...and for the next 2 years

I've been accepted in the Tanzwissenschaft MA (dance studies) program at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (music and dance conservatory)!

I was holding off announcing anything about that until I was sure that it was going to happen, but now it looks like all systems are go.

Of course, it might seem completely insane to go to graduate school immediately after giving birth to the ball of adorable-ness that is Liam Lynch, but this is the first time that they are offering the program, and I have been wanting to get my graduate degree for SO LONG. Plus-- it's free! Well, not really totally free-- I still have to pay 200€ a semester in student fees, but I don't have to pay the normal 500€ that they (recently started!!) charge students because... I have a child. Nutty.

The program combines work in dance research, choreography/dramaturgy, interdisciplinary work, and dance management. I'm looking forward to having time to develop new ideas about working with 18th. c. dance research, and I definitely need to learn more about grant writing and dance business stuff.

Jeremy and I are splitting the child care because the lab is very flexible, and we are looking into hiring someone one day a week.

I do have to pass a slightly scary German exam, but I think it will be ok.

There you have it! Of course, I am pretty nervous about all this working out, but I figure it is more or less like having a full-time job with a baby, and lots of people do that, right? Plus, Jeremy is the best. And, it might help us be able to move back to the US with the possibility of me being gainfully employed...

This week in Liam

First of all, I want to wear all of Liam's clothes. Spider shirt with striped pants topped by a monkey hoodie? Yes, please!

We're using the bum genius diapers all the time now (note the HUGE bum area). It's very easy once you realize that you have to actually cinch them around his waist tight. Like a regular diaper. Duh.

In other attempts at hippie-parenting, the fabric sling is not always a success. It takes quite a bit of practice to get the tension just right... I think. Here it seemed too tight, and Liam is moments away from big-time crying. Bear hat!

Beate works her magic again.

My own 10 pound weight! In a few weeks, I'll be able to take the 'exercise with baby' class at the hospital. Liam and I are getting ready.

He loves to touch the alpaca fur bear that Jeremy brought back from Chile. Other favorites include American patriotic music, contredanses, and the Hungry Caterpillar (perhaps he sees himself in the story...)

And the exciting news---

Liam and I are heading out to Schwetzingen (near Heidelberg) on Monday where I will teach baroque dance for a week, and he will have his first ever babysitter. Whoa! It's only for an hour and a half each day, and it is in the evening, so he might even be asleep. If that goes well, I am scheming to go out with Jeremy one evening in the near future.

Anyway, the packing for this trip has the potential to drive me batty, but it feels under control at this moment- stroller, baby strapped to my front, and travel backpack for all of our stuff. Jer is going to help us onto the train on this end (why, why do they make these strollers so heavy? I guess maybe safety, but harumph.),and I booked the family compartment on the train, so hopefully it will be easy to get one of the conductors to help us with the train change at Mannheim. Someone will be meeting us then in Schwetzingen, so, yeah, easy-peasy. We're staying in an apartment in town, and I hope we can do a lot of hanging out in the gardens.

Baby Dance; or, see- he doesn't only listen to baroque music

Liam rocks out with his bear.

The turtle

This is the face of the turtle.

Pre-turtle.

'feeling textures' playtime-- oooh, Chinese silk quilt!

≈

The Stats, I forgot the Stats!

From Liam's 1st pediatrician visit:

4650g/10.25 lbs

58.5 cm/23 in

His tummy is getting very munchable.

one month videos!

bath time and Liam's newest trick (and the videos are now fixed!)

Umm, I mean skill-- perfected with Tante Beate!





I realize that I haven't been writing very much, instead letting the cuteness of my offspring do all the work for me. Right now Liam is needing to snuggle and sleeping A LOT, and he can get quite cranky. Luckily, the midwife showed us a few anti-fuss tips...

I thought that I was getting plenty of sleep and avoiding the dreaded new mom weirdness (like leaving the house and forgetting the keys, etc), but I was proven wrong at the nursing shop with Jeremy today. I was innocently browsing through the special super-secret-opening nursing tops, when a couple began asking the proprietrix a few questions. It turns out that she is also a lactation consultant. The man was confused, and asked if that had to do with lactose. I'm ashamed to say that made me laugh, imagining someone who advises you which foods contain lactose... and the man took offense... Jeremy was embarrassed, and I tried to say something stupid about breastmilk containing a lot of lactose. This did not work, so I said in English, 'I'm really tired', at which point I was just a crazy sleepless American, and everything was forgiven.

More pictures!

Some of these are a week old-- he is so much bigger!-- but since Jer had the camera in Paris earlier this week, I couldn't post them.

Oh, yeah, Jer went to Paris and we stayed home. For 3 days! It was a little exhausting, but not too bad due to the sleep, eat, sleep, poop, poop, eat, sleep, stare, wiggle, eat, sleep, poop cycle. That's a lot of sleeping, and Liam has even started giggling in his sleep. It's true, I swear!

But instead of my babblings, have a look at these pictures:

Exhibit A (snuggling with Jeremy)

After last week's bath-- we were also trying out the bum genius diapers, but he is still a little too small for them.

And he likes to staaaarre.

Also fun-- 4th of July picnic with some lady friends. Go Indians!

Liam is nonplussed by my new haircut.

This video is a lot like the other video

Liam is 3 weeks old!

Let's celebrate by watching another video, this time with more grunting.

Juvenilia

I can't believe we are only a couple of blocks away from..... The Assmann!

Mom, I just pooped.

it's hot, world cup, blah blah blah, scroll down for video

That's right, folks, it's been 90 degrees here the past few days. Luckily, this apartment stays pretty cool-- but unluckily, that makes it very difficult to go outside. The heat is breaking with thunderstorms as I write, so don't cry for me (but maybe you should cry for Argentina because Germany just scored on them in the first minute).

Jer and Liam and I made a break for it yesterday to do some shopping in an air-conditioned dept. store. The world cup mania is so prevalent here that the electronics section was full of people standing around and watching the game (including most of the employees)-- for Holland vs. Brazil! If you walk down the street at game time, you can catch a lot of the game just by glancing in the direction of the giant TVs blaring that hideous buzzing (I'm warming up to soccer because they can do crazy things with their bodies, plus all of the falling down, but the buzzing is driving me mad) from every outdoor cafe and restaurant.


Liam is now adding spitting up to his eat/sleep/poop/look cute repertoire. Cheesy!

I'm finding nursing in public to be rather easy. Perhaps it helps that dance is a historically immodest profession or that I refuse to be cooped up in the apt. just because certain hungry hippos want to drink every hour (it's HOT!).