is...  

So we went back to the beach! ha- kidding. (kind of.)  We also went to Independence Hall, which I'll write about another day, then spent our last day at the beach.  I think it was a holiday for the Israelis, because it was PACKED.  (see below).  It was ideal for people watching-- beach behavior is always particularly fascinating.  (unfortunately bathing suit choices, loads of tanning oil, and old men several shades browner than they should be, etc.)  The one thing that did bother me was how much people smoke!  And not just cigarettes, but big hookahs.  In the picture, you can see that group of guys all surrounding their big pipe.  They just passed the hose from one person to the next.  The smell was really strong which made my pregnant self feel sick. Not to mention the second-hand smoke.  [While I'm on this topic-- I was surprised in general how people weren't careful about smoking next to a pregnant woman... even within a 2-3 ft radius.  That goes for my time in Israel, but also in Germany.  I'm so glad there is less smoking in the states!]

  

[Hookah, in case you were curious]

Then we hopped on a plane and flew home.  What a vacation!!