California on the Amstel: July 2013

I can't believe we've already been here for more than a month. The time has flown by quickly. In that short period of time we have managed to accomplish quite a bit. First on the list was finding a place to live. I went out with the relocation consultant on a Wednesday and viewed about 11 different places. From that list I picked my favorite 4 and Felipe came with us on Friday to view the short list. Right now we are loving the place-even if we are getting a little sick of living with 2 plates, 1 saucepan, 1 saute pan, and 1 spatula. The neighborhood is quiet and pretty, yet you don't have to walk or ride your bike far to experience the hustle and bustle of Central Amsterdam. We are 2 blocks away from Vondelpark and it makes for a lovely evening stroll or a scenic shortcut when trying to get to Oud West. You have to climb a pretty steep set of stairs as we are located on the 3rd and 4th floors. It is worth it for the extra light and up one more flight of stairs you will find our amazing roof deck. The last few weeks we have had some above average weather and when we are able to sit upstairs in the sun, bbq, and dine alfresco on the deck any stress or worries you may have will just float way.

Looking out towards Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary from our roof.

Loaded up with the last of our bags as we move out of the temporary apartment for good.

Felipe went out and bought us a used bike to share until our bikes arrive. We love the 'omafiets'!!

Next Monday our large container shipment arrives with all of our goods and it couldn't come soon enough! Felipe will be back in the states so I will be tackling this one solo. I might recruit one of my new friends for company while I put away dishes, towels, sheets, and whatever else we had sent over. Once we get everything set up I will post some photos of the apartment. Right now it is looking a little sparse, however we have gotten rid of all the boxes from our big Ikea shopping spree.

Outside of apartment and moving news, Baby Z is cooking away and doing great. I found a really lovely midwife practice less than 3 blocks from the house. So far I've met 4 of the 6 midwives that could possibly be with me for the birth and they all seem super capable and are really nice. I think we are in good hands. Last week we had an ultrasound to check up on growth and Baby Z is weighing in at about 3 lbs. He is still all legs and while I was only 28 weeks at the time of the ultrasound, he's measuring just under 29 weeks. Of course we knew he wouldn't be a tiny thing, let's just hope he doesn't decide to cook much past the due date. He's also still as active as ever and he lets very little time pass before I get another little kick as a reminder that he is in there. I love those little kicks and movements though, and it's very reassuring when I feel them to know that I've got an active healthy little boy growing in there. I've also started pre-natal yoga classes on Tuesday evenings. The classes are focused on preparing you for a safe and healthy natural childbirth. It's interesting being in a room with all pregnant women. There is definitely this feeling of camaraderie among all the women and I really enjoy my Tuesday evenings even if it is much harder than I anticipated.

Last weekend we needed to take a break from "moving and unpacking" so we took a mini roadtrip to Kinderdiijk to check out some windmills. It was a relaxing day filled with a little bit of history. I'll leave you with a few photos.

Kinderdiijk is now a Unesco Heritage Sight. What makes this place really cool is that while just 150 years ago 10,000 windmills were in operation across the country, today only 1,000 remain.