The day we had tea with the Queen

Wednesday we took the train down to London. Grandma Jen, Papi and Quinn

And sadly enough we didn't have tea with the Queen. We didn't even get close to Buckingham Palace. Our day went by so fast and we didn't get to see everything we wanted to do but I guess that just means we have to go back sometime soon :-) However we did get to see

A Bobby

Big Ben....By the way, Big Ben is the name of the bell. The tower is Saint Mary's tower


Parliament

And the statue of Richard the Lion Heart in front of Parliament

Other things we saw but didn't get pictures of include the London eye (though we didn't go on it), the river Thames, Westminster Abbey and the O2. So much fun!

England I

Our first few days in England were tons of fun and filled with celebrations. My Grandma (Dad's mom) turned 90! And so there was a big party to celebrate. Family from everywhere including England, Texas, Luxembourg, New Jersey and Connecticut gathered together to celebrate. My Grandma always jokes that she has a 'jet setting' family and my cousin Amanda came up with the great idea to make a map showing where all of Granny's family were now living.The second celebration was for my Granddad and Grandma Ings. It was their 50th wedding anniversary! My Auntie Sue and Uncle Jerry hosted an amazing party at their home. They are pro's at hosting the best get togethers. One fun aspect was that G+G didn't know that Peter, Quinn and I were coming. Nor that they were having a party. My dad dropped us off at A. Sue's and as he was leaving my grandparents were driving up. The roads are really narrow out in the country so they couldn't help but see each other. So they were pretty suspicious but still a bit of a surprise all the same. After a while we decided we should probably inform them that they would be having a party so they were given an invitation. My granddad was hurriedly looking for his "goggles" so he could see while my Grandma read the invitation. She suddenly looked up and said" but that's today!" And was pretty speechless. Her facial expression was priceless. I regret not taking a picture. At this point my Granddad still didn't know what was going on! Well he was finally informed and soon friends and family were arriving to celebrate 50 years of marriage. Quite an accomplishment!
Tuesday we decided to go down to Portsmouth Harbour to see some of the ships. We toured the HMS Victory which was the ship on which Lord Nelson died. We also got to see the HMS warrior which was the first Iron clad ship built in England and the Mary Rose. They are still in the process of trying to preserve the Mary Rose and so we were able to view it through a viewing gallery as they sprayed it with a wax solution. Half of the ship which was exposed had rotted away but the other half was burried in the ocean floor so it was preserved. because of this you can see a cross section of the ship.

Moments like these...

I finished singing to Quinn, gave him one more hug and kiss and put him in his crib....
And he started laughing, as hard and as sweet as I have ever heard him laugh. He just took out his binky and gave me the biggest smile. And we just stood there laughing at each other for a couple of minutes.
I hope I never forget such a wonderful moment

Making our blog private

We had a fabulous time in England and I have tons of pictures and fun stories to post. Just a quick post though to let you all know that we are making our blog private. So let me know your email and I'll add you to the list :-)

Anticipation and other toys

5 months old love anticipation. They think it is the funniest thing ever. Favorite games now include tickle time and shark.

When we were moving into our apartment I overheard a neighbor telling the people who were helping us move that our baby was spoilt. Yikes! I never want to spoil my children and as I looked around our apartment I can see how she thought that. we have a playmat, an exersaucer, a swing and a bouncer, the crib, and plenty of clothes, shoes and toys. Then I realized how blessed are to have all of this. We bought the crib and the exersaucer but everything else has been given to us. And I don't think Quinn is spoiled. We spend so much time with him interacting,. We want to have a relationship with our son and we want to teach him about all that is in the world. When I do need a moment to get things done I am glad that he has toys to entertain him so he can keep learning and having fun. His exersaucer is great because he can play and sit up at the same time. His bouncer is fun for him because even though he doesn't really bounce he likes to walk around a little in it and gives him freedom. Having a few toys gives him the ability to make choices, his swing has helped him to learn about motion, his bath seat lets him enjoy the water and his stroller and car seat have enabled us to take him places such as the zoo, library, parks and airports. I don't think you need a lot to raise a child, simplicity is the best way but I am grateful for the generosity of others that has given our son new and fun experiences I am most grateful though for the generosity that has given me the opportunity to be a stay at home mum and to devote most of my time to our little moose. There is nothing else I would rather be doing.

Scooting and Sitting

Yup, thats right, our little moose is seeing the world from a whole new perspective. Sitting up and seeing his parents at the same time!

Haircuts and teeth

So you might remember me posting about 4 months ago that Quinn had a tooth. Well, turns out this tooth was on a spring and popped in and out of Quinn's poor little mouth for a while. Some days there was an obvious white point and the next it was gone. Well last Monday I got bitten but a nice sharp new tooth and this one was here to stay. I think the tooth must have been lonely though cuz the next day another one popped up right next to it. So our little man now officially has his two bottom middle teeth.

I was also shocked to find that at 5 months he needed a haircut. He sitll doesn't have a ton but what he did have was growing into a mullet and really long bangs so a haircut was needed. You can't really tell from the pictures but we took of about 2 inches in the front.

Before

After