Charlie and his cuteness

As you know, I love my dog Charlie. He is such a good muse for pictures. This time, we were on a lovely walk with Markus. It was wonderful, especially since it wasn't raining. Today was gorgeous and I would have loved to have taken him on a walk today, but he is in Hirschau for the week. Franz wanted to go to the forest, and Charlie LOVES the forest, so I left him in Hirschau. Plus, Marianne was missing him, which is understandable :).

What Charlie likes to do on walks, when we don't have his Frisbee, is to find the longest stick possible, and one that has as many little twigs on it as possible. I had my camera with me this time...especially after the bulldozer/backhoe incident, I can't leave home without it! So, let the cuteness begin...

The first photo is Charlie doing what he loves with sticks...biting off all the little twigs.

The second is just adorable :).

Running to get in front of Markus and I with his stick. He gets about 50 meters in front of us, then chews on the stick until we catch up to him. He a smart little puppy.

And, finally, Charlie in a field...look, it's turning GREEN! Spring is coming!

Correction

I have been told by both my mother and father that the thing that got stuck in the river was in fact a backhoe, NOT a bulldozer. This is what I get for growing up in a city... :) Whatever...it was a big machine stuck in the river. But this one is for mom and dad :).

BULLDOZER:

BACKHOE:


Now you too know the difference :)

Update on the bulldozer

Charlie and I were on our morning walk and walked again past where the bulldozer incident took place. Well, it is out of the water! I have no idea how, they probably got a tractor over there to pull it out, but nonetheless, it is out. I chatted with the guy for a bit, and he said that after just an oil change, it should be in working order again. I was shocked! I thought for sure that thing was headed for the scrap yard! Those things are solid! I made a joke asking if he was going to leave it in park while running. He said, "Well, hindsight is 20/20" (but in German). Pretty funny. However, I am still in shock that thing will still run! Wow!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

It took me quite a while to come up with a title for this post...basically, there were so many! But, in the end, I went with a classic.

Charlie and I were on our usual walk (ok, so we had our walk already, but I had to run home and get the camera, so Charlie got 2 midday walks in which he didn't mind...but just pretend this is our first walk). We go basically the same route everyday, some days I change it up, some days I don't. Today, I didn't, and it totally paid off.

When we go on out midday walks, Charlie always brings along his favorite toy, his Frisbee. He can't leave home without it!This is after me telling him "AUS!" or "drop it". He does this rather well, and then backs away slowly so that you can throw it for him.


First up is crazy birrd. Someone decided they didn't want this lovely piece of taxadermy in their house anymore, so what the hell, they just nailed it to a random tree. I've always been meaning to take a picture of it, and I finally did. However, it has seen better days. It's been on this tree for about seven or eight months.

Then, JACKPOT!!!
Can you just imagine what I thought when I saw a freaking bulldozer in the middle of the Waldnaab??? Yeah, first, I hope no one is hurt. Second, "why the hell was someone driving a bulldozer on the bank of the river?"

As we got closer, I saw the driver, and I thought it was funny since just the calves of his pants were wet, and not his entire body. Then I asked him if he was alright. He said that he was and that the bulldozer did this to itself. It decided to pop out of the e-brake and go for a swim.
I seriously could not stop laughing. I had to call Markus and he just couldn't believe it either. What a walk Charlie and I had.

And, now for me, the picture that is really worth a thousand words...This was the first thing that I saw on our first walk and I just couldn't believe my eyes.

A few things I have learned while being pregnant

I know, I know. I've only been pregnant for a few months now, but there are a few things that I have learned.

*When you drink sparkly water, and then must throw up said sparkly water, it is still sparkly. I think this is one of the weirdest things that I have learned.

*Gummy bears come up liquidy. Gross, I know. But this is something that I have learned.

*Your friends can give you advice for hours on end. Some of the things may work, some may not. You just have to figure out what works best for you. One of my friends told me that her "morning" sickness was over right after the 3rd month was over. Not so for me.

*Sometimes, my mouth tastes like I have been sucking on change. That's a pretty nasty taste.

