Finally some tan lines for all!

Since July... The weather finally cleared up and gave a beautiful couple months of summer. (We're back to 60's and some rain now.) Although, at one point it was in the 90's so long that Paul finally tried to buy a fan and they were all sold out! Sleeping was not fun.

In July, I passed my German test and finished my class! Very happy about that but because of the timing of baby girl I can't take another class for one year. Not ideal but I can't do anything about it. We also went to Zürifäscht (happens every 3 years) and Jakob had a blast and many meltdowns. We spent most of the day downtown, trying foods, riding the carousel, watching planes and boats, and Jakob did lots of rides in the kids area. He loved it so much that it was a pain trying to get him off when they were over but we got lots of good pictures. At one point we tried to give him a cotton candy treat and he would not taste it. He just looked at it like 'What the heck is this?!' even after we ate it and made yummy sounds. The next weekend I had a girl day with a friend where we shopped, went to lunch, got a 110chf manicure and shopped at a mexican store downtown for supplies for our evening dinner together with our hubbies and kids. It was a very much needed day and despite the cost of the manicure (cheapest is around 85chf) it was the best I've ever had- lasted over 2 weeks perfectly, no scratches.

Before leaving for Croatia, I had a meeting with my manager and found out everything I wanted was approved. Apparently, he had to fight for it a little and I really appreciate it. I get 16 weeks paid maternity leave with 10 more unpaid and then I will come back at 80% (basically a 3 day weekend). It is great even though I know it is still going to be hard leaving my 6 month old baby girl. I'll feel better knowing she'll be hanging out with Jakob all day though and will hopefully get a better start on learning a 2nd/3rd language and not take as long as Jakob to start talking.

Then it was off to Croatia! We left on a Saturday morning which felt amazing and Jakob slept on the first flight. Then we met my parents for the second flight in Germany. Since we organized our trip through an agency someone was there at the airport to transport us to the hotel. We started in Zagreb, rented a car for the drive to the Plitvice National Park for one night and then off to Trogir for a few nights.  We then dropped the car off in Split and took a ferry to Hvar for a few nights and then had someone drive us through Mostar, Bosnia before arriving in Dubronvik for a handful of nights and flying back to Zagreb for our last night. It was a busy trip but we were able to relax a good deal for how many places we saw. Everything was beautiful; water was super clear; sun was shining; and the ice cream was plentiful (although not as good as Italian gelato). Plitvice was breathtaking. Krka National Park was beautiful and fun with swimming with the waterfalls. Hvar was our favorite swimming area where we got a private speed boat tour to different islands that we all very much enjoyed and Dubronvik was our favorite city with the history and grand walls. All our accommodations were either right in the city or on the water but our Dubronvik apartment was our favorite- right in the harbor, in line with the walls and a balcony overlooking the water and boats (perfect for people watching without having to go into the crowd). Jakob would have swam everyday if allowed. His favorite phrase became 'wash it' where he would purposely put his hands in the sand and come to us and say 'wash it?' and we'd give him permission and he'd walk over to water, rinse himself, and come back and do it again. He had so much fun especially with grandma and grandpa and didn't get sunburnt at all but did get a nice farmers tan. It was so nice to be able to spend special time together. We ate at a lot of great local and recommended places and I even got a delicious lobster!

We came back on a Friday night and had a good couple days to relax and get back into a routine. On Sunday we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and head to the kinderzoo. Jakob and I hadn't been in a year and Paul had never been. We had a nice day with a friend and his 1 year old girl and Jakob's favorite part was definitely the pony ride. His smile was huge but he really enjoyed the whole place with all the animals and sea lion show. Jakob has also finally grown into his balance bike and really enjoys learning how to ride it. Getting the hang of sitting, balancing and moving only your legs (instead of walking while straddling it) has proven to be something more to master but he's learning fast and enjoying it!

Lately, we've just been trying to get as much stuff checked off our to-do list as possible before baby girl comes. We found a fun big boy bed for Jakob and hope to get it next weekend. Jakob's favorite lady at daycare left and that was sad to say goodbye. She gave us her email and said she'd love to watch him/play with him anytime. He'll miss her a lot and now it means that none of the leaders or interns speak English. Rough for me but Paul does fine. I've had lots of appointments: my glucose test was fine but my iron levels have been decreasing even with pills so I have my second/last iron infusion next week. I think the first one has already made me feel significantly better. I met with a midwife at a birth house too and everything looks good so far for me to deliver there. 6 more weeks and they'll check me and as long as that check goes well and baby waits to come for one more week we'll be good to give birth there! I'm really excited because it's just what I want and experienced the first time with Jakob but more personal. No meds allowed, same birthing techniques I used in the hospital, more relaxed atmosphere, and 4 days in your own big private apartment style room with meals included all taken care of with insurance. Paul could even stay overnight at an extra cost if we didn't have Jakob. But they are welcome to come hangout all day everyday I'm there. That will be amazing. Here's to 30 weeks already! And a slideshow of more Croatia pictures!

23 weeks ------------------------------ 28 weeks!