Part II: London and Paris

First, by special request, a photo showing my (and Marley's) entire outfits - including shoes:) Bonus: You get to see the back of Kristina's dress up close!

So, the day after the wedding, we left Cornwall and headed to London by train. We arrived in the late afternoon, ate dinner and then met up at the hotel with Tanya, Troy, and Jada (who had spent the first part of their trip in Brighton). The next day Jeff was really sick (we think food poisoning - Ick!*) so he hung around the hotel while the rest of us headed out for a boat ride along the Thames. You've already seen the photo of Mars with Big Ben in the background:) After the ride, we headed out in search of some children's museums. First up was the Natural History Museum. It would have been better for a little bit older kids, although on the plus side, it was free! Fine by me since Marley slept the entire time.

Here's Jada looking perplexed (and a little frightened) by the "womb room" - complete with a heart beat and a giant fetus! I thought it was cool.

After the NHM, we made our way over to the Science Museum. Since it was getting late, we headed straight to "The Garden", the very cool interactive exhibit for kids under 5. Marley and Jada loved touching all the different textures, making all sorts of sounds, crawling in various nooks and crannies, looking in the fun mirrors, and building towers with huge foam blocks.



But, by far, the most popular thing to do at "The Garden" was explore the water works. I highly recommend the Science Museum, if you ever find yourself in London with little kids - and it's free!

The next morning we took the Eurostar (the "Chunnel Train") to Paris. We didn't go to museums or even really try and see a lot of sites. We mostly just wandered around and enjoyed being in Paris.


The day we arrived was Bastille Day, so there was a celebratory mood in the air and we got to see fireworks.

We didn't actually go up the Eiffel Tower, but we were okay with that.


We loved our hotel, and its location. Jeff and I even got to go on a child-free date on the last night. (The weather was crazy that night! We were seated outside, but it suddenly started to hail, so we had to go in. Then the power went out! We eventually got our food, and the storm was over by the time we left.) Three nights was definitely not enough time in Paris. Oh well, looks like we'll have to go back!

Stay tuned for our final vacation episode, Part III: The Cote d'Azur.

*Jeff did eventually feel better and visited the British Museum. So, London wasn't a total loss for him.

Part I: Reading, Cornwall, and The Wedding

Our first night in England we stayed at Adam and Kristina's house in Reading. We were only there for about a day and a half, and we really wish we could have had more time. We walked on the river trail, which is only about a block from their house, and found a really cool playground for Marley to run around at.

Kristina and Adam's mid-nineteenth century home was really comfortable, and super cute!

When we left Reading, we headed to Wadbridge in Cornwall for three nights. The adorable Brookdale B&B, where we stayed, was just a few minutes walk from Adam's parents' house.

The Full English Breakfast was served hot just for us every morning. Yum!

One of the days we went surfing at Polzeath Beach. Well, not "real" surfing. Most of us were just boogie-boarding, and some of us were just floating around in the waves:)

Jeff and I took turns squeezing into wet suits and playing on the beach with Mars. Here's everyone getting ready for the "cold" water (it was warm compared to Puget Sound).

We hiked along a gorgeous trail that went along the coast. It was so pretty that Jeff and Marley even came back the next day to do more hiking while I was at the wedding rehearsal.

On the day of the wedding, we headed to the lovely Rose-in-Vale Hotel. It did drizzle a bit during the ceremony, but most of the guests were prepared. The ceremony was at 12:30 pm, and the reception didn't end until around midnight, so it was really nice to have our room right there. Jeff even took Mars up for his nap after the ceremony. Everyone told us how "smart" Marley looked in his dress clothes:)


The bride was lovely, and the groom handsome. We ate, drank, danced, and had tons of fun. Boy was it a long day!


Stay tuned for Part II: London and Paris!

Home, Sweet Home

Wednesday morning at around 10:30, we checked out of our hotel in Villefranche and boarded the train into Nice. We then hopped on a bus to the Nice airport, where we caught a plane to London's Heathrow Airport. From there, we hopped on another bus that took us to Gatwick Airport, where we caught a shuttle that put us at our hotel around 8pm. Phew! We grabbed a quick dinner and went to bed.

The next morning (yesterday) we woke up early to catch the 7am shuttle back to Gatwick, so we could catch a 8.5 hour flight to Charlotte, NC, where we had a long 4 hour layover! Yuck! After we finally boarded our plane for Seattle, they informed us that the runway was closed due to an incoming storm. So we sat on the plane, at the gate, for another 45 minutes before takeoff. We arrived in Seattle, after a 5.5 hour flight from Charlotte, just after 9pm (which I think is 6am Nice time).

