A Hot Man!!

Just a quickie.......(thought you might get a giggle)
We were talking to Charlotte this morning about what she would like for Christmas, the conversation went a little like this.........
Jenn -"Charlotte what do you want for Christmas this year?"
Charlotte - "A Hot Man!"
(I was laughing too hard to say anything at this point)
Ted - "No Charlotte, that's what you get for your 21st birthday!!"
I have absolutely no idea where she would have heard anyone talking about "A Hot Man", Mum and I would never have spoken about such things while she was here!! (by the way Mum, who did we decide was hotter again, McSteamy or McDreamy??)

Another busy week :)

This week was again busy, we had Julieanne arrive late last Friday (a week ago today) and she leaves very early tomorrow morning. We spent 2 nights in Washington DC, as we love the place and thought Julieanne would be interested. So once again we got on the bus and did the tour. There is so much to see that I managed to see a few new things, my favourite was the Air and Space Museum. They have so many cool aircraft on display, including the first ever powered aircraft to fly, it was made and flown by the Wright Brothers in 1901, amazing!! They have lots of fun things for kids to play with as well, even a Cessna 152 hanging from the ceiling for the kids to get into and fly (or at least pretend to). Charlotte had a great time.

The rest of the week we have been just been doing things around the house, nothing much exciting!! Everyone here is getting ready for Thanksgiving, I guess we need to figure out how to cook a Turkey, and Pumpkin Pie, Yum!!! Sunday has kindly given us all her recipes (thank you Sunday :) ) hopefully I am as good a cook as her!!

Victoria is doing well, growing, I weighed her today and she is about 10lbs 8oz now, so at 6 weeks she has reached Harry's birth weight plus 2 oz!! Once again Shell I don't know how you did it :) She now gives smiles all the time, but mostly when she is on her change table looking up at the Noah's Ark Aunty Mel gave us when Charlotte was born. Her hands are constantly trying to touch things like the toys on her play gym, it's amazing how quickly they change from doing nothing. I can't believe it's been 6 weeks already!!

Halloween in New York!!

I Love New York!!!! We had a ball :)

Ted arrived in NYC on Saturday night from Sydney, and when we spoke to him I was a little concerned as he said the apartment we had rented was "interesting"!! About 1/2 hr later he called back and said we were only about 2 blocks from Times Square and he thought it was great!! I was feeling much better :)

Mum and I packed up half the house and headed off on Sunday morning. Charlotte was very excited to be going on a plane again (I think like me she was having withdrawals), and Victoria had no idea that this would be the first of many flights for her. Both girls were great on the plane, Charlotte sat in her 'own' seat and was very excited about going 'very fast' when we took off, so cute!!

Ted was at the airport as we has a few bags between us and thought it might be easier to negotiate NYC for the first time with his help. It took a while to get to the apartment (the traffic is really bad, just like what they say!!) I soon understood what Ted meant by interesting, the apartment was Tiny and the interior decorator has a lot to answer for :) But it was so close to everything. We took a short walk to Times Square and were amazed, so many people around and so much to see. Being that it was Halloween kids were out trick or treating, the shops!! The place never gets dark as there are so many big screen's around. And so many shops to look at I didn't know where to start.

Monday and Tuesday we took the "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus as we thought it would be the easiest way to see some of the many things to see in NYC. To give you an idea, in Washington DC the other week, there was one bus trip you could do, in NYC there are 4 or 5 different routes you can choose!! We saw the Empire State Building and went to the Observation Deck at the 86th floor, the view was amazing, you could see so far, but it was so cold (Monday temps were between 2-9C!!, Ted only had a polo shirt and light jacket on, we were a little surprised by how cold it actually was!!) Next we saw 'Ground Zero', the site of the World Trade Center that is now just a building site, they are building new buildings to replace the old, plus a memorial to remember those that were lost. We didn't go into the visitor center as we wanted to keep moving. Next up was the 'Statue of Liberty'. We caught the boat accross to Liberty Island, she is massive, I knew she was big but WOW!! The trip back on the boat was interesting, Victoria had her first meal at Sea, while Ted and Mum tried to keep it kind of hidden while occupying Charlotte. One thing Americans don't do well is Baby Change/Feeding facilities, if you are planning to travel here with a breast fed baby be prepared to get your gear out in public places, you have no other options!! After this we headed back to our tiny apartment on the bus, we saw lots of other things from the bus as it drove all around the 'Downtown' area of NYC. Once home Ted and I headed out for dinner while Mum baby sat the 2 girls :) It was nice to be able to have an adult conversation with my Husband without being interrupted by a 2yr old, I even treated myself to an expensive glass of Champagne, actually Ted paid so he treated me :)

