Amelia and Alexander

We left for London the day after little Alexander was born. I've been dying to see how much he's changed and hold him! He is such a cute baby and Amelia loved him! I'm so glad they are just 3.5 months apart.

Sleeping Kids

The photo of Eleanor and John was taken moments after she said, "Dad, I'm not tired". I've been quite proud of myself these past few weeks. I've been bathing the girls every night around 8pm and by 9:30 both girls are asleep in bed. I will admit, it's been nice having a few hours to spend with John each night. Amelia has been sleeping through the nights ever since we got back from London. Eleanor still occasionally makes her way into our bed during the wee hours of the night. I can't get too mad at her considering 90% of the time she is sleepwalking.

A few weeks ago I started a new little night time ritual. Instead of reading to Eleanor, I've been telling her stories from my childhood. She absolutely loves this! The other night we were getting ready for story time and she asked me, "Mom, tell me about Rebbecca and Mary and the haunted houses you used to make". Last night she snuck out of bed after I told her some stories and she crawled up on John's lap and said, "Dad, did you know uncle Jeff would was mean to mom when she was little"(I was telling her a story about Jeff locking me in my parent's bedroom). I'm so glad I started doing this and hope she will remember them!

April Fools

I think whenever any holiday comes around, I claim it to be my favorite. But I can honestly say that I LOVE April Fools Day!! I just think the whole idea of pranking people for an entire day is so fun! Sadly, I didn't think of anything great this year. Don't worry, I'm already plotting my pranks for next year!

I did have fun making these:
They are miniature Shepard pies made with pink mashed potatoes. Hopefully they look like cupcakes and will fool Eleanor and maybe John.

Amelia's Eating!

We gave Amelia her first bite of rice cereal today and she loved it. I guess I wasn't giving it to her fast enough so she started diving for the bowl! It was so fun watching her discover something new. The little stink had to put her fingers in her mouth along with the cereal which made for a real mess!

Science Museum

I really don't want to leave London, ever! It makes me sick to think we are living in one week. I love just about everything this city has to offer! Everyday I beg John to find a full time job here!

I took the girls to the Science Museum this morning. They had a few fun exhibits for smaller children and Eleanor had a good time running around and exploring. I thought it would be a great idea to take her to the 3D Imax movie about sea monsters, what was I thinking? About 15 minutes into the movie she had had enough and wanted to get the heck out of there! I feel bad, but I got the biggest kick out of watching her get scared to death! At one point she yelled out in total fear, "It's going to eat me!!". I tried explaining to her that they were all fake, but that did help to much. I only wish I had a video of her. I'm afraid she will be scared for life.


When I got home I had forgotten it was Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised to walk into a sparkling clean flat! I LOVE Tuesdays in London. Tuesday=cleaning day. How can I go back to my real life?? Seriously?

Our everyday...

Since we had such a busy weekend, I decided to relax today. A few months ago on a road trip to AZ I had my ipod on shuffle and the song, "Let's Get Together" from the Parent Trap started playing and Eleanor couldn't get enough of it. So, today I pulled up the clip on youtube and Eleanor had a good time watching it and learning all the words. This brought back a flood of memories from my childhood. Sara, Amy and I used to watch this movie over and over. I'm pretty sure I could quote the entire movie! First thing I'm doing when I get back to Utah is purchasing this classic.

I have been so spoiled with getting to meet up with John for lunch nearly everyday! I love my little walk to his office. The girls and I have become friends with a few of the restaurant workers on our street. My favorite are the two old men at the Italian restaurant. We have eaten there a few times and the last time we were there the old man took Eleanor's hand and lead her to "our" table. Kids aren't quite as common here in London like they are back in Utah. People are always telling Eleanor she is such a cute princess (yes, she is still wearing that darn princess dress everywhere we go!) and Amelia has a heyday being in the baby bjourn. She gets to smile to everyone who passes by!

Hyde Park Outing

The sun was out and the temp was in the high 40s, so I gathered my little entourage and we headed out for Hyde Park. I didn't feel like packing the stroller and two kids by myself on the tube (too many stairs to deal with) so I opted to make the 3.5 mile trek. (I say trek because pushing a double stroller on the crowded streets in London is a challenge!)

If you have ever been to London, you know how confusing the streets here can be. Not only do streets change names all the time but it's nearly impossible to find street signs! I was shocked that I made it to the park without getting lost or having to ask directions.

On the way over Eleanor spotted a little cafe serving waffles so we made a little pit stop. I ordered a waffle with whip cream and Eleanor ate the entire thing!! She kept saying it was so delicious and asked why I can't make waffles like this.

On our walk I discovered the mecca of shopping in London, Oxford Street. I was able to run into a few stores, but wished I could have shopped longer!

Even though the sun was out, it got pretty chilly and Eleanor's poor little hands were ice cold! Finally, after 2 hours we made it to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. It was well worth the walk. Eleanor had a blast swinging, playing on the large ship, digging in the sand and running around!

