OUR TRIP TO THE EMBASSY

One thing we’re pretty sure of is Amelia is going to be a traveler. And for now if she wants to keep up with Mom and Dad she’s going to need a passport. So in her third week of life it was off to the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, about 2.5 hours south. In fact, this trip was necessary to register her with the U.S. government and get a U.S. birth certificate and social security number (and a passport). Unfortunately for her, she was quickly introduced to the law that passport and drivers license photos are not allowed to be flattering. Of course, having to have her head held up by Mom for the photo didn’t help.

Thankfully, she’s a good traveler so far, meaning she likes to sleep in the car. As long as the car is moving, preferably over bumpy roads. Our challenge came in finding the embassy which, to our utter amazement, does not announce itself with American flags but rather with two men carrying uzis. Welcome to the United States, dearest daughter!

After having to park a kilometer away (no cars allowed), and then having to carry her and her things another half-kilometer (the building is geniously set way back from the street), and then finally managing to push open the 4”-thick steel doors, we were able to submit her applications and announce her existence to our beloved home country.

On a positive note, this was our first encounter with American bureaucracy in some time. And what a difference! We had an appointment at 2:00 and met with the consulate at precisely 2:00. We were in and out of there in 15 minutes. We love Portugal, but there are some things that the Americans do far better. For all of you who complain about waiting at the DMV or to see the dentist, come live in Europe for a while. It will change your perspective.

Welcome Amelia Maren Moffroid

Our little Amelia arrived on Sunday, September 7 at 6:07 pm. For those of you keeping stats at home, she weighed in at 3.38 kg and was 50.5 cm long. In American terms she weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, and was 19.9 inches long. Her middle name is a combination of her grandmother's names, Mary and Karen.

While Dan and I did not know what to expect of ourselves as new parents, we were very happy to find out that it is true what they say, as soon as you see your own little one, it is love at first sight. We have lots to learn, but so far have really enjoyed the first week of getting to know our new daughter.

We will try to post more pictures between the 2am feedings, the diaper changings, and the general feeling of awe we have right now, and of course after we take the dogs out for a walk, since they haven't been forgotten and are also intrigued by the new addition to the family.

To see a few more pictures, click here.

Now We Wait...

So the nursery is all ready, the hospital bag is all packed, and the official due date is tomorrow. I had hoped she would take after her father and be here right on time, but looks like she may be taking after me and procrastinating for a little while longer before she comes out to join us. Right now Dan and I both feel like we are in a holding pattern, just sort of waiting for her to arrive. I still have a few things I can do for work to keep me busy, and Dan is of course working until something happens. We have spent the last week or two assembling some nursery furniture and decorating and organizing everything. So here are a few pictures of our little girl's new home once she makes the decision to come see the world.

OUR KITTY

Our beloved cat, Tuga, died Sunday night, August 10. He wandered into the road and was hit for the second time in his short life. This time surgery wouldn’t save him as it seemed he died quite instantly. It was a tragic moment as Katrin went outside to find him and found his body on the road in front of our house. We buried him the next morning in our front yard, in one of his favorite spots to lie down and soak up the sun.

We got Tuga in January of this year and neither of us has ever known a more amazing cat. And that’s saying something considering Katrin’s former times working in a humane society. Tuga was as affectionate and friendly with people as any dog I’ve ever known. He would let me roll him over on my lap and stroke his belly; he would curl up with Katrin on the couch for naps; and he would play with Tazzy as playfully as any other kitten. They were remarkable together, as Tuga would leap onto Tazzy from behind and then they would roll to the ground, with Tazzy putting Tuga’s entire head in her mouth as Tuga playfully reared up his hind legs to kick himself out. Or he would sometimes tear around the house chasing the toy that Katrin would slowly drag around. But his cutest habit had to be his obsession with water. We weren’t sure what memories we would make here in Portugal, but one of them will be Tuga following us into the bathroom and climbing into the bidet, begging us to turn on the water so that he could bat it with his paw or try to bite it as it poured down.

He had a short life, but his affection will impact Katrin and me for a lifetime. We will miss him terribly, and mourn the loss that our daughter will never get to play with him as we had hoped. We’re happy that a few of you got to meet him, though. A cat that special should really have an opportunity to touch as many people as possible.

