First-ever sleepover!

While Monte and I were helping Sonia and Paul host a party for our moving-home friends last Friday night, their daughter Maddison spent the evening at our house with Natalia, Heléna, and Andressa the babysitter. The original plan was for Paul to drop us home at midnight and take Maddison home to her own bed; however, once she heard about our family's Saturday-morning tradition of American-style pancakes, she insisted on staying through the night!

Maddison got on famously with the sitter and had a blast playing with our girls. We hid some sweeties in the kitchen for them to find after saying goodbye to us, and they spent the evening playing games, drawing, and talking. They wanted to stay up until 10 p.m. but I told the sitter to shoot for 9:30. Sure enough, they brushed their teeth and jumped right into "bed" (a pile of blankets and pillows on Natalia's bedroom floor) as soon as Andressa said it was time. They slept all night without a peep, and I found them at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, quietly writing in their diaries. They had written sweet little notes to each other, such as "Dear Maddison, I can't wait to play with you. I hope we can play with my ponys. And my Barbies. And watch Thumbelina. Love from Natalia. P.S. I love U!"

After "the best breakfast ever" (in Maddison's words), they played more games and dressed up in princessy frocks and spun each other around the room. I'm sure they would have spent the whole day together, if given the opportunity! But Mum and Papa reeeealllly needed a nap ...

The downside of being an expatriate

There's an amazing array of benefits that go along with being relocated to a foreign country, especially one like the U.K. -- not too foreign (at least we knew the language) and so close to Europe. We love that our daughters are being exposed to people from many different backgrounds, cultures, and religions. We're thankful for the opportunity to live in a different land, with different routines and customs and lifestyles. (I don't know if I even remember how to drive a car, given that I've been on foot for the past 2.5 years!) It rocks that we are so close to Europe, and that going to France is nearly as easy as (in our Seattle days) taking a roadtrip to the Oregon Coast.

It took a long time for us to find our rhythm over here. English people aren't known for their warm-fuzziness, so until Natalia started school, we didn't have any "real" friends to speak of. Now that we're well into Year Three of our London ex-pat experience, we're feeling quite settled. Natalia is happy at school, and Helena and I keep busy with coffee dates and playgroups, running errands and managing the household. Monte works constantly, but his business trips are usually quite short, and we have a lot of good-quality family time at weekends and during school holidays. We don't have gaggles of friends, but we do have real ones now -- the kinds of friends we know we'll have forever.

So what's the downer? Let's just say that during three years as an ex-pat, one quickly moves from "newcomer" status to "veteran." So many people, especially in our area, move in, get connected, move on to another country, or move back home. It's a thrill to meet someone new and to realize, aha!, we have a lot in common and we could be great friends. But in the back of your mind, you know your time is probably limited. You know (or at least you learn, eventually) that you have to seize the moments you are given. You have to reach out, you have to invest the time and effort and energy, you have to love the people who stumble into your life.

Thus far I haven't known anyone well enough to feel true sadness when moving-home-time arrives. But this month, my two closest American friends announced that they'll be moving home in early August. I always knew this would happen, but I don't think it will truly sink in until after we've returned from our summer holiday in the States and we attempt to return to our normal English routines. I know that new people will move into Richmond and fill the (physical) spaces left by my dear friends Masu and Tallie. But the spaces they have occupied in my heart can only ever be filled by their friendship.

Best of luck, you dear people -- Tallie, Tom, Martha & Charlotte, moving back to California; and Masu, Badar, Raiya & Sana -- starting a new life in Houston. Love you madly!

16 April 2009: Baby Heléna Turns 1!

I am this child's mother, and it's hard for even ME to believe that this is the same baby we welcomed into the world one year ago. Heléna Elizabeth was born on the 16th of April, 2008, at 10:24 in the morning. She weighed 6 pounds and 9 ounces -- such a little peanut! The first photo shows her fresh from the womb, one day old. The second photo was taken on her first birthday.





















At 12 months, Heléna weighs about 23 pounds. She has learned how to pull herself up to a standing position, and is starting to cruise around furniture. It won't be long before she's running to keep up with her big sister. She babbles nonstop, and can say about a half-dozen real words (including "mom," "cat," "uh-oh," "open," and "down"). She has quite a silly sense of humor and brings smiles to our faces every single day. We are so blessed to have this little person in our family!

