Madrid

We're back and due to massive public outcry I will add photos from Madrid. Pedro's mom and dad arrived here two weeks ago, and one week later we were in Spain. So it has been a busy month for us. We've really been racking up the frequent flyer miles, but I have to say that I'm not looking forward to flying anytime soon. We had a terrible flight into Madrid, with the worst turbulence I can remember and I almost lost my lunch - though I've never even come close to having air sickness. Needless to say, we arrived safely there and came safely home.

a bizarre yet highly entertaining street show

The trip itself was fabulous - Spain is my absolute favorite country to visit. The food...the wine...the SUN. We ate rich food for absolutely every meal - manchego, jamón bellota, patatas bravas, olives, and Rioja with everything - red and white. Now that we're back, it's muesli and oatmeal until the cravings come back.

Plaza Mayor with baby Marilyn

Pedro had to work for half of the trip, and while he was busy doing his thing, the abuelos and I explored. We ate lots of ice cream, walked around in the dusty construction obstructed streets (horrible!), spent half a day in the Parque del Buen Retiro (amazing), and visited a photography exhibit called Años 70 - some really awesome photos from the 70's. We also saw all the major museums in the city (the Prado, Reina Sophia, and Thyssen-Bornemisza), though we didn't exactly plan the trip around museums, it just sort of happened that way. Isabella had at least one major freak out in each museum - the Prado being the worst. Her shrieks were emphasized by the cavernous marble interior - I was that person everyone looks on with pity. She wanted to run free, but I drew the line when an old man tripped on her, causing her to fall and almost falling himself. At least she was mostly fine in the airplane.

the Parque where we had a Buen Retiro

Our last two nights there were date nights - the first since Isabella was born. The abuelos watched Isabella while we went out until late. The first night was just dinner, and the second night we went to a flamenco show. I told Pedro I could live in the bottom of a glass of Rioja if set on a table in a flamenco tablao - what trumps Spanish guitar and emotional dancing?

Que Bella

Late Spring Bliss

Since Isabella was about 4 months old she has LOVED to have a sheet, towel, or any type of fabric tickling her face. As you can see, she hasn't changed much.

These photos were taken this weekend. We had a great Memorial Day and spent the time mostly outside - filled up the kiddie pool and Pedro and Isabella got to swim in the warm weather. Our fun was punctuated by Isabella's bouts with diarrhea. Over the last few days it has gotten worse and the poor thing was a mess a few nights ago. I took her to the doctor yesterday and got a prescription for some electrolyte syrup and she seems to be recovering. But other than that one grizzly night, she has been been acting totally normal and happy throughout.

I'm in the process of getting a new camera as my current one is slowly going kaput. I'm hoping to trade up from my KodakEasyShare point-and-shoot to some sort of fancy Nikon SLR - so when that happens, stay tuned for better shots!

Washington D.C.

at the Museum of Natural History - a place where hordes of children run free and happy

Jefferson Memorial - she loves wide open marbled spaces

taken as the wind carried her buggy down the steps,
to the horror of onlookers who thought a baby was inside

being a good girl at the mall

running around the Smithsonian

We're home from DC, and I have to say that the trip was worth the hassle. Armed with canisters of WetOnes and sanitizing gel to disinfect every surface possible, we boarded the flight to DC and landed back in the US over 8 hours later. The flight was uneventful if you don't count the chaos of the first hour. Isabella's disposable diaper leaked horribly on my lap (her cloth diapers have never been so unpredictable as that) and she and I got to spend the rest of the flight covered in pee because I didn't have extra clothes in my carry-on (she had extra tops, of course, but I forgot the pants - classic!) . Almost immediately afterward, Pedro spilled his coke on himself. Isabella wasn't a happy camper that first hour, but once it was over, she was fine for the rest of the flight. The return flight home was okay too, but next time I will seriously consider getting her a seat of her own because she's a very big girl to hold in a prone sleeping position for 6 hours.

While in DC we stayed at a nice hotel with a pool. The hotel was directly connected to a mall. After living in the UK for three years, I start to forget the magnitude of American malls. How ever do you cope with so much choice? Other than shopping, we swam, we toured the Smithsonian, visited some excellent monuments, and ate the gamut of culinary cuisine from Lebanese to Japanese. This week I'm putting us back on a reasonable diet of normal calorie intake. An interesting an unexpected result of having a jet lagged baby is that Isabella is sleeping more than ever - she slept for a record 14 hours yesterday and 13 last night, plus she's still having two naps. I'm hoping it sticks through the long weekend! More photos to follow in the sidebar.

Happy Mother's Day

The day started at about 6:30a.m. when Isabella rose to holler at the morning. The sun was already bright in the sky and Pedro brought her to our bed where she stayed until she could no longer resist the call to play. I got to spend two more glorious hours sleeping in (it's hard to remember the day when sleeping in till 9a.m. wasn't a thing to be happy about). From there, Pedro cooked me breakfast (a Spanish bocadillo with great coffee), he mowed the lawn, and he cleaned the kitchen. We had lunch at the King's Arms pub in Polebrook, then we visited some of our friends who live near that village. It was a really nice, relaxing day. I love being a mom.



