What's Up With Harry?

Some might wonder what's up with little Harry since we moved to Astana.  Here are some "Harry Updates".

We started Harry on "solid" foods, which is mostly just rice cereal.  The last few times I've fed it to him, he's been gagging, so I'm moving on to more exciting foods - like an eggplant/carrot/pepper medley.  We'll see how he likes that.  Above is a picture of Harry's first time eating "food".

Jane sure likes Harry!  She likes to hold him, tickle him, and make him laugh.  Sometimes she tries to feed him like Mommy, but for some reason it doesn't work.  

A better alternative to feeding Harry is to read to him.  He likes that a lot!  Here she is reading him one of her favorites - Dear Zoo.

Harry loves rolling around the living room, seeing how far he can get.  All that movement can be exhausting though.  Not to worry!  Harry can sleep just about anywhere!  And he does.

 Harry started breaking in his first tooth.  Since you can't really see it, I've included this very handsome picture I captured while giving him an air bath.  Harry is turning into quite the charmer.

Our Neighborhood

For Labor Day we decided to get out and get a closer look at the buildings right in our neighborhood.

Emily and Jane in front of the Khazret Sultan mosque, one of the largest mosques in Central Asia.

Nils and Harry in front of the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

 

Family photo inside the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

Nils with the kids in the upper room of the Palace of Peace.  Every three years they hold a Conference of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. 

A view up into the pyramid. Cool, huh?

Astana Apartment Tour

We're in Astana! Here's the apartment tour video you've all been waiting for!

Highvill Apartment tour - 2012

Some notes:

• I tried to copy Nils' "baby voice" featured in the Bogota apartment tour, but it didn't last.  (I think that was for the best.)
• Jane is saying "Come see my house? Okay.  Come on. I tee you. Come on. Come in Daddy.  You knock ont' door, an come in, okay?" This is a result of me playing House with Jane and coming to visit her.
• Although we had a request, we didn't film the exterior of the building.  If anyone is interested, here's a link with a summary and picture of the complex exterior.

 We're loving our new home!  And we have the guest room ready for visitors! ;)

Bogota

Traducción al español está por debajo.

We have enjoyed our time in Bogota, Colombia and are very sad to leave.  We would like to thank our many friends who will always have a special place in our hearts.  Below are some pictures of the many friends (but not all of our friends) that we love and will miss.

Hemos disfrutado de nuestra estancia en Bogotá, Colombia y estámos muy tristes de partir. Nos gustaría agradecer a nuestros muchos amigos que siempre tendrán un lugar especial en nuestros corazones. A continuación se muestra un enlace a algunas fotos de los muchos amigos (pero no son de todos de nuestros amigos) que los amamos y que los vamos a extrañar.

Bogota Friends - haga clic aquí 

Five Good Years

We celebrated our 5-year anniversary this last week and as a surprise, I made Nils this book.  I'm usually not very good at surprising him because I either get too excited or I want to ask his opinion.  This time, I did it!  A special thanks to Elizabeth for allowing me to send it to her in the mail.  Nils picks up all of our mail at work, so depending on when it arrived, he might have guessed I was up to something.  I also need to thank her for the last minute delivery since it arrived ON our anniversary!  Whew!  That was close.

So, here's the book - a summary of the last 5 years.  Sorry I couldn't fit everything into it, or all of you.  But we appreciate everyone's friendships through the years and look forward to more memories in the years to come! 

Two kids - What fun!

We are back in Bogota and are getting settled.  I managed to unpack in one day, but since we will be moving again in a month or two, there is still much to sort.  But that doesn't mean we can't have fun!

For Easter Ceci gave me a facepainting set which I put to use today after Jane's nap. Here is my first creation - a cupcake. 

Jane was such a great model!

As for Harry, he certainly is low-maintenance!  It hasn't been too hard satisfying the needs of two children.  Fortunately their needs are different.

Just look at that cute little guy!

On a different note, we've been changing our diet to reduce our meat and increase our veggies.  Today I noticed that by reducing my portions and increasing variety I had more energy.  We will see if this trend continues or if today was just a fluke.

Baby #2

We had our second baby!  Harry was born February 22 at 5:23pm.  He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was a little over 19 inches long.  

Jane saying HI to baby Harry!

Here I am just a week before Harry was born. 

The first time Jane meets Harry 

Baby Harry - 1 day old.