EASTER

After Marko had returned home and the family had been reunited, we spent a beautiful Easter weekend together. The weather was at least partly very nice and spring-like, so we took some walks and visited several playgrounds. On Easter Sunday, after church, we ...

watched some videos of Samu's Austrian cousins, ...

 colored some eggs, ...

 broke some colored eggs, ...

 and showed the family in Austria the remaining eggs via skype.

Clearly, our weekend activities were not only fun but also tiring. Samu fell asleep during dinner. :)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

 

NEW ORLEANS

A conference is a great excuse to visit interesting places. Thanks to SSSA's annual conference, I (=Marko) got a chance to spend few days in fascinating New Orleans, a true American melting pot where European, American and African traditions live side by side.

After some interesting and some not-so-interesting presentations it was time to hit the city. St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square is the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the U.S.

The French quarter is a perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon. Beautiful buildings, great bars and restaurants...

...and amazing live music at every street corner.

 

Water is always present in New Orleans. The city is wrapped around the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico. On the bright side, the city is always green and you are just a step away from beautiful water fronts.

On the dark side, flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes are frequent visitors. Seven years after Hurricane Katrina many parts of the city are still trying to recover. Note the hole in the roof of this house. According to our tour guide, local people keep axes in their attics, because during floods the only way to get out might be through the roof.

As enjoyable as the trip was, there is no place like home....

SAMU'S DAYCARE

We asked Samu's wonderful daycare teachers to take some pictures of the daycare center, so you, dear readers, would get a good idea of where he spends his days. He absolutely loves this place!

The reading corner in the main room.

Right next to it, with direct access from the main room, the "gym" (they call it "muscle room"). Samu's favorite place.

Actually, the playground outside is probably Samu's favorite place. The kids can also use all kinds of playgrounds around the community since they are located within our complex, which has tons of playgrounds and lots of open, park-like space.

Very serious Samu and his main teacher Kristin.

Artist at work.

The play area in the main room.

Also one of Samu's highlights: the sensory table, which can be filled with water or sand. He has recently loved to bathe babies. ;-) As you can see, he is often in the center of the action.

Circle time: Here the teacher talks to the kids and teaches them words (colors, animals, ...) or concepts (getting dressed, doing work in the kitchen, sign language, etc).

We are so so lucky to have this place and to have it right next to our house! Samu truly enjoys it.

AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ...

we are expecting another family member to join us at the end of July (around Samu's birthday). It looks like Samu will have a sister. We could not be happier :)

WORK TRIPS

... can be quite enjoyable. Hanna's trip to a Dallas for a conference was a big success, among other things because

... she stayed in an adorable little house with a few friends rather than in an expensive downtown hotel room. 

... and there was enough time (and necessity) for a foot massage

 ... or dinner with friends.

Oh and the conference and presentation went very well too ;-)

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PLACE!

This was one week ago, just after we got the keys:


One week later, it looks like this:

ON THE MOVE (Part 2)

After most of our precious possessions had been moved, it was time to put them back together, unpack them or/and put them in their places. Thankfully, we had help from Samu.

 After working so hard, he took his first nap in his new room and new bed. Both were approved - phew!

 In between, a little bit of dissertation work ...

 And after 3 days of hard work, at least one room was coming together nicely. 

 And there was even time for a new hair cut!

 Still a bit chaotic but getting there ...

 Our new kitchen is like an updated and improved version of the old one.

 Samu's favorite part? The stairs, of course!

 Also Samu's room is slowly becoming more homey.

 And the new potty place passed its first test as well.

 We love our new bedroom ...

 and also our new office/guestroom...

 with a view on the parking lot.

We love love love our new place. It's bright, spacious, clean - in other words, a real upgrade! YAY!