Puppies are on their way!! Our breeders are so amazing.  They've been sleeping by Reba (Mama) so they can be there when she goes into labor; she's not left alone for a single minute until the pups are five days old.  All we know so far is that the first pup is a boy.  So excited!!

In Which John Has an Awesome Birthday

Here's one gift that didn't need tech-support!

I have a really good reputation for gifting John defective versions of his most-highly-sought-after tech gadgets.  I think I must be some kind of karma, but at least I'm now familiar enough with the exchange routine that I can easily complete it in German.  Despite the fact that John's sexy new fitness band wouldn't sync with his iPad, the man had a great Birthday.  We're fortunate that the things we value most aren't material.  The real gifts of the day were found in the company of friends, and what is our end-all, be-all: The four of us--together.  As long as we've got that, the rest is just icing on the cake.

Donuts at Karlskirche like NBD

It turns out, "icing" took the form of a lot of really good food and hours spent in the warm sun.  There were biscuits and gravy for breakfast, donuts for second breakfast (REAL donuts...which if you haven't lived outside the US, you won't understand how unbelievably rare this is). There was just enough time to fit in a Naschmarkt Doener Kebab before wrapping the day up with a dinner of pulled pork in (miraculous!) tortillas, coleslaw (more miracles!), mashed 'taters and corn on the cob (all the way from Senegal...because desperate times call for desperate measures)

Jumbled up in all that amazing food from near and far was the stuff that makes up glorious everyday life for us.  No day would be complete without a stop to see Mr. Happy-Happy (who has now publicly claimed us all as family) and John's birthday was no different.  I love our little ten-minute philosophical conversations with this man that have spread out over the days, months and now years.  On this day, Mr. Happy-Happy pointed to the right side of his belly and told us this is where the men are...and the women on the left--like two wheels driving a person.  He told John that I am the moving force in our marriage and that without me he would be nothing.  (have I mentioned I love this man?)  We all had a hardy laugh at this, but coincidentally, John agrees...which I can't help but adore in my husband.  Mr. Happy-Happy is always encouraging John not to work so hard and telling him he needs to free his mind and soak his feet more in salt water before bed.  Today, he gave John some Sandalwood incense and reset his energy for him.  Apparently, the fire element is prominent with John, which means he needs to drink more water (which may be why the man's life motto is: Dehydration is your worst enemy, folks.)

So many birthday snuggles

It's a mutually uplifting relationship we've got with our Mr. Happy-Happy; the girls lift his spirits and he lifts all of ours.  So, setting off with happy hearts and our energy balanced, we embarked on what could only be called a great day.  Sunshine, no responsibilities and a fat chunk of time to just enjoy each other's company lead us through our neighborhood to Karlskirche and all the way over to the Belvedere Palace, where Audrey, like a little fawn set free, ran out far ahead of us along the long gravel paths

The satisfied face of a man and his Doener

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After resting in the afternoon, some friends joined us for dinner and we spent the evening laughing raucously and filling our bellies with food so foreign to this land it felt like magic.

The girls insisted on adding four birthday candles to John's mini pineapple upside-down cake and he spent a bit of his birthday song in reluctant embarrassment before realizing the singing wasn't actually for him--he was giving his girls the immense joy of getting to sing happy birthday, for real, to their favorite guy.  And that's one hell of a gift in itself.

Bear cage!

Mr. Happy Happy read the girls' palms today.  He said Audrey is very healthy and that she has a very big heart.  He also said she would do well starting to learn an instrument now.  He said Bailey has lots of energy now, but later it will be channeled into studying and that she will become very well educated.  We love that guy.

Took the girls to the zoo today.  Made the epic mistake of saying "yes" when they asked to go in the bird house.  *facepalm*  

Bailey says: "Mama, we gonna take our stuffed animals and go to our United States home?"  I'm just relieved that we can leave everything but the stuffed animals.

We went further into the Prater Woods than we've ever been today.  It was just lovely!