Me time

Tyler and I both had some me time yesterday and the day couldn't have been better!  Alison came over again for a few hours yesterday.  I wanted to give Tyler a chance to get to know her better before I left for a full day in two weeks to go to Surrey to visit the company I may do part time work for.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my free 6 hours.  It was the longest time I have been away from Tyler since my last day at work in September!   I desperately needed a hair cut so ended up calling a salon in Soho that a friend told me about that took standby appointments for the same day.  You can't request a stylist or have a say in the time but the haircut is only 28 pounds (a steal for the salons in that area).  I was surprised when they had a 10:30am appointment but I took it!  I gave Alison the routine again and then jetted out the door to Soho.  It was my first time on the tube without Tyler.  I was amazed by how much easier it was.  I could walk up the escalator, walk fast through the crowd and sit where-ever I wanted on the train!  I had a wonderful haircut and she spent extra time with me and even blow dried and straightened it.  It was honestly so nice to chat with someone about things other than Tyler, that hasn't really happened in a while.  She had never been to America so was asking a bunch of questions and I was asking her about England and things to do in London.  It was lovely!

After the haircut I didn't have any plans so I just wandered around Oxford Street and did some shopping.  While in the giant H&M I looked out the window and saw the big double-decker buses driving by and it really hit me that I lived in London.  We get so caught up in our day to day mum and tot stuff in Hampstead that sometimes it doesn't really feel like we are in London, but on that day it felt great to really be experiencing London, just me.  Don't get me wrong, I love my son and actually did miss him when I was gone, but it was absolutely glorious to have some time alone. 

And Tyler had a fabulous time without me too.  I told Alison about this classical concert for babies called Bach to Baby held at a local church.  I actually wanted to take him to it, but I figured that would be a great activity for them to do together.  She said that he really enjoyed the music, especially the fast stuff he could dance to.  She also said that he was one of the best kids there and that made me a proud mama.  The best news is that he really didn't have any problem being away from me and that will make me feel better if I do work once a week.

Today it was back to "mummy & me" and we went to the Swiss Cottage Library not too far from our place  It was a really cool little space.  Tyler loved exploring the different toys and books that were scattered about.  He's also becoming a lot more social.  It's funny and a little sad to see him toddle up to the older kids and want to play, but most of the older kids don't really want anything to do with him.  I'm sure in their eyes he is this huge baby that grunts and grabs and is a little scary!  But Tyler shakes it off and just plays on his own.  I'm so glad there are so many options for things to do here!

New books are always better than the ones you have!

Playing at Swiss Cottage library

More play

Lunch pose :)

Soho & No Super Bowl

Hello there!  We had a great weekend with gorgeous weather on Saturday so we set out to be tourists in our own city.  We decided to pick a tube stop and go explore.  Saturday we chose the Tottenham Court Road stop and walked through Soho.  Soho is home to many theaters and bars and used to be a bit dodgy but now has transformed.  Tyler enjoyed chasing pigeons and we enjoyed the new sights.  We attempted to have lunch in a pub there but were turned away because the waiter said they didn't have the appropriate insurance to have kids in the pub.  We had never heard that before and felt a bit slighted.  Soon it was apparent that Tyler was exhausted and we were starving so we just headed home for lunch and Tyler's nap.  It was nice to see a new part of the city though. We need to do that more often.  My friend Leana told me about this new travel book called the London Style Guide that I have on order and I can't wait for it to arrive - maybe we will find more stylish things to do in this city on one of our mini trips!

We have the super bowl taped to watch tonight but I must say that I don't think I'm going to have much interest considering I already know the outcome of the game and they probably won't play any of the US commercials.  But I see that Beyonce rocked the halftime show so I will definitely watch that.  It is the first time I've not watched the Super Bowl live since I was a kid and probably the first year that JJ has ever missed the Super Bowl.  Lots of pubs around here were staying open all night to view the Super Bowl but that really wasn't an option for us parents :) 

Saturday morning cuddles

Big boy at the tube station

Big T on the tube.  He even likes to hold on!

Soho

Chasing pigeons

Theater in Soho

Chinatown borders Soho.  They were gearing up for the Chinese New Year celebration next weekend. 

Globally Big

I survived my first week alone here with Tyler as JJ headed off to Milan for work for a few days.  He didn't get back to the restaurant by our hotel that had the delicious pizza, but sounds like his trip was productive.  He was able to attend Tyler's pediatrician appointment before he left on Tuesday.  One thing I forgot to mention in the previous post was her funny comment about Tyler's size.  She took his measurements and then looked on their growth charts to see where he was.  She made a comment like, every country is different so let's see what he looks like on these charts.  After marking her dots on the high end of the percentiles she said, "Well there we have it, Tyler is globally big."

