March 19, 2011

You may be wondering what's so great about that day but it is incredibly meaningful for us! We are expecting Baby Boyd #2 to arrive on (or near) the start of next Spring! I am currently starting my 15th week and we had an ultrasound today and got some pics to share of our new addition.
We showed the pic to Olivia and asked what it was. Her response? "It's a polar bear!" So I guess we're having a bear instead of a human.

We are very excited and the doctor said everything looks great!

Below are some ultrasound pictures. The first one is by far the clearest.



Head and body. The head is on the left of the middle dark circle.


Baby is on the upper far right.


The baby's face is on the upper far right.


Another shot of the baby's head and face.

Olivia's 1st day of Pre-School

Monday was O's first day of pre-school on base. The Child Development Center here has a Spanish Immersion Class for children ages 3-5 and we were lucky enough to just make the cut as O just turned 3 a month ago. The class is taught by local Spanish women and they will speak only Spanish to the kids. I am so excited as this is the time for O to learn a language and Justin and I know enough Spanish at this point to emphasize certain phrases and words at home. In other words, our Spanish knowledge is on par with a 3 year old. Only kidding...we may be at a 10 year old level.
We attended the parent meeting and were so impressed with everything they will be teaching the kids this year. It is treated as a year long program with the same holidays as the regular elementary and high school on base. And what is so great is that it is 5 days a week, 3 hours a day in the morning. More than the average pre-school! I am hoping that this type of pre-school will set her up for the schools back in the states when we leave here and possibly help her retain language easier as she grows older in school.
We made the first day a big deal for her and went out shopping last weekend for a dress and shoes for the big day and I spent extra time drying and brushing her hair. She was so excited and did so well her 1st day! I am so glad that I have used the CDC so much in the past for hourly care as O was fine being left at school while other kids in her class were screaming for their moms the whole time. There is something to be said for giving your child social opportunities in places outside the home before they actually head off to school. At least this was necessary for a kid like Olivia.

The morning of the big day. Dress-7,50 Euro. Shoes-9 Euro. Cute outfit and reasonably priced! I know how to bargain shop-it's one of my best attributes (in my not-so-humble opinion).

Showing off her new dress.


Okay Dad. I am getting bored now.


Waiting for her friend Drew to come over and take pictures together. They were so excited to be reunited together again in class!


She can not help herself from losing focus and checking everything going on in the street.


And here comes Drew for the pictures!


Of course, two 3 year old's can not pose perfectly together to catch the perfect shot.


Heading to her classroom.


Found her spot to start playing with play-doh while her other amigos arrived.

We are so proud of you Olivia! You have become quite the young little lady. We love you Bug!

Sagres, Portugal

We went to Portugal for the Labor Day weekend for a little R&R. It's a short 2 1/2 hour car ride so it's so easy to go! We love Portugal-it may be Europe's best kept secret. The towns are absolutely charming, the people are friendly and they speak English, hotels are nice and the beaches are fabulous. The Brits and Germans come to the Southern coast in droves so it must be good. We bummed around the whole weekend and got plenty of sleep-something we needed. A visit to the beach, some historical sites, the zoo, the hotel pool and the mall were the highlights.

One of the places I had really been wanting to see was Sagres. This is the Southwestern most point of Europe. This city was also the location of Prince Henry the Navigator's school that began the idea and subsequent discoveries of land outside of Europe through sailing and navigation. It was the Portuguese that first ventured off Europe by ship in the 14th and 15th centuries, not Columbus. He came later. We made a stop at the Sagres lighthouse and admired the steep cliffs that feel like you are at the edge of the world.


Olivia posing in front of Prince Henry.


The lighthouse at the Southwestern most point.


An example of the cliffs at the point.


O is casually draping her arm over the side while I have her in a death grip as we pose near the edge.


Justin just had to take this pic pf him and O near the edge.


O and I inside what used to be Prince Henry's navigation school. It is now a museum and lighthouse.

Lagos Zoo

On Sunday, we decided to take Olivia to the zoo in Lagos for the morning. This was about all the amount of time we needed in this zoo. It was bird heavy with some primates as well. We deduced that Portugal does not have enough money to house bigger animals that eat meat or for costly vet bills. Animals that eat primarily vegetation and grains are easy to maintain. But still it was so fun to watch Olivia run from animal to animal screaming for us to "Look!!"


The White Gibbon. These were worth the price of admission. They were swinging all over their habitat and chanting to each other. It was like they were putting on a show.


I'm not sure how or where Justin caught this shot. I'm just glad he did.


Contemplating the next animal.


A nice Portuguese man gave Olivia some feed for the goats. The highlight of her day.


You sure look tasty.

Loving the primate island.


I just had to include this. This swan was so beautiful.

Happy 3rd Birthday Olivia!

