Something in the water...

I'm so excited to finally be able to share the news that another one of my very close friends, Tara Holmes, is pregnant!! I say another because of the four girls I had as bridesmaids in my wedding, 3 plus me are preggo. Ashley is due March 16th, Keri is due July 8th and now Tara is just about 11 weeks along. There must have been something in the water when these girls joined me for our wedding in Ravello in Sept. 2007. Love you all and can't wait to meet each and everyone of your little babies, fingers crossed in a few years we will all be able to raise them together x

We're on the market!

I've been awful about blogging this past week or so, all of the sudden life seems to have gotten very busy. Last week I found out that my Grandpa Britton has a large brain tumor and today he went into emergency surgery to have it removed. Initially he was given 4 weeks to live but with the surgery his life expectancy improves greatly so fingers crossed all goes well today.

Mark & I have also been busy looking at rentals (that's still the plan until the housing market here drops as low as it will go in another 6 mos or so) outside of London where Mark's family lives in Chislehurst and getting the flat that we own in Central London ready for rent. After living here for two and a half years it's amazing how many little projects we have to get done before moving out. Here's our listing online (and a picture of our dining room/kitchen above):

http://propinfo.harveyresidential.com/Benyon_Wharf,E84DD/12/12E84DD.htm

I'm also manically cramming for my driving theory test next Tuesday. I've been taking weekly driving lessons for a couple of months now and feeling pretty confident about my driving skills but before you take the practical test here you have to pass your theory test which is like the written test in America. It's so tough to study when I leave for work at 7.30 a.m. and don't get home until 7.30 p.m. or later! Also as Mark half jokingly pointed out, time is running out-if I don't pass this test I won't be able to sign up for the practical test (which is booking out 6-8 weeks in advance) and I'm going to find myself with a little baby stuck in the house all day! Wish me luck!!

24 week bump

Mark took this picture on Saturday before we left to go shopping and see a movie (we saw Yes Man-great if you're looking for something mindless and funny). More and more people are asking when I'm due which I take to mean that they think I'm due any day now since that's what I used to say to pregnant ladies who looked ready to pop. Baby Verghese has really picked up on his activity this week, so much so that he's keeping me awake in the mornings and can be felt all throughout the day now. I'm thinking from time to to time I feel hiccups too, although it could just be him moving around really methodically.... Mark has yet to be able to feel him from the outside, I guess it can take as long as 28 weeks but I'm hoping it happens sooner so he be part of this, too. Have a great week x

Prams & Cots

We did it, we have officially bought our first bits for the baby. It might be a bit early but here in London they can only have sales at certain times of the year and January sales are as good as Thanksgiving or after Christmas sales at home so we decided to take advantage of the savings and bought our pram (stroller) and nursery furniture (cot (crib), wardrobe (most houses/flats here weren't built with closets so you have to buy wardrobes) and dresser/changing table). Since we don't know where we will be living yet (we're still looking to rent until the market gets to as low as it's going to get before buying another place), it's really hard to visualise what our baby's nursery will look like but I'm really pleased with the furniture we picked out. The picture above shows the cot & dresser, we also got a big wardrobe. Below is what the cot looks like when it converts to a bed with the wardrobe in the background.

Our pram is great, too. Because we rely so much less on cars to get around the strollers here are a lot different to the ones I saw in America. Our pram will see miles of sidewalks, will be lifted on and off endless buses and trains, and will occasionally be shoved into the back of the car when I finally get my UK driving license. For this reason we needed to pick something pretty sturdy and lightweight and we also wanted to take into consideration being able to (hopefully!) use it when we have another baby (someday!). Here is the pram:

Now all that's left is the exciting stuff like bedding. Having a hard time finding fun boy stuff though-most of what they have in stores here is neutral colours and themes since most people don't find out the sex until after the baby is born.

On another note we had a bit of a scare Wednesday night... I had some abnormal cramping and other symptoms that lead to Mark & I making a trip to the hospital to make sure I wasn't going into early labor. Got to hear baby's heartbeat again and could even hear little blimps when he was moving around! All checked out fine though and nothing out of sorts since. I had my 22-week appointment a week late on Thursday and again, all was fine. We're 24 weeks on Monday, yay!

Welcome to Miami.....

I can hardly believe that we've already been home a week since our Christmas trip to Seattle and our babymoon to Miami! Since I've moved to London and met Mark I've been lucky to add a few stamps to my passport and now with baby coming I have to admit that I'm really going to miss our little trips together although I'm sure soon enough we'll be travelling with baby; our first trip is already in the works for this fall so we can bring the baby to meet our friends and family in America.

Spending New Years in Miami probably would have been a lot different a few years ago but this year all we wanted to do was get some sun and relax, especially after all the snow we had in Seattle! We stayed at a gorgeous hotel outside of Miami called the Biltmore Hotel which was built in the early 1920s. We chose it partly because of the pool, I guess it used to be one of the biggest in the country and we spent quite a few hours poolside reading and taking little naps. I surprised Mark this year with tickets to see an NBA game, since we don't have basketball here in the U.K. he was really looking forward to it and we totally lucked out in that the Miami Heat were playing Cleveland so we got to see two of the best players in the league-Dwayne Wade & Lebron James, which was a lot of fun.

