One Year Old!

Georgia with her great-grandma, Georgia, whom she is named after

So, today, my little baby is one. I am continually amazed at how she is growing and the changes I see in her every day. We spent most of this last month in the US. We had two weeks with Dave's family, one of those weeks being spent celebrating the wedding of Matt (Dave's brother) and Kyan. Georgia also had her first ear infection and was very miserable (as was I, getting up 5-8 times/night with her) for a couple of days! We then went to Colorado to see my family and spent that week celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Georgia's birthday. Needless to say, although this trip has been our longest back to the US since we've moved, it felt very much like a whirlwind. We are so thankful though, that Georgia is able to get to know her family!

Excited for a bath at Grandma & Grandpa's house

Weight: I'm guessing 23 pounds
Height: 31 inches (measured today)
Diapers: Size 4 (both in the US and in UK)
Clothes: I just put away all her 9 month stuff. She is mostly in 12 or 12-18 month, although I have pulled out some of the 18 month outfits
Teeth: Still 8!
Words: dada, mama, diaper (bah-buh), bye-bye, dog (bah), bird (bi), book, ball. My mom believes she said "pretty" when looking at the Christmas tree, and when we were in California, it sounded like she said "grandpa" a couple of times. Who knows!

Dave and Georgia in front of Notre Dame in Paris

Sleeping/Eating/Nursing: In all honesty, since we have been traveling across time zones (and got her first ear infection), her body clock has been off. We're going to start working on sleeping through the night now, getting on a good schedule and night weaning. I'll let you know how all this goes in a month ;-)

Some things that Georgia loves:
- reading books
- listening to music and dancing
- dogs (and any other animals)
- doing everything herself - brushing her teeth, brushing her hair
- pointing to things and having us tell her what they are
- playing with other kids. She is always interested in the toy they are playing with
- clapping for herself

Georgia has just started trying to do things herself. I have been giving her a fork (kid-friendly, of course) at meal times and she loves trying to use it. She has a lot of trouble getting anything to stay on the fork, but can easily get it into her mouth.

When we were in Colorado, my siblings were trying to teach her body parts - nose, eyes, mouth. It seems like she's picked them up because most of the time if you ask her where her nose is, she can point to the right thing!

We had a "cake smash" in honor of Georgia's first birthday. 

We are so thankful for this girl that is a part of our family. She has such a big personality and it is so fun to see her light up a room. It is exciting thinking about what her future brings. Happy Birthday, darling!

Paris

About a month ago two months ago, we did a two-day trip to Paris. Dave had had meetings with his work, his friends from the office in Monrovia. We did the trip with them - another couple and a baby the same age as Georgia and two single girls. Doing a trip this short with Georgia was a very crazy idea. We left early on Saturday morning, taking the train from our place, a switch to the tube, and finally the Eurostar (a fast train ride from London to Paris), and arrived in Paris around 10am.

After checking into our hotel, I put Georgia down for a nap while Dave sat with her and the rest of our group went to get some lunch. One thing we learned about eating in Paris (well, Europe, really!) is that everything moves at a snails pace. So, before we were done eating, Georgia had woken up and Dave joined us. We then decided to head towards the Louvre.

We spent a few hours in the museum, and although it was a neat museum, I was not very impressed. There were way too many people and the museum was not very stroller-friendly, with lots of stairs that Dave and I ended up carrying the stroller up and down.

Everyone looking at the Mona Lisa

We saw the big things: the Mona Lisa and the Egyptian section (Dave wanted to see the mummies). One of the wings was also closed, and it made navigating a little more difficult.

Dave & Georgia walking around the museum

Georgia was just starting to walk more and more. Before this trip, she mostly walked in the evenings if we encouraged her to. During the trip, she decided she wanted to walk all the time. The second day there, she wasn't okay with sitting in her stroller. She only wanted to walk. Thankfully she was okay with us holding her hand as being in an unknown place with many people around.

Anyways, after we spent a couple hours at the Lourve, we thought that we would go to the Eiffel Tower. Not knowing the city, we thought we would walk. We walked and walked and walked. It was a beautiful walk along the river, but it went on and on and on.

It started drizzling.
We kept walking.
It took maybe an hour.

We finally got there! We got there right around 7pm (I think!) when they do the light show. And of course right as we got there and the light show started, the rain came down! And it poured and poured. We had the rain cover for the stroller but of course we couldn't find the umbrellas. And, if you've been to Paris you know that the underground stations are few and far between. So, we walked about 10 minutes to the nearest station with the rain pouring and a baby fussing (having been awake for 14+ hours already) and all of us hungry and tired (remember walking for 3 hours at the Lourve plus the hour long hike to the Eiffel tower). Needless to say, I was pretty unhappy.

The view as we were walking away from the Eiffel Tower in the rain

That night, we had reservations at a little place by our hotel for dinner. We didn't expect much, but we were all blown away. It was a fun non-touristy, authentic French restaurant. I think the meal took us 2 hours to eat, but the food was wonderful and the atmosphere was great!

Day 2: We (Dave & I) explored the city with Cole & Sharon. Cole works with Dave and they have a little girl that is 2 weeks older than Georgia. We kept a bit slower pace because it was easier to do with the girls.

