Wednesday, June 6, 2007

London: One Year Down


We've officially been in London one year now. I have to say it started out a bit rough - hello, Chelsea? But, we've settled in, made some great friends, Owen has arrived and we're feeling more at home. We still miss family, friends and New York A LOT, but we don't regret our decision to come one iota.

We started out with ZZ, in Chelsea, amongst the beautiful people. We ate chicken shawarmas every other night from our favourite Lebanese place and hung out at the St Luke's playground with the Spanish children in their pressed linen playsuits. We were overjoyed to get out of the dismal corporate apartment on Draycott Place and settle in Hampstead. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep ZZ with us forever.

We figured out the healthcare system through trial and error. The pregnancy care here was worlds better than the care in the US - my consultant was fantastic, the midwives at the hospital were top-rate and the food at Portland, yummy. We survived the NHS and Owen's visit to the hospital.

We've had lots of visitors, coming to stay or just passing through:
Lindsay Kerby (ZZ)
Jeff Kerby (2x)
Mom and Dad Fitts (2x)
Leslie and Natalie Kerby
Brooke and Jen Schmoll
Amy Bess
John Kuhn
Mike and Lauren-Beth Kassinger
Bill Fitts and Blake
Mimi and Daddy Russ
Kurt Stemhagen
Paige, Jim and Lilly Burton
Buck Wachtel
Pete Geary
Jake Ward

We've had some fun road-trips:
Brighton
Wales
Florence
Paris
Edinburgh
Isle of Skye

Margot kicked the bottle (milk), upgraded to a big-girl bed, potty-trained, became a big sister, made some friends, and starts nursery in the Fall. Owen, well, he arrived and ate and cried a lot. He had his first solids this week. (He's much happier these days.)

We're looking forward to our extended summer vacation in the US, but know we'll be ready to come back to our life here come August.

Check out our most recent photos.

Cheers.

1 comment:

Iota said...

Congratulations on surviving a year in London. Sounds like you've really thrown yourself into it. Well done on surviving the NHS (British parents and doctors are paranoid about meningitis). And I'm glad you don't regret the decision on my behalf!