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