A Fun Afternoon At Battersea Park

Every time we go to Battersea Park and see the boats, Nathan wants to go on them.  I promised him that one day when the weather is nice and Daddy is home, we will go on the boats.  Well, Daddy was home yesterday afternoon and the weather was nice, so guess what we did - we went to Battersea Park and rented a boat.  Nathan picked the yellow one.  We had a lovely afternoon relaxing on the peddle boat (well, Nathan and I relaxed, Casey and Chris had to peddle :)  Then we headed over to the kids fun fair that the park is hosting the whole month of August.  Nathan rode a little train and rode on a mini Merry-go-Round - so much fun!

Olympics - Weekend 2

We had such a great weekend!  On Friday night, Chris' friend, Matt Clark, flew into town to spend the weekend with us.  Nathan loved having him  here!  But, to be fair, Matt did bring goldfish and jelly beans with him, which is pretty much all you need to do buy Nathan's love :)

On Saturday morning, Chris, Casey, Matt, and I went to Horse Guard's Parade to watch Beach Volleyball (Round of 16).  It was the best event we have been to yet!!  We loved it!  The energy was great!  There was a DJ, lots of fun music, and even dancers in bikinis and board shorts to entertain the audience!  It's also a really cool venue, because it is right in front of Buckingham Palace.  We saw the Chinese women destroy the Russian women.  Then, we saw the Brazilian men beat the German men - that was a better match than the women's match, but the Brazilian men still won pretty easily.  Overall, it was a great morning!

Saturday night, we met up with our friend, Jeff, for Thai food in a pub near his flat (there is a thai restaurant that rents out the space in the back of the pub - the food was really good!).  Pubs here are great - kids are welcome in them and in the summer, everyone spills out into the streets with their drinks to enjoy the weather.  After dinner, Nathan had fun running around on the sidewalk outside the pub, while mom and dad got to enjoy some drinks :)  We only stayed for a few drinks and then headed home to get Nathan in bed.  Casey and Matt stayed out with Jeff though and apparently had quite the night, but I will let you ask them about that :)

Sunday, we headed over to Hyde Park to BT London Live (a big area with several large screens showing Olympics events, lots of food stands, and a stage with singers and bands performing between Olympic events).  Nathan loved the music!

These two are from last weekend heading home from gymnastics, but forgot to upload them to that blog post :) 

Susan and I in front of the crown before volleyball.  Our friends Susan and Ryan also went to beach volleyball Saturday, so we walked over with them.

Such a cool venue!

Nathan and Matt on the Tube.

The pub we went to for Thai food - there are flowers everywhere - so pretty!

Nathan and what was once a lion statue outside of the pub.

Hyde Park - BT London Live

Nathan and Matt playing "football" (still getting used to calling it that).

The Tower Bridge And Lunch With Daddy

Sorry, I'm a little late with this post.  Last week on Wednesday, we headed over to the London Tower and the Tower Bridge before meeting up with Chris at his office for lunch.  We didn't have a lot of time before we were supposed to meet Chris for lunch, so we skipped the London Tower tour and just watched the boats going under the bridge.  I actually think Nathan enjoyed this more than he would have enjoyed the Tower - he can sit and watch the "agua" and the boats for hours.  We even got to see the bridge go up to let a tall boat go under.  And, of course, we had to pose by the Olympic mascot, Wenlock - these little guys are all over the city wearing different outfits.

Then, we got to go see Daddy's office and go to lunch with him.  I'm a bad mom and forgot to take pictures of this, but Nathan had so much fun sitting at Daddy's desk and eating a "treat" (Chris' office has the best little shortbread cookies!).

Casey and Wenlock with the Tower Bridge in the background.

The bridge going up to let a boat go under.  Even the rings go up!

Wenlock!

Casey and a guard at the Tower of London.

This one is for Auntie Anne!  The Squire Sanders offices are right next door to Chris' office - I think you need to find some work to do out of your London office!!

The Olympics Are Here!

It's such a fun time to be living in London!  We are right in the middle of all the excitement!  The first weekend of the Olympics was amazing!  On Friday, we stood on the Chelsea Bridge and watched the Olympic torch float down the Thames.  Friday night, Chris and I went to an Opening Ceremonies party.  Saturday morning, Chris and I woke up bright and early to catch the Thames Clipper down to Greenwich to watch Men's Gymnastics.  By the time we got home, Casey and Nathan were already standing at the end of our street trying to catch a glimpse of the men's cyclists coming down Fulham Road.  We waited about 30 minutes before they came racing past us.  So exciting!  Nathan loved it!  On Sunday, we had brunch with an old friend of Chris'.  Then it was back home for nap-time.  Nathan woke up just in time to see the women cyclists come by.  This time we were smart.  We watched the race on t.v. so we knew just when to head outside to see them pass by (it was raining today, so we didn't want to stand outside longer than we needed to :)  We have lots of pictures and videos from this weekend.  Enjoy!

We're looking forward to the next few weeks of the Olympics!  We'll have more updates soon.

The Olympic torch going down the Thames.

On the boat to Greenwich to watch Men's Gymnastics!

At North Greenwich Arena for Men's Gymnastics!

Thanks Bryant for our USA gear!

The gymnasts entering the arena.

