Calum's 1st Christmas

With over two busy weeks to cover, I don't even know where to start! Here are a few highlights:

*My Mom was here to visit from Dec 16th-23rd. Despite not knowing if she would be able to get home due to planned BA strikes, all worked out and it was SO nice to have her. Every day we were busy being tourists and celebrating Christmas early. I will post pics in my next post.

*We had snow! The night of Dec. 17th we had about 8 inches of snow, Calum's first. It made everything seem more Christmas-y and was nice for my Mom to see. Things pretty much resumed as normal thanks to the awesome bus, train and tube network so we were able to go about all the things we had planned with a beautiful backdrop. Nothing beats Xmas shopping on Oxford Street with big snowflakes falling!

All bundled up

Checking out the snow

*We took Calum to see Santa. Here in the UK Santa lives in a grotto so the backdrop is a little different then what I am used to at home. I have to say, it was a bit of a let down since all we did was plop Calum in Santa's lap, have the picture taken and leave. Calum didn't cry though, Santa said he was the only baby that day who didn't!

Getting ready to go see Santa (and not too happy about the reindeer sweater!)

*Ever the attention seeker, Calum has realised that being in front of the camera is his time to shine. This is great since most of his pictures from the last month or two show him with a doe in the headlights look, mouth opened.

Posing for the camera

*Christmas dinner at our house with the Verghese family went off without a hitch or any family arguments! It was nice to have it in our house but even nicer to go to Mark's Mum's and Paul and Rachel's for Boxing Day and have a bit of a break!

Boxing Day

*Calum got spoiled rotten! I think the highlight was the rocking horse my Mom got him, but he also got some really great toys from the rest of the family. Our house now looks like a daycare but Calum is happy and has lots to entertain him and keep him busy.

Checking out one of his new toys

First time on his new rocking horse

*Mark is off work until January 4th so we have lots more time together before life goes back to normal. Here in the UK most businesses close from Christmas Eve until after the New Year which is sooo nice. Come January things are going to be busy, I've got a meeting with my MD on the 13th to talk about going back to my old job in London and have some serious decisions to make. Either way I'm going to be working again soon so I'm going to cherish every minute I have with Calum before I have to go back.

Christmas was just so special this year with Calum, I really look forward to seeing him as he gets older when he can understand a bit more about what's going on. I think more than ever this holiday made me realise how much our little threesome means to me and how lucky we are to have each other. Take away all of the gifts and we have something more special then any amount of money in the world can buy. Hope you all had a great holiday x

Sneaking up on us...

That's exactly what Christmas has done this year, it's snuck up on us and I feel far from ready! Tomorrow if all goes to plan (British Airways has announced a massive cabin crew strike), my Mom arrives to stay with us for a week before we host Christmas dinner for Mark's family and then celebrate Boxing Day. The week with my Mom is going to fly by, I've got lots planned and can't wait to show her London at Christmas, it's truly magical.

In the two weeks (!) since I last blogged we've had some good news... The offer on our house has been accepted and if all goes to plan we should be moving late March. Of course there is still so much that can happen between now and then, I'm trying desperately not to get my hopes up-the house just feels right and every day I imagine what it will be like living there.

We managed to make it to mass last Sunday and went to London to visit Mark's Dad's grave, the 13th marked 22 years since he passed away. I think he would be so proud of his family, it was nice to have us all there and to see how it's growing. Mark's sister Tracey will probably be okay with me sharing the news that she's 14 weeks pregnant. She's looking great and Calum is going to be lucky to have a little cousin so close in age.

Speaking of Calum, what a little charachter he has turned into the past couple of weeks. He is a very loud and boisterous little boy, he is constantly vocalising how he is feeling and has given me a fair few headaches screaming at the top of his lungs. His desire to be the center of attention has only gotten stronger and he now gets excited at the prospect of going out I think purely for the opportunity to make more friends with strangers we meet out and about. He also seems to love the cold weather (9:2 odds of a white Christmas in London!) and gets excited when the wind blows when we go outside, its pretty cute and I'm just loving the stage he's at now-I wish I could freeze time and he could stay like this a little longer.

Here are a few photos from Calum's 8 mo pics (we had them done a little early, he's not 8 mos until Christmas Eve). Have a great week x

Christmas comes early

Even before Calum was born Mark and I told ourselves that we weren't going to spoil him. Who were we kidding?! This past weekend we went Christmas shopping for Calum (which was about as much fun as Christmas itself) and what did we do?! We spoiled him rotten!

