Amara Danica Leckie!

As I write this I am staring at our little girl who is already 6 weeks old! For the past month and a half this is how we spend the larger part of our days, staring at Amara with wonderment and pride. As expected, parenthood is keeping us pretty busy and we continue to enjoy the bliss of it all.

Amara Danica Leckie was born on October 16, 2010. This is the day we found a new boundless kind of love. Earlier in the week, Georgia & Blair arrived in Vienna in anticipation of their first grandchild. They had a few days to settle in and we had this time to spend with them before officially becoming parents. We talked over meals and walks around the city knowing that anytime we would bring a child into the world and not knowing just how amazing it would be. The night before Amara was born we had a Spanish tapas dinner and went to the famous Sachar Hotel for dessert. There was some anticipation when going to sleep that evening because the next day was my "due date." Sometime after midnight I started feeling what I thought were cramps. Knowing that about five percent of babies are born on their actual due date I didn't want to psych myself out. I tried to sleep through them until about 3:00 when they kept me awake. At 6:00 AM I started timing them and I thought they were too frequent to be contractions. Finally around 7:45 I decided to call my midwife Ulli and let Andrew know that I think something is really happening. Ulli told me to meet her at the hospital in an hour. After packing our things, we walked the 3 blocks to the hospital while I took breathing breaks every two minutes or so. Once there, Ulli found that the baby's heart rate was healthy and that my contractions were constant. At that point she found that I was 7 centimeters dilated. To get to the point, she drew me a bath, called my doctor, and I ended up having a natural water birth 3 1/2 hours later.

Upon first glance, I'm still not sure if it was us or our baby that was more wide-eyed. We were staring at a baby, our baby. After finding that she was a girl, we were still trying to absorb that she was ours. Amara was alert, beautiful, and little. I held our baby girl while Andrew cut the umbilical cord. After the birthing part was said and done we spent time alone in the room as a family. Soon after we had proud Baba Jo and Grandpa Blair meet their grandaughter. Together, we took in what we could of this moment. Amara and I laid together as we admired her perfect little head covered with brown hair, her bright slate-blue eyes, her scrawny arms and legs, and her long fingers nails on her tiny hands. She was born ready to greet us and did not cry until she was taken off my chest about 90 minutes later when we were curious to know her stats. Having to do the metric conversions, Amara was 6.1 pounds, 19 inches, and born at 12:20 PM.

Amara is Greek origin meaning eternal. Danica (Dawn-itz-a) is Slavic meaning morning star.  Danica is a family name on Andrew's side and version of Diana in English, being my mother's name. Now we know it's a beautiful name of our beautiful daughter.

In her six weeks outside the womb, Amara has been loved by the family that has come to visit (Baba JoJo, Grandpa Blair, Tita Marissa, Grandma Diana and Mike), and by those we've talk to and see via Skype. We know that we are by no means the only ones excited about her. She has quite the fan club and it's only a matter of days now until we get to bring her home to be held and loved by the rest of the family and loved ones. Here in Vienna Amara enjoys going on walks, dancing, taking baths, going to Christmas markets, and cuddling with her mom and dad. She is such a sweet girl and is growing quickly. She's a good eater (much like her mom and dad) and is reaching almost 9 pounds now.  Soon we will pack her passport and she will take her first plane ride to Seattle. We are excited to spend Christmas at home and spread holiday cheer with our little bundle of joy.

We should now call this Ciara, Andrew & Amara's Adventures. We believe our most incredible journey has just begun.

Lil' Kraig and Uncle Kraig!

So we have to apologize for the hiatus of our blog. We have been a little preoccupied. But here is a start at trying to get you back up to date on what is going on in our world. Unfortunately, we are going to have to leap a little back in time as I would feel as though we left a big chunk of the year out if we didn't mention a couple of very important visitors and our exploits with them.

