Boy on the move

So I frequently comment that pictures don't work as well to capture Colin's moments. He moves too fast. :) So I finally had the forethought to film him. And here's the boy as he's meant to be seen:

Breakfast snatcher

We are calling Chloe 'Ooch' these days. She has figured out how to wriggle forward on her tummy by 'ooching' all her arms and legs. It's not crawling but it will be soon. And this opens a range of possibilities for her ideas. Lately, she has been coveting her brother's breakfast. I have come in several times to find her gnawing a piece of his toast. (Which is of course taken away immediately. :) ) The first time I saw his scrambled eggs on the floor I thought he had done it. (Cause he does) But I think she did. Anyway, caught her in the act:

Giggling Girl

Our miss is trying out a whole range of sounds these days. Just love it and managed to capture it here! :)

Some thoughts on Umbrellas

I should say at the outset that this is not a light-hearted post about English rain and the subsequent need for portable shelter. Much could be said on the topic indeed, but I am here for another more somber reason.
My grandmother died on Sunday.
Writing those words just now made it more real since I'm over here in England and she lived over there, there being Oregon in the US of A. It's hard to be apart at a time like this--a time when all of my family will be gathering to honor her life and to commit her to sleep next to my grandfather until the trumpet shall sound. I wish so badly I could be there in body. But that is not possible for many reasons, and really, it is okay. Her passing was expected, even longed and prayed for. She is rejoicing in the arms of her Savior and it is fabulous beyond imagining to think of those whom she is meeting right now.
But we grieve here for a little while.
God decided that Lois Garfield would be the last of my four grandparents to leave the Shadowlands. And with her passing, a chapter is ended in all of our lives. We've all officially been promoted you see.
As a child it was always comforting to know that there was someone else above you--a parent, a teacher, perhaps an older sibling. There was what some refer to as an 'umbrella' sheltering you from various things. But I think that God prepares us to be that umbrella ourselves throughout our lives.
I recall first being made aware of this in a significant way when I became a high school Senior. That was it. We were the top. Thirteen years and here we were in the coveted position. And suddenly all the responsibility of that position came upon me as well. We would be expected to lead. To be good examples to the younger students. To take on more responsibility and ultimately prepare for our leap out into the world. It was scary at first. But it was good practice.
The next umbrella was actually not being a college Senior. While those were good years, I didn't feel quite the same way. No the next umbrella was the first year post college--my first year as a teacher. Goodness--the weight of that responsibility was heavy--so much so that I do not remember my first two weeks of teaching. I know they happened, but it was a blur of responsibilities and the realization that these children saw me as the authority. The buck stopped with me. But I make mistakes!! I'm not always patient and don't always think of others ahead of myself! These parents and students will see my flaws! Ack! But I loved my job so very much and I grew into being that umbrella as well.
Then of course, came marriage, but that was not an umbrella. I gained an umbrella in my husband. I think he knows that too. :) No, you can likely anticipate the next umbrella and that was when Colin was born. Suddenly I am the parent. The hints I had from being a teacher of other peoples' children flashed into high definition focus with my own. I understood my own parents so much more. I understood the fears and weariness, as well as the rich joys and new discoveries. And I've grown into that umbrella too.
But my grandmother's passing has solidified that status. Because you see, now my parents are the grandparents. There is no one else above them. And that means, officially, that me and my siblings are the parents.
This may seem like stating the obvious, but you see, because we still had grandma, all of us could hang on a little bit to the status we had growing up. We're the 'kids'. We're the ones playing in Grandma and Grandpa's fabulous back yard with the creek and the swing and the zip line. We're the ones running into the waves on the beach while the parents tell us not to go too far and the grandparents enjoy walking hand in hand on the sand. We're the ones giggling with the cousins on sleeping bags in the Sherman house while the parents and grandparents play games downstairs or watch a film and other boring (!!) stuff. We were the ones who had all the fun after all. :)
And now...Now we're the parents tucking those kids in and coming downstairs to enjoy that glass of wine and relax. We understand now the great joy of watching our kids splash in the waves and dig in the sand and the joy of putting them to bed so we can unwind and laugh together.
I've wondered over the years many times when I would feel 'grown up'. And here is the moment. I don't mean that I will never understand the joys of being a kid again. I will always hold onto that. But I do feel grown up as well. It hurts a bit to make that transition, given the cost. But it is something we all must go through. It's the way God made things.
My parents (and aunts and uncles) are a different umbrella now. Grandma has relinquished that role. It's hard for me to let her do that. Part of me wants it all to stay as it was, with all our categories intact. But then we wouldn't grow. Grandma knew that. And I thought I should share some of the words she gave me in our communications over email. She sent this right before I moved to England with Mark and shortly after our wedding:

