Proof that Spring does in fact Exist in Britain

Friday started out as a nice day (55 and sunny), so I decided to take the kids on a picnic the park. After Michael woke up from his morning nap, we loaded up some lunch and headed down the Clapham Common. Of course by the time we got there, the sun had disappeared and it was quite chilly. But we managed to have a good time regardless.





Kate loves her little brother.



Singing "Itsy-Bitsty Spider"



Saturday was truly a gorgeous day. I think it hit 67 degrees and the sun was shining. Danny and I both went for a run in the morning, and then we loaded up everyone (including Dexter!) and headed to Regent's Park. Regents Park is a huge, gorgeous park in Central London with a playground, tennis courts, lots of little ponds with waterfowl, paddle boats, etc. Dogs are allowed on the tube, so he was very happy to come with us and explore.




Look...short sleeves!!




Unfortunately, Sunday was back to its regularly scheduled dreary weather, and it isn't forecast to get above 55 all week. But the glimpse of sunshine and spring weather has rejuvenated my spirit.

Little Tree Hugger

So, although she is apparently an Anti-Feminist, she is also a budding hippie. She's nothing if not a constant oxymoron.




Whenever we are out & about, she'll exclaim "Ohhh! I need to go hug that tree" and run up and give it a big bear hug. It can take us forever to walk a mere 500 feet, stopping to dole out affection to a tree every 10 feet or so.



I swear I didn't teach her this...although Danny is quite suspicious.

Michael at 7 mos

Now that Michael is almost 8 months, I thought I would do his 7 month update.


At 7.5 months, Michael:
-Can sit unsupported. Hooray!
-Can get food from his tray into his mouth about 80% of the time.
-Absolutely loves to watch his sister and crack up at everything she does
-Takes 2 naps per day, and sleeps through the night when we are at home
-Loves mom the most. My poor mother learned this the hard way when she tried to feed him and he started screaming his head off. He doesn't like anyone else to hold him...not even Dad. And if he is tired or upset, he doesn't even like to be looked at by strangers.
-Is still wearing some 0-3mos clothing, some 3-6, and a scant few 6-12 items. I'm not sure what he weighs, but I suspect he is still on the lower end of the percentiles.

Wish it were Wednesday...

...cause that's my Veg Box day.
theSaevas love fruit and vegetables of all kinds, and we eat a lot of them. We get a delivery of local organic fruit and vegetables on Wednesdays. They come straight from the farm, usually still covered in mud. Danny jokes that they dip the veg in mud to increase its authenticity. It's like Christmas for me, opening that box to discover what delights await me that week.


Kate gets just as excited as I do. "Look mommy! More fennel. So yuuuuuumy!"



Michael is too little to get excited about the veg box like Kate & I do, but he reaps the benefits of fresh pureed food. (And for the record, he has come around to the parsnips. I guess he just gave up and acquiesced to eating them). I've never met a fruit or veg that I don't like, and I fervently hope to install the same love in my children.

Some more Italy pictures...

Here are a few more Italy pictures. I get a lot of questions about traveling with the kids, so I thought I would write a little bit about that. First of all, I have to admit that we are extraordinarily lucky with Kate. We drag her all over the world,and she is amazing. We have always brought her along on all our travels since she was a tiny baby, and she has always done so well. She sleeps everywhere, does not suffer from repressive jet lag, and is generally just so happy and agreeable to go anywhere and do anything. She loves to people watch and is so easily entertained. We couldn't ask for a better travel companion. We are quickly learning that our two children are very different personalities. Michael is much more high-maintenance and requires a bit more planning and patience, but we are determined to make it work. This is how he spent much of the time in Bologna:



Since Danny was in Bologna for work, the kids and I flew solo to meet him there. The air hostess remarked how brave I was, traveling alone with two small children. I replied that more likely, I was pretty dumb. The flight itself was a breeze however, especially after the comedy of errors I had getting to the airport. I had Michael in the stroller, my suitcase, and Kate. The plan was to take a bus to the train station, and then take the train to Gatwick. This plan would have worked perfectly if I had taken the bus in the correct direction. I rode the bus nearly into central London before I realized I was going the wrong way. After I realized my dumb mistake, I hopped off the bus and hailed a taxi to take me to the train station. This set me back a good 45 minutes. When I arrived at the airport, I checked in at the BA desk and learned that I had 20 minutes to make it to my gate. The BA desk attendant was not very optimistic, and actually started giving me the third degree about WHY exactly I was so late. (And for the record, I wasn't *that* late. There was only one desk open and I was behind the world's slowest family).

