Anna the Tour Guide

Other than the art work on the walls, we feel like our house is put-together enough to show you around. So, we are going to have Anna play tour guide. This is our street. There are houses on the other side too but they are farther back and up a bit of a hill. Traffic goes both ways and parks on both sides but there isn't quite room for that so if people are passing each other, they have to wait. Here is our actual house. We are the upstairs of the house on the right. You can't tell but there is another door for the downstairs people on the far right but it's being obstructed by the bush. And our front door. Notice anything missing? That's right, there is no actual door knob. A lot of the places here don't have them and when they do, they often have it in the middle of the door and they act more as a door pull. We also have a cool old fashioned shaped key for the dead bolt. Here are our stairs right inside the front door. Mummy and Daddy keep saying they are going to put up a coat rack but nothing yet. The flute thing came with the house and that is my stroller folded up.The Kitchen where all the food making magic happens. This is at the top of the stairs and the bathroom is through the door although I won't take you in there because it's not that interesting. Mummy most likes the double oven although so far she has only used one. Mostly she likes the idea of it. I like playing with the box next to the trash. Unfortunately, they don't like me to play with it and keep thwarting my efforts. Up three stairs from the kitchen is the living room. Here is the one couch and the bookcase. Mummy worries about me and the stairs. She has this crazy idea that just because I like to crawl over to the railing, I'm going to fall down them so she doesn't let me crawl over to the railing. At least I can stand at the couch. And the living room from the other direction (standing at the bookcase). We all like the rug a lot but for different reasons. Mummy and Daddy think it looks nice, I think it's comfy for crawling. The little faux fireplace is actually a heater. Mummy is sure I'm going to crack my head open on the slate platform at the bottom. I try to tell her to relax as I play with the little drawer on the bottom. Next to the ladder is Mummy and Daddy's room and mine is just next to the blue chair. Here is Mummy and Daddy's room. Some day they are going to put up blinds but for now, the sun comes right in those windows in the mornings and makes this room all nice and warm. As you can tell, I'm also a fan of the bed. This one is my room. It is as small as it looks. It had another bed in here when we moved in but there wasn't anywhere else to put it so we just put it on its side along the wall. This shrinks the room even more but I guess it's ok because I don't really play in here. Some day they are going to put blinds up in here too. For now, Mummy just pinned up the blanket to keep some of the sun out so I can take my naps during the day. There is a closet behind the door. And here is the backyard from the living room window. The pretty grassy yard belongs to the people downstairs. We have the gravel area in the back with the shed. The shed is nice because we have put things in there that we don't want in the house like luggage. Other than that, we don't go back there. The red behind the trees is the football (code for soccer) stadium. The streets get pretty crowded on game day but at least it's quiet. We don't hear anything during the games except an occasional roar from the crowds. The only way we know it's over is because we see people walking back to their cars.

So this is where we live. We all like it and are glad we didn't have to live somewhere tiny and cramped. The neighborhood is nice. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk to the train, the library is just up the hill and the grocery store is a long walk or short bus ride away.

A Grand Day Out

The dress on the right reminded me of something out of Gigi.

Yesterday, as part of my new schedule for myself, I went into town (London) and did fun things which I will now do every Wednesday. Anna and I went to the National Portrait Gallery and to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Getting there was a bit of an adventure. It was my first time on the train/tube on my own. I have to say, people here are so nice when you have a stroller with you. I almost never had to go up or down stairs on my own. Someone would always ask if I needed help and grab the front wheels for me. Once, the guy didn't even ask, he just grabbed the wheels! As much as I was tempted to say I was fine and could do it on my own (I can be like that), I gratefully accepted their help.