We walked to Notre Dame, let Georgia chase all the pigeons she wanted. We walked down the Champs-Elysees, and Georgia just wanted to be out of the stroller. Thankfully she was a good hand-holder, otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to let her do this.

We made sure to see the Arc de Triumph, but this is the closest that we got to it. By this point, we didn't need to touch it!

After this, we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and have some dinner. We rushed to the train station, and got back into London around 11pm. It was an absolutely crazy trip and we were exhausted! We only scratched the surface of everything there is to see and do in Paris, but will wait until we can take a trip without our kids (or in many years when Georgia is older!).

Another note: Paris is not very child-friendly at all! It is very difficult to take the stroller on the underground as there are lots of stairs and the strollers don't fit through the turnstiles. Also, not a single place we ate had a highchair. The people themselves were fairly friendly but didn't speak much English. It seemed that they knew what we were saying, but either didn't know enough English to respond or didn't want to try responding in English.

11 months

We officially have a toddler in the house! Although we still have one month until Georgia is a year old, she has begun toddling around.  This month has been very busy for us. Dave's mom was here at the beginning of the month and his sister, Kate, is now living in London for the school year, so we see her a couple times a week. We had a church retreat, Dave went to Costa Rica and had another work conference an hour away from here. My brother came to visit and this weekend we're going to Paris! (okay, okay, I wrote this paragraph a week ago... we went to Paris and are back home again.... more on that to come!)

Georgia was watching the light on my camera that flashes when the subject is in focus. Normally she doesn't notice it because I take pictures during the day. She kept blinking and making silly faces!

Weight: Almost 21 pounds
Teeth count: 8 (still!)
Word Count: 5, maybe 6: dada, mama, do (dog), bi (bird), bo (book), ah! (hi)

Georgia has been walking more and more. Just a couple days ago, she began taking off on her own, and now walks from room to room. She walks probably 80% of the time.

I have said it a lot lately... Georgia reminds me of a little boy. I guess I don't know many other kids her age, and she just seems so active and rebumctious, she reminds me of what I think a boy should act like. In my mind, girls are supposed to be dainty and clean, and Georgia is just about the opposite of this.

She loves doing anything that she can do to get dirty - eating sand, chewing sticks, putting food in her hair, etc. She is rough and tumble, climbing over anything that she thinks that she can. At the park, she loves climbing on the little play structure, and going down the slide.

She also takes after her daddy in her personality and voice. She definitely has her daddy's loud voice and loves to use it, talking loudly throughout the day, especially in places where it is most inappropriate: libraries, church, sightseeing at very quiet places (Cathedrals, museums, etc). She has the gift of WOO and loves waving at strangers, smiling broadly. She also loves kids, especially those a bit older than her. She follows them around and tries to mimic their activities.

Sleep: Georgia is becoming a lot more flexible with her naps (yay!). She still needs two naps a day, but can survive on one nap a day. This has made trips like Paris much easier because she is unable to sleep in the stroller. She takes 1.5 hour nap in the morning and 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon. She still sleeps 12 hours a night, and is close to sleeping through the night. She did a 10 hour stretch this last week. Unfortunately with our upcoming trip to the States, her sleep schedule is going to be upset.

Eating: Georgia is nursing 4 times a day basically (plus if she wakes up at night): when she wakes up, before her naps, and before bed. She eats regular meals with us that are always hit and miss. She always will eat meat, but everything else depends on the day. She has taken a liking to Grape Nuts (the cereal) and will often have that in the morning. For lunch, she usually eats lunch meat and frozen peas. Dinner she eats what we're having.

Georgia's favorite thing has to be animals (still!). She often sees birds before I do, and will exclaim, "Ba" followed by panting (the noise she makes for dog.... although now it has become the noise made for any animal that she sees).

Georgia got into a bottle of olive oil, and I stripped her down and had to wash the floor. She loved the sponge and ended up eating just as much soap as she used on the floor.

A year ago...

last minute goodbyes at the airport before we leave

In one of his sermons, Francis Chan says something to the effect of, "There is nothing like moving to remind you that this world is our temporary home."  How true that is!

A year ago we were saying goodbye to all our friends. We packed up our life into 10 boxes and suitcases and got on a plane to move to a new country. And what a year it has been.

Finding Mexican food after living in London for about a month. Dave was excited! (and cost us a fortune! one of the most expensive meals we've ever eaten)

An absolute whirlwind. Living in a hotel. Finding a house. Work trips for Dave. Buying furniture for our house. Registering at the hospital. Ultrasounds. Having a baby. Trying to figure out how to get around without a car. More work trips. Finding a church. Figuring out how to set up utilities. Waiting a month for internet. Meeting people. Feeling settled.

For those of you who have never moved internationally or even just across the country, it can be difficult, to say the least. Culture shock hit us quite unexpectedly. The first month or two we were here, it was a challenge just reading a menu, let alone figuring out where to buy a vacuum cleaner. Things that we thought should be simple like opening a bank account proved to be a challenge when you needed an address to open an account. But to rent a house, you needed a bank account.

