Harper's Birthday Tales

I know it has been some time since I sent you all a bit of tales and honestly, I don’t have much time to pontificate today as I am taking my mommies to a few Christmas markets on our way to Germany. I promise to write again early in the new year as I have much to tell you about.

You see today is my birthday – I have done a lot in my short lifetime including visits to 8 countries. We just came back from Holland (#8) yesterday. And today we head to Germany visit with all my cousins for Christmas and my birthday party!

I had a visit with Papa Noël here in Switzerland, he was very nice until he tried to hold me and then I wasn’t so sure about all those white whiskers he had! But they snapped a photo anyway.

Happy Holidays to everyone – I’ll be in touch in the New Year! Love ~ Harper Noëlle

Summer Tales from Harper – part 2

Hello everyone!

Now that summer has officially come to a close, I thought I would share the latest events from Switzerland. After our busy June and July, I begged my mommies to slow down and give me some time at home. After much pleading, they agreed to spend most of August at home. I took advantage of the time on my home court to change from scooting around the house to a full out crawl! It wasn’t long before I started my furniture cruising as well. I love to walk around using one of my “walkers,” but I still depend on the faithful crawl to get me where I need to go.

As August progressed I noticed other things around the house were slowly changing. Drawers I used to be able to open and empty suddenly had these frustrating hooks on them. How is someone with little fingers supposed to work those crazy latches? And the cool things I used to pull off the shelves have been moved up high. Why? I’m not quite sure. But the icing on the cake was when these little plastic things were suddenly stuck in all of my favorite electrical outlets! What is the point? Mommies have yet to explain this stuff to me; can anyone out there enlighten me on these things?

I continue to take Mommy to my music class on Friday mornings. I love playing with the jingle bells the best, but the big drums are cool as well. Mommy says we are going to start a French class together also. I think it starts in October, but we are supposed to be learning nursery rhymes and other cool things in French. I still get to see my peeps (that means friends to all the non-cool folks reading this!) once a week as well – the weather has been pretty good so we can still meet in the park. But I think fall might be on its way, we have started to notice many marrons (chestnuts) and leaves falling from the trees.

In September the fun really started – Aunt Keebo (Carol) and Uncle Wes came to visit us for a whole week. It was my job to help them learn to adjust to the jet lag. I tried to be as entertaining as possible so they wouldn’t feel so sleepy! After they got here, we all packed some weekend bags and took a train ride to Zermatt. This is a really neat hiking/climbing/and ski town. When the weather is nice, I understand it has beautiful views of the Matterhorn and other great Swiss Alps. However, we didn’t get the picture perfect weather – so we had to make the best of it!

Besides lots of walking, shopping, and sightseeing we took a train up through a mountain tunnel to enjoy a typical Swiss dinner including alphorn players (Mama even played a bit – using her skills gained as a trombone player decades ago.) We were joined at the Swiss dinner by a tour group from Tokyo – and I was the hit of the party. All my new Japanese friends loved to say hello, wave at me, and of course take my picture. It was so much fun; I had to stay up past my bed time, just to please my fans!

The next day we took a train up the mountain to try to see the Matterhorn. Wouldn’t you know when we got to the train station … all my new friends from Tokyo were there as well! Again I had to be on my best behavior to please the crowds again. The altitude at the very top was too much for my little lungs, so we sent Aunt Keebo and Uncle Wes to the top, while we checked out the 5 star resort half way up at 2222 meters! Nice place to visit -- after you win the lottery!

We went to a cool wine festival this past weekend. They had really neat things for the kids to do, while everyone else was enjoying the wines. My mommies had to test out the wines, cheeses, and chocolate while I got to check out the grapes, apples, and croissants – not a bad deal!

Hope everyone is doing well. Love and kisses from Switzerland ~ Harper

Summer Tales from Harper – part 1

Hello everyone. Here I am again to tell you all the tales of my summer adventures. There have been plenty of events to tell you about, so sit back enjoy a cool drink while you read of all my fun!

June was filled with lots of travel. I started out spending time in Germany acting as the official house tactician for the Calder family. You see Uncle Greg had a terrible fall and broke his ankle, Aunt Danielle was trying to finish up the school year, and cousins Heather and Hugh were looking for someone to entertain them for a while. Mommy and I took a train to Germany. It was the first time we were away from Mama and Chance. They ended up being very lonely, so they drove to Germany to pick us up after a week of being in charge. It was just as well, because we only had a few days to pack our bags for a trip to the States.

