Vrooom! Tyler has wheels again.

So poor Tyler has spent most of the summer without any kind of wheels. He used to have a hand-me-down, half-broken push trike, but he left it behind the car and it got run over. We didn't want to invest in anything else because he can almost reach the pedals on another trike that we have. But he has been very frustrated trying to ride it. The other day I had a brilliant idea! I could get him something at the Ludotheque! Yes, ludotheques are yet another clever Swiss thing. (Okay, they exist elsewhere too -- but, here, almost every town has one.) They are essentially toy libraries. You can check out toys for a month, let your kids play with them until they tire of them, then bring them back! No more old toys sitting around contributing to clutter. My husband, who is allergic to any kind of clutter, absolutely loves these. We used the ludotheque in Morges all the time our first year in Switzerland, when we were basically living out of suitcases. But I sort of forgot about it until I was promoting it to a friend the other day. Well, today, we finally got Tyler a wonderful pushcar at the Ludotheque, plus some fun board games for the girls. Tyler is thrilled! And I'm thrilled that I found a solution to Tyler's "transportation" problem.

Kids. . .

The other day Mariah told me that she was happy that I have my lap back. "Now there's room for me to sit on your lap again, Mommy." Positive news even though I still have 25 pounds to lose.

Other than that, I'm just tired. I started a French class a week after Natasha was born and with that and the kids school and activities schedule, I'm just exhausted. I long for the days when I had just one child and could nap when she napped.

Natasha's Blessing

Today Natasha was blessed in church. We did it early because this was the only Sunday that Grandma Judie and Grandpa Steve would be here. So Natasha went to church when she was not even a week old. The blessing was really sweet. We feel so blessed to have Natasha in our family!

Grandma Judie made this blessing dress when Anna Claire was born. When Mariah was born, most of our things were in storage, including the blessing dress, so we could not use it. How nice that we have yet another girl to use this. Doesn't she look just like a little Victorian baby?

Baby Natasha with the whole family.

Baby Natasha with Grandma and Grandpa.

We took Rob's parents up to a lookout point on the way up to St. Cergue. On a clear day you can see across the lake to Mont Blanc.

Grandma Judie with Baby Natasha.

Grandma and Grandpa are here!

Wow, such a relief. Rob's parents are here. I had one day home from the hospital without them and it was chaos. The kids were so excited to see baby Natasha that it was hard for me to keep them from smothering her. She is just going to have to get used to lots of noise and poking and prodding.

But Rob's parents came and have been great helps! They have helped finish lots of things in the house, keep our white tiles clean for the first time ever, entertain the kids and figure out the eating/sleeping patterns of Baby Natasha.

Grandma Judy Lynn with Baby Natasha Lynn

Every night, Grandma has been reading stories to the girls. They love it.

Baby Natasha, happily sleeping with her new Russian doll from Grandma Tia.

Tyler and Grandpa got along smashingly. He followed Grandpa all over the house, wanted to do everything he did.

Peek-a-boo Grandpa!

We took Grandma and Grandpa into Nyon center. Grandpa took some great pics.

Nyon Castle.

Mariah and her delicious ice cream.

Tyler -- if you look close you can see evidence of his chocolate ice cream.

Mariah riding on the bike merry-go-round. This is Daddy's favorite.

Anna Claire and Mariah on the carousel.

Tyler, of course, had to ride the car.

Baby Natasha is here!

Announcing the arrival of Natasha Lynn Woolley

3.55 kilos (7 pds 13 oz) and 50 cm (19.5 in)

Born August 23, 2010

Baby Natasha surprised us all by coming early!

I tend to run late with my babies so I expected this baby to follow the same pattern. However, my water broke unexpectedly at 1am Monday morning and I had a lot of bleeding. The hospital was a half hour away so we rushed out the door without packing much, forgetting even our camcorder and camera. (Thank goodness for iphones.) She was born at 4:37am, after which, Rob raced home so that he could take Anna to her very first day of school.

Rob has been wonderfully supportive during all of this, reorganizing a very busy work schedule to let me have some time in the hospital with the baby. (The hospitals here make you WANT to stay. The gourmet food is delicious and the rooms are more like hotel rooms.) He even made a cake with Anna's requested blue frosting on it to celebrate Anna's first day of school (and the baby's birthday).

