We're almost there!

At almost 38 weeks, we are truly on the countdown! So crazy to know that our baby could come tomorrow....or.....in a few weeks! We are so excited to meet this little one. We wait in anticipation for so many reasons. Will it be a boy or a girl? What will he or she look like? What will be the birthdate? What will it feel like to finally hold our baby in our arms? My belly will not stop growing it seems. And this baby feels bigger and bigger each day that passes. The other night we witnessed a tiny foot pressing out from my side....so incredible! For me, most of these last few weeks have been filled with nesting, knitting, walking and meeting with friends. Now that the nest is in order, the booties have been knitted, and it becomes more and more challenging to walk/waddle, I am READY!!! Bring on baby Harrington!!!!!!!

The Bumps Unite!

One of the best parts of this pregnancy journey has been having my sister and her bump right along side me (despite geographical differences). I remember clearly back to a chilly February evening when Lesley told me of her exciting news. And yet only one week later, I was calling her to tell of mine! We were both pregnant---and only one week apart! We kept our secrets in until we just couldn't anymore. We had to tell our mother first. We decided to do it via skype after debating sending letters, packages, smoke signals....you get the picture. Three-way skype works, we discovered, but without video. So we set up a call one Saturday morning with my mom and nervously pretended that we just wanted to "chat". We had our husbands by our sides, staying quiet in the background until they were given the cue to chime in. Neither Lesley or I were making the first move so I decided to start a little game. It was called the "Mom, guess what's happening next October?" game, and while her guesses would have been accurate a month ago, she had to keep guessing. "Oh, your dad and I are planning on coming back out to Germany next October," she said. "Yes, but you may be coming for another reason now!" I could hardly contain myself. At this point our trusty Skype started to fail us. Just as Lesley and I began to break the big news, our connection began to fall apart. "What? Laura? Les? I can't hear you". Nooo! Finally Matt chimed in and said, "Judy, let me just go ahead and tell you..........both of your daughters are pregnant!" Oh boy. The squeals, the tears, the joy! The very next day we skyped with my dad and then with Matt's family to share the news. The Harringtons were beyond overjoyed as well, and we felt such a huge relief as we shared what we had been keeping a secret for the last 8 weeks.

So now fast forward to 2 weeks ago, when Lesley and I finally got to see each other and our growing bumps! After months of photos, skype sessions and gmail chats, we couldn't wait to see each other in person and give a big huge bump hug! I was lucky enough to be able to sneak home for 10 days in July after the school year ended. We all congregated at our house in Strathmere, and even Dave flew in from San Diego! My mom organized a beautiful baby shower, Dad helped organize and decorate, and my three college roommates, Angela Kelsey and Laura even made a special appearance! My cousins Jeanne and Liz and their kids were also in town which was great fun. It was beyond amazing to be home during this special time. Can't say I'd want to hop on a transcontinental flight now given the current size of this belly, so it really was perfect timing. I am so truly blessed!

UD roomies together again!






Quilts that my Gramma Lyn had made for her future great-grandchildren



Dad took us all on a boatride



Uncle Rod, Dad, and Dave



Two bumps in the road! (and our house in the background)



Attempt at a family photo (missing Matt!)

Travel Update #2: Italy!

Here comes another backlogged travel update! In early April I was 12 weeks pregnant and we knew that this was our chance to see Italy before being hit by the busyness of summer and arrival of baby in the fall. We took a week and flew direct into Milan via Easy Jet. Milan was not our destination of choice, however; we had our hearts set on the dramatic coastline of Cinque Terre and the romantic streets of Florence. So on a train we hopped and traveled about 5 hours to the southern end of Cinque Terre. We quickly realized that Italy's train system was nothing like our trusty and reliable Deutsche Bahn train service. Trains were canceled at a drop of a hat and often late with no explanation at all. We made it to Cinque Terre by early evening, just in time to catch one of the last local trains to our village, Riomaggiore. For those of you not familiar with the Cinque Terre, or "5 lands", I must say it's one of the most beautiful and unique places I've ever visited. It is a rugged portion of the Italian Riviera that consists of five quaint villages. Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. A big part of its charm, in our opinion, is the lack of visible "modern" development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach it from the outside. We were also drawn to the region for its great hiking spots. Nobody could stop this pregnant lady from hiking the hills to find the best views of the area!! Do you blame me?!

















