German Zoo and BBQ

Last weekend we went to the Heidelberg Zoo with one of Collin's German friends from high school and his family and friend. This was our first experience visiting a zoo in Germany. The zoo was really nice, it was smaller than the FW Zoo but was nicely kept. One interesting difference was there was not as many barriers between the people and the animals like there are at many of the zoos in the States. We thought this made it easier to see the animals.

After the zoo we went to our first real German barbecue. The difference between a German and Texan barbecue is that our German friends barbecued all pork. They had pork steaks and sausages. All which were really good. They also had a good salad, french fries, and round potatoes. In Texas a traditional barbecue usually consists of beef steaks, chicken, hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and beans. We had a good time.

Here are a few pictures from our zoo trip.

Spring and 3rd Trimester

The weather has been gorgeous since we returned to Germany. After a long, cold and dark winter, the sun has finally shown its face again. Germany moved its clocks forward for Summer Time last weekend. The days are beginning to be longer again. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and the weather is warm, it has been in the 60s and low 70s this week. If this is what spring is like we wish it could be spring all year!

I had a doctor's appointment last night and everything looks great. My baby measures two weeks ahead of schedule. I am 27 weeks and the doctor said my baby is the size of a 29 week old which means he is about 1.13 kg (2.5 lbs) and around 38.1 cm (15 inches) long. She said the baby is very healthy and looks great. She also said that my weight gain is also really good. I had a few concerns but she said she sees pregnant women every day and my weight gain is perfectly normal. We even got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time. The test takes about 15 minutes. They attached a heart monitor to my stomach which charted the baby's heart beats. It was really neat! My doctor will do this test every visit from now until delivery. I am also going to have appointments every two weeks instead of once a month. The count down has begun!

Here is a picture from the 4D ultrasound last night. His hands and feet were covering his face so it was hard to get a good picture of him.

We also received our stroller and car seat in the mail yesterday. We ordered them from Target.com last week and were pleasantly surprised to receive them already. They also sent us our pack-n-play. I do not think we have ever received items online this fast before. Collin put together the stroller last night and we love it! We were a little concerned because we did not see it in person and they could not ship the one we originally wanted. Once Collin put it together we discovered it is perfect! Thank you again to all who gave us Target gift cards. We really appreciate it. Now all we are lacking is a crib, rocking chair, some furniture for the baby's room, and a few small baby items. Hopefully within the next month we will have the baby's room ready for him. We are so excited!

Texas - Home Sweet Home

We just got home from spending two weeks in Texas. We never would have thought vacationing in Texas would be so much fun! We got to see lots of family and friends. Thank you to everyone who showered us with baby gifts and warm wishes. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and feel very blessed.

Our time in Germany has been fun yet often stressful. It was a huge relief to come home and not have to try and translate a simple conversation. I also enjoyed randomly waving at people when we were driving just to see them wave back - not very common over here. Many people seem to take a little longer to get to know people. We have some great German friends who are very friendly, so there's hope! But Texas is our homeland.

While at home, we ate Mexican food at least 8 times. So good! We spent a week with Collin's parents and a week with mine. We were able to visit with our Legacy family two Sundays. They are very special to us. We wished we would have had more time to see more family and friends but we were constantly on the run. We enjoyed getting to see everyone we did. There are several people we hope to see next time we are in town that we were unable to see this time.

Here are some pictures from our visit back to the States.

Some of Marisa's family at Uncle Julio's

Marisa, Amy, and Chase

Audra, Marisa, Karen, and Michelle

Shawn and Marisa - Mr. Southall made this rocking horse for my son. He made Shawn one 29 years ago and he still has it! It is a very special gift.

Collin and his dad

Sabra and Marisa

Shane, Collin, Steve, Jim, and Orlando

clockwise from left: Tricy, Shaugna, Deidra, Larissa, Marisa, and Collin's mom

Shane, Debbie, Marisa, Collin, Jim Jr., Viola, and Collin's parents

Here we are in front of one of Collin's favorite mexican food restaurants

Larissa and Marisa

Marisa's parents

Emily, Mary, Tracey, and Jessie

Marisa and her sister Michelle

Marisa and her dad

Brandon, Chase, Marisa, and Collin

Marisa with some of her old co-workers:

Emily, Kelly, Marisa, Taylor, and Tracey

Proud fathers to be! Bernd, Phillip, and Collin

Proud mothers to be!

Joceyln, Marisa, and Ashley - we are all due within two months of each other!

Rose and Marisa

Marisa, Collin, Kevin, and Elizabeth

Marisa and Grandmother Dot

Collin and Drew

6 months pregnant!

I can hardly believe 6 months of pregnancy have passed. I went to my 7th prenatal appointment last night and the baby looks great and I am feeling really good. My doctor told us again that we have a really good looking baby boy. Our son is very flexible, his feet were up near his head and he is moving all around. My doctor contacted a midwife who speaks English and I hope to meet her this weekend and tour a few hospitals in the area.