37 Weeks and Counting

Katrin is now at the 37-week point and looking like a woman who’s about 37 weeks pregnant. She’s gained 11 kilos and it’s all in her belly and now some swelling in her feet. But she’s still quite active and walking with the dogs and doing stuff normally. Not bad for the ninth month. Thankfully August hasn’t been too hot here, so her comfort level isn’t too bad.

We had another doctor visit today and everything continues to look fine and dandy for both mother and child. The heartbeat is normal, the head is pointed downward, and Katrin doesn’t have any abnormalities in her health that would raise concern. We’ll get to weigh the little girl on the 19th and then meet her in-person on or around the 2nd of September.

So far we’re feeling fairly comfortable in this process. Well, I guess that’s easy for me to say…I should let Katrin speak for herself. We know life will turn topsy turvy in a few weeks, but that’s exciting. Largely thanks to our sister-in-law Jen, and with input from our other sister-in-law Megan and my cousin Julie, we are feeling relatively prepared and have a lot of little baby things now taking up space in our home. Many thanks to everyone from home who passed on advice and gifts during our recent trips to the east coast. Wish us luck in these last few weeks and we’ll keep you informed of the big event!

Our Next Visitor?

As we drive north on the highway, just a few miles from Aveiro we pass by a half mile section of stork nesting grounds. You can see close to 20 nests, most of which are on the support structures for the highway signs, a few of which have 3 or 4 nests on a single structure. It has been really neat to watch the transition the last few months from nest building and incubating through the fuzzy chick stage, and now it is starting to get difficult to tell the adults from the babies, as they seem to have all molted and I imagine it is getting close to time to leave the nest.

So, since we are expecting a delivery from a stork in September, I have found myself asking if one of these guys be our next visitor.

Friendly Faces

We’ve been lucky to meet many new friends here in Portugal, but when living so far from home it is very nice to see some familiar faces again. We’ve recently been able to host several friends and family over the last month. The first arrivals were Laura, Katrin’s cousin from Oregon, and her boyfriend Hunter. They stopped here for a few days after spending a semester abroad in Cyprus. They were able to stay for a few days, and their visit overlapped with that of Karen, Katrin’s mom, and her husband Kevin. The six of us spent a cold day (a common theme for all of our visitors, unfortunately) exploring the mountains of Serra da Freite and the town of Arouca.

Laura and Hunter then had to leave for the US, but we had Karen and Kevin for a few more days. We decided to go to the Galicia region of Spain for a long weekend. We found a great B&B outside the town of Santiago de Compostela, and from there explored the coast out to Cabo Finisterre and up to A Coruna. It was a beautiful area, kind of like Vermont but with an ocean, although we did have to brave some pretty strong hailstorms to enjoy it. Karen and Kevin were good sports and we all managed to have fun, especially at mealtime. Whether it was Katrin’s homemade stuffed squid, seafood rice at our local neighborhood restaurant, or tapas in Spain, we had some great food. This marked the end of Karen and Kevin’s round-the-world trip, but they’ll be back when our little girl is born and liked our hometown of Aveiro enough to put a deposit on an apartment for the winter so they can be closer to their granddaughter.

Soon after we got to see our friends Val and Bryan from Burlington. Val’s work took her to England so they were nice enough to add us into their plans. We only had a few days with them before they were off to see the rest of Europe, but we did have a lot of fun doing a port wine tour in Porto, exploring a nearby castle, and experiencing the local dessert of ovos moles (sweet eggs). Mostly we enjoyed catching up with some old friends again.

Our most recent visitors were my parents, Mary and Pierre, who also included Portugal in a European vacation. We picked them up at the airport in Lisbon and went straight to Sintra, a town up on a hilltop where the Portuguese royalty used to go to escape the summer heat. There we explored a Moorish castle from the 11th century, many fabulous gardens, and a Portuguese palace that seems straight out of Disneyland but without the rides. Coming back to Aveiro, we joined some friends for a typical Portuguese sardine barbecue, which is a tradition at this time of year. It was a nice opportunity to give them a taste of Portuguese culture with some locals, and the language barrier wasn’t too bad with my Dad getting by with his Spanish and Katrin and I doing some translating from Portuguese. Finally, we capped off their visit with a sunny boat ride down the Douro River, in the heart of port wine vineyard country.

We are expecting a couple more visitors in July and August, and then we’ll probably lay low for a few months after our little girl is born. But to the rest of you, we would love to see you in Portugal. And for all of you who have come to visit recently, thank you so much. It’s a wonderful way for Katrin and I to stay close to everyone and still feel connected to home.