Tyler had a great week and must have known to take it easy on mum, who was doing everything herself this week.  We both made great strides toward making some friends here.  First on Monday we met up a woman that I had met when we first moved here back in October.  She is from the US too and has two adorable little girls.  Her girls were in school but she met Tyler and I for coffee and it was nice to chat.  Then on Wednesday we met up with JJ's coworkers wife and her son again for a playdate here.  Her son Nathan is just over 2 but he and Tyler played pretty well together and I was glad that we had gotten Tyler some bigger boy toys for his birthday so Nathan could have something to play with.  We got crepes for lunch from the crepe stand by our house and it was interesting for both of us to carry 2 crepes each plus our toddlers up basically 4 flights of stairs.  I thought I was going to lose them but the crepes came out unscathed (and so did the boys).  It was nice to have friends over and I think that Tyler enjoyed having another little person over as well.  Then I joined a playgroup here through the Hampstead Women's Club.  They have a pretty narrow age range which is nice because all the tots will be within about 4 months from each other.  The playgroup was full but the woman running it said there was a second group that just started up because there were a lot of kids in that age range.  Then she suggested that we meet up because she said she remembered how hard it was to meet people when she first moved here.  So we went over to her house on Thursday evening.  Her son is 14 months old so a bit more advanced than Tyler (although Tyler was bigger than him!) but the boys seemed to really like playing together.  At one point they both toddled back to the other boys room to play and it just seemed like such a real little boy thing to do - come look at my trucks!  I got a little sad realizing that my boy is growing up SO fast!  Anyway the other mom was really nice and I knew I would like her when she asked if I wanted rum in my hot chocolate - hey why not!  It was around happy hour :)  We had fun over there and hopefully we can meet up with them again.  Like pretty much everyone else I have met, they are Americans also but it seems much easier to meet the American folks around here because they have the instant ability to sympathize with your situation.  The playgroup meets next Wednesday so hopefully we will make even more friends next week.

Today we went to Mini-Mozart and this week went better than last.  Tyler took a good nap before so he was a little more chilled out and sat on my lap most of the time.  Last week I wanted to slap whoever made the bubbles - they were super soapy or something and they didn't pop when they hit the ground or any surface really.  Tyler is obsessed with bubbles, specifically popping them.  So you can imagine his frustration when he saw bubbles everywhere - sitting on the ground, on other mom's heads, on other babies hair, coffee cups, etc and I wouldn't let him smash them.  I had completely lost him then and we basically just walked around smashing bubbles on the floor so he wouldn't terrorize other people and he lost interest in the class altogether.  This week the bubbles were nice and pop-able so we didn't have the same issue. 

We don't have any plans for the weekend yet, we may just stick close to home and enjoy the family time after JJ was gone all week.  We are busy planning for future events though now that we have babysitting options.  We bought Bon Jovi tickets for July - they are playing in Hyde Park!  And we are also thinking about going to Tim McGraw who is playing at the O2 center in March.  I also joined the U of M Alumni London group and it looks like there are some upcoming events with them as well.  We also need to get on to planning our Easter holiday trip.  JJ has 2 bank holidays so we need to get out.  I'm thinking somewhere warm - Spain, Portugal, etc.  Maybe that is what we will work on this weekend!

The last monthly photo shoot :(

He sure is tough to pin down now. This photoshoot lasted about 2 minutes.  He thought it was hilarious to try to get away from me!

Finally a good one!

Mini Mozart today.  I tried to sneak one without him looking but he always has one eye on my phone!

Our new babysitter Alison got him this Arsenal "football" for his birthday and it was the first thing he took our of the toy chest the next morning.

The picture that breaks JJ's heart, Tyler waiting for Dad to come home after dinner (not knowing Dad was in Italy).

Big T is 1!

Hi everyone!  It's been a busy few days here in London!  Here is the recap...  First on Friday night our new babysitter Alison came over and JJ and I went on our first date ever in London!  We decided to stay local and went out near our neighborhood.  I made reservations at a restaurant here at 9pm and we did a little pub crawl walking down there.   The pubs were fun, the food was great and we had a wonderful kid-free evening! 

Then it was time to prepare for our big birthday celebration for Tyler on Sunday.  This was hard for us as we would have loved to gather with family and friends for his birthday, but we made the best of it and had a nice little celebration here with the 3 of us and had a virtual party Skyping and Facetiming with folks.  Sunday we woke up and set up some of Tyler's new toys.  I still think that it is hilarious to listen to Tyler's toys speak with the accent.  It makes me want to send every kid I know a toy from here!  We then had reservations for "Sunday Roast" at the Freemason's Arms here in Hampstead.  It is right by the Heath (the big park here) and has a huge beer garden.  We walked in a couple Sundays ago hoping to have lunch but they told us they were completely booked.  So I called ahead this time and got us a booking (they don't say reservation here).  They must have just opened when we got there at noon and for a time we had the whole room to ourselves but then it quickly became crowded.  We got their Sunday Roast which is just a lot of meat (they had chicken, beef, and pork options) and potatoes, carrots, etc.  I got the chicken, JJ got the beef, and Tyler got some fish & chips (minus the chips).  It was so much food and super delicious.  Tyler was an angel the whole time for his birthday lunch.  He ate a lot of fish and didn't drop his sippy cup once so we let him have some of our Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert- a very British dessert and it was tasty.  After lunch we went to the nearby park.  It was also a rare beautiful day here.  It was about 50 degrees and sunny and just felt like spring.

