Getting There is Half the Fun

As a child, I was thrilled about taking a 2 hour drive to the Lake of the Ozarks.  When we made the long drives to Colorado, Wisconsin and Florida, we were in heaven sitting in the back of our conversion van.  We would turn the seats around backwards and lay the bench seat flat to sleep and play.  We looked out the windows to play the license plate game or the ABC game with signs.  My parents did not have cell phones or GPS.  They used maps, made out of paper.  To keep in touch with friends' traveling with us, they used CB radios or flashed their headlights.

My how things have changed.  My children have traveled by car, plane, train, bus, subway, Chunnel and now by a ferry. (Cora has done that in her first year of life!)  Our journey to Ireland was very interesting.  On Easter morning, we drove for almost 5 hours north into Wales to the Holyhead port.  Our kids were quite content with their dual DVD players and Leap Pad and Leapster games.  We saw mountains, castles, windmills and lots of sheep.  We went through three tunnels in the mountains right by the Irish Sea.  The ferry was such an easy and convenient way to travel.  It was a 3 1/2 hour boat ride, and the kids thought we were on a cruise!
  

 Our route from Chippenham, England to Holyhead, Wales

 

        Ferry routes from Wales to Ireland.  We went from Holyhead to Dublin.

Three content kiddos

We drove right along the Irish Sea

If you notice the temperature, that is in Celsius.

Hard to see, but there was a HUGE castle

 Windmills in the Irish Sea

 Driving with the mountains on the left and the sea on the right

 Entering a tunnel through the mountain

There is our ferry at the port!  It was massive!

Driving onto the ferry

We parked the car and got out for the 3.5 hour boat ride.

Front row seats in the ferry.  It was a beautiful, calm day at sea.

Video clip from our front row seats

The kids enjoyed a pirate show and a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Video clip looking out the window

We had a room for the kids to rest.  The loved the bunk beds, although no sleeping took place.

 

Pulling into the port in Dublin.  Dylan loved watching all of the action.

Video clip: arriving in Dublin port

This was a great way to break up a long driving trip.  The kids had so much fun on the ferry boat!  We had our picnic lunch, watched cartoons, colored pictures, watched a pirate show, "relaxed" in our bunk beds and just enjoyed the various views from the ship.  It wasn't very crowded since it was Easter Sunday.  Our hotel was only about 10 minutes from the port.  This was a great beginning to a wonderful vacation in Ireland! 

One Year Check Up with No Pediatrician

Here in England, you do not see a pediatrician.  The entire family is assigned a general practitioner.  Cora was checked by a doctor once at 6 weeks, and she has only seen a doctor a few other times due to an unending diaper rash and sickness.  The "health visitors" here take care of developmental checks for babies and children.  So, instead of our one-stop appointment at the pediatrician, we had 3 separate occasions to cover all that would take place at the one year check up.

1. Getting weighed: I took her to a "Crafty Tuesday" play session in the town hall where 2 health visitors set up to check and weigh babies on a first come first serve basis.  She loved seeing all of the other babies and playing with the toys.  She's also really into the songs they sing at the end.  It's not a bad idea if you have an hour and a half to spare (by the time you park and wait your turn).

She weighed 20lbs. 1oz. which puts her just above 50% for weight.

 

In the town hall playing while we wait her turn to be weighed

Taking blocks in and out of the truck is fun!

They have tables set up with puzzles, books, playdough and various crafts.

The entire wall of the room is packed with pushchairs (strollers).  Most people walk everywhere.  You can see they just pop on the raincover and go.

2. Getting Shots: We receive a letter in the mail every time she is due for immunizations (which they call "jabs").  They give immunizations on Mondays at the surgery (doctor's office).  The appointment time is given to you in the letter.  Thank goodness I am not a working mother right now.  They really move the babies through on Mondays.  They have one doctor who has a very quick chat with you about the jabs, and then the nurses quickly do the damage.  They open the door for you to exit as the baby is just catching her breath from screaming.  I don't know any of the doctor's names since we always see a different one.  I miss having that relationship with a pediatrician who knows you and your children.  