Mommy and I spent two and a half weeks in the States. It started with a week in PA/NJ with Mama too. Mama had to go to the office in Princeton for a few days, so Mommy and I ran errands and did some shopping! Then the big day came, the one we had been waiting a long time for – our court day in Bucks County. We went to court early in the morning, Mommy and Mama had to get on the stand and answer lots of questions about what it means to be a family. I didn’t understand what the fuss was all about; we have been a family since the day I was born. My mommies told me that one day I will understand, but the second parent adoption was to protect me and our family. So now here is our family photo in front of the court house. Me and my favorite two mommies!

The next day there was a different type of celebration. Mommy had to dress up in this black gown thing and we went to Philadelphia to a big ceremony. There were lots of people in these black gowns … some were speaking in the microphone, but most were walking across this big stage. Then I looked at the stage and it was Mommy crossing the stage. She got this special hood and a piece of paper that said Global Management MBA. Then she came off the stage to give me a big hug and kiss and take me back to sit with all the other graduates! What a treat.

This wasn’t the end of the big parties. The next day, cousin Jillian was being baptized. So I celebrated with Jake and Jill at their house in New Jersey. During the course of our week in the area, we got to spend time visiting with many of my friends and fan club. It was fun to see everyone again – and for those we missed, make plans to come see me in Geneva, please!

After all that hoopla, we needed some much needed R&R. Mama unfortunately had to go back home to Geneva; she was going to take care of Chance while Mommy and I went visiting in Florida. So it was back on a plane again! Mommy wanted to make sure I got to visit the beach again, just in case it is a while before we make it back to Florida.

While we were in Florida we got to visit with many friends again, but we also had some serious work to do as well. Grandmum, Gramp, and Great Grandmother needed help boxing up their house. Here I am doing my best to help.

We had a great visit with everyone including Great Grandmother’s dog Sandy. But soon it was time to pack it up and head back to Switzerland, via New Jersey. We were back home before the month was out … but summer adventures continue.

In July we enjoyed some time at a pool party for the 4th of July – OK, so it was crazy American’s celebrating, but it was fun anyway. At first I wasn’t too keen on the pool thing – it was the biggest bathtub I have ever seen. After a while I started splashing with my mommies, and then the lull of the cool water made me really sleepy and I feel asleep in Mommy’s arms!

We had a short visit from friends Caryl and Wiley Grant, from Virginia. While it was too short, it was great to see them for a few days. Then we had Daphne, Abby, and Alison come visit for a week. We did lots of park hopping, flea marketing, and farmers marketing while they were here in Geneva. We tried to find ways to stay cool and enjoy some time together.

One day we took a train ride into the Alps and then took a cable car and then a ski lift to get to the start of our hike. While it seemed to be a workout for my mommies, I enjoyed the crisp alpine air and the scenic views perched on Mommy’s back! Oh yeah, I also took a snooze there too!

Then we were all off jet setting again. This time we went to Rome to celebrate my 7 month birthday and Mommies 30-something birthday. She is tight-lipped about the actual number. Let me just start out by saying … It was hot in Rome. But that didn’t stop our little entourage. We saw the Coliseum; the Roman Forum, the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, Vatican City – I think the Pope decided to spend the hot days of July by the seaside, so I didn’t get a chance to chat with him on many important issues. It was so hot my mommies seamed to stop for either gelato or water every couple of minutes. It was OK by me; I enjoyed the benefits of both a few hours later.

I helped the group get a short cut in the Vatican museum. We took the short route to see the Sistine chapel, since the long route was not the best for babies! I can be a big help sometimes! It turned out perfect and we enjoyed seeing many of the exhibits in the museum as well.

I spent much of the trip safely stowed away in our new ergo carrier. It is so versatile; I can ride on either of my mommies back, front, or side! I love the variety and it helps me to see all the things I want to see. If you see a leg or toe sticking out in the pictures, that is me!

You want to know the really big news? While I have yet to really crawl, I am the best scooter you have ever seen. I can get from one side of the living room to the other for the right motivation. That motivation is usually to play with Chance. I’m on the cusp of a breakthrough, I can feel it. I should be moving an all fours any time now!

Oh yeah, I got side tracked … the big news. Now that Mommy is completely done with her MBA, she can spend more time playing with me … and maybe even start sending out pictures and tales from me more often! She keeps telling me that she is going to get back to French lessons with all her free time.

