London baby shower

Baby showers aren't very common in the UK (I think they're very typically American) but my friend Sayula very kindly offered to host one for me to celebrate the imminent arrival of Baby Bremer with my London friends. We had a lovely afternoon filled with tea, cakes, scones, and cupcakes. And lots of baby talk :)

Yummy homemade goodies



Lexa Remmes who just had a little baby boy four weeks ago!



London friends





Opening presents

Misc

Yummy cake from my birthday dinner at Theo Randall



Fall on Flask Walk

NFL in London

Ric and I had GREAT tickets to the NFL game that was played at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday (thanks Kell!!!). 35 yard line, 26 rows back... it was closer than I've ever sat at a football game and something I could definitely get used to!

We were worried that it would be a complete blow out, and after the Pats intercepted the Bucs in the first few minutes of the game for a touchdown, expected the worst. But it actually ended up being pretty entertaining. Not sure if New England wasn't trying its hardest or if the Bucs thrived off the London atmosphere, but we saw some great plays, a good amount of scoring, and lots of excitement. The opening of the game was really cool too... fireworks, music, American and British flags, both national anthems, and shooting flames when the Bucs ran out. Becuase the Bucs were the home team, they also put flags under everyone's seats which got waved frequently.

Wembley Stadium



The crowd - lots of Brits and Americans, and NFL jerseys from almost every team imaginable







Inside the stadium - it's partly covered with a roof that can be closed if necessary



Music before kickoff





One beer, one water...



Baby's first NFL game!





Tampa Bay takes the field





Fireworks shoot out from both sides of the roof, very exciting!



I look huge in this picture...



British and American flags







Kickoff



Flag waving

It slices AND it dices...

After months of debate, research, and informal polling (of friends and strangers), we finally made the all important stroller decision over the weekend. The first step was actually learning to call it a buggy, instead of a stroller, and then we had to sort through the seemingly endless options. I know this is cliche, but it really is like buying a car. We actually kicked the tires and talked about the resale value, in addition to its off road capabilities.

We're both happy with the one we settled on - the Mountain Buggy Urban, in navy... it will work as a running buggy, is rugged enough for strolls through the Heath, and is comparatively lightweight and easy to fold.

I think Ric's been more excited about this than any other part of the baby process so far. Can't wait for it to be delivered!

30th bday

Ric threw a very nice little dinner party to celebrate my big 3-0... We had some delicious chicken parm and a beautiful pink tinkerbell cake! Here are some pics...

The birthday bump:





The chef hard at work (on the chicken parm assembly line)



Lots of wine, most of which didn't get drunk. We really are getting old!



Getting ready for dinner



A Tinkerbell birthday

Doc

Went for my 32 week check up today and there isn't much to report other than the fact that everything looks fine! My last blood tests were all good and blood pressure is where it should be. The baby was facing in the right direction (head down) but will probably still move a lot for the next couple weeks before getting into his final position! We go to the doc every two weeks now, and every week starting in a month. At the next appointment we'll get another scan so should have more pics to share.

In other news, the NHS doctors in London have started recieving their allotments of the swine flu vaccine. I was not planning to get it, but changed my mind after talking with the doctor today. He said that it's totally safe and while this specific strain has been tested fairly quickly, the basic vaccine has been through a very thorough testing process and proven to be safe for pregnant ladies. He also said that women who are later on in pregnancy are more likely to get swine flu and, while the overall percent is really small, they're also 8 times more likely to get a serious case which could lead to death (yikes!). But the real clincher was that by me getting the vaccine I'm able to pass on those antibodies to the babe. For the first six months of his life, the little guy wouldn't be able to develop his own antibodies even if he got the vaccine, so really the only way to protect him is for me to get vaccinated. Ok, that's hard to say no to. Even as much as I hate shots.

So now I'm calling the local NHS GP every three days to see if they've gotten the vaccine in. They won't know in advance, so they tell people to just keep calling back... wonderful process :) At least when they do get it I move to the front of the line.

Fluffy's alive!

Just a quick note to put your minds at ease... Our favorite neighborhood cat, Fluffy (our name for him/her, but most likely not his/her actual name) was spotted by Ric a few days ago and we can confirm that he/she is alive and well. This marks the end of a long streak without any Fluffy sightings and we had come to the sad conclusion that maybe Tiger Eyes, or an aggressive fox, had finally gotten the better of the more timid scaredy cat. Happy to know that's not the case and hope Fluffs will start to visit more often.