Being Pregnant Abroad

I am really thankful that I had Jude back in the States so that my first pregnancy/childbirth experience didn't have the added anxiety of being in a different country/culture. There are enough things to worry about the first time around!

So, now pregnant in a new country, I am learning how things are different over here. There are plenty of serious things to discuss on this topic and I will probably get to them in another post, but for now something a little light hearted...

Pregnancy Cravings.

Like clockwork around week 7 (exactly the same as with Jude), I HAD to have Cheetos. Never mind that I couldn't keep food down in general and never mind that I really could care less about Cheetos normally, for my entire extended 1st trimester I needed Cheetos. Big problem. You can't get Cheetos here! Well ok, you can get some cheese puff version, but not the odd shaped, crunchy, bright orange ones that I craved. During this craving period, we went to three different countries (France, Turkey and Greece) and I scoured grocery stores and airport kiosks for my beloved Cheetos to no avail. Oh the sadness of unfulfilled pregnancy cravings! When my friend Jen came over, I had already shared with her that I was pregnant and could she please, please bring me some Cheetos?! She obliged and the bag was obliterated in 2 days flat.

Lucky Charms. Another craving so strong that I started dreaming I was in Albert Heijn (the grocery store chain here) and found them on the shelf! Oh happy day! Until I woke up and realized I didn't have any! Now, I have been told that you can find them in the American specialty food store in Amsterdam, but 1. it is far away and 2. they are astronomically expensive. When we arrived in Miami over the holidays, Pete and I went grocery shopping and I bought the largest box I could find and proceeded to have Lucky Charms every morning for the entire trip. Jude wanted them too, and hey, it was vacation so Lucky Charms for all!

When Jude was born and the midwife was surprised at how big he was, I told her that I wasn't. Apart from being a big baby myself, I consumed mint chocolate chip ice cream by the gallon durning pregnancy, eating around the chocolate chips as they exacerbated my already bothersome heartburn. I have wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream here before, but now I NEED it. So I did what any savvy ex-pat in Amsterdam would do. I went to the facebook page of the prolific Amsterdam Mamas group and searched "mint chocolate chip ice cream." A thread on this exact topic not more than 6 months old. Bingo! 12 thoughtful replies from other mint chocolate chip lovers. Some suggested a few gelato shops including one in the mall near us. I went last week. No luck. Others suggested a magnum mint ice cream bar sold in the grocery stores. Not our grocery stores. Ben and Jerry's sells it? Can't find it. Buy an ice cream maker and make it yourself. I'm not that desperate (yet!). The only mint chocolate anything I can find here are After Eight chocolates. So tonight, I crumbed two chocolates into a glass with some milk and vanilla ice cream. Voila! A mint chocolate chip milkshake! I'm in business! Let's see if baby girl gets into the 9+ lb club :)

Our Take On Our 22 Minutes of Fame

Well, that was a trip! So surreal to see ourselves on a TV show that we love and to hear the voiceover woman say our names! We so appreciate so many friends and family watching and sending us love. My main emotion after watching was relief. They didn't make us out to look bad or crazy! Hallelujah!

There were a few cringe worthy moments. Pete's ridiculous grin while biking through the bos and certain facial expressions (see the below screen shots that friends sent to him below). Me wishing I had listened to my mom growing up and didn't slouch so much! Overall though, we were really happy with the editing and how we were portrayed.

Speaking of editing, having spent 5 solid 10+ hour days filming (1 in New York and 4 in Amsterdam), it was crazy to see that all cut down to 22 minutes. Our lovely Brooklyn rooftop send off scene was all of 2 seconds as were many of the things we did with Jude. Poor Jude, kid has food all over his face in half the shots. But we still think he looked so cute on camera and loved seeing his baby signing in one of the scenes. What a fun thing for him to have to look back on!

We had a viewing party with a group of Pete's coworkers last Friday night and it was fun to see what parts they laughed at. I imagine we'll be watching it many more times as other Amsterdam friends come to see it. In case you missed it, if the episode ever turns up online, we will let you know! Though I am content knowing that it isn't that widely accessible :)

We are contractually obligated to not say much more about the whole thing, but I will say this. On the weekends now, I really want to go into the city to explore and Pete is happy to hang at our home in the suburbs :) We, of course, end up going into the city. As our male producer said with disbelief during filming, "on this show it seems the wife always get her way." To which I replied, "you obviously aren't married yet."

House Hunters International For Real!

In case our lives are not already out there enough for the public with this blog, now you can catch us on TV! We were filmed for House Hunters International and our episode is set to air next week, Wednesday, January 20th at 10:30pm EST on HGTV.

We have long been fans of the show, though admittedly we haven't watched it in a long time since it isn't available over here. It was quite the experience to be involved in reality TV and I am really glad we did it. We got to do some really cool cultural things in Amsterdam and I will be happy to have the footage of Jude at that age.

Below are some pictures from our filming. We weren't allowed to talk about the show publicly until the air date was announced and are glad that our other big secret from the past 6 months has finally been revealed!

We will be watching via Slingbox the day after you all, so no spoilers :) Which place will we choose?! We are excited and nervous to see how we will be portrayed on TV! Enjoy!!

Here is the teaser from the HGTV website:
http://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters-international/episodes/bringing-up-baby-in-amsterdam

In Brooklyn filming our intro interview.

Filming individual interviews on our neighbor's roof in Brooklyn, This was about the moment I heard them ask Pete, "How is your personality different than Erin's and how will that affect your house hunt?" Yikes!

In our car outfitted with GoPros to film us driving around Amstelveen.

Filming with Jude in our local park.

