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!

Summer vacation with girls all around!

Wow, where has the time gone?  I really can't believe half the year is over.  We've been doing our fair share of traveling- I guess we have to get it in before our family grows!

In the beginning of May, we drove to Dresden, Germany to visit our old neighbors in their hometown.  We had a great visit and saw lots of the city.  Jakob really enjoyed running around with their 2 kids and they really enjoyed 'reading' his english books.  We hiked a little and Jakob walked a lot of it since we didn't bring the carrier but by the last hour he just couldn't handle his tiredness and fell asleep on Paul's head while on his shoulders.  It was adorable.  We also were told they are expecting another child only a week or two before us!  We think this is pretty neat since our boys are also only a month apart.

At the end of May, about a week and a half before we left for the states, I had my 17 week appointment and we were hoping to find out the sex of the baby.  My doc checked all the important stuff first (everything was normal- praise God) and then couldn't get a super clear picture of the baby's parts and said it was probably a boy.  We weren't sure if we really wanted to go off of a maybe so I scheduled an elective ultrasound for the day after we got into the states.  I just really wanted to get clothes while in a much cheaper place.

So being pregnant-tired and flying with Jakob alone made me a little nervous.  Everyone around us on the plane was so nice and gave Jakob lots of compliments except for the people directly in front of us.  They were older Americans coming back from a Europe vacation and had some issues.  Jakob was very well behaved with no crying/screaming or really any talking but in the first 4 hours managed to kick their seat a couple times and brush up against it a couple more.  In my book, this is less than someone holding onto the back of your seat and pulling you back in an effort to help themselves up.  But this couple had a few choice words to say to me on a couple occasions.  The people behind me were definitely just as shocked as I was but I managed to roughly compose myself and bottle up my pregnancy hormones and moved to the empty middle row for bassinets.  The rest was uneventful even though out of all the flights in Atlanta this couple just happened to be on the same Tallahassee flight.  Luckily, we didn't sit near them.  Jakob didn't sleep until he hit about 17 hours of being awake and crashed on the last 30 min to Tallahassee- the norm.  With all our junk (which I managed to keep at a very minimum) and a very heavy sleepy/cry-y toddler, my arms were dying but we made it.

The next day was our ultrasound.  My parents, Conrad, Jakob, my mother-in-law and soon to be sister-in-law all came and at first I saw boy.  But apparently the umbilical cord had been hanging out inbetween the legs because after many many angles, the lady confirmed textbook baby girl parts.  We were all SO shocked but so excited!  Our girl vibes worked!  Baby girl did not want to cooperate and show us her face but that is ok.  We got the most important part verified.  :)  That weekend we shared the news with lots of people.  Paul was shocked as well when he called specifically to find out (costed him 20 bucks).  Lots of Paul's family came down to hang out that weekend and visit with us and we really enjoyed that.

Then I got Jakob ready for 4.5 days with Paul's parents and my road trip.  I'm sure Jakob had a great time and I know he really didn't miss me too much.  When I got back he just looked at me and smiled.  I had to ask for a hug!  Crazy boy.  But I had a great time on my road trip.  Carli road everywhere with me and we saw our college buddies in Tampa, West Palm, and Orlando.  It felt so good to catch up with everyone.  We ate yummy food, went to the mall, had a beach day, and just relaxed.  My best friend happened to have TONS of girl clothes from her and other people for me to go through while I was in Orlando.  It really helped so much and I was able to get so many essentials and cute things.  And throughout the trip, since Carli is pretty much an expert knitter and crocheter, I learned her ways, bought lots of fun yarn, and starting knitting in the round!  My first project is baby leg warmers and I'm almost done with the first leg!  It's not near as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Back in Tallahassee, my family went to St. Marks on the boat and had some of our family over to visit and I managed to squeeze in a couple more friends.  Jakob and I got to see a lot of people in our 10 days and he had the best time playing with the dog and cat and playing outside.  He would go outside whenever he wanted and someone would always have to drop what they were doing and run out- locking the door didn't help since he can undo all the locks.  He especially loves the lawn mower.  Our flight home ended up being delayed over 3 hours before leaving Tallahassee which made us miss our flight to Zürich.  So we stayed an extra night and then made the trek home.  We were so thankful to have Paul and his friend pick us up from the airport with all our luggage!  Paul had a great time with his buddies and was able to do a good amount of climbing despite the snow/ice and they all managed to come back in one piece!  So thankful.

After we got back, I had another appointment where the doc still couldn't tell me what the sex was- apparently she wouldn't move her legs.  So I am very happy I paid the money in the states!  Before I left the states, Paul's grandmother fell and hit her head to cause bleeding on the brain.  So we got frequent updates and 1 week after we got back, Paul headed to the states because things weren't looking good.  She passed away on Friday and as sad as it is we are very thankful Paul was able to get there and be with all of his family.  We were unsure of when he should go but the timing worked out perfect.  Except now I am home with a sick kid by myself.  The krippe had an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease and we were hoping we had just missed it but apparently not.  Blisters on his hands, feet, butt, and in his mouth.  The mouth ones are very painful for him which makes him not sleep well at all or eat well but we're managing.  Hopefully, they're gone soon so we can get back to normal!  We need normal since we're going to Croatia with my parents in less than 4 weeks!