We caught Ady doing a little light reading tonight and thought we had better capture the moment...  Enjoy!  Can you tell what she is reading?  You may have to go to youtube to get the full effect...  Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvQNXb8WJl0

Christmas & New Years 2011

I realize it is mid January, and I am way late in getting these posted- but for memories sake, here is a glimpse at our very merry 2011 Christmas in the UK.

For Christmas Eve, we decided to say NO! to all the time required for preparing a huge meal and NO! to all the dishes- and instead, we booked a table at a nearby restaurant called the Salt House.  It felt very Christmas-y to have our meal next to the fire and with all the warm glowing lights.

This photo accurately sums up Ady's mood that night at dinner.  Constipated.  No, just kidding.  She was pretty excited about Santa coming.

When we got back from dinner, we made cookies and had some hot chocolate.

Christmas Morning

These were to die for!  Oh mama!

Our New Years was a bit uneventful.  It is difficult to have any sort of night life when you have young kids- especially when their bedtime is at 6:30pm!  Believe me, though, that an early bedtime makes a world of difference to the quality of day we have.  So I think it is completely worth it!

We decided to go check out the London Aquarium earlier in the day on New Years Eve.  Being a fish-lover, I thought it would be cool.  Although we saw some interesting things, unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed and didn't find it to be worth the cost of admission.  The aquarium is situated right under the London Eye and near Westminster where they hold the big London New Years Celebration.  People were everywhere setting things up for the big firework show and party for later.  We decided to get the heck out of there before the crowds got too big.  (Man, I realize we sound like some major party poopers!)

      

Back at home Tyler and I stayed up and played Monopoly and watched some show about the top 50 most annoying things/people from 2011.  WAHOO!  Party, party.  We watched the big London firework show on TV at midnight.  London may not know how to have an amazing aquarium, but they DO know how to do a firework show!  It was the most craziest firework show I have ever seen.  To start the show off, they had fireworks spewing from inside Big Ben, then they had fireworks shooting from the London Eye and from boats in the Thames and other locations.  The sky and river were lit up for a straight 20 minutes or so non-stop.  It was hands-down the most amazing firework show ever!  I can only imagine what it will be like when the Olympics come this summer.  I am sure London will not disappoint.  The Mayor of London (Boris, is his name.  Hee hee.), says that 2012 will no doubt be the greatest year many Londoners will see in a lifetime- with all the big things happening here.  I think we picked a good time to come, eh?  Lets hope Boris is right.

Here is a glimpse at the fireworks show.  Prepare to have your socks knocked off!

That pretty much sums it up.

Oh, but first...
Here is a photo of our annual Christmas season puzzle.  It was a good one.

Horse Parade

Yes, those are horses being herded down Abbey Road!  This was taken from our living room window.  A couple of times a month we get treated with a thrilling show as 60 horses are led right down our street.  The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery Barracks has been stationed in St. John's Wood since 1804; however, the barracks have been sold recently and will be moving next month to a new site across London.  We will definitely miss the sound of clomping hooves and the site of our horse parade.

All Grown Up Now

Well, today was a big day for us.  Our three year old is all grown up now.  Ady started nursery school- which meant from here until she graduates from high school she will be away from home 5 days a week for several hours a day.  It was a little overwhelming to have that realization... BUT much to my surprise, I am completely okay with it!  I am just so very excited for her and all the new things she is going to discover on this great adventure.

Her school is better than I could even dream up and I am so very impressed with the staff and their mission as a nursery school.  For example, we have been told not to dress Ady in her best clothes because she is there to dig in and get dirty with paints, mud, puddles, foods, etc.  Thank you and DONE!  She is required to leave a pair of Wellington (rain) boots at the school at all times and to dress prepared to play outside in any weather conditions.  I LOVE that!  What a great thing to not be discouraged to go outside in crummy weather, but to actually take advantage of whatever the day has to offer and to find fun things to do in it.  I was not always a good example to Ady in this department- so I am happy as a lark that her nursery school is!  Ady has been assigned to a member of nursery staff that will monitor her progress and well-being and will interact with her throughout each day so that a trusting and comfortable relationship can be built between them.  This makes me feel good as a mom knowing that someone has their eye on my baby and cares about her well being.  The facility is stocked to no end with educational, creative, amazing and fun things to do.  Words just do not do justice to how excited I am for Ady.

It will be a good opportunity for her and me to make some new friends also- which we desperately need.  I will admit that we both were going a bit, no, that's not right....... completely stir crazy being together all day every day with no social outlets!  Here is a little quote from a British parenting book that I found to be quite relative:
     "If you are the parent of teenagers, do not smile wistfully at the mother of an out-of-control toddler and inform her that if she thinks it's bad now, just wait until he hits his teens.  She will possibly explode with her need to inform you of your incredible good luck in being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time and to have a poo unaccompanied.  You may only communicate with your teenager once a week, and that may be via text, but you have clearly forgotten that when your children are two (or three!) this would seem to be the ideal parenting scenario!"  Hee hee!  I love how the Brits really tell it how it is.

Anyway... this preschool thing should be a great thing for all of us here.

Tyler worked from home this morning so he could be there to drop her off with me.  When we got to the school, Ady went right in and was perfectly confident and happy when we said goodbye.  She did great.  We were so proud of her.  Then Tyler and I went and had a lunch date together at the park to let things set in for a minute.  HOLY CRAP!  What a different life this is going to be!  It should be good.  We are really excited about this new adventure we have begun.

I came home after doing a bit of shopping alone (WOW!) and had me a quiet cup of tea.  It was beautiful- and I was able to get so much done- and also relax for a minute.  All moms deserve a little break now and then.

Then... the time came to go get Ady and I was so excited to hear how her day went and to see how she fared.  We raced to each others arms when we saw each other.  We both were so happy to see each other again.  Her teachers said she did "brilliant!"  It was a big day, but a good day, and Ady is excited to go back again tomorrow- so  I would call it a huge success!