38 Weeks

Due to popular demand (mostly my mom) here is a recent pic of my pregnant belly. 38 weeks down, 2 to go... or if she decides to come as early as Lincoln, just a few days to go! (Link was 9 days early) Unfortunately I don't have any real gauge of when she'll be born because in the UK they don't check dilation/effacement at all until you are in active labor! I even asked my doctor at my last appointment to check and she looked shocked and appalled. Just one of the many differences between healthcare in the UK vs. the US - more of which I'm sure to share after the delivery.

Now for some cuter pictures! Here is Link in the foam pit at a little gym we go to. They have trampolines, bars, climbing things, etc. Link calls it the "Jumping Place", appropriately. We go with a friend from Church, Ashy - who Link just adores. It's so cute for him to have his first real "friend".


We have also been transitioning Lincoln from taking a bottle at bedtime, with really good success thus far. He was seamless with going to a big bed and taking away the binky, so I really shouldn't be surprised. This little guy is just too good! Here is a typical "Lincoln face" - being the little joker that he is. He would pretend to take a "big sip" out of his cup, only to take the tiniest little sip and make a milk moustache and start laughing. Ryan and I inevitably start laughing too. How can we resist?!

Our Techno-Saavy 2 year-old

Lincoln has an iPod Touch - well, I actually have an iPod Touch, but from the day I got it he has pretty much claimed it for himself. I know, letting a 2 year-old play with an expensive electronic device is probably not the wisest idea. We get some pretty interesting looks from people watching him use it on the bus or in the doctor's office that seem to say "Spoiled American kid"...well, that may be so, but it keeps him entertained, and he knows how to use it really well!! He can play the bowling game - changing the ball color and lanes with ease and then bowl a strike. He scrolls through our family pictures. He watches downloaded videos of "Little Einsteins" and "Super Why". He does all of these independently without any help or prompting from us.

But the most impressive of all, is that he loves YouTube. If we type in a search for him (ie: Jets, Trains, Bowling [yeah, he loves bowling]) he will go through the video clips and choose the ones he wants to watch. He even has his favorites that he can recognize from the thumbnail pictures. Here are Lincoln's YouTube picks of the week:






I'm just waiting for him to send an email to someone! I don't think it's too far off!

More Beach Fun...no nudity this time

For a Friday family date night we took a picnic to the beach. The nice thing is that we literally live 5 minutes from the beach - it's so easy to get to and Link LOVES it. The unfortunate thing was that it was COLD and windy! (England in July!) We braved it in the name of family fun and Link still managed to enjoy himself.






Lincoln playing "Rock slide" down the groynes (pronounced 'groins' - we have a few laughs with all the signs that say "Keep off the groynes" haha)


On Saturday we went to the Brighton Sea Life Centre. It's the "oldest seaside aquarium in Britain"; and while maybe not as flashy as Sea World, it had its own charm. Lincoln liked to see the "Dory" fish (he loves Finding Nemo right now) and they had the biggest sea turtles I have ever seen!


But Lincoln's favorite exhibit did not feature any fish. It was a model of Brighton - complete with little cars and people that just fascinated him. Go figure!

"Tire, nose"

We were eating lunch and Link was playing with one of his toy cars. He has this weird thing where he likes to take off any tires that can be removed from his toys - I have a bag full of tiny tires that I have collected from him! We were preoccupied with the dishwasher repairman and then we hear "Tire, nose".

Oh, please NO!! I see a car with no tires and search frantically around his high chair for the loose tires. Nothing. I ask the dishwasher guy if he has a flashlight, but he doesn't. Luckily, I decided to ship our 72 hour kits with us over here - which happen to include flashlights and batteries. Also, luckily Ryan was at home today in honor of celebrating the Fourth tomorrow (it's our patriotic right as Americans, right?!) so he was able to put Link in a headlock so I could look up his nose. Yep, a nice little tire shoved up into his right nostril. After some unsuccessful blows we determine it's definitely stuck.

Okay, now what?? We don't even have a pediatrician here yet. Do we go to the ER? Try to find a doctor? Could I possibly pull it out myself?? I reluctantly chose the latter and ran to my huge first aid kit in hopes that there were some nice long tweezers. No luck, just regular ones. Praying for the nurse in me to come forth, Ryan held Lincoln's head while I held the flashlight in one hand and the tweezers in another and went in for the tire. After a couple attempts...I had it!! No damage, no blood, no crying (from me or Link - he was very brave), and no day waiting in the lovely National Healthcare ER.

