New car seat

Big day for the B-man. No, he's not walking yet. However, he's still pretty pleased. Today, I installed his new car seat, facing forward. I had been wanting to do this for a while, but I waited until I got my car back. As you can tell from the picture, he looks pretty happy. Maybe this means the end of screaming everytime I put him in the car seat. To be fair, he had outgrown the other car seat. He looked a bit like a turtle with a shell that is too small.

Updates

Our family is always doing so much that I feel like a lot gets left out. So I'm going to give you some recent highlights:

1. Ben's helmet is apparently working. At his last appointment, he was down to 19 mm of assymetry. (He started at 22 mm. Normal is 0-10 mm.) The best part of the day was the BBQ restaurant we went to beforehand. Nothing fancy, but the food was great. Turns out, Ben likes brisket and spicy beans.

2. I got a new kitchen island for my birthday. We had seen it at this fancy furniture store called Habitat. (Think Crate and Barrel at UK prices.) Joe and I both really liked it, but it was way too expensive. However, the last time we went, the price was down 30%...just enough to be in the affordable range. As luck would have it, the RAF owed Joe a large sum of money. So half of that money went to my island and half went to paying off our plane tickets home. Everybody wins!

3. Joe got a bike seat for the B-man. He LOVES it. Apparently, the other day, he actually fell asleep in it. Every time he takes him for a ride, I think Joe is a hero.

4. My computer has found the internet again! But the dishwasher is being funny...

5. Ben is working hard at being mobile. He leans forward like a baby who crawls, but he still won't. He gets on his tummy and yet he cannot go forward. He is also trying very hard to stand up somehow. I'm trying the "tough love" approach by trying to help less. Yesterday, we spent a lot of time in the grass. We would be walking around and I would let go of his hands to see what he would do. Mostly, he sits down because he doesn't want to fall. He wants it so bad and unfortunately there is nothing I can do for him.

6. Ben's new trick: sharing...sort of. He is always offering me his food or his toy, but of course he does not let go.

Well, now the bells are tolling, which means it is late. I must go pick up the B-bear from school. :)

Castle and Folk Day

Yesterday, we took a trip to Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. All that is left of the castle is the outer defensive wall, but it is still a beautiful site. It was interesting to learn about the history and Ben seems to enjoy our trip to the English countryside.

Inside the castle was a series of lawn games for people to play. In addition to the chess game, they had Chutes and Ladders and some other game I couldn't identify. Benjamin loved playing with the big chess pieces. Joe and I played a quick game. I won! Joe contests it, but I think he is just a sore loser.

Yesterday was also Ely's Folk Festival. Joe and I walked outside to the sight of people in strange outfits dancing with flags and such. Ely is great place for people watching. The best part was the drunk onlookers who were trying to copy the dancers. Very entertaining.

Summer in Ely

Greetings everyone! Summer is now in full bloom here in the UK. Everyone I talk to seems to complain about the weather and the news is full of stories about the "heat wave." The temperature has been in the 80s and while it certainly has been warm, I really wouldn't call it hot. After all, it is summertime.

Ben and I have been having a lot of picnics lately. It can get a bit stuffy in the house, but the shade of the park is always quite nice, even in the early afternoon. While I can't get him to eat pieces of fruit (only puree for me thanks!), I have discovered that he likes to gnaw on the cores. Sometimes I think he just wants to eat like a proper adult. He won't feed himself anything that isn't grain based. I used to think he just didn't like the texture of actual fruit and vegetables, but then I realized that he will eat them off of a fork or spoon. But I bet it is more of a case of laziness than proper table manners.

This picture is from a playground in Cambridge. Joe got home early the other day so we decided to drive to Cambridge for a trip to the mall and dinner at Chili's (something we have not done since Thanksgiving). Well, we were in for a surprise. All the stores in the mall close at 5:30 pm!! (Except on Wednesdays when they are open "late"...8 pm) We strolled to Chili's to find that it had gone out of business. I was so sad. I had been planning out my dinner for a while at that point. Plus, I was looking forward to an American family restaurant. Family dining just isn't something they do here like they do back home. So we found a Subway and wandered around aimlessly until we found this park. At least Ben had a good time.