Heléna celebrated her first birthday in style, with a fab lunch at the La Palma Hotel on the Italian island of Capri, followed by cupcakes at our rented villa in Sorrento. (See previous post for details!) After we returned to London, she celebrated again with my visiting parents, opening gifts from all our Stateside relatives; and again over tea at the Red Cafe with our dear friends Tallie, Martha, and Charlotte. Although I feel badly about not orchestrating a proper first-birthday party for her, I know the child was not deprived. :-)

Springtime Travels

Cotswolds -- April 3 - 6, 2009
Our friends the Faheys from Richmond own this fantastic little cottage in the town of Broadway, in an area of England known as the Cotswolds. We stayed there last year when Baby H was only 10 weeks old, so it was really fun to return and revisit some of the lovely spots we discovered a year ago! What made the trip even better was that our friends from the States (Matt & Deb) were touring Scotland around the same time, so they returned their rental car in the Cotswolds and joined us at the cottage for a few days. Then they bunked at our house for a week so they could explore the sights of London. It was a great long weekend for us in the Cotswolds, and hopefully a fun week in London for them! Certainly a highlight for us was hiring a sitter and going out for a kid-free evening of drinks and dinner with our old friends. Photo link above left!

Italy -- April 11 - 18
We were going. Then not going. Then going! Monte was assigned new sales territory (Turkey and Greece) whilst we were cooling our heels in the Cotswolds, so we weren't sure whether or not our Italy vacation would happen after all. As it happened, it happened! So we jetted off to Sorrento with our friends Brad, Jan & baby Lauren, and Jan's sister Lisa. We rented a villa in the center of town and used it as a base for exploring the Amalfi Coast by train and boat. A definite highlight was celebrating Heléna's first birthday on the Isle of Capri on a gorgeously sunny day. We made some great memories with our old friends, and forged a great new friendship with "Auntie Lisa"! As I've said before, the photos tell a better story than I ever could with words, so ... see the Italy link above left.

17 February, 2009 -- Disneyland Paris!

We spent part of Natalia's winter break at Disneyland Paris. We'd promised her a visit ever since moving to London, nearly two and a half years ago. So it was high time to tick this destination off our list. Natalia had a fabulous time meeting all the Disney characters, watching the parades, and going on the rides. I don't think she complained about all the walking or the cold weather until Day 4. It was a bit surreal, walking down "Main Street USA" and taking a train ride through the American frontier -- in the middle of France, with most of the signs written in French!

We took the Eurostar train from London through Lille to Disneyland Paris. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, right at the gates to the park -- a necessity given the cold weather and the napping needs of our smallest family member! It was great to be able to come and go easily. The accommodations were lovely (although cramped) and the food at the hotel was very good. Disney characters appeared at breakfast every morning, which was exciting for Natalia.

The obvious highlight of the trip -- for everyone involved -- was having QUITE a fancy lunch at the "Auberge de Cendrillon" restaurant, and meeting Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty (as well as some of Cinderella's mouse friends) in the flesh. Natalia was in little-girl heaven! She picked up an autograph book at a local shop, and by the end of our four-day visit had collected quite an impressive array of signatures -- from Mickey and Minnie to all of the princesses and more.

As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." So, I could write 229,000 more words to describe our holiday ... or I could just point you to the photos! So ... here you go!

28 January, 2009 -- Natalia Turns Six!

Whilst most of Natalia's classmates have moved on from small, family-only birthday parties to full-blown, invite-the-whole-class, wild bashes -- complete with hired hall and children's entertainers -- we managed to talk her into having a small party for ONE more year. Conveniently, the mums of her closest schoolmates are MY favorite friends, so we invited those three families to join us for Natalia's party.

This was also the first time we'd had a proper dinner party at our new house. We moved in last Halloween, but it's taken several months to truly feel at home here, farther from the school, on a busier road, still adjusting to new baby routines, and so on. Inviting these families to share such a special occasion with us -- hearing their laughter in our house, eating homemade food, drinking good wine, throwing darts in the study, and trying with all our might to break open the stubborn pinata -- was the key to making our new house feel like home. So, to our London friends Tallie and Tom, Sonia and Paul, and Kari and James: thank you, thank you, thank you! Natalia had a fantastic time with her little friends Martha and Charlotte, Maddison, and Ted and Sophie.