We Skyped/FaceTimed with family and then it was time to have cake.  Now since it was such a small celebration I decided to make the cake, and since I'm on a bit of a healthy cooking kick I decided to try one of the sugar-free, good for you cakes.  Most of these called for frozen apple concentrate.  I looked all over for this and frozen concentrate is not something they do here (what am I going to do about Lime-aid for summer drinks!!!).  So like everything else that I can't find here, I decided to make it.  Turns out it is relatively easy.  You just boil some apples and then squeeze the juice out.  The cake turned out OK and Tyler really seemed to enjoy it.  It had a lot of bananas in it so it ended up tasting a lot like banana bread.  It probably wasn't as good of a smashing medium as some of the other cakes since it was pretty dense, but Tyler didn't seem to mind! 

On Monday for Tyler's actual birthday, he opened a couple more presents before JJ went to work and then we had a pretty typical day at home.  After all the nice weather on Sunday, we had a downpour Monday that still hasn't stopped so we stayed close to home and played inside.  Lucky Tyler got a birthday celebration again Monday night because in my family you HAVE to blow out candles on your birthday, it's an absolute must!  It has been crazy to think back and reflect on this year and how challenging, rewarding, and exciting it has been.  Definitely the most change occurred for us in 2012 than ever before.  Big T has been such a blessing to us and he has grown from a pretty darn good baby to an even better toddler before our very eyes! 

Now that the celebrations are over, Tyler and I are busy filling up our social calendar.  He loved spending time with the babysitter again today during the day.  Alison is going to come over and help me one day a week now.  I'm also meeting about a potential very part time job in mid-February so I wanted to line someone up in case I end up working a bit again.  Tyler loved spending time with her today.  I stuck around the house for the few hours that she was here so I could show her the routine and around the flat and Hampstead area.  It was great to see that Tyler didn't cling to me at all and loved showing her all of his toys and his sweet dance moves.  We are also getting more involved in the Women's Club here in Hampstead and have joined a playgroup and met a few mom's and tots through the club.  Most of the people I have met have been American so we share that instant connection and it has been nice to get to know them.  I'm hoping to meet a few Brits and people from other countries as well though!

Lots of pictures to share! 

Talking to the city cat on a walk with Dad

He loves his new car ramp!

Sunday Roast!

Sticky Toffee Pudding, yes please!

Beautiful day at the Freemason's Arms.  People are eating outside again!

Celebratory beverages for everyone!

Not the best looking cake, but it works :)

He has kind of already learned how to pose for the camera...

FaceTime cake chat with Grandma

Yum!  We thought he might throw up after eating so much but he kept it all down!

Shooter!

Birthday cake #2 chat with Grandpa Kern and Becky!

Birthday morning - Dad wait - that's MY present!

Big birthday boy!

Another Week in Hampstead

There isn't much new to report over here.  The snow is starting to melt here and it is supposed to be 50 degrees next week!  I feel for our friends and family back in Chicago and Michigan enduring those frigid temperatures.  Stay warm over there!  I hope it warms up for them soon.  Our big boy is growing up more every day and now that he is walking the pace of growing up seems to be going at lightening speed.  Today he walked up to our front door all by himself, walked in when I opened it,  walked right over to the steps and crawled up the first 3 all by himself to our flat.  He paused as if to say, "Come on Mom!" while I stood at the front door shocked at how big he looked. With growing up also requires a bit of discipline.   I did write down a few rules today that require discipline after I grew tired of spending all day getting my hair pulled (that gets a firm NO! and separation from the hair pulling victim) and picking up the sippy cup after it is dropped about 50 times a day (offenses to this just include him going thirsty until the end of the meal when he can get the sippy cup back).  This way JJ and I and the babysitter can all have a consistent response. Wow I feel like the real parenting is just beginning...

Earlier this week we went to music class again and then I ventured to the Leisure Center to take him to an open swim for babies.  That was interesting.  I never really thought about how difficult it is to change a toddler and yourself from a wet bathing suit into dry clothes in a public locker room.  I had a heck of a time doing that for the first time.  I'm open to suggestions from friends about how to make that process a little easier :)  I think we will start swim classes next month so I hope to learn some tricks.

