Seattle revisited

Rosie didnt ever sleep 'til 7am again, but for the most part she wakes up around 5-530am which allows me plenty of great sleep! I still 'wear' her all day, but today I managed to lay her on the bed for a 3 hour nap, allowing me time to do a bunch of things!

Loving life today!!!

In the airport - We lost count of the number of times Henry yelled 'airplane' at the toop of his voice!

We left 80F, blue skies and sunshine for this!?

Childrens museum got us out of the cold

Bath time is so much easier now that they bathe together!

Spontaneity is not my thing!

Right now...

I know my posts are few and far between, but its pretty time consuming having two kids and I can't seem to get decent pictures and I don't want to post without photos for you.

Danny came home for lunch Monday, or maybe it was Tuesday, and asked me if I wanted to go to Seattle - Friday! I really dont deal well with spontaneous suggestions but there is no point of having the freedom of a stay at home mum and not taking advantage of the perks of a job that means you hardly ever get to see your husband and are a single parent more than you are a family. So yes, we are in Seattle; air miles, Marriott points and a little bit of spending money. Unfortunately we left the best weather you can imagine (80F, glorious sunshine) for snow, wind, rain and upper 30sF, but we spent the weekend together! Danny is working now and we are in the hotel room taking naps; ahhhhhh peace and quiet!

As usual I am behind on photos, Seattle fun photos to come, but below are some of the kids from last week (I dont get many of Rosie because she lives her life attached to me right now - thank goodness for baby-wearing!).

Jogging on the bike path. Got 20lbs to lose! Me, not Henry!

Henry just discovered these gloves - it was 80F+ out!

Henry thinks he needs to play with Rosie whenever she uses the jungle gym. She is awake more and more each day and she is such a happy little person.

Yes, he is wearing his beany in 80F weather.

Look, there are some battles that are just not worth fighting!

On our travels...

After a few very tiring, but fun, days traipsing all over Florence and Pisa, Henry is safely situated at his Nanny's house. I have some fantastic photos, of course, but Papa has our download cable and is still in Florence, so you will have to wait.

Henry ate Gelato everyday, stayed up way past his usual bed time, discovered a love of pesto gnocchi and mozzarella cheese and an ability to nap in the ergo that Alison so kindly lent us. We loved the architecture of Florence, but realised pretty quickly (in fact after the very first museum that we went into) that museums aren't for us, so we stuck to looking at the outside of buildings, which was much cheaper anyways! Free in fact!

We had a little hiccup on our train journey to Pisa in that our train broke down and we were just sitting on it with all the other passengers and no body decided to tell us. Eventually a nice lady came and told us and we all disembarked. Stuck in some po-dung town on a Sunday in a country where you don't speak the lingo, oh yes, with an eight month old. Yippee. We were on the brink of sharing a taxi with an older British couple to Pisa when the crowd started flooding back into the station... yep, trains were back on. So carrying all of our junk, and H asleep in his little pouch, we joined the throngs of people down the stairs, under the railway, up the stairs, run along the platform trying to squeeze onto a carriage... we made it onto the last one because I ran and stood in the doorway so it wouldn't close. Danny runs up with our suitcases, falls... but thankfully only scraped his ankle because from where I was standing, watching one foot (and leg) disappear between the train and the platform, we were headed to the Emergency Room, if there was one... We made it to Pisa and strangely enough, were staying in the same hotel as the British couple we were going to share a taxi with! I LOVED Pisa. Much more old towny and relaxed than Florence. We even found a childrens park and played on the swings, mixed with little Italian toddlers and hit the merry-go-round, though the later wasn't exactly a hit with the H-man. Henry and I took a quick flight back to England and he slept the whole flight. Im sure the people that decided not to sit next to us (we had the whole row to ourselves) because they didnt want to sit next to a baby, were aggravated that the toddlers in the middle of the plane cried the whole way there, whilst H just slept on quietly in his pouch. I even managed to get the car seat in Grandpa's car all on my own, in the dark, tired ad hungry! Brownie points for Mummy!