Hi, Sweetie,

Do you feel as though you are standing on the brink of something? 
Well, you are, and I know that you know it. Of course, you've already 
taken the first big step, but there is still a great big deep breath 
needed for the next steps. l hope you and Mark know how happy we all 
are for you, and I trust that there is a lot of excitement built into 
this big step, as you'll be together finally and can make your 
apartment your first home. I have a feeling that there will be some 
traveling, too, as you have the opportunity. Do have lots of fun together...
You're going to have a wonderful life, dear, so the ones to feel sorry for are your sweet folks. I have a feeling that they'll miss you so much that it won't be long before they'll have to come over to see you...

Well, dear, you know that you will be in my prayers. I love you so much, Grandma 

I love you too. 

The Busy Boy

So slowly, but surely, our firstborn, the one who was a baby just yesterday, is finally talking. A lot still sounds like Ewok, but we're starting to learn it through the immersion method. ;) But he has the important things like the names of all his immediate family members and has this week accomplished saying the names of one set of godparents. Granted Will and Katie have become 'Wuh' and 'Kitty' but we'll take it.
And my goodness is he a MAN now. He has people to see, places to go. He loves our back garden and would happily run around back there for hours. I can already see I need to get him a plastic gardening set as he loves being out with me and our plants. (and dirt. Lots of dirt) He loves the small park near us as well and has recently discovered the sky. He's noticed things IN the sky, like planes, but all of a sudden he was pointing at clouds. 'Whats'sss?' is a question we get a lot. And I had some people tell me how tired I would get of this question. Nope. I adore his thirst KNOW. And I keep looking at him and thinking that I must hold on to these moments and feed that thirsty little brain because all too soon he'll grow up. I don't want to be maudlin, but after teaching 9 years, I learned well just how fast those small little 12 year olds were graduating because I blinked. So I am holding on to the 'whats'sss?' days with joy. We'll have our lives to talk about deeper things and well formed thoughts. Right now I love answering the factual questions over and over.
The other thing Mark and I love seeing is the how much Colin loves his sister. As she's sitting up now, it's as if he has truly SEEN her as a person and he loves to interact with her. And my goodness, does she adore that. And him. He is so tender with her and sweet. Not perfect, no, but his natural tendency is to love on her. And we love that. He can climb into her crib and he's been doing so in the morning when we go in to get her. And she laughs and he sits beside her and grins at me in his boy toes and curly hair. So he may be crazy and the most energetic little being I know--one who can wear me OUT--but my lands do I love him so deeply. And those boy arms hugging me tight more frequently these days, I will treasure and hold on to him as long as he'll let me. So here's our guy. Ta da!

Growing kids!!

Chloe's turn!

It really is appalling how I neglect this blog. So many things happen that I want to write down and then I get overwhelmed and then time passes, and --- you get the idea.
I think therefore I need to resolve to try and write once a week, even if it's late. I hate losing those unique moments and I'm terrible at grabbing the camera fast enough, so I need to depend on descriptions in writing to remember so many of the things going on in our crazy little small person world right now.
Anyway, my little girl is 7 months old and counting! HOW did that happen? I think I've mentioned how bewilderingly fast time seems to pass for me. I knew as a teacher, that each year went by more and more quickly. No one warned me that as a parent I would enter warp speed. (Okay everyone warned me all the time, but warnings and reality are very different things)
We now have one person in our family who wakes up happy every time. Doesn't matter if she's only had 5 minutes of sleep or if I'm getting her up at an odd hour, she wakes up and smiles. Melts my heart. And this is good because Mummy and Daddy and Colin are not people who wake up well so we needed one of us to be chipper. I'm reasonably hopeful this will last. :)
She has fully achieved Gerber baby cheeks and has the blue eyes to go with them. She has recently discovered her toes and so we now all share the same fascination. I LOVE baby toes. Can't get enough of them. Daddy and Colin also love Chloe toes and it's fun when big brother comes to pinch them. Because Chloe adores her big brother. She smiles and spits and growls for him and is now able to grab his hair in a lightening fast swipe in order to bring him closer to herself. This does not thrill Colin for some reason, but it provides us with great amusement. She is doing her utmost to sit up and view the world and it looks like she does baby crunches. We haven't quite got our balance yet, but she's getting there!
Chloe is definitely a cuddler as well. She likes nothing better than to sit on someone's lap and be part of the social scene. And I like nothing better when two small hands frequently come up to pat my face and assure herself that I'm there.
Sometimes she has to take on her super hero alter ego of 'Leech baby' where she grabs our faces to bring them to her wide open mouth. Not sure how this saves the world, but she seems pretty confident in the method.
I was always a bit nervous about having daughters since girls can be tricky for me. Don't get me wrong--I love em to bits but I find that girls have always been able to push my buttons so much more easily. Likely because I think like them so I see more of the flaws. But I'm so grateful for a daughter. I love pink. I love the pretty bows and shoes. And yes, I know the challenging part is yet to come, but I welcome that. I wouldn't trade my sweet Chlo for anything. :)

