"Normal" Week

This past week was normal--no traveling, just the three of us at home--and it was great!  Jacob was very busy at work, as his department was hosting a conference, so this made for quite a few very long days for all of us.  Even though I was really tired at the end of each day (Jacob had the conference over the weekend too so there was no weekend for us last weekend), I so enjoyed my time with Hersh.  Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy my time with Hersh, but this week was different.  This week made me even more appreciative for the close relationship that Hersh and I have.  He is just so much fun to do things with, sharing his smiles and sense of humor.  When we ride the U-Bahn or when we are at the playground, he shouts "Hi" and "Bye" to all sorts of people.  It's so wonderful to see people's reaction to him, and the way he says "hi" and "bye" is just so American.  Here, people say "Hallo" and "Tchüss," so often they have no idea why this one-year-old is shouting "hi-yee!" and "bye-yee!"  We think it is just the best!

Hersh has started to enjoy "dress-up" and is making lots of animal sounds, as well as saying new words each day.  Today we went to lunch at a restaurant we had been wanting to try, visited the Naturhistorisches Museum, and then walked around Museums Quartier.  The Natural History Museum had some really old artifacts (like the 25,000 year-old Venus of Willendorf, and an octopus that had been preserved in formaldehyde 250 years ago). Needless to say, it was a great day and we were very glad to have Jacob back with  us!  It's strange that our time in Vienna is coming to an end--bittersweet actually.  We have had our ups and downs this year, but Vienna is a beautiful city that we have come to really enjoy and feel fortunate to call it our home.

Hersh turned 14 months old, 27.6.11:

Enjoying a nectarine.  He says, "bite?" to let us know that he would like a nectarine or plum.

Fire Marshall Hershel:

Exploring the Natural History Museum:

Jacob insisted we needed a picture of the Honey Badger.

Hanging out in Museums Quartier: