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

Early September Fruit

Fall seems to have arrived slightly early in England. The sun in shining, but the air is distinctly crisp and Isabella is back to being bundled up every time we go outside. This afternoon Isabella and I headed out to the hedgerows behind our house to forage for wild, organic blackberries. If I were to buy these in the supermarket, I would easily pay $4 for a punnet half the size of the one in the photo - which I think is a lot of money for that amount. When I did this last year, my pregnant belly kept getting stung by the nettles that are woven amongst the blackberries.

We go to Minnesota on Sunday. I'm so excited finally to be taking her to meet the rest of my family and friends from back home. I haven't been to the US since I moved to the UK over two years ago! I can't wait to go walking through the dense evergreen forests by my grandma's and take her to some of my favorite State Parks. We need to spend as much time outside as we can; I have a feeling we may be in for another dreary winter.

it's harvest time

In other news, I took Isabella to the weekly baby clinic this morning to have her measured and weighed. Though her weight remains in the 50th percentile, as always, she's actually in the 98th percentile for length (weight: 16.5lbs, length: ~28"). I think there's some conditioned thought process connected to those percentiles that makes a parent's ego inflate the higher those numbers are. Never mind that's she's a healthy, happy little baby - 50th percentile just doesn't sound as impressive as 98th! Whoo-hoo! We're doing somethin' right! Actually, it just shows that she's going to be a string-bean like her mother.

Parece que el otoño llegó temprano en Inglaterra. El sol esta brillante, pero el aire esta fresco y necesito aropar bien a Isabella cada vez que salimos. Esta tarde Isabella y yo salimos a los arbustos para buscar zarzamoras detrás de la casa – las zarzamoras son naturales y orgánicas. Si hubiese comprarlas en el supermercado, hubiese pagado, fácilmente, $4 dólares o mas para un cartón pequeño. Cuando las busque el año pasado, me inqué la barriga con las muchas ortigas que estaban tejidas por las zarzamoras. Vamos a Minnesota el domingo que viene. Estoy muy exitada con la anticipación de la visita con mi familia y amigos. Hace dos años que no voy a los EEUU. Vamos a caminar por el bosque al lado de la casa de mi abuela.. Debemos pasar mucho tiempo afuera para disfrutar del otoño allá, porque creo que tendremos un invierno feo este año. En otras noticias, yo llevé Isabella a la clínica a pesarse y medirse. Ahora pesa 16.5 libras, y mide 70cm (casi 28”).

Green Mums Article

I finally was able to find the article on "Green Mums" that the Peterborough Evening Telegraph published in early July. You can find it by clicking here. Note that Hannah Gray, the interviewer, Anglicized some of the things I said; some of my Americanisms must have thrown her...

Baby Check Ups and So Forth

We had a visit from our community midwife this morning to check on Isabella's physical and mental development. Sarah came over this morning and checked her reflexes, responses, and strength - and Isabella did very well on everything. When Sarah lifted her by her hands, Isabella stood straight up and had great neck control - Sarah said that usually doesn't happen for three more months. She also had her follow an object with her eyes and Isabella was very interested and alert (even though she was totally ready to go down for her first morning nap). She also put a baby rattle within her reach and Isabella went straight for it and grabbed the toy (a milestone we just hit yesterday!).

In other news, Isabella did a proper laugh yesterday too (it was definitely a day of firsts)! I was doing some sit-ups with her on my knees (don't be too impressed - another first) and she thought that was just the most hilarious thing in the world. I tried to catch it on tape but it didn't go so well once the film started rolling.

Tomorrow we have her next set of vaccinations. I'm hoping that goes as well as it did last time!