Check-up

I went to the doctor this week (38 weeks), and was disappointed because he didn't really check anything.  Well, they did check my weight, blood pressure, monitor the baby's heat beat, and make sure my feet weren't swollen.  But, I expected him to do some sort of exam, see if we have made any progress.  No such luck.  He didn't even feel my tummy.  I guess here they figure she will come when she is ready, but I am impatient and would like to know a little of what is going on!

And, at the end of the appointment, he told us that the clinic would be closed all next week, so I could just go in one day to the labor dept. of the hospital for my check-up.  Good, maybe they will keep me!

Anxiously Awaiting the Arrival!

Garmisch

We took a little family vacation, the last one with only 3!  We ventured down to Garmisch, in the very southern part of Germany, where the Alps start.  We stayed at a military resort, a central location to many different sights-to-see.  We actually went down last weekend, and only stayed one night due to lodging availability.  It was such a great place, we had to go back!
Last weekend, we we toured Dachau,  a German concentration camp.  Although not as interesting as I thought it would be, it was still really cool to be on the grounds of such an important part of history.  The Dachau concentration camp was the first concentration camp that opened in Germany.  There were over 200,000 prisoners on record to stay here. This is a picture of a memorial erected in the center of the courtyard in memory of those who lost their lived to barbed wire.
 We drove through Munich, which was very beautiful.  I hope to spend more time there another date.

On our second trip to  Garmisch, we took a cog wheel train up a mountain to the highest point in Germany, Zugspitze.  Again, it wasn't what I would have expected, but again I was in awe.  I have never seen a snow-capped mountain before, and did not expect it to be so rocky.  When we stepped off the train, it looked like we had stepped onto a construction site.  We walked around and took in the view.  It was truly breathtaking, the pictures do not do it justice.We were looking down a Lake Eibsee.  It was so beautiful with its blue-green waters.  It really looks like a postcard.  the temperature up there was about 40 F.  There was some snow left, and Ben and Natalie were able to go sledding down a hill.  While taking a break, a tried some kind of thick-pancake like dessert that you dip in applesauce.  The pancake part was good, but I prefer syrup to applesauce :)

On our second day, we toured two castles of King Ludwig II.  One was Hohenschwangau, a summer home, and the other was Neuschwanstein, a home he spent many year having built, but did not get to live in very long.  The castle Neuschwanstein is often called "Cinderella's Castle" because this castle provided much of the inspiration for the Disney castle.  Both tours were fascinating because the floors, walls, furniture, ect. was all original.  The long lines and many steps we had to march up were definitely worth the trip to see the home of a King.

P.S.  Natalie thinks she needs her own castle, as she IS a PRINCESS! 

Take care & God Bless!

P.S.  3 more weeks until Avree's due date!

Settling In

Things are finally starting to feel normal.  We received our household goods about 3 weeks ago, and went right to work unpacking and decorating.  Somehow with my big belly, I managed to persuade Ben to paint the girls' rooms!  Natalie's room is painted light pink, and is accented with blues and pinks and butterflies.  She now has a big girl's room!  Avree's walls are covered in yellow.  She has one large window with a pink, purple, and green curtain.  Her bedding includes all of these colors, and the overall theme is princess.  When Natalie was born, I tried to stay away from pink and princess, but I have caved in.
We have purchased some things to help make us more comfortable.  Among them are: lots of curtains, an A/C unit, an area rug, a nice glider for the sleepless nights ahead, and a new living room set.  As soon as I get the energy to get up and do something, I will post pics!!
Now that things are out of the box, put away, and hung on the walls, it actually feels like home.  Natalie has even managed to get on some sort of schedule :)  The potty training thing, however, is not progressing as we would have hoped :( Oh well, she will get there eventually!
Block leave is coming up, and we hope to sneak away for a few mini trips.  Avree is very active and growing faster than I am, and she is measuring right on time.  Natalie had always measured 1-2 weeks ahead.  Remembering how chunky Natalie was, I told Ben, "wouldn't it be weird if we had a small baby?"  The thought makes me laugh.  Just 7 more weeks until we find out!
Take care & God bless!

The Adventures of the Black Forest

Relieved to finally have our own transportation, we are finally able to go where we want to, when we want to!

June is a great month, and with it comes lots to celebrate!  Last week, we celebrated my birthday with a cookout with some friends from the neighborhood.  In just a few days, we will honor our eight wedding anniversary.  And sandwiched in between is Father's Day.  Taking a brief break from life, we took a day trip to enjoy being together.

We got up early Saturday morning and headed  to the Black Forest.  We went to a town called Triberg, which is home to the highest waterfall in Germany.   It was about a two hour drive.  The further we drove, the more the temperature dropped.  As we emptied the car, we were greeted by some pretty chilly air.  We first stopped to look at the cuckoo clocks.  There is a large clock, about the size of a small house, and we got to watch it go off at the top of the hour.  Natalie was quite fascinated with the swinging pendulums of the clocks and the "cuckoo" sounds that they made.

Click here to see the video of the cuckoo clock

Next, we stopped for a picnic lunch.  We ate pretty fast, as it was pretty cold outside. Luckily, I brought Natalie and I a change of clothes.  Ben purchased a hoodie from one of the small shops for 30 E that said "Germany."  The dogs were even shaking.   We returned the dogs to the car to cuddle, and began our hike.  The hike to the waterfall was not too long, but it was very steep.  Ben was pretty patient with me, as I took about five steps and then paused to catch my breath :)  Once at the waterfall, the view was truly breathtaking.