Speaking of Colin...

Yep, it's been awhile. But I figure at this point I need to stop apologizing about that. Life happens, there we are. :)
But we are enjoying how our children are growing and changing, and I thought I should talk about our son for a bit as much has happened in his little life. One needs to write these things down before they're gone and my brain is rather sad that way these days.
Having had Chloe, Mark and I suddenly realized that our little boy wasn't a baby anymore himself. And he is more and more his own little person these days as he closes in on 2 years old. 2!!
I don't know where he gets all the energy he has, but he can put the Energizer bunny to shame. He must always be doing something, either with hands or feet, or both. Sometimes his mouth gets involved, which can really gross his Mummy out. Happily I intercepted the snail guts before they made it there, but it was a close thing. I can't say the same about the chalk and charcoal, but they don't gross me out quite as much. :)
He loves playing outside and has figured out how to get his wellies on himself. Well-- mostly. It's frequently one boot on and one boot off, and often the on boot is on the wrong foot. But it's easier to get around that way rather than wearing Daddy's shoes, which is something else he enjoys doing. He cuts quite a figure in his shirt, diaper and Daddy shoes. I should take the time to mention here that he frequently de-pants's himself, thus why I didn't mention them.
He is also getting very stealthy for a boy. I came out to the dining room one day to discover I had left the key in the sideboard. He had pulled out five martini glasses and placed them on the dining room table before I heard anything. No breaks either!
He likes to 'read' books now and will pull out all of them and read them to Chloe. Or 'sing' from the hymnal. He'll pull it off the shelf every day at some point and sit on the couch 'singing' for  awhile. I love that. He enjoys having a sister and gives her what we like to call 'extreme brothering'. But it is really sweet, if a bit vigorous. Chloe can laugh now, and Colin is realizing that she finds him very funny. His growling is particularly funny to her, which is good as he does it frequently.
He is starting to talk finally and we love the way that is developing. He says 'bye bye' to folks as well as inanimate objects and is able to say 'mummy', 'daddy', 'car', 'Choe', 'light', 'night night', and 'yeah'. There is probably more, but we're not as clear on it. He apparently is and will often chat away to us while nodding sagely.
He isn't a particularly cuddly child, but he does like to show affection and Mark and I will often get a random leg hug from behind, before he dashes off to the next major thing on his agenda, probably dvd stacking. Or I'll be leaning over his crib to tuck the sheet in and I will receive pats on the back while I do so. He likes to hug Chloe as well, but we have to monitor that one as his idea of hugging her is to squeeze as tightly as possible. :)
He is quite musical already. As mentioned, he likes to 'sing'. But he'll also dance to any ad jingle he finds catchy as well as music we play or sing. He's got quite the moves. Well, if he was in the 1960s he'd have quite the moves. :)
He won't sit still often. So we treasure the times (usually after he's just woken from his nap or right before bedtime) when he'll sit on our laps and listen to stories or watch Warner bros. cartoons with us. And we can hold that little body firmly and rub our cheeks on his curly hair and hold his small hands in ours and play with his toes.
Because I look at my short son in his winter jacket and joy in the park, and think how fleeting these moments are. That one day soon he won't be so short. That I won't be able to sit him on my lap for cuddles. That I can't kiss a bump better or protect him from some hurts. That I won't be holding his small hand as we go up stairs or cross the street. That he will tower over me and start shaving. It's hard to think that he will leave us one day. But that is how God made things and it is good. So it's equally good for me to remember that and treasure these moments now.
I'm pretty tired these days and yes, Colin causes that frequently. But I am also frequently reminded by him, of how precious our time together is.
And so I'm writing it down. I'm not doing so as artfully as I'd like, but if I wait for that, I won't get it done. :) I love my little guy. Just thought you all should get a small slice of why.