Calum was 7 months old last week so he's just at that age where he's having fun with toys which makes him easy to buy for. The first gift we bought was an AquaPod since he's kind of outgrown his baby bath seat. We thought we should use this now since he's really been wanting to sit up in the bath and play with his toys. He LOVED it!

We also got Calum this inflatable support chair which is perfect for him right now since all he wants to do is sit up. He's had a few accidents on the hard wood floors in the kitchen so this has already been a great toy for him and would have been a shame to leave wrapped until X-mas. Besides, Mark and I told ourselves it's not like he's going to know how many presents he actually got on X-mas, right?!

Last but not least we got Calum a ridiculous onesie sweater with reindeer on it to wear on X-mas, watch this space for funny photos of him in it. Poor baby!

Otherwise we've just been getting into the spirit and preparing for my Mom's visit in two weeks. Last weekend Mark and I went on a much needed date; we went to see New Moon and Mark almost died when he realised he was one of only about three guys in the entire (packed) theatre. It only got worse when the girls screamed every time Jacob appeared on screen with no top on!

This weekend we're going to get our tree, take Calum to see Santa and then on Sunday we're going to this food show that we went to last year with Paul and Rachel where we got to meet Gordon Ramsay. This week we sit on pins and needles waiting to find out if our offer will be accepted on this house: http://www.savills.co.uk/residentialsearch/propertydetail.aspx?pID=265209. Wish us luck and have a great week!

Me (preggo) last year with Gordon

Count Dracula

I just bought this from Amazon:

Poor little Calum was born with not one but two cow licks at the front of his hair line, giving him what is commonly known as a "widows peak"; more or less Count Dracula hair. The massive amounts of fuzzy blond hair that he's grown over the past couple of months on his not so small noggin hasn't really helped matters.

Just in time for his X-mas photos next week, we thought we would buy him some baby gel to help tame the mane. Yes, if we were at all worried about his slightly gay tendencies, this is certainly going to help push him into at least metrosexuality at the tender age of 7 mos. Oh well, at least he will take after his Dad ;).

What are you trying to say about my hair, Mom?

Welcome to heaven, Calum!

Today was Calum's Christening, something which was probably a bit overdue since in the Catholic faith the belief is that if a baby isn't Christened they still have the devil inside of them and if they die without being Christened, they won't go to heaven. We're a bit behind schedule because we weren't really sure if we were going to be able to do it in the fairly strict Catholic church over here since I'm not Catholic, but lucky for us the Father at our new church is a fairly understanding one (saves us a trip to Ireland where they are a bit more relaxed!).

Lucky for us (or not so lucky!), today was the full Roman mass which meant much of the mass before the Christening was in Latin and I couldn't understand anything that was going on. Regardless, it's still been interesting learning about Mark's upbringing since he was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school until he was 16. The Christening ceremony itself was quite touching in that it recognises the importance of godparents and the impact they have on the baby's life (both spiritual and practical) moving forward. Paul and Rachel along with Tracey are Calum's godparents, I think he's pretty lucky to have them and already they have given him lots of love and support and will continue to do so for the rest of his life.

In addition to introducing Calum to something which is important to Mark, and to our local community, we are also potentially helping Calum with his education as some of the best schools in England are the Catholic schools and even at such a young age you really have to start thinking about things like this due to the massive over crowding in England's schools. Of course there is that bit of me who hopes that by the time Calum is of school age we won't be in England anymore, but none the less best to have a back up plan I guess!

Have a great week x

Calum with his godparents

My little Oliver Twist

Looking like a rapper with his new bling, a cross necklace Paul & Rachel brought back from Egypt

Max asleep on the pews, the church was built in 1853 for Napolean the III's funeral and these are the original pews!

Growing up....

As I write this post Calum is blissfully sleeping in his crib ("cot").... Not a big deal for most babies but this is the first time he's slept in his room for his naps since he was a little baby and I have to say, why haven't I been doing this all along?! This morning I was able to bang around downstairs doing laundry and getting ready and I didn't have to tip toe around like usual. Most importantly, I don't have to worry about him rolling off the couch (where he normally sleeps for naps) now that he rolls. When I put him down he was asleep within minutes although it helped that he had his little comforter with him, a muslin which he has taken to sleeping with which is probably not a great thing but keeps him asleep every night and allows him to put himself to sleep rather then a pacifier or feed.

