Checking the mail

Thanks to everyone for all of the emails we've been getting! We thought we'd give answers to several popular questions:

What kinds of names are you looking at?
- Names that function in both German and English are the ones in play. But let's get more to the point...
Are you thinking of naming him after me?
- Yes, yes, we ARE leaning that way.
Did Klümpchen enjoy that banana?
- Mmmmm.
Would you like help with the move?
- That's very sweet. We're thinking of lining up a bucket brigade between the two places. In truth, tomorrow things start going over to the new place and perhaps Thursday we'll move all the big stuff and try to finish up cleaning, etc. by that second weekend in June. It should all be relatively relaxed.

Is this blog a secret plot to keep Peter out of trouble?
- Wait, what are you talking about?

So, in full disclosure here, K was adamant that this post include a picture of me – so here we have a rather unimaginative shot of me doing the second blog entry. Let’s hope this puts the controversy to rest for the moment. Notice the Cubs jersey. I keep it handy in case my guys suddenly need my help. At this point the Cubs are about as crisp and fresh as the Chili & Lime chips we opened last night, so it isn't looking so far fetched.

I think our next mission will be to take a picture of us that doesn't involve us sitting in front of a computer. Of course we do do other things (occasionally). For instance, sometimes we sit in front of the computers in our office at Harvard. Actually, today we did get out to follow up on a Craigslist ad for a piano. We are considering the option of making this addition to our new living room, as we will be spending a lot of time at home in the coming year. A popular choice for getting pianos from one place to another around these parts is a crew called Death Wish Piano Movers. They sell a lot of shirts.

This week's "But much stranger than that is" winner comes from our friend and emailer Derek Dahlke of St.Louis who put us on the trail of a potential namesake for our son : Lyulph Ydwallo Odin Nestor Egbert Lyonel Toedmag Hugh Erchenwyne Saxon Esa Cromwell Orma Nevill Dysart Plantagenet Tollemache-Tollemache. And that's just one guy. If ever someone's parents were pushing for a multiple personality disorder... some kind of disorder, anyway.

Against the clock - part 1 of 626

As I mentioned yesterday, there is a kind of horse race going on with K finishing the piano reduction for Dunkelrot (the opera which will be premiered in late Sept. this year in Nürnberg!). Though the race is exciting, it's maybe that kind of exciting you're not actually hoping for. Here she is, hard at work:
What we are observing here is work on scenes 1-6 being rapidly finished. Did I mention that there are seven scenes? Um, nevermind. And for the fashion police out there, that's not actually the same shirt from yesterday. She just has a closet full of those striped shirts.

K is admittedly getting a little tired of sitting for too long in her chair (which thanks to the Harvard electronic studios' renovations is a significantly better than the dining room chair she had been sitting on). So we hopped on the bikes and peddled down to the Harvard natatorium for a half-hour swim. I can outrun K on land but I huff and puff to keep pace with her in the lanes. Klümpchen seems to enjoy the water like his mama.

Anyway, as K sat there at her desk working tonight she was paid a visit by our old nemesis - the moth. We've had a confrontation with these clothing moths for the last little while. And just when we think we have them licked, they pop up again. The test will be to not take them with us to the new place!

First Post

Hello to all from Peter and Karola!

We thought it would be useful to try, at least for the moment, to keep a family blog so as to keep folks updated on all the upcoming changes. So, leaving aside trepidations about succumbing to the Age of Electronic Narcissism (after all we already have website shrines to our professional selves), here goes:

The scheduled arrival date for our newest family member (affectionately referred to as Klümpchen) is officially June 15. Apparently this is an especially likely date as it coincides with the new moon (statistical analysis on this point comes courtesy of Giacomo!) In between now and that time K will finish the piano reduction of her opera, Barbara Obermüller (K’s mother) will arrive and we will move.

So here is the belly! K (I think you'll agree) is carrying incredibly beautifully. And her passenger seems pretty happy in there, moving around and sometimes getting the hiccups. This is one of those things that totally surprised me. We were told that babies get the hiccups in utero when they are practicing breathing. Sounds like a plan to me.


K’s work on her opera is coming along well. I’m not really supposed to discuss it, so we’ll move on.

With Klümpchen arriving soon we are very excited to be loading up on Grandma Power™. Grandma Barbara will be with us for the last few weeks of pregnancy and Grandma Betsy (my mom) will join us around the time of birth and help us through those early days as well as our July and August travels to the Midwest. Between them Grandmas B & B have raised 6 kids and already have experience with numerous kids-worth of grandparenting so I think we’ll be pretty well set with their help!

We have loved our little abode in Inman Square and are sorry to move, but we’re actually only travelling 5 minutes by bike down the road to Central Square. The move will start around the first of June and will likely span a few days.