See link above left for all the pictures!

Happy New Year 2009

Heléna is 9 months old today. Natalia will turn 6 in less than two weeks. Lately I've been acutely aware of the rapid passage of time. How could it be that we've lived in the UK for 2+ years already? Has it really been 18 months since I've visited my home in Seattle? Monte is there now, on a two-week business trip, which makes me miss home more than ever!

We had a (mostly) lovely Christmas/New Year holiday in the States with both of our families. It was wonderful to see everyone again, all in the same place. It was heartwarming to watch all the cousins playing together. It was a treat partaking of all the comfort foods of home, such as real Nebraska beef, cheesy potatoes, Swedish pancakes, and Grandma Iliene's peanut-butter-chocolate balls. It was terribly cold when we arrived (like unbelievably frigid, like how on earth did we ever survive childhood in such bitterly cold temperatures?!) and half the family got the stomach flu, but aside from that ...

A highlight of our 10 days in Nebraska was dedicating our sweet Baby H at my family's church, five years to the day after we did the same for Natalia. Heléna wore my baptismal gown, which my own mother made from her wedding gown, 30-something years ago. Our entire family was present for the ceremony on Dec. 28, which was performed by the same pastor who married us and who dedicated Natalia. We hosted a catered lunch following the service, and the food was fantastic. Lots of photos are posted on my Flickr site; see links above left.

Another highlight (at least for Natalia and Grandpa Doyle) was going sledding, Nebraska-style. When Monte announced that Natalia needed to bundle up in warmer clothes because they were going sledding, I silently wondered, "on which hill?" (There basically aren't any hills in Nebraska.) However ... who needs a hill when you've got a fancy farm-issue four-wheeler to provide the power, and a discarded old rusty car hood to use as a sled? Don't get me wrong -- the girl had a BALL zinging around behind that four-wheeler. Her mother, on the other hand, watched from behind the curtains inside the house, praying fervently for her safety! (She fell off only once, and thankfully found it quite funny.)

We had rather long (four-hour) layovers in Chicago on our way to/from Nebraska. The girls were champion travelers both ways. Baby H gawked at the surroundings or napped in her buggy as we wandered the airport. Natalia had lots of books and toys to keep her busy, as usual. Monte and I still laugh about the level of customer service we encountered at the Chili's restaurant at O'Hare. No fewer than three people approached us at the door, asking if we needed a table for four, and promising that it would be no more than a few minutes' wait. I left Monte to wait for the table, and by the time I returned from the ladies' room with the girls, he was already seated at a large table (big enough to accommodate the buggy) with a beer and a glass of wine. Yahoo! America!! (You'll understand our outright glee if you've ever lived abroad and/or experienced the absolute lowest level of customer service imaginable.)

On the way back from Chicago to London, we were unexpectedly upgraded from coach to business class, which made for a very enjoyable trek across the Atlantic. (There are benefits to having an extremely frequent flier for a husband.) To say thank you, Monte bought the ladies at the United counter some Frappuccinos; we're still hoping they didn't get in trouble for accepting gifts from us. ;-)

So ... now we're back in the UK and settling into our old routines. A virulent flu bug has been raging through The Vineyard School, so Natalia was home with a fever last Friday, and again this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. She's sporting an ear infection and spiking 104-degree fevers. With Monte out of the country for two weeks, this trio of girls is feeling pretty lonely and cooped up at the moment! I'm hoping Natalia feels well enough to visit some friends on Sunday so we can get out of the house.

We plan to celebrate Natalia's sixth birthday (1/28/09) with three local families on the 31st. We're excited about entertaining guests in our new house (which, after three months, shouldn't feel as new as it does ... it has taken much longer than I had hoped to feel "settled" here on Sheen Road). The house itself is lovely, but we're still adjusting to the location, and missing our nice quiet row house on Onslow Avenue.

Stay tuned for a birthday update ...