When I first got to the Portrait Gallery, I had a bit of museum choice remorse. It occurred to me that it was a whole gallery of heads of people I mostly didn't know and what was I thinking? I persevered though and did enjoy it after all. It was still mostly people I didn't know but I just zoomed through and only stopped at the people I was familiar with. So, some of the people I saw: William Shakespeare (it was pretty dark), Henry VIII (although it was only a drawing, I'm sure they had an actual painting of him but I didn't see it), several of his wives and his son, Victoria and Albert (of the museum, probably the only reason I cared about them), Alexander Flemming, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth I (three of them at different times in her life), the current royals, Princess Margaret (several at different stages of her life), Paul McCartney, E.M. Forester, Virginia Wolf, Margaret Thatcher, Florence Nightingale, David Beckham (a video of him sleeping, it was strange) and many more.

As with pretty much all of the museums we have been to so far, the building itself was pretty cool. The problem with this one was there were a lot of stairs which didn't go to well with my stroller. They did have an elevator but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing things. There were a number of people that I thought I would see but didn't such as Jane Austen.

From there, we went to the V&A (Victoria and Albert as it is called). This is a museum of primarily decorative arts. We had been there between the sessions of conference (one big plus of where the chapel is located). That was handy because then we had a map and I could plan out in advance what I wanted to see. This place is huge and it made it possible to just see what I was looking for. Plus, I was able to glance at the things I saw on the way to what I had decided on.

So I saw: Fashion (we saw half of it during conference, this time I could see them all at my own pace), jewelry, tapestries (at least the oldest medieval ones), metalware and musical instruments. It was all a lot of fun.

Wiggly babies in your arms make for blurry pictures. This is the last one I could take.

The jewelry room was interesting because it had a long room with a staircase in the middle (and an elevator) with another room on the next floor up. While I was in the jewelry, I took a few pictures and after I had been almost through the whole room, a guard told me that photography wasn't allowed. Oops. After that, I was wary of taking pictures of anything. Anna was getting kind of antsy after the jewelry so when I looked at the tapestries, I put her on the floor in the middle of the room and let her crawl a bit while I looked at them. Fortunately, the room was almost empty of people.

Looking down from above, my contraband picture.

They had a special exhibit on the Supremes and I was tempted to go but was too cheap to pay to see it. The musical instrument room was above it though and at one end, you could kind of see into it. There was also a screen playing a performance. I had the song Diana Ross was singing in my head for the rest of the day. I was feeling like a rebel and took some pictures of the costumes from above. Once I saw the guard that was there, I was more careful with my camera.

Although it was very tiring, it was a fun day. I was really brave too and actually asked people for directions (I am more likely to wander looking for what I want), help (I had a guard watch the stroller for me while I looked at the instruments, the only way in and out was through a half dozen stairs) and information (they were putting up stands in Trafalgar Square and I asked what was going on). The day even ended with Indian food with Jason and a girl in his class.

The National Observatory

Anna and I straddling the Prime Meridian. We were on the east side and the west side.

The area of London where we live is not too far from another area called Greenwich. You may recognize this from time zones in relation to Greenwich Mean Time. This is where the prime meridian of the earth is and from where all the time zones originate.

A little bit of history. Way back when people were sailing around the world, they didn't have an accurate way to measure longitude. This was a big problem as ships kept hitting things and sinking. The king at the time decided enough was enough and they needed to crack the code so to speak so he issued a challenge to try to find a way to figure it out. The guy who ended up doing it was based in Greenwich at the observatory so they gave him the distinction of being the zero.

Me with the clock. It was cold so I used my scarf to keep my head warm. I felt like I was in the Middle East.

Now, you can go visit the observatory where we worked. It's set up as a museum now and we visited it a couple of times. The first time, it was already closed so we just looked in from the outside. We were able to see a clock that had some big historic significance (I don't remember what it is just now) and the standards for various lengths. The second time we went in and had a look around. Mostly it was a lot of old astronomical equipment which was interesting. Then there were rooms that talked a whole lot about time and clocks and that was where I started to loose interest. For some reason I don't understand, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the museum so we don't have any picture of that part.

Jason comparing his foot to the foot marker. They seem to be the same size.

