Or how to deal with the spoon:
But in the end she was really happy (and covered in carrot):
I think it must be very fun to have Jim as a Dad.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Carrots extravaganza
After a couple of weeks of being awakened at 3am and 5am, we put two and two together and realized that Evie was hungry. So this week we started giving her a little rice cereal in her bottle and TODAY she had her first carrot puree. At first she didn't know what to think:
Or how to deal with the spoon:
But in the end she was really happy (and covered in carrot):
I think it must be very fun to have Jim as a Dad.
Or how to deal with the spoon:
But in the end she was really happy (and covered in carrot):
I think it must be very fun to have Jim as a Dad.
Our new neighbors!
Back before Evie was born, Jackie and Piotrek came to visit and we joked about how they should quit their jobs in Manchester and move to London. That isn't exactly how it happened, but now Jackie is working with Jim and they ARE moving to London. We are excited! On Saturday, we met them for dinner, during which an episode straight out of COPS happened right next to our table. Short version: Two grown women were dressed in hooker fairy costumes (they were hosting a fairy-themed birthday party for one of their daughters). For some reason that we never figured out, they were stopped by the police, at which point the fluorescent yellow fairy mom with fishnets and no panties started screaming obscenities, talking about how she was dying of lupus and the police were going to hell and then, in her six inch heels, ran off into traffic and down the street with a shortish cop chasing behind her. We were amazed at how fast she was, despite the heels, skimpy outfit and fairy wings. What drama! If I could have done it tactfully, I would have taken a picture of the slutty fairies, but a passer-by almost was beaten up by the boyfriend of one of them after doing just that (very obviously...not a smooth move), so I decided to keep my camera in my purse.
After our peaceful dinner, we wandered into the park, where a funfair was taking place (that explained the rough crowd in fairy costumes). Evie liked all the lights!
What a bizarre evening. Jackie said that she felt like she was in the twilight zone. It was fun anyway!
After our peaceful dinner, we wandered into the park, where a funfair was taking place (that explained the rough crowd in fairy costumes). Evie liked all the lights!
What a bizarre evening. Jackie said that she felt like she was in the twilight zone. It was fun anyway!
Country Walk!!!!
After over a year of not going for a country walk for various perfectly logical reasons (too sick with morning sickness, too pregnant, too overwhelmed by parenthood, bad weather)we rounded up Aurelie, packed up Evie and all that she needs and headed to the village of Guildford, where we embarked on our first 'family' country walk.
Evie was more interested in looking out of the train window than she was of hearing about the historic castle, WWII pill boxes and churches along the walk (she takes after her mama!)
Then she went to sleep (she takes after her Dad, too!)
Guildford near the train station is not the prettiest place, but it definitely got better!
Our first stop was just a few minutes into the walk at what Jim termed a Norman "Starbucks" castle. Apparently they were trying to take over as much territory as possible, so they built a bunch of castles, quick and dirty-like.
Evie was PSYCHED to be in a Norman castle.
After climbing a narrow spiral staircase, we reached the roof, where the number of people far exceeded the 12 person limit AND we were caged in...so we didn't stay up there very long.
It was a warm and sunny spring day yesterday, which we all really enjoyed.
Carrying a fifteen pound baby for seven miles is not an easy task, so we stopped frequently so that she and we could rest.
Evie took every opportunity to practice rolling over.
She also had no qualms about when and where she HAD to eat. Here she enjoyed a tasty bottle next to a huge pile of horse poop and alongside a pasture. There was no waiting!
Ferns provide a good diversion during brief meltdowns.
Just after we said how glad we were that there weren't lots of stiles to climb over, we came upon an abundance of stiles. Evie slept through all of them, but I didn't!
Aurelie insisted that we have a family picture, after which the camera died. The rest of the pictures in this blog were taken with my Iphone. The quality is pretty good!