After spending 4 incredible days in Cinque Terre (hiking, dining, sunset watching...) we set out for our next destination...Florence. We made it to Florence in about 4 hours (again by train) and were there just in time for the Easter weekend festivities. The weather had turned rainy and cool but luckily we snuck in just in time to see Florence's big Easter tradition: Scoppio del Carro (or "Explosion of the Cart"). It was exactly as it sounds. After parading around the city all morning, they wheeled in this huge wooden ornate cart pulled by four huge white oxen into the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square). After the Sunday mass was finished, they lit the cart "on fire", meaning they set off a system of colorful fireworks that had been strapped to the cart. Quite a sight!














Another fun memory from Florence was the result a not-so-fun-moment upon our arrival. I had forgotten to write down directions to our hotel (blame it on the preggo brain :), so we only had the name of the bus stop where we were left standing with suitcases in tow. Apparently our hotel lived on a tiny no-name street, so while people had "heard" of the Hotel Santa Croce, they couldn't begin to tell us where to find it. Finally we stumbled upon a tiny gelato shop where wonderful Marco scooped us some ice cold gelato and allowed us to use his computer to mapquest our hotel. We got talking to Marco, and he invited us to come back to the shop before dinner for some "apertivos". After showering and relaxing for a bit, we went back and hung out with our new Italian friend. We had a blast chatting and sharing our life stories late into the evening. We were so impressed by his hospitality and genuine interest in getting to know us. A really fun night!

Us with Marco in the Gelato shop



Our trip was coming to an end, and it was time to make our way back to Milan for an evening flight back to Berlin. Now this is where things got a bit interesting. I think we were feeling a little overconfident in all of our train-travel experience over the past 2 years in deciding that train reservations were for novices. Boy, were we wrong. We thought it would be a cinch to make it to Florence on Easter Monday. Not the case. We got up to the desk after waiting in line at the Florence main station for almost an hour only to be confronted with a conversation that went a lot like this:

Matt: Hi, we would like two tickets to Milan, please.
Grumpy Italian guy behind the counter: (without hesitation) Tomorrow.
Us: Noo, today (silly!)
Man: Tomorrow.
Us: Nope, you're not hearing us. We need to get to Milan today so that we can catch a flight tomorrow.
Man: No. Tomorrow.
Matt: But, sir. You don't understand. We have a hotel reservation in Milan tonight and flight back to Berlin tomorrow. It takes almost 5 hours to get to Milan. We have to be there tonight. We checked online and there were many trains leaving for Milan today.
Man (not amused): silence.....some typing on the computer.....loud sighing.....long pause.....more typing......a condescending shake of the head.

Then he hands us a piece of paper with our new itinerary which included 4 extra stops (2 in cities we didn't know existed) and we prepared ourselves for the long haul. And a long haul it was. Long story short, Easter Monday meant that many trains were either canceled or overbooked. We ended up missing a vital connection and our already extended trip quickly turned into a 10 hour journey. Not exactly a highlight of the vacation but certainly part of the adventure!

The next day in Milan we explored the city's parks, as we were not so interested in the city's main attraction: really really expensive stuff. Overall, we had high expectations about Italy's beauty, food and culture and we were not let down. Next time we're going back when I'm not pregnant so that I can sample another thing Italy is famous for: The VINO!! ;)


Milan's impressive Duomo







Click here for the rest of our Italy pictures

Travel Update #1: Toulouse, France

Back in February, we hopped on a plane to Toulouse to spend a week with French cousins Stephanie & Arnaud and their two adorable children, Nikita and Loup-Paul. If you remember back to almost a year ago, we first met my 4th cousin Stephanie and her family when we visited them in their quaint village of Ambert. Once again, they graciously hosted us but this time in their tiny 2-bedroom apartment in the beautiful city of Toulouse. Little Loup-Paul (3 months old at the time) was not feeling well and unfortunately had to spend most of the week in the hospital. With Arnaud and Stephanie busy caring for him and Nikita, Matt and I set out to explore Toulouse during our first full day there. The weather was crisp and sunny, a nice change from our gloomy Berlin winter weather. We walked a lot, visited a few museums, and of course enjoyed sampling the delicious French cuisine as we went. That evening, Arnaud and Nikita took us on a beautiful walk along the Garonne river. By the end of the week, Stephanie and Loup-Paul were home and well, just in time to enjoy a final evening of great food and conversation before our departure.

Toulouse

Nikita (3) by the river


A bridge on the Garonne (this print
now hangs above our couch!)




One of my many fabulous meals we had!

Adorable little Loup-Paul

Arnaud, Loup-Paul and Stephanie



We also took a mid-week excursion to the enchanting medieval city of Carcassonne. Carcassonne was only about a one hour train ride from Toulouse, and upon arrival we were greeted by the impressive stone wall that surrounds "la Cité", or the old city center. Our hotel sat right outside of one of the gate's main entrances. Being early February, we virtually had the place to ourselves and had fun exploring the adorable winding cobblestone alleyways that were tucked behind the massive wall. We took a tour of the castle, which allowed for unbelievable views along the top of the fortress, overlooking the beautiful valley below. A fun week in France!