I hope all of the wonderful mom's in our life had as good a mother's day as me. Happy Mother's Day to you all. XOXO

(new photos have been added to the album on the left - just click on the image to get a slideshow)


.

May Madness

Isabella is almost 15 months now (next week). The list of things she is learning to do is getting ever longer. We are about to make a short trip to Washington D.C. to accompany Pedro on a 5-day business trip (we all have tickets, but the swine flu is making us reconsider...). Anyway, Pedro was remarking on how this is going to be her first trip as a really conscious little person who can communicate beyond a cry and can physically do more that sit unaided. It’s going to be interesting.

Today, Isabella spent the morning whining and driving Pedro crazy as he attempted to entertain her before work, while letting me get a few more minutes of sleep. When I ended up putting her down for a nap earlier than usual, she immediately fell asleep on my shoulder while I sang (it has been a while since she has done this). Then, as I was leaving the room, she woke up one more time to pucker her lips and demand a kiss, “Mmmmm!” Speaking of kisses, her latest passion is the butterfly kiss and she has been known to unexpectedly mash her lips into my eye. She is such a cuddly, affectionate, arm rubbing, leg hugging little bitty!

The weather in England has gotten absolutely beautiful. I got my organic veggie box today and it looked so pretty I thought I would include it in this post, since I don’t have any new photos of Isabella. I'm thinking rhubarb crisp tonight. I'm looking forward to summer more than ever!

One Day, She'll Hate Me for This....

14 Months

stunning, sunny day today!

independent woman

loving her Easter basket

and carrying it everywhere

Isabella turned 14 months old last week. Every day she becomes less and less babyish and more and more like a proper little girl. Each day is filled with such a growing list of accomplishments that it would be silly to list them all now. In the car this afternoon, just as we were about to pull out of the driveway, I turned around and looked at Isabella. She looked right back at me with such a sense of self that it awed me as much as took me aback - she's getting so big! Dare I say, growing up?

Our new backyard is perfect for her to run around freely in, and today we spent almost three hours playing outside in the beautiful weather. Inevitably, as we get back into the house, she turns to her next favorite thing: books. I'm at the point where I have them all memorized and can recite them to her when we're in the car and she starts fussing. I picked up a few new ones from the charity shop today and am looking forward to mixing things up. I welcome any title suggestions of books that might appeal to both toddler and adult!

Home Sweet Home

We're back online, and as I type this I'm sitting on the floor getting a backache while I hunch over my laptop. So it is with moving. But our new joint has tons more space and is almost palacial compared to our old cottage/townhouse/terracehouse/apartment. Our move was a mere seven miles but the perks are fabulous - we've lost the pig smell from the farm two doors down and I still get my organic vegbox delivered on the same day as before.

A quick update: We had a great Easter with Jessi and her family. Isabella has six teeth now! She also now says "thirsty" and "thank you" - though I think I'm the only one who can decipher the words. The dogs are happier than ever. And we've been working hard every day and night to make this house look like we live here. We've made astounding progress and are almost ready for a housewarming party.

As always, pics to follow soon.

New home

We moved into our new house last week! I didn't want to say too much leading up to the move because it seemed like every time talked about big plans, they didn't seem to happen (i.e. Italy!). We don't have our internet set up because there have been many problems with our old router - it may be another week before we are online. I'll post Easter pics as soon as we're back on!

Teeth

Here comes tooth #5! Each tooth has taken its time to come down, and up until about two weeks ago she looked like a little jack-o-lantern with only one chicklet-sized toother on top. Now, they suddenly seem to be coming faster and I see several more spots where teeth are probably soon to make an appearance.

With the teeth comes an aversion to spoon-feeding. She only wants finger food - little sandwiches, string cheese (a favorite!), and fruit, as you see above.

She almost ate that whole pear before it was squished into the plush carpet of that pub. We leave a trail and a big tip in our wake!

Cornwall Trip

We are back from my birthday trip down to Cornwall, in southern England. It's almost a six hour drive from where we live, but it was well worth it. We brought the dogs and packed our jalopy to the rails with our junk, but still could have brought more. We rented a small cottage in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, but managed to be close enough to everything we wanted to see.

We did hikes along the coast and in the countryside, but our favorite walk was from Talland Bay to the fishing village of Polperro. It's not tourist season yet so we got to experience gorgeous weather and beautiful beaches with hardly anyone around.

We made the essential pilgrimage to the Eden Project (click here to visit their website). It was amazing. We actually felt like we were back in Puerto Rico's El Yunque when we were in their huge rainforest biome. I think we were literally the last people to leave. I can't wait to go back some day.

Isabella loved exploring the new territory and as always, she loved being out and about with opportunities to flirt with every stranger who walks by. Her latest thing is throwing a fit when we don't let her walk. Once we put her down again, she resumes singing the song from where she left off and continues on her merry, wobbly way.

The daffodils are everywhere now, the photo you see above was actually taken near home. Their yellow is so bright that you can't even see the detail of the flowers themselves. Isabella enjoyed smelling the perfume-free blossoms.

