Destination: London, England

Almost two years ago - October 4, 2012 - we hopped on a plane with our possessions in tow and crossed the pond to a new life waiting for us in London.  Two years has flown by filled with a new baby born, new experiences had, new destinations reached and new friends made.  So far, this adventure has been everything and more that we hoped it would be for our family.

We were initially told by Geoff's company that we would be here for a couple of years and with that, Geoff expects to get a new job assignment sometime in the next few months.  But the location of that assignment is still unknown.  It might be another role here in London or his company could decide he's needed back in Houston.  We have our fingers crossed that it will be here in London.  While there are lots of things we miss about home in the US, especially our families, friends and Target, we absolutely love living here right now.  Not only do we have these crazy travel opportunities in Europe (hopefully you aren't getting tired of reading about all of them), but London itself is such a fun and exciting city.  It's pretty cool to go out for a run from our house and in the course of it, run by Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and the London Eye all in one go.  Plus, it feels like only two years here just isn't long enough to justify all the changes we had to make to leave Houston...selling our house and cars, giving up my job, etc.

Before the cold and rainy weather arrives, we decided to get some professional photos done of our family in London to take back with us as special memories just in case a move back to the US is in our near future.  We have lots of photos of us in places all over Europe but we didn't have a single (family) photo with some of the sights in our hometown.  I found a wonderful photo company (let me know if you live in London and want the name) and the photographer did an amazing job of capturing us around Big Ben, the Thames River and the oh-so-cute Notting Hill neighborhood.

H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y , OLIVIA !!!

Many, many times (like usually multiple times a day) on this adventure called parenthood I am at loss as to what I'm doing.  Completely clueless.  However, one thing I always know for sure.  Time is flying and my girls are growing up too fast.  And thanks to Olivia's recent birthday, we now have a 4 year old!

As Olivia moves out of toddlerhood and into being a young girl, we continue to see her personality come alive.  While she's still a bit shy and reserved in front of others less familiar to her, at home she is a chatterbox.  Her has a vivid imagination and it's humorous to eavesdrop on the conversations she has with herself, Ashton or her princesses.  Olivia is very observant and notices things and others around her.  She also must have a photogenic memory or something as she remembers things, particularly numbers, that occurred some time back.  For example, out of the blue she frequently will recall house numbers of friends' we visited once or hotel rooms numbers we stayed at on various trips from months ago.  I can't even remember what I wore yesterday!   Her favorite question these days is "Why?" which I hear all.day.long.  She loves her sister and despite the fighting over the same toy that seems to never end, they really get along sweetly.  

September 7, 2010

September 7, 2011

September 7, 2012

September 7, 2013

September 7, 2014

We skipped throwing a big birthday party for her this year and instead had a special family celebration.   On the Friday evening before her birthday, Geoff, Olivia and I (Ashton stayed behind with a sitter) went for a night out on the town.  First stop was the London Eye, the massive ferris wheel that sits on the Thames River.  Although she had seen the Eye in books and pictures and had walked by it several times over the last two years, she had yet to climb aboard it.  We didn't tell her where we were going or what we were doing until we got there and needless to say, she was pretty excited when we told her we were going for a ride. 

On board and checking out the views all around

The Eye was followed by dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe.  The food is way overpriced, but seeing your kid's eyes light up upon seeing the animals and the jungle surroundings make it worth it.

We told the waiter it was her birthday and when he brought out her dessert, she had to stand on her chair so the waiters and other patrons could sing Happy Birthday.  Olivia does not like being the center of attention so I was a bit skeptical of how she would respond to having so many eyes on her.   She did really good though and didn't seem to mind.  I think the burning fire in her hands was enough to distract her from the extra attention she was getting. 

Helping me make her birthday cake.  And by helping I mean eat the batter

And she's four! 

This girl.  We're so proud to be her parents

Chocolate cake per her request.  She certainly has her daddy's affinity for anything chocolate

Olivia's birthday presents had a common theme: Cinderella.  Our house has officially been overtaken by Cinderella and well, Disney princess stuff in general.  The joys of having girls...

I recently interviewed Olivia and asked her the same 15 questions I asked her last year on her 3rd birthday.  Here are her responses at the new, wiser age of 4 years old:

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? Cinderella
3. Where do you want to go on an airplane to?  New York
4. How old is Mommy? 33 (correct)
5. What is your favorite outfit to wear? A dress with flowers.  That's about it.
6. What is your favorite food? Spaghetti 
7. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
8. What is your favorite book? Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell
9. Who is your best friend? Veronica
10. What does Daddy do at work? Looks at his computer
11. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play
12. What is your favorite fruit? Apple
13. What do you want to be when you grow up? I will go to work and do princess work.
13a.  What do princesses do at work?  Go the the ball. 
14.  What do you like to do at school?  Paint a carrot
15.  What does Mommy do while you're at school?  Go shopping and play with Ashton