My Baby Boy...

is ONE!

... and it's been more emotional than I ever expected it to be.  I never realized how special a first birthday is for a parent.  It makes so much sense now. 

I hear parents all the time celebrating "making it" after their child turns one. Sure, I believe that we "made it."  We survived a lot . . . good and bad . . . sleepless nights, long transcontinental flights, poop on our hands, bumps and bruises. And we successfully taught our boy a few words, how to crawl, walk and to throw a ball. 

But, through it all, this year has been most about our personal growth as new parents. About unconditional love. About sacrifice.  Life was suddenly put into perspective. We learned what is important. We experienced for the first time the knock-your-socks-off-crazy-kind-of-love that everyone warns you about...and we have never been the same since.

Here's to  many more years of unparalleled love and countless happy memories.  

365 Days of Ryan

The Birthday Boy!

1/18/16

One Month From Today

98 weeks down, 4 to go...

I'm in total disbelief.

How different from my post nearly 2 years ago?  This time, I'm actually disappointed to leave.  So much has happened, so much has changed, and so many memories have been made (best one being our boy).

It is really hard to believe that our time in London is coming to an end.  Only a few short weeks left here in this beautiful city that we've been lucky enough to call our home.

I have never felt such an intense mix of emotions in my entire life.  On one hand . . . I am beyond excited to go home and introduce everyone to Ryan.  I am looking forward to being back in our cozy NYC apartment and exploring one of our favorite cities with our little man.  And, of course, thrilled to be back in America close to our family and friends.
On the other hand . . . I am devastated to leave London. We have made an incredible life here. We have made lifelong friends who truly feel like family.  We have created such an unbelievable network of support.  We have had unforgettable experiences and made countless memories along the way.
Inevitably, there are things that we are surely going to miss.

Peter Jones, our Saturday farmers market, the tube & red double decker buses, weekend getaways, our key garden, RyanAir & Easy Jet, our church community, Chelsea FC, extra long summer nights, clean streets, driving past Big Ben, Westmister Abbey, & Buckingham Palace on the way home from dinner, the O2, Boris bikes,  Hunan & The Oak, the countryside, my midwife,  Hyde Park, HailO, Waitrose & Partridges (American section), & our awesome visitors ... to name just a few ;)

To think about leaving is harder than I ever could have imagined.

But, our time has come to an end and I'm choosing to leave with a  smile on my face and gratitude in my heart.  I will be saying farewell to London as a better human being, and for that, I will forever be indebted to this this great country and our extraordinary, once in a lifetime experience.

xx

3 Weeks of Bliss

The past three weeks with our little dude have been amazing.  Would you expect anything but? Thankfully my parents (and my SISTER!!!) were here to ease us into parenthood . . . cooking dinners, running errands, doing laundry etc etc. . . it was super helpful and extremely comforting!

It's overwhelming to think about writing all of the things that we did these past few weeks. 

So, here are some snapshots of our time: 

at the US embassy getting the little man his passport

taking a nap at his girlfriend harper's flat

we have a 10 pounder on our hands - filling out the stripes
1 week vs 3 weeks

~ ~ ~

Everyone is gone now . . . back to America and back to work for D! Yesterday (Monday) was my first full day alone with Ryan. It happened to fall on a day that he wasn't sleeping normally and spitting up more than usual.  Could he sense the pressure I put on myself to have a 'seamless' first day?  I'm wise enough to know that they don't exist as a new (or even a veteran) parent, but I did have high hopes.
Today (Tuesday) was a much better day.  We had a great night sleep and were fed, clothed, and out of the house by 10am.  The pride really peaked when we showed up to the chiropractor 10 minutes EARLY!! I mean, I was just happy to get us out of the house . . . but to be early was pretty impressive for Day 2.
We then ate lunch at Le Pain on Kings Road and strolled home after stopping into a few stores along the way. It's amazing how a small accomplishment can change the outlook of the day in a super positive way.
RyGuy is sleeping now and I'm ready to do the same.  Can't wait for Daddy to be home, but in the meantime will close my eyes and dream about a successful Day 3.

Spoiler alert: Day 3 was a success as well! Traveled a few miles away to meet with some of the ladies D and I did our prenatal class with. Felt good to get out of the house and chat about our babies and what we've been up to as new moms. 

xx

Our Boy!

Ryan Joseph

January 18, 2015 ~ London, England

After a super intense, yet speedy, 5 hour labour, our boy was born at 4:12pm at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, just a mile away from our flat.

These are some of our first moments as a new family of three :)

our first walk - D cursed the smokers on the street - we have a protective dad on our hands

~ ~ ~

A huge thanks to our wonderful midwife, Annabel, for taking such great care of me throughout my
pregnancy and ensuring a safe delivery of our baby boy <3

xx

Christmastime in London Town

Christmas 2014 marks the last one that D and I will ever spend alone again...and our first in London!!  Crazy, huh?  As strange (and sad) as it was not being home with our family, we really made the most of being in London during the holiday season.  There are so many fun activities around Christmas and we did as much as we could.
Getting to spend the week of Christmas here with our best friends was really special, too.  The 6 of us (plus T's parents) had Christmas Eve dinner at T&KC's in Notting Hill and it was a super fun night as always.

H & me

Petrolinos & Sullivans

the O'Neills

savvy six

we sure will ^

Christmas Eve, D and I went to 11pm mass in South Kensington.  Although I had to work really hard at 9 months pregnant to keep my eyes open, it was nice experiencing Christmas mass at a different church.  Needless to say, we slept in Christmas morning.  We made challah french toast and took a walk down the usually bustling Kings Rd., seeing only a few faces along the way. 

That afternoon we headed up to Primrose Hill to the O'Neills and had an equally as special Christmas dinner.  As always, we are extremely thankful for our friends here who have most definitely become our family.  

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas

xx

Mini 'Moon

D and I decided (last minute, of course) to go away for a night to commemorate our 10+ year relationship before we become a family of 3.  We cozied up at a nice hotel in Hampshire, about an hour south of London.  It was a great, relaxing, and special night.  The following day we had a delicious breakfast and then took a stroll around the grounds to snap some pics. 

On our way back to London we stopped at Richmond Park.  We've been trying to go there for months but never got around to it.  Since we had a car, we decided to drive through.  It was pretty amazing.  Huge, gigantic, massiveeee deer . . . EVERYWHERE !

London is great, but it was nice to escape for a couple of days. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Upon returning to London . . .

. . . some cookie baking

. . . making my Gram's gravy & meatballs for Christmas dinner

& all the while, growing by the minute - 37 weeks

xx