A few day trips and Noah rolls over!

Trying to get settled is a lot of work when you don't have all of your things and are living in temporary accommodation. Esme was a bit bored with the few toys we did have so we decided to spend a lot of our time out and about. Luckily, friends Steph and David had a few days off and were able to meet us for lunch and a trek through St. James's park one day. Esme loved looking at all of the birds- glorious pelicans, black swans, geese, ducks and several kinds that I couldn't identify. St. James's park is in the shadows of Buckingham palace and made for a brilliant day out. We even saw the Olympic Beach Volleyball courts- very exciting.

August 13th:

We found a house that we loved in Greenwich but ended up having to wait two months for it before we could move in. A bit of a bummer but really worth the wait. We decided to spend one weekend walking around Greenwich and exploring our soon to be home. One of the great things about London is that the museums are free. The Maritime Museum in Greenwich is great and is pretty kid friendly. Esme loves looking at the big boats and interactive displays!

Esme decided one of the exhibits was put into place for her to dangle from the railings...



After the Maritime Museum we went up to the Royal Observatory/Greenwich Meantime Line to see the views. This is arguably one of the best views of London and the pictures we took don't do it justice.

It is a difficult task but we did manage to wear Esme out!

Noah started rolling from front to back regularly at 5 months old. He did it a few times accidently before that but 5 months is when the real action started happening. He rolled front to back once and startled himself so I placed him back on his front to see if he would do it again. I filmed him for a few minutes and then decided he wasn't going to do it. As soon as I turned the camera off, he went for it. Luckily, I turned it back on just in time to catch the roll...



At five months, he also began sitting up on his own for short periods of time. He isn't quite ready to sit completely erect but if you set him up he will stay for a few seconds before falling over.

August 14th:

We took a trip to Hastings to visit with Michael, Veronica and Paul. We got to see Mike and Veronica's flat for the first time and were blown away- it is absolutely huge and has a ton of character. Plus, it is right next to a little park and pretty much right on the seaside. We had fun catching up with them and enjoyed a beautiful homemade meal. We also had a walk along the seafront and played some frisbee and football in the park. We had a lovely day and look forward to visiting again soon!

The seaside

Noah and Veronica

Esme had fun with stickers...

Soccer in the park (how cute do Mike and Veronica look in the background?)

Noah rolled in the grass and was all smiles

Learning from big Sis.

On August 16th I took a day trip with the kids to Kidspace in Romford and met up with my good friend Michelle, her three kids Georgia, Alfie and Freddie and my friend Aimee and her daughter Rosie. The kids had a great time running around and it was really great to catch up with Michelle and Aimee.

Esme would not leave the car alone!

Esme went on the go karts with Michelle's daughter Georgia

Noah couldn't do much but he had fun watching and getting cuddles from everyone. After we were done there, we went to a few shops and then to a park. Esme had fun on the swing and slides...

...but was most interested in the merry go round thing. She had no fear and went and joined right in with the big kids.


Aimee and Noah

Noah and a sleepy Freddie

Esme got to ride on the tube trains a few times and really enjoyed it. She doesn't like when they make loud noises but she does like it, in general. That makes one of us. Here she is on the tube with her shiny new shoes.