Goodbye to all that (for now)

bury face
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Tim here. I am safe and sound in the states as well - hanging out in the ultra-nice Charlotte Airport, enjoying some free internet. FREE? Can it be? Yes, here in the land of the big Walmart, some things are free, and others are very cheap. And the people are very nice to you, even though they don't know you! And I'm not even out of the airport yet!

What does this have to do with the picture? Nothing. The picture is some cool statuary that I found in the Abbey gardens the day before departing. I imagine the artist didn't plan on the moss (maybe he should have) but it makes a nice touch.

I took a solo walk around downtown Bury, soaking up some euro-ambiance before departing. It was kind of a philosophical moment -- standing in the cross of the abbey ruins, with the shrine of St. Edmund ahead of me, and the crypt below, I could, for the first time, imagine standing in the medieval cathedral -- what a stunner it must have been for a fen-bound peasant whose previous architectural experience was a four room thatched roof cottage.

The walk downtown was the highlight of my three days of Class-B bachelorhood. I had big plans to party it up while Dori and Ollie were in the states. Instead I ended up with a bunch of dishes in the sink and an average bedtime of 9:30 over the course of the three days. Such is life! I am happy now to be only a few hours away from being back with the family.

Happy Christmas!
tim

Safe and Sound

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers for safe travel for Ollie and I. We're here with all of our luggage after an uneventful trip across the ocean. Tim arrives late on Sunday evening, so we're excited to have him with us soon. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Love,
The Spauldings

Walking Man

Walking Man
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

At 14 and a half months, Ollie looks more and more like a little boy everyday. Ollie is wearing his new backpack in preparation for our journey home this week. No, we aren't carrying so much with us that I need him to tote the excess...the backpack has a tether that attaches at the top so that my child won't run past security or out of sight. I never thought that I'd be one of those Moms who put a leash on her kid, but traveling through two international airports with a mobile child gives me a whole new perspective on things! Ollie and I will be at Heathrow on Wednesday, connecting thru O'Hare before making our way to Birmingham. Tim will join us a few days later, which means that Ollie and I will fly across the Atlantic with just each other for company once again. He's been a great traveller so far, but we're armed with a whole goody bag of tricks this time. Its amazing what excites toddlers...stickers, paper, and crayons just to name a few.

We'll Be Home For Christmas

We've received the official word...we'll be in the states for Christmas this year. We're VERY excited to spend the holiday with Ollie (who'll be old enough to enjoy the holiday) and his three cousins. Okay...the Grandparents and the Aunts and Uncles will be nice to see as well. If you're in the Birmingham/Montgomery area, feel free to pay us a visit. We'd love to see you!

More Pics

Just a smiley pic of the man..I thought you might enjoy. We're lucky to have such a happy kid. This age is my favorite so far. He follows some directions (which means that he understands them), and he doesn't throw real temper tantrums yet. The whole world is out there to explore and discover.



Adam and Ollie sharing a meal. Adam really was a laid back and easy going kid. The smile in the pic is the same one that we saw many times during his short stay with us. He's a pleasure to be around. Kim, Adam is welcome any time!

Story Time

Story Time
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

One of the things I really enjoy is checking out my friend's blogs, so I thought I might update ours in case anyone is checking in.

Ollie had his first sleep over with his pal Adam. Our good friends Kim and Scott went into London for a night on the town, and we were happy to have Adam spend some quality time with us. While two toddlers are a handful, its easier in many ways to have two kids on the same level. They play pretty well together and they learn from each other.

Ollie continues to learn more each day. He'll give me a hug and a kiss when I ask him to. It melts my heart every time. His favorite things include the classic "Pat the Bunny," climbing the stairs, bath time, and his dog. Risby tolerates him really well...probably because she gets to clean up the floor after Ollie eats!

His walking gets better and better. He's able to stand up from a sitting position. Doesn't sound all that cool to people who've mastered the art of moving on two limbs, but its a small challenge for toddlers.

Ollie's other feat is that he drank from a cup all by himself. He can also follow some simple instructions, like going down the stairs feet first (on his belly). We introduced peanuts for the first time, with slightly disastrous results. No trip to the ER, but if you're ever around the man, no PB and Js, please.

Well, that's all for this update. Hope you're all doing well and we hope to see you soon.

Ollie Update

Slain Dragon
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Wow! The thirteen month mark arrived faster than I thought it would. Ollie is officially a walker now, with more confidence day after day. His favorite things are stairs (he wanted to explore every one that we passed in Germany), his dog (who's a saint), and bath time (he knows how to put the stopper back in the drain). Ollie's vocabulary grows and grows. He likes to "repeat" what we say, so you can imagine that we're even more careful about the words we use. My favorite new trick is that Ollie now cuddles and if I'm really lucky, he'll give me a kiss. All those sleepless nights were worth it!

