Go Blue (and other good stuff)!

Sorry Sparties, I had to name my post that today!  We finally figured out how to stream Michigan football from our computer with BTN2Go International on Saturday so that we could watch the game.  It was definitely not the same as being there or even watching it on real TV, but much better than watching the score update on ESPN.com.   It was on at 8:30pm here so Tyler was sleeping.  Because we live in such a small place right now, JJ was "scream whispering" at the computer so he didn't wake him up.  Sometimes it was an angry scream whisper (with words I will not repeat) but at the end it was a scream whisper of victory!  So that was nice to be able to tun into a little piece of home.

In other news our air shipment arrived in Hampstead on Friday.  In the shipment were a handful of things that will make life livable in our flat: air mattress and sheets, towels, dishes, more toys for Tyler, etc.  We also got our cable/internet/phone hooked up so we can watch a few more channels here.  I was excited to find out that we get new Modern Family episodes and also the E! channel so that I can continue keeping up with those Kardashians.   We also even get a few NFL games, but no baseball so we are probably out of luck to see those Tigers in the World Series.  A side note about British TV - there are a few shows that are on all the time including Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother (but not the new ones), South Park, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.  I've found that at any point in the day, any day you will find one of the above shows on.  There is also a network that JJ and I love - Challenge.  It has these crazy 80s British game shows.  The games make no sense, the fashion is heinous, and they are incredibly entertaining.

Now that we have the air shipment, we are going to fully move into our flat tomorrow!!!  I love it up there and the neighborhood just feels like home.  We stayed there on Friday night and we all slept in the next morning, I think Tyler was enjoying that there was no water heater strobe light in his room.  Saturday morning we went for a delicious breakfast at a little cafe down the road.  The place had a very European feel and there are just a few big tables there so you sit with random people.  We weren't sure how Tyler would do with that but he had a blast watching all the other people and was very well behaved.  Then we headed into Hampstead Heath, the huge park by us to go to the playground and Tyler very much enjoyed another round on the swings. 

We headed back to our place in central London and did some sightseeing in Westminster Sunday.  It was a cold and rainy day but we made it over to see Big Ben, the London Eye (from afar), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and St James Park. Tyler is teething again and his top two teeth are coming in.  From what I can see about the placement of them so far, it appears that he is going to have a significant gap between his two front teeth :)  He is a champ though and aside from grabbing for anything that he can put in his mouth, it hasn't affected him too much.

Now today, since it is our last full day in central London, we headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum which has been on my list of things to do while we are so close.  The museum is beautiful, free, and huge.  It has little bits of just about everything from sculptures to paintings to various artifacts and it had two special exhibits - Hollywood Costumes and Ball Gowns.  It's quite an interesting place, but I quickly realized its not the best place to take a child as young as Tyler.  I think Tyler might enjoy it more when he is a year or two older but today he was not a happy camper.  After a few minutes of carrying him and pushing the stroller I decided that was enough.  JJ checked in to see how it was going and I compared it to how I feel walking into Ikea on a Saturday - completely overwhelming.  But it is definitely a place to go back to when Tyler is older or maybe without him.

Now here are lots of pictures!

Unpacking and playing in our new living room in Hampstead

Our tiny new kitchen that actually feels huge compared to the kitchen in our temporary home!

Our new park - Hampstead Heath

Big T meets Big Ben, while teething...

View across the river of London Eye and Aquarium.  The dirty hand in the picture is of a person on the street asking for money to make kids smile.  We didn't need his assistance!

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Tyler and some busts before his complete meltdown at the V&A Museum today