3 months old

Julia is now 3 months old and of course leaves us wondering, "Where has the time gone?" As of Tuesday she weighs 14 lbs 8 1/2 oz and is approximately 25 inches long. While still a very healthy size her growth curve is slowing down. She is below the 90th percentile for the first time. She has some issues with gas and spitting up but so far has not required any treatment for them. Mostly I am just watching my own diet. I have had to entirely give up oranges and orange juice because of her reaction. I also limit my dairy intake and other acidic fruits. I plan to have her weighed once more in a couple of weeks and am hoping she maintains a steady growth curve.

She is very smiley and talkative. Currently her favorite activity is lying on mommy and daddy's bed and watching the ceiling fan turn. She has been laughing a bit for a couple of weeks now. The past few days Alexandria has made her laugh every single day! Mommy and daddy warn big sister often about being too rough or too touchy with Julia, yet Julia does not seem to mind at all. Let that be a lesson to us overly concerned adults! Julia also loves to stand up on our laps or the floor holding our hands. Her head control is excellent, and she does well with tummy time pushing herself up on her own. While on her tummy she often grabs the mat or blanket on which she is lying and kicks with her feet. Doing this she scoots all over the place!

She sleeps absolutely wonderfully! She regularly goes to bed between 10 and 11 PM. If not disturbed in the morning she will sleep until after 9, but often is woken by her sister between 6 and 7. Daytime naps are not yet regular. She most often has two or three 1 hour naps or one 3 hour nap. When she is awake she is very alert, talkative, and playful just like her big sister!

"Watch out world"

Proud big sister

First Day of School

Yesterday Alexandria started a new chapter in her life. She started preschool, also called 'play group' here in Somersham. Because year-round school is in place, she was able to start during the summer term. She attends First Step play group on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The program and teachers are wonderful and allow Julia and I to come along and stay until Lexie is ready to stay on her own. Tuesday we stayed about an hour, and then left for an hour. When we returned Lexie was doing wonderfully, watching the other children's show and tell. She didn't even notice we were in the room! Her first day included playing at the sand table, painting, drawing, playing doctor with baby dolls, running in the garden between bouts of rain, a story, and show and tell. Ever since we moved, she insists on being called Alexandria in public, so that is what she goes by at school. Here are some before school pictures from her first day:

She enjoyed a peanut butter bagel, mandarin oranges, and milk for breakfast

Update:

Thursday went even better than Tuesday! She gave me a hug and told me bye straight away in the morning and stayed at school all morning on her own with absolutely no problems!

Traveling with two

Julia is now 2 1/2 months old, and we are quickly growing accustomed to traveling with 2 young children. Perhaps the greatest advantage of this move is the ample opportunity for travel. I promised myself the day we moved that traveling with children would not limit our experiences. My children are the most wonderful gift I could ever imagine. However, it would be a lie to say there are not times I would rather travel as a couple than as a family of 4. Such negativities are forgotten when I remember what amazing experiences we are ALL encountering. Though it is unfortunate that my girls are too young to remember much of their travels, I love that we are so blessed to provide them with these opportunities. It goes so much further than a physical destination on the map. They are constantly surrounded by new and diverse cultures as well as history that feels as though it is leaping from the pages of Wordsworth's works.

I was reminded of all of this as we took a holiday over this long weekend. While the American's celebrate Memorial Day, the British enjoyed a Bank Holiday. This is essentially an excuse for a day off of work and a long weekend, which in my experience is enjoyed much more by Europeans than by us Americans. Whatever the reason, with a 3 day weekend upon us, we wasted no time in planning a trip on the island. We started off Friday afternoon to Bath. Here we visited Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths. They provided a wonderful audio tour that even Alexandria enjoyed. We left Bath Saturday afternoon and made a pit-stop to see Stonehenge before continuing our holiday in Bristol. We chose Bristol not to visit the city itself but as a central location to the other areas we wanted to see. Sunday morning we loaded up the Buick and drove into Wales. While in Wales we visited Tintern Abbey and Caerphilly Castle. These sights were astonishing and well worth the drive. Monday we remained in Bristol and spent a more modern day enjoying the Bristol Zoo. I will always feel partial to the St. Louis Zoo, but I must say the Bristol Zoo was also impressive. We especially enjoyed the penguin and seal exhibit where we were able to view the animals both above and under the water.

The girls both behaved wonderfully throughout the trip. I was especially impressed by Alexandria who is usually a bit of a homebody. I absolutely love traveling with an infant because as long as we have plenty of diapers, wipes, and clothes, she is set to go anywhere. Ryan and I often joke about the increasingly long list of places I nurse her. It has almost become game of finding the best places to nurse while visiting public attractions. One of my favorite was at Caerphilly Castle where I sat in the Queen's chair in the Great Hall.