"Reeeeeeeeee-co-la!"

Alpine meadow
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Wow. Back from Germany last week. We spent a week in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a pair of villages sitting under the shadow of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in the German Alps. The sights and sounds of the Alps are hard to describe, even as I sit here having had a couple of weeks to think about it. Here goes anyway:

More than any other place we've visited, the Bavarian Alps seem to live up to its sterotypes. You imagine peaked roof houses with flower draped balconies. You are surrounded by them on every corner. You expect couples striding along a mountain path with alpine trekking poles in each hand. They pass you on the left and right. You picture beer halls tucked into mountain valleys accessible only by horse or foot (or ski or snowshoe, later in the year), and you can't throw a pretzel without hitting one.

Visiting bavaria made me realize just how silly (actually, more sad than silly) the places that try to imitate it are (yes Ober Gatlinburg, I'm looking in your direction). I guess calling Gatlinburg silly and/or sad isn't especially new, but that's what struck me after a few days in Garmisch.

Here's another thing I realized: olympic ski jumps are ridiculously large. This experience has convinced me to place my olympic ski-jumper dreams on indefinite hold.

Like everywhere we visited, we saw things we want to add to the collage of our lifestyle. Here they are in no particular order:

- Ride a bike: bavarians (like most europeans) consider bikes an honorable mode of transportation. Why not take the bike to the store? Or to your meeting?
- Drink beer out of doors: Drinking beer inside is depressing.
- Get a good southern, afternoon exposure: After several mountain beer halls, I realized that this is the key to drinking your beer out of doors.
- Pork is OK: man, Bavarians dig on swine, that's for sure. I tried all kinds of pork, and like most of it. I'll pass on the Schwinhoxe next time though.


All in all, the Bavarian lifestyle was refreshing: simple, honest, hardworking, frugal, fit, "outdoorsy," relaxed, and community oriented. It would be the kind of place you'd want to raise your kids. I feel traitorous as I type this, but I think in some ways, it might even be a better take on 'the good life' than in many parts of America. If we could find a way as Americans to refocus our singleminded obsession with MORE and BIGGER into a desire for BETTER, and temper our raging individuality with reminders that we can only prosper as individuals when our communities prosper, maybe we'd be better off. I don't know. I guess that's why I'm a little more left-leaning than most.

What I do know is that we have lots of pictures of Germany (and Austria) at:


GERMANY PICTURES


Enjoy!
Tim

Worthy of note

Breaking with tradition, this post is news related, not Ollie-related.

Due to recent events

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/11/06/air_force_grounds_entire_fleet_of_f_15s/

I've had a bit more time to peruse the internet than normal. A dangerous thing as it turns out!

Here's what I've learned in the last few days:

1) Mary Tudor is buried in Bury St. Edmunds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_St_Edmunds

2) Greene King Brewery (our local brewery) makes the most popular lager in England, and has been brewing beer in Bury St. Edmunds since 1700

http://www.greeneking.co.uk/

3) Pakistan is not a nice place to live

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/world/asia/08pakistan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogi

4) Don't get in a land war in Asia, don't mess with a Sicilian when life and death is one the line, and don't screw with MIT when it comes to quality buliding practices

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/us/07mit.html?em&ex=1194584400&en=0d81ad17dbaee6c4&ei=5087%0A


I also had time to read a big chunk of the current issue of the Economist. I claim the *free* electronic version of the Economist (which covers almost the whole print edition) is the best thing going as far as internet news. It is the most thorough, comprehensive, and well written thing out there. It also has the added bonus of being able to stake out political and editorial ground that simply does not exist in the american political scheme.

The current issue has a special report on religion, politics, and international relations that is well worth anyone's time. It can be found at:

http://www.economist.com/index.html


Tim

Welcome to the World Reagan Emily Basel!

We are so blessed to welcome the Basel's beautiful daughter into the world. Congrats John and Meredith! You guys will be great parents!!

One year on

Hard to believe it, but Oliver is a year old this month!

We gave him an impromtu party on the streets of Edinburgh, with a piece of carrot cake (which he didn't eat) and then held a real birthday party back here in England, with a chocolate cupcake (which he also didn't eat). He was excited about the candle however, which mom managed to blow out just before he got his hands on it!

Although he's been standing on his own and taking a few tentative steps these last few days, in large part he still has to play the 'lava' game and only move around where there is something to hold on to. He's become quite resourceful though...he's learned that any wall can be used for transport, provided that he leaves into it a little bit. He also found out that if he pushes on a laundry basket, it'll slide aong the floor, getting him pretty much anywhere he wants to go. He kind of looks like an old man with a walker. In the absence of laundry baskets, he sometimes catches a ride with the dog as she passes by -- he can grab ahold and walk with her for about three steps before he falls down.