Giving Thanks

Yes, I will say at the start that I'm fully aware it is not yet Thanksgiving. However, I am also aware that I need to be giving thanks much more frequently than once a year. :)
Living in England has loads of delightful things that come with it. It also has loads of not so delightful things and some things that make me need to spike a volleyball in a way that dents the court. I'm sure that anyone living in a foreign country comes across this phenomenon.
I have a really distinct memory from my childhood. After some sin incident (likely grumbling or complaining) my mom made me sit down with a piece of paper and write a list of things I was thankful for. I believe that the requirement was at least 20. By item 15, I was on to her little game, but I was also very starkly aware that my list could be MUCH longer than 20 and that I didn't have a case for my grumbles.
Given that I have found myself too easily going to the list of complaints lately, I thought I should pull out that old lesson and make a list of things I am thankful for here. So here we go. Don't worry it won't be even close to exhaustive and this is more for me than you readers and I do have two kids now, so this can't take TOO long. :) Here we go:
1. God saved me despite the massive ball of sin that I am.
2. Christ died for me which is still mind boggling and hurts my brain when I ponder it deeply.
3. I was born and raised in the wealthiest country in the world, which had many blessings.
4. I was given to a strong Christian family.
5. I have 3 siblings with whom I have loads of terrific memories.
6. On the memory front, I have tons of those with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles that I treasure.
7. The 3 siblings all married people that I happen to really like (hey not everyone gets that!) and I have the best nieces and nephews ever.
8. I received a priceless education which will continue to pay dividends til I die
9. I had dear friends growing up and one with whom the laughs still roll on even over skype. (Shout out Natali Monette!)
10. I had the best job in the world for 9 years and could write hundreds of things to be thankful for off of that.
11. I switched jobs to marry my husband for whom I am daily grateful.
12. My new job is uber challenging (yep some of the reasons for the grumbles) but also so deeply fulfilling and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
13. My son is Colin
14. My daughter is Chloe
15. I can say words like 'son' and 'daughter' and 'husband'. There was a time I thought I never would.
16. God made oceans with which I have an eternal love affair
17. God also came up with seasons and I'm pretty stoked about it
18. Current season is autumn and that means spices and pumpkins and crisp air and bread and soup and bonfire nights and turkey and...... three months of build up to December 25th. I mention that quietly as some feel they must wait til December 1st. :)
19. Chores are tiring but the glow of satisfaction with a clean home is lovely.
20. I like the way our living room is coming together.
21. I enjoy making a beautiful table in our dining room
22. We have a back yard. The possibilities are many!
23. Mark has a great job that allows us to save for moving back to the US
24. Speaking of the US, we get to go for Christmas--my first one back since my marriage!!
25. I love Sunday evenings with Will and Katie.
26. My son loves Sunday evenings with Will and Katie and we're loving their relationship (godparents)
27. I am endlessly enraptured by small toes
28. Mowing the lawn makes me feel ridiculously good
29. I adore baking
30. My recovery after this pregnancy is going really well
31. Mark and I are unashamed Costco junkies.
32. UK Starbucks are carrying pumpkin spice lattes this year!
33. I love gumtree (UK Craig's list) and the fun furniture we've got off of it.
34. We have a proper guest room in this house
35. I can call Brooke Newman anytime because we're in the same timezone and can understand each other's joys and burdens in a way others can't. :)
36. Walking everywhere helps with the weight loss!
37. I like living in a village.
38. Trains are the way to go.
39. Volleyball still makes me feel great.
40. I can hang laundry outside

As I said, there could be more, but 40 is a good number so I'll stop there! Off for  a walk...