Naturally, the prime meridian is very well marked. They have a laser that shoots out of the building and a line on the ground of the courtyard where people line up to take their picture with it. We kept quoting Robin Hood: Men in Tights to ourselves "I'm on the east side, I'm on the west side". We crack ourselves up. There is also a clock that is counting up from the millennium. Apparently, before the millennium, it counted down.

The laser coming out of the building with the digital counting up clock. This was at dusk. When we went back during the day, you couldn't see the laser.

The observatory is at the top of a good size hill in a big park and the view is phenomenal. You can see the Maritime Museum at the bottom of the hill, the Millennium dome to the right, Canary Wharf in the middle and the river Thames. As you can tell, it was a pretty gray day when we went the first time and it was getting dark but it was still a great view. Then we went down the hill and walked along the river by the Greenwich University. Because it was night time and quite cloudy, you could still see the laser. I thought that was pretty cool.

The laser by one of the buildings of the University. I wonder how far you can see it?

Monday, Monday

You can tell she is impressed with the really old carvings in the British Museum.

I realize this probably sounds crazy but I quite enjoy Mondays. Let me explain. I feel like I'm in a constant state of trying to be a better home maker. On Mondays, I'm all gung-ho about getting things done and being organized. Then, as the week progresses, I'll not do something (like dishes or ironing) because I don't feel like it. Unfortunately, my brain gets stunted, like I can't move on from the thing I haven't done. So then I end up spending the rest of the day reading while Anna plays on the floor and chastising myself for not doing whatever it is that I'm avoiding. It's a vicious cycle.

Fortunately, there is the weekend. It's as if this is my chance for repentance and renewal (oh the symbolism) and I can start the week off right. Today has been no different. I had a great day of productivity and down time so I could read. To top it all off, Anna has had good naps which we all know can either make or break a day (with all the moving around, her naps have truly suffered. I'm starting to get her on at least a loose nap schedule). Other than the staying up too late, this day has been pretty great.

To add to my great day, I've put together a schedule to follow for days in the future (I love planning). So now I know what I need to do when and on what days while still giving myself down time and flexibility. The hope is that then I won't feel a need to rebel (I can have quite the rebellious streak) and will stick to it. Plus, I won't stress about the things I need to do because I have a time set aside to do them. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of schedules and, like my dad, systems. Now if only they would actually work in practice and not just on paper...

The right equipment

Anna with the Rosetta Stone (of a sorts). It's just like India, they'll let you touch anything these days (hehehe).

It's amazing how parenthood can be easier with the right equipment. This is a bit of a revelation to me because I'm not one for lots of baby crap. I pretty much try to get away with as little equipment as possible. When we were buying her bedroom furniture, I planned on using the top of her dresser as a changing table (why get another whole piece of furniture that we will just have to move and will clutter up the room?). Then with toys, I'm not really into anything larger than will fit into the diaper bag. I figure, why buy toys if she will be perfectly happy playing with a wooden spoon from the kitchen? Poor deprived kid. In spite of that mentality, there were some things that even I had to admit we needed. We recently bought a high chair, a stroller and a hand blender for baby food mashing.

The high chair is the kind that straps onto the chair. Unfortunately, our chairs are all director style chairs and there is no way the seat is going to fit on it so we just put her on the table (it's a big table and we put her in the middle so she doesn't tip over, plus I actually use the straps). Feeding her is a ton easier. I don't mind if she gets food on the seat because it's easy to clean (unlike her car seat which is a mess), she is strapped in (I wasn't using the straps on the car seat because they were annoying) so now I only have to contend with her turning her head to watch Jason and she has a tray which is so much fun for things like Cheerios. The first time we put her in her seat, we tried giving her cut up bits of canned peaches. In retrospect, it might have been better to start with something less juicy and slippery but it was fun none the less. The one down side is that now she can throw things and drop things. Every time I give her Cheerios, she has a couple stuck to her pants when I pick her up. Then last night, we gave her some fried rice (we ordered Chinese food) and when we picked her up, she had so much rice in her lap and on the table next to her it was comical. I don't know if she actually ate any but she had a lot of fun.