Oh, and we carry this "Red Book" with us to all appointments.  They document her immunizations, growth charts and routine visits in here.  Her immunizations are kept on file in the computer at the doctor's office as well.

 

 

3. Developmental Check: Our health visitor made a house visit to see how Cora is doing developmentally.  We discussed eating, sleeping and several developmental milestones.  She was very impressed with Cora's ability to kick a ball, follow it and kick it again.  We think she got some of the soccer genes from Grandpa Trost!  Cora is doing very well in all areas.  She is saying about 20 words and beginning to take steps.  The health visitor could have weighed her at our house, but I already had her weighed the week before her birthday.  The health visitor wrote down a few notes in Cora's red book and was on her way.  She did not physically check anything on Cora's body.  Clothing was kept on at all times.  It was just a very different experience from our pediatrician check ups in the states.  

No one measures the length of babies here, so we did that ourselves.  Cora was 28.5" long, which puts her just above 25% for height. We are just so blessed Cora is a healthy baby.  We couldn't ask for anything more.

Cora's First Birthday!

It is SO hard to believe our sweet Cora is turning ONE!  It seems like just yesterday I was rushing off to the the Birthing Centre to have her.  I remember how shocked I was to be home on my couch with my new baby girl in my arms just 5 hours after she was born.  Now, and entire year has gone by so quickly.

What a first year it has been for Cora too.  She vacationed in London, Paris and Wales.  She flew on 4 international flights to the U.S. and back.  She went to Missouri, South Carolina and spent one night in Georgia.  Cora traveled on a double decker bus, a packet boat and a train through the Chunnel.  She has a picture next to Big Ben and she went up in the Eiffel Tower.  She attended a gold medal Olympic soccer game in London.  We think she is going to be a traveler when she grows up.  Not bad for your first year!

Cora is still our chilled and patient child.  She adores her big brother and sister!  She is taking steps and into everything.  She loves music, and she starts to dance as soon as she hears a song.  She is crazy about books, and I often find her looking at books on her own.  Cora uses signs for some words, and she has about 20 words in her vocabulary.  Of course we think she is brilliant and SO adorable!

Usually for a first birthday, we have a big party with 30-40 people.  Cora's first birthday was just the five of us.  She received many calls, cards and gifts.  I still decorated the house and made her a cake.  I was going to have her wear the party hat and shirt I made for Amelia when she turned one, but I decided to make Cora her very own hat and shirt.  I also made her a matching tutu.  It was hard to catch her smiles, but she was a very happy birthday girl.  Here are some pictures from her big day...

 She would not keep the hat on for more than a few seconds. :)

Ok, you won't sit on the couch...

Let's try the floor

 

Opening gifts

Amelia and Dylan with the birthday girl and 

her new Juicy sweatsuit from Uncle Tim and Aunt Paola!

I love those blue eyes!

Opening her card from Gigi and Grandpa over and over again

Her double decker bus board for her room

The boys with the birthday girl

She did not want to sit still for anymore pictures.

I enjoy making the cakes for my kids' birthdays.

Cake time

What is going on?

Daddy helped her blow out the candle.  She made her silly scrunched nose face.

Mmmmmm, this is yummy!

  Being one is so much fun!

 

What I Missed Today...

People often ask me what I miss about home.  Of course, I miss my family and friends the most, but there are often foods, stores and just "things" that I miss from the good old U.S.  I have to be careful here.  I don't want to sound like I am just complaining.  Truthfully, I am enjoying England more than I thought I was going to 6 months ago.  Living away from home, especially this far, has taught me more than I ever would have imagined.  I have learned about different cultures, foods, education systems and priorities.  More importantly, I have learned about myself.  I have learned about my own strengths and weaknesses.  I have deepened my relationship with my husband and our children.  I never thought I was going to leave St. Louis.  After living in two other states and one other country, I would say to anyone who has the opportunity to live away for a while to go for it.  It will not always be easy, but you will gain so much from the experience.

