Monday, September 27, 2010

Stella's first cold :-[




By Liv

I knew it would happen eventually. I knew Stella would get sick one day. But I wasn't prepared at all! Yesterday morning, I noticed that she felt a little warm, but I figured that it was because the heat was on. A few hours later, I could tell that she wasn't feel well, so I called my trusty neighbor, Bess, and hopped on over to her house to borrow her thermometer. Stella's temperature was 102!

Of course the first thing I did was cry. I mean, what else is a Mom supposed to do with such news? After I was done crying, I called the Doctor who seemed to be much more calm than I was. He suggested Tylenol and lots of breastfeeding. No problem!

Today she is feeling about the same. She still has a temperature but isn't in a sour mood, so we are spending the day lounging around the house in our PJs. As a treat, Nick and I have been letting her watch Dora the Explorer on my laptop in between the cuddling and nonstop overbearing kisses administered by none other than yours truly :)

Learning to eat is messy business!




By Liv

I vacuum the dining room at least 3 times a day. I bet you can guess why...

Stella in action.




By Liv

I can't imagine doing anything else in the world except spending my entire day (and night) with my daughter. I'm so thankful to have the ability to do so. The only regret I have is that our life has taken her away from so many people who adore her. For those people, here is a short clip of what she is like nowadays.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Oxford Open Days

By Liv

A few times a year, Oxford Opens it's doors and allows visitors to walk through the 38 different colleges that comprise the University. Many of these colleges open up areas that are not visible for visitors except during the Oxford Open Days, such as areas of worship and private libraries.

We took this opportunity to visit three of the most famous colleges in Oxford: Christ Church College, All Souls College and Merton College. We saw some amazing architecture, landscaping and extremely old buildings that looked like they were the setting for a Harry Potter movie — because they were!

























Saturday, September 11, 2010

Hello, Oxford!

By Liv

We are all moved in to our house in Oxford. We have a fantastic view of the Radcliffe Observatory, which is right next to Green Templeton College (The College that Nick belongs to).

Our house is growing on us. Originally, we walked in and saw only a laundry list of things that needed to be fixed/cleaned, but with every passing day, we find a way to make this house our home. After a few shopping trips at the local has-everything-store (www.argos.co.uk), we have just about all that we need in order to live a fully functional life.

The neighborhood that we live in is considered "Bohemian". There are a number of great cafés, restaurants and bars - all of the ones we have tried so far have had delicious food. There are 3 Indian Restaurants within walking distance, so we are in heaven. My new favorite clothing store is a second-hand store just down the road that has an eclectic selection of gently-loved, funky clothing. I've already started to incorporate the local style in to my wardrobe!

Stella has enjoyed meeting our neighbors - most of whom are either students or spouses of students in the same program as Nick. There is a huge playground down the road and we found a play group that meets once a week that Stella loved.

We have met another new family that lives just a few doors down and Stella has become good friends with their two children. I'm so glad to have made a friend already - and someone to commiserate with once our husbands head off to full time school and leave us at home to *gasp* take care of our own children alone! Haha :)

We are looking forward to a visit from my mother in law, her good friend and our aunt. They are coming in October and staying for two weeks. It will be great to have some family in the house.

That's our update for now. We hope everyone back home is doing well!

Cheers!


First things first: Buy 144 British pounds (and more than 144 physical pounds) worth of food...

Second, buy furniture. Hire Stella to help put it together...
Third, video Skype with Grandpa every single day. Stella demands it!

This is our house. Lucky #6.

This is our Street.

This is the view of the Radcliffe Observatory from our back yard.

Stella (and my) favorite foods: Refried beans and tortillas!

This is the grounds for the Green Templeton College that Nick belongs to.
This is right behind our house!

Green Templeton College grounds — in our backyard.

The Radcliffe Observatory — in our back yard.

The gate from the Green Templeton College grounds to our back yard.

Just a cool looking house down the road from us.

The University Parks are about a 5 minute walk from our house.


Shopping in Oxford.

Bye-bye, Germany.

Our last few weeks in Germany were... interesting. We spent them in hotels in both Berlin and Hannover. I have never spent such a stretch of time living in hotel(s) and I must say that we fared well—although we were very excited to move on to our next landing spot—England!

Here are some photos of our last few weeks in Germany. We will miss our friends and neighbors that we have become close with over the last 5 months in Germany but will always carry wonderful memories of our first time living abroad.

We are too cheap to rent a crib. This is our makeshift baby bed in Berlin, Germany.

Sansouci Palace. Berlin, Germany.




Stella loved the over-sized playground. Especially the sand! Hannover, Germany.


Maschsee, an artificial lake in Hannover, Germany.