I still love to eat everything. So far my favorite foods are sweet potato, banana, yogurt, and kiwi. I really enjoy drinking water, especially if it comes from my mommies’ water bottle.

I’m sorry this has been so long, but I had a lot to tell and show you. I hope you enjoyed the tales. I will try to write again soon.

Love and kisses ~ Harper

May Tales

Hello Friends and Family,

Living in Europe is fabulous! May brought new adventures in new countries; I visited my fifth country and I’m only 5 months old! My mommies say that it will get harder and harder to keep up this pace!

In early May we made a day trip to Evian-les-Bains in France. We walked all around the cute town and looked at some of the medieval areas, but the most important stop was at the “source” of Evian bottled water. Here we are filling our water bottle with the “real thing”!

Friends, Miss Becky and Mr. Mike, from Florida came to visit us in Geneva. I acted as tour guide and took them to all the Geneva hot spots, which of course includes a stop to purchase Swiss watches and chocolate. After trotting all around Geneva we all pilled in the Skota (aka tiny car!) to go to Torino, Italy. During our drive we saw plenty of old castles and vineyards, we also drove through a mountain, Mont Blanc. Once we found our way to Torino, we started our walking tour of the city. Mommy forgot to bring my snuggly, so I got to spend all weekend being carried by everyone. It was fantastic! We saw many piazzas and went to the Duomo of Torino where the Shroud of Turin resides. My mommies enjoyed some fabulous gelato … while I slept in Mr. Mike’s arms.

We took a family photo to remember our first mother’s day together. What better gift could I give my mommies than a trip to Italy? Wow … I had better start planning for next year! On our way back to Geneva we stopped and visited an Italian castle and bought some of the local wine from the little village.

At the end of May Mommy and I made a train trip to visit my cousins in Germany. It was fun to be able to play with all the big kid toys they have – including bubbles, they are fun! Good thing European baths are big enough for the 3 of us to fit together! I also started eating baby food at the end of May – so far my repertoire consists of baby cereal, banana, and carrots. See how yummy it is!

June will hold many new adventures … including another trip back to the States. Hope everyone is doing well. Love and miss you ~ Harper

April tales

Wow … a lot has happened in the last month … so I had better catch up with our adventures.

The family went to Yvoire, France for the day. Yvoire is a 12th century medieval walled village situated on the French shores of Lake Geneva. It was one of the first nice spring days and we enjoyed walking around the village, seeing the pretty spring flowers, and going into many of the shops.

For Easter we traveled to Interlaken, Switzerland where we met up with the Calder family for an Easter weekend together. We spent a beautiful day walking around Interlaken looking at all the sights and enjoying the backdrop of beautiful snowcapped mountains. We watched paragliders filling the sky with beautiful colors. The next day we all went to Grindelwald a ski village 1050 meters up the mountain. All weekend we enjoyed yummy foods and good times with my cousins. During the wee hours of Sunday morning, the Easter bunny found our Easter baskets and filled them with new toys and even some yummy treats. Heather and Hugh enjoyed playing with their new toys and really wanted me to be a little more playful. Maybe next year!


On the Monday after Easter, which is a holiday in Switzerland, we all went for lunch with Mama’s boss, who lives in a 500 year old French chateau. It’s really just a big house, not a castle, but it is the chateau of the village. Jean-Yves and Olivier have made beautiful renovations and it has given me great ideas for my very own chateau.

On April 21st, I turned 4 months old! This was the day I also decided to master rolling over. Once I got the hang of this … I like to roll around non stop. I tend to get stuck on my tummy sometimes and I need a little rescuing. But all and all I am enjoying my new found movements. I am now 6.6 kg and 65 cm long. (For those of you metrically challenged, that is 14lbs 9 oz and 25 ½”.)

Last weekend we went to Lausanne where we visited the Olympic Museum. It was very interesting to see the history of the Olympics as well as many things about both the winter and summer Olympic sports. My mommies tell me that they would love to watch me in the Olympics sometime in any sport I choose. There is some discussion about synchronized swimming as an Olympic sport?

Hope everyone is doing well. Love and kisses to everyone. Oh, yeah … Mommy, Mama, and Chance all say hello! Love always ~ Harper

Mama's Birthday Tales

I know I have been a little out of touch with all my friends. I am very sorry. Mommy said it is not good to spend too much time on the lap top, but she is on it all the time, so I’m not sure where that rule comes from. I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you all about what has been going on with me. I hear that a picture is worth 1,000 words, so I will include a lot of photos too.