And Colin figures out why all the pink has showed up

So two became one. Then two became three. And now two has become four. Now, most of you know how rubbish I am with math, but if you think about that, I am correct. :)
Two weeks ago we welcomed Chloe Elizabeth Julia Wilson into the world! Born on the birthday of my lovely grandmother, our little girl now seems as though she has always been part of our lives. She is sweet, there's no other word for it. Little kissable lips and big blue eyes that are already very keen and interested, very like her brother at that age.
Mummy is quite pleased to have the girl/boy tally evened out as well as having an excuse to buy tiny girl shoes. :) Colin got lots of cute little boy shoes, but seems to have serious ethical objections to wearing shoes--ever. I think he believes he was born into a tropical climate as he also frequently objects to trousers and can be found triumphantly waving them in the air, shortly after being dressed. Our recent heat wave has been Colin's style exactly as he has basically lived in his diaper.
But he has loved being a big brother and Chloe is enduring some vigorous hugging and pats on the head. He likes to pat her back to help her burp and point to her nose and eyes and then to his own.
Yes, it's been an adjustment from one child to two, but to be honest, we're finding it relatively smooth. I'm sure the big challenge will come from two to three, but we'll cross that bridge, when, Lord willing, we cross it. :)
So here she is!!

Our sweet tiny girl

Big brothering

My little face

The fam!

Seasons

Again, it's pretty terrible how I neglect this, but I really have a pretty good excuse this time. We moved, we totally revamped the new yard, painted in the house, went up North, hosted a Father's Day celebration bbq, had a friend stay for 10 days and went to Salisbury for an ordination. Oh yes, and I'm uber-pregnant. Is that enough? Do I pass? :)
I speak rhetorically though, as all those things are actually not the topics here.
Now that I have a moment to sit and reflect, I thought I would share what God has placed in the forefront of my mind.
My daughter is to be born Lord willing, on the 16th of this month by c-section. As it happens this is my grandmother's birthday, and all things point to it being her last on this earth. It is quite possible that Grandma may not even make it to that 89th birthday. And so as I get heavier with my child and very ready to say hello to her, I also have a heart getting heavier as I get ready to say good-bye to my last
grandparent.
My heart is not heavy in despair. It is the natural sadness that all dear partings produce. But I am reflecting on the seasons of life and the way God has particularly put them in sharp relief this time around. I prepare to welcome a new life to the world likely within days of my Grandmother entering a new life of eternity with Christ. How's that for God's storytelling? Die to live. Emerge to new life from the womb and emerge to new life from the tomb.
Each time I've stood on a train platform in the last few days, I ponder the great metaphor it is for this parting. Lewis got that very well and both Grandma and Grandpa Garfield loved his writing. My grandfather's gravestone reads 'This is the Morning' which all you Narnia lovers know is from "The Last Battle". My grandmother has waited for 11 years to join my grandfather in that morning and it looks as though it is dawning.
We'll tell our daughter about the woman whose birthday she shares. She won't meet her in this life, but she'll have a very special connection to her for all her days. We pray that our daughter will walk in the footsteps of one of the most godly women I've known.
We love you grandma--your dream is ending, your morning is coming. Enjoy the rising sun and the Risen Son. We'll hug you on the platform and watch you board. The tears are temporary.

Spring brings lots of change!

So once again, I have let the blog slip through my fingers. But in the wake of spring cleaning, I decided that I should include a clean of the blog and adding to it! :)
And lots of things have occurred since the last post, all of them a marvellous example of God's goodness to us.
We now know that we're expecting a baby girl in July.
Colin started walking.
Mark got a new job starting next year at Clifton College, a private secondary school here in Bristol.
And we have found a house to rent in Shirehampton.

We move the first weekend in May and I'm looking forward to having a garden (yard, American friends) for the first time here! Especially now that Colin is so mobile I'm glad for that!
I thought I should post a few pics of our spring happenings as well as what our crazy boy has been up to.

Lately, we've discovered that climbing into the drawer is fun

Watching kids kick the ball. It's very exciting

Walking outside in his big boy shoes

Sunshine on spring flowers

Reading with Daddy

Since our son is always in motion, I'm glad I caught him briefly not flipping pages. :) 

Pink Velvet Roulade

So I haven't made a roulade since college. And I was really pleased with the results. I wanted to do a practice run as the roulade makes up part of the Southern Bombe I'm making for Valentine's Day. So here tis. Also, I can't say enough good things about the Wilton color gels. The burgundy made this beautiful pink color!

