Monday, January 25, 2010
Metamorphosis
In the past year, Evie has gone from being a baby to being a toddler. Jim and I have moved on from freewheeling, carefree coupledom to doting parents. I spend my days slouching around in food covered jeans and tee-shirts. Our Friday nights are dominated by take out foods and, these days, watching Big Love on DVD. We are happier than we have ever been.
On Saturday, Evie had her first taste of independence when we let her walk up the high street with us. She was so proud and so happy, stopping to look into every store window and causing everyone who passed us to exclaim over her cuteness.
Even the Gap was a whole lot more interesting when Evie was out of her stroller. Her usual reaction to going to the Gap or any other store is to put on a look of pure boredom and, after approximately five minutes, to start yelling so that everyone knows just how bored she actually is.
Jim was one proud Daddy.
Ducking through a Hampstead alley. You probably had to be there to really appreciate how monumental this event was. We all had a blast! If we are this proud when Evie just walks up the street, what's going to happen when she gets through all of her other life accomplishments!?
On Saturday night we were invited to a birthday party for our friend and former neighbor Phil. Phil, Julie, Maddy and Joe have been great friends since we all lived next door to each other in our first London flat, so we were excited to go and celebrate with them. Perhaps you don't recognize the woman in this picture. Believe it or not, it's the same one who was walking up the high street in her puffy jacket and ponytailed hair. When given the opportunity, I still clean up pretty well. Jim spends most of his time looking respectable since he has a job. From Mom and Dad to Party People....we headed out!
Name dropping is really not my style, but Phil is in the music industry and is good friends with none other than Bryan Adams, who, to everyone's surprise didn't just attend the party, but also got up to jam with the band. To his right is our friend Dave, another great musician, and the Dad of Evie's friends Marilyn and Christina. Everyone was having a great time and we were all a little star struck by Bryan Adams, I think. (Jim and I were at least)
Joe was busy learning important life skills from the bartender. Here he makes a delicious and nutritious mojito.
Claire, Claire (Christina and Marilyn's mom) and Maddy, who was very embarrassed by our dancing. And Joe said my dancing looked like I was about to go streaking. HAH! Nothing like teenage honesty to make you feel old and uncoordinated. I warned them that when Evie is a teenager, she's going to think that they are big dorks, too. What goes around comes around!
Phil was serenaded by Bryan and the jumped in and played/sang some of his own songs. He has several well known songs and a few recent number one hits here in the UK. It was fun to hear him singing them instead of the usual pop starlets.
Birthday cupcake extravaganza. YUM.
The lovely Julie was serenaded as well, as being "just too good to be true." Very sweet. Unfortunately the pictures that Jim took are ones that I know would not have Julie's approval, but I can vouch for the fact that she looked beautiful in a purple dress and was the picture of a glowing hostess. She planned a great party!
Cool times with Joe:
Learning to dance like a club kid. This is some karate chop move. We also learned 'milk the cow' and 'milk the bull' (use your imagination). I demonstrated my best 'cabbage patch kid,' 'stir the soup' and 'sprinkler.'
Oh what a fun night it was! And how painful was the next day, as we morphed back into Jim and Claire, parents, starting at 6:30 am. But it was worth it.
On Saturday, Evie had her first taste of independence when we let her walk up the high street with us. She was so proud and so happy, stopping to look into every store window and causing everyone who passed us to exclaim over her cuteness.
Even the Gap was a whole lot more interesting when Evie was out of her stroller. Her usual reaction to going to the Gap or any other store is to put on a look of pure boredom and, after approximately five minutes, to start yelling so that everyone knows just how bored she actually is.
Jim was one proud Daddy.
Ducking through a Hampstead alley. You probably had to be there to really appreciate how monumental this event was. We all had a blast! If we are this proud when Evie just walks up the street, what's going to happen when she gets through all of her other life accomplishments!?
On Saturday night we were invited to a birthday party for our friend and former neighbor Phil. Phil, Julie, Maddy and Joe have been great friends since we all lived next door to each other in our first London flat, so we were excited to go and celebrate with them. Perhaps you don't recognize the woman in this picture. Believe it or not, it's the same one who was walking up the high street in her puffy jacket and ponytailed hair. When given the opportunity, I still clean up pretty well. Jim spends most of his time looking respectable since he has a job. From Mom and Dad to Party People....we headed out!
Name dropping is really not my style, but Phil is in the music industry and is good friends with none other than Bryan Adams, who, to everyone's surprise didn't just attend the party, but also got up to jam with the band. To his right is our friend Dave, another great musician, and the Dad of Evie's friends Marilyn and Christina. Everyone was having a great time and we were all a little star struck by Bryan Adams, I think. (Jim and I were at least)
Joe was busy learning important life skills from the bartender. Here he makes a delicious and nutritious mojito.
Claire, Claire (Christina and Marilyn's mom) and Maddy, who was very embarrassed by our dancing. And Joe said my dancing looked like I was about to go streaking. HAH! Nothing like teenage honesty to make you feel old and uncoordinated. I warned them that when Evie is a teenager, she's going to think that they are big dorks, too. What goes around comes around!
