Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! We are wrapping up the day with full bellies. Full of good luck and fortune. That's black-eyed peas and cabbage for those not familiar with this tradition.

Scott, Will and I are also wrapping up on our three week tour of home. We arrived the week before Christmas and head back to the UK next week.

How wonderful to see friends and family, and sad that we couldn't squeeze everyone in on this visit, but promise to next time around.

We barely escaped the last snow in England. I joked when the tickets were purchased that it would probably snow. The week before leaving, it crept into the forecast and the day before we left, I was getting panicky that we might actually get stuck. I think if our flight had been late that night we would have been out of luck. I'm not even joking about the weather on our return flight.

So what were the top five questions asked of us on our visit home? Here they are:

1. How was Will on the flight?

2. When are you coming home for good?

3. What do you miss most?

4. When are you coming home for good?

5. Have you traveled much?

6. When are you coming home for good?

Okay, though those that have asked probably got an answer already, but I'll still fill you in.

Answers:

1. Will did really well on the flight. He did not sleep much, but he was very good and played with his rings mostly. We got to Heathrow three hours early and requested the bulkhead. If you have an infant, this is a great route to go. American Airlines offers bassinets for bulkhead passengers and BA offers bouncers. It really freed up our laps for those delicious airline meals. And allowed for a little game time or crochet time to help pass the ten hour flight.

2. Not sure. Scott is going to Seattle on Tuesday to get an idea of our future plans.

3. Scott misses playing tennis and his car. I miss TexMex, tennis, friends & family, Target.

4. Not sure.

5. No we haven't traveled much. Just the day trip to different parts of England. But, now that we know how easy William travels right now, we plan to go places right away. A few friends, Caine, Jeff & Martina will be coming to Paris and Amsterdam in a few months and we definitely plan on making some of the trip with them. That is, if we are invited to. *wink, wink!*

6. Did you hear Will? Hang on, Will, Mommy's coming.

During our trip home, Will has changed so much. He will be five months old in two days. In the last two weeks, he has discovered he likes to put his foot in his mouth. He's been staring at them for weeks, but finally realized that he is bendy enough to get them up to his mouth. He also has learned to roll over. I thought that even when a baby learns to do this it still takes a little while to get the hang of it. No. They are pros. He rolls and rolls and rolls. It's great fun to watch him do this because it is with such ease. He's so proud of himself, too. And of course, we are proud of him. He's much more vocal than he was before we got here. And he's dropped one or two naps during the day. He still likes to stand ALL THE TIME. So, everyone is predicting that he'll be an early walker and we've got a pool going on the date. I'm going with June 22nd. Scott's birthday.

Santa was good to all of us this year. William is set on toys and clothes for a few months. And he still has the things that Santa has left for him in England. Santa brought me a new lens that will be arriving on Monday... can't wait! And Scott got a new gadget, an apple tv. He's been thinking about that one for the past few years, but finally decided we needed one. Yea... more gadgets! I hope this one comes without a cord.

Oh.. I thought of one more question that people asked us and a very important one:

7. What about the dogs?

Good question! Before leaving, we couldn't find any kind of kennel or boarding place. So, we called our landlord and asked what she did. On short vacations, she sent her dogs to stay with someone close by. This seems to be a common thing. People petsit in their own home. On long trips, she called a gentlemen that lives about an hour away. He picks up the dogs, cares for them and brings them back. He also has 10 acres of fenced property for the dogs to run about and play. Don't worry, they aren't outside the entire time, he allows the dogs to stay with him in the house. I'm not positive, but I can almost bet that those two may not want us to come home. 10 acres to run and hunt on??? They won't ever want to leave!! But, we can't wait to see them and hope they feel the same way.

Wishing everyone a terrific 2011 and look forward to sharing more adventures with you!