Hampstead Heath

Yesterday we visited the Hampstead Heath.  It is less than a half a mile away from our cottage. The Heath is 800 acres of open space, kids play areas and a few ponds with fishing and swimming sections.  There was still some snow and ice on the ground so parts of it were difficult to get through with the stroller.  We walked up Parliament Hill and took in the view of London and walked around maybe a third of the park.  There was one thing missing...Pepper.  The Heath is leash free, like most all of London, and there were tons of dogs running around, playing and chasing tennis balls. She is really going to love this place.  We decided this must have been the place to be after all the snow we got last week.  The hills would be great for sledding and there were remnants of enormous snowmen all around the park.

Top of Parliament Hill

Top of Parliament Hill, view of London

We are not in Texas anymore!

Yesterday there were a few flurries and when we went to bed this is what our steps looked like.

This is what we woke up to this morning.

I decided that Avery couldn't miss her first London snow.  So after getting her dressed and snuggled warm in her snowsuit we ventured outside for a few quick pics.

Snow angel fun.

Baby Food

I never imagined it would be this hard to find baby food that I approve of for Avery in London.  I don't even think I am the pickiest person but who knew I wouldn't be able to find single foods like squash, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots or even plain applesauce.  Apparently Brits think your 4+ month old (as listed on the jar) should be eating cottage pie, creamed porridge, my first bologne and egg custard desert.  After checking out multiple stores I have found very few options that I like and it appears that it will get even harder when I start introducing green veggies.  Good thing Avery is a good eater and so far the only thing that she doesn't really like is carrots.  Maybe she got that from me, they aren't my favorite food either.  Looks like I will be dusting off the food processor and making green veggies in a few weeks.  

Flying off the handle!

After having difficulty in every leg of this trip I was just waiting for something to happen on the last leg of the trip from Newark to London. Check in went smoothly, my bags totaled 99lbs for the 100lb limit. Avery played and pooped before the flight and was already asleep when we boarded the plane. We even got the bulkhead seat with the bassinet again. I know you are thinking, wow, the trip went smoothly. After landing in London as we left the jet bridge we picked up the gate checked bag with the stroller. Upon removing the stroller from the bag I heard an unfamiliar hollow thunking noise. I said out loud 'that can't be good'. Well, little did I realize how bad it would be. Both handles were completely broken off the stroller. And of course the airline is not responsible for the damage. Airlines, gotta love em!

Airports are not my thing...

Airports are not my thing these days.  Yesterday morning dad, Avery and I got up early to make our 8am flight out of GR.  We were flying to NY to meet Josh's parents for a one night quick visit with all the NY Teitelmans.  We arrived in GR without a hitch.  I checked my two bags and the desk agent tells me that one bag is 3lbs over weight and the other is 5lbs over weight.  If I can't decrease the weight then I will be charged $90 per bag.  I open one bag and start removing things to give to dad to send back home with him, this includes shampoo, toothpaste, desitin, face lotion.  From the other bag I take out several things and cram it into my carry on bag.  We have to have the bags re-weighed several times since even the slightest bit over weight didn't cut if for this man.  Apparently any compassion for flying with an infant didn't matter either.  Finally I have two bags under the weight limit.  We head to the security line, it's long and I'm sure my flight is already boarding at this point.  My carry on is now heavy and big because of the shuffle I had to do with my checked luggage.  Dad handles all my carry on items with me in line until they can't let him go any further.  I manage to get my shoes off, diaper bag down, milk out, baby food out, laptop out, stroller through the scanner, bags through the scanner, I go to walk through the scanner and oh! 'Ma-am you have been selected for additional screening'.  Seriously, are you kidding me?  I get a quick pat down but then they have to go through every piece of luggage that I have.  At this point they are paging me by name to board the flight.  Other travelers are walking past me and telling the TSA that they are just plain mean.  Finally all my bags are checked out, I repack them and one of the TSA agents offers to bring the stroller and rolling bag to the gate for me.  Thank You!  I literally board the plane, the flight attendant tells me to sit in the front row and we are off.  This is not what I needed to add to an already stressful and emotional time.  But we made it.  Hopefully the Newark airport treats me better tonight for our final leg of this journey to London.  Are we there yet?

New Portraits!

Over Christmas Tonya was able to capture some new images of Avery.  After her computer crash, ordering a new one and getting Photoshop back up and running she has posted a few on her blog. Check them out:  Tonya Marie Photography's Blog.

Hopefully we will have some time in the next few days to get a few new shots with Avery sitting up.

The Adventure Begins

I can't even begin to express how crazy and stressful life has been since we returned from our five week trip to London in Nov/Dec.  We had so much to accomplish in such a short period of time. We made an international shipment with Avery's crib, toys, rocking chair and some clothing. This shipment will take between 4 and 6 weeks to arrive to us in London.  We sold Josh's truck and my almost brand new Acadia.  The house was packed up and completely moved out into storage. With the help of our neighbors and friends Greg and Tiff we were able to clean out the last items left in the house and refrigerator/freezer.  Greg got the house in good shape with touch up paint on the walls and repainted front hand rails in hopes that the house will sell or lease soon.  We even stayed with them for our last two nights.  Avery and I left Austin a day later than planned to tie up a few loose ends.  Hmmm, how much do we owe our wonderful neighbors?  Thanks Greg and Tiff!

Avery and I got up early in the morning to catch our 7 am flight.  We flew from Austin to Atlanta where we connected to our flight to Grand Rapids.  Kalamazoo is getting harder and harder to fly into, so dad (Gramp) was picking us up in GR for the 1 hour drive back to Kazoo. We were on our approach into GR when we were put into a holding pattern for over 30 minutes.  They finally told us that we would have to fly to Cincinnati to land because we had a mechanical issue and we needed a long runway with no snow.  The flight attendant even told me to hold on to Avery tightly because we would be making a very fast landing.  The landing went just fine and we were rebooked in Cinci and arrived in GR over 4 hours late.  This was all exhausting, the weather was and is frigid and to add to it I was traveling with way more luggage than I have ever traveled with, with Avery.  The helpfulness and concern of other passengers and flight crew was greatly appreciated.  Many, many people helped me with the stroller and bag.  With that said, I will never travel with so much stuff again.

The plan was to stay with my parents for a few days and Tonya and the kids would come to stay as well.  Early this afternoon that we got a call from Tonya telling us that Chris' appendix was about to rupture and he was headed to the hospital for surgery.  So, mom, dad, Avery and I packed our bags as quickly as possible and headed to Angola.  Surgery went great and Chris is in recovery for the night.  

I'm really hoping for a relaxing few days...