Sisters

I am happy to report that we are all adjusting well to being a family of 4. Julia is 2 weeks old today, and is up to 10 pounds! She has gained 1 lb, 4 oz since birth. She is exclusively breast fed and really doesn't nurse for very long... I have been told I must have super milk =). Lexie is adjusting well to being a big sister. She loves to get diapers, wipes, clothes, and pacifiers for Julia. She also likes to throw away the dirty nappies! She has often been overheard saying, "Aw Julia, you're so cute" while stroking her baby sister's hair.

Julia's birth

Monday morning, 15 March 2010, we finally welcomed our second daughter Julia Elise into the world. She weighed in at 8 lb 12 oz and is of course perfect! I was 30 weeks pregnant when we made our move to the UK and began seeing a midwife at our local surgery with plans to deliver at Hinchingbrooke hospital in nearby Huntingdon. Ryan's mom came to stay with us for the birth. My due date of 6 March came and went, and we grew anxious for Julia's arrival. One week past my due date and seeming to not be making progress, we made the decision to prolong mom's stay with us for another week. This was a huge relief for us all, and we are very grateful for all the time she has dedicated to us! Sunday morning I received a call from my midwife informing me she could no longer visit and perform the membrane sweep we had scheduled for that day. It turns out Hinchingbrooke inexplicably closed, so they were not doing anything to "encourage labour" at this time. Though I had no signs of labor, she informed me to still call the same hospital if labor were to begin, and they would send me on to another hospital.

I had a few contractions throughout the day Sunday but nothing regular. Between 7 and 8 in the evening, my contractions were feeling quite uncomfortable and coming consistently 8 minutes apart. I continued my normal routine throughout the evening not wanting to get my hopes up. After unsuccessfully attempting a couple of hours of rest, I got up at 1 AM and began timing the contractions. Between 1 and 2, they were coming 5 minutes apart. At 2 I woke Ryan and called the hospital. While the midwife on the phone was friendly, she informed me the hospital was still closed and she would "call around to see if another hospital had space." This was not the most comforting of news when I knew I was in active labor, but she did call back only 10 minutes later to inform me that Addenbrooke's Hospital located in Cambridge could take me. Off we went. We were grateful it was the middle of the night so we did not hit any traffic. However, between the distance itself and difficulty finding a maternity ward we had of course never visited, it still took an hour to find. Once there, we were given a room but the midwife essentially doubted my labor and informed us that she could check me but if I was not far enough along, we would be sent home. We decided to walk the hospital halls to help things continue moving along. After an hour's walk, the contractions were 2 minutes or less apart, and I couldn't walk anymore. We returned to the birthing unit, where I was checked and told that I would in fact not be going home. They offered me the birthing pool to use to help ease the pain. While I had never planned on using a pool, let alone having a water birth, I was looking forward to the chance of a bit of relief from the pain. As soon as I entered the pool, Ryan said he knew I would not be getting back out, and he was right. From that point I labored in the pool with pain relief only from the water, my husband's hand to hold, and the moral support of the midwife. After less than 40 minutes of pushing, Julia was born into the water at 7:49 AM. The midwife grabbed her out of the water and placed her directly onto my chest. During the pushing stage, there were many points where I honestly did not believe I was making progress at all. In fact, she was nearly born with the bag of waters in tact. With my very last push, the waters broke and out came this absolutely perfect baby. Though certainly ready to meet her and for the labor to end, I was in disbelief. After cutting the cord, they gave her to Ryan to hold while I exited the tub to birth the placenta. While in the bed, he returned her to me for longer skin to skin contact, and she began nursing straight away. I did have a very small tear, but after checking it a few times, we decided it did not need stitches.

Within a couple of hours, I was out of bed, showered, dressed (if you count a nightgown as being dressed), and again nursing our new daughter. Soon after, we were moved to the "recovery room", which was really just an area with 5 beds and curtains across the hall from my current room. While I had been slightly concerned about the public recovery, there was only one other couple there when we moved, and they were about to be discharged. For the remainder of my stay, we had the area to ourselves. After getting settled in recovery, Ryan went home to shower himself and get the car seat. Julia and I spent this time nursing and cuddling. I also read, got a bit of lunch, and walked around the unit while Julia napped. I was surprised that the midwives left us completely alone during this time. They were available but waited to be called, very nonintrusive just like the birth. Julia never left my side throughout the short stay.

