Most of you already know but Alex and I are expecting our first child this month! I'm due on July 27th but I have a feeling he may arrive sooner. That's right, HE! Don't ask the name, it's a sensitive topic. We thought (or at least I had hoped) that we had a name picked out some time ago but it didn't fly well with our Russian family members since they couldn't really pronounce the name. So it was back to the books and after lots of debate we narrowed it down to a few other names. Wouldn't you know the second choice was shot down by my parents. It seems it had some really negative connotations as it was associated with a move about the anti-christ. Since we didn't want that we had to choose again and now we think we've come up with a name that's widely used in Europe, known in the US and pronouncable by Russians. In order not to deter us once again, however, we'll keep our mouths shut. Who knows, maybe we'll come up with something else when he's born!
The pregnancy has goen really well I must admit - sorry I don't mean to brag - but I managed to go through without any morning sickness and have felt really well up to the last few weeks. I've managed to exercise on a regular basis and SO FAR haven't experienced too much pain. I know it's coming though so you don't worry, I don't have on rose colored glasses.
Other than going through the months experiencing all of the joys of pregnancy it has been a fairly busy first half of 2009 because I was extra busy with work and because I've been studying for post-graduate diploma. Provided I can find some time to get my work completed by November, I'll graduate in December with a diploma in Vocational Teacher's Education in Finland. It's required for all teachers who want to stay within the University of Applied Sciences field. So far I've really enjoyed being a student again. I've also enjoyed the fact that every two months I had to travel to Helsinki for my classes. As you are probably not familiar with Finland (anyone? no?) we live in Rovaniemi and to get to Helsinki requires either a 1.5 hour flight or a 12 hour (overnight) train trip. Normally I chose the train but as the pregnancy grew further I couldn't handle the beds on the train anymore. The trips were always productive, I bought half of the baby's things from there. Alex wouldn't count that as productive though...cannot understand why!
Otherwise, I worked like a mad woman to get all of my work completed by June and in time to give some advice to those taking over my work during my maternity leave. I started my leave on June 19th and will not return to work until May 3rd, at least. Here in Finland you can have nearly one year maternity leave (the first three months with your salary and the following months you get 70% of your previous salary) afterwards you can elect to stay home for up to two more years with a guarantee that you'll still have your job when you return! How fantastic is that? I have no plans at the moment, I'll just wait and see how everything works out...maybe I'll want to return earlier.
Otherwise, I worked like a mad woman to get all of my work completed by June and in time to give some advice to those taking over my work during my maternity leave. I started my leave on June 19th and will not return to work until May 3rd, at least. Here in Finland you can have nearly one year maternity leave (the first three months with your salary and the following months you get 70% of your previous salary) afterwards you can elect to stay home for up to two more years with a guarantee that you'll still have your job when you return! How fantastic is that? I have no plans at the moment, I'll just wait and see how everything works out...maybe I'll want to return earlier.
We have travelled only a few times this spring but not too much. This is the first full summer we've spent in Rovaniemi (normally we travel for 3-4 weeks) but this year we had no choice but to stick close to "home". Some pictures of the first half of the year are posted below. And yes mom, I'll post nursery pictures soon. Enjoy!
In Barcelona for a friend's wedding in March.
The beautiful bride, Yesica.
We couldn't believe it was so warm in March, we're just rednecks from the Artic Circle! I think we were the only people with jackets.
Our cutie pie niece (Alex's brother's daughter), Lisa. We took her to Santa's Village where she met Santa for the first time and even received a suprise gift from him.
Taken at Lohimaa, near Kuopio, Finland. We spent a weekend there in mid-June. I suppose you could call it our Babymoon.
Luckily my jacket still managed to stretch over my baby bump.
We decided to go out on the lake for some fishing. So, here's Alex preparing our fishing rods. He had to deal with the worms....
And I was in charge of catching our supper. Thank goodness we brought plenty of other food for grilling! By the way, we took the boat out to the middle of the lake and our motor died. I just knew at that moment that I'd go into early labor! As you can see, it wasn't the warmest day either although I'm really dug the extra large clothing and bright orange life vest I was forced to wear for the festive activity. Oh, we managed to get back safely....Alex had to row most of the way against the waves.
Last but not least, here's the most recent picture of my "little" belly! It was taken on July 5th - just before my bedtime as you can see. Alex says my stomach is sharp and looks like a torpedo:)
No comments:
Post a Comment