Here is a photo of me pregnant with Anna, beginning my 3rd trimester:
And here is one of me at the same point in the pregnancy with baby boy (much bigger):
Onwards to October 2nd; by which time he will hopefully have made his appearance.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Farwell Feet
We have entered the 3rd trimester with our baby boy (well, I have, and James still is supportive of my excessive grumbling). I knew the day would be coming when I wouldn't be able to see my feet anymore, but it is surprising when they actually disappear. One day you look down and all you see is belly going out, out, out. Oh, I see them pop out occasionally, but it's a sure sign I'm getting much bigger.
Here is a photo of me pregnant with Anna, beginning my 3rd trimester:
And here is one of me at the same point in the pregnancy with baby boy (much bigger):
Onwards to October 2nd; by which time he will hopefully have made his appearance.
Here is a photo of me pregnant with Anna, beginning my 3rd trimester:
And here is one of me at the same point in the pregnancy with baby boy (much bigger):
Onwards to October 2nd; by which time he will hopefully have made his appearance.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Greece (sorry, it's a bit wordy)
Our Greece trip didn't exactly go as planned. It all started to go wrong on Friday afternoon after we boarded our turbo-prop flight to Munich... they asked us to get off the plane after sitting there for 15 minutes and canceled the flight. From Munich we were supposed to catch a flight to Athens, but this would not be possible now. So, James, Anna and I ran through the new Luxembourg airport trying to find people to help us and reschedule our plans. The best option according to LuxAir was to fly through Hiraklion to Athens. When she first said it though, both James & I thought she said we should fly through Iraq. Once we verified that the flight was through Greece, and the island of Crete specifically, we accepted the change of plans with our free lunch vouchers. Things went more smoothly until we arrived at Hiraklion airport at 10pm. Our supposed standby reservation for a flight to Athens that night had been canceled due to improper booking and our back-up flight the next day was also canceled. It took over an hour of wrangling with 4 different attendants and 3 supervisors before we were rebooked on the 7am flight the next morning. We received way to many, "you have no reservation" or "you aren't in our system" comments to make James or I very happy. Fortunately, Anna was a trooper and sat merrily in her stroller eating cookies and drinking milk the whole time. So, after confirming we are on the unbelievably early flight the next morning, we went off to wrangle with LuxAir, who was supposed to have arranged a hotel for us... hmmm... no hotel and another hour of discussion and phone calls later we finally get them to fix the problem and get us a room 30 minutes from the airport. Now, we are off on the scariest cab ride in my memory. I'm wracked with guilt over putting Anna in an adult seatbelt and the Greeks have made their 2 lane road into a 3 lane road... where all cab drivers and other crazy fast drivers drive in the middle and try to avoid the crazy people driving in the other direction, also in the middle of the road. So, 4 almost head on collisions later we arrive at a nice resort, were we sleep for 5.5 hours before repeating the drive of the crazy people back to the airport. Needless to say, Greece has been added to my list of countries I never want to drive in.
So, after a relatively uneventful flight, we arrive in Athens and take the metro to our hotel Acropolis, which was actually quite close to the Acropolis itself. Though exhausted, we decided to forgo a morning nap and go sightseeing. We headed to the Acropolis first and it was an amazing sight. So many cool old buildings on top of the hill. We enjoyed ourselves, though it was VERY HOT. I don't think Anna had been in heat like that since the summer she was born. We learned that she inherited my less than attractive "tomato face" trait, where her face goes beet red in extreme heat. So, after our ramblings on the Acropolis and subjecting ourselves to heat stroke we headed back to the hotel were we all collapsed into sleep. The afternoon's highlight was seeing the hill called the Aeropagus where Paul addressed the Athenians (Acts 17:16-34).
The next day we woke up early (sense a trend here?) and caught the 8 hour ferry to Santorini. We bought cheap seat tickets, which means that we fought with all the other cheap ticket holders for a table and chairs on the deck. We were glad for clear skies, and Anna was glad for the many stairs and the helicopter pad that she spent ours playing on. We wanted to take the ferry to see some of the other islands, and most looked very similar to the next. When we finally arrived at Santorini, we could easily see why it is called the most beautiful visually; the dramatic cliffs of the volcano caldera and the white and blue villages were a feast for our eyes.