Winter Wonderland

Well I did it again. Stopped paying attention for ONE second and 2 months went by. Sigh. But I'm back finally and trying to keep up with everything!
I should mention how delighted I am to have my first proper English snowfall. The English aren't as delighted but too bad. We have had almost a WHOLE week with snow on the ground and it's been falling on and off fairly consistently as well. Of course this does make it awkward for those of us without cars who are trying to push buggies on unshoveled pavement (apparently, no one here can be bothered to take responsibility for their own sidewalks. Grrr...) but hey it's pretty. And I was trying to explain to people how great this is because it makes us appreciate spring so much more. Usually English weather just slouches into April and then realizes that it can cheer up and pop out some daffodils. Now, I shall feel as though we have properly had four seasons. :)
And of course, this sort of weather is the perfect excuse for me to be baking so today's project is a pink velvet roulade cake. Sounds fancy but really isn't too hard. It looks quite pretty though, so I shall post pics on a future blog.
We've also had fun introducing Colin to his first snow. Sadly, we couldn't let him crawl around as we don't have a snowsuit yet, but he did like touching and eating it while we held him. I'm already looking forward to when he's old enough to go sledding. And then, quite contrarily, I don't want him to be that old because it means he's growing up!! But each stage is fun, so I'm trying to remember to live in the moment.
Anyway, here's some pics of our Bristol snow!!

Giving Thanks

It's been rather intensely busy here and before you know it, a month has flown by! I am constantly amazed how fast time moves. My son is almost a year old and getting very mobile. He can stand with help from furniture and he crawls as though he's racing everyone everywhere. :)
I must admit that I have struggled a lot this month to be thankful. There's been many things surrounding that, but it wouldn't be productive to share that here. Instead, God has been reminding me that the best cure for my discontent is to BE thankful and I thought I should share what I have to be thankful for. And as it's November that seems particularly appropriate.
Mark and I enjoyed a trip over to Cambridge to celebrate Thanksgiving with Brooke and Dan as well as several other lovely Christian friends. It was Colin's first time to Cambridge as well and we were blessed with a GORGEOUS Sunday in which to walk to church and share leftovers with the Newmans as well as lovely fellowship.
A week later we celebrated a second Thanksgiving in order to share that tradition with a large group of our British friends. It was a two turkey feast and my good friend Naomi kindly cooked the second one for us. Another kind friend lent us her home as there was no way 16 people were going to fit in our little flat!
And now we are the verge of the Christmas season (ask me and we're in it, ask Mark and he says wait til December 1st :) ) and I have pulled out all our Christmas decor. I was pondering that the last time I had this stuff out, my folks were here and my Dad and Mark enjoyed tossing our denuded tree over the railing of our first floor flat, rather than drag it down the stairs. And I had just given birth to a small new person. One who is currently figuring out the joys of ringing an oversized jingle bell.
Tomorrow we will take him to pick out our first tree as a family of three. It's been lovely and cold with lots of frost. Since the closest England usually gets to snow, I'm quite pleased. It will be just the right atmosphere for Christmas tree hunting.
These are all lovely things. But they are that-things. I know that I am not to look to outside surroundings and circumstances to find my contentment and happiness. But God has been kind to use those things to bring joy and He has reminded me that the reason the holidays are lovely for me is because I know WHY we celebrate. I have a Saviour to whom I can give thanks, and whose birth I am celebrating and whose comfort and love are not limited to the times when I'm feeling good and spiritually in order. He loves me when I'm a mess as well and that still boggles my mind.
So I am thankful. I'm excited for our season of anticipation. I am thankful for my loving and patient husband. I'm thankful for my sweet boy and the new things he does every day. I'm thankful for my family, a skype away, and friends on facebook, and fellowship with believers here. See you in December!

He gets around, from town to town, or at least from kitchen to hallway

Colin is becoming a little boy now. I see babyhood morphing into toddlerdom and while he isn't 'toddling' yet, he is certainly a travelling man. His rolling abilities are quite impressive. But that's not all. He's become more and more curious about his little world and toys with blinky lights are nothing compared to the fascination of Daddy's socks on the laundry rack.
He loves to bounce and sing to music, whether that is from Top Gear, Frank Sinatra on the computer or just Mummy singing him silly songs about toes. I have hope he will be quite musical. He loves to watch the trees outside our window as they blow in the wind and he REALLY loves spotting Daddy walking home from our window. The wiggling is intense.
He has also learned to wave and will do so with intent though occasionally he'll wave to a program on tv. Not sure what that is....
He loves to skype with his grandparents and is very excited when he sees them come on. He starts to blow through his paci and growl. Again, why he does this is a mystery but for him it expresses excitement and happiness. Of course the fact that Grandpa does the growling as well, may have something to do with it. He talks a lot to me  during the day and I would like to be flattered, but he also talks to a toothbrush, a stuffed toy in his crib and our trashcan, so I'm not all that special. :)
He has also recently expressed his opinion on favorite books and gets bouncy and starts patting pages when I read from the touch and feel farm book and from Each Peach Pear Plum. He can obey the command to 'touch the cow, do it now' consistently and it's fun to see him putting all his little bits of knowledge together.
I often feel someone's hands grabbing my toes as I sit at our counter stool and look down to see a smiley face looking up at me. He's quite a stealthy mover and will surprise me often. And of course, there is nothing so delightful right now as watching the washing machine tumble and we need to applaud it so as to encourage more washing. Apparently.
We're on the verge of crawling and more world opening up. Right now though, I'll enjoy this 9 month moment.