Tuesday we got back on the bus but the one heading 'Uptown'. We came a little better prepared for the weather, again it was under 10C. Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History, and once again so much to see, we only spent a few hours here and didn't see a 1/4 of what there was to see. Charlotte loved the animals, it would be great to be able to spend just a day here. Next up was the Cathedral of St. John the Devine (at Mum's request for those of you wondering). It was a very interesting building as it is yet to be finished!! It's taking a while.....they started in 1892 and it is still a work in progress. The other interesting thing we found there was the resting place of many famous poets, including one of John Stroud's favourites, Robert Frost (some of the younger generation may remember Frost from year 12 English). Mum and I think it may be bigger than the National Cathedral we saw in DC, but still a baby compared to many Mum saw in Europe. Last stop was Central Park where Charlotte had a play on one of the many play area's. We wanted to take a ride in the one of the horse and carts, but Victoria was due to feed again and I thought it might be a little too public (and cold)!! So we found a nice little coffee shop just down from Tiffany's and Prada and had a coffee there (milk for Victoria).

Mum and I had tickets to see 'West Side Story' for Tuesday night so it was Ted's turn to look after the girls :) The show was great, ended too quickly but it was fantastic to see 'West Side Story' on Broadway in NYC, who would have thought that Lynne and I would get to do that!! After the show we had a quick burger at Planet Hollywood and a bit of a walk around Times Square still amazed at all of it.

Wednesday morning Mum did a bit of souvenir shopping and we had a look at the m & m store before heading back to the airport. After checking in, we had lunch with Mum and then left her to catch the air train to her terminal for her flight back to Oz (and yes there were tears!!). We were very sad to see her go as she was a great help while she was here :) Thanks Mum!! Hopefully she is almost back in Albury safe and sound. But the visitors continue here, tomorrow night Julieanne arrives for a week.

Today ted was back to work and the girls and I had a relaxing day at home (if you call doing a hundred loads of washing relaxing!!!). Charlotte and I also did some toe nail painting (it was her first time, she is growing up so quickly!!) Check out the photo, her toes are so cute!!

Washington DC (again) and more!!

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while :) We have been flat out......... those of you that watch Mum's blog know that she got here safely back on the 16th, early actually, that is very strange for an American airline!! Ted has been in Sydney since the 17th for a work thing, catching up with some mates as well no doubt.

Mum, the girls and I have been doing a bit of shopping, as girls do :) Mum has a bit of an addiction to Santa's, yes I know weird!!! And I have seen more fabric in the last week than almost my entire life!! I was also very embarrassed when she took photos in the supermarket, she said the fruit and veg was displayed so nice!!! She said I can have the photo to attach here, but I think there are better things to show u!!! LOL!!! We spent a lot of last week just hanging around in local area, showing Mum where we live.
We headed to Washington DC on Saturday so Mum could see the sights. I went with a new camera, so you can imagine how many photos I took!! We did a "hop-on, hop-off" bus tour as with 2 kids under 3 we didn't imagine a lot of walking would be a good idea. It was a fantastic way to see a lot in a short amount of time. There is so much to see you could spend a month in DC and not see everything!! Hearing the commentary on the way around gives you a bit of info on the sights as well which is good. I really liked 'Union Station' it was amazing, as was the 'Lincoln Memorial'. Both were massive!! Next time I go to DC I want to go to the 'Air and Space Museum', it looks like a great place to spend a day. I think Mum had a good time, she loved the 'White House' (check out the photo). The girls were great, Victoria spent most of the time in the Baby carrier and Charlotte loved going on the Bus so they were really good (except for the few moments when Charlotte was tired and didn't want to walk!!) The trip home seemed to take forever (it's about a 3 1/2 hr drive on a good run, it took us about 5hrs!!). Between feeding stops, loo stops and Jenn is tired stops it took a while :)