Having said that, here are the things I missed today...

1. Parking lots:  I missed being able to run to the mall or a store and park in a parking lot that was free of charge.  Instead, I drove around looking for a free spot to park on the street and then walked 2 blocks to the mall to purchase one quick item. 

2. One-Hour Photo:  I missed being able to sit at home at my computer and upload pictures to a store's website and then pick them up in the store just an hour later for a reasonable price and good quality.  Instead, I waited in line at a Kodak photo machine for 15 minutes with a sleeping baby wondering if I was going to get my errands done before she awoke.  I paid 39 pence (58 cents) for each picture.  You can upload pictures online and they will be mailed to your house in about one week, but there are no one-hour photo places nearby.

3. Hobby Lobby: I think I miss Hobby Lobby at least once a week.  I miss having a one-stop shop for all of my craft and sewing needs.  I found a scrapbooking store that sells colored cardstock, a curtain store that sells fabric and ribbon and the pound store sells little Easter crafts.

4. Kinko's: I missed the convenience of having your 5 minute job done as you wait.  Even after calling ahead, I had to leave what I needed done and return 2 hours later.  Yes, that meant I had to drive around looking for another free place to park!

There are pros and cons wherever you live, but today was just one of those days where I missed some conveniences from home. I did, however, enjoy the blue skies and sunshine today.  It was a perfect day for our 20 minute walk home from school.    

Baby food in England

The food here in England is much different than in the U.S.  I figured that baby food, however, would be pretty similar.  Not so much.  First of all, they use the term "weaning" here to mean, "introducing your baby to solid foods."  In the U.S., we use "weaning" to mean, "ending breastfeeding or bottle feeding."  I learned that when a health visitor came to our postnatal group to discuss weaning.  The philosophy here is to use "child-led weaning".  They encourage you to let your child feed herself, and they say it is not necessary to puree foods.  In fact, they do not encourage spoon feeding.  The health visitors here (which are the informational specialists for babies and children since you do not see a pediatrician unless there is a medical reason) suggest that you begin introducing solids around 6 months.  With child-led weaning, you steam vegetables and cut them in long pieces that are easy for the child to hold.  You can offer anything soft and easy to chew.  The idea is to get the child to eat what you eat and be in charge of her own amounts.

 

 It sounded really good to me, but I started both Dylan and Amelia on rice cereal.  I was afraid if I went straight to solid foods, she would choke.  So at 6 months, we gave her rice cereal out of a spoon.  She did really well.

 I started giving her these Farley's Rusks.  It mushed up easily as she chewed on it.  You can actually mix these with water to make a rice cereal.

I started steaming veggies with our dinners and cutting them into pieces for Cora.  She did really well with carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans.  I took a look at the store just to see what they offered in baby food.  I found that most baby food here comes in glass jars.  I was fine with that, but it was a change from the plastic cases in the U.S.  They do not have Gerber here.  The main baby food brands are Cow & Gate, Hipp Organic and Heinz.  I was very surprised to find the various flavors of veggies.  My older kids ate green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes.  Check out these jars...fruit muesli, baby cauliflower cheese, my first bolognese, carrot potato & lamb hotpot, and apple & cookie crumble.

How about these...

sweet squash & chicken, pasta in a tomato & ham sauce, spaghetti bolognese....

They do sell these in plastic tubs.

 And these are great for on the go

 

 Cora also likes the various rice cakes.

One health visitor said not to even purchase food from the baby aisle.  She said most baby food has added sugars.  She told me to feed her what we eat.  Other than a few baby food items, Cora pretty much eats what we eat, including oatmeal, Cheerios, vegetables, chicken and meatloaf.  It is convenient, and I think she's getting enough.  What do you think?