Our luggage took forever to come out - but finally did, thank goodness. Liz picked us up at the airport in Seattle. Thanks, Liz! We said goodbye to our travel companions. Thanks, Tanya, Troy, and Jada! And we curled up in our very own bed sometime around midnight.

We have tons of stories and photos, which I will share soon - when I can muster up the energy. In the meantime, here's an adorable Marley picture to tide you over:)

And we're off! (Almost)

Our bags are packed (mostly), the house is tidied (somewhat), our travel arrangements have been made (for the most part), and we're ready to go! (more or less). Bright and early tomorrow morning we get on a plane bound for London. Okay, technically we get on a plane bound for Philadelphia first. We're looking forward to this, most likely our last, flight with Mars as a free "lap baby". Actually, I'm not exactly looking forward to the whole flying part of it (read: dreading), but I'm very excited to be going on vacation.

I may or may not be able to update the blog while we are away. So, here's our itinerary for those who would like to imagine where we are on any given day.

July 6: Leave home at 6am courtesy of our good friend, Liz (Thanks, Liz!); Depart SeaTac Airport at 8:40 am
July 7: Arrive at London Gatwick Airport at 6:55am; Hop on a train to Reading, UK to stay at Kristina and Adam's house
July 8: Hop on a train to Bodmin, Cornwall, UK; Pick up our rental car and drive to Wadebridge, Cornwall, UK to stay at the charming Brooksdale B&B
July 9: Enjoy a day at the beach with Kristina and friends; stay at the Brooksdale
July 10: Attend a garden party at Adam's parents' house; stay at the Brooksdale
July 11: Kristina and Adam's Wedding at the Rose-in-Vale hotel in St. Agnes, Cornwall, UK; stay at the Rose-in-Vale
July 12: Return the rental car and hop on a train to London; Meet up with Tanya, Troy, and Jada; stay at the Ramada
July 13: See London; Stay at the Ramada
July 14: Take the Chunnel to Paris; Stay at the Hotel de Seine
July 15: See Paris; Hotel de Seine
July 16: More Paris; Hotel de Seine
July 17: Take the train to Nice; stay at the Hotel Provencal in Villefranche (where Jeff and I stayed on our honeymoon)
July 17 - 21: Sit on the beach; stay at the Hotel Provencal
July 22: Fly to London; Stay at the Holiday Inn near the airport
July 23: Fly back to Seattle, arriving at 9pm (Liz?)

Whew! Wish us luck!

Proud Mommy

Here are the stats:

Weight (fully clothed): 27lbs 6oz (68th Percentile)
Height: 33.5" (78th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.5" (26th Percentile)

He only had one shot (Hep A) and was very brave - only a few tears. Here's the part where I brag:) His doctor said he should be saying at least 10 words by now. He is saying so many (well over 100) that I've lost count. He said over 10 words just while he was at the doctor's office. Including: Up, down, hi, bye, helmet, pen, light, hot, owie, teeth, fish, water, and yeah.

I've stopped trying to keep track of ALL of Marley's words, but I had an idea while talking to Kristie and Cecily the other day. I think I'll try to do several word lists grouped by location or circumstances. So, here are all the words (that I can think of) that Mars uses independently while playing in our backyard:

Down, help, kitty, meow, rock, stick, moss, hose, water, pretty, gnome, baby (frequently in reference to the gnome), bird (sign), yuck, caw (as in - the sound a crow makes), pine cone, owie, tree, and dirt.

Well-Baby Guessing Game

Marley has his 18 month well-baby check up on Tuesday. Any one care to guess his current weight and height? Do you think he's continued to climb the growth carts since his 15 month appointment?

Good Hair Day

Before


During

After

It was worth the $20 ($25 with tip) to take Mars to West Seattle Kids Salon for his very first haircut. He was excited from the moment we walked through the door and saw how many toys (and kids) there were to play with while we waited. He hardly realized he was getting a haircut between driving the tractor, watching the other kids, and playing with various toys. At one point, when he noticed the hair really starting to fall, he picked some up and said, "Uh-oh", but then it was back to driving the tractor. Our stylist, Janet, was amazing - and fast. She even gave us a lock of hair in a little keepsake card to take home at the end. Of course, for Marley, the best moment was when he got to have his very own lollipop - another first.