A Shot in the Arm

In February, we spent a good portion of the month building immunity. We had weekly visits to the embassy medical unit for vaccines and check-ups. James was a pretty good sport through all of it, mostly because he knew that gummy bears would follow soon after the jabs.

Em was perusing the CDC website the other day and realized that (by the time we depart for Cote D’Ivoire) we will have received almost every vaccination available… except Japanese Encephalitis. Aren't you glad to know your pets will be safe during our future visits… the Biddulph family is up-to-date on rabies. Merci Louis Pasteur!

One fun thing we did in February was to visit our friends, the Millers, who live in Dusseldorf. We traveled to some of the surrounding towns including Bonn, Germany. We stopped off at a HARIBO outlet store and stocked up on gummy treats and also saw the house where Beethoven was born. Bim was enthralled (favorite composer and favorite candy- gummy bears- both in the same day). James’ favorite was the indoor Legoland we visited.

Adjusting

As was reported in our last entry, Simon’s delivery went very well. Everything happened easier and faster this time around, so we certainly can’t complain. Em and Simon recovered quickly and were itching to leave the hospital after a couple of days. Belgian docs want moms/babies to stick around for 5 days after delivery for recuperation, observation, and blood work. Em was bored and longing for her own mattress, so she managed to escape by day 4.

It was so much fun having Mom and Dad here. They helped us finish up several projects and spoiled us with great meals and several mornings sleeping in. James was positively ruined by all of the attention and (even 10 days after their departure), he continues to mention them on a daily basis. We have been on our own with 2 kids for a several days now, and we’ve decided that the crazy/hectic factor in your home doesn’t just double with the addition of another kid… it increases exponentially. Em has flown solo with the boys only a few times and is a bit nervous that Jay’s paternity leave will be finished after this week. She is trying to be positive and take a lesson from James’ favorite book…”I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”

Simon is doing well and growing quickly. He looks a lot like James did as a newborn only he has chubby cheeks, so his face is rounder. This is due to Simon being a skilled and voracious eater from the get-go. He has gained 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) in 4 weeks. We are grateful that Simon is such a mellow baby and puts up with James’ over-zealous expressions of adoration. We are very excited for Simon to meet some of you during our visit to the States in March/April.