Happy Birthday Alexandria

To our little princess Alexandria:

You certainly are not a baby anymore. You are 3 years old today, and I can hardly believe it, although you often already act like a teenager in some ways. The last 3 years have flown by, and I am so grateful for every memory we have created with you. In 3 short years, you have traveled from coast to coast in the United States, lived abroad, and visited London and Paris. However, these travels fail to compare to the amazing person you are becoming each and every day. You have become such a thoughtful and considerate child. You almost always remember your manners, asking if you "please may" rather than telling us what you would like and always saying, "Thank you." You show concern for others giving us hugs and kisses when you know we need them most. A year ago, I thought potty training would never happen, but fortunately you proved me wrong. You began regularly using the potty in November. The past couple of weeks you have exhibited more independence than ever beginning to use the potty without any assistance at all. You endured daddy's 4 months away in Iraq this past year as well as mommy's full time teaching to finish her degree. I know it was hard to spend the time away from us, but this time also allowed you to bond and form such special relationships with other family members. You are so close to your Nina, Mawmaw, Pawpaw, and so many others. Especially now that we are living 4000 miles from them all, I am so grateful for the bonds you hold with them. In November, you had to say goodbye to daddy once again as he moved to England to begin his new job and prepare a new home for us. You also said goodbye to your best friend and our first pet, Bailey, who had to go to a new home before we moved. Another goodbye was to our first home and nearly all of the belongings in it, as they were shipped to England well before we left ourselves. Thankfully, you and mommy were able to be close to our family and friends throughout all of these changes, many of whom will never realize just how special and important they are to us. Daddy returned to Illinois on Christmas Eve, and we were able to spend Christmas with everyone in our families. It was a memorable holiday for all of us.

On 30 December 2009, you, daddy, and a very pregnant mommy got on an airplane in St. Louis and found ourselves the next morning in London, England. It was quite the whirlwind experience. Daddy drove us to our new home in Somersham where we all spent New Years Eve together beginning to adjust to our new lives. We began attending a new church in Cambridge, St. Ephraim the Syrian Russian Orthodox Church. While the parish was new, you adapted to it very quickly as the services reminded us all of our home parish in America. The first week, you suggested to mommy and daddy that we go to Nina's house after church. Mommy explained how far away Nina's home now was not really expecting you to understand, but somehow you got it. Within weeks, you were explaining to everyone both here and in America that they could only visit your home if they "took an airplane and a train for a really long ride." You and mommy have begun attending the "clap and sing" here in Somersham. Parents and young children get together once a week and enjoy singing songs together and playing simple games. The interaction and time out of the house has been nice for us both. You also enjoy trips to Peterborough, which thus far seems to be your favorite place in England. I think it is because of the shopping! You are very soon going to be a big sister and already enjoy giving your baby sister in mommy's tummy hugs and kisses. You talk often of the toys you will share with her (including your favorite doll Kaelynn) and the things you will teach her. Your lists grow longer each day!

Today is your birthday and mommy tried hard to make it all about you. You chose the day's menu, which included scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, peas, and a snack of cheese puffs. You also helped mommy make your birthday cake (a first for both of us). You chose white cake with white icing. We trimmed it with pink icing and enjoyed your favorite strawberry ice cream as well. Lately you seem to have more of an ice cream addiction than mommy!!! You have really started to love playing games lately. Your favorites include Don't Break the Ice, Cootie, Memory Match, and a couple of new games that are helping us work on letter and number recognition. We played your new Mickey Mouse letter and number game quite a bit today. We also spent some time outside riding your tricycle and playing in the garden. When daddy got home from work, you opened your birthday presents. This year you got a toy kitchen, your favorite part of which is the coffee pot. I think you drank at least 5 pots of coffee this evening. You also got some pretend food, a new ball, and another new game (a Mickey Mouse version of Trouble). You and daddy played while mommy made your dinner. You always love to spend special time with daddy in the evenings, usually playing golf, reading books, or playing a game. Then of course came time for cake and ice cream. We sang "Happy Birthday" to you, and you sang it to mommy, daddy, and Kaelynn as well. You really enjoy sharing your birthday with others!

Since our move, things such as Skype and Facebook have become increasingly important in our lives. We regularly have Skype dates with Mawmaw and Pawpaw. One of your favorite things to do is to show them our house. You make mommy carry the lap top throughout the house touring each room, often focusing on your bedroom. While you do enjoy talking and seeing others on Skype, we often spend time during our conversations simply going about our normal routine. I think this helps you feel more connected to our family in America. It often seems during our conversations that the distance between us disappears and it is as if we are all playing in the same room.