Chillaxin' with Mummy

Hello there!

Laundry inspection

Colin got baptized!

So this past Sunday, our little man was baptized. It was really lovely to share this with the church, but also to give him two sets of godparents.
In England, this is quite common, but for me, this was very new and it was a blessing to be introduced to it. It can of course, be a simple case of picking people who give good presents. Or it could be a situation where you are good friends and picked people for that reason. However, as Christians, there's more than that. It's a very real accountability to people who are taking a vested interest in the life your child will lead--Lord willing--in Christ. And for Mark and I, it is also making a familial connection in England. We asked our dear friends Daniel and Brooke Newman and Will and Katie Corrie to be the godparents for Colin. We are so blessed to have them as both couples have been very indispensable to us in so many ways, but most importantly in spiritual relationship. We are grateful for their faithfulness and their willingness to walk alongside us as we raise Colin. But we're also grateful for a further feeling  of family and rootedness here in England. So here's to many years rejoicing in God's faithfulness together! (And here's a few pics of the baptized boy as well :) )

All the godparents and the blur is the child that wouldn't sit still with Mummy :)

One shoe off and one shoe on...

Someone has officially discovered the drawers

Happy baptized boy. 

Someone came to find me and decided to go via coffee table

Tales of the Emergency room

So the other night, a dear friend of ours had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance. I'll pause right here to say that she's fine and it was nothing deeply traumatic. She's back to work, keeping calm and carrying on. :)
But I felt that this was worth blogging about as it was most definitely a night of drama. I shall skip to getting into the ambulance and draw a privacy curtain around the events that led us there. I've never ridden in an ambulance before so that was actually kind of fun. My friend's husband also accompanied us and a former UK soldier now paramedic was asking questions.
It didn't take long for him to realize I was American, largely as I was being more direct in answering the questions than my very British friends.
"As you can see, we're not racing to the hospital, so we're not overly concerned" he pointed out. Ah, that's why the siren wasn't going. My friend's husband and I exchanged the first of many ironic looks for the evening.
We arrived at the hospital and my friend was wheeled into the emergency receiving ward and the paramedics discussed the situation with the person on duty. Eventually it became clear that there was a shortage of wheelchairs and one doesn't use gurneys from the ambulance in the hospital. Ah. Could my friend walk down to the trauma ward? My friend who had had a few balance issues? Oh sure. She was behaving with typical Britishness--of course, it was fine, she'd be fine, no problem--while I was internally dropping my jaw on the floor. Sure, yeah we'll just walk down badly marked and under construction hallways with her. No problem my eyeball. But we did make it to the trauma waiting room so we could see a nurse. Who wasn't there yet. The trauma/triage nurse wasn't there. Of course.  We sank down upon the bright red and blue PLASTIC chairs in the tiny room. Overhead, a light flickered. I exchanged another ironic glance with the husband. This could be very very long. My friend expressed this thought as well. The junkie across from us, unabashedly listening in, agreed. "You should have gone to Frenchay" he told us. Thank you. He plucked at a few of his guitar strings and jiggled his foot. An old gentleman in a shabby jumper wandered over to show my friend's husband a picture on his camera. This time my friend and I shared the look as the husband nodded politely. Apparently the old man had done some renovations on a home and was proud of his work. Fair enough. His teeth were the  epitome of a British stereotype.
The trauma nurse arrived 30 minutes later, in no hurry. I wondered how the bloke in the wheelchair with a clearly badly sprained ankle felt. The nurse went into a tiny room. The waiting room pretended not to care too deeply, but you could feel everyone's spines getting more painful. Finally a name was called. Not ours. My friend decided she needed the ladies'. Naturally, after hobbling along several hallways to find it (bathrooms in hospitals are stealth bathrooms for security) we discovered it was out of order. "Of course" I said. "Use the men's". She gave me a look of horror. "Oh I don't know..." "I'll stand guard" I insisted "you do what you have to." She went in and I stood outside feeling like secret service. A man wandered by and looked curiously at me. I stared him down and he looked away. Victory. We went back to the waiting room. "It's always like this. Terrible." Commented the junkie. "Frenchay is much better. Treat you better. They treat you like **** here. Do you have a cigarette?" Sorry no we didn't. "Oh well." He wandered over to the people who had just recently come in supporting a man who looked as though he'd been in a club. He rounded the corner and we didn't see him for a while. Two security guards strolled by, thumbs in their vests. Another name was called. Not ours. An overweight girl came over to the vending machine for some poor choices.
