A little something to hold you over

Here is a video of Hoyer crawling, falling and checking himself out in the mirror. He is obviously feeling better. Hope this holds you over ( GG and Nan) until we get home and you can have your sweet grandson in your arms.

Bon Voyage and Anchors Away

Car booked to pick us up and take us to airport- Check
4 checked bags, 3 carry ons, stroller and baby carrier- Check
Formula, food, bibs, blankets, toys, diapers...Check, Check, Check
So much baby stuff I think we may sink the ship, including a small inflatable baby pool- Check
Hoyer's meds-Check
Lots of hand sanitizer-Check
Kyle's Panama hat- Check
Books to read during down time (ha!) -Check
Flip Flops and bathing suits- Check
Camera and battery and charger and memory card- Check
Email access to update the blog while at sea-Check
Passports, tickets etc.- Check

We leave soosoooooooo early Tuesday morning for our Black Sea cruise. Wish you all could come along!

What sound does a pig make?

Oink Oink. We have been practicing this one with Hoyer recently. Hoyer came down with something terrible and after a visit to the A&E (Accident and Emergency, AKA the ER) Saturday morning we were quarantined in isolation at Chelsea Westminster Hospital (where Hoyer was born) for fear of the swine flu. Poor baby! Luckily, it was not the swine flu, it was and is, tonsillitis. Poor baby.
He had high fever, I am a pro at converting Celsius to Fahrenheit now by the way, and wasn't acting himself on Friday afternoon. I thought he felt warm at lunch with Megan, Raina and Rocco and when we got home he did not protest being left in his stroller while I ran around the flat. I was able to get late afternoon appointment with our GP that day. Thanks NHS. Hoyer got worse that night and as suggested by our GP we headed into the A&E early Saturday morning. The hospitals here are so easy. No hassle at all! I walked in, told them Hoyer's details and symptoms and we went straight back to see the doctor( who put us in isolation!). The doctor was surprised Hoyer could get any fluids down, he had a terrible sore throat and even a bit of an infection back there. Poor baby!
He got penicillin and is recovering fast. It is so horrible to see him cough and scrunch up his little face to swallow. But the medicine is working!!!!!! He is feeling so much better, fever down, throat clearing up. We were scared this would stop us from going on our fabulous cruise, but thanks to Sir Alexander Fleming, we are still able to go. We were sad that Hoyer missed Raina's 2nd birthday party on Saturday, but we just couldn't take a chance to get the other kids sick, and Hoyer mostly slept all day anyway. He has been getting special treats like apple juice to keep his fluids up and rice cakes, just because he loves them.

Packing Our Life Away

I think Kyle is in denial about the move back to the States. We leave for our cruise in a few days and when we get back, we are only in London for 3 weeks more. I cannot believe how fast times has flown! I have been packing like a mad woman and selling anything I can online. I have been successful so far and every time something sells, Kyle says, "How are we going to live without that?" (bookcase, baskets that hold all of our toiletries etc.) I have to remind him that we are MOVING home! It is tough to pack up our life here, tough to say goodbye to all the things that have meaning and a feeling behind each one, but in the end it is mostly from IKEA and well, we dont have room! Yes it is true that Hoyer will only have a select choice of toys for a while, but lets face it, he prefers the remote or my keys more than anything else.

the curious case of the missing baby food...

I went to a floral class last night at Whole Foods ( AKA my county club) and made a beautiful bouquet, it was a blast. In preparation for being away, I made a load of baby food for Hoyer's dinner and had it all organized in little containers in the fridge. Free range organic turkey, baked with organic olive oil and baked organic zucchini, all put into the food processor for bite size bits.
When I got home I took an inventory as to what Hoyer had eaten and I was so surprised about the amount of food he ate, but then I looked in the fridge and saw Kyle's dinner ( pizza and soup) untouched. Kyle had eaten Hoyer's baby food. Hoyer ate old pasta. Oh well. Don't sweat the small stuff, right?

Nap Time

Ahhh. Hoyer is sleeping in his crib, taking a long nap. He hasn't been a big fan of his crib lately, he would rather be on my shoulder or in bed with me. I am having to let him cry it out a bit and it breaks my heart, but it seems to be working. Night time is tough, but I just calm him down and put him back in. Last night I had to do it 3 times, it seems once he relizes he is in his crib, he gets mad! He is not hungry, just wants to be with me...or Kyle, anywhere but the crib. (I cant really let him cry too long in the middle of the night, cause we have neighbors above , below and on both sides!) What works?? Suggestions?? Leave a comment and let me know!

Daddy's Home!

Hoyer is happy cause Kyle is home! He got in this morning and Hoyer lit up. He missed him so much. Kyle is recovering from jet lag and went to Mummy's Morning with us at Whole Foods, he and Hoyer are now enjoying nap time...

Cruise Count Down! Take a look at where we are going next week! We are so excited!

Day	Port	Arrive	Depart
Tue	Athens (Piraeus)	-	6:00 PM
Wed	Iraklion	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Thu	Rhodes	7:00 AM	4:00 PM
Fri	Ephesus (Izmir)	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Sat	Cruise The Bosphorus	-	-
Sun	Yalta	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Mon	Odessa	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Tue	Constanta	8:00 AM	8:00 PM
Wed	Varna	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Thu	Istanbul	8:00 AM	Overnight
Fri	Istanbul	Disembark	-

Stand Tall

So, Hoyer has officially become a little boy! He is into everything, want to walk so badly! He is 7 months old now and is pulling up on everything he can reach. Let the fun begin!






