Monday, October 19, 2009

Brett and Sarah and other stuff

Last week my brother Brett and his wife Sarah came to visit! It was so fun to see them and see some new things with them.

We went to London - unfortunately, not to sightsee - but to register Elizabeth's international birth and apply for her passport. It was a neat experience to go to the US Embassy in London; I felt like a world-traveler with my "foreign born baby". Just like back in the States, it was a long wait - I guess that's the same everywhere! Thankfully, there were a lot of toys there for Link to play with which kept him occupied for the majority of the time. When Ryan and I finally had our number called we discovered that we left one vital piece of documentation back at home - her birth certificate!! Ahhh! I thought they would turn us away right then and there, but they were able to process the rest of the documents and have Ryan and I declare our oaths in Ellie's stead, and we could just mail in the birth certificate. Phew! I was eying a Reese's in the vending machine the whole time(they are really hard to find here) but Link shoved a small piece of plastic in the coin slot, which seems to have broken the machine. Oops! [And if you're wondering why I couldn't use a bill instead, it's because the smallest paper bill is a 5 pound, so there is no bill slot] :)

Another day we went to Arundel Castle - a huge castle only about 40 minutes away from Brighton. My favorite part were the beautiful gardens. I especially loved to watch Lincoln explore the gardens and enjoy the open spaces. [Ah, maybe one day we'll have a house with a nice big backyard!] I imagined what it would be like if he was a little prince playing in the gardens all day.



All these structures were made out of wood carved to look like stone.

We also went to the Royal Pavilion here in Brighton, which was pretty amazing. It was the vacation home for King George IV when he was Prince Regent. It is lavishly decorated - including an enormous chandelier held in the claws of a dragon. Sorry, no photography was allowed. :)

Brett and Sarah's visit was far too short and we miss them already. It's so fun to have family around!

Other than that, we have been enjoying the beautiful English autumn by going to the park or taking walks. My brother brought our new stroller (pushchair/pram/buggy in proper British) that we bought online that was only sold in the US. It is the Joovy Caboose Ultralight and I LOVE it! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a double stroller who has a baby and a rambunctious toddler. Link loves his "special seat" at the back and really likes the drink holder so he can get to his juice or water bottle on his own. Check out this link to see it!

Being a mom of 2 is getting better and better. I feel like I am more 'in the swing of things' and am getting closer to a regular daily schedule, which seems to be an important factor in my happiness and sanity. :) Ellie is sleeping like a champ through the night (down at about 10pm and waking up about 6am to eat, then sometimes sleeps a little more)- which is completely wonderful. I especially love to watch Lincoln interact with Ellie and enjoy her more and more. One of our new favorite things is at bedtime when we say prayers together we put Ellie on Lincoln's pillow. He is extra sweet to her during these times and usually offers her his blanket, snuggles next to her on the pillow, and once even read her a story. She just smiles and watches him in adoration.

(You may also notice Link clutching/biting his 3 Thomas bath toys, which he always insists on taking to bed.)

And here's a recent picture of Ellie doing one of her silly smiles:


Sorry this post is so long - I guess that's what happens when I don't write in 2 weeks! :)

10 comments:

Lant Family said...

how fun to have some family come and visit! You are lucky they still let you get eveything done without the birth certificate--I think in the US they would have said nope. and I am glad you got a new stroller-I love having a double stroller, it makes life so much easier.

Sara said...

I love the silly smile! She is so cute-And Lincoln cracks me up-3 bath toys? Zach is kind of like that too-his binky count is up to 6 or 7 in his bed along with trucks, cars...

Lindsey said...

What a great time. And that picture of Ellie is so cute. She already looks so old! We got the birth announcement in the mail--so darling.

Maile said...

"Oh, so cutie!" Asher says about that last picture. I think getting into some semblance of a schedule after this baby is born is going to be key for my sanity, as well. I feel like we have such a good rhythm going on right now and I'm a little nervous for the upheaval we'll probably feel for a while afterwards.

Karen said...

What cute kids you have!!

Miss you all.

tterb said...

Jamie, it was so fun to be there! I loved the post and Ellie's little smile is so cute! I'll show you our pictures as soon as I get them online. Thanks again for everything, we love and miss you!

Shelly Beth said...

LOL about Link breaking the vending machine. That's one of those things as you a mother you just say "oops" about and act like you don't know anything about it :) Ellie is looking so cute and smily. I am glad you are finding routines! She sounds like a champ sleeper. I just rearranged things today to attempt to get Aubree to sleep through the night. We will see how that goes...

Kelly Peterson said...

Ellie's smile is so cute. hehe
I miss you guys!

Ceri said...

That's a gorgeous picture of Ellie. She's looking big, isn't she? It's lovely the relationship they are growing. Peter's like that with Samuel too - he loves if he gets to have him in his bed at bedtime for a story or something, and Samuel just spends all the time lovingly looking at Peter. So sweet. :o)

gretchen said...

So sorry that you're going through passport problems again! That's so great that they let you mail in the birth certificate, though! :) Ellie is getting so big! :)