4th of July and More

We had our first 4th of July in the States in 4 years.  When did GA start selling fireworks??  Laura loved pointing out all of the flags.  There were lots of them!  We didn't do much to celebrate, but it was really nice to be in the US for the holiday.  We did enjoy the firework show from the neighboring country club and Laura slept through all of them.  She barely moved a muscle even though they were exploding right above the house!

 Playing at the local park.

Four Generations all together!

 Aunt Ellie - Laura loved Ellie!  A month after getting back and Laura is still talking about Ellie.

Summer Happenings

We've had a busy summer, but a good one.  My sister got married in July, so we went home for a month in order to attend and to be able to participate in some of the pre-nuptial festivities.  It was great seeing Lisa so happy and excited.  During that month, I got to meet up with two of my girlfriends from college at Panama City Beach.  It was wonderful to have some quality girl-time and fun to introduce Laura to her first beach experience.  It was great to be home for awhile and spend some quality time with friends and family.  

 Laura loves putting on her boots.  One evening, she decided to walk in circles around me wearing nothing but boots and a diaper.  Silly girl!

 Laura's first day at the beach.  She wasn't sure what to think.  We managed to get her wet, but she didn't want to get out of the stroller or walk on the sand.  Sigh - she doesn't know what fun is!  The next day we got her in the water and she was giggly and happy - thanks to Cristina for encouraging us all that it could be done!


Proof of a successful trip into the water!  The water was a perfect temperature and Laura really liked the up and down of the waves.  She did not like the breaking waves, but once we got past the breaking, she was happy as could be.

 Laura and I spent a few days with my parents down in AL.  They have this great park nearby, so we took Laura one (cloudy!) morning and she loved it.  I loved that it wasn't steaming hot at 10am.

 She was very focused while climbing.

 Well, at least when she wasn't making faces at the camera.

Three sisters all together at a fun shower for Lisa.

 Getting pampered before the big day.

The beautiful bride!  The photo doesn't do her justice, but it's the only one I have.  Check out the pro's pictures here: http://www.ohsnapshotphotography.com/blog/?p=1469

It's a....

Boy!!!

Yep!  We are going to add a little boy to our family around December 2.  I'm 21 weeks and all is going well.  I don't have any good belly shots yet (the 2nd pregnancy is definitely not getting as much attention as the first!), but I'll endeavor to get some taken in the near future.  Having the baby so close to Christmas means that we'll be spending the holiday here in Switzerland away from family back in the States.  It will be our first Swiss Christmas and our first Christmas on our own.  We must really be growing up.  How did that happen??  We'll be happy to take any name suggestions, although we make no promises to use your suggestion :)

 His little foot is so cute.  The doctor didn't manage to capture a picture of it, but in the ultrasound on Monday, we watched him open his mouth and start sucking his thumb.  He doesn't even weigh a pound yet, but he already likes to suck his thumb.  Amazing.

UK Holiday - Part 2

Since we now have two cameras, I am having trouble synchronizing the download of photos off of each.   Therefore, almost three months after our holiday, I'm finally getting these off of the other camera.  Enjoy!

 We splurged one night and stayed in a castle!  We had a gorgeous room (the photo doesn't do it justice) and a three course meal in the dining room.  It was nice and really pretty, but we were a little out of our league.  I'm not used to being called madame at every turn and having my bags (which were horribly disorganized and counted a few plastic kroger type bags among them) carried in for me.  However, it was nice to have dinner alone while the receptionist listened out for Laura and enjoy the beautiful grounds.  The castle used to be one of Henry VIII's and was visited by him and Anne Boleyn so I got to enjoy feeling like I was somehow a part of British history.

 We did a photo shoot on the grounds the next morning.  It was really wet and muddy.  Rain boots (wellies as our British friend called them) would have been very useful.

  A not so attractive side of the castle.  The entrance is just behind us and then the part to our left was not yet renovated.

 There was a beautiful church right next-door.

 Funny face

 Laura loved the pony.

 I think Laura is telling me a funny secret here.

 The main entrance (they valet parked your car just past the gate).

 The only half-decent picture of the three of us.

Later that day we went to a zoo.  It was so fun to introduce Laura to the live versions of animals that she'd only seen in books.  The one was a new one, though, a tapir from South America.  Laura got to feed him carrots.

Fish, chips and mushy peas! 

The castle in Cardiff that we never managed to visit.  It was pretty from the outside, though. 

The Cardiff neighborhood we stayed in was full of blocks and blocks of these.  It was difficult to discern which one was ours at times!  It was interesting and quaint, but I think I prefer that my residence have a more distinctive personality.

Daily Life and an Easter Egg Hunt

Here are a few snapshots that give a glimpse into what I do everyday :)

Laura loves to put clothes on and then take them off again and necklaces are a must!  She also can never be too far from her water cup as she drinks from it constantly.  I have to remember to take it with me whenever we go out because almost without fail, I'll hear the, "click, click" of her tongue asking for a drink.

She found her hat in the diaper bag (emptying it is one of her favorite things to do) and then wore it crooked for 30 minutes.   

In an effort to keep my own purse for myself, I gave Laura an old one of mine to play with and filled it with mommy-like accessories.  She loves it and carries it all over the house while constantly dumping and refilling it.

 She must see us on the phone a lot because she loves to play with phones.  Does this bode ill for her teenage years??

 We went to Hauterive one Sunday afternoon for some fun by the river and a quick grill-out. Laura helped Daddy make the fire-ring.

Lounging (with her water cup not too far away) 

I dressed Laura up (thanks for all the cute dresses, Lu!!) for the Easter Egg Hunt that our friends hosted this past weekend.  Laura missed the hunt, but was more than happy to fill her basket with the colorful eggs we spread out around her. 

She already knows how to carry things on her arm...do I do this a lot? 

She was fascinated with opening and closing the eggs. 

She looks like Spring :)  Thanks to Margaret for the cute sweater!

Spinach

Surprise, surprise!  This girl loves spinach.  She eats it plain.  She then begs for more.  I'm not quite sure where she gets it from, but I'm not going to complain!  I thought she was too funny covered in spinach and happy as can be.  She's learning how to feed herself and doing a pretty good job of it.  I don't always have the patience to let her do it (my kitchen is enough of a wreck as it is), but I do try to let her at it as much as possible.  She's already got the, "Mama, I want to do it!" look down pat.

Holiday in the UK

Our British friends from Switzerland moved back to the UK last year, so we decided to go visit them at the end of February.  We had fun seeing their new place, sloughing through the muddy countryside with them and having a traditional Sunday Roast at Richard's Mom's.  I love the UK and hope to have many more visits there!

 Strolling around rainy Cambridge

 At one of the bridges next to the University

 Rich and Em who graciously welcomed us (baby and all!) into their house and lives for the weekend. 

(Notice the people punting in the background??)

 The University campus was absolutely gorgeous.

 One of Laura's many scones during the trip.  (Don't be fooled by the face, she really loves 'em :)

One of the few times she actually fell asleep in the car (and of course it was 10 minutes before we arrived at our destination). 

Our traditional British Tea in Cardiff and one pitiful looking Laura.  Poor thing got sick, but she was still a pretty cheerful girl.   As for the tea, we got to choose our tea and our cake.  Tom got plum cake and I somehow managed to ask for chocolate-chili-orange cake.  It was... interesting... I don't think I'd get it again, but it was an experience.  The tea was delicious (I got pearl jasmine and Tom got Russian caravan in case you're interested) and Laura chowed down on the scones.