First our beloved cousin George who had been counseling this past summer in his motherland of Greece took us up on the offer of coming to visit and headed up from Athens, mid August. Shortly before his arrival to Vienna plans changed a little bit. I was invited by my brother Bradley Lynch, to come and spend a stint of time with him in Spain attending a reggae festival near Valencia as a pre-fatherhood celebration. As a result we had to get in touch with George in order to see if this escapade interested him at all. With the help of Katerine and Kristina we were able to track him down and get the situation sorted out. George would be taking the trip to Spain as well.

He arrived to Vienna during a great period of weather and events around town. So we tried our best to show him around town in the short period he now had here. We took him down to the Rathaus summer food festival and to our favorite tourist sights. We enjoyed having him here.

While Ciara was busy setting up her classroom and getting ready for the school year, George and I were off to Spain. After Bradley picked us up at the airport, we spent a little time out and about in Barcelona running errands picking up groceries and supplies for the trip. After eating a tasty sandwich we hunkered down at Brad and Janeth's. This is when I believe the nick name for George became Lil' Kraig. Brad and Kraig aka Greg Plumis are close friends and I feel he wanted to pay homage to the elder cousin, and George was honored by the nickname.

The next day after we packed up we took off for Rototom the Reggae festival near Valencia. The whole experience was very nice. We basically spent the day at the beach and the evening listening to music. The camp grounds were superb and the vibe was nice. The music was also very enjoyable and the food inside the concert was great! Our days at the beach were great as well, basking in the sun and dipping in the Sea. Making the heat seem like something enjoyable rather than something to bare. The experience was something to remember and I hope Lil' Kraig felt the same.

Now that August had passed us by and George had made his way back to Greece, it was time for Kraig to make his pilgrimage to Vienna!

Greg arrived in Wien a week into September. It was great to see him!  He nestled nicely into our guest corner. We spent the first week of his stay exploring the city and allowing him to get some nice shots of Vienna. We exposed him to some of our favorite local eateries. Made sure that he got a taste of Dr. Falafel, and enjoyed a Kasekriener.  Not to mention some Austrian bier!

Over his first weekend we ventured out to the Austrian countryside to try and catch a cow festival. The country folk celebrate the time when the cows are brought down from the mountains into the valleys for winter. We went to the small town of Abtenau a quaint little village with bundles of charm. We found a Guest house called Pension Swann. The keeper of the guesthouse was a sweet lady and the living quarters we nice. Ciara is an angel for sharing a room with two hefty snoring men at 9 months pregnant. Our first morning in town we set off to find the cow festival and come to learn that it was not much of a festival but more of a procession. We made our own little festival out of it though as a group of our friends came from Vienna and met us there. We watched the decorative cows make there way into town. We then decided to enjoy some of the eateries in town, we were able to sit outside as the weather was glorious. We watched a wedding procession and soaked up some sun.


The next day we headed back to Vienna with the hopes of catching some sights on the way back. Our friend Bridgett joined us for the voyage home. We drove through the picturesque Alps through valleys  with mountain lakes. Our first stop was in the beautiful town of Hallstatt. Notable for the oldest salt mine in Europe if not the world. It sits on a lake with breathtaking views of the mountains. After a tour through the town we continued to Vienna with a stop in Gmunden on Taunsee (See at the end meaning lake) for  lunch and then headed back home with enjoyable views of the countryside and a glimpse of the Melk Abby. We capped our day with a bit of a schnapps tasting at Bridget's house.

The remainder of Greg's stay was very enjoyable, we took a day trip to Bratislava and spent the rest of it enjoying Vienna and each others company. It was great to have Greg around we were sad to say goodbye, but we built a lasting memory of his trip to Vienna and with the help of Uncle Kraig's photography skills some amazing images to conjure said Memories.


It was such a blessing to have two Plumis men grace us with visits. Next, an exciting new arrival!!!