I will always be grateful for my education and experience as a Registered Nurse...I just hope I won't have too many chances to put my skills to work at home!


PS: Our baby girl is due one month from today!!! (Maybe she'll be better about keeping things out of her nose)

An {Interesting} Day at the Beach

Yesterday the weather was supposed to be completely rubbish (new English lingo we're picking up) - but instead it was absolutely gorgeous, so we decided to head to the beach. Not quite the beach that we native-Californians are used to, but lovely and fun in its own regard.

If you're unfamiliar with Brighton beaches, they're made of stones, not sand. The water must be quite chilly too because there are rarely any swimmers - maybe a kid dipping their toes in or a person wearing a full-body wet suit braving the water. Lincoln loves playing with the stones and was entertaining himself really well by rolling them down a little concrete wall and saying "Rock slide!" Then he decided to toss a stone in the direction of an old man wearing a Speedo laying on his stomach. I don't know if it actually hit him, but we decided it was probably time to leave the beach and give Link a lesson in not throwing things at people...even if you are trying to tell them to cover up more...because, who wants to see old guys (or anyone really!) in Speedos??

Another difference we noted: nude sunbathers!! Yep, we look over and some woman is bearing it all while she soaks up the sun. Are we in Southern France?! Sheesh! I don't know if this is allowed or how common it is here, but next time we come to the beach I'm going to have to bring blinders for Link...and Ryan.

Hallelujah!

We have internet!!! It only took nearly 3 months, but we have real internet - so now we can catch up on blogs, download shows (still haven't seen the end of seasons for Lost, Chuck, 24, or The Office), and generally waste time. It also means that we can post more often (theoretically), and fill you in on all the latest fun from England. Thanks to all who still check our blog, even with the lack of activity!

This is Lincoln's favorite job: watering "his" flowers. He takes very good care of them and gives them PLENTY of water. It's fun to have our own backyard for the first time.



Two weekends ago we took a trip up to London. The purpose was to see "Les Miserables" and Kimber so graciously offered to watch Link while we went to the show. We got to take in some of the London sights beforehand, including an amazing fly-over by old and new military planes in honor of the Queen's birthday. Lincoln LOVED it - but actually we all thought it was really spectacular! Here we are in Trafalgar Square (notice Big Ben in the background):



The story as to why we saw "Les Mis" goes back almost 6 years to the day. The touring show came to Salt Lake and Ryan bought tickets - intending to ask me on a date. He then found out I was dating someone else at the time, so he ended up finding another date. Since then, he has always wanted to take me, but as soon as we moved to New York the show left Broadway. When we moved here and found out it was still playing in London Ryan jumped at the chance to get tickets for Mother's Day. The show was amazing - well worth waiting 6 years to see it with Ryan. I wonder what would have happened if we saw the show together in 2003??

What we've been up to the past month

As unbelievable as it is, we have been living here in England for 2 months already. The time really flies when you are as busy as we have been the past month or so. I would love to have kept up with all our adventures, but we still don't have "real" internet service yet! If everything falls into place we might have internet installed before the baby is born. So here is a quick recap of the past month:

Went to the beach and pier here in Brighton

Brighton Pier has the most fantastic fresh donuts and candy floss (cotton candy). It takes real restraint not to go there every day. Aunt Kimber and Uncle Julian spent a fun weekend visit with us "at the shore".

Took a trip back to the US for Aunt Ashley's mission homecoming and Aunt Kelly's graduation

After serving in the freezing cold (Canada) for 18+ months, my sister Ashley returned home from her mission. It was a joyous reunion and all the family (except Ryan who had business in NYC) was there. Link loved playing with his extended family, going to the petting zoo, and spending almost every day outside in the yard.

Had Nana, Pop, Ashley and Kelly come visit us in England

What fun to have a house full of visitors! Link especially loved all the extra playmates and still talks about his adventures at the beach.


Ryan and I took a fantastic getaway [sans Lincoln] to Italy!

Leaning Tower of Pisa, ride through the Tuscan countryside, great Italian food, The Uffizi, David, shopping, walking along the river in Florence, Duomo, music in the Piazzas, relaxing, and LOTS of gelato. This was the first time I have been away from Lincoln - ever. It was hard to leave him, but I knew he was in good hands with my parents and we had a wonderful time.



Baby Girl Giles continues to grow! Only 7 weeks to go!