Saturday 31 January 2009

In England, We Stay

Just a quick post to let you all know that after a huge hassle and a lot of going back and forth we will not be moving to Naples after all. Pedro's company decided not to move forward with the transfer. Because it was a difficult decision for us (me) to come to terms with in the first place, his company's surprising change of heart was not received with much joy here. So after all that, we have decided to move into a new house here in England. Our landlord already has the TO LET (For rent) sign posted against our house following our first announcement. SO, barring any other unexpected turns of events, we're hoping to find a more spacious spread to spend our remaining time here. We've been house hunting since before the original job announcement and there are a few promising spots we're considering. We'll keep you all posted.

Saturday 24 January 2009

Our 11 Month Old


I read a few parenting blogs and I'm often touched and amazed to see what parents of children at different ages are going through. This evening, after reading a post from one of them on the perfect age, I was inspired to write a post myself. We've had a lot of difficult nights, and unfortunately, Isabella has never been one of those babies who consistently sleeps through the night for twelve hours or more (last night was another winner--read my sarcasm here). But even when I've had a rough night or a particularly hard day, I constantly find myself in love with Isabella's current age. At first I thought three months was the cutest age, then four, then five...you get the idea. But now, because she is able to roughly communicate back to us, there is an added richness to things we do together which leads me to think that this must be the perfect age.


Each day she gets a bit closer to walking - but her urge to be a part of everything at once inevitably leads to her dropping to her knees and crawling head-down (for speed) to the next most interesting thing. Of course, this usually tends to be mama, the incredible human jungle gym. She loves playing hide-n-seek and getting chased - she'll even bait me into tickling her. And when Pedro and I finally put her to bed for the night, we spend a good bit of our quiet time laughing and reliving the shenanigans she pulled during the day.

Saturday 17 January 2009

We Have Decided !


Family and friends, we have decided to take on this opportunity and accept the job in Naples. We are grateful for our time in the UK but we are ready for our next adventure. It was a tough decision--especially for April--so for those of you that gave us your input on the matter we say thank you. The reporting date is March 1, but we are not sure yet as to when we will be leaving, so we will keep you updated. A piu tardi!

Pedro, April, and Isabella

Thursday 15 January 2009

Moving to Italy?

This seems incredibly sudden, but it just is. We just found out that Pedro has a very serious job offer in Naples, Italy. The job begins on 1 March. My first instinct is 'no way!' - but it's a very good opportunity in many ways. Oddly enough, we found out about the job on the very day we were out house hunting here for a slightly bigger place. So far, all of my friends here think I should go - I'm not sure what that says about me and my friends! I love living here in England but maybe it is time...

Monday 5 January 2009

Christmas and New Year's - Late Edition

late Christmas morning

Hello everyone! I finally found my camera so I thought I would upload some photos from the holidays and get everyone updated. We had a wonderful first Christmas with Isabella. We slept in on Christmas morning and opened presents during the afternoon following a delicious brunch. By then, Isabella was already on her way to nap time so she wasn't as excited about ripping the wrapping paper as I thought she would be. So I basically wrapped all of her presents, only to unwrap them myself just a few days later. She got tired out after only two presents. The dolls were a hit though - both the one that I made and the one from Pedro's parents. Later on Christmas Day we had a wonderful dinner at the Ebarb's house.

New Year's was spent with a quiet night at home - after Isabella went to bed, we opened up a bottle of champagne and watched the London firework display on tv. It's been a tumultuous year for a lot of our family and friends - God knows we had some real downers with the chaos that dragged on and on with our old home. But mostly, we were very blessed this year. This post has more of a Thankgiving feel to it, but there is no time like the present to really feel thankful. With that, I'd like to share my top ten bits of gratefuflness:
  1. Our first child, Isabella, was born safely into this world and I managed to get out of a somewhat traumatic labor just fine.
  2. Pedro's parents kept vigil while I went slightly over my due date and were an endless source of help to us in those first few weeks of having a newborn.
  3. My mom was finally able to travel here when Isabella was 3 months old, this also being her first trip to Europe!
  4. We ourselves were able to travel abroad to visit the rest of our family in both Minnesota and Puerto Rico, as well as detours to Italy, France, and Croatia - for business AND pleasure.
  5. We had some sunshine in England this past summer!
  6. We sold our house amid a virulent housing crisis and came out okay.
  7. Jessi, the closest thing I've ever had to a sister, moved nearby, bringing many things full circle for me....and....
  8. Her husband came home safely from yet another tour in Iraq...and...
  9. She's pregnant!
  10. AND............Obama won!

So as 2009 gets off to a hopeful start, I hope that all of you out there experience many blessings in your lives during the coming months. We wish you all good health and happiness.


Jessi and Isabella - nothing says celebrate! like velvet