When it was time to go home I really wasn't in the mood to walk all the way home so we all jumped on the tube. I am so grateful for my Combi stroller. I was able to fold it up and swing it over my shoulder, carry Amelia in her car seat with one arm and hold Eleanor's hand with my other hand. I'm sure I looked like a circus act! I had to fight hard to keep Eleanor from falling sleep on the train. There's NO WAY I could have managed 3 flights of stairs with two sleeping kids, car seat and stroller!

Eleanor fell asleep right when I put her in the stroller and has been asleep ever since (about 3 hours). Amelia slept all throughout our adventure and has been keeping me company as I write this.

Eleanor at Three and Half Years

Wow, there is a lot about Eleanor that I love at this age (and let's be honest, there is a lot that I don't love!) Some of my favorite things about her at this age are:

Her imagination. I would love to know what goes on inside this little girls mind! Just right this second she is playing with two wooden spoons and told me she is playing her violin. She can take any boring thing and turn it into a fabulous toy. She is consistently pretending to be other people or having imaginary friends. My favorite is when she wants to play "Grandma and Grandpa" or when she wants to play restaurant lady.

She is obsessed with her cousin Savannah. She thinks Savannah is "the best big girl". Anytime we want to get Eleanor to do something, all we have to say is that Savannah does it. She is constantly asking when she will be the same age as Savannah.

She will not let me call her "baby" and is always reminding me that she is a big girl.

She loves wearing dresses and tights. She is always telling me how much she hates shirts and pants. She especially loves wearing her princess dress and her pretty pink shoes.

She loves barbie dolls. (Something I have NOT influenced!)

She loves to dance and has got quite the moves. This little girl knows how to shake her hips!

She will eat anything! Last night we were out to dinner and she ate half of a stuffed squid and the day before she hate half a plate of smoked salmon. She calls meet "fat" and its a little embarrassing when we are at a restaurant and she tells the waiter she wants fat.

She is amazing with Amelia! She is always playing with her and worried when she starts crying.

She has the most awkward smile for the camera.

She still has a love for "squishy" things.

She can tease with the best of them!

She is our little night owl.

Amelia At Four Months

Amelia is four months and eight days old and she is so much fun! Here are a few things that I absolutely LOVE about here at this stage:

Her laugh. It's the cutest thing. It's a deep little belly laugh and it's not hard to make her laugh. Yesterday I was just tapping her little cheek and saying "yes" and she could not stop laughing.

Her smile. All you have to do is look at the little thing and she'll give you a huge smile! I love that she will smile at anyone and actually looks around for people to smile at.

Her little hands. Just this week she is really discovering how they work. At a restaurant last night John gave her a wrapper and she played with it for a 20 minutes. You could tell she was working so hard on opening and closing her hands in order to grab it. She was pretty pleased with herself.

Rolling over. She started rolling over about two weeks ago and hasn't stopped ever since. Anytime I lay her on her back she immediately rolls over. She hasn't quite figured out rolling over from her tummy to her back so she gets really frustrated and starts crying. I will put her on her back and once again, she rolls right to her tummy. When she gets the tummy to back down, she's going to be ALL over the place!

Her little voice. This little girl loves to blab! She's just like Eleanor and will talk herself to sleep. I love hearing her babbling in her bed first thing in the mornings. (Can't wait to be on a road trip with these two girls in a few years...)

Her chubby rolls! I seriously can't get over how cute her little legs, butt and cheeks are. I love them!

Sucking her thumb. I know this can become a problem in the future, but right now it's adorable! My favorite is watching her find her thumb. She starts clear at the top of her forehead and makes her way down to her mouth. And when she find her thumb, she goes to town! She is a loud little thumb sucker! I also love how she puts all her other fingers on top of her nose.

Her cry. Yes, I love her cry. (Maybe because she rarely cries!) When she does cry she shows it in her entire face. She has the best poutty face!

I love that she can sleep anywhere and is not a supper light sleeper.

Her lips. They are huge and so squishy!!I am in the process of teaching her how to give kisses and she loves it!

I love that her favorite song is the little chant from Big. All I have to is start singing, "I met a girlfriend" and she starts smiling and kicking her legs!

I love that she adores Eleanor. She follows her with her eyes all day and loves it when Eleanor lays down next to her. So far, she doesn't even mind Eleanor rubbing her chin.

Widnsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford

We had an great day visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford. I'm sure everyone was thrilled when they saw our two small children loading the tour buss.

There was a bit of a mix up at the bus station which put us on the road about 30 minutes later then scheduled. We were a little rushed through Windsor Castle and could of had some more time to walk around the grounds.

We visited the Queen Mary's Doll House and the State Apartments. The Doll House was any little girl's dream! It has working electricity, plumbing and the little vacuum even works. It really was quite spectacular. It was killing Eleanor that she couldn't play with it.

The days leading to our visit to the castle, Eleanor had been asking if she could wear her princess dress to the castle and if she could live there. Well, right after the Doll House she was pretty persistent about putting her princess dress on. We tried talking her into putting it on over her clothes (keep in mind that it's not particularly warm inside the castle) but she would not have it!! So, in the middle of one of the State Apartments John took off all of Eleanor's clothes and put her princess dress on.