We relaxed the next day, as we were all exhausted. The pool was a big hit with Anna, though it was very deep, so mommy and daddy had their work-outs treading water with her. She developed a very cute wiggle to travel with her life-jacket swimsuit on, not quite doggie paddling, and definitely silly. We also tried the famous Santorini wine (well, their white wine is some what famous) and picked up a couple bottles to bring home so I can try more than a sip once the baby is born :)
On Tuesday we took the very inefficient buses to the other side of the island where the beaches are more Anna friendly. We ended up at Parivolos beach and rented an umbrella and chairs. Once we got into the water, Anna screamed then whimpered for 30 minutes while clutching onto me. Not a fan of the ocean & waves, would be an understatement.
In the middle of Tuesday night, the second major blow was dealt to our vacation when James woke up with a fever. The next morning, he was barely able to walk around the hotel due to what felt like muscle exhaustion... excellent vacation fun. So, Anna and I wandered around the village of Oia, played in the small park, and Anna showed off her genetic shopping skills of going into every store and trying to touch all the pretty things (we blame Grandma Trish & Auntie Janna's genes for this). We also enjoyed our dips in the pool twice a day, until we left on Friday morning to catch the first our our 3 flights back home to Luxembourg. By Friday James' condition had worsened and spread to his upper body--- what a fun way to travel?!? Thankfully we got back to Luxembourg without any hitches we encountered on our outbound trip. The next evening we went to the emergency room for James where we has diagnosed with an unidentifiable virus and told to stay home from work for a week.
All in all, this was not the trip of a lifetime, especially for James. I think Anna would give it good marks though, as there was plenty of ice-cream and pool time. If you ever go to Santorini, we highly recommend our hotel, the Oia Sunset.
Photos
A link to our Greece photos is above
So, after a relatively uneventful flight, we arrive in Athens and take the metro to our hotel Acropolis, which was actually quite close to the Acropolis itself. Though exhausted, we decided to forgo a morning nap and go sightseeing. We headed to the Acropolis first and it was an amazing sight. So many cool old buildings on top of the hill. We enjoyed ourselves, though it was VERY HOT. I don't think Anna had been in heat like that since the summer she was born. We learned that she inherited my less than attractive "tomato face" trait, where her face goes beet red in extreme heat. So, after our ramblings on the Acropolis and subjecting ourselves to heat stroke we headed back to the hotel were we all collapsed into sleep. The afternoon's highlight was seeing the hill called the Aeropagus where Paul addressed the Athenians (Acts 17:16-34).
The next day we woke up early (sense a trend here?) and caught the 8 hour ferry to Santorini. We bought cheap seat tickets, which means that we fought with all the other cheap ticket holders for a table and chairs on the deck. We were glad for clear skies, and Anna was glad for the many stairs and the helicopter pad that she spent ours playing on. We wanted to take the ferry to see some of the other islands, and most looked very similar to the next. When we finally arrived at Santorini, we could easily see why it is called the most beautiful visually; the dramatic cliffs of the volcano caldera and the white and blue villages were a feast for our eyes.
We relaxed the next day, as we were all exhausted. The pool was a big hit with Anna, though it was very deep, so mommy and daddy had their work-outs treading water with her. She developed a very cute wiggle to travel with her life-jacket swimsuit on, not quite doggie paddling, and definitely silly. We also tried the famous Santorini wine (well, their white wine is some what famous) and picked up a couple bottles to bring home so I can try more than a sip once the baby is born :)
On Tuesday we took the very inefficient buses to the other side of the island where the beaches are more Anna friendly. We ended up at Parivolos beach and rented an umbrella and chairs. Once we got into the water, Anna screamed then whimpered for 30 minutes while clutching onto me. Not a fan of the ocean & waves, would be an understatement.
In the middle of Tuesday night, the second major blow was dealt to our vacation when James woke up with a fever. The next morning, he was barely able to walk around the hotel due to what felt like muscle exhaustion... excellent vacation fun. So, Anna and I wandered around the village of Oia, played in the small park, and Anna showed off her genetic shopping skills of going into every store and trying to touch all the pretty things (we blame Grandma Trish & Auntie Janna's genes for this). We also enjoyed our dips in the pool twice a day, until we left on Friday morning to catch the first our our 3 flights back home to Luxembourg. By Friday James' condition had worsened and spread to his upper body--- what a fun way to travel?!? Thankfully we got back to Luxembourg without any hitches we encountered on our outbound trip. The next evening we went to the emergency room for James where we has diagnosed with an unidentifiable virus and told to stay home from work for a week.
All in all, this was not the trip of a lifetime, especially for James. I think Anna would give it good marks though, as there was plenty of ice-cream and pool time. If you ever go to Santorini, we highly recommend our hotel, the Oia Sunset.
Photos
A link to our Greece photos is above
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