We've Arrived in England!

We made it safely to England yesterday! William was wonderful on the flight over. He didn't cry at all-just a couple little whiny moments. He fell asleep not long after we boarded. He slept very comfortably on my lap-which means I got about one wink of sleep! He woke up a couple hours before we landed, and he was surprisingly very happy. I think the people around us were impressed and VERY relieved that he hardly made a peep. I could tell by the looks on their faces when they saw us board the plane and find our seats that they were inwardly groaning. I would've been too!

We landed at 9 a.m. England time (3 a.m. Minnesota time). It took an hour to stand in line and go through immigration at the airport (thank goodness William fell asleep in his stroller). Lucky for Olly he went right through. William and I had to go through a separate line for people visiting and citizens from other countries. Olly is a citizen of the UK so his line was short and quick. After waiting for an hour and getting up to the immigration officer, he informed me that we could've also gone through the line for UK citizens because we were traveling together. Wish I had known that an hour sooner! I will remember that for next time!

Olly's parents were waiting for us. They were thrilled to meet William for the first time. He gave them each a little smile and was very curious about everything going on. We had about a 2-3 hour drive back to their house. William was wide awake for the first part. After we stopped for lunch, he slept soundly for the rest of the ride. He was happy when we arrived at their house, because he was finally able to crawl around and explore. He took a nap at 7:30 (I thought it was bedtime-boy, was I wrong). He woke up around 10:30 or so and refused to go back to sleep. That makes sense because according to his internal clock it was 4:30 in the afternoon! I gave him to Olly who was hanging out with his mom and dad waiting for his brother, Giles, to arrive from London. I was so tired and just couldn't keep my eyes open. William was awake until 1:30 in the morning! I woke up this morning thinking it was still quite early, and much to my dismay, it was 11:30! William was still sound asleep, so I woke him up right away. We will never get him on England time if he sleeps that late!

We had Sunday lunch at a very quaint pub down the road this afternoon. I had to eat quickly because William was cranky and desperate for a nap. He is now sleeping, the others are still at the pub enjoying their lunch, and I'm back at the house. It's so relaxing here. Olly's parents live in a very old (built in the 1700s) home. It's quiet. I think I might started reading a book-not a school book!

Merry Christmas! I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.

A "Sneak Peek"

We had William's professional pictures taken the other weekend (9 months and Christmas pictures). I'm going to post a few here-not all though! We are sending some out as Christmas cards, and some are going out as gifts, so I don't want to post all of them!

They are adorable! He was SO photogenic that day and was eating up all the attention. I could not ask for a better, happier, and more content baby than William. To put it simply-he is such a joy! Who knew I could love a little baby so much?!?!

William Met Santa!

We took William to see Santa today. He was so cute (William, that is!). He enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap and was eating up all the attention from the onlookers and us. We have a great picture of him with Santa. Unfortunately I can't paste it into this post, so I'll give the website and code to enter. Click on the link, and it will take you right to Santa and William!

www.mysantapics.com

Click on "find your photo" and enter: 336-JUFF-CSCY

Please Pray...

My grandma is in the hospital right now (see her picture in the post below with William). She was diagnosed with cancer about 10 years ago-Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It's a very slow growing cancer. She had a cat scan yesterday, and they found that the cancer is getting worse. They are trying to control her pain, and they are talking about trying a new chemo that will hopefully shrink the cancer and make her more comfortable. It sounds like hospice is going to be involved too. Please pray that my grandma can be pain free.

My grandpa (her husband) passed away a year ago on December 1st. My other grandpa died two days after William was born-it will be a year on February 23rd.

Also please pray for my friend's husband, Eric. Jenny has been a long time friend of mine, and her husband was diagnose with testicular cancer at the age of 30. They have three young children-the youngest was born at the end of September. He starts chemo tomorrow, so please pray for him too.

Thank you!

William's First Thanksgiving

William slept through his first Thanksgiving meal...which meant a relaxed and enjoyable meal for mommy! He woke up after we ate, and then it was his turn to eat. Of course he loved it! He ate turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a couple bites of an apple from apple pie.

Here are some pictures of our first Thanksgiving with William.

I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for this year-great family, husband, job that I enjoy, good health, and of course, my son. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!






William and Great Grandma Ward

Happy 9 Months, William!

William turned 9 months old today! I can't believe he is three-quarters through his first year! He is changing so much everyday. He is moving a lot now. If he sees something he wants, he crawls right for it. We have to really watch him around everything now. This evening I was sitting on the floor with him folding laundry, and he picked up a very small piece of lint! He will pick up anything and everything.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. William will be eating turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. MAYBE I'll give him a little taste of apple pie!

Here are some pictures I took tonight of him wearing a Santa hat. Please excuse the Santa hat! I bought it at the Dollar store, and it's an adult size (I pinned the back). I'm hoping to find a child's Santa hat before his professional pictures on December 2nd.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your day and your family! I know I will-I have lots to be thankful for. One of which is my beautiful son.

Just Hangin' Out

Here we are just hanging out on a Sunday evening!

William will be 9 months old next week. He is crawling all over the place and quickly! It really is amazing to see how quickly a baby grows in nine short months.