The Olympic Rings on the Tower Bridge.

Waiting for the cyclists!

Here they come!

Go USA!


The women cyclists!

Nathan and Uncle Casey relaxing after cycling.

Our Little Drummer Boy

Just a few fun pictures and videos from Purple Dragon (our kids club).  We had fun in the music room on Friday!

Chelsea's new boy band!

And, we're starting to try potty training.  We'll see how this goes.

Fun In The Sun

The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous!  It's been in the 80's all week (or, for all you in the UK, around 30 degrees Celsius - I'm trying to get used to this, but I still cheat by using the weather app on my phone which still lists the temperature in fahrenheit).  We're crossing our fingers that the nice weather lasts for the Olympics, but right now, it's saying temperatures are going to drop back down to the 60's and rain is coming Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday (of course, the weather forecasts here change by the minute, so we really have no idea!).  In any event, we are enjoying the summer weather while it lasts!

On Tuesday, we met up with friends at the Hyde Park Lido (a little splash pool and playground for the kiddos).  Despite the hot weather outside, the water was freezing, so Nathan spent more time playing on the playground than he did in the water.  Tuesday night, we took advantage of the weather and ate dinner outside on our patio.  Nathan was so excited to eat outside, he sat down at the table before Chris and Casey had even left to pick up our take-away and he just kept saying "eat outside, eat outside."

On Wednesday evening, Chris, Casey, and Nathan had a boys' night and I got to go have a girls' night with my friend, Susan, and some of her friends.  We went to the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park and saw a Mid-Summer Night's Dream.  We picnicked in the park before the play started and then headed to our seats in the outdoor theatre.  It was a beautiful night to spend outside and I met some wonderful people!

An Olympics update:  It's really fun to see signs of the Olympics all over our neighborhood.  The triathlon will be held in and around Hyde Park (not really our neighborhood, but close enough :)  The swimming portion of the triathlon will be held in the Serpentine Lake at Hyde Park (which is absolutely disgusting; I cannot believe that people will be swimming in all of that duck poo), so we saw everything all set up for that when we went to the Lido on Tuesday.  Today, the Olympic torch passed right by our house (well, it went down Kings Road, which is our high street).  Nathan was napping, but I sent Casey to take pictures and video!  And, the cycling race will go right by our house this weekend (at least I think it's this weekend, I better check the dates!)

Hanging out at the playground at the Lido with Uncle Casey. 

The splash pool.

This is at the playground by our flat.  It stays light until like 10 pm here, so we can go to the playground after dinner.

 Dance party with Uncle Casey!

Dining al fresco!

So, it's not the best video (a little Blair Witch Project even), but thanks to Casey, we got video of the torch going down Kings Road (he left the flat a little later than he should have because we were waiting for the camera battery to charge, so he had to run to catch up to it).  Thanks Casey!!

I Love My Little Guy!

I realize I have been a little slow with my posts lately, so I am making up for it today - three in one day!! :)  

Although it's not always easy, I really am enjoying my time with Nathan!  I love being around to see all of his "firsts" and see how much he is learning and growing on a daily basis.  It's really quite shocking how much he absorbs and how quickly he is learning things.  I decided to put down in writing all of the  little things he is doing right now so that I can remember them when he gets a little older.  By now, I have realized just how quickly he is growing up and how you can easily and quickly forget those little things they do, even though you swear at the time that you will never forget it.  

He knows all of his colors now (except for red - he always calls it yellow) and identifies objects by their color everywhere we go (at times, this can be somewhat annoying, but mostly it's cute and impressive!).  He seriously stops at every single little thing as we are walking to tell me what color it is (pothole covers, bicycles, lines painted on the street, house doors, even ducks (black duck, white duck, brown duck)).    

He also seems to learn a new word everyday.  His newest word is "peacock," because we saw a peacock at Holland Park on Saturday.  He can fully communicate with us now, which is very nice - no more guessing at what he wants.  And, to go along with his vocabulary, he has a memory that Chris and I are constantly amazed at.  It's much better than mine, that's for sure!  This skill can be a little challenging for a parent, because you have to be certain not to make any promises you can't keep - he will remember and he won't let you forget it either!  On the plane, I told him I would get him a balloon in London if he was good on the plane.  He was great on the plane, but for almost a week, I could not find a store here that sold balloons.  He asked me for a balloon every day until we found one!

Nathan's latest obsession is the "animals."  Any time I ask him what he wants to do today, he immediately replies "animals!"  This morning, I was talking to Casey in the hall and asked what he wanted to do today and before he could respond, we heard Nathan running out of his room and yelling "animals!"  I told you he has a crazy memory - we haven't been to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo since the first week we were here!

Just a couple of other Nathanisms and I will stop droning on.  Anytime he throws or kicks the ball well, he says "Nice."  He learned this one from Uncle Casey.  I need to get a video of this, because the way he says it cracks me up.  

He is also very interested in drains now (not sure where this one came from).  He likes watching the water go down the drain in the sink.  But, he also points to every drain we see on the sidewalk and says "agua drain."  I have to acknowledge that "yes, it is a drain," otherwise, he will not keep moving and he will not stop saying "agua drain."

These are the things that make me smile on a daily basis right now!

Sorry, no pictures with this one :)