This is how I found Hoyer after his nap today....

Bye Bye Dada, Hello Packing!

Kyle left this morning for Alabama. He is going to have meetings with Birmingham KPMG. Kyle has been assigned to a job in Miami for Nov-February, so it was important to see the partners in Alabama before he heads down to Florida. Hoyer and I will be on our own this week and weekend, Kyle gets back on Monday. While he is home, Kyle is going to check on our house, get our bikes up and working and add a babyseat to mine so Hoyer can enjoy a ride too.
Hoyer and I have had a busy day so far...dropping off donations to the Blind Store, we have lots to give away! Kyle took 3 suitcases back to Alabama full of out things, to hopefully lighten the load and the cost to get the rest home in November. So, we are officially taking stock of everything, donating a ton, selling what we can and packing the rest to come home. We moved to London with 2 checked bags each and 2 carryons. We were such a sight, dressed in winter coats and sweaters and boots, we got it all here! Now, we have to get it all back plus 2 years of more stuff and a baby. I have to say we have done well, not purchasing too many items, but we will not be able to make it back with only suitcases, Hoyer adds a lot to the equation! So we will be shipping some items home, like our Vanity Fair Buisness Men prints, our photos and other prints we bought.

Fall Yall ( is there a theme here?...Alabama here we come!)

Fall has begin in London and we are loving the cooler weather. It feels so good. Here he is in the warmest outfit ever! Daddy was taking him out in the Bjourn last night. (thanks great mac for the fleece!) Hoyer is much happier in cooler weather than the warm weather, but tough luck, cause Alabama here we come.

Standing Tall Yall

Hoyer is now a monster! He is standing, well, pulling up on anything he can (door frames, chairs, washing machines, my leg, his crib) and although he has not perfected crawling, this seems to be much more dangerous, more than I anticipated. He has taken a few spills and Kyle and I have learned our lesson and can't take our eyes off of him at all, the little monster!

In other news, Hoyer likes to choose his toys these days...


And here is the finished product from Father's day!

This is to remind you
When I have grown so tall,
That once I was quite little
And my hands were very small.

Thames Festival

We spent yesterday afternoon and evening at the Thames Festival. It was so much fun! We took the tube from High Street Kensington to St. Pauls and walked across the millennium bridge to the south bank where the festival lined the river from the Tate Modern all the way to Tower Bridge. The entire Southwark bridge was turned into a cafe with tables and center pieces where you could eat the food from the vendor selling the river and bridge. We all enjoyed some butternut squash soup with bread, perfect on the chilly Autumn night. It was the beginning of fall here, with pumpkins, hay and a harvest feeling all around. Bands were dotted across the festival too, Hoyer had fun dancing in the bjourn, wiggling his feet and smiling at everyone! The Tate Modern had incredible exhibits, including the fire above. I bought Hoyer a jumper and a necklace for me! We had so much fun, it really felt like a community out there, everyone was happy and in a good mood, the weather was perfect. Oh how we will miss London!

Videos

he crawls and he sits..he gets into dangerous things like pillows and cell phone charger wires...he blogs and he watches ESPN America with Daddy

Big Foot Lives

It is official, I have the biggest feet ever. After having Hoyer my foot size grew an entire size, but just the right one...I now wear a size 11 running shoe! Oh the joys of having a baby.
I went to a running store in London, appropriately called London Running Shoes and had a complete running analysis done to examine my feet and find the proper shoes. After trying on 7 pairs, they video taped me (from the knee down, thank God!) running on a treadmill in the store. I have a great new pair of shoes now, which feel amazing, like walking on air! My buggyfit teacher will be so pleased, she saw the state of my old shoes and sent me off for new ones, good thing she did, or I might have never known just how much my feet or foot grew!

Nothing much to report

We are just enjoying our time (whats left of it) in London. We have been to museums and plays, just soaking it all in. We leave for our Black Sea Cruise at the end of Sept- Kyle will be in the US for a few days this month for work meeting..What should I get up to while he is away?

off to the park

One of my favorite things about London is the parks. Luckily we live just a block away from the best. Today Hoyer has a play date with Jackson at the playground inside Kensington Gardens. This is no ordinary playground though, there is a huge pirate ship, water features, sand galore, swings, birds in cages- it is Treasure Island meets Peter Pan...
Emily, Jackson's mom is from Alabama too and Jackson is a year older than Hoyer-so we get lots of hand-me-down clothes from them and it is awesome! Hoyer will be sporting a complete Jackson ensemble today!

Bye Bye and Hi

Hoyer has learned his first trick! He waves bye bye and hi! It is more of a wave of the entire arm, but he does it! He loves to say Hi and Bye to people on the bus! This morning on our way to Buggy Bootcamp in Hyde Park, he was waving hello and bye to everyone who passed. Is it just me or is my child brilliant? I will try to video him soon and put it up here- Next is clapping!
I have also just started to so a bit of baby sign language with him, we have a little book and are working on Milk, More and Sleep right now.

Going out!

Kyle and I have called in our sitter for Saturday night and we are going to see Oliver! I am thrilled! We have not had a night out in a long time! We are going to the Portrait Gallery roof top restaurant for drinks before. A much needed night out!