I know . . . it's been a long time

So it's been a while . . . actually it's been about 20 weeks. Being prego makes you start to keep track of everything in terms of weeks- so for everyone else, it's been about 5 months. My record with updating the blog has not been good this year, but I promise to get better- especially when the baby arrives.

That gets me to my next topic- the arrival of Baby P. No news yet and it looks like she is not going to come even 1 day early (much to Mommy's dismay). I have 4 more days till the official Due date and we are growing anxious to meet the little creature that has been kicking and stretching inside my tummy. She is awefully active, which we are taking as a warning sign- we may have a night owl because her favorite time to move uncontrollably is after 11:00 PM. So for all of you who may like to visit, you may have to come late if you would like to see her with her eyes open!

I have been gettting many requests for pictures of pregnant me (or "chubby Lindsay" as Katie requested). So here are a few to catch you up on the last 5 months.

These was taken at Easter- almost 6 months along. And I thought I was big then- ha ha ha!



Mama relaxing at the pool. There is no such thing as a flattering maternity bathing suit- so I settled for the cheapest one I could find!

On the beach in Florida- on our babymoon (last vacation without baby). This was the end of May- about 7 1/2 months along.

Hope you enjoyed the catch up. I will promise to post more over the weekend!!

We're Back!!!

We're back!! Sorry for the long time without writing, but as you all know we have been busy preparing for our expanding family.

Here are some of the details. I am in my 19th week and rapidly getting rounder. As mom so eloquently put it . . . "Linds, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you are carring all over". And she is right- my belly is growing but so are other areas (much to my dismay). I think this is one of the only times in your life when it is cute to be a little chubby- so I'm not getting too bent out of shape. The other time is when you are a baby- and I am about 29 years too late for that. I will have Ian take a few pictures for those of you who are far away so you can see for yourself.

Baby P. is due on July 15th (my friend Megan's Birthday). I am secretly hoping for an early arrival- maybe even the 4th of July. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than with fireworks. The night we found out we were expecting (November 5th) was a holiday in London- so there were fireworks all over the city. It only seems fitting for this child to be born on a holiday!

Baby preparations are in full swing- purchasing furniture and rearranging our upstairs. Somehow, we are going to combine our office and guest room into 1 room and use the 3rd bedroon as the nursery. I can't wait to start working on the nursery- but we have a long way to go before that. We have to find a home for the 2 dressers, chair, nightstand and queen size bed that currently occupy the nursery. With tax season upon us, Ian is basically only around on Sunday's so time is of the essence. We will keep you updated on the progress.

Next week is our 20 week ultrasound, and if Baby P cooperates, we will be able to find out if we are having a dancer or a baseball player. To say that I am anxiously awaiting this day is an understatement . . . I think about it everyday. We will be sure to let everyone know next week.

Have a great Tuesday!!

Mom's Favorite London Things

One of Mom's favorites- the London taxi cab. I think it may remind her
of a PT Cruiser, which she also likes.


Mom and her favorite meal- fish and chips.



Here she is at Buckingham Palace. She loved the gold gates
and the guards in their furry hats.



The candy and dessert counter at Harrods. We spent about
45 mins in the food hall- especially the sweets section.



Mom and I in front of the Tower Bridge next to the
Tower of London.


In honor of Mom's birthday (Nov 15th- actually), I thought I would post a few more pictures from her London trip. These were some of her favorite London things.
Enjoy!

She has arrived . . .

I know many of you have been checking regularly for the pictures of Mom's visit . . . so I appologize for the delay! As you can imagine, we had an action packed visit. I think we did every tourist thing in London! We also took a million pictures- actually 98, but that seems like a million when I can only post 5 per blog entry. Needless to say, I will not be posting all of them. You will have to ask her to share them with you after I return.



She has arrived! Here's mom with her luggage right after arriving- she looks pretty good for being awake and traveling for 19 hours. At the airport she had her first experience with the English language- not the same as the language we speak in the US. She was asked if she was "In the queue for the toilet?" otherwise know as "Are you in line for the bathroom?" She looked at me with a blank look- but in her defense- she had been up for 19 hours and her brain was not in top shape. Thank goodness her translator (me) was there :)


Here she is reading up about the sights of London. I think we may have seen every top 10 recommendation in the book- all in 6 days!