We are now just relaxing at Nanny's house. This morning we ate our lunch out in the garden, feeding the ducks our left over bread. Henry loves watching the lambs play in the field behind us and is seemingly transfixed by the goings-on of the pond. Tomorrow the Country Living Fair, so let's hope Henry is in a good mood for our day-long outing with the girlies and that this time our train doesn't decide to just give up!

We miss Papa and look forward to his arrival tomorrow night. Should be a nice surprise for H Friday morning when he wakes up.

Essential baby gear for International travelling: an Ergo pouch for daytime naps on the go; a very durable stroller (we have a something Maclaren but I cant remember the name right now); teething biscuits for entertainment and popping those ears if its not time to nurse during take off and landing; bread sticks for restaurant entertainment; a wipe-able bib; a sleepsack and binky (comfort blanket) to make every hotel bed feel like home...

Where have I been?

Where have I been for the past three weeks? Good question!

We took a road trip to Gulf Shores, AL with my sister and her BF, Joe. Three days later we flew to Vancouver, Canada. One day later we drove to Little Rock, AR. Henry is most definitely a well travelled baby!

Henry flies like a champ. His behaviour there and back was very different, but nonetheless he behaved very well both times. On the way out he was full of energy and giggles. On the way back he slept through every flight. Feeding him for take off and landing went well, so he didnt have any ear problems.

Vancouver was fun. It was nice to be a part of the 'real' world again. The people were very relaxed and didnt mind at all when I walked back to the hotel room to feed Henry every three hours. He mostly behaved for his Daddy but he has discovered true screaming, and boy is it loud. We didnt eat out much, since Henry was on Central time and a little grumpy. Even so, we were not overly impressed with the food in Vancouver. About 95% of the restaurants were sushi or Japanese, and whilst we like that style of food as much as the next person, we didnt want it more than once in a week. We did have a fantastic curry though.

I believe Henry's temporary grumpiness was in part because he missed home, but mostly a growth spurt. He can sit up now while holding your finger and go from sitting to his tummy. He rolls over with pure grace and likes most of all to stand up while you keep him balanced.

We drove to Little Rock to keep Danny company. He had a GIS class Thursday, so we drove Wednesday night. We stayed with the Schneider's and got to meet Cooper, their new arrival. Cooper is seven weeks old but was born four weeks early. He is tiny! We did take a picture of the two lads lying beside each other, so I just have to get organised and start uploading pictures.

It is so nice to be home. Today was fantastic! I dont know if its sheer chance, but we seem to have landed into a nice schedule easily, but we shall see if it lasts. I really had a wonderful day! Henry fell asleep in the Babybjorn carrier while we walked the dogs this morning. When we got home, I cleaned the fridge while he continued to sleep in his bed. We played a bunch, did the grocery shopping, had a bath, but most importantly, we christened our trailer today! It was great to get out and ride and Henry slept really well. We cycled to the park, jogged the outer loop and cycled home. Most people gave us a wide girth, but not everybody, which is shocking. I really enjoyed cycling with Henry, but do need a wing mirror for my bike, I think.

Last night Henry woke up earlier than usual for his night time feed, because he hit his head on the end of the bassinet. So tonight is his first full night in his own bed, in his own bedroom - at 3 months old! I thought it was going to be hard on me, but Ive been putting him in there after his 3am feed for the rest of the night, so Im doing well! Its actually nice to have our bedroom back!

Rush rush rush

We had a fantastic time with my sister and her boyfriend, the two Js. Gulf Shores is wonderful and I thoroughly recommend it. I have some adorable pictures of Henry, of course, that I will share with you at a later date.

We leave for Vancouver, Canada tomorrow morning at 530am, so lets hope Henry wakes up on the right side of the bassinet!

Henry still wont drink from a bottle, but the office Im working at next week is only an 8 minute walk from the hotel, so it should work out well.

Taylor Grocery, Taylor, Mississippi

Southern food at its best. Fried everything!