Tuesday, May 17th

Breakfast was lovely as usual and we talked with the other owner of the farm, much as we did with his wife the day before. We headed out to Dover Castle to start our day. It looks like the type of castle that you read about in storybooks. It was a fascinating tour because most of the visitors were students from France who had come over on field trips. It was amazing to hear French being spoken all over the place but almost all of the signs and such were in English. We visited the tower and the Roman lighthouse from the 1^st century and the church that dated back to the 11^th century. It was so fascinating and we only touched the surface because there were so many exhibits. We ended up jumping on the train and saw the grounds of the castle.

We then headed to Dover College to see Aidan’s old school. We went to the office and Aidan’s old housemaster Mike Vanderhoevan was called. He was pretty happy to see Aidan and took us around the school. We saw the new music school and Aidan’s old house and we even had lunch with the students. The stories they told were hilarious and I was also impressed with the school as a whole. After parting with his housemaster, we visited the chapel which dated back to the 13^th century. It was beautiful and Aidan even showed me where he used to sit when he was in the choir. We then headed out to Folkestone and Hythe. We may go back to check out the light railway there. We then decided to check out where the Channel Tunnel as located and ended up at the toll booth to prepare to go to France! We apologized for our mistake and they had to give us an exit card… yikes!

We then headed to a shopping center to look at car seats for Liam but they do not have rear-facing for kids much older than 1 so it looks like we’re going to have to research our options if we want Liam rear facing until 2 or 3. We then headed back to Canterbury for  the 4^th time – this time to do a little shopping and to get the makings for tonight’s dinner of pasta and sauce with corn and some chocolate éclairs for dessert. We then enjoyed watching Liam continue to test his voice, this time with Sophie his giraffe. He is so very funny as he continues to grow in expressing himself.

Monday, May 16th

We can mark this day as the one where Liam started testing his voice. He started at breakfast and continued through the day. It’s like he’s trying to talk but the babble now includes some screeches… interesting! We headed out to Walmer to see Aidan’s old music teacher, Leo. It was lovely seeing him again and Liam found him fascinating. We spent hours catching up and Liam and Aidan shared many stories. We enjoyed lunch and Liam was charmed by Leo playing the piano for him. It is amazing how quickly the day passed. I made sure I got some good pictures this time before we parted.

Aidan then took us on a drive through Deal and Sandwich. It was fascinating to see these towns, The castle in Deal looked very interesting and I was fascinated by the river and the old waterfront in Sandwich. We then headed to Canterbury for our 3^rd visit – this time to walk the city walls where Aidan and his Grandfather had walked years ago and to buy some dessert from M&S. Aidan chose an apple pie with Bramley apples. Dinner consisted of steak, salad, potatoes and steamed veg. It was a pretty late evening and we decided to watch Graham Norton after the news – and there went the rest of the pie! 

Sunday, May 15th

We woke relatively early but relaxed until we had to go to breakfast at 8.30am. We met a few other families staying at the farmhouse and thought it must be lovely to spend weekends in the country in B&Bs such as this. We then headed out to see the White Cliffs of Dover. It was a beautiful morning, quite warm and somewhat clear. We could see the outline of France across the Channel and we could even see the Dungeness nuclear power station. We took one of the many walking trails and spent a few hours exploring the hills that Aidan used to roam around as a student. We went down to the beach and saw the areas used during the war. We walked a lot and I was struggling – and Aidan was the one carrying Liam in the sling! Still, it was well worth it and I loved the sights, including the ferries going to and fro from Dover Harbour. Aidan then took me on a driving tour of Dover before we headed back to Canterbury.

Canterbury visit number 2 started with lunch at a Cornish Pastie shop and was followed by an amazing visit to Canterbury Cathedral. I say amazing because we visited while Evensong was taking place. Oh my, it was lovely to walk around while listening to the beautiful music. It is an amazing cathedral and the grounds were equally as fascinating. We walked around admiring the gardens and the ruins on parts of the grounds. We then headed home to prepare dinner (stir fry chicken and veg with rice noodles) and do laundry. 

Saturday, May 14th

I took Liam to the bathroom at 5am UK time, about 30 minutes before the cabin crew woke up the rest of the plane. I got him washed up, changed, fed  and dressed for the day. When I got back to the seat they were getting ready to serve breakfast and Aidan had to take him back for a second change which also resulted in Liam’s socks ending up in the toilet… never a dull moment! Landing was fine as Liam sat on my lap and looked out the window across the aisle. We then had a long walk ahead of us and Aidan had to carry Liam in his car seat, base attached (talk about heavy). We got through passport control and baggage claim and then it was back upstairs to the car rental desk. After a bit of a wait, our car was ready and we were on our way.

The way wasn’t easy. Our European maps didn’t make it onto the GPS so Aidan made it to Canterbury and then we had to buy a map. It was then that we found out that most of the UK cash that we had was the old bills and some vendors won’t take them… great! We did manage to secure a map and with me navigating badly we managed to find the lovely country lane that our Farmhouse B&B stay would take place. The farm is lovely with many horses and game birds and across the street is a field full of beer making grain! Our cottage is in the corner of a part of the farm and has a full kitchenette, wet room (shower) double bed, wood burning stove and even a small porch with a line for drying clothes. We were welcomed by a pheasant running across our lawn – who’d have thought.