Overall, we had a great time. England is such a beautiful country and we're very lucky to live here!

Isa Dogs 13 mo funny

13 Months

There isn't any real point to this video, but I love it because I captured one of the many daily moments in which Isabella just sits and examines something. It's a little thing but I'm glad I don't have to miss out on it while being at work.

A Good Day

I'd like to put up a really positive post. Isabella has been developing by leaps and bounds - she's walking now, she's somewhat talking, and she's using sign language. She's been able to say dog, bird, baby, and can make signs for bird, baby, all done, poopy, more, and hello. Dog comes out like "daaaaahhhhh", bird "biirrhh", and baby is "baybay." Bird was her first sign, even though it's a bit more complicated than others. I wasn't sure if she really knew the sign corresponded to the animal, but when a huge hawk flew over us she pointed to it and then made the sign - I was blown away! Like most babies, she's really interested in learning everything and pays close attention when I'm trying to teach her something. I have a lot of videos I have yet to upload and share and will try to put a few more up here as I can. For now, please enjoy this video of Isabella walking on this bright, sunny, English morning.

Hold Your Little One Tight

Last week we had a terrible tragedy in our village. My neighbor lost her little boy, Harry, who was only two months older than Isabella. They just played together at a birthday party a few weeks ago. He had an problem with his heart they didn't know about. I don't feel right saying much more than that. But for whatever it is worth, please send your prayers to our little corner of the globe.

Happy 1st Birthday, Isabella!

Today is Isabella's first birthday, and as I said before, a momentous occasion for me. I have been overwhelmed with nostalia about this last year and the labor that led up to it all. In honor of the day, I am posting a video. This video clearly demonstrates why Jess is my best friend. I hope you enjoy it as much a we did.

Isabella's Birthday Party

I made sock-it-to-me cake filled with vanilla pudding

Isabella's birthday party was yesterday, and we had a great time. Pedro arrived a little late with sleepy-eyed birthday girl

After all the planning and prep work we did, the party flew by in what felt like less than an hour! The birthday girl arrived almost an hour late because she refused to take a morning nap and we knew that she wouldn't be able to cope for the duration of the party if she didn't sleep for at least a couple of hours. We had a great turnout - about 25 people came, including kids.


We didn't get too many photos since we were so busy visiting everyone and playing with the kids, but I'm hoping to get more photos from our friends who had cameras there. I will be posting video soon, too.

singing her first 'happy birthday'

We rented out a local village hall so we would have lots of space for the kids to run around. I laid down foam playmats and dumped out bags of balls and blocks to supplement all the toys my friends brought to share. We had a buffet table with sherbet punch, beer, and pink champagne. There was also fingerfood like sandwiches with herbed goat cheese, hummus with pita, pasta salad, and crudites with other homemade dips.

Isabella loved the sandwiches, which are her new favorite food, because she can hold them in her hands and take bites - it's the cutest thing. Of course, I think the cake trumped the sandwich. On the tables I scattered blowouts (noisemakers?) and hershey's kisses between pink and yellow tulips from the farmer's market.

Tomorrow is Isabella's actual birthday. Pedro has to work, so I was thinking of taking her back to Fun Zone. She's teething again, with the second top inscisor breaking through, so the last couple of nights haven't been very fun for her (or us). I'll try to get more pics up soon!

Plans and Parties

It's been a busy couple of weeks. From last Thursday, we've been battling snow and ice. It got so bad that the country pretty much ran out of grit to cover even the main roads - forget about windy country roads like ours. It was pandemonium - people couldn't get to work, people got into accidents, Pedro got stranded. He even had to miss two days of work because he simply couldn't get there. It was crazy - and I come from northern Minnesota, the land of lots of snow, and lots of ice. Today, the ice began to melt and things started to feel a little normal. Now, as I type this, the snow is falling again in fast, wet gobs that threaten to derail everything again tomorrow. Some areas are predicted to get another 15cm. By Wednesday, at least, we are supposed to receive truckloads of grit brought in from Spain to replenish our stores.

Before all this went down, we managed to get a bit further with our house-hunting by narrowing our focus onto another house. We are waiting to hear back from the landlord when we can move in. After what happened with Italy, you won't catch me holding my breath for anything.

On Saturday, Isabella and I attended the 1st birthday party of little William. His mother, Anna, and I live just at opposite ends of the village. We were pregnant together and randomly were "set up" by our health visitor/midwife. We hit it off right away and spent the remainder of our pregnancies commiserating, going to baby groups, and walking up and down the village trying to move things along. She was due one week after me, so imagine my surprise when I walked past her house one evening as she was coming home from the hospital, post-partum. She held up her hands and shouted, "I've done it!" I was approaching my due date and was extremely envious that she had beaten me to the punch. But I guess babies come when they're ready, or your body is ready, and not a day sooner.

So now it's time for Isabella's first birthday. It's set for next Sunday and I have been excited about it for months now. To me, it's just such a big deal. A very first birthday for my very first child. And based on her reaction to Will's party, I think she'll have a blast.

Snow II

this little redhead needs her sunglasses

licking the snow