Looking like a little boy in his crib

Yes, Calum has been a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to being active which probably isn't much of a surprise considering his size (20lbs 15oz when he was last weighed on 10/22). He didn't start rolling over until he was almost to the 6 month mark and only last week figured out how to roll back to his back, doing a full 360 (although he can't always remember how to get back onto his back and I still have to "rescue" him about 50% of the time). Now when we put him on the floor to play he loves to roll all over the place and has progressed to being able to get to toys that are out of his reach. I'm not sure if he will crawl or walk first but it's fun to see him learning new things and being more active.

We've really made some progression on eating solids and he's now eating two meals a day which has been messy to say the least but fun for us both trying new things. The books say that by the end of this month he should be on 3 meals a day and 3 bottles a day which seems like such a change. Weaning has been a confusing thing for me, and I'm still not quite sure if I'm feeding Calum too much but I guess we will just keep learning as we go.

Loving banana in his "Nuby"

It just seems like Calum is growing up really fast now, that he's more of a little person and less of a baby. He's got a distinct, boisterous personality that keeps us entertained and for the most part is still pretty easy going and cries very infrequently. Now that he's growing up I find myself growing up too, and really thinking more about getting out and doing more things for me. Mark and I have agreed that I'm going to go back to work in a part time capacity in January and this week I'm going out with some girlfriends (minus Mark) in London for the first time since WAY before Calum was born.

We've got a busy week capped off with Calum's Christening on Sunday, should be fun! x

My little monster

Halloween and the days leading up to it this year were so much fun, it's really true what they say about enjoying the holidays more when there are kids around. Holly (11) and Max (6) were on a break from school and their parents were in Egypt (lucky them!) on holiday so we kicked off Halloween on Thursday with them coming over to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (yum, Shelby!), caramel apples and carve pumpkins. We had a great time and I think I managed to keep them entertained and away from the t.v. for a good couple of hours!

Max and the cookies he decorated
Holly and her cookies

On Friday I had a few of my Mummy friends over with their babies for a Halloween party. They probably think I am Halloween crazy since here in the U.K. it's not really as big of a deal as it is at home, but I want to keep the tradition alive for Calum and had fun decorating the house and seeing the babies dressed up. As the babies get older, our get togethers seem to be getting more chaotic but the babies are finally at that age where they really seem like they are enjoying each other and I love having a good chat with the girls.

Abi & Maggie
Calum (in his 2nd Halloween outfit), Brooke and Sean
Calum kissing Brooke's hand like a real English gentleman!

Saturday Mark's sister Tracey came over with Holly and Max and we took the kids (plus Calum) trick or treating. It was a shame that a good 75% of the houses on our street didn't even answer their door, again I guess it's just not a done thing here but a few did and Holly and Max were pretty excited that they got extra candy "for the baby". By Sunday we were pretty exhausted but all in all we had a great Halloween and I hope you and your family did, too x

Pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes made by me, decorated by Mark for our neighbors
Mark and the kids before we went trick or treating

Before and after

In Seattle we put Calum in a highchair for the first time and ever since he's loved it (and it's allowed us to almost get through a meal without having to pick him up!) so when we got home we decided it was time to get him one of his own. As he's also passed the 6 month mark, this is the time when doctors advise that you should start your baby on solid foods. For some reason I was really looking forward to giving Calum food but as you can see from the pictures above, it's messy (which is why I've started feeding him in his diaper!)!! I'm also a massive neat freak so this is especially difficult for me; everytime the poor baby sits down to eat we go through a roll of paper towels and we already need to wash the straps after only a week! Never the less, it is fun and I love to see his reaction to new foods. His favorite so far is a combo of vanilla, blueberry and banana and least favorite was cheesy vegetables (which I wouldn't have eaten, either!). Whilst we're enjoying this it did make me a bit sad when we went to buy the highchair, it's like saying goodbye to yet another chapter of his babyhood and another realisation that he's getting older each day. Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween! x

Montana

After our whirlwind time in Seattle, Mark, Calum and I flew to Missoula for a few days. Grandma & Grandpa McEvers live in Victor, outside of Missoula and my Grandpa Britton (Mom's Dad) is in Polson on Flathead Lake. I was especially excited for this part of our trip because I love Montana and knew that Mark had never been somewhere as remote as this before (nor seen any mountains like the ones we were going to see). We spent our time there really relaxing and enjoying the time with family, Calum is very lucky to have met three of his great grandparents!