We are still trying to figure out life here and I think we will be continuously learning.  It was funny when we came back from the holidays in the US it took a couple weeks to remember to insert my credit card into the chip and pin reader instead of hand it to the cashier, to use the word buggy/pushchair instead of stroller (got a long blank stare from one of the babysitters I interviewed when I said something about the stroller), and to figure out all the crazy names for household items around here.  Here is an example of the differences in words.  I needed to buy dishwashing soap since ours we brought from the US was running low.  I do all my shopping online so I searched "dish soap" and got nothing.  I searched soap and only got soap to shower with.  I searched dishwasher and only got dishwasher detergent.  What the heck?  So then I remembered that at corporate housing we had dish soap with the brand name Fairy.  So I searched Fairy and got a million kinds of dish soap.  Although they call it washing up liquid.  Weird.  As for British-isms, my favorite new word is suitable.  The Brits love it and I find myself using it all the time!

The weekend should be exciting - we have a date night on Friday!  Our babysitter Allison is coming over and JJ and I are going out on the town!  How exciting.  This date we will probably just stay local but we are each planning a big London night out date to see some new areas and really get to know this fine city.  Then of course Tyler's birthday is Monday so we are going to celebrate Sunday so that JJ can be there for cake eating, etc.  We have a booking for "Sunday Roast" at the Freemasons Arms Pub at noon on Sunday (don't I sound British!) and then will come back for hopefully some virtual birthday chats with our friends and family.  We will also be thinking about Colin Graber who was born just one day before Tyler and his big birthday party Sunday (wish we could be there!).  It is really surreal to me that a year has already passed.  The year has flown by yet it's hard to remember our life without Big T.  What a blessing :) 

I don't have too many interesting pictures to share this week so here are some from around the house of Tyler.

Who needs toys? This milk jug is awesome!

Whew that was a good meal, Mom!

Sure I will help you take the laundry out!

I will even shut the door!

Take that, Euro "buggy"

London actually ended up getting a decent amount of snow this weekend.   It was true what JJ heard about the tube delays when it snows.  It took him over 2 hours to get home Friday night and he ended up having to finally take a bus home.  We still can't quite figure out why the tube is slow when it snows since most of it is underground, but regardless the delays were real!  It snowed most of Friday and by Saturday there was a nice little covering of snow on the ground.  We live near Parliament Hill, a huge hill in the Hamsptead Heath that has an awesome view of the city and is one of the most hilly areas around.  We figured it would also be a hotspot for sledding (well sledging as they call it here) but we had no idea how many people were going to be there.  There were what seemed like close to 200 people there near Parliament Hill Saturday.  So many people were sledging that most of the snow on the hill had already worn away.  It was fun to watch although we did not come prepared with a sledge (maybe next year), but the little guy had fun toddling around in the snow and chasing dogs.  Now ever since we got here I've been cursing our huge American strollers since they are a pain to take pretty much anywhere compared to the tiny compact Euro strollers most people have here.  But this weekend, I loved it as we could plow through anywhere with our BOB jogging stroller.  We took it everywhere this weekend with ease while others were slipping around.  Reminded me of how much I like the US again :)

Sunday it continued to snow a couple more inches all day and we took Tyler out again to the park to play around in the snow.  I had originally planned to go do something touristy Sunday like go to the aquarium or a museum downtown but the snow prevented that so we just made chili and stayed close to home. 

The other big news of the weekend was Tyler's haircut.  JJ did a very professional job giving Tyler his first real haircut.  Up to this point I had only trimmed his rat-tail off or trimmed his bangs but JJ gave him a good all around proper cut.  He did such a great job that I named him the official barber of the house.  And I confirmed why I was so resistant to have it cut - he looks SO old!  He's definitely not a baby any longer.   The house looked like a tornado went through it Sunday night.  In a matter of about 60 minutes, Tyler learned how to tear up paper napkins and left napkin shreds all through the house, he also threw his dinner everywhere because he was distracted that JJ has cutting his hair during dinner, and then to top it off we had baby hair everywhere.  It took a while to clean all that up.

Today we went back to Toddler World at the gym (I also signed up for a gym membership!).  Tyler has gained a little more confidence now that he is going to the same places and can also walk around so the classes are starting to be a bit more enjoyable for us both.  JJ says it must be the new "fade" (haircut) that gave him confidence.  Happy MLK Day!

The ponds at Hampstead Heath

Strolling in the BOB

Warm and cozy!

The walk up Parliament Hill

Big boy!

The sledging scene

Fun with Daddy

Hey guys, where's my sledge?

Snow angel :)

Fun with Mommy

We can't take credit for building the snowman but Tyler was definitely curious

Pre-hair cut fun in the pantry

Playing at Toddler World - look at that big boy haircut!!!