We survived our first trip with an infant! Esme was an absolute gem on both plane rides- not a peep from her! There was a horrible little wretch a few rows back that screamed bloody murder the ENTIRE plane ride to England and I was afraid she was going to rub off on Ez but...NO DICE! We couldn't have a more perfect, well behaved baby.
Esme in her "sky cot" on the plane
From the moment we touched down in England, we were on a mission! We went straight from Heathrow to Stephen's parent's- but not before we had a little drama. We were quoted around 260 pounds for our two week car rental. When we arrived at Hertz, we were told that there was a 58 pound surcharge for the child seat (which we requested but were not told there was a charge for) and that the insurance would cost us 20 pounds a day. That took our quote from around 260 to over 600 pounds for two weeks!! I threw a fit. Eventually they gave in and, although they wouldn't lower the price, they gave us a brand new Audi with 10 miles on it to drive. Now here comes the best part of the story. We drove the car for two weeks and when we returned it we complained again...and guess what? They reversed all of the insurance and baby seat charges and only charged us the original 260!!! Moral of this story: complaining pays.
Jill and Richard (my mother and father-in-law) were very gracious hosts and were kind enough to let us stay in their home and pop in and out as we pleased. Jill made us several lovely meals and kept us fed and watered! Thank you both for your love and hospitality- it means a lot to us.
We spent our first night in England at Stephen's Mom and Dad's house. They were very excited for our arrival (although I dare say Esme was the main cause of excitement!) and were smitten with Esme. Grandma and Grandad Bailey are pleased to FINALLY have a girl in the family.
Gram Bailey giving Ez a bath
We drove from North Essex down to London to visit Raj and Kulvant. We had a lovely evening catching up with each other and went to a nice italian dinner down the street from their house. Esme was a bit cranky but there was a 5 hour time difference and given the circumstances she did very well. She even slept through the night despite the time change!
Uncle Raj and Esme
After spending the night with Raj and Kulvant (and after a lovely full English thanks to Kulvant) we headed up to meet Uncle Adrian, Auntie Helen and cousins Miles and Stuart. It was great watching Stuart and Miles interact with Ez. Miles even showed me that he had feet to match Esme's! Both of the boys have grown so much I hardly recognized them- it had been almost a year since we had last seen them! We had a mini Christmas (we didn't get to celebrate in Dec because I was enormously prego) and enjoyed sharing stories about our crazy 2009! We can't wait to see them all again in September at Adrian and Helen's wedding!!! YAY!
Stuart and Miles playing with Esme on her play mat
Ez with her Auntie, Uncle and Cousins
Next stop: Hastings! We went to Michael's house and introduced the baby to his family. It was great seeing his mom and his sister Katie again- they loved Ez! Paul also stopped by to meet the babe! She was an absolute misery that night and it was the first time I was really fed up and stressed out by her behavior. I know it was to do with the time change and because she was tired but it sucked! The highlight of this visit was meeting Michael's fiance Veronica. She is absolutely charming and is going to make a beautiful bride in October! Stephen and I were honored to be asked to be the witnesses at their wedding (although I am unsure if they were asking just Stephen or both of us! Guys, if you are reading this, please let us know!)
Esme's first rainbow (on the way to Hastings)
Michael, Veronica and Esme (Michael is Esme's God Father!)
Esme and Paul (this is a cute picture!)
The next morning we met up with Stephen and his son Oliver and Alan. These were school friends of Stephen's in Hastings and they used to ring bells together. Oliver was three months old the last time we saw him and was only days away from being three years old! Time flies! It was really great catching up with them and we have vowed not to leave it so long next time!!
From Hastings we traveled on to Brighton and met up with Adam, Natalie and their son Jack. They were lovely hosts and Natalie (despite being 33 weeks prego at the time!) treated us to a lovely home cooked meal. It was great meeting Jack for the first time although I think having Esme there confused him a bit! Adam and Natalie were kind enough to let us use a few of their baby things while we were there and Jack kept pointing at Esme when she used them and saying "Isabella!," which is the name of their soon to be born daughter! We look forward to hearing about the birth of Isabella any day now!