On our second day there Mark and my Dad headed out for a fly fishing trip which was also a success, despite having only fished once before Mark caught (and released) 4 fish and had a great time bonding with my Dad. We also took a day out to make the drive to Polson to see my Grandpa Britton who shares a birthday with Calum. Just before Calum was born my Grandpa had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain and has since been doing pretty well up until recently so temporarily he is in a retirement home which is where we had our visit. Was great to see he still had the same spark as before although of course very hard to know that it might be the last time I see him.

The trip was great and Mark even left saying we might go again in the summer! Unfortunately on the way home we ran into some trouble with our flight-the plane we were to take from Missoula to Seattle to catch our Seattle to London flight needed a part replaced which they were going to have to drive in from Spokane. In addition to a delay of 6+ hours (which guranteed we would miss our flight to London from Seattle), they couldn't guarantee the plane would be repaired and if that was the case the next flight wasn't for another 3 days!!! In the end they chartered a special flight but we missed our scheduled flight back to London from Seattle and had to stay in a ghetto Comfort Inn in Seatac (and lost a bag along the way!) and wait until 6.50 p.m. the next night to get our flight back to London. We're very lucky that Calum is such a good baby and after 44 hours of travelling, we were happy to finally be home on Tuesday afternoon.

With (Great) Grandpa Britton (p.s. I had no hair dryer in MT, as you can see!)
With (Great) Grandma McEvers-Calum LOVED this apple so much and when we left it was black from being bruised by his little gums

Mark with a bear in the Missoula airport (only in Missoula!) during our 6 hours there
(Great) Grandpa McEvers, Calum and Grandpa McEvers (my Dad). Love the look Calum is giving my grandpa, this is probably right after he yanked on his beard which he loved to do!

Seattle

After a two day journey home, Mark, Calum and I are back in London after a great two weeks away in Seattle and Montana. Every day was packed with things to do and visits with our friends and family, after so much attention and excitement I think Calum is going to find things pretty boring at home!

Last night as I lay awake at 4 a.m. praying for Calum to go back to sleep (the only down fall to our trip, he did amazing adjusting to the 8 hour time difference but I think he will find it hard to adjust his body clock back to London time), I thought about the things I missed about Seattle and came up with this list (in no particular order!):

Starbucks. Of course we have them here but not on every corner! The first night we were in Seattle we were woken up by Calum at 2.30 a.m. to start the day and it was great to be able to drive to a near by Starbucks DRIVE THRU (we definitely don't have those here!) and get a Pumpkin Spice latte at 3 in the morning. Yum.

The ocean. Okay, we have this here too (we are after all, living on an island!) but it just doesn't seem to be nearly as beautiful as the Puget Sound. Our first day in Seattle we met up with my Dad and visited the park he works at up on Camano Island and it was gorgeous. Calum loved it!

Me and my Dad at Camano
Mark, Calum and Grandpa

American football. I say American because here in the U.K. football is soccer and you musn't confuse the two! I got to take Mark to his first ever Seahawks game and I surprised myself at just how into the game I was getting which made me realise how much I missed the game. Mark got really into it, too-he's now an official Seahawks fan and will soon be a Coug fan too as I'm definitely going to take him back to Pullman someday to experience REAL football.

My friends. This goes without saying but it was just so great to see all of my friends again and pick up right where we left off. I got to celebrate Katie's 29th at the Barking Frog, have a play date at Ashley's house, an old time reunion dinner with Dett & Ash and a farewell get together at Katie & Jerame's. My friends are the best and I am so lucky to have them.

Dett, Ash and I
Katie's b-day at Barking Frog (Ash, Katie, me, Keri and Jeanne)

My family. It was a long time coming for Calum to meet Grandma and Grandpa and the Brittons and it was amazing to see them all together in one place. Wish we got to see them all more often but am looking forward to my Mom coming in a couple of months, hopefully seeing my Dad and Shakeh in the spring for their 20th anniversary and maybe even getting my Aunt and Uncle over, too!

With Grandma at Ken & Lorie's

Green Lake. After a week in Seattle I realised that Mark and I hadn't spent any time together just the two (plus Calum!) of us so we headed down to Green Lake for Spuds and a walk. It was a perfect Seattle fall day and we had the BEST lunch at Blue Water Bistro after. Yum. If I lived in Seattle I would be down here all the time!

Loving Calum's hat from Aunt Lorie & Uncle Ken! (Also notice how Seattle Mark turned towards the end of the trip, North Face jacket and all!)

Yes, Seattle-I'm going to miss you. But I promise never to go so long between visits again. See you soon x