Leave it to Mom to find an animal in costume in the city! I never saw him before, but she spotted him right away.


Here we are on day 1 outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. This is the first place we took the Tube (London's subway) to. It is a very impressive first look at the architecture and beauty of London. From here you can see Big Ben and Parliament as well as the road to Buckingham Palace.


This is one of my favorites! There is no doubt where she is in this photo. This was right before our river cruise of the Thames.

I'll post some more soon . . . promise!

Long awaited pictures from Amsterdam

The beautiful city of Amsterdam. Often called the Venice of the North, Amsterdam is an intricate landscape of canals, bridges, cobblestone roads and quaint narrow streets. The city is breathtaking and the relaxed atmosphere makes it an ideal place for a weekend getaway.

Another gorgeous view from another bridge.

Perhaps the best view yet :) Here we are along a popular boating canal. With more water than roads, it makes sense that there are so many boats!

We were able to take a short canal cruise through the Amsterdam waterways. Dispite the weather, it rained most of the day, it was beautiful. I thought this photo gave a different perspective, from the water looking out. Most photos you see are from solid land looking across the water. It's pretty tough to take a bad picture in Amsterdam.

This is as close as you will get to a skyline photo of Amsterdam. This was taken from the harbor looking into the city center.

London landmarks

The Parliament Building in Westminster. This is
the older section of the city where all the gov't
buildings and Westminster Abbey are located.
Missing from this picture is the clock tower and
Big Ben. I have a bit of an obsession with Big Ben,
and I plan to devote a whole posting to him.



Ian in front of Parliament- doesn't
he look official?



Lindsay with the Lion in Trafalgar Square.
Ian wanted me to climb up so he could
get a picture of me up on the lion, maybe
next time. Wherever I go, I seem to be drawn
to the lions- I guess it's the Leo in me- or maybe
the Nittany Lion :) Go STATE!!



Ian on the Thames. In the background you can
see the London Eye. It is kind of like a giant
Ferris wheel that moves really slow and fits
25 people per car. To me it sounds like
torture- I hate normal Ferris wheels, so why
would I like a giant one? I have promised Ian I will
take 1 flight (that's the official term) before
December. We'll see . . .



Enjoying a day in the park. St. James Park is
our favorite of the parks we have visited. From
this bridge you can see the London eye (behind
us) and Buckingham Palace from the other side.
Talk about a view!

We're not in Kansas anymore . . .

The Apollo Theatre is a converted movie house
near the Victoria train station.


Here I am after the show . . . it was incredible!
Ian even said it was one of the best shows he ever saw.


Here we are after going to see Spamalot. It's
hard to take pictures with both of us in it- so
we are improvising and taking them ourselves.
That's why this is such a close up.


Spamalot at The Palace Theatre. This one was
Ian's choice. It was good, but very silly. The whole
show is basically a spoof of traditional musical theatre
mixed with the story line of Monty Python (which I
just do not understand). I enjoyed the theatre
references and the crazy dancing- several jigs!


Here is my traditional sneaky picture inside
the theatre. This time I did not get
yelled at- I must be getting better at
hiding my camera.


OK- we know- we are very behind on the Blog updating!! Here are some pictures of the great London theatre we have been enjoying. With the famous West End of London within 10 mins of our flat, we are trying to take advantage of as many shows as we can. So far we are up to 4. We also got to see Love's Labour Lost at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre last week. This was amazing to say the least. Unfortunately, we went straight from work and forgot our camera. If you are ever in London, experiencing Shakespeare the traditional way at the open air theatre is a must! You can even buy standing room (peasant section) tickets for only $5. There are traveling musicians and the actors interact with the peasants on the ground level during the show. The costumes were incredible and the acting was very authentic. I think this was one of my favorite things we have done so far.

More to come soon. . .