Right around the time that Georgia was born, things got easier, only to get difficult again a couple months later. I now knew where to buy my groceries, which buses to take to go shopping, how to use a credit card, etc. But, things were so frustrating and made me mad. It is part of the culture shock. I looked it up. On Google. And Google knows everything. Anyways, everything just made me mad. Grocery checkers that sit down (and are SO slow).  People who ignore you when you walk past them on the street. Our stupid carpeting all throughout the house. White carpeting. With a baby. Not being able to watch the TV shows I like. Not having an outlet in the bathroom to plug in a hair dryer. Having to blow dry my hair without a mirror.

I just found this one and it has nothing to do with this post.  Isn't it so cute??!! Georgia is taking a nap on Christmas day.

There were many days I trudged to the grocery store, upset at our tiny fridge that makes grocery shopping a daily affair, muttering about the stupid people drinking beer at 11am sitting outside at the pub in the cold, rainy weather (even though it was May), or the stupid youths that walk slowly across the entire width of the sidewalk completely oblivious that you - the lady with the baby - are trying to walk around them, the stupid cars that don't stop for people crossing the street and the stupid groceries that were so dang expensive.

I tried not to complain a lot. I knew the things I was upset about were unreasonable and it was part of moving to a new place. Things are different here. Much more than I would have ever guessed. And then one day, it was gone. It was right after our trip to the US in July. Before we left we were homesick. Very much so. Missing the food, and the people, the nice weather.

Georgia with some church friends over the weekend.

And something changed. I'm not sure what it was. I think it was time. We arrived back in the UK in the beginning of August.  It felt like home.

Hannah and Dot, some friends from church

There are still days which are rough. Certain situations you encounter that are unfamiliar. Days when you want some Taco Bell. Haha. I don't think I will ever say that I like the weather. And I will probably complain about the food here a little more. Sorry - just being honest. But overall, this is our home. Friendships have grown. We have gotten involved in our church and community. We are trying to serve and love. We are home.

10 months old!

Not quite 10 months old here, but the most recent picture I have

As we are coming up on her first year birthday, I see the toddler side of Georgia creeping out. Okay... its basically burst forth! She is taking many steps (but still prefers crawling for getting around), she is very interactive and mimics noises and sounds we make. She roars when wrestling with Dave and sings with me when I sing. She climbs the stairs at an amazing speed and knows (probably even more than I think) what I am saying. She even has begun to say a couple of words. See??? She's not a baby anymore!

She went through a phase of putting things in her mouth. 

Weight: right around 20 pounds

teeth count: 8 (almost 9)

clothing: mostly 12 month stuff. I've put almost everything else away. 

Looking at birds outside while eating blackberries

She is extremely active. I have nothing to compare her to, so I assume she is normal. She loves playing with toys. We try to get out of the house at least once a day, whether it is to the park or the library so that she has a change of scenery and can play with new toys or see new people.

at the park

Sleep: She is taking 2 naps a day, the first around 10 and the second around 1 or 2. She goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until 8 or so, waking 2-3 times to eat during the night. 

Georgia is very familiar with Skype. She's laughing at Daddy, while he was in Tanzania. 

Food: This is still something I need to figure out. Some days Georgia nurses extremely well, and other days she doesn't. I should probably put her on a more ridged schedule to see if that helps, but right now she nurses when she's grumpy - normally 2 or 3 times during the day, and 2 or 3 times at night and eats at meal times. I often give her a snack in the afternoons because she seems to need it. 

She still loves animals. She can now say "do" which is dog and "bi" which is bird. She has only done these a couple of times, but I'm pretty sure that's what she's trying to say. Our daily activities include looking for animals (out the window or on our walks).

She of course can say da-da and she says it all the time! Dave is absolutely in love with that ;-)

She is starting to use her hands more. She can wave goodbye and hello, and when you tell her to dance, she waves both hands in the air. We've only done a couple sign language signs, but she can sign "milk" (and oddly enough does it all the time, whether she wants it, or not!) and has just started signing "all done" at the end of the meal (but only after I do it first).

California, Part 2

Kyle, Devany & Kyanne came to visit us

Seeing that it is September, I should hurry and get this post out before it is even more outdated! During our week in California, we got to see so many wonderful people! Like I said previously, we had a party for all the Wallace clan, and it was so good to see them and to have all the great-grandchildren together.

Georgia's first time at the beach - she loved it!

Dave and Georgia and I went to our small group, at Paul's house (congrats for being a new home-owner!) From Sunday through Friday, we stayed down at Newport Beach and it was amazing! The weather was perfect and it was so relaxing. Here's some pictures from the week at the beach house.

Georgia helped Grandpa shave...

Georgia helping Matt win his game

We had a lot of great family time, relaxing and enjoying the sun and surf. Dave and I think that the beach is one of our favorite places on earth, so it was great to be able to spend a week there (and with family, too!).

Practicing their parenting skills ;-) This could be them in a year or two! (and yes, Georgia would love having cousins!!)

Aunt Linda and Uncle Craig came to visit one evening!

I had a lot of time to take photos (lots, and lots of photos!)

It was fun to see our first baby - French Fry! Georgia just loved her, too.