So, we thought she would be happy with her princess dress on, but she wasn't! She now wanted her princess shoes. We tried explaining to her that we did not have them and that she had to wear the new tennis shoes Mimi brought her. She was ticked!! She kept saying that she hated her shoes and that they were not princess shoes. When ever someone made mention of her pretty princess dress she was quick to respond back with, "but my shoes aren't princess shoes and they are dumb!". To say she was in a foul mood would be a slight understatement! I finally started threatening her that the guards were looking for notty children to take away. It helped for about 2 minutes. Needless to say I did not get to enjoy too much of the castle!

By the time we got out of the castle and back onto the buss Eleanor had snapped out of her foul mood and was saying some pretty cute things about the castle and the Queen. She couldn't understand why we couldn't see the Queen or any princesses. She asked us where the Queen was and we told her she was sleeping. She then said, "I know, let's take her a birthday cake and tell her to wake up. I know she'll want to play with me then".

While leaving Windsor we got to see Prince Henry and his entourage ridding horses. He was right off the side of the street. Very cool!!

Stonehenge was our second stop and it was freezing cold!! Luckily it was just a short walk around the stones. Little Amelia did not want her face covered under the blanket! She was enjoying being outside and loved the cold air on her little face. Eleanor wouldn't take off her princess dress so she was all bundled up in the stroller with a blanket around her face.

Right after we left Stonehenge Eleanor told John and I that her throat didn't feel good. John suspected that she was car sick and I thought she just might be getting a sore throat. Well, about 15 minutes later she was throwing up all over her princess dress and into my hands. Poor little girl! She was really good, the girls in front of us didn't even know she had thrown up (other then the smell of course). It's a good thing we had her clothes to change her into.

Oxford was our last stop of the day and it was amazing. All the old buildings were beautiful and it was fun seeing all the thousands of bikes! I told John I want to take our kids back when they are freshmen in high school to give them some major motivation for good grades! Our tour guide took us on a short walking tour and pointed out some interesting things. He told us the story of JK Rowling not knowing what the shape of Harry Potters scare was going to be until she stepped on a stone with the mark on it.

We didn't get back to London until 6pm and we were all pretty exhausted! The tour guide gave an announcement on how well behaved the little girls were and thanked them!

For dinner we tried finding a place for Fish and Chips but were unsuccessful. She ended up eating at Nando's, a Portuguese restaurant and it was delicious! So far, we have had the best food! Everything is great and the deserts are amazing!

Mimi and Grandpa Arive

Mimi and Grandpa got to London early this morning! Eleanor was so excited for them to get here. The buzzer to the door woke us all up and I was a little worried that Eleanor would be in a bad mood (remember, she is NOT a morning person!). Thank goodness she was in a good mood and was thrilled to see my parents!! She had the biggest smile on her face for the first 5 minutes they were here! Amelia was excited to see them as well. She could not stop smiling at both of them. It was really cute watching all of their reactions.

We let my parents sleep for a few hours and then sent Eleanor in to wake them up. The sun was shinning and we knew we had to take advantage of it! We ate lunch at Strada which is right across from St. Paul's. After lunch we visited St. Paul's. Dad, John, Eleanor and I hiked the stairs to the Whisper Gallery and the Observation Gallery while my mom stayed with Amelia.

The Whispering Gallery name comes from the fact that a person who whispers facing the wall on one side, can be clearly heard on the other. We tested it out and sure enough, my Dad could hear John talking to him. Being up there helped us get our barrings a little better and the view was amazing!!

John and my Dad decided to go up to the very top of the dome and they said the view was even more spectacular! Eleanor was a little freaked out on the way down and I had to carry her down every single stair. I thought my legs were going to collapse before we made it down!

From St. Paul's we walked along the river to the London Eye. The walk was a great and we got to see a lot of amazing buildings along the way. My poor Mom was in a lot of pain. Her leg has been hurting her the past few weeks and the cold weather didn't help it much! Eleanor slept most the way. I'm so grateful for double strollers. There is noway I could survive London without one!! It is kind of a pain carrying up and down stairs, but it's totally worth it!

The London Eye was spectacular! We lucked out and made it just in time for the sunset. Again, it was great seeing more of London and it made us more anxious to get out and see everything. A couple in the capsule below us got engaged, which was fun to watch.

We finally made it home around 7pm and then John and my Dad headed off to Waitrose to get a few things for dinner. We knew my Dad would love going to the grocery store and find all sorts of fun treats. He introduced Eleanor to fruit cake and I can't believe how much she loved it. Disgusting, I know!

I couldn't believe what troopers my parent's were! They were exhausted when they finally went to bed! I'm so happy they came to visit!


Eleanor with her suvior from the London Eye.


Amelia slept the entire ride. She was the most perfect baby all day! She didn't fuss once! She makes going out so much more enjoyable. I only wish Eleanor was as easy as her!!





Walking along the Thames.

John's work is the buliding with brown and green on it.