*A 20 minute nap can do wonders for me.

*Don't take a bath when you are feeling nauseous. It'll make it worse.

*It doesn't matter if your mom didn't have morning sickness. My mom says she didn't, but I have definitely had a "healthy" dose of it.

*I love milk so much, but right now, I cannot stand the sight of it. Weird.

These are just a few of the things I have learned. I'm pretty sure that there will be more to come.

Are you serious???

Today started out so lovely, then it started snowing. And, at 3:14pm as I write this, it is still snowing. Charlie doesn't mind it though. He's really happy in any type of weather. Heck, today he decided to go for a dip in the creek that we always walk by. Now he smells kind of like a fish. However, this is not what I wanted to write about.

Markus and I went out for lunch today to Subway. I made the most WONDERFUL discovery there...they have BEN & JERRY'S!!! I'm so freaking excited I cannot even explain to you the excitement. We are going out to dinner with some friends tonight, and since Subway is open until 11pm, we going to hit that up on the way home just for some ice cream! That is wonderful! However, this is also not what I wanted to write about.

This is what I wanted to write about: As Markus and I were sitting at a nice window side table at Subway, a car pulled in to the parking lot and it's front end was facing us. I noticed something truly odd about the front bumper...there was a decent size hole in it and a crack next to that. However, the absolute worst part was that attached to that hole was some fur!!! Are you kidding me? Nope, I surely am not! There was FUR attached to the hole in the front bumper. Upon further inspection, you could see marks...bloody marks mind you...going back to the wheel base! Markus was the one that noticed that it was a car from the Czech Republic. Don't they have car-washes in the Czech Republic??? Or, is it like a status symbol to show off that you killed a little animal with your car? I don't know, but seriously, get your car washed!

I remember when I hit a squirrel in Dallas. Mind you, they are stupid, stupid animals and will run under your tire if you're not careful. Well, this one did just that...what did I do...I was crying for the rest of the day. I felt so bad. I even went back to where I hit the squirrel, got it, and buried it in the back yard. I felt really, really bad. So, my question to these people would be, "Are you serious?"

UPDATE: It is like blizzard conditions outside right now! Seriously, I'm ready for spring!!! Oh, and the mention of a blizzard, my mind immediately shot to a Butterfinger blizzard from Dairy Queen...yum!

Finally!!!

We have pictures of the baby (now to be refered to as peanut)! Woohoo!!! Peanut was moving so much though, that it was really hard to take any really good shots of him/her...let alone be able to tell the sex. The doctor compared peanut to a tadpole...always on the move. She used the word "Lebendig" and I translate that as animated. Just like his daddy...well, maybe at this time more like Charlie. :) Even though peanut was moving so much, there were 3 times that we were able to take a shot, so here they are! And, I've explained them out as well in a separate photo :). Yeah!!!

Oh, and the doctor took some measurements. From the top of it's head to it's tailbone is roughly 57mm...or did she say 75mnm...I'm not too sure. But peanut is hunched over, so he/she is probably a bit bigger. I was too busy watching peanut jump around, so I didn't quite catch it...but I do know that she said a 5 and a 7, just not sure of the order. Peanut's upper leg is 12mm. Those were some of the fun measurements.

The first one is the best shot in my opinion. You can see the arm and the fingers really good. Plus the head is there. Peanut didn't feel like giving us any profile shots though, but that's ok...there's always hope for next time!

Here is the second shot. Peanut is kind of laying on his/her side with I believe their butt towards us. So camera shy at such a young age!

Here is another good one. A view from the top. This is looking at peanut straight on. After this was taken, peanut continued jumping...I wonder when I'll start being able to feel all of the movements this little peanut is making.

So all in all, a great day at the doctor. She said that peanut was super active, a great sign, and looking to be in perfect health. All of peanut's measurements are where they are supposed to be (even if I can't remember what they are exactly). My next appointment is on April 7, so hopefully there will be another peanut update then!

UPDATE: Markus said that the doctor did in fact say 75mm. It's a good thing one of us was paying attention!