We had two different crews. One in NY and one in Amsterdam. These guys were really awesome to work with. 

Our real estate agent, Charlotte.

The pancake house we filmed in. Apparently we were their 14th TV appearance. Other notables are Seth Meyers, Anthony Bourdain and the Real Housewives of Somewhere :) I go back there now (only 2 men work there) and am like "Remember me!" So far it has not yielded any free pancakes, but maybe when I bring the DVD to show them... 

Movers in Jude's room. 

The crew prepping our final "decision scene." We had a private 2+ hour cruise along the canals, drinking beer and wine and arguing over which apartment to choose :) 

With our director, camera man and sound guy.

What a Difference a Week Makes!

I am fully recovered from my stomach bug and have a positive outlook on life again! It is amazing how much physical health can affect mental health! Now I'm ready to enjoy mid pregnancy! You know, the glow, the cute, not too big yet belly, the renewed energy. And the eating. After months of sickness, I have some serious calorie catching up to do. I am armed with Zantac and so ready!

In addition to feeling better, we have reconnected with a number of our friends, which has also done wonders for my mood. The weekend got off to a great start with out 21 week ultrasound. It was such a relief to see baby girl fully formed and thriving despite all of my sickness the past 4 months. Babies really are miracles!

Saturday morning I went to my first prenatal yoga class while our apartment was DEEP cleaned (a Christmas present to me) by a cleaning person. We had our neighbors over for dinner Saturday night and two more playdates and dinner at friends on Sunday.

I have a renewed enthusiasm for travel and want to take advantage of the "ease" of traveling with just one child. And also take advantage of Jude flying free for the next 3 months. Our February break trip to Portugal is mostly booked and I am looking into ideas for the long Easter weekend and Pete's April vacation as well.

Jude delighted us all weekend long with his ever increasing vocabulary. He is counting to 11, singing parts of the alphabet song and singing "Rain, rain, go away" in its entirety (perhaps required learning in the Netherlands??). I have noticed that his focus has improved so much since before the Christmas holidays. His Montessori teacher told me that around age 2, kids are better able to focus and it is so nice to see and experience. We are also making small strides with potty training (we haven't forced the issue though), and it is so cute to see his pride when he does his thang! The holidays were great for Jude's bonding with Daddy and while he is still very much a mommy's boy, it is not as bad as it was before the break.

Hope everyone else is having a great start to the week!

Tropical Vacay

When we are making plans to come home, I often overlook the fact that visiting Miami is like taking a tropical vacation. It's not until we start packing for the trip and I have to pull out flip flops and swim suits that I remember, "oh yeah, it is going to be nice in Miami!" 

Getting the kiddie pool ready

The visit felt even more like a vacation because Nana insisted that Jude sleep in the second bedroom next to her room so that she could get up with him in the mornings while Pete and I slept in the cottage out by the pool, sleeping in each day until at least 8am. It was much needed rest and so nice! 

While Leslie, Andy and Peyton were in town, we went to Pinecrest Gardens and enjoyed all of the kid-friendly activities: fish feeding, playgrounds, petting zoos and most of all, splash park.

Whereas Jude can't stand to get his head wet, Ms. P is a little fish and squealed with delight getting dunked and splashed in the water!

On Monday, we returned for the first time to the place where Pete and I got married 6 years ago. The Deering Estate has a stunning location on the water in South Miami and it brought back so many great memories to tour the grounds again. Even more special to bring Jude and baby sister on the way. 

Last time we stood here, we were drunkenly running through a corral of our family and friends waving glow sticks as we made our way to the buses. 

Where we had our first dance. Doing their rendition of "You are the Best Thing." 

Where I waited with my dad to walk down the aisle.

"I do" again and again!

We took a nature walk through the mangroves.

A quiet moment with babygirl

A silly moment with big boy.

Dinning al fresco. Sharing kraft mac and cheese with bunny. 

Thanks to our facebook post that we were in Miami for Christmas, we found out that friends Adam, Laura and their baby Ellie would be nearby in Hallandale Beach. We had a night out to dinner together while my parents babysat and then spent a heavenly day together on Hollywood Beach and then by their family's condo pool. More delicious burgers were consumed and Jude loved floating around the heated pool in Ellie's raft. 

Babes at the beach.

Turns out Jude loves to be buried in sand :) 

On Wednesday, my cousin Amy and her family came to visit for the morning. They come down to Florida from Maryland every year and it was a treat to get to see them. We last saw them all 2 years ago, when we were making the decision to move to Amsterdam and she proclaimed, I think jokingly, that we were "certifiable" for moving with a baby.

The best we could do :) 

Our final day in Miami was New Year's Eve. We spent the morning at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Jude really loves the beach now and was tearful back in Amsterdam when we would talk about it

The shock of cold, spray sunscreen.

Buried again

19 weeks! 

Too excited about the beach to sit still for a photo.

We celebrated New Year's early with Jude, who donned another party hat and enjoyed blowing his horn, swirling a glow stick and proclaiming, "Happy New Year!" And then we purposefully stayed up 'til midnight, playing cards with my parents and watching the ball drop on TV. Easier to do knowing that we could sleep in the next day before our flight home :)

2015 was an absolutely incredible year. We watched Jude learn to walk, talk and delight others with his sweet and silly personality. We took dream vacation after dream vacation (Spain, Provence, Tuscany, Croatia). I started a new job in my field, working happily from home. Pete's seniors crushed their IB exams. We welcomed two beautiful, healthy nieces. We hosted loads of amazing friends who made the trip to see us. And we found out that we would be welcoming a baby girl in 2016. Excited to see what 2016 holds for us! Happy New Year!