We immediately went out to see the area. We started in Canterbury and went on a walkabout. The pedestrian area of Canterbury has much charm and I was eager to get to see the Cathedral but we decided to leave that for Sunday as we had some grocery shopping to do. We decided to go to a large Tescos near Dover for that. We got enough food to make dinner through to Monday night and headed home. Needless to say, after our first dinner of lamb chops, corn and a salad, and the week’s episode of Doctor Who, we were soon all in bed.

Friday, May 13th

It was probably the first time that I was nervous about flying and Aidan wasn’t. For me, I was concerned about Liam’s ears during take-off and whether he’d fuss during the flight. For Aidan, he was excited about the journey so much so that he wasn’t concerned about much of anything. Liam was just fascinated about everything going on around him. We managed to get through check-in with two suitcases, a stroller, a car seat and 3 carry-on bags. They gave us a whole row near the back of the plane so we hoped that the space would be helpful to get Liam settled and to get some rest for us. We made it through the security check-point without much frustration getting Liam out of and back into his car seat. Then it was time to prepare for the flight. We took turns reading the Friday papers. Then I went into the bathroom and prepared Liam for bed. After a quick wash, lavender scented lotion and being put into his PJs, he had absolutely no interest in going to sleep. It was fine though as we had to get onto the plane.

We boarded early, along with 3 other families with babies. It was kind of odd not waiting in line like we usually did. Then again, it was equally as odd carrying a car seat through the airplane. We managed to get Liam’s car seat installed but then had to take it apart and give it to the cabin crew for take-off as car seats can only be used next to windows. Afterwards we were told that we really couldn’t use our car seat since it wasn’t an all-in-one (we have a base and seat). So Liam experienced his first take-off strapped to Aidan and he had a great time. He sucked on his pacifier and didn’t fuss at all. One we were up they gave us his seat and he went to sleep rather quickly – within 15 minutes of his regular bedtime. We managed to have dinner before he woke up again. He spent the balance of the trip sleeping either on Aidan or myself.  We had perhaps 30 
seconds of fussing when Aidan handed him over to me but then he settled down for the rest of the night.

Liam - Week 20

Date/Week: May 11th; week 20 

My Total weight gain/loss: 

His Stats: 

Milestones: First Mother's Day!; Had to use teething gel for the first time; sat unassisted for a while the past weekend and again today at his grandparents; can soothe himself to sleep in his crib 75% of the time; he loves the exersaucer!!!

Developmental Progress: He follows the ribbon connected to his pacifier and then puts the pacifier in his mouth; he's responding 80% of the time to his name; he is playing more and more with his toys; he loves to interact with us during story time; Liam's 'hello' is getting quite clear and he uses it more and more.

Energy level: Better than the last week or so - perhaps I am so looking forward to our family vacation???

Exercise: Taught 1 dance class on Saturday and it was good! I'm supposed to do my first performance in a year tonight!

Thoughts and Feelings? I loved my first Mother's Day! Aidan made a lovely card with Liam and I will treasure it forever. I am so grateful for both Aidan and Liam. I can't wait to have our first family vacation!

What I am looking forward to: I would say climbing on British Airways on Friday night but I am actually really nervous about the 7 hour flight. So I am looking forward to getting to our Farmhouse Cottage outside of Canterbury!

Liam - Week 19

Date/Week: May 4th (Star Wars Day!!!); week 19 

My Total weight gain/loss: -31.6 lbs

His Stats: 

Milestones: More consistent in responding to his name; has started taking steps with support under arms; will pursue toys that arenot near him on his playmat; teething rash... hope to see a tooth soon

Developmental Progress: During storytime, if he gets his hands on the pages of the boardbook he will turn them back and forth; he's still teething and soaking bibs and the front of his clothes. He does enjoy gum massages and is really using the teething giraffe (and the pacifier, and burp cloths, and any part of your hand he gets into his mouth); He's been chuckling for a while but now he's actually laughing. My parents love the sound; He has better hand mouth coordination and everything ends up in his mouth; if you pull him up into sitting with your hands, he can sit up on his own for a few seconds. He sits pretty well with support and loves to look around in that position.

Energy level: I've had an up and down week. My nights aren't consistent so my exercise is spotty. Contemplating how to work-out at lunchtime... don't want to pay for a gym membership though (my budget is unhappy as it is!)

Exercise: Taught 3 dance classes on Saturday and I was fried afterwards. I have no endurance!

Thoughts and Feelings? Like my energy, each week is up and down. I am grateful to have made it through the first 3 months because they were tough as compared to the last 2 weeks. I still don't feel that I have a handle on work/home balance and school is still non existant. Still, I feel organised more than I feel disorganised now so I am moving in the right direction.

What I am looking forward to: I need to go on holiday!