We went to the doctor and got an ultrsound just to be sure everything is still looking good. Apparently, he’s cozy and comfy and they estimate his weight to be a hearty 8.7lbs! Holy monkey – I’m just a little girl! We were hoping for a little football player, but wished for a QB, not an LT

Thanks everyone for the love and happy thoughts that you’ve sent our way these last 10 months. We’ll keep you posted as soon as the real action happens. In the meantime, enjoy the photo of our little guy – I think he has my lips and Pattie’s nose!

40 weeks

Me - 41 Weeks

A month ago my amazing friends coordinated the most successful surprise party in history. Man, can they keep a secret. They planned for months and it really showed. The theme for the party was Dr. Seuss – there were green eggs and ham, all sorts of decorations, and even a couple of awesome friends who came dressed to the nines in Seuss wear. Honestly, I didn’t get it at first. I was waaay to overwhelmed too even comprehend why all these people were even there! Here’s the thank you note I wrote to everyone right after the shower.

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for the wonderful (and well orchestrated) surprise baby shower! It was such a shock to see my loved ones together that I just didn’t know what to do or say (as expressed by my silence and confusion). I couldn’t believe the distances traveled and the amount of work that was put into making this celebration happen. I just don’t know how to adequately express my gratitude or the joy I feel, knowing that our little family is so loved. Special thanks goes to the peeps who traveled from afar to be with us, those who joined us via satellite and video, those who so sneakily lied to my face, and those who worked tirelessly to coordinate, cook and decorate…

Pattie, Baby Barbu and I are so very lucky to have friends and family such as you. Our little boy is going to be born into a community full of wonderful aunties/uncles and grandparents who will love, support and guide him along in the years to come. Also, thanks so much for the thoughtful gifts. Please please please send me your mailing addresses! I will send out some pictures very soon, but in all the excitement I really didn’t get to take very many. So, if you have pictures please send me the link.

With Lots of Love,

Jeni, Pattie, and baby

DBHS Reunion!

Rawr.

Not a Jammy Party

More photos on flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenieverywhere

This week we had the LONGEST sonogram ever. They looked at everything from all his mini organs to his twenty tiny fingers and toes (whew! he’s got the right number!). I think he has Pattie’s nose and my lips, you can judge for yourself (=

Week 20!

Ok, not really on a prayer, but we’re just at the half way mark – baby’s cookin’ and we’re cruising through the second trimester! Next week we’ll be going in for our next sonogram and seeing how baby boy barbu is growing. So far, he feels… BIG! His heart is thumping away and Mommy (that’s me!!!) is getting a bit of a belly. The real litmus test is seeing when people start giving up their seats for me on the train. I suspect that won’t start happening for a couple more months. What’s worse, not giving up your seat for a pregnant lady, or accidentally giving up your seat for a lady that’s, well… chunky? I think at his stage it’s not entirely clear (to the non-discerning eye) which category I’m in. (=

Me - Week 20

Baby Boy Barbu is currently 16 weeks old, about 4 inches long and incredibly healthy. His little heart is beating very strong and he’s not causing mommy any aches or pains – thanks baby! If you want to see how much time the baby has been cookin’, take a look at the baby ticker page.

Baby Boy Barbu - Week 16!

I had some seriously mixed feelings about our time in Morocco. On one hand, the land was beautiful and mysterious… every experience was completely unique from anything I had ever encountered before. We climbed the highest mountain in North Africa, rode camels in the Western Sahara, saw the sun rise over sand dunes and wandered souk labyrinths. On the other hand, man, was it a hassle doing all of that! Constant badgering from all sides made everything – eating, sleeping, travel – a hassle! I mean, it makes traveling mainland China and every third world country I’ve ever visited seem like a luxury packaged tour! In retrospect we would probably do it all again. I mean, that 11 hr bus ride in the Sahara with no A/C wasn’t that bad, was it?!

Aforementioned camel ride

Pattie taking a shortcut to camp

Pattie and I toiled up Mt. Toubkal – one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done. Day 1 was the easy day. We hiked up 6hrs and a couple thousand meters over mostly rock. Day 2 was rough! We woke up at 6am and hiked 3 grueling hrs to the summit, then came ALL the way down. In total, we did about 11hrs of hiking that day. Pattie swore he’d never climb anything again, but has since recinded that threat. We weren’t well prepared for the sudden change in altitude, but made it in good time and good spirits anyway.  It was a hard couple of days, but totally worth it. The view from the top was breathtaking (or maybe it was the lack of oxygen to my brain?!). Either way, it was spectacular.

Day 1: 6hr hike to base camp

Day 2: Made it! View from 4,200 Meters

The rest of the trip went by smoothly. We headed to Bucharest to visit Pattie’s long lost relatives who were all very kind and generous. The city itself was not that impresive given Ceausescu’s lack of architectural aesthetic sensibility, but the country was bucolic and unfettered.  We ate lots of feta and drank lots of tuica (a homemade liquor made from plums) and chatted into the wee hours of the night (well, mostly I listened and interjected with and occassional “da, un putine” or “nun, multimesc”).