Baby Update

It's October....OCTOBER!!! You know what that means, a special baby delivery will be happening this month! 9 months (well, really 10) can both fly by and feel like it can last forever. It's crazy to think that I am now on maternity leave, me, on maternity leave. I guess this means I'm about to be a mom! The reaction of my maternity leave is two-sided here in Austria. On one hand, Austrians were wondering why I was working so close to my due date. Here, it's a law to stop working at least 8 weeks before your due date. Then you get at least a year maternity leave. They think I'm crazy for going back to work in January. On the other hand back home, I would be working up to the day I go into labor so that I could use my short time off as much as possible after the baby is born. In Seattle I would receive 6 weeks maternity leave (that is from my saved-up sick days) and here I get 13 paid weeks, but am taking 15 that includes the winter break. I also have banked sick days to use later in the year too.
Andrew and I find ourselves looking at each other with both excitement and disbelief. We keep wondering what the baby will look like, boy or girl, how is this possible? Things are becoming much more apparent in the mid-section of my body. The baby decided to really take-off and grow in the past month or so. I have been blessed with a smooth pregnacy and have enjoyed just about every bit of it. I've got to count my blessings now because I hear it's not always the case from one child to the next. I feel quite "normal" and don't have any real horror stories to share and honestly, I love my big belly. Our lives here consist of a lot of movement. Not having a car helps us walk a lot, and not having an elevator to our flat helps us climb 62 stairs everytime we come home. My school is a workout on it's own. I first start by walking a substantial hill to get there with my classroom of course being the top-most room in the entire place. There are no elevators at school either so it's a stair-master haven. I hope that this will all come in handy when I am ready to go! For now, I will be going back to school 2 afternoons per week to continue tutoring and checking in with my class.
We had 2 check-ups last week. One with our midwife and one with our doctor. Yes, I get a midwife too! We did a heart-rate and some final checks and things are looking good, "perfect" is what my doctor likes to say. The baby is engaged so his/her head is down in my pelvis. Crazy to think that even engaged, he/she could be moving and stretched out as much as it is. I swear sometimes that the baby is in the downward dog position and every other position that requires stretching all limbs out in opposite directions at once. I know they really can't tell, but they say the baby is anywhere from 3-3.5 kilos. That's a big difference. Everything is done by kilos and centimeters, I like it when it comes to taking my own weight. It doesn't seem so bad.
So for now, the next time I shall meet with my doctor and midwife is either on labor day or on my due date, whichever one comes first. If I don't deliver by October 16th, then we'll meet just to do a heart rate check and make sure everything is going ok. There are many great things about having a midwife, but during times when I think I may be starting labor, I call Ulli and she will come to my house and assess my situation before heading to the hospital. She is going to be great after the baby is born and comes to the house to make sure everything is going well then too.
Recently I have started to feel more pressure and can notice that things are starting to happen. Sleeping is much more challenging. Andrew has been a sweet dad and has been reading books to our little one, taking care of me, and yesterday I found him trying on the Mobywrap, trying to figure out how it works. Perhaps the next time we blog about a baby update, the baby will be the update. For now, we will be working on "projects," (Andrew makes fun of all the lists I make), getting out around town, and visiting with friends, oh, and napping.

We're excited for Baba and Grandpa to visit on the 13th, and my mom, Marissa, and Mike are coming on the 22nd. Until then...

Berlin

Check-Point Charlie

August 2010
After settling back in Vienna and taking some time to recover from jetlag, we decided to take a trip to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, and to getaway once again before baby. We headed to Berlin, Germany's capital. We stayed in the center of the city in a flat-like hotel. Our "room" was bigger than our flat in Vienna with a nice sized living room, kitchen, and glorious king-sized bed. In a quilted robe, Ciara melted away in the big plush pillows and down bedding. Our hotel was close to Gendarmenmarkt, a historical square bounded by twin churches and a concert hall that hosts outdoor cafes. We ate lunch in a symmetrical surrounding and watched people as they hopped on-and-off tour busses and walked by snapping photos of the charming square.
In the days that followed we explored unique, fascinating, and disturbing sights, historical landmarks, museums, and neighborhoods. We walked down Unter den Linden which was one of Eastern Berlin's grand boulevards that was lined with a thousand linden trees of Prussian Berlin that lead up to the Brandenburg Door. The historic Brandenburg Gate, crowned by a 4-horse chariot and Goddness of Peace, has undergone years of survival. It is the center of old Berlin and the backdrop of the happy day in 1989 when the wall started to fall. Close to the Brandenberg Gate is the Reichstag, the German Parliament building with its huge glass dome. We checked out the Haupbahnhof, the main train station made of all glass, a known engineering feat.

