The Bump - Seven Months

I seem to have carelessly lost count of how far I am, but after referring to "What to Expect" it looks like I'm around seven months now. I went to the ob/gyn, and she had (correctly, finally) altered my due date to be around August 30. I'm going for an August baby!

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People were first surprised that I had been showing early. But now, just by looking at me, people are surprised that I'm at 29 weeks already. Wait, that means 11 to go. Ahh!

I'm officially refuting the theory that if it's a boy, your belly is pointed, and if it's a girl, it's more round. It's just that each woman carries a baby differently.

Paloma keeps telling me all the things she's going to pass on to her little brother. Of course, she's ruling out anything pink.

Talk soon!

Weekend Vacay in Prat de Comte - Part 1, The Serene Life

Hello! We had a spectacular weekend with Rafa, Katya, and Pau around Prat de Comte, which is two and a half hours south of Barcelona. I didn't have many expectations about this short trip mainly because I couldn't find any information online about where we were going! All I knew was that we entered a lottery hosted by the regional government, giving families a chance to apply to stay at a hostel in various pueblos where we pay an economic rate. The Ruiz brothers entered for the same weekend, hoping that our families would coincide at the same hostel, and we did! Are we lucky or what?

In total, we drove about 800 kilometers, and had the privacy of our own rented car. Car, how I missed thee so! The road trip got me very reminiscent of when I first visited Spain fifteen years ago (!) with other college kids studying abroad, staring out the bus window while driving from city to city. I remember admiring the Spanish landscapes full of rolling hills, olive trees, and grape vines. This weekend trip reminded me of what drew me to Spain in the first place. I was feeling very nostalgic!

I came home with 700 photos, and finally whittled it down to under 200. So we've got this spread out among several posts. Don't worry, I won't post them all!

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We've arrived! We lucked out with getting a spacious Peugeot 3008 since they had run out of the economy-sized cars. Score!

The door to our hostel. We got a private room with three twin beds and our own bathroom. It was quite clean, not what I remember from when I was traveling Europe as a student.

Free of smog. 

There was just one employee the whole weekend who was the receptionist, cleaner, and cook. For meals, you help yourself by setting your own table, getting your food, and cleaning up. Just like home!

We paid about 50 euros per night per family while breakfast, lunch, and dinner was included. We had our same table the whole weekend.

There was a well-stocked playroom where the kids went wild. Pau and Paloma loved it, especially the house!

Pau especially enjoyed throwing himself in the pool of balls.

There are about 200 inhabitants in this tiny town.

Peace and quiet.

Paloma wonders how people live out here with no honking or air pollution.

The little ones are careful while walking on the unpaved parking lot.

They greeted the day with some tomfoolery as usual.

As Prat de Comte was our home base for our side trips, we were able to enjoy some scenery. Like this cute little pueblo on the hill.

Watch out for bulls crossing! I sooooo wanted to see a bull on the road.

Paloma greets the pueblo peeps from big city Barcelona.

Ah, these two had so much fun together. I just thought it was so sweet how Pau played with Paloma's Baby...

...and give her a piggy back ride.

Some nice panoramas of small towns.

The uniform colors. Where can you find this in the States??

Passing by a church on elevated land. So rustic!

Pooped. More exciting, awesome pictures to come!

Come On, Ride the Train...

Two weeks ago, we went with some friends for a picnic lunch to the Parc de L'Oreneta, which is a park in a wooded area of Barcelona. Apart from its diverse vegetation, one great attraction is the miniature train, especially attractive for the little ones. While mama was taking a rest with her friends (after climbing uphill with a stroller in the heat!), Paloma got to go on a mini expedition with her papa.

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Paloma and her friend Viola wait for their ride to pick them up.

Ding! Ding! All aboooooooard!

There are about twelve people who can board the train, and the tracks run half a mile.

The Italian duo.

My loves. They rode the choo-choo twice.

Off the track, girls! The next one is coming soon!

See you real soon!

We're Modern

The sun is shining, and it seems June is the busiest month of activities of the year. While walking around downtown on Sunday, we discovered the Barcelona Modernista Fair, a three-day event that recaptures the spirit of Eixample (a Barcelona neighborhood) over a century ago when Modernism was at its pinnacle.

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A lower neckline was a little more risque at the turn of the century.

A man sports a top hat with a long waistcoat.

How cool is this? A single-riding kid can enjoy this antique Ferris wheel.

One little boy wonders if the squeaking sound is normal. Hehe...

How about this wheel-cranked carousel? The man on the bicycle makes the whole thing spin 'round. No need to go to the gym!

You get to wear a matching aviator helmet if you're lucky enough to sit in this vintage airplane.

A cool tractor will do too.

Fun little parasols.

A blacksmith! It took me some research to figure out what these guys are called again. 

A pianist takes a break.

Tres chic. She even has the expression down!

Fernando takes a break with these...coal miners?

Thanks for looking!

Happy happy 35 months!

Is it really almost that time? We're less than one month away from the big T-H-R-E-E. Wow! 

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For the much-celebrated regional holiday of St. Jordi, we went to our local civic center, where they were giving away books to kids who drew a picture. Paloma makes a quick scribble.

She got it! The gently used Catalan version of "Hungry Little Caterpillar" and said artist drawing above her.

She also made a rose and a cute dragon bookmark (with my help ;-)).

I kind of hate these random rides sprinkled throughout the city. Your almost-three-year-old wants to go on them so you can stop and pay for it! But it makes for a cute picture and memory ;-)

The chocolate lovers of the family show off their beards and 'staches.

We have an annual pass to the zoo, which has a nice playground where Paloma and I have gone during the week when it's nice and emmmmmpty.

Can't resist a cousins shot.

Paloma has always thought of size in terms of family. It used to be papi-mommy-baby-sized clouds, cars, leaves, etc. Here she's pointing to her foursome of oatmeal grains as papi-mommy-sister-baby. "It's a family!" she squeals.

We were lucky to have one very warm summer-like Saturday this month. Paloma pooped out in her swim ring on her daddy. We can't wait for summer!!

See you next month when a certain someone reaches a new milestone. Hugs to everyone!

P.S. Should I keep doing monthly posts like this? I know people stop counting in months after age two-ish but I kind of like this format. Maybe I should rename it? Waiting to hear from my thousands of subscribers...