Phil was serenaded by Bryan and the jumped in and played/sang some of his own songs. He has several well known songs and a few recent number one hits here in the UK. It was fun to hear him singing them instead of the usual pop starlets.
Birthday cupcake extravaganza. YUM.
The lovely Julie was serenaded as well, as being "just too good to be true." Very sweet. Unfortunately the pictures that Jim took are ones that I know would not have Julie's approval, but I can vouch for the fact that she looked beautiful in a purple dress and was the picture of a glowing hostess. She planned a great party!
Cool times with Joe:
Learning to dance like a club kid. This is some karate chop move. We also learned 'milk the cow' and 'milk the bull' (use your imagination). I demonstrated my best 'cabbage patch kid,' 'stir the soup' and 'sprinkler.'
Oh what a fun night it was! And how painful was the next day, as we morphed back into Jim and Claire, parents, starting at 6:30 am. But it was worth it.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The right way to celebrate
I firmly believe that one should begin celebrating one's birthday as early as possible (at the very least you should start a week early!) and continue the celebrations as long as you possibly can. In that spirit, we continued to celebrate Evie's first birthday after her fabulous birthday party at Talacre ended.
We kicked things off again on Evie's birthday-eve, by having an extended hang out with her friend Oliver, which ended with a fun bath. Oliver's bathtub is much bigger than Evie's and his bath toys rocked. There was much splashing to be done and then Evie headed home to get some beauty sleep before her big day.
We woke up on Evie's birthday morning to fresh snow. Finchley wasn't the only one excited about this!
Jim stayed home for part of the morning so that we could open presents and eat breakfast together.
Then Evie and I went for a walk in the fresh snow in Hampstead Heath. Turning 1 has increased her confidence in the 'snow walking' department and she toddled along at great speed.
Another highlight was a ladybug balloon, which she still is carrying around with her everywhere she goes.
And we had some cake and steamed milk before we went home. A couple of hours later, the cake kicked in and Evie spent the last hour of her birthday in Tasmanian Devil mode. Live and learn.
The celebrations didn't end there! On Saturday we had a celebration at home. There were colorful cupcakes:
Delicious pizza:
Dancing beauties:
Tender moments--Marilyn (aged 5 months) was chewing on Evie's head and Evie was happy to share (her head):
General confusion on Evie's part regarding the birthday candle and what to do with it:
A moment under the table:
And lots of great presents, including these warm and ruffly pjs:
It was a happy day and a happy way to end a week of celebrating our new favorite day of the year! Happy Birthday Evie!
We kicked things off again on Evie's birthday-eve, by having an extended hang out with her friend Oliver, which ended with a fun bath. Oliver's bathtub is much bigger than Evie's and his bath toys rocked. There was much splashing to be done and then Evie headed home to get some beauty sleep before her big day.
We woke up on Evie's birthday morning to fresh snow. Finchley wasn't the only one excited about this!
Jim stayed home for part of the morning so that we could open presents and eat breakfast together.
Then Evie and I went for a walk in the fresh snow in Hampstead Heath. Turning 1 has increased her confidence in the 'snow walking' department and she toddled along at great speed.
Another highlight was a ladybug balloon, which she still is carrying around with her everywhere she goes.
And we had some cake and steamed milk before we went home. A couple of hours later, the cake kicked in and Evie spent the last hour of her birthday in Tasmanian Devil mode. Live and learn.
The celebrations didn't end there! On Saturday we had a celebration at home. There were colorful cupcakes:
Delicious pizza:
Dancing beauties:
Tender moments--Marilyn (aged 5 months) was chewing on Evie's head and Evie was happy to share (her head):
General confusion on Evie's part regarding the birthday candle and what to do with it:
A moment under the table:
And lots of great presents, including these warm and ruffly pjs:
It was a happy day and a happy way to end a week of celebrating our new favorite day of the year! Happy Birthday Evie!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sledding/Sledging
After much bickering, I finally agreed to let Jim use one of my storage bins (which was holding half of my workout clothes) as a sled. This morning we met with our friends Victoria and Eddie for brunch and then sloshed up to Parliament Hill to try it out.
Eddie and Jim joined the masses, who were using all manner of things to get down the hill. I saw people using plastic bags, recycle bin tops, some sort of formica thing,which looked like a piece of something from Ikea and there were actually some old fashioned and modern sleds. Jim had major sled envy when we passed a kid on a sled with a steering wheel.
I'm not sure that the experience was as thrilling as Jim had hoped. I thought my storage bin would fly down the hill because it had wheels, but I think the wheels may have dug into the melting snow and slowed down his movement. There definitely was not fire burning behind him as he made his way down the hill. He did, though, get snow down his pants (in the British sense of the word).
Although he was embarrassed to be seen with such a ghetto sled, Eddie agreed to give it a shot. He didn't have much luck either.
Meanwhile, Victoria and I were freezing in the wind at the top of the hill. Evie was bundled up like an Eskimo and enclosed in her super sonic stroller bubble and asleep, so she missed out on all the fun (and the wind).
As we made our way out of the park, Jim decided to give it one more go. It was this fatal last sled which broke my storage container and left my workout clothes homeless. I think it was only fair to say "I told you so." I am waiting for my replacement...
