1st Day at Nursery School

Well the day has come when Emma is now old enough to join in a school. We signed Emma up for a Nursery School down the street from us here in London, Willows Preschool. She got a new book-bag for school and a pair of Wellies and with her lunch bag in hand she headed off to school for the 1^st day. Now it is just another schedule for us to remember. One thing is fantastic; she is exhausted by the days end. Daddy drops her off in the morning and mommy picks her up in the afternoon. She started of with tears when she headed in and now a week later we have tears when it came time to leave.

Cancun in December

Well the day after Christmas we all packed up (the 6 of us) and headed to Cancun. Our little winter holiday was fantastic. Our first day in Cancun we commandeered a cabaña for the entire day; right next to the pools and food. We spent the entire day lounging around and eating (and of course taking turn on who went in the pool with Emma). On our second day we made it down to the beach for all sorts of fun. Grandpa built sandcastles with Emma, and buried her in the sand. She had no fear of the water and walked right into crashing waves. We ventured away from the all inclusive resort and had dinner at a great Mexican restaurant downtown. They knew just how to make guacamole!

Christmas 09

And back on a plane we go, as we now journey back to the states for Christmas. We head to New Jersey to have Christmas with the Kollmann’s, on the 24^th. Christmas came early to us as when we arrived at Heathrow Airport to find out that we were upgraded to first class for our long trip back to the states. WOW, that I can get use to, and apparently so could Emma (as now Emma expects to get warm nut and grapes when she rides any airplane). We had a lovely and quite Christmas in Jersey with Grandma and Grandpa Kollmann, Aunt Kit Kit and the Bauser clan. Emma really enjoyed playing with Grandpa’s train sets (which he placed at her level on purpose).

Emma is 2

And Back to London – The Actual Birthday Celebration! Unfortunately Mommy had to work that Saturday, but left early to come home and celebrate with her 2 year old; with a yummy dinner and a great chocolate cake. We were also lucky to have 2 lovely guests join us for dinner. Greg and Jon were in London, Greg will be teaching at the Ithaca College London Center this term.

Emma loved her new lady bug to ride though out the house and she also got her 1st piece of luggage, I guess she is truly a world traveler (she should be with around 75,000 air miles of her own).

Hanukkah in London

Well we had not prepared our self’s to be in London for the holidays, so we had to improvise. Emma and mommy made a homemade menorah for Hanukkah. We also had to keep reminding her that she could not blow out the candles (one of her favorite things to do). It was a nice quiet Hanukkah in London together.

Early Birthday Celebrations

A month before Emma’s 2^nd birthday we were on a long holiday in the States, so what better that to have a pre-birthday party. A great excuse getting everyone together for a visit. We are so thankful to everyone for all the gifts and for wishing Emma a Happy Birthday.

And thanks to Aunt Kit Kit for making all those yummy cupcakes!!

Thanksgiving 09

We had a nice long holiday in November, when we made the long trek back to the states for Thanksgiving. We were able to spend lot of time with family and friends and made it around to see most of them. Also on our agenda when we were home was to put our Riverdale Co-Op on the market. I guess we are finally out growing our tiny apartment or we have just gotten spoiled with the house we have in London. We also announced out upcoming new arrival to our family. We are expecting another little one at the end of June. That could also be part of the reason we had decided to put the apartment on the market.

For Thanksgiving we were very lucky to have been invited to Becky and Jason’s house, were the Klein, Richardson’s and Gwen were all brought together. Emma got to play with her cousins all day long, playing dress up with Georgia or reading books with Gabe. Emma didn’t even mind when mommy held baby Hazel for awhile. We had a fantastic time and were sad to leave.

London Halloween 09

Well we didn’t know how popular Halloween would be in London. All the stores had the candy and costumes out for sale, people were talking about it and signs were announcing it. However once the day came, it was little to be desired. We bought a pumpkin to carve out. Emma got to dress up as a ballerina and we trekked around a chilly Raynes Park in search of houses that looked like they were giving out candy. It was a big bust and we came back home later with an empty bag. Emma didn’t know any different and enjoyed her walk around the neighborhood, swinging in her skirt.

Our Maine Visitors

This morning we were happy to welcome Grandma Susan and Grandpa Bob from Maine to London. We were lucky to have some time to show them around London and our favorite sights, including Emma’s favorite playground and a walk through Kensington gardens.

The a waited event was one we had been planning for months, the Canal Boat Trip. All 5 of us packed our bags and boarded a canal boat in Bath. We spent 4 days on the river Avon, stopping in at cities and testing our muscles against the Avon locks. We had a blast and practiced our ABCs in the echoes of the tunnels. And it took some skill to drive those boats through the turns.