We stopped for lunch at a pub called The White Horse in a very cute little village called Shere. The pub claimed to be haunted by a ghost of a little girl named Emma, who's body was found in the chimney during a refurb project in 1950. Evie did NOT like the pub at all, which we attributed to the ghost. She also is, I discovered while changing her diaper in the pub bathroom, terrified of automatic hand dryers. So Jim and I took turns walking around outside with her, where she happily looked at the trees and bushes. As soon as she came inside the pub, she started wailing...maybe she could see something we couldn't see? Here she is with Jim in front of the haunted pub.
It was necessary to 'ford' a small river to get through the town (pedestrian bridges were provided), so Jim decided to wade right in with Evie. Evie's reaction to having her toes dipped into a cold stream was to squeal in a way which made it very clear that if Jim did it again she would do more than just squeal. So Jim didn't do it again.
The train ride home was uneventful, although we did manage to randomly sit next to two French guys, which caused Aurelie to roll her eyes. She confirmed that they were talking about girls, their studies and what they were doing for the weekend. They also were talking about how they wished they had some cookies (when they saw Aurelie and Jim eating some), so Aurelie offered them some as well. They still didn't catch on that she was French.
It was great to be out walking again and Evie seemed to enjoy her first country walk. Hopefully we'll do it again soon!
Evie was more interested in looking out of the train window than she was of hearing about the historic castle, WWII pill boxes and churches along the walk (she takes after her mama!)
Then she went to sleep (she takes after her Dad, too!)
Guildford near the train station is not the prettiest place, but it definitely got better!
Our first stop was just a few minutes into the walk at what Jim termed a Norman "Starbucks" castle. Apparently they were trying to take over as much territory as possible, so they built a bunch of castles, quick and dirty-like.
Evie was PSYCHED to be in a Norman castle.
After climbing a narrow spiral staircase, we reached the roof, where the number of people far exceeded the 12 person limit AND we were caged in...so we didn't stay up there very long.
It was a warm and sunny spring day yesterday, which we all really enjoyed.
Carrying a fifteen pound baby for seven miles is not an easy task, so we stopped frequently so that she and we could rest.
Evie took every opportunity to practice rolling over.
She also had no qualms about when and where she HAD to eat. Here she enjoyed a tasty bottle next to a huge pile of horse poop and alongside a pasture. There was no waiting!
Ferns provide a good diversion during brief meltdowns.
Just after we said how glad we were that there weren't lots of stiles to climb over, we came upon an abundance of stiles. Evie slept through all of them, but I didn't!
Aurelie insisted that we have a family picture, after which the camera died. The rest of the pictures in this blog were taken with my Iphone. The quality is pretty good!
We stopped for lunch at a pub called The White Horse in a very cute little village called Shere. The pub claimed to be haunted by a ghost of a little girl named Emma, who's body was found in the chimney during a refurb project in 1950. Evie did NOT like the pub at all, which we attributed to the ghost. She also is, I discovered while changing her diaper in the pub bathroom, terrified of automatic hand dryers. So Jim and I took turns walking around outside with her, where she happily looked at the trees and bushes. As soon as she came inside the pub, she started wailing...maybe she could see something we couldn't see? Here she is with Jim in front of the haunted pub.
It was necessary to 'ford' a small river to get through the town (pedestrian bridges were provided), so Jim decided to wade right in with Evie. Evie's reaction to having her toes dipped into a cold stream was to squeal in a way which made it very clear that if Jim did it again she would do more than just squeal. So Jim didn't do it again.
The train ride home was uneventful, although we did manage to randomly sit next to two French guys, which caused Aurelie to roll her eyes. She confirmed that they were talking about girls, their studies and what they were doing for the weekend. They also were talking about how they wished they had some cookies (when they saw Aurelie and Jim eating some), so Aurelie offered them some as well. They still didn't catch on that she was French.
It was great to be out walking again and Evie seemed to enjoy her first country walk. Hopefully we'll do it again soon!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Evie's rolling
I didn't catch the actual roll on film, but today Evie rolled over onto her stomach and explored her jungle gym from a new angle.
Evie hearts Finchley
Much to Finchley's dismay, Evie has finally started noticing him. He is a patient cat and will put up with a little hair pulling before he vacates the premises.