When we first got here, I was all excited about being able to buy baby food in jars. They don't have them in India and they were a bit of a novelty to me. The problem with them is that not only are they a little pricey (even though I bought them on sale) but they are pretty bland. and they all seem to be pasta and tomato based. I'm not sure she liked them all that much. I know about adding spices but we don't really have any yet (I'm buying them as they come up) and salt is no good. So I got a hand blender like the one we left in India and have been mashing up what we have been eating. I think it's a hit so far. Today for lunch, she had mixed Chinese vegetables. She wasn't so sure of them at first but decided they were pretty good before too long. I'm hoping this will improve her meals. At the least it will increase her culinary repertoire.

Then there is the stroller. I was really starting to want one. I would look longingly at people who had them any time we went out (and a lot of people have them). We thought about getting the same kind we had before but didn't really see it here (the companies have different ones here than in the US) and it cost the same number but with a pound sign in front instead of a dollar sign and that made it really pricey. We thought about ordering it from an American store but didn't know about the shipping. We ended up getting a Quinny Zapp. It's a small, light weight one which is good for taking it in the city and we can still use our car seat with it. Anna mostly likes it but the straps are kind of big for her (even on the smallest setting) so she slides down in the seat. It looks pretty funny.

At first, I didn't like it at all. I'm kind of out of practice with having a stroller and was too used to the freedom that came with just having her strapped on my front. Of course it didn't help that the tube is not particularly stroller friendly. They have escalators and stairs but no elevators any where. So far, I have only gone with Jason so he helps but who knows what will happen if I have to go alone. Although, knowing here, someone will help me (people have all been really friendly). Plus, after our little escalator incident, I'm a little scared of them and have a bit of anxiety taking the stroller on it. I've gotten better with practice but it's still a little scary. And then, the one we got ended up not having a little under basket. I was not expecting that because just the day before I was asking a girl what she thought of it and we even discussed the basket that was on the bottom of her stroller. I was so confused. We have since found out that while it doesn't come with one, someone makes an after market one that we can get on eBay. We will have to do that. So while at first I had some serious buyer's remorse, it's growing on me and I'm glad we have it. When we get back to the US, I might still see if we can get just the frame for our other one (we still have the seat) and we can use this one as our high quality umbrella stroller. We'll have to see.

How big is Anna?

Sooooooo big (but not as big as she thinks she is). So Anna is eight months old now and has picked up a ton of new skills. She is very pleased with herself that she has figured out how to stand up in her crib (sadly I don't have a picture of this yet). Needless to say, it's all she does. She even figured out how to stand in her sleeper bag (like footed pajamas but without the feet, just a seam). Her crib is now on the lowest setting. It's very common to put her down for a nap and after a little while hear giggling. When we peek in, she is standing and kind of bouncing and laughing at herself. It's hard to be upset when she is so happy and pleased with herself.




On Sunday, at conference, a friend of ours introduced her to Cheerios. She hadn't had them yet and thought they were pretty good. I noticed that she was able to pick them up with her thumb and forefinger (a big step for those of you without kids) and get it into her mouth. That same day, when I was changing her nappy (as they call them here) I noticed she has cut another tooth. This one is on the top and just to her left of the middle two teeth. I was not surprised as she had been chewing predominantly on that side for some time. This whole teething thing doesn't seem to be too bad for her.



As far as actual size goes, when we were in Mumbai and she was 7 months old, I weighed her and she weighed 7 kilograms (about 15.4 pounds). That put her right in the middle of the weight curve. I wasn't able to measure her height accurately (we did compare her to Jason's feet which are about a foot and she was two and a half of those but that was pretty sketchy) while we were there though. Since coming here, we have two tape measures (you find the strangest things in furnished flats) and I tried to measure her but she was wiggly and I was alone. I think it was about 27 inches. I don't have my height growth curve though so I don't know where that puts her. I think it's near the top though.