After our trip back to the states, of which I was very good on all the flights, we went to Germany for a weekend. It was great fun traveling by car this time. I caught up on a lot of my sleep that way – good thing my mommies didn’t need me to help with the driving huh? We spent a nice weekend with some of my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. Now I have met the whole Felch clan and can’t wait to meet some of my other relatives. Uncle John and Aunt Helen (from S.C.) came back with us to Switzerland. Where we spent 3 days walking all over the city, seeing all the sights! I enjoyed hanging out in the snuggly; sometimes Uncle John carried me too!

Now we are trying to settle into some sort of schedule here in Geneva. Mommy and I go to a baby group once a week; there I have quite a few friends my own age to play with. Here is a photo from last week. We lined up by age. I’m the oldest at 3 months and Devon is the youngest at 3 weeks. We are quite a multinational group too! (American, British, Swedish, Mexican, German, and French.)

Yesterday we spent the day making a special chocolate cake for Mama’s birthday. She was pleasantly surprised by the yummy cake from scratch no less!

I have found many new sounds I can make. I like it when the new sounds I make have my mommies laughing. I also really enjoy being a “mover and a shaker” I like to travel around in my bed and in my elephant lounge – which is what Mommies call the pack-n-play. Last night I decided I went to bed in the wrong direction, so when I woke up this morning, my feet where in the place my head was last night.

I hope you have enjoyed my tales – I will try to write again soon. My mommies say hello too! Love ~ Harper

3 Weeks Old

Hi to all my loving Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and Great Grandmother,

I have had a very eventful week. Not only did I turn 3 weeks old, I did a lot of firsts this week.

Mommy and I took our first Swiss train ride to Bern (1.5 hrs away) to go to the US embassy. I can’t tell you too much about the train ride there, because it was at 6:45am and I was very sleepy. So we were in a “silence zone” on the train. It was very dark outside, so I’m not sure Mommy could see anything either. When we got to Bern it was very cold outside – we had trouble finding the bus we needed. Mostly because Mommy had been diligently reading her “basic French” book on the ride to Bern – only to get off the train and realize that Bern is a German speaking canton of Switzerland. All the signs were in German – so the French didn’t help much. We ended up taking a taxi as I was starting to get really hungry and wanted a diaper change too!

We got to the Embassy only to be given the third degree by the guards before being able to enter. They also kept the diaper bag – Mommy was smart enough to request that she be able to carry a diaper in with us! Then we had to take off our coats and walk through this big metal detector thing. Oh yeah – the good part – being that we were US citizens we got to skip to the front of the line. (Everyone else was there looking for visas to come to the US.)

Once inside all our preparation paid off – we had smooth sailing for all the things we had to accomplish. We left with my US birth abroad certificate. However, the US computer system can’t handle the French grammatics – so on all my US documents I will have to be Harper Noelle (no dots). Mommy had to swear to a few things (I thought swearing was a bad thing) and then sign some papers for me. I will have a social security number in a few months. My passport will come in the mail late next week or early the following week. We should have it in plenty of time to catch my first plane ride on February 2nd.

On the train ride home, Mommy was smart enough not to get in the “silence zone” – since I was both hungry and awake now! I did do a little crying on the train – I didn’t mean to upset any of my fellow passengers. We saw some beautiful countryside from the train, some with a foot of fresh snow. We also saw lots of cows – how else do you think the Swiss make such good chocolate? And a few baby red foxes.

When we got back to Geneva – Mommy and I took the tram (also a first for me) to check on my weight. I now weight 4.65 kilos – roughly 10 lbs 4 oz. I’m obviously having no problems with this breast milk thing – I’d prefer it in chocolate or strawberry flavor – but that has yet to arrive that way! I’m healthy and starting to get too long for my newborn clothes. After such an eventful day – we took the bus (another first) to get back home.

Mommy and Mama got really excited when a box came via la post (the mail) this week! I wasn’t sure what the hoopla was about – but they started working through some directions in French and soon were jumping for joy around the computer. It seams that we now have something called ADSL. I’m not sure what it really is – but it makes my mommies happy and they have been doing lots of things on the computer very fast!