The past two weeks I have gone to Paris and various parts of Germany with my good friend, Emily. She left this morning to go back to Texas. Thankfully my pregnancy so far has gone really well. I honestly thought I would be more tired than I am. I have gained almost 25 lbs and was fearful that I am gaining too much weight. The doctor said I have a very healthy weight gain and I don't need to worry about it. I just feel really heavy and am constantly hungry, so I eat. Plus the more weight I gain the more room for the baby, right? =) Food just seems to taste better than it did before I got pregnant.

Here are a few pictures of our precious son.

Here is a pretty good picture of his face. I am amazed with 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds. The technology is incredible. My doctor puts all of the 4-D ultrasound videos on DVD for us. This picture and the one below are actually from the video taken last night.

You can see both of his feet to the right of his face. He is very flexible and loves to kick.

Here is a funny picture taken last weekend. Although Collin may have gained a few sympathy pounds he thankfully is not even close to gaining as much weight as I have. He can still see his feet, I cannot. Collin is going to make a great dad.

A few day trips in Germany

This morning I took Emily to the airport. This was my first time driving to the airport. It was raining but thanks to my GPS I had no problems navigating there and back home. Emily and I had a great time these past two weeks, going to Paris and seeing various parts of Germany. Collin and I will miss having her here. We love having friends visit.

Last weekend Collin, Emily, and I took two day trips. On Saturday we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We ate lunch and then visited the Medieval Crime Museum. Collin and I have been wanting to visit the crime museum for some time. Reading and seeing how people were punished really made us appreciate living during this time period. The museum featured legal conditions governing the lives of our forefathers. We also went to a Christmas shop and bought some gifts. Rothenburg is home to many amazing year-round Christmas stores. Lastly, we walked around part of the wall surrounding the city. I love medieval towns with city walls.

Sunday after church we went to Bad Dürkheim. We ate lunch in the world's largest barrel. The food was absolutely wonderful. After lunch we visited a winery - there are vineyards everywhere in this part of Germany, then headed to one of the castles in town. We parked and hiked up the mountain to see the castle ruins and a restaurant inside the castle. We stood in aw of the view from the top of the mountain before storming the castle. Before heading back down the mountain we decided to have some ice cream and hot chocolate in the castle restaurant. The desserts were delicious! Next time we go there we will try the other food in the castle. The prices were really not too bad especially considering you are eating in a castle.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend:

Collin and me sitting by a window in the castle in Bad Dürkheim

The castle in Bad Dürkheim

Inside the castle ruins in Bad Dürkheim

Picture of our food in the barrel, it was so good!!

Marisa and Collin standing upstairs in the restaurant

The world's largest barrel restaurant in Bad Dürkheim, Germany

The three of us sitting at a table inside the barrel restaurant

City wall in Rothenburg

Outside the crime museum

Torture device outside the crime museum

Christmas shop in Rothenburg

This past week Emily and I explored old town Heidelberg and took the train up the mountain to the king's stool and went shopping in Mannheim. The weather was cold, thankfully the day we went to Heidelberg the sun was shining, I think that was the only day it was out all week. Yesterday it rained all day so we did not do too much.

Here are some pictures from our trips to Heidelberg and Mannheim:

Heidelberg Castle

One of three trains we took to get to the top of the mountain

Taken next to the Heidelberg castle

Street shot of the walking street in Mannheim


Mannheim's water tower

Paris in February

Over a week ago my good friend Emily came to visit us for two weeks. We have been having a lot of fun. I will try and blog about our trips over the next couple of days. Last week we spent five days in Paris. Unfortunately, Collin was unable to come. This was our first time to go to Paris. I plan on going back to Paris with Collin while we are living overseas, it was a beautiful city.

In Paris Emily and I visited a lot of wonderful sights and saw some amazing and not so amazing art. We went to Notre Dame where Emily climbed almost 400 stairs to the top, I went to a little cafe and waited with Edie. We both went to the top of the Arc de Triumph, the top of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, Musée d'Orsay, visited Chateau de Versailles, and did some shopping. The weather was great, a little cold but with a hat, scarf, and gloves we felt great. The lines were short and the air was crisp. We stayed with my friend Erin's parents who are living in Paris and they were two of the most generous hosts. I enjoyed getting to know them better.

Being 5 1/2 months pregnant I thought I would have more difficulty getting around. However, my energy level has been pretty good. I avoided climbing extra stairs apart from the ones I could not avoid such as the stairs in the Louvre, Metro station, and other necessary ones but rather looked for the elevator signs. That really helped a lot. Every night my legs and feet hurt but I think that is pretty normal when you spend all day walking and standing.

We had been warned of pickpockets and thankfully did not have any problems. Of course we did not carry a purse and used our money belts. Emily said she felt more safe in Paris than in New York. It has been too long since I have been to New York for me to have an opinion. The Metro (subway system) was great in Paris. We were able to navigate very easily even though it was in French. Also we met a lot of really nice French people. The three most important questions I found to ask in French were: Where is the restroom? Where is the Metro? Do you speak English?

Here are some pictures from our trip to Paris:

Here we are in front of Notre Dame

The Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triumph

Here I am, pregnant, in front of the Louvre.

Emily standing outside the Musée d'Orsay

Outside the Chateau de Versailles