Eurovision 2009
Perhaps you remember my blog about Eurovision last year, which three or four Russian guys clad in white suits and singing a terribly cheesy song, ultimately won the contest when they threw in the really cool move of ice skating on stage on a piece of circular plastic. It was outrageous!
Anyway, this year, inspired by last year's drama and ridiculousness, we planned again to watch Eurovision. Unfortunately I have to say that it wasn't AS cheesy as last year, but it was still pretty bad.
The following is a brief description of some of the Eurovision highlights, complete with comments that Jim made that I found to be pretty funny. Apologies for the misspelling of some of the country names. Time is limited on this blog and I can't waste the precious few minutes I have to write it looking up country spellings (as ignorant as that sounds!)
Greece put on a pretty Ricky Martin-esque performance, with very tan and fit dancers in white outfits dancing on a moving sidewalk and, at one point Jim exclaimed, "Whoah...do they have MAGNETS on their shoes?!"
Azerbaijan's performance threw him into a moment of great conflict as he uttered, "Ahh...horrible song, but really sexy lady...beautiful singer, really bad song...but I might have to vote for her."
During Moldovia's performance Jim rated the male dancers as "prance-like." (which was actually a pretty good description of the moves they were doing).
Albania's performance was just weird. The lead singer had on a dress that made her look like Barbie meets Cinderella and dancing in the background were two little people and a man in a shiny green body suit (which covered his face...think Blue Man Group, but no eyes or mouth showing).
The Ukraine's singer, mortgaged her flat to buy the set for her performance, which turned out to be a stripper scene, with her writhing and poling and guys dressed as Trojans dancing along with her. She also sang things like "Baby You're so fine; be my valentine", "I'm your anti-crisis girl" and "you have sexy bum."
This year Norway won with a cute guy playing violin and singing about how he fell in love with a fairytale, which perfect Norwegian women in Heidi dresses danced around the stage and sang backup.
Until next year....
Anyway, this year, inspired by last year's drama and ridiculousness, we planned again to watch Eurovision. Unfortunately I have to say that it wasn't AS cheesy as last year, but it was still pretty bad.
The following is a brief description of some of the Eurovision highlights, complete with comments that Jim made that I found to be pretty funny. Apologies for the misspelling of some of the country names. Time is limited on this blog and I can't waste the precious few minutes I have to write it looking up country spellings (as ignorant as that sounds!)
Greece put on a pretty Ricky Martin-esque performance, with very tan and fit dancers in white outfits dancing on a moving sidewalk and, at one point Jim exclaimed, "Whoah...do they have MAGNETS on their shoes?!"
Azerbaijan's performance threw him into a moment of great conflict as he uttered, "Ahh...horrible song, but really sexy lady...beautiful singer, really bad song...but I might have to vote for her."
During Moldovia's performance Jim rated the male dancers as "prance-like." (which was actually a pretty good description of the moves they were doing).
Albania's performance was just weird. The lead singer had on a dress that made her look like Barbie meets Cinderella and dancing in the background were two little people and a man in a shiny green body suit (which covered his face...think Blue Man Group, but no eyes or mouth showing).
The Ukraine's singer, mortgaged her flat to buy the set for her performance, which turned out to be a stripper scene, with her writhing and poling and guys dressed as Trojans dancing along with her. She also sang things like "Baby You're so fine; be my valentine", "I'm your anti-crisis girl" and "you have sexy bum."
This year Norway won with a cute guy playing violin and singing about how he fell in love with a fairytale, which perfect Norwegian women in Heidi dresses danced around the stage and sang backup.
Until next year....
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tour of London
I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I'm having a hard time keeping up with it now that Evie is awake more often and displaying her passionate dislike for the computer. But I will perservere...just not as quickly as before!
Last weekend we headed down to Canary Wharf to have brunch with some of Jim's co-workers. We ended up making a day of it and basically making a circle around London. Evie was an excellent companion!
In Canary Wharf:
We forgot to take pictures during the brunch, so once again it's mostly pictures of us. We also forgot to take pictures of the Olympics site, through which we traveled (the long way) just so that we could take some pictures of it. At least Evie and I could see the progress that has been made and where Jim works every day! Sorry to everyone else, though!
