The Euro-Condon Web Log

I was able to sneak away Sunday to join one of the most fun social events in our area – the Esslingen Wine Hike. I highly recommend it!

And I got a new digital camera. A Canon SD700 IS. It’s great ….

I am finding that there is very little time to post new information here while trying to juggle brand-new-parent life and work at the same time. I am guessing that posting every few weeks will be the norm.

Here is a peek at Kostas’ eye color. I’m told that what color they have at 4 weeks does not really matter and that they will probably change.

All is well with us – other than the normal sleep deprivation and crying stress. Migle’s Mom leaves Saturday. I take her to Munich and she will fly from there. We are gone to miss her.

It looks like Greta may be coming to spend the summer with us. That’s REAL good news. Some where around June 8th to August 12th.

We took Kostas to his first doctor’s appointment – on his one month birthday. He got a great bill of health – all is good. He’s growing nicely – 3.9 kilo’s now. The doctor spent most of this time telling us all the things we were worried about were perfectly normal.

We also got his International Birth Certificate from the Germans. That was not as easy as you might think. Now I have to send some paperwork to the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt to report an overseas birth. And get his passport and apply for a social security number.

As all parents know and as all non-parents are told but don’t know, a newborn inserts so many new tasks into your life that they block out, at least at the beginning, most everything else. We have been trying to get the routine down to a point where we are smoothly handling taking care of Kostas and doing as much of as possible the main things we did before, like sleep, eat, work, and watch a movie. We’re getting there but still have a way to go. Lots of sleep deprivation right now. Our techniques are getting better but slowly.

I had a bunch of work meetings this week that I could not miss. And then I got sick. Probably the stress and lack of sleep. Migle handled everything last night so I got a good night sleep and feel better today – still sick, but better.

Other than Migle and her Mom taking care of Kostas full-time and me trying to work half time and take care of Kostas the other half, that is all we are doing right now.

We did go for a stroll 2 days ago to try out our new Bugaboo Stoller. The weather was great and that was nice. We sat outside and had lunch at a Café. Of course Kostas started crying right when the food came, but we took turns and it all worked out.

Here are a few pictures from last week. I will post them as I take them.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Between working out the bugs in the process of taking care of a newborn and trying to juggle work at the same time, I haven’t had much free time. Here is a picture of Migle’s Mom holding Kostas. I am super glad she was able to come during this first month because she has been super helpful in the transition to the parenting life. All is going well. I have to say that because overall it is. It is extremely stressful dealing with a newborn. You know, the crying, the diaper rash, the feedings in the middle of the night, the hormones, the stress, the fear that maybe something is wrong, the gas, the pumping (in our case), the bottle cleaning … and the list goes on …

But, of course, there is the flip side. The love, the wonderment, the look on his face, the little sounds he makes, the fact that you created this little life, the fact that you are going to be 60 when he’s 18 (oh, no, that is another story).

By the way, the other Grandmother, the American one, had surgery last week and everything seems to be ok and going well. We’re glad!

To see the video, click here …

Here is a picture I took that I just like. It was taken in San Sebastian, Spain in January 2005 while Migle and I were vacationing there. Please let me know what you think.