Romanian Countryside

For our next and final leg of the trip, we took a comparatively luxurious 10hr airconditioned bus ride from Romania-Ukraine-Istanbul. In Istanbul, we saw some amazing architecture, ate some fish sandwiches and pined for home.  Here’s a funny, although inaccurate depiction of Istanbul.

Resurrection Ship, Valencia - No, really, the arts and science center

Cabo de Gata, Almeria - A very strange and beautiful place... Indiana Jones Last Crusade was filmed here!

Sierra Nevada, Granada - Crampons and ice picks required. Needless to say, we didn't make the summit. )=

Costa de la Luz, Cadiz - Amazing, quiet beaches.... and hippies!

Parque National de Grazalema, Cadiz - Huge park full of hiking trails

As you can see, we didn’t spend much time in the city. In fact, or trip ended up becoming and impromptu national park tour. More pics of Spain on our flickr site (if you fancy). Just click the thumbnails on the right.

Jen taking a liking to the statue- hoping it will turn into a prince

Barcelona, for the first time on this trip, is a place I could consider living in. I felt very comfortable there from the moment we arrived. We stayed in the Gothic quarter. The buildings were antiques, very beautifully sculpted, and also quite close together. The roads in this area were narrow and for the most part only for pedestrian traffic. By chance we found an apartment to stay in for the few nights we were here. It gave us a better feel for living there. Basically a small studio apartment with a big bed, a little kitchen, bath, and even a narrow balcony, the place is rented out like a hotel room.The price was really reasonable and the location put us close to a lot of things. Plus, you can say, “Sure I’ll come and have some coffee and iberico ham at your restaurant, but i forgot something at my apartment.”

I wish i was small enough to hug this little guy.

A place must fit a certain criteria for me to live in it. Most importantly it must have a strong food culture. Barcelona’s was pretty awesome. After being disappointed by the food in France, our first stop in Spain restored our faith that there is a food god. One of the first places we went was the central market, a short walk from the apartment(haha). Broken up into sections depending on products, it had everything you could think of. The carne section had a huge selection of fresh beef, lamb, rabbit, poultry, sausages(cured, smoked, fresh) and lots of pig!!!!!!!!!! What a glorious day for us.

jeni approved for freshness and variety!!

From the butchers to the fish mongers who had anything your little heart desired. Coolest thing I saw was a giant squid the size of my head, maybe even big enough to wear it like a ski mask.

sweet goodness!!!!!

After that came the fruits and vegetables that all looked so good. Dried peppers hanging from the canopies like lines of firecrackers. There were a few towers of fruit juices, smoothies, and shakes waiting to be bought and guzzled down during the hot afternoon. When I saw a bucket of fava beans sitting there half shucked, I was drawn towards them. Jen wanted to move on but I postponed her request long enough to get my “kitchen fix.” I began popping the little beans out of the pod and the ladies at the stand looked at me in a confused way. It must have been strange for someone to emerge from the crowd and have such a big grin on his face doing this task. I tried to push as hard as I could and I think I beat my speed record, ha! I explained the ladies afterwards and they ended up hitting on me.

And if it isn’t enough that you can buy all that great produce and meat, they toss in a section of food stalls. Im guessing if you get overwhelmed by the whole spectecle of the place, you might need a quick bite and a cool refreshing alcoholic beverage! We ended up coming back for lunch to this place with no menu, you just point at food in the window case and they make it for you. Mind blowing!

When buying from a deli, you might get it wrapped in this.

Typically, our day went something like this:
07:45 – Feed the animals
08:30 – Breakfast
09:00 – One of the aforementioned tasks, depending on the very tricky weather
11:00 – Tea Time!
11:30 – Continue on with task, maybe with our rain gear on
13:00 – Lunch with the family… Mmm… Ali was an awesome cook and fed us super well (=
14:00 – Probably some other task, hopefully not something too yucky
16:00 – Tea Time! I love the Brits and how they religiously stick to tea time

Depending on the weather and how much we accomplished that could mark the end of our day, or we could go on till  18:00 hrs (digging this military time business!). Some days were shorter than others because of rain. For the first week we were there it rained EVERY single day. It was actually a little disheartening, but we took comfort in front of the fire place and with a slew of DVDs.

Mooovin' Right Along

Jamie and Ali were even nice enough to lend us their car (their right hand drive car) so that we could do a little sightseeing! Pattie was a little sketched out at first – right is left, left is right, up is down… but he did great. We went to a nearby town called Najac, one of “l’un plus beaux villages de france” and St. Antonin for the weekly market. I love, love French markets – the hustle and bustle, the colors, and the samples!

Pretty Little Najac

One of the best experiences (one of many) we had at the farm was eating with the family. We really got to know them and, I think, became friends. The parents, Ali and Jamie are these super interesting people with a really cool story. He owned an IT business that worked (loosely) with derivatives, of all things, and she was an administrator in a preschool. They decided that they were fed up with corporate life, bought a farm and some animals, and started a new one. I suspect that they were, at one time, pretty badass punk rockers too. The kiddos are teenagers, but very sweet teenagers! They both seemed responsible and were really sweet. Pattie and I invited them to Brooklyn, so that we may perhaps corrupt them a little (like I did with Pagee!). I hope they take us up on it.