Check-Point Charlie

In much of which is walking distance we made our way to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews-a Holocaust memorial consisting of 2,711 gravestone-like pillars. The Topograhpy of Terror, the site of Hitlter's Gestapo and S.S. The museum telling the cruel history and of its victims during Hitler's era. And to the Jewish Museum that portrays more celebration of Jewish life and some of the holocaust.

Brandenburg Gate

In other parts of the "cheery" city, we explored Potsdamer Platz, the "Times Square" of old Berlin, Alexander Platz, a commerical shopping area and square, Kaufhas des Westens (KaDeWe)  the biggest (and very swanky) department store in Europe, and went to a trendly and lively neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg. From the Berlin Cathedral, the Rathaus, and to the stretches of the wall that are still standing, we made the most of our time and of course made sure to indulge along the way. We went out to a fun Cuban dinner, a nice anniversary dinner along the canal, and found our way into some of the chocolatier shops in the city.

Jewish Memorial

"Fallen Leaves" at the Jewish Museum

Part of the remaining Berlin Wall

This marked the end of an amazing summer before it was back to the grind! We are blessed to have had this much time off together, something that would not have happened if we didn't take this leap in our lives. Everyday we walked around together since the beginning of summer, we would stop and think how lucky we are to have this time.

Summer: Nice and a great month at home

Monaco

Granny & Baba at the baby shower

Allison, Ciara, Nikki, Vanessa, and Sarah at baby shower #1

Beautiful Shower for Baby Leckie!

Cupcakes after swimming. Thanks JoJo and aunt Alice!

In June after the final days of Ciara's first successful year at AIS, we took a few days to recoup and get our things situated for the summer. And an enjoyable summer loomed ahead.

In the first phase of our celebration of summer we hopped on a plane and headed to the Cote d'Azur, Nice specifically. We rented a flat near the old town in Nice and tried to enjoy some time on the beautiful French Riviera.We spent most of the days there waking up and heading across the street to the bakery we became regulars at and purchasing a croissant, quiche, some bread or all three. We then would let the sun shine on our faces as we sipped on some juice and enjoyed some fruit and french pastries on our balcony, a great start to the morning! Our days from there continued with a general theme of wandering through the old town of Nice and finding wonderful spots to enjoy food and shop for soaps and other items native to the Riviera and Provence. We also spent some time sunning ourselves on the packed, pebble filled beaches of Nice. The world cup was in full swing so we found a place called Wayne's where we watched most the games. We also spent quite a bit of time walking the water front and taking in the views, a climb to the top of the Chateau de Nice provide the a wonderful vantage point of town, the sea and the port. The views from there were beautiful.
We also took a stroll up the hill to the Henri Matisse museum. It turned out to be a little bit further that we anticipated from looking at the map. Over the course of our few days there we left town only once for a day jaunt to the Principality of Monaco. The Euro bus ride there was quite picturesque. Windy roads along the cliffside of the Riviera. Once there, we wandered the 2 kilometer country, passing the famous Monte Carlo and awing at the insane cars, yachts, homes, and fashion that filled the place. Monaco is big pimpin'!
The French Riviera was a great way to start our summer. Beautiful weather, beach living and great food!
Next we headed back to Vienna and got ready to head back home to Seattle for a month.

On the way home we had a long layover in Amsterdam so we headed into town for dinner and a stroll around the Dutch city in the evening. It was nice to take a little stroll through the narrow streets and canals. Then back to the airport for a nap in the airport and then the long flight.