South Beach was great-although it was a bit weird being on the beach in a bikini! Just not nearly as much fun when you have to stay in the shade :(. One really fun thing we did was take our rental car out to the Everglades National Park. We spent a few hours around the park checking out the alligators and birds and enjoying the sun, something I can't imagine doing with a baby! On top of our little day trips we had loads of yummy food and even had a couples massage which was a real treat and something I would recommend to anyone else who is pregnant, it's super relaxing and gets rid of any aches and pains.

Hope you enjoy our pictures, it makes me depressed just looking at them and thinking about how long it will be until I get to see the sun again! Have a great week x

Bump in a bikini on SB

Mark & I at the game

Mark after the game ended

Look how close Mark is to the alligator!

Alligator at the Everglades

NYE

Seattle Showers

Our trip to Seattle from Dec. 23rd-28th was a bittersweet one. Sweet because I got to spend Christmas with my family and see all of my friends, but bitter because it will be a long time now before I get to go back-the longest I will have gone without a visit since I moved away. Previous to our visit I was excited about the prospect of a white Christmas, after arriving I wished I had never wished for it in the first place! Mark and I had booked the Marriott at the Redmond Town Center which was a blessing because we were close enough to see most everyone but spent much of our time snowbound in the hotel waiting for people to come to us or pick us up to go elsewhere.

Christmas Eve we woke up to snow showers and spent the day with my Mom and then went to my Aunt Lorie & Uncle Ken's which is always lots of fun. It was great to see my cousin Jake who is a sophomore at WSU and my cousin Garrett who is 12. Christmas Day our plans changed and we spent the day with my Mom again and even managed to drag Mark out to see the Benjamin Button movie which is worth seeing just for the scenes of Brad Pitt in his late 20s/30s! The 26th was the day that I got to see all of my friends in Seattle for dinner. Ashley & Troy came to pick us up and when we arrived at Katie & Jerame's house I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how they had decorated for our baby shower.

In the U.K. it's not common to have baby showers so I wasn't really expecting one, it was a big enough treat just to have all of my friends and their husbands in one place! Mark was pretty shocked too although I think (know in fact) that he's come to realise what a special group of friends we have in Seattle. Leah made these beautiful cupcakes, the girls pitched in for an amazing meal and Katie gave up her house to a party which is a big sacrifice when you have 4 month old twins! Dett was up from L.A. (I hadn't seen her since the wedding) and Jeanne was just back from Thailand bearing gifts (LOVE the pashmina!). I got to see Keri's baby bump for the first time (she's two months behind me) and Ashley's who despite being two months ahead of me actually seems to be the same size or smaller.

In addition to a baby shower we also had the first ever "man shower". The guys had their own little party which involved Thai whiskey, tequila and some serious man bonding. Mark said for the first time ever he really felt comfortable and like he was with a group of friends. I can't even begin to tell you how spoiled Baby Verghese is going to be-he's got a pile of Calvin Klein onesies, a proper English cardie and cords courtesy of the Haighs, and a whole suitcase full of his own adorable clothes-thank you a million times over for being so thoughtful, for the gifts and for braving the snow and ice to celebrate with us. I can't tell you all how much it meant and how much I love you.

Another highlight of the trip was the limited amount of time we spent with my Dad which included a lunch with my Aunt Sue who I haven't seen in years. It was pretty special to see her as she's recently battled breast cancer and was great to catch up on how my cousins were doing.

Below are a few pics from the Seattle leg of our trip, the ones from Miami that I will post later this week show us looking a lot tanner and healthier!

Leah's beautiful cupcakes

Man Shower!

Mark in the snow on Christmas

The girls

My Aunt Sue & Dad

Mark & I on X-mas (Mark has a big smile because he got spoiled big time by my Mom!)

Holiday Hangover and It's a....

Yes, even while pregnant I'm experiencing a massive hangover! I couldn't get out of bed this morning, can't think straight and am feeling super sorry for myself all because I'm bummed to be back in London and back to the grind. Mark & I had such a fantastic time in Seattle and Miami, it's hard knowing I won't be back to Seattle for such a long time (probably another 9 mos or so until baby is ready to travel) and that I don't have any more holidays to look forward to since I'm getting close to the 3rd trimester now....

There is so much to tell you all about our 2 weeks away.... Seattle was great although a bit of a bummer, with all of the snow we couldn't get around as much as we would have liked and spent lots of time in our hotel wishing we could be doing more. The biggest highlight was the surprise baby shower the girls threw me on the 26th-I will post more later this week but it was the most special and thoughtful thing imaginable and made me feel so good to know that even after being 5000 miles away for the past 2 and a half years that I'm still part of the group and our friendships haven't suffered. Thanks girls (and husbands!), I love you!

Miami was fab, too-this was my first time there and although I would have liked to have been able to go to the clubs, sip a few mojitos by the pool and flaunt a pre-pregnancy body at the beach it was still pretty great. The weather was in the 80s while we were there so it's been tough to get used to the below freezing temperatures again here in London.

Anyway, just a quick note to update you on our last two weeks and to say thank you to everyone for making the time to see us, for the amazing gifts we received and for being part of our lives. Oh, and for those I haven't been able to tell yet-IT's A BOY!!!! Check out our latest picture at 20 weeks of Baby Verghese below. He's completely happy and healthy and is following in Mom's footsteps by sucking his thumb in this photo (I embarrassingly sucked my thumb until age 9!). 22 weeks today and counting!