The ZOO

Wednesday is "donation day" at the Zoo. For poor people like us "donation day" translates to "free day." This past Wednesday was a beautiful Fall day, perfect for an outing to the Zoo. I was most interested to see the giraffes. Bryn's attention, however, was captured by the playful monkeys and frantically flying bats.

A Blessing

We had Bryn's baby blessing on a Friday, 21 August, at my mom's house. We were happy to have our families join us for the occasion. Justin gave Bryn a beautiful blessing. It caused me to ponder a number of different things, of which I'll share two: (1) I am thrilled to have Bryn in my life. She has an energetic and inquisitive spirit, and I feel so blessed to have been entrusted to love her and teach her. (2) Justin's amazing husband status is challenged only by his incredible father status. I'm so happy that Bryn has such a wonderful dad.

It was a lovely evening.

Bryn was blessed by: Papa, Daddy, and Grandpa Mark

Homelessnessless

After much stress, many prayers, and 2 1/2 weeks of living homeless in New York City, we have finally moved into our new apartment. It is the top floor of an old Victorian home full of character and charm. We can see the Bay from our windows and watch the sail boats during the day and the sunset across the water in the evening. It is lovely, much more picturesque than our "Bronx" address would lead you to envision. We are loving it. However, poor Bryn is not nearly as entertained by me as she was by the LaBelle children.

Our {now} dear friends, the LaBelles, graciously allowed us to stay with them during our apartment hunt escapade. One month ago we had never met these people; I had only been put in touch with them through a friend in Oxford. I don't know what we would have done without them. We are indebted a lifetime of free babysitting! They have 3 children whom Bryn loved to watch and interact with, especially Levi:

Now, let me briefly expand upon our "apartment hunt escapade": We saw countless hole-in-the-wall places, like seriously HOLE-IN-THE-WALL, with unbelievable price tags. I kept asking Justin, "Is it even ethical to be charging money to live there? The landlord should pay the tenant to live in that place!" One apartment shown to us by a real estate agent had cockroaches in the bathroom. We asked, "Are they going to fumigate the apartment before people move in?" The agent's response, "This is New York City, Honey...get used to it." What?! This is still America, isn't it? Not some third world country?

We finally found a place without cockroaches nor mug shots of men wanted for rape taped on the apartment complex doors, so we decided to take it. The landlord refused to rent to us because we have a baby. Wait a minute, discrimination? So we find another place. We sign the lease, are given the keys, and are just waiting for our things to arrive from CA before we move in. Meanwhile, we realize the deadbolt on the door to the apt. is broken. We call the landlord and ask for it to be fixed. Landlord calls real estate agent and tells her he wants us out. He refuses the lease because clearly we are going to be "too much trouble." Is it unreasonable to want to be able to lock the door to your apartment? Especially when you're living in the Bronx?So now we have less than 24 hours before the truck with all of our things arrives, and we have to have a place to put it. Not a moment too soon our current apartment enters our lives like manna from Heaven. Great place, great landlords, lease signed, keys received, moving truck arrives, missionaries unload truck in no time at all, and voila! Here we are.

Other significant events that have gone unblogged thus far: Justin's arrival from Oxford; Bryn's two front (bottom) teeth, Bryn's blessing, and my mom's wedding. Will I blog these events? Only time will tell.

I borrowed Mark's uber nice camera while in CA and had a little photo shoot with Bryn. Here are some pictures for your adoration:

All You Need Is Love

...but flowers are still nice. Especially when they're sent from England.

I Love You, Justin.

Uncles & Grandmas & Travels...Oh My!

Brothers

Uncle Robert and Bryn at Stonehenge

Christ's Church Meadow

Mom, Bryn, and Me in Bath

The very beginning of our journey, driving to the London airport.

Thanks to an overbooked flight we flew business class and are now both $1200 dollars richer in flight money...saaweet!

Bryn enjoyed the classical music station

"And since we let our {business} class passengers do pretty much whatever they want, here {s}he is..." (Yes, that is the cockpit.)

Bryn's disposition after the long plane ride was very much the opposite of what I had anticipated. She was so happy to be in America!

Uncle Cody drove all the way to SF to help us with all the luggage (we needed 2 vehicles to carry it all). Thanks so much, Cody!

Why is it that whenever there is a ton to say I'm not in the mood to say it? Dunno, just one of those things I suppose. Hence, a brief synopsis of a few of the past month's events: Justin's brother, Robert, came to visit us in Oxford. It was fun to see him and to meet his new gf, Shalva. A couple days before they left, my mom arrived. (And we thought our flat was small with just the three of us...ha.) We all saw some sights together, and my mom and I spent an afternoon at a spa in Bath. It was very posh and totally awesome. Huge shout-out to the hubs for such a rad mo's day gift, "Muuah!" My mom conquered her phobia of flying (with the help of heavy doses of medication) to come help me fly back to the U.S. with Bryn. I'm so grateful she was there to help me. I don't know how I would have done it without her! I was super nervous about the 10+ hour plane ride, 3+ hour car ride, and jet lag to top it off, but Bryn did AMAZING!

Let Freedom Ring

I decided that I wanted to celebrate the 4th of July by taking Bryn swimming for the first time, a very 4th of July-ish thing to do, right? So we got her a swim suit, swim diapers, lathered her up in sunscreen, fed her full of milky goodness and headed out on the 2 mile walk to the pool. Upon leaving our flat we noticed that during our swim prep the sun that had been shining earlier was now clouded over, rain looked promising, and a chill was in the air. We went back inside, added sweatshirts and pants to our swim ensemble and headed back out...I was determined to go swimming on the 4th of July! We made it to the pool, paid the equivalent of $15 to go in ($15?!), stripped off our winter wear and stepped into the "heated" pool. It was COLD! Additionally, Bryn's happy awake time had elapsed and she was ready for a nap. I would have to be crazy to stick an already crying baby into the cold water and then walk her wet body 2 miles in the cold back to the flat, so we gathered our clothes, got a refund, wrapped Bryn in a towel and sat in a nearby park and ate a picnic lunch while she napped. Too cold to go swimming on the 4th of July?! Only in England. We did, however, finish off the day with a BBQ and fireworks with friends. Very fun. Very 4th of July-ish.

Bryn's face portrays the tragedy that was our swimming experience

Fast asleep 2 minutes after leaving the pool

A couple weeks ago we went to the U.S. Embassy in London to register Bryn as a U.S. citizen. I felt so grateful that she can be a citizen of the United States and enjoy the blessings and freedoms that will be hers as a result. I love America.

Contemplating freedom adorned in her festive red, white, and blue.

A Cougar in the Making