Eddie and Jim joined the masses, who were using all manner of things to get down the hill. I saw people using plastic bags, recycle bin tops, some sort of formica thing,which looked like a piece of something from Ikea and there were actually some old fashioned and modern sleds. Jim had major sled envy when we passed a kid on a sled with a steering wheel.
I'm not sure that the experience was as thrilling as Jim had hoped. I thought my storage bin would fly down the hill because it had wheels, but I think the wheels may have dug into the melting snow and slowed down his movement. There definitely was not fire burning behind him as he made his way down the hill. He did, though, get snow down his pants (in the British sense of the word).
Although he was embarrassed to be seen with such a ghetto sled, Eddie agreed to give it a shot. He didn't have much luck either.
Meanwhile, Victoria and I were freezing in the wind at the top of the hill. Evie was bundled up like an Eskimo and enclosed in her super sonic stroller bubble and asleep, so she missed out on all the fun (and the wind).
As we made our way out of the park, Jim decided to give it one more go. It was this fatal last sled which broke my storage container and left my workout clothes homeless. I think it was only fair to say "I told you so." I am waiting for my replacement...
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Let the celebrations begin!
Evie's first birthday is coming up and she had her first of several celebrations today, along with her closest baby friends: Oliver, Oliver, Holly, Zoe and Niah (they were missing Elodie, Sorrel and Eden, who were off having international adventures and attending weddings). A bunch of other baby friends also came to celebrate and Holly's mom, Amy, cake maker extraordinaire, made several cakes. This one was the main cake, which went along with The Hungry Caterpillar party theme. Very impressive (and delicious!)
Evie brought her pink ball to share with all of her friends and the party started off calmly on the floor. The great thing about these babies is that they really are all friends. They have been together since they were born and just happily co-exist.
Everyone contributed food and drink to the spread, but I have to hand it to my friends, who were super organized and really decorated and made the party really nice. I contributed by bringing some oatmeal cookies, but it was the other moms who really made the party look professional! Here Melissa and Poppy pose in front of the spread.
The big fun started when we got to go into "Treetops" a toddler soft play extravaganza. Evie threw herself into the fray with her usual enthusiasm for such things.
Evie and Jim prepare to conquer Treetops from the first ledge.
At first I thought we had gotten in over our heads. Treetops is definitely geared towards older toddlers and if any actual older toddlers had been there, our babies would have been completely trampled. But I also underestimated the fearlessness of our babies. Although Evie was a little nervous about some of the rope bridges, she quickly got over that.
We made our way across the first treacherous bridge, hand in hand
After that she was very pleased.
Evie, Niah and another guest baby in the tunnel:
And Oliver, looking especially ethereal.
Evie and Jim crossed that bridge when they got there.
Good times in the ball pool (balls are a favorite these days):
Time to eat! The food was YUMMY. Evie especially liked a little quiche which was actually for the adults. She was also very interested in eating Niah's food.
And finally the fabulous cake! The dark room plus the candles plus the singing created a very SCARY effect (for Evie). She wasn't too sure about the whole situation and refused to eat the cake so Jim and I ate her piece. It was delicious!
It was a happy time and a fabulous way to kick off Evie's birthday week! We are lucky to have so many wonderful friends here who make things so fun for us and for Evie. We will keep on celebrating Evie's big day for as long as we live...what a fun thing to look forward to!
Evie brought her pink ball to share with all of her friends and the party started off calmly on the floor. The great thing about these babies is that they really are all friends. They have been together since they were born and just happily co-exist.
Everyone contributed food and drink to the spread, but I have to hand it to my friends, who were super organized and really decorated and made the party really nice. I contributed by bringing some oatmeal cookies, but it was the other moms who really made the party look professional! Here Melissa and Poppy pose in front of the spread.
The big fun started when we got to go into "Treetops" a toddler soft play extravaganza. Evie threw herself into the fray with her usual enthusiasm for such things.
Evie and Jim prepare to conquer Treetops from the first ledge.
At first I thought we had gotten in over our heads. Treetops is definitely geared towards older toddlers and if any actual older toddlers had been there, our babies would have been completely trampled. But I also underestimated the fearlessness of our babies. Although Evie was a little nervous about some of the rope bridges, she quickly got over that.
We made our way across the first treacherous bridge, hand in hand
After that she was very pleased.
Evie, Niah and another guest baby in the tunnel:
And Oliver, looking especially ethereal.
Evie and Jim crossed that bridge when they got there.
Good times in the ball pool (balls are a favorite these days):
Time to eat! The food was YUMMY. Evie especially liked a little quiche which was actually for the adults. She was also very interested in eating Niah's food.
And finally the fabulous cake! The dark room plus the candles plus the singing created a very SCARY effect (for Evie). She wasn't too sure about the whole situation and refused to eat the cake so Jim and I ate her piece. It was delicious!
It was a happy time and a fabulous way to kick off Evie's birthday week! We are lucky to have so many wonderful friends here who make things so fun for us and for Evie. We will keep on celebrating Evie's big day for as long as we live...what a fun thing to look forward to!
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