Ever since we were in India, Anna has been able to get up on all fours. Any time she tried to move forward though she would just fall on her tummy. From there she was able to army crawl to get what she wanted. Now that she is spending more time on the floor (carpets are so much nicer than tile to play on), she has actually been able to crawl a few steps! So far, she hasn't gotten too far or go to fast (which I know will soon change) but we all get really excited about it.


So that is what Anna is up to now. She just keeps getting bigger and bigger. With Jason home more (he only goes into school 2 or 3 days a week) she is getting to like him more. Of course she still likes me best if anything is actually wrong but he is getting fun too. Often he is more interesting than eating. Naturally, people love her here too. She makes friends on the tube or the train every time we go. A friend pointed out that she is so popular because she is so responsive and happy. It's hard not to love a baby who is smiling at you with that cute smile she has. I know we sure can't stand the level of cuteness in this house.

Settling In

I feel like that last post was kind of all over the place, I hope you were able to follow it without too many problems. I guess that's what happens when I haven't blogged in a while and have a lot of things to talk about.

So we are still getting ourselves settled into our new place. The Ikea stuff has been great but we need a drill/electric screwdriver to put up some things like blinds and a coat rack. I have also been going out to get some of the other things that we need that we either didn't want to get there or they didn't have.

Yesterday I bought myself a cell phone. We got Jason one when we first got here but weren't sure about one for me. We figured that if our place had a land line phone we could just go with that. The problem is that since we are only going to be here for a short time, we can't really get into any kind of contract (this is also what is messing up with getting our Internet set up) and Jason wanted me to have a cell phone for when I go out (which I am working on doing at least once a day for all of our sakes). With cell phones, they have 'pay as you go' options which are genius. Maybe they are in the States now too and I've just been gone so long but if they aren't, they should be. My phone was only £10 and I put some money on my little card thing and I can talk at a rate per minute until the money runs out. The carrier that we chose has different animal plans which determine what features you have (like unlimited texts, unlimited night and weekends, things like that). I chose the one with the free international calls. So don't be surprised to get a call from me just to chat.

After I got it, I called Jason to let him know and make sure I remembered his number right. He was totally confused. I was talking kind of quietly and it was loud where he was and he thought I was someone else and didn't know why they would be calling him to tell him they had bought a phone. It took a minute to set him straight and then he was much more chatty.

The other two main things I want to get are a stroller and a high chair. After the airline lost our stroller going to India, we have just been using the Moby Wrap. It's been fine but now I am really ready to have a stroller again. I look longingly at all the moms with strollers. Plus, since I have to walk to go shopping, it's getting annoying carrying her, and the groceries all the way home (not that it's that far but it sure feels it). Plus, I put off buying heavy things or buying too far in advance since I know I will have to carry it home. The problem is, they don't have the exact stroller here that we had and the ones from the same company cost the same number but with a £ sign in front instead of a $. Needless to say, even with the airline paying us back we can't really do that. So I have been looking at other options.

Then with the high chair, we have been feeding Anna just in her car seat but as she gets more wiggly, it's getting harder. The other day when we were at Ikea, we used one of their high chairs and it was wonderful. We looked at buying one of theirs but they don't come with a tray. How useless is that? Again I have been wary of buying one because we have one at home in Phila but couldn't bring it with us so I wouldn't want to take whatever we buy back. I thought about asking at church if anyone has one that we could borrow but didn't. Maybe I'll ask our new friends if they know of anyone in the ward who has one. If not, there is a pregnant lady in the ward and maybe we can buy a simple one and give it to her when we leave or talk her into buying one and letting us borrow it while we are here. We'll have to see.

So those are the two things that I feel like I need to be able to move on with my life. We do need more kitchen stuff too but that hasn't taken over my thoughts quite like the baby stuff has. Amazing how this little person can be all consuming. Hopefully I'll have these things by the end of the weekend. I'll let you know.