Natasha is the Russian nickname for Natalia, both of which I love. I am a huge Russophile and I've always wanted to use a Russian name. Lynn is Rob's mother's middle name. She is a wonderful person and we hope that Natasha Lynn will grow up to emulate her namesake.

Here is Natasha meeting her new family.

Hi guys! I'm just not ready to open my eyes yet!

Meeting big sister Anna. . .

And big sister Mariah.

The whole family out on the balcony of my hospital room. Isn't it an enchanting view of Lake Geneva?

Mommy and Baby. I know, I look tired. I am tired.

Baby Natasha with all her siblings. Tyler is so excited about the baby. "Baby! Baby!" He is going to love his little sister. . .maybe a little too much, from her point of view.

Sisters!

Oh what do you do in the Summertime?

Rob has been so busy with work, he hasn't had much of a summer. But we have tried to snatch a few hours here and there to go to our favorite places -- parks, Nyon and Lake Geneva. The kids have enjoyed playing in the sprinkler their very own backyard. (We haven't had our own yard since Anna was a baby.)

Having a yard means yardwork. Here is Anna teaching Ty-Ty how to water the plants.

Anna with Mommy at our favorite waterfront park. There is a little merry-go-round here that operates by pedaling a bike round and round. It's a favorite with the kids and Daddy!

Tyler the climber.

Here I go Mom. You'd better get ready to catch me 'cause I don't wait.

See!

Throwing rocks in the water. Unfortunately, a big one nicked Daddy in the head.

The two men of the family -- Little Man and Big Man.

Cruising across Lake Geneva.

Daddy and Tyler in Yvoire, a favorite French town of ours, just across the lake from Nyon. We like to make the trip across the lake to wander and eat delicious French crepes.

Col de la Madeleine

We needed a break from all the busy-ness here in Nyon, so we booked a hotel in Albertville, France and Rob set off on his bike from Nyon to Albertville while I drove with the kids. (Albertville is a 2 1/2 hour drive, so you can imagine the length of the bike ride.) We swam in the pool (which is really all the kids want to do on vacation -- forget the sightseeing) while Rob completed his massive ride. The next day, Rob rode up one of his favorites -- Col de la Madeleine. He claims that this is why Mariah is named Mariah Madeleine -- he loves this ride that much. Mariah likes to think that the pass was named after her!

Daddy and Mariah Madeleine at the top of Col de la Madeleine

Daddy with his adoring fans.

Daddy and his two girls.

After Rob made it to Albertville, we bought icecream and ran around the local park.

Tyler was in heaven -- eating icecream or what he calls "popsicle" and riding in a "vroom-vroom" at the same time.

Paleo Festival

Rob and I went to the Paleo Festival last night. It's Europe's second largest outdoor music festival (a modern-day Woodstock) and it takes place right here in Nyon. I noticed that Crosby, Stills & Nash were playing at it so I snagged some of the last tickets. (They sold out in one day!) The whole experience definitely took years off of me -- it took me back to my high school and college days when outdoor concerts were a regular thing. Of course, I kind of stood out in the crowd -- I think I must have been the ONLY pregnant woman there.

Here is Rob. Can you tell that he's thinking "How did I end up at a place like Woodstock? What did my wife drag me to?"

Crosby, Stills & Nash on the big stage. These guys have been around for over 40 years now. I was introduced to them by my brother who was a huge fan of 60's and 70's classic rock. But their music is basically known by pretty much everyone. Even Rob was impressed at how many songs he knew. Of course, their singing abilities have deteriorated a little -- they are just OLD!

Soccer Camp

Anna and Mariah just finished their first soccer camp today. They really had a great time and learned a lot. While we were in the U.S. we outfitted them with soccer gear. (It would have cost us 3x as much to buy the stuff here.) They looked so cute in their cleats and shin guards. It brought back memories of when I was little -- running with the crowd of kids, eating orange slices. Anna was proud to have scored a few goals each game.

Go Anna!

Line up kids.

Ok Mariah. You have to kick the ball!

Tyler was desperate to join in. Actually, he kicks the ball amazingly well for an 18-month-old. Even the coaches were impressed.

Both girls received a special certificate and medal for completing the camp. Hooray!