A few weeks ago we celebrated Olivia's 3rd birthday here with our close neighborhood friends who have kids. It was my first attempt at planning a party. Since Olivia loves the beach, I decided on a beach theme and we had a slip'n'slide, baby pool, sand box and bounce house for the kids to play in during the party. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate as we had the strong winds and overcast skies for the duration of the party. But like the kids noticed! They all had a blast running from activity to activity together while the parents sat around and ate and chatted. We were fortunate to have Justin's parents here with us as well and they were a big help with setting up and serving at the party.

On O's actual birthday, we had a nice low-key celebration with just us and Justin's parents. Olivia requested chicken quesadillas and guacamole for dinner so that is what I made. We had some leftover cake from her party that I had kept frozen all week and then after dinner, O got to open her family presents. She was wonderful while opening presents. She oohed and aahed over everything and said thank you to all of us for the presents. It was an endearing moment for sure.


The cake. A lady just PCS'd here that makes cakes and everyone is using her now since our commissary cakes are pretty awful. The cake was not exactly what I had ordered but good enough.


The birthday girl ready for the party. Although this looks like an advertisement for Ruffles.


The cake and kid's party favors table.


Everyone needs to get here so I can go play in the water!!


How many kids can fit in one small sandbox???


Justin barbecuing and chatting with our next door neighbor and fellow JAG Jared.


The vultures, I mean kids, anxiously waiting for me to cut the cake.


The blue face of a happy birthday girl!


So focused!

The guys doing watch duty over the kid's pool.


O sliding down our makeshift water slide.


And then running and sliding down the slip'n'slide.


A pic of O on her actual birthday getting ready for some cake. She is obsessed with crowns and her grandparents managed to find a cheap one and a magic wand at the local department store for her. She loves them both and usually is holding or wearing one or the other everyday.


The last gift of the day! A bicycle from her grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. It was time to retire her tricycle and move her up to her own bike. It's still a little big for her but the way she is growing, we expect her to fit into next month.

Admiral's Beach

We are fortunate to have a nice beach on base that the Spanish let us use. It connects to the public beach in Rota but is separated by the base fencing and rock wall so only the military members can use it. This means that the base is much less crowded and more secluded than the public beaches in the neighboring towns. And its location also makes for much smaller waves and undertow...a constant worry for me with a fearless little girl. The best part? The beach is 5 minutes from our house.

We went to the beach a few days ago with Justin's parents who are visiting with us. They, like us, love the beach and find watching Olivia playing in the waves such a joy.


The tide was way out so the water was fairly calm and perfect for running in and out of.

The face of a contented girl in the water. If she's not a surfer when she grows up, I will be surprised. She went under countless times and swallowed a lot of water, but she never freaked and just kept going back for more.


Watch out. She's coming in.


She sat with me at the water's edge for oh, about a minute before she just had to run back in.


Olivia taking a break to tell her Papa about the water.


Nothing better than playing with her Mama in the water.

Last Port Call-Napflion, Greece

Our last port call of the cruise was Napflion, Greece. This is a posh seaside town on the Aegean Sea. As stated before, Justin loves ancient Greek history so it was a must that we do an excursion in Napflion.

Napflion is close to the ancient Greek city of Mycenae. The Mycenaean Greeks were some of the oldest Greeks known to exist. They lived around 1600-1100 B.C. and their ancient city was written about in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey about 1000 years after they existed. The Mycenaean King Agamemnon, according to Greek mythology, lived here and was the famed king who launched 1000 ships to send to and destroy Troy after beautiful Helen was kidnapped from Greece and taken there. The Greeks have excavated the site where Mycenae stood and we took a tour of the ruins and tomb where Agamemnon was supposedly buried.


The Boyd's under the Lion's Gate of Mycenae, the entrance to the city.


Olivia taking a break among Mycenaean ruins. It's tough to be 3 years old.


The entrance to the grand Beehive Tomb, the supposed burial place of Agamemnon. Mary Ann and Olivia are reading up on it first before they enter.


Justin is about to enter the tomb. I wonder what's inside....


Tourists and not much else. O and I in the entrance. As you can see, it gets the "beehive" name because it looks like one on the inside.


After Mycenae, we went back to Napflion to tour the Palamidi Fortress. This fort lies atop the city of Napflion and was built by the Venetian occupiers in the 17th century. O and I are walking among the fortress.


Photo op with the Aegean Sea behind her.


And look! There's our cruise ship!


Later that night...O found a little creature in the bed.


She thought the mouse made out of a washcloth was so cool!


Had to include this one. At the kid's club on the ship, they had a pirate day and taught the kids pirate sayings, made pirate hats and painted their faces. She was so proud of this get-up. We went to lunch with her looking like this and she was talking like a pirate the rest of the afternoon.