We headed home for a wonderful month of time with family and friends. With the help of all of our family we felt like we had never left. Our parents had a car for us to drive, Destiny got our phones up and running, and we were able to have our own room where we slept in our own bed at the Hopkins home. We could not have felt more at home everyone was so amazing. It was a warm home coming. We had a wonderful 4th of July at the Plumis cabin on Stretch Island. Fun, family and fireworks. Such a great way to begin our time at home. A month always seems like a long time, but I will say the month of July seemed like a blink of an eye. We had an amazing time at home but it seemed as though there wasn't enough time in the day to catch up with all of our loved ones. We had two amazing showers one hosted at the Fosters house by Allison, Renae and Vanessa. The other one hosted by the sisters, Destiny, Marissa, and Alice at the Hopkins home. Unforgettable parties with moments with people that warmed our hearts. The outpouring of love and excitement for baby Leckie was overwhelming.  It was so great to be at home and share time with everyone we could. We truly appreciated all the effort everyone made. We only wish there was more time to connect with everyone. It was great to get to Safeco for an M's game and Quest for a Sounders game. The Udaho trip took place and a San Francisco jaunt to catch up with Sammy J. Some swimming with the nieces and quality time with Baba and Granny. All in all it made us feel extremely blessed that we have a home with such deep roots and share so much love.

But on August 3rd we had to say good bye and take the  long flight back to Vienna...

Innsbruck

After a wonderful stretch of visitors, we decided we wanted to get out of town for a weekend on our own. We headed to the region of Tirol the farthest region west bordering Switzerland. We hopped a train and headed all the was across the country to the city of Innsbruck.

Upon arrival, it is hard not to notice the amazing scenery of the region. Known for skiing, Innsbruck hosted the '67 and '76 winter Olympics and at first look it seemed like an ideal place to host the games. The Inn river runs through an impressive valley surrounded by mountains with a steep vertical accent. Once we got situated at our hotel, a place along the river, we wandered around the charming old town. A famous city center features a building adorned with a gold roof. We took the time to observe the quaint streets and cafes along them and enjoyed a meal at an Italian place where we could sit out side in the sunshine and people watch.

The following morning we awoke to a beautiful day allowing us to walk around town and do some window shopping. We then headed up to the Olympic site and took a gondola up to the top for some spectacular views. Then we headed into the small town of Igls where we had a lunch in the picturesque little village and then back into town. Once in town we hit a few tourist stops, most notably the Hofkirche, and inside is a mausoleum built for Maximilian I. It was quite amazing with 28 life-like bronze statues surround the ornate tomb. We found a wonderful place for dinner that evening and finished a wonderful day with a night cap in a man-made beach bar. Sand and palm trees with a backdrop of striking mountains. Our third day was the nicest of them all and we took great advantage of it by taking the Nordkettenbahn up to Seegrube where we had a breathtaking view of the entire valley. Several hang gliders and para gliders readied themselves as we began our decent down to town. A wonderful hike with vistas at every turn and the sun shining down from a bright blue sky. It could not have been more perfect. After a wonderful hike and a meal we headed to the train station to head back to Vienna. A wonderful first impression of the city of Innsbruck and the region of Tirol, one that definitely inspires other trips out there in the near future.                

Matt & Kari's Visit

Just before our farewell to Edgar and Roheela (sniff, sniff) Matt and Kari arrived from Seattle as our second wave of visitors. They left their sweet boy Finn home with the grandparents. It was so good to see our friends and give them a glimpse into our life abroad.

