Bella, Gabe and Josiah

We made it home! We actually made it home late Saturday night. Sunday Bella went to go visit her cousins for 10 days, so it's just been thr three of us. Jet lag is always super fun, particularly with a baby, but I think the worst of it is over. Gabe's been back at school, where he did his first finger painting. They told us that he really liked eating the paint, rather than painting with it... Also, it's been two days and his belly is still green... He's decided that it's time to walk. While we were in the UK he started taking multiple steps at once, but not consistently. Then last night he decided to start practicing. He'd go from sitting to standing (not pulling himself up), take a few steps and then fall over. Then he'd try again. He's determined! This is how he'd get stood up... Oddly enough, I have no pictures of him standing, just standing up... He's also trying to talk. He's started saying "Daddy", although sometimes he's

I need to stop and brag about my kids for a moment. They've done amazing on this trip. Gabe has been a trooper. Yes, he slept through many of the exciting things we were seeing, but other than that, he's been happy to just watch what's going on in the world around him. It wasn't until yesterday that he actually had a meltdown and that was really because he was tired. Both of our trips on the tube to and from the flat, all he could do was cry unless he was holding my hand. That worked fine, except that on every stop I'd have to let go so that people could get on and off. Then he'd start crying until the train was loaded and I could grab his hand. But other than that, he's been amazing. He can spot a dog anywhere, even if it's on a billboard or in a painting. He smiles at everyone, regardless of whether or not they're looking at him, and his curls are just as popular here as they are at home. I've seen a huge change in Bella. Sure, we still have ou

We saw the Queen! And Kate, Eugenia and Beatrice!  Today we took a train to Windsor to explore the castle. While we were there, we stopped to feed Gabe in the courtyard. While we were waiting, a whole bunch of vehicles drove by, all waiting to pick people up. We stood for awhile and watched. We saw a several people walking around, which were Beatrice, Eugenie and Kate. Then a car pulled out of the hidden car park and the Queen was in it! It was awesome!!! If Gabe hadn't been hungry at that exact moment, we would have missed it!!! This was where all of the cars were parked. All of my actual pictures of the Queen are on my good camera, which I can't post until we get home. But we saw the Queen!!! I do have a few more pictures of Windsor today... Poor Gabe was pretty wiped out today. How tired do you have to be to fall asleep with food in your mouth???              

I'm a couple of days behind on here. Oops. I'll try to catch up... Saturday we drove up to Conwy, Wales, a well preserved medieval town. Sunday we spent the day exploring.  We spent the first part of the day just   exploring the castle. Bella and I went to the Smallest House in Britain. Seriously, it was tiny. It was continuously lived it for like 300 years. We stayed at an Airbnb that had a staircase. Gabe loved it. He insisted on going up and down over and over. He got really good at it and figured out how to slide down on his belly. But it was also exhausting because there was no way to keep him off the stairs. Seriously, we tried everything to block it off. He just did this: He also decided that it's time to start walking and is now taking 5-6 steps at a time. Yesterday we drove back to London. The only noteworthy thing about yesterday was the temperature. Seriously, it was 93 degrees. In London. What is up with that??? This morning we went to Westminster Abbey. Gabe wa

One of my big concerns for this trip was where Gabe was going to sleep. I made sure to get rooms that had a large bed do that he could sleep between us, but he's so wiggly that that didn't sound like the best option. Then I found out that you can rent baby gear. I looked into it and was talking to a lady about renting a pack and play when she suddenly stopped responding. I even emailed her again to ask if it would work and didn't get a response. I'm not sure that I'd want to rent one from her anyway... Then I found out that two of the places actually had baby beds that they'd let me borrow, so the only place that was going to be an issue was Bath. I decided to just make him a bed on the floor and see how it went. Apparently the kid was exhausted because he just laid down and went right to sleep. Then at some point in the early morning, I'd hear a squalk, then the sound of little hands and knees on the floor getting closer. Then I'd feel a little hand on

So far, Europe is wonderful. Actually, I've always loved Europe and it feels so good to be back here for a while. Bella is getting quite the crash course in different cultures, whether it's trying to figure out the words that they use that are different here, or trying to figure out how to operate a different kind of toilet. Yesterday morning we went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We got there a little too late to get a good view, so we missed a lot of it. But we got to hear the band, see the guards and get sunburned. Seriously, this is London. Who gets sunburned here??? Me, apparently. Then we wandered over to Hyde Park, where Gabe got to see a bunch of ducks, geese and swans. He loves all kinds of animals, so he found these super exciting. We played in the park for awhile... ...and then went to play in Princess Diana's memorial fountain. Unfortunately for him, Gabe slept through that... From there we went to the National History Museum. Once more, Gabe