The junkie returned. "I've been here before, they just don't treat you right." He let us know. His name was Josh. He wore a cap and carried the guitar around. He didn't open his mouth all the way when he spoke. He strolled down another hallway and disappeared. A moment later, the two security guards strolled by. The friend's husband and I shared a look. Apparently, there was a connection. FINALLY, our name. My friend and her husband went in. I avoided eye contact with the old gentleman as he was impatiently wandering now as well, and I didn't much fancy conversation. I picked up the citizenship booklet I was studying and turned to the health care section. Ha. I also read about women in Britain, the legal system and other largely useless information that most Brits likely don't know. Josh wandered back in and miraculously, his name was called. I looked up. Mistake. The older man took this as a signal and came over with his camera. Ah. However, it was not as I feared. He wasn't drunk, or not much, and was a rather pleasant individual. The look he gave Josh as he went in to see the doctor was not flattering. But he proceeded to tell me about what he did ("most jobs really") whose house this was ("Brunel lived there for a while") and quizzed me on my knowledge of  Bristol history and significance. Josh came out, fussing about needing medication. Shocker. Apparently he was fine. "Frenchay would treat you better. Finally called your friends eh? The **** are terrible here. Shoulda gone to Frenchay." The old man just stared at him coldly. I pasted a weak smile on my face and nodded. Josh ambled down another corridor. The old man continued to talk to me and then his name was called. The door shut and I picked up the booklet again as the security guards returned to stroll down the same hallway Josh had disappeared into. Mhm. The light flickered. After a small eternity, my friends returned. All was well. She would have a follow up at the local GP in a few days but we could go home now. Thus, we wandered out to find the lifts to take us up to a level from which to call a taxi. My friend and I seated ourselves on the small sofa as the husband called a taxi service. A confused looking Asian lady wandered by looking for the exit. Right behind her we explained. She thanked us and went that way. Josh came by. I wasn't surprised by now, though we were now two floors up. "Always throw me out. Frenchay..." His mumblings went down the hallway. But now here were the two security guards, right on his tail. They caught up with him and they all moved toward the exit. "It's time to leave sir" they explained. Josh took up his mantra "They always throw me out. Don't treat you right, it's terrible." After further argument and our little group wondering if we would witness some interesting drama, he was escorted out. "I was looking for the exit!" He explained vehemently, "I was going!" "Yes sir." replied the security guards with straight faces. "Right out here." "I was looking for the exit!" The sounds died away outside. My friend and I looked at each other. It was after midnight and our coach was the pumpkin of a taxi, and our driver was unshaven. But we made it home. I made up the sofa bed for our friends and then went to collapse into my own with Mark. But first I had to share with him the whole drama and we chuckled in the dark.

Birthday spread

I really need to get with it. I shall attempt better discipline with the blogging. But at last, I am getting up a shot of the birthday cake I made Mark. It was blue velvet cake with a vanilla bean Swiss buttercream frosting. Sadly, forgot to take a shot after we cut it, to show the blue, but I was very happy with the results and I LOVED the real vanilla bean in the frosting. It was pretty as well as delicious. So here tis:

I also asked Mark what he'd like for dinner. We were in the 'let's make it easy and economical' mode and I had an idea from Pinterest (of course) so I made him a Dagwood sandwich. And had loads of fun doing it. Here's the battleground laid out:

And here's the completed sandwich. I wanted to go another layer, but my husband didn't feel quite up to that. :)

Five kinds of meat, three kinds of cheese and veg in between homemade bread. Yep, we both had fun. :)