Esme and Jack (Natalie is in the background)
Esme was being cranky as we were eating dinner at Adam and Natalie's and this is how she finally fell asleep!
After Brighton we drove back to Dunmow for the night. The next morning we headed to Lough to introduce Esme Jean to Auntie Norah. Auntie Norah was over the moon. She really enjoyed meeting her great niece and couldn't believe how well behaved she is. Most of our time was spent visiting and catching up on the past year and we were sad to leave. We look forward to seeing Auntie Norah at the wedding in September!
Our drive home from Louth was a chore- the road was closed two different times and it took us twice as long as it should have!
Esme and Auntie Norah
Not a great picture of me but oh well!
You would think we would have been worn out by now...but we trucked on! Stephen went to work in at the London office for one day while we were in England (he also worked one day from "home") in order to save vacation days. I took this opportunity to spend the day with my old coworkers at the cemetery. It was great introducing them to Esme and catching up on all of the gossip! I really miss it there....don't know why, but I do! Michelle arranged for all of the folks at T Cribb and Sons Funeral Home and a few of the cemetery workers to meet up at a local pub for drinks. We had a good laugh and it reminded me why I love all of those crazy cockneys!!! They all enjoyed meeting Ez and, of course, made jokes when I had to nurse her- I wouldn't expect anything else! I forgot to get pictures with the girls at East London and I am kicking myself!
The next people we visited were Stephen Pilditch, his wife Keiko and their daughter Erika. The last time we saw Stephen and Keiko, Keiko was pregnant with Erika- now Erika is almost a year old and is an absolute doll! We met up at Stephen Pilditch's parents house and then walked to a local pub for nibbles and drinks. Erika is a lovely little girl and we thoroughly enjoyed watching her interact with Esme. I enjoyed seeing how much both Pili and my Stephen have grown- two years ago I would have never guessed that they would both have babies! Now they both have lovely little girls and couldn't be better fathers.
Baby Swap
The cutest picture ever!
Stephen, Keiko and Erika
The next set of people to be visited were Steph and David. We spent the day in London (ice cream at the very posh Fortnum & Mason is a staple of mine and Stephs). We caught up over tea and ice cream (they treated us!) and then the girls went shopping while the boys went to the pub! Steph and David bought Esme a beautiful penny bank from mamas and papas and Steph bought me a pair of earrings! They really spoiled us and we are excited to return the favor when they visit NYC in October!! Dinner at Gourmet Burger Kitchen finished the night and we went on our separate ways! I really miss my shopping sprees on Oxford Street with Steph- hopefully we will get to go dress shopping in September (when I have lost about a million pounds)!
Ez and David
Ez and Auntie Steph
Esme at Fortnum & Mason
Esme's first ride on the underground...
We celebrated Esme's first Easter in England. Gram Bailey made a beautiful easter dinner and we spent the day visiting and spending time with Gram and Grandad. The easter bunny even decided to make a stop! Esme got a stuffed bunny from the mommy and daddy easter bunny and a big girl cup with the flower fairies on it from the Gram and Grandad Bailey bunny.
Esme and Daddy on Easter
Esme in her Easter dress
Esme with Gram and Grandad on Easter
Our last visit of the trip was with Joseph, Kelly and their daughters Amy and Emma. Kelly was pregnant with Emma at our leaving party last May and now Emma is 9 months old!! We had lunch at Frankie and Banny's and then spent the rest of our visit at their home. Amy and Emma are delightful little girls and we really enjoyed our visit
Amy and Esme
Emma and Joseph
That pretty much concludes our trip to England. The flight back was on a rickety old plane but we made it in one piece and that is what counts! We already miss England and are looking forward to our trip in September! Esme had a great trip and it was good to finally get to introduce her to her English family members! She loves them all VERY much!
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip:
At Auntie Norah's
In her new towel from Gram and Grandad Bailey
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This is a video of Esme laughing. She always quiets down a bit when the camera is on her but I think I caught some laughing and some good jibber jabber in this one!
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