Everyone here is gearing up for Halloween on Sunday night, people decorate their houses, they look so cool and the costumes you can get are fantastic. We will be in New York as of Sunday so we will see Halloween for the first time New York style. People in Virginia keep commenting that New Yorkers are 'interesting', looks like we will have a good few days :)

Victoria is growing quickly, at last check she was weighing 9lbs 3oz, so back past birth weight, good news!! She has managed to grow in length as well and her sight is getting pretty good. Now when she is awake she actually focuses on things. She smiles a lot, not sure if this is still a 'wind thing' or if she thinks I'm funny!! Victoria also has a boyfriend......yes I know not a month old yet but who can resist the handsome Jayden (he is 5 weeks older than Victoria, his parents are fellow Aussies in Virginia as well).

As we all expected Charlotte is very helpful, always wanted to put dirty nappies in the bin or pat Victoria when she is crying and say "it's alright, it's alright". She has also become an expert at putting the dummy back in :)

We are all looking forward to seeing Ted on Sunday in New York, Mum and I are going to see West Side Story on Tuesday night before we fly home on Wednesday. Ted has also promised me a fancy dinner somewhere in the Big Apple, can't wait :) Stand by for the New York photos with my new camera, I think there might be another Hop-on, Hop-off bus trip coming...........

More Fall Photos

Fall in Virginia Beach

Well Fall is here!! The weather is cooling down a bit, I wore jeans today for the 3rd time since we arrived, (it's a shame I still have a little belly and they were maternity jeans!! Ted is laughing at me as I write this....he thinks this is funny, clearly I don't!! Like he can talk, he has put on 5kg since we arrived....oh look at that, he just stopped laughing :) ).

Yesterday we spent some time outside in the front yard, and from previous pictures you would have noticed we have a few trees (if your interested look up our address on google earth, there are so many trees you can't see the house!!), all of which will loose there leaves. Lucky we have a blower!! Anyway, Charlotte had a ball playing in the pile of leaves we raked up for her, see the attached photos.

Today Ted went back to work so it was just me and my 2 girls. We had to do a spot of shopping (nothing exciting, nappies and a few other baby things) and then we had lunch with some friends. It was nice to get out of the house, but at the same time it was raining when we arrived at lunch so I learnt very quickly how difficult it can be to negotiate 2 small children in and out of the car in the rain!! Lucky our friend Toni was watching out for us and came to the rescue......Thanks Toni :)

After we got home I took a cute photo of Charlotte and Victoria together, I was cooking dinner and Charlotte got her step and put it down next to Victoria and told me she was going to sit and read Victoria a story, it was very cute!! Every book started "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess in a high tower............." (Thanks Dora).

Very excited, 2 sleeps till Nanna arrives :) but sad as only 3 sleeps till Daddy leaves :(

Well, we have had a very interesting first 10 days with Victoria. She is a very sleepy little princess during the day.........not so much during the night!! I think Ted and I both forgot how little sleep you get when there is a newborn in the house. Charlotte is loving the fact that she is a big sister, so very helpful as I'm sure u can imagine!!!

We also said goodbye to Grandpa last Wednesday, it was great to have him here for the 2 and a bit weeks, just a shame he didn't get more time with Victoria. Unfortunately he had to go back to work :(

Charlotte is very excited that Nanna Stroud is arriving on Saturday, I have not yet mentioned that Daddy is leaving for 3 weeks on Sunday, this is the first time she will be old enough to realise that he is gone, so I think it will be very interesting to see how she goes, I think Mum and I will have our work cut out for us!!!

Mum and I are very excited about doing a few trips while she is here, we have a trip to New York booked for the end of the month, Ted is going to watch the girls while Mum and I go to see West Side Story, can't wait, just need to find something that I can wear that will fit!!! My fabulous husband is also going to take me out to a romantic dinner in New York, no idea where yet..... let me know if anyone has any ideas :) Hopefully Mum, the girls and I will get to Washington DC for a few days as well.

Ted heads back to Sydney on Sunday for a conference, I'm a little jealous, but at the same time loving life here and glad I don't have to sit on a plane for all that time again, it's a long way :) But also very thankful that Mum will be here to help out with my 2 girls :)

Also big thanks to everyone for the gifts and best wishes on the arrival of Victoria, it was nice to get a few little surprises in the hospital when you are so far from home :)