On their first full day braving the weather, which has been pretty ghastly in Vienna this spring, we went out in Vienna to see the sights. We wandered around the first district and down into the Naschmarkt, checking out the market and making sure they got a chance to visit Dr. Falafel a favorite that has become a traditional place to take visitors for its wonderfully flavorful falafel sandwich. I think they liked it because they went and got it again later in the trip. We bought tickets to Salzburg and planned to go on a Friday of the Austrian holiday weekend. Unfortunately for us as we called several places to find a place to stay on Friday and Saturday nights it became utterly clear that we were not going to be able to get a place for Friday. Luckily for us Ciara took the initiative to call instead of just heading there and hoping to find a spot. So we decided to leave Saturday instead and come back Sunday. Once we secured a place to stay and got our tickets for Saturday the banter began about us going on the "Sound of Music" tour. Matt and I were dead set against against it and of course Ciara and Kari were all about it. We had a nice dinner and prepped for the trip and continued the tradition of intense card playing. We played spades and hearts and had tons of fun.

The next morning we gathered our bags and headed to the train station. On the tram ride down it became apparent that it was going to be close if we wanted to catch the train we wanted. So we quickly devised a plan where Kari and Ciara would secure seats and Matt and I would get pastries and coffee. The events that followed can only be truly appreciated if you lived them but I will do my best to describe them. Once at the train station we located the train then the boy and girls split up. Matt and I headed to a bakery in the train station. Once inside the bakery our urgency continued to grow as we waited in line and subsequently waited for our order to be carried out. As soon as we had our goods we headed intently to the train we picked up the pace as we were getting closer to departure time. In the process I managed to dump half of one of the coffees I was carrying all over the front of myself. We pressed on. We charged down the platform in search of our wives. After a call we reunite and begin to realize that though the girls fought the busy train crowd and had secured a couple of seats, the train was pretty full and that we wouldn't be able to sit together. So the quick group decision was to get off and catch the next train for Salzburg that left in 35 minutes. That's when things got crazy. As we are walking down the platform, the whistle blew as if to say "All Aboard" and we suddenly realized that none of us had the tickets. Needless to say panic set in. It was left on the train where the girls had secured a couple of seats. Frantically we all bolt toward the train that is moments away from departure. Ciara jumps on; I jump on Kari jumps on, all on different cars. Frantically we were charging through the crowded aisles looking for the ticket. I then decide to stand in the door of one of the train cars in an attempt to hold the train if they begin to close, Matt stood watch to let me know if the girls got off. Suddenly, Ciara burst off the train with the tickets. Relief began to set in until we realized Kari was still on the train. "Kari" we are all screaming "get off, we have it!" finally we see Kari hit the platform. That very next moment the train shoved off toward Salzburg. Catastrophe avoided! It took about 20 minutes for my heart to stop pounding though. We didn't really feel like paying for 4 train tickets a second time around. Once on the train we had a nice ride with beautiful scenery, great company and of course some cards.

Once we got to Salzburg we headed out on the town. Salzburg is incredibly scenic and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We walked all over and got some great views from the hills. We went to the Augustiner Brewery, the oldest brewery in Austria run by monks. Quite a place they serve big mugs and delicious beer since 1621. After the brewery we wandered around Salzburg and stopped to play at a "big kid" playground that had all types of obstacles for rock climbers. After that, Matt and I finally gave in and we booked the "Sound of Music" tour for the next day. After dinner we hit the hay with much anticipation of what the "tour" would be like considering that the Salzburg marathon was going on in town it ended up being a pretty good idea. It took us out to the Lakes district which is very pretty, and we all enjoyed singing songs on the bus that took us to all of the sites from the movie. Let's just say you can understand why they filmed it where they did. It was beautiful. I could tell that Ciara felt like a child again.

It was nice to have Matt & Kari in town to get us out on some runs, enjoy meals, and out to the Western part of Austria. I loved having this time to get to know the both of them better. Being excited about parenthood, they were a great couple to talk with as it's a fresh experience for them, we cannot believe that Finn is turning 1 this month! Thanks for the running shoes!

Now that it's June, the school year is wrapping up, and that summer is just around the corner, we are anxious to go home. We don't have any more visitors lined up until August, so missing home will start settling in. At the end of this month we're going to the French Riviera-to Nice, Monaco, and Cannes. A little sunshine and beach action is something we're really looking forward to!