Considering London

Catch Up

We had such a fantastic time home! From seeing family and friends to celebrating Brian and Carleton's wedding, it was so fun and so busy! Not to mention the warm, warm weather! Here are just a few pictures to highlight our trip.

Hanging out with Aunt B who also taught Wiley (and me) to appreciate some of the more current music...we may or may not have a slight Bieber fever in our house.

Squeals!

Hanging out with Maddie! (And Allyebug came too!)

Playing with Pop.

It was a little sunny, but I'm not complaining.

Thanks to Cole and Raymond, Parr got to meet a lot of our friends in B'ham.

Meeting Gena and Charlie!

I loved getting bathed in T's sink!

Meeting NaNa and PaPa!

Now that we've enjoyed our trip to the States, we are back in London to enjoy the rest of our time here. We are excited to have friends visiting for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I can do a better job of blogging about life here in London, too!

We've just been loungin'

But not really! Big Brother is in the States, but Parr and I have somehow stayed busy between running errands and getting to visit with friends. Less naps have been taken this week than originally planned, but nonetheless it has certainly been low-key. Parr was definitely missing his brother at bath time!

We've been out and about getting fabric samples, window shopping, and visiting with the friendliest 91 year old man (He tried to get me to guess his age. I'm not falling for that one!) in the yogurt aisle at the Waitrose. He stopped me as we were meandering through to look at Parr. We agreed that children are miracles and that Italy is a fabulous country. I learned that one of the best tenors (opera) is named Florence and is from Peru. I also learned that the secret to old age is keeping your mind sharp. He was so sweet and friendly; I felt like I could have been in the Piggly Wiggly having this long conversation with a complete stranger. That just doesn't happen here.
Parr also had his 6 week check up. I was planning on them weighing him, but alas, while the baby clinic (where you are supposed to go on Wednesdays to get them weighed) is in the same area as the GP, they cannot access the scale to weigh a baby. I don't get it. I may or may not have dropped a minute amount of sass and name dropped our pediatrician's name at home.

But apart from having no idea how much Parr weighs (he is gaining weight), all else is well.

5 weeks

Parr will be 5 weeks old tomorrow, and we are enjoying some time with just Wil, Parr, and me. I am missing Big Brother and the house is eerily quiet without him; however, he is off having a ball in Alabama where so far (last I talked to him) he had had bubblegum and homemade waffles with a promise of an icee this afternoon. Needless to say he is a very, very happy boy! And we cannot wait to join him in a few days. [I would like Zoe's chicken salad and sweet tea in lieu of an icee. ]

I'm thankful for this time with Parr, and selfishly, it is a chance to slow down and (as corny as it sounds) reflect on the past month. That is, when the jackhammer next door is not going strong. If the workmen spoke english, I would have some thoughts to share about jackhammers and infant naps. Oh wait, Wiley already took care of that. While my parents were here, he marched next door, and told the worker men (as he says) that their noise was really bothering him and was very annoying, and when would it stop. Mom said they said 5 days. Not so much the case.

We've made quite a few outings with Parr--to church, Bible study, to Wiley's school for the school run, coffee with a friend, dinners, and two Junior League meetings.

Perhaps the best was when Wil and I got a "posh curry" after getting Parr's passport (Wiley was in school). [Warning: Spit up involved. I should just put that under the header because let's face it, with a baby, spit up is always involved.] We arrived early at 12 noon (no one eats til 1), Parr starts crying after we sit down even though I had just fed him. After trying everything else, I had my "posh curry" while nursing Parr. (I love my "bebeaulait" nursing cover.) Of course, Parr spits up all down my side of my leg. Whatever. What is a little spit up? I clean it up on myself and him. Then, a while later, a busboy comes up with a wet towel. He kneels beside my chair and starts wiping something off the floor. On the same side that the spit up incident happened. As businessmen and women began trickling in from their "posh cocktails in the bar area," I couldn't even make eye contact with the busboy. I just pretended it never happened. And that was Parr's first "posh curry."

This little boy is on the go, and he loves, loves, loves sleeping in his stroller. He wouldn't nap in his moses basket this morning, so finally after trying to get him to sleep for over an hour--I popped him in the stroller and off we went to run errands to the library, post office, and butcher. In minutes the boy is asleep. And stays asleep when we get home so mommy can eat lunch!

Rub a Dub Dub

Parr got to take a bath with his big brother. He enjoyed it much, much more than his previous baths alone.

I think it had something to do with the faces Wiley was making at him.

(warning: about to do a bit of a baby brain dump to update and remember for myself and family.)

Parr is doing well. He's almost 3 weeks old. He is getting much chubbier, especially in the face and neck area. He is pretty fussy/restless/doesn't want to go to sleep in his moses basket between 6 and midnight. But once he has his last feed, he is pretty good for the night, waking up to eat every 3 hours. Other than that he is really good. The mornings are especially best because he wakes up, eats, then goes back to sleep very easily. We thought we would make it without a swing, but with this restless/sleep strike in the evening, we bit the bullet and ordered a small travel swing (space is at a premium in our flat). I can't wait for it to get here. I also ordered a Moby sling/wrap so that I can "wear" my baby. Also exciting because honestly as much as we would like to be able to hold Parr all the time, we just can't. I hope he likes the sling...Wiley screamed bloody murder when I put him in his Baby Bjorn when he was little. My mom left to go back home this weekend, so that was a bummer. However, we are just so thankful she was able to come for so long. This week it is just the four of us, and it is kind of exciting to be doing it just us and seeing what it is like. We are thankful too that T is coming next week when Wil is back at work. SO thankful for all of our family. Wiley is continuing to be a sweet big brother. He did a little show this morning for Parr singing some worship songs in the microphone. This afternoon, he sang quite a few renditions of "she'll be coming round the mountain." It's hilarious to say the least. I'm amazed at how Parr is growing, and when I see pictures of the two boys together, I still can't really believe that I have two children. Two boys. Wow. And what a huge blessing.

Hopefully soon I'll do a post about Parr's arrival which might be fun to read (or might not be?) to see the difference in having a baby in the US and in the UK (on NHS)...

Brothers

Things are lookin' good here.

Um, mom, why is he starting to cry?

Hey, Parr, just pose for the picture and then she'll leave us alone.

Pose is not working. Can you take him already?

Welcome Home Parr!

Howard "Parr" Cooper was born on December 29th

7lbs 4oz

Proud big brother Wiley. Wiley also made the sign we came home to at the house. The boy is Parr "when he is 4" according to Wiley.

Sweet Little Parr!