Austin

We had a wonderful trip to Austin last week. Spent some quality time with the family and celebrated Mommom's 80th Birthday. Temperatures were above 100 degrees, but we were able to stay cool in the pool.

Surprise Baby Shower

The Sunday before last Josephine and Sara surprised me with a wonderful baby shower. I was actually surprised since I thought we were going over to Josephine's to make plans about the future baby shower! I had assumed the shower would be in July or August. It was really nice to see so many friends and to celebrate our daughter's future arrival. Henry took these lovely photos of the day. We can't thank everyone enough for such a special time.

Our little product testers

Max and Meisje have been very thorough about trying out everything new we've brought home for the baby. Meisje loves the new car seat we won in a raffle and both she and Max were very curious about the changing pad. I guess it doesn't hurt that it's a perfectly sized kitty bed as well!

28 weeks

Hello third trimester! I've been feeling pretty good. A little slower physically and mentally, but excited overall. I now have "pregnancy brain" and have been mixing up words all week. I called the kitchen the fridge this morning.

Crazy clouds

June has had some surprising weather. We've had tons of rain, a few sunny afternoons and some cotton ball clouds after a thunderstorm this evening. Most of the US is suffering through a heatwave while we've just put in our bedroom AC for the season.

amERIKan

Erik had his naturalization ceremony last Thursday. The whole process took only five months. He'll now be able to get a US Passport along with his Dutch one. We celebrated his adopted second country with a BBQ lunch and a new flag.

MoMa and screaming Puerto Ricans

Checked out the latest MoMa exhibitions this afternoon. We arrived early and took a little break on the terrace of the 5th floor cafe. What a beautiful spot! While enjoying our strawberry tart, we overheard the cheers, screams and music from the Puerto Rican Day parade one block away.

Hoboken

Yesterday, Erik and I took a little day trip to Hoboken, NJ to pick up his new soccer jersey at an actual soccer store. Despite the rain, we enjoyed walking around, figuring out the Path train (which made us feel like real tourists) and taking the ferry home. It's amazing how different the architecture was just over the river.

Upstate

Two weekends ago we spent a lovely weekend upstate with Josephine, Peter and her Mom, Terry. It was so nice to breathe the fresh mountain air, stick our tired city feet in some soft grass, and enjoy home cooked meals with friends. We visited a lovely old cemetery down the road as well.

Painting the Nursery

Took advantage of the three day weekend and did a few things around the apartment. Painted the little room a color called "sea glass". It's a very pale blue green. We tried the Home Depot FreshAire paint with no VOCs. It hardly smelled and I felt much safer helping out Erik with the painting. It did require two coats though, while Benjamin Moore paint usually works with one. We are really happy with how the room is coming along. I just need to figure out how to photograph it!