Monday, May 20, 2013

The Blue Bell Forest

When my husband and I were dating, we loved taking walks together. It seems like it is harder and harder to find time to do this--it seems like there is always too much to do....but when the weather is nice on a Sunday afternoon we try to get out for a little stroll. The following pictures are from one of my husband's favorite walks, just steps away from his child hood home. Only in May can you see the magical blue bells that make the entire forest smell like the color purple! Here are some pictures from our walk and a few from a few years ago.






















Sunday, March 17, 2013

Isaac Turns TWO!! And More...


I am not the best blogger. I LOVE reading blogs...I read Nat the Fat Rat (my favorite), CJane and NieNie weekly but I just think, how many people are really going to want read about our lives--when everyone has so much going on in their OWN lives....? Plus, it takes forever to upload pictures and etc. But on the other hand, I think because we are a 'Transatlantic' family, maybe I should try a little harder to share photos and all of the shenanigans we are up to, since half of our family will always be an ocean and a continent away. So, maybe I'll try a little harder. We'll see :-) .

Basically, the start of 2013 has been rocky. In mid January, just 2 days before what I hoped would be a wonderful "Cowboy Party" for my little Isaac's 2nd birthday, we had an ultrasound and once again, heard the awful words, "no heart beat--I am SO sorry." Oh, I can't express the horrible emotions that followed. Finding we lost another baby girl at basically the same gestation as the one we lost over the summer was almost more than I could bear. I'm sure you're wondering,  "Why is this happening? and "What is wrong with you, Ally?" is what you are probably thinking--and I'm wondering the same thing. They have done a long list of tests (all of which were done in America in June, too) and nothing abnormal has been found so far. Because this was our third loss, we were able to have genetic testing done, and those results haven't come back yet. Things are much slower here in England in the way of health care, the doctor's office said some tests take three months to get results for--which is hard for me to deal with because when this happens to you, and THREE times no less--it's very difficult to wait that long for answers. The "consultant" hasn't been very helpful. I've called to ask questions and left messages for a return call three times, and she still hasn't phoned me back. It's frustrating. Don't go to socialized healthcare, America!!! :-) The doctors we were able to talk to at the hospital did warn us that there might not be a problem to find (mainly because we have had a successful pregnancy) and were optimistic about us having another baby with the help of a high risk doctor--so I cling to that hope. The thought of not having another baby makes my heart ache, but going through another 2nd trimester miscarriage is a terrifying thought. We are very grateful that we were able to have Isaac so easily. Sometimes I feel selfish for wanting another baby so badly when I have friends who have not had children and who struggle with infertility and etc. I think I want another child so much because my brothers and sister mean the world to me and I would feel that I have failed little Isaac if I don't give him at least one brother/sister to go through his life with. Sorry to be so depressing...I know there are MANY people with more difficult problems than me!

Anyway, on to happier things. Isaac. Wow, I can't tell you how much we love him. I had VERY high expectations of motherhood and what my baby would be like--he is better than anything I could have dreamed of or hoped for. He is SO funny. He has a horse obsession. He can say "horse" in so many different ways-"horsey," "hoooorsssez," "baby hORse..." it is SO adorable. He is a true cowboy-I'm not sure how that happened. I called him my little cowboy when I was pregnant with him because he would go crazy when when he heard country music, but I never actually thought he would be so nutty about all things cowboy. He hardly ever leaves the house without his cowboy hat. He even likes John Wayne movies. My cowboy grandpa is probably in heaven smiling at him everyday :). Isaac is really starting to talk and communicate with us which we love. Some of his new words are: pocket, stories, horse show, Gruffalo, pants, shirt, boots, train, chair, treat, juice, chocolate, car, blanket. He has mastered animal sounds, that's an old trick :-) and parts of the face/body. We are working on the alphabet, but honestly, he only knows the "B" consistently. We are working on colors too, but he says everything is blue :-), nobody's perfect! He is smart, cute, funny with a head full of blonde curls-I couldn't ask for a more perfect little boy!

Here are some old and new pictures:

Isaac, five months-just before we moved to England

That's me--29 weeks pregnant, I got A LOT bigger :)...hoping it'll happen again someday

With my baby in D.C. in June 2012 (visiting my brother, KevRon)
My Christmas Elf-December 2011

The day after the best day of my life--Isaac still in the hospital at 1 day old



Summer 2012

The Lake District, September 2012

October 2012

Summer 2012--perfect mustache!

On the farm, summer 2012

Isaac LOVES strawberries

My wild and crazy cowboy

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Bridlington

We finally took Lil Isaac to the beach! We met up with all of our church friends and had a great time! We went last year, but Isaac was just too little to enjoy the sand and sun! We went to Bridlington, a town on the eastern coast of England. English sea side towns definitely have a different feel than the tiny towns I visited on the Oregon coast growing up. Obviously, the buildings are much older...there aren't as many nooks and crannies to explore--just a wide open beach! I actually love both for different reasons. I love getting fish 'n' chips and donuts from the street shops in England, looking at the Victorian buildings that have seen better days but are still so beautiful. I love searching for  whole sand dollars, shells, chasing tiny crabs, stopping at fresh fruit stands (for raspberries or blackberries) and eating an elephant ear in Seaside when I visit all of my family's spots on the Oregon coast--AND eating fresh crab (of course)! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:









Eric Carle

When I was a child I absolutely loved Eric Carle books. When I taught first grade, he was still my favorite children's book author and the inspiration for my favorite art project of the year. Now, I am a mother and my little boy's favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear...I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree there!  I was looking at amazon.uk tonight and found that I MISSED the launching of a new Eric Carle book last fall. Has anyone read it? I just ordered it for Lil Isaac and me and I can't wait to get it!  I quit teaching when school ended in May 2011, I can't believe I am out of the loop already when it comes to new picture books!



I've been thinking a lot about teaching over the past few weeks. I absolutely LOVE staying home with my little boy-it's always been my dream to be a stay at home mom, but my husband and I have been considering the possibility of moving back to America and if we decide to go that route, I would definitely need to teach again at least until Isaac's business got going. When I was teaching, I loved the start of the school year--Fall is the best season! In first grade, we always started the year with our color unit. Colors and Eric Carle go so well together! We talked about warm and cool colors and how Eric Carle used the contrasts to make his creatures and animals come to life. After reading MANY of his books, and studying how he made his collages, the kids would follow his process, step by step. This took many days, but the outcome always amazed me! Here are a few pictures from some of my past groups of first graders. If you would like a lesson plan on the process we used, email me, I'd love to share but didn't want to take the time to type it out for family/friends not interested (really the only people that view my blog). :D I was just remembering and having a good time looking at the my students' lovely creations!




Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Summer in America-A LOT of firsts!

We just got back from spending about 7 weeks in America. We hadn't planned on staying that long...VERY sadly, we lost the baby girl I was carrying at 15 weeks. I'll write more about that another time. Baby Isaac and I spent a lot of time with my mom, oldest brother and his family. Before the miscarriage happened, we were able to visit my brother in Washington, D.C., my sister and nephews in Seattle and my auntie, uncle and cousins in Walla Walla. We even had lunch with two of my dearest friends in my hometown, Kennewick. Little Isaac had so much fun...he loves being the center of attention and he was kind of a star all summer. He swam for the first time and then swam MANY times, saw his first movie, ate his first Happy Meal and so much more! He has been my joy and comfort since losing the baby we were so excited about having.

Isaac before getting in Aunt Debbie's pool 
Isaac and Momma

In the baby pool at Uncle Stevie's

Isaac swimming with some of his favorite people, his cousins and uncle