I had to put up at least one non-helmet picture. He had an ear infection last week so we had to take off his helmet for a few days. I forgot how cute he was!

New Photos

This is one of those rare moments where my internet is working, so I am going to use this time to update some pictures.  The two of Ben were taken last weekend.  We explored an old monastery in Norfolk and found a great pub.  The one of me and Joe is at the Habberdashers' Hall in London...before I got sick.  Enjoy!Helmet or not, that is one cute kid!  We all really enjoyed our picnic by the ruins.  Afterward, Ben enjoyed "walking" around.

A Really Bad 24 Hours

Monday was a pretty special event for Joe and I...or at least it was supposed to be. The Habberdashers, one of London's oldest guilds (est. 1371), was having an event in London and we were going to get to go. These people are exactly what you might imagine old rich British high society to be. They probably still fox hunt when they aren't throwing parties and giving away money to charity. Needless to say we were very excited about going.

The Habberdashers give money to Joe's squadron to help bring home individuals when they are deployed and a family situation comes up. So they needed some people to show up on behalf of the squadron. I rode the train to London with one of his squadron mates and then met Joe at the train station. The plan was to grab a snack beforehand, go to the church service, and then back to the Habberdashers' Hall for a champagne reception and fancy hors d'oeuvres.

As soon as I got off the train, I started feeling queasy. I was determined to shake it off and have a great time. (Rub some dirt on it!) However, about 2 minutes into the church service, it became clear that that was not an option. The rest proceeded like a bad movie. I excused myself to find a bathroom, but I had no idea where they were. A man tried to help me, but the doors were locked. While he went to find keys, the tunnel vision came and I realized I was not going to make it. I ran out the doors and vomited all over the front of the church. When I was finally done, the man guarding the door made me sit down on a bench and handed me an umbrella, as it had begun to rain. I had never been so embarassed in my life. I was really hoping the rain would wash me down the drain so I wouldn't have to face these people and their comments as they exited the church.

When the service was over, we boarded busses back to the hall. I began to feel better, but it was clear that my night was ruined. I just wanted to go to bed. I did force myself to drink about three sips of champagne on account of the fact that I figured it wasn't the cheap stuff.

The next day I felt tired and weak. Fortunately, it was Tuesday and Ben could go to nursery. I dropped him off after his first nap and went home for a nap of my own. Although I did begin to feel better, my afternoon got a lot worse. On the way home from picking Ben up, I had a car accident. I hit a car as I was trying to make a right hand turn.

It was so awful. Benjamin was crying, I was crying. No one was seriously hurt, but I just felt so stunned. Everyone around me was so kind, helpful, in control. I could barely speak. I kept feeling guilty, like I had been doing something careless. But I hadn't been. No speeding, no cell phone, no adjusting the radio. It was just a bad intersection, with a bad blind spot. I had actually been stopped for a while at the intersection waiting for an opening. I just should have waited longer.

I'm grateful for small miracles. Joe was feeling sick and had come home early so he was nearby when I called. He ran over and helped me handle the police and medical personnel (and entertain Benjamin, who by this point was feeling fine again). I was so glad he was there.

Now that it is Friday, I am feeling more positive about surviving the week. I just really hope the worst is over.

Trip to the Pool

I took Benjamin to the pool for the first time today.  He really enjoys his bath so I figured he would really enjoy the pool.  

His first impression of the pool was not good.  We got in the shower according to pool regulations, but water flew out like a fire hose and scared him.  I really thought we had failed before we had even begun, but he warmed up to it.  I carried him out to a deeper end and let him bob around for a moment.  Ben seemed a bit skeptical, but then started splashing.  And that was it!  He completely loved it.  The pool was quite shallow all around so it was easy for me to play with him.  There were whirlpool jets coming up off the floor.  I thought they might scare him, but he just liked the bubbles.

What he enjoyed the most was floating around in a yellow baby seat.  The only problem was that it was not community property.  It belonged to the other baby and his family.  Oops.  But they were very nice about it.  I guess I will just have to get him one of his own.