 After the waterfall, we walked through town, going in and out of little shops.  Feeling hungry, Ben & I decided that we couldn't leave without a piece of black forest cake!  Much to our disappointment, it looked way better than it tasted.

On the way back home, we stopped in Ortenburg to see the castle there.  This castle seems to still be in use, so we were only able to see a part it, but it was still worthwhile.

We spent the remainder of the weekend getting the house in order and ready to receive our household goods shipment.  Ben painted the girls' room-  Natalie's pink and Avree's yellow.  As I type this, I am sitting here waiting for the movers to buzz us that they are here.  Finally, it's going to feel like home!

Just Another Day

I keep getting asked how I am liking Germany so far.  So far it is not too much different than anywhere else.  We just go through the week doing normal, routine things.  We have been getting caught up on appointments.  Ben is just now starting to go to work.  A typical day for Natalie and I is to wake up at 7:30, get ready and eat breakfast, maybe take the bus somewhere (appt, library, store), play at the park, eat lunch, nap from about 2-4, play, go for a walk, play on the playground, eat dinner, then get ready for bed.  I usually catch up on cleaning while she is down for a nap.  Between picking up after her and sweeping and mopping all of these floors, it keeps me pretty busy.
Naptime has been a source of frustration for all of us.  She started wanting to nap in my bed, then wanting me to lay down with her, and then wanting to get up and "go potty."  It seemed that I would try to lay her down shortly after noon, and then we would battle for about two hours until she finally gave in after two.  A few days of this, and I decided that maybe she wasn't ready for a nap that early in the day, that perhaps her little body is somewhat off schedule.  I switched to laying her down a little later in the afternoons and that seems to be working.  We are also fighting smaller battles, such as potty-training and sleeping through the night (she is waking and wanting to come into our bed).  Perhaps the move was a little harder on her than I thought it would be.  I feel like things will be a bit easier when she has "her" things and "her" room.  Until then, we are praying for patience and guidance, and welcome any advice on "raising a 2 year old!"
We try to take advantage of the weekends and at least go downtown.  This weekend, we went to the lighting of the castle.  Three times a year they re-enact the castle burning, in memory of the three times that the castle has caught on fire.  It was followed by a 15 min. firework display over the river.  We are anxious to get out and drive about.
Praying for patience,
Take care & God bless!

 

Waiting Around

I debated about blogging again already or not, because not much has happened since the last entry.  However, a week has passed, and I know there are a few people who care about all the little, tiny things that go on.

The main thing that has happened is that we have a phone and Internet (Woohoo!).  We were beginning to get desperate to be in touch, and spent the majority of the first day on the phone.  We stayed up late catching up, and regretted it the next day.

For the most part, things are going pretty well.  This is Ben's last week of in-processing, so next week he will be with the band, which he is really excited about.  He brought a horn home and has begun practicing upstairs in the maid's quarters.  Natalie and I have taken the bus several times, to the store or library, just to give us something to do. One day I took the wrong bus, and it cost us and extra hour and a half on the bus.  As you can imagine, I was very frustrated!  Some days I get a little down about not having our belongings or much to do, but I am trying to be patient.  We are wanting to buy some curtains and area rugs, and it is discouraging that we don't have a car to go around and shop for them.  Not that there is a whole lot of places to look.  I think it will seem a little more like home once we get something in this empty apartment.  So that's where we are, just waiting...

I have met some really great people.  There is a lady in the band that lives at the bottom of out stairwell, Kailin.  We visit with them several times a week.  They have a 1 year old little boy that Natalie gets to interact with.  Kristin, a band wife, has showed me around some and given me rides.  Today, Nat and I went with her to MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers).  Natalie got to play with some kids her age, and I mingled with other moms as we learned about decorating cakes, painted a plate, and talked about how our families celebrate birthdays.  It was really nice to get out.

Tomorrow begins a 4-day weekend, which is not so exciting when you have noway to go anywhere and nothing to do.  Maybe we will catch the cable car and go downtown.  Next week will bring busier days for Ben, and I have several appointments to attend.  Another week closer to getting our stuff!!!

Take care & God bless!

Out of Touch

Even though we are now in our house, it is so hard to be without all of our belongings, without a car, without a phone, and without the Internet.  We hope to have Internet at the house by next week, and our belongings will come by the end of next month.  I am trying to be patient.
So how are we surviving?  We have loaner furniture and have checked out some necessary items, such as small appliances and kitchen gadgets.  Other than that, there is a lady, Kaylynn, who is in the band, who has tried her best to keep us as comfortable as possible.  She lives at the bottom of our stairwell, and has brought over several armfuls of things for us to borrow, such as a bathmat, a super-comfortable pillow, and even a few bath toys.  Just some little things that make a big difference.
By now we are adjusted pretty well to the time, although it is a little hard to get used to it being light outside until 10 pm.  Our next obstacle we are tacking is potty-training. I thought it would be a good time since we have no furniture, so we bought panties yesterday and she is pretty excited.  Hope it goes as well as I think it will in my mind!
A friend that Ben knew previously, Will, took us out one evening to downtown Heidelberg to eat and sight-see a little.  We ate at a place called Vetters, where I ate snitzel and Ben had a German sausage.  As expected, it was delicious.  The restraunt was located by the river and the castle, so we got to see that, although we did not take our camera, but we hope to return soon.
For now, we are still gathering essential items and trying to get settled in a bit.  Hope to have the Internet soon.
Take care and God bless!