Posing in front of the tallest building in the UK (located in Canary Wharf). It was SO exciting!
We decided that it would be fun for Evie if we took the boat back, rather than the train, but, in true Evie style, she fell asleep for the entire boat ride. We enjoyed it, though. We caught the boat in Canary Wharf and got off at Embankment. Seeing London from the Thames is a really nice way to get a good view of all the landmarks without the crowds.
Jim can always be counted on to hold up bridges along the way. Especially London Bridge.
We ended up, randomly, at a Palestinian Peace Rally in Trafalgar Square. Not surprisingly, there were a few extreme antisemites there, but mostly people were peacefully protesting against the occuption of Palestine. Evie seemed to be enjoying herself. Ignorance(and innocence)is bliss.
Next stop: Covent Garden, where Evie was instumental in helping me pick my meal at Neal's Yard:
Jim accidentally did a great impression of Sil from the Sopranos. As an aside, we just figured out that Sil is also Bruce Springsteen's bassist. We quickly got online to see what Sil looks like normally...and nowwe can't decide if he looks stranger as Sil or stranger as himself.
After a long day, and incredibly good behavior by Evie, we headed home on the Tube. It's good to remember that we won't always have such unlimited access to this great city. We need to get out more!
Last weekend we headed down to Canary Wharf to have brunch with some of Jim's co-workers. We ended up making a day of it and basically making a circle around London. Evie was an excellent companion!
In Canary Wharf:
We forgot to take pictures during the brunch, so once again it's mostly pictures of us. We also forgot to take pictures of the Olympics site, through which we traveled (the long way) just so that we could take some pictures of it. At least Evie and I could see the progress that has been made and where Jim works every day! Sorry to everyone else, though!
Posing in front of the tallest building in the UK (located in Canary Wharf). It was SO exciting!
We decided that it would be fun for Evie if we took the boat back, rather than the train, but, in true Evie style, she fell asleep for the entire boat ride. We enjoyed it, though. We caught the boat in Canary Wharf and got off at Embankment. Seeing London from the Thames is a really nice way to get a good view of all the landmarks without the crowds.
Jim can always be counted on to hold up bridges along the way. Especially London Bridge.
We ended up, randomly, at a Palestinian Peace Rally in Trafalgar Square. Not surprisingly, there were a few extreme antisemites there, but mostly people were peacefully protesting against the occuption of Palestine. Evie seemed to be enjoying herself. Ignorance(and innocence)is bliss.
Next stop: Covent Garden, where Evie was instumental in helping me pick my meal at Neal's Yard:
Jim accidentally did a great impression of Sil from the Sopranos. As an aside, we just figured out that Sil is also Bruce Springsteen's bassist. We quickly got online to see what Sil looks like normally...and nowwe can't decide if he looks stranger as Sil or stranger as himself.
After a long day, and incredibly good behavior by Evie, we headed home on the Tube. It's good to remember that we won't always have such unlimited access to this great city. We need to get out more!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Picnics and parties
Ever since she was born, Jim has been really looking forward to putting Evie on his shoulders. Now that she's not such a bobblehead, he can! As you can see, he was thrilled. She's not so sure about the whole 'on Dad's shoulders' thing, but she'll get used to it.
It was not particularly warm last weekend, but if you wait for warm weather in England, you'll be waiting for a long time. So we got together with some friends and had a picnic on Parliament (Kite) Hill. We were the first ones there, so we killed time practicing the moves we learned in baby yoga. Evie LOVES going upside down.
Everyone arrived with babes in arms!
Kate, Oliver and Toby:
Watching the kites:
Our picnic from afar:
Keren and Eden have a rest:
Babies on the Hill:
Evie was 'knackered' (not to be confused with 'naked' which is what Jim thought his co-worker said he looked like the first time he heard the word 'knackered.' He was all flustered and wondering what she was trying to say...We have learned so much!)