Looking back at photographs of your life, I have enjoyed every single stage so very much. I seem to fall more in love with you with each passing day. While I am in no hurry for you to grow up any further, I look to your future with great anticipation of the beautiful and successful woman you are destined to become. I love you more than you will ever know.

Love,

Mommy

A Tour of our home

As promised, here are some photos of our new home. I have had quite the time getting these uploaded as the formatting continues to confuse me. If anybody out there in blog-world has any tips on uploading photos, please share!

Update: 24 February, more photos added. More photos added 4 March.

View of the front of our new home from the garden. I apologize for the recycling and waste bins front and center. They have since been moved. I sometimes still have to remind myself we do not live in

Granite City anymore ;).

This view is also from the garden. The house is to the right and the garage to the left. We have a room above the garage that is currently working very nicely and necessarily for storage. A bridge walkway connects the two through the bamboo.

Another view

of the garden.

Our hazelnut tree and tire swing. We are looking very forward to some nicer weather when we can reap benefits from both!

This is our side porch,

with another bamboo walkway

Living room

Kitchen

The next 3 are of our dining room

Upstairs, master bathroom

Upstairs, kids' bathroom

Master bedroom

Alexandria's room, of course =)

She has the only closet in the entire house!

This will be Julia's room. It is the smallest room in the house but will work perfectly for the nursery! It has also ben the easiest to keep clean, thus far!

Settling continued

After 6 weeks of living here in our new home, we are finally starting to feel settled. Granted there are still some clothes strewn about the guest room as we are yet to purchase a new dresser for the master bedroom, but all in all things have come together nicely. I am taking pictures of each room of the house as we get things in order and will post them soon. The girls' rooms were the first to come together, and we love both of their rooms!

Lexie has decided on her own accord that she would now like to be called Alexandria. It's funny because Lexie is not a popular nickname here in the UK and many people have attempted calling her Alex. She is adapting incredibly well. I thought for sure she would tell people they "talk funny" and correct their usage of words such as chips instead of fries. However, she jumped right into using much of the vernacular here, so much so that she thinks everything should have a different name. She will be turning 3 next Tuesday (16 February). While it is hard for me to believe that I will have a 3 year old, it is very natural, as she certainly is acting older. We don't have plans as far as throwing a party but instead I am simply trying to make it her special day, all about her. She gets to choose the menu for the day, which will include macaroni and cheese with peas, her favorite. She has requested white cake with white icing and strawberry ice cream. I am going to make an attempt to decorate it a bit... we'll see how that goes! On second thought, maybe I will let her decorate it herself.

I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and very excited to be getting closer to meeting Julia. Her due date is March 9. We're praying she will come within a week of her due date, mainly because Ryan's mom will be visiting during this time. We are VERY excited to have her here with us! The pregnancy has progressed very smoothly, and everything seems to be moving right on time. I had my third appointment with the midwife today. While I am content with my care here, as I was with my care in the states, I really wish I could find something in the middle. With traditional OB care in America, they push for so many interventions: inductions, epidurals, etc. Here in England, however, such interventions are very much a last resort and can be performed only by a doctor after being admitted to the hospital. If a pregnancy is uncomplicated, it is overseen by only a midwife. While I will be delivering at a hospital, the maternity ward is designed to be run by the midwives, and doctors only see you if complications arise. I inquired today about internal exams, and they perform as few as possible. In America, it is common to be checked throughout late pregnancy. I recall being 2-3 cm dilated with Alexandria for about a month before her birth. The midwives are actually not allowed to do any internal exams at all until 41+ weeks. During labor, there are usually only 1 or 2 checks completed. I honestly do not have a preference for one system over the other. Receiving an epidural during my first labor was my biggest regret, but having so few options this time around worries me as well. I am grateful labor and delivery are such a natural process. At this point I have very few concerns, just the natural anxieties shared by all moms and mums alike.

We continue to attend church in Cambridge, which has become one of our favorite cities. For basic shopping, I either walk to the co-op here in town or we drive to Huntingdon. I am developing a preference for shopping at the commissary on RAF Alconbury, probably because it is very American and gives me a taste of home. This weekend we plan to make a trip to the BX at RAF Lakenheath, the larger and more well known of the bases in the UK. This will be my first trip to their BX, but I am told it is similar to a Walmart. Never did I think I would miss Walmart, but I have.

More updates and pictures coming soon!