Yesterday Mommy, Chance and I went for a long walk down to the Rhone River – it was the fist time I had seen a big river as well as ducks and swans. It was a nice walk down to the river – the trip back up was hard work! Chance had a great time with all the new smells. We will go again after Mommy’s legs have time to recover! I love going outside for walks – but hate to get my winter clothes on! I haven’t taken a trip in my stroller yet – because Mommy keeps forgetting to get the car seat out of the car! I really like the baby hammock (sling) – but both Mommy and Mama say it is hard on their backs – so I settle for a ride in the baby carrier strapped to someone’s chest! I can’t wait until I get big enough to face out so I can see the big wide world.

This week I have started to enjoy time on my Einstein mat and looking around at things. I get a bit of tummy time – but it is not as much fun! My mommies say I’m getting really strong and hold my head up on my own. I just know that growing is hard work and requires plenty of sleep and eating.

Well I guess that is all about my week – my fingers are tired from all the typing – I must head for a mid-morning nap now. Love ~ Harper

Lessons learned

Here are some things we have learned about parenthood in 20 days. (OK so I started this email when Harper was 20 days old – she is now 23 days!)

1.) No matter how many spit-up cloths you have strategically placed around, none are with-in an arm’s reach when you need it.
2.) Diapers are meant to be dirtied ASAP after a change
3.) Once Harper is sound asleep in your arms is when you desperately have to use the bathroom yourself
4.) Baby clothes are small so it won’t matter if you change outfits 4 times a day
5.) The minute you step out of the shower and get dressed in clean clothes is the minute baby spit-up is headed your direction.
6.) Holding a sleeping baby renews your faith in good things.
7.) Breast milk comes in two flavors 1 – “this is OK” and 2 – “the other breast is better”
8.) We are amazed by “baby dreams” – there is so much to dream about at 3 weeks old.
9.) Watching Harper “see the world” for the first time – helps you look at everything in a new light
10.) It is heart wrenching to hear her cry and not be able to “make it better”
11.) Chance loves and protects his baby sister – he can often be found sleeping in her room while she is napping
12.) Never wake a sleeping baby!
13.) A 1-wetwipe diaper is really good! A 4-wetwipe diaper is a doozy!
14.) Baby socks are the favorite food of the washer/dryer monster
15.) Baby hands and feet are irresistible
16.) There is so much hope in Harper’s eyes
17.) 2 AM feedings make for precious time together
18.) A Harper smile is priceless
19.) It is very hard to finish what you start with a new born in the house
20.) Harper was well worth the wait!

Day of Firsts

Yesterday was a day filled with firsts for Harper. We ventured out on Harper’s 10th day with us. Yesterday, was our first trip out of the house – We all headed to the grocery store. We spent about 2 hours out on the event. Harper was all snuggly in the baby hammock and seamed to be enjoying the attention the cashier was giving her during our check out.

We came home from that, ate some lunch and recovered from that trip. Then we headed out for a family walk into the village. We walked up the street to the park. Again Harper was all bundled up and snug in the baby hammock. She dozed though our walk -- but seamed to enjoy the fresh air!

The other first milestone we hit yesterday was to have finished our first box of wet wipes. I guess it’s just the first of many. We will have gone through our first box of diapers by the end of today as well.

Harpers hair is already getting a little bit lighter in color and she is starting to spend a little more time awake. It is so much fun to watch her. Danielle brought a mirror to go by the changing table – Harper is fascinated by her little friend!

Thanks to Danielle and Greg we have made a huge dent in the chaos we call home! Harper’s room is mostly organized. We have a guest loft for visitors, a baker’s rack in the kitchen, a microwave stand, and curtains hung in all the windows. The windows on this apt are really big double doors – which is nice for some sunshine – but also let’s all the neighbors see what is going on during the evening. We often see horses going down the street. Our place is across the street from a horse farm. We also have a nice little park across the street and we are on the back side of a church. Last night there was some sort of service with the lights on inside the church – the stained glass windows were beautiful to look at against the night sky. So we still enjoy hearing church bells from our apt.

We are slowly making a dent in the rest of the boxes.

Just so everyone is on the same page – we made our flight arrangements for our trip back to the states. They are as follows: 2/2 fly from Geneva to Newark. We’ll spend 2/4 – 2/6 with the Millers in NJ. Flying to FL on 2/7, we’ll be in Englewood from 2/8 to 2/15 – flying from FL to Newark on 2/15 and then taking the night flight back to Geneva ending up back here at 8am on 2/16. We are then planning to go to Frickenhausen for the weekend 2/17 – 2/19. That’s the plan as it stands right now.

Hope everyone had a wonderful start to the New Year. We watched Little Women and were tucked snugly in bed by 10:30pm. Love ~ K , M & H