It was not particularly warm last weekend, but if you wait for warm weather in England, you'll be waiting for a long time. So we got together with some friends and had a picnic on Parliament (Kite) Hill. We were the first ones there, so we killed time practicing the moves we learned in baby yoga. Evie LOVES going upside down.
Everyone arrived with babes in arms!
Kate, Oliver and Toby:
Watching the kites:
Our picnic from afar:
Keren and Eden have a rest:
Babies on the Hill:
Evie was 'knackered' (not to be confused with 'naked' which is what Jim thought his co-worker said he looked like the first time he heard the word 'knackered.' He was all flustered and wondering what she was trying to say...We have learned so much!)
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
A few short videos of Evie at home
Sorry folks, but not much has happened lately...except for Evie! Tomorrow night I'm going out with the Moms, so hopefully we'll have some blog worthy experiences out on the town, but for now I give you some cute videos of Evie (drum role please)!
She's still looking a little South Parkish, but getting the hang of her Bumbo chair and holding onto things. Here she is with her Winkle, which is an atom-like teething toy. The background noise is Jim putting up a shelf...and we don't always have laundry on our dining room table:
Our dog Buster has this awesome thing called a neverending treat ball, into which you can put treats. It takes most dogs a long time to get to the treats, but Buster is pretty food motivated and generally can get the treats out pretty quickly. Anyway, our friend Anissa gave us the baby version of the neverending treat ball, which is like a pacifier with mesh thing on the end. This morning, Evie was being fussy and I needed to make some bottles, so I put a piece of banana in and handed it to her. At first she was baffled (I think the look on her face in this video is hilarious):
But then she figured it out!
She's well on her way to being a big and hearty eater like her parents!
She's still looking a little South Parkish, but getting the hang of her Bumbo chair and holding onto things. Here she is with her Winkle, which is an atom-like teething toy. The background noise is Jim putting up a shelf...and we don't always have laundry on our dining room table:
Our dog Buster has this awesome thing called a neverending treat ball, into which you can put treats. It takes most dogs a long time to get to the treats, but Buster is pretty food motivated and generally can get the treats out pretty quickly. Anyway, our friend Anissa gave us the baby version of the neverending treat ball, which is like a pacifier with mesh thing on the end. This morning, Evie was being fussy and I needed to make some bottles, so I put a piece of banana in and handed it to her. At first she was baffled (I think the look on her face in this video is hilarious):
But then she figured it out!
She's well on her way to being a big and hearty eater like her parents!
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Hot Date
Last night we had a hot date in London. We even left the neighborhood!
We started at the Tate Modern, which is always free and which is open late on Fridays and Saturdays. It was fun to be in a Museum for a date and we really enjoyed wandering around without the usual crowds.
We had a glass of wine after the museum (at the museum) and watched the sun start to set over the Thames. Jim was really excited for me to take this picture of him.
Escalators:
Sunset:
Being told to be serious about the picture and looking like a sap as a result. I was trying to concentrate on looking at the BT tower, so that I wouldn't make a face.
This is how I really felt (much better, I'm sure you'll agree):
A delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant, where we ate way too much (a frequent problem)and had deep conversations:
Unfortunately, at the end of the night there was a long tube ride home. Jim is always the most enthusiastic of all about long tube rides. He should be a tube cheerleader! Goooo TUBE!
We started at the Tate Modern, which is always free and which is open late on Fridays and Saturdays. It was fun to be in a Museum for a date and we really enjoyed wandering around without the usual crowds.
We had a glass of wine after the museum (at the museum) and watched the sun start to set over the Thames. Jim was really excited for me to take this picture of him.
Escalators:
Sunset:
Being told to be serious about the picture and looking like a sap as a result. I was trying to concentrate on looking at the BT tower, so that I wouldn't make a face.
This is how I really felt (much better, I'm sure you'll agree):
A delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant, where we ate way too much (a frequent problem)and had deep conversations:
Unfortunately, at the end of the night there was a long tube ride home. Jim is always the most enthusiastic of all about long tube rides. He should be a tube cheerleader! Goooo TUBE!
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