Anyway, I made my flight through the miracle of a 30 minute flight delay.

Kate's first Gelato experience. "Hurry up and take the picture Mom!"




Kate loved all the letters on the floor of the Vatican museum and was so proud she could ID them all.


Eating pizza in front of some Roman ruins.




This was the street our apartment was on in Rome.


Running up the Spanish steps. When we got to the top, she told me that she need to take a break. When I asked her if she was ready to get going, she told me she needed to sit and think about something. I asked her what she was thinking about, she said "I need to think about Daddy".




Kate, in front of the Trevi fountain.






Anyway, when we travel we always get an apartment. This way the kids can go down to sleep in a dark quiet room, and Danny and I can hang out and drink wine after the kids are (hopefully) asleep. Like I said earlier, Kate is so easy and just goes to sleep wherever. Michael seems to really miss his crib and likes to scream and let everyone know it. Luckily, Kate also sleeps through everything so that while we are trying to soothe Michael and stop his screaming, she is snoozing away right next to him.
But having an apartment is a definite necessity. It also affords us the ability to eat breakfast in the hotel room, or at least just have some fruit and milk for Kate. En-suite hotel rooms a la Embassy Suites are also great, but those types of hotels are not easily available in Europe.
We are pretty lazy tourists, which you kind of have to be when you're traveling with 2 small children. We're not going to be able to see and do everything we might want to, but that's OK. We're happy just to wander around, see what we can manage, eat & drink lots of cheese & wine. Packing light is also necessary. We aim to fit all our things for the four of us in one suitcase for weekend trips. It is so much easier to get around with just one suitcase. Kate carries her own backpack with sticker books and lots of healthy snacks. We hope that when Kate is older, she might be able to remember some of our adventures with the aid of photographs. Regardless, they will both have some cool baby books. :)

My little Anti-Feminist

The other night at dinner, Kate proclaimed to Danny: "Girls don't go to work or school. Girls have to stay home at the house and cook for daddy". ??? I can't figure out where that came from. I've always worked until we moved here! I couldn't make that stuff up if I tried.




And here is what Michael looks like with lipstick on. Or really, after he has been eating beets. He loves beets, but they make such a mess! The only food he hasn't liked so far is parsnips (you like that Stephanie & Amy??). I pureed some yesterday, and he cries every time I try to feed them to him. I'm a little perplexed, since I think they are delicious and they are really quite sweet. I'll keep trying to help him see the light.

..Roam Around the World

We're back from our super quick trip to Arkansas. We headed home to meet our precious Godson Alex, and help him get all baptized. He is truly too adorable for words. It is crazy how quickly you forget how small and sweet (not-so) newborns are. And Michael is only 4 months older than he is!! It was wonderful to see our bestest mates Tyler & Lesley, Ryan & Melissa (& KG & E) & Dave & Michelle (& Owen). Kate was also very excited to see Fletch & Riley (the dogs) and meet Lesley's nephew, Ben.
My parents drove up from Big D to meet us, and it was wonderful to see them as well. We spent some time planing our itinerary when they come to visit in June.

Here are a few more of our pictures from Rome.

Kate, running after the pigeons at St. Peter's Square



Gazing up in wonderment at the Vatican museum



Flying Michael in front of St. Peter's:



Danny & the kids


Kate and I in front of the coliseum





Kate especially loved the Gelato and the Pizza. Danny & I, well, we loved the gelato and the pizza as well.