Ryan returned around 3 PM with champagne and ice cream =). By 3:30 a midwife came by with our discharge papers and informed me a midwife would be visiting us tomorrow. We were free to go home! Ryan headed out to get the car while I nursed Julia and got her all ready for the trip home. We made it home around 5 PM and introduced Julia to her Nina and big sister Alexandria. Ryan carried Julia in her car seat and sat her next to the couch where Lexie was sitting. I came in and hugged Lexie and asked if she knew who was with us. She said, "Mawmaw?" I told her Julia was there, and she immediately began staring at my stomach. I pointed to the car seat and she went right over and began marveling. She gave hugs and kisses right away. Since arriving home, we have had a few small cases of jealousy. Lexie is mostly feeling territorial and just trying to find her place as big sister while still being mommy's girl. We are making it point each day for daddy and mommy to each have one-on-one time with Lexie while the other is with Julia. This seems to help. Overall, she is a very proud big sister and already loves helping with anything she can!

I am still quite amazed at the quickness of the whole experience! I never planned nor imagined a drug-free water birth, yet I would not change a thing!

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!

Londres et Paris en deux semaines

Cheers! Bonsoir!

So I am going to take this from Lauren for one post and we'll see if I am permitted to continue with this. In any event, previous posts have detailed the trip over here and various aspects of our furniture pitfalls. In this post I will highlight our experiences in two world capitals, London and Paris, in two weekends in January.

On New Years Day we traveled to London to see the sites and get away from a house which did not have furniture, dishes, or anything else of a civilized nature. We took the First Capital Connect train service from the local train station in Huntingdon to London King's Cross, of Harry Potter fame (a fact to which I was oblivious to until recently). We checked into the Kensington Marriott, a bit off the beaten path but near the Tube, and went to Westminster City that night. I wanted Lauren to feel like she was in the UK, so when we got out at the Tube station, we were about 30 feet from Big Ben and I think it helped her realize that we weren't in Illinois anymore. We saw Westminster Abbey at night as well as Buckingham Palace. We repeated the experience by daylight, which was completely different. For her part, Lexie was oblivious to the history surrounding her; she was more concerned with the abundant bird population in St. James's park. We also saw St. Paul's Cathedral and I took a picture of Lauren and Lexie on "The Steps of St. Pauls" in homage to Mary Poppins (a movie I hate).

Lauren and Lexie on the First Capital Connect

Our hotel

The very first sight we saw after stepping off the underground

London at night

Ryan and Lexie waiting to catch the tubeOn the steps of St. Paul

After a full English breakfast, we managed to make it to the Palace in time to catch the changing of the guard

Lauren, Lexie, and Julia's first time at Buckingham Palace

Lexie's seemingly favorite part. However, when she saw the pictures, she immediately recognized Big Ben, and "the queen's house" by name.

Over MLK weekend, we took the opportunity to leave this Island Kingdom and go to the continent. We chose Paris because it's about as accessible from here as taking a trip to Kansas City from St. Louis. We took Eurostar from St. Pancras Station (a landmark I love due to a small, minor remark in 1984) to Paris Gare Du Nord and extensively used the metro to get to and from our hotel which was about 3 miles from the Eiffel Tower. We saw the tower, of course, and no one was impressed with it. It's sort of like the Arch, really. It was cold and rainy that night and it made us wonder why we'd left England. The next day we had a full day En La Paris. We saw the Arc De Triomphe, which was far more impressive than the Eiffel Tower. We also saw the tower by daylight, but skipped the long lines to the 2nd floor, since the top was closed. We walked the Champs Elysees and ran into a Disney Store. Having seen internationally famous landmarks, Lexie was most excited to see "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on the TV screen in the shop. She didn't even notice that the show was being played en francais. On MLK day itself we saw the famous Latin Quarter and the Cathedrale De Notre Dame. Lexie of course noticed the birds, not the 12th century architectural marvel. We also were approached by a strange African street vendor who kept telling us Hakuna Matata and making Lauren a bracelet, which he charged me 3 Euros for. I gave him two and told him all I had left were pounds. I'd wager that Hakuna Matata was the extent of his knowledge of African dialects. We walked around and looked at the shops before hitting Eurostar to England and First Capital Connect home. Paris was fun, but Lexie was a bit confused and tired, and her behavior was rather becoming of une l'enfant terrible at times. Basically, we would not recommend Paris with a toddler but have no regrets in going.

I am jealous of Lexie, really. London and Paris in two weeks at age two? She's accomplished a goal of so many, to see both cities, before turning three. Of course, she'll never remember it, but we've got the pictures to prove it! Paris pictures will be coming soon. I bid you all a good night. Au Revoir, mes amis.

View from our hotel

Arc de Triomphe

The restaurant where we ate a very yummy dinner despite multiple toddler meltdowns.

Notre Dame

This is Notre Dame from the back. After watching the movie The Bourne Identity, we're pretty sure there was a scene in the movie shot from this exact location.