Carcassonne

Here's a link to more pics from our trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/lauraharrington6/France201002#

Belly Shots - 19 weeks

This week, Klaus (baby's name-- for now -- don't worry :) is really coming out of his shell! Matt came home from work today and said, "WOAH! You are REALLY pregnant!" He then whipped out the camera and we had a little impromptu photo shoot. Another fun development has been feeling Klaus' little movements. From our last ultrasound a few weeks ago, we know that Klaus can kick, punch, and even suck his/her thumb! But it has not been until this week that I'm really able to feel definite movement. Matt even got to feel a little kick last night! Half way there...we just can't wait to meet this little guy/girl!!!

Just a game of hangman....

So.....any guesses?? The kids were so funny....after our little game of hangman, I asked them this very question. And they all started guessing people at our school who were pregnant last year. No kids, keep guessing...!! Finally a quiet little boy in my class says, "You?" with a bewildered look on his face. What?? Is it THAT unbelievable? They all started clapping and immediately proceeded to give me advice based on what they knew about babies. I wish I had written all of this down. One girl said, "Be sure you don't drink or smoke when you have a baby. Because then the baby will come out like this: (imitates a baby smoking)". Priceless.

So, yes! We are expecting our first little one this October! We are extremely excited and can't wait to become parents. We have decided to stay in Germany for a few extra years, so this little baby will be a little German tot! Lots to look forward to...and so much to learn. We couldn't be more ready!

Bagels are back!

Bagels and breakfast went hand in hand when we lived in California. I would always be sure to have a fresh supply on hand and saved just the right amount of time in the morning to slice and slather. Peanut butter and honey were frequent toppers. Since moving to Berlin, however, bagels are much harder to come by. That is until yesterday. A German colleague who spent some time in the US gave me a recipe and promised me that these bagels would be just like the ones at home. With our German-English dictionary by our side, Matt and I translated this German recipe to create deliciously warm and toasty sesame bagels!! We did not have bread flour, so it could be why the dough did not rise as much as we would have liked. Next time we will try poppy seed, onion, and maybe even cinnamon raisin. This may become a weekend ritual! Here's the roughly translated recipe. Any other seasoning ideas?? Send 'em our way!

BAGEL RECIPE
ca. 14 bagels

Ingredients:
1/4 c sugar
2.2 c water
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1/8 c salt
7.5-8 c flour
1 tbsp. sugar
assorted toppings

1.) Dissolve sugar and yeast in water in a bowl. Stir until dissolved.
2.) Sprinkle salt in the flour, and combine with the yeast mixture. Knead by hand or with mixer until dough is soft and smooth (5-10 min.). Form dough into a ball and place in bowl covered with a wet towel. Allow to sit undisturbed for 45 min. Dough should rise.
3.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Fill a big pot with water and add one tbsp. of sugar. Bring water & sugar to a boil.
4.) While waiting for water to boil, flatten dough (should be sticky--do not add flour) and cut 14 equal strips. Roll each strip into a "wurst" (SO German!) and fold around your hand to form a circle. Roll the ends together securely.
5.) Place batches of bagels in water and keep at a light boil. Be sure bagels are not touching each other at the bottom of the pot. Bagels should float to the top when they are ready (about 2 minutes).
6.) Place bagels on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or other desired toppings.
7.) Bake in oven for 22 minutes or until golden brown.

Don't forget the "Philadelphia", as they call it here! ENJOY!

Happy New Year!

We've just returned from a fun and festive time at home. We had 2 weeks off, so split our time evenly between Massachusetts (for Christmas) and PA (for New Years). I was able to go home for a few weeks this past summer, but Matt had not been home for a whole year! It was so much fun catching up with family and friends and enjoying all of the comforts of home. Luckily the airlines do not weigh PEOPLE on flights home, because we definitely gained a few kilos after enjoying all of our favorites this holiday season!! Several Philly cheesesteaks, Judy's blueberry pancakes, pizza on South Street, NY-style bagels, Matt's meatballs, Ellie's turkey sandwiches, an amazing Italian Dinner at Aunt Cindy's on Christmas Day...we did not hold back one bit! As always, it was so nice catching up with everyone and just being at home. It's not always easy being so far away, but it does make it extra special during the times when we are all together again. We are SO lucky to have 2 wonderfully amazing families!!

Wishing you all a very happy 2010!