He's also realized that no one (not even dad!) is irresponsible enough to leave him on top of anything high up without being close by to intervene. This means he can play 'everlasting tuck,' diving headfirst off the bed or stairs, knowing that a set of hands will magically arrive to set him gently down!

He can say a few words now - most notably, "Uh Oh!"
Ollie defines uh-oh as follows:

uh·oh [ut-ooo OR ooo-ut OR ut-ooo-ooooo]
–interjection
1. I've dropped something on accident
2. I've dropped something on purpose
3. I'm about to drop something on purpose
4. There is something over there that I can't reach, please get it for me

The latest Ollie pictures are at:

OLLIE PICS

Enjoy!

"The birth-place of valour, the country of worth"

We just got back from spending a few days in Crianlarich, Scotland, in the western highlands. Crianlarich is a small town that sits underneath the peak of Ben More, halfway up the "West Highland Way," a long distance footpath running from Loch Lomand (just north of Glasgow) to Loch Ness (at Ft. William).

We were there for a few days, exploring the highlands by day, and having dinner and a pint in the pub next door in the evenings.

We took a day to walk through Glen Dochart, just oustide of town, which is a broad valley that runs between Crianlarich and Tillin. The picture above is the start of our walk, which was authentically Scottish, as it was conducted in spite of a cold, fall rain throughout.

We also toured the coastal village of Oban (to include the Oban distellery, where they make some pretty nice Scotch), and made a pass through Edinbrurgh on our way back down south. For pictures of scotland, go to:

SCOTLAND PICS

We liked our trip, but both agreed that though they might be the birth-place of valor, we're glad we don't live in the higlands year round!

Father and Son

Father and Son
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

We had a great photo op yesterday. Thought you might enjoy this one! Ollie has perfected his new word "Da Da," to everyone's excitement.

Password Protection

Ollie is cruising around with more cinfidence everyday. I think that he'll wait to walk until his Dad comes home, which will hopefully be sometime before Ollie's first birthday. Ollie man babbles and "talks" most of the day. I haven't been able to get it on camera, but he's begun to stick out his tongue in the cutest way possible. His hobbies include climbing the stairs, patting his dog, saying the word "dog," and getting into everything possible.

Home Again, Home Again

Ollie playing with Sam Laney

Ollie and I have had a great time visiting both sets of grandparents in the states. We spent the first week with Grandma and Grandpa Spaulding, who spoiled us both rotten : ) Ollie and I both enjoyed time with Aunt Debi and his Great Grandmother. It was fun to take Ollie from cold England (its not REALLY July if you want to wear a jacket), to hotter than heck Texas.

After spending a wonderful week in Texas, we surprised My folks in Alabama. My sister and I were able to keep the secret for about four months!! Thanks to those of you who knew and didn't say anything. We've had a blast here with the cousins, Aunts and Uncles and the Grandparents.

Ollie is right on track developmentally. He'll "talk" to you like you understand what he's saying...his voice is full of personality and inflection. He sounds like he's said "dog" a couple of times. He sure loves my sister's border collie Dixie. He makes very happy "oohhhs!" when she walks into the room. Ollie has also picked up speed as a crawler. He's into everything and he loves to open and close doors. Can't wait to put the child locks on the kitchen cabinets!! The most exciting development has been in the last two days...Ollie has begun to clap and wave. He's REALLY cute.

Hope everyone is doing well. Here's hoping that I post sooner than a month from now! Cheers,
Dori

Four Countries and a Principality

Sunflowers in Provence
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Our young son is well on his way to becoming a world traveller. The list now includes: the UK, the US, Spain, France, and Monaco. He was a superstar throughout the entire trip.

We spent the last week in Provence with some good friends, and we had a fabulous time. We shopped at some markets, ate French cheese, and drank a large amount of French wine. C'est Si Bon!

We rented a house in the village of Fuveau, just outside of Aix-en-Provence. We almost missed the market in Pallissene, but were able to catch the lady selling tablecloths and baskets (don't worry, Tim is thrilled to have more tablecloths). On Monday, we drove about 90 minutes to Nice to visit an antique market. Much more fun to look than to buy. In the afternoon, we visited Monaco, which was about 20 minutes down the road.

On Wednesday we visited Avignon, which interestingly was the home of the popes from 1309 to 1377. What was most interesting is the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We spent an afternoon visiting the village and touring the winery at Chateau la Nerthe. Tim and I are going to return for an anniversary one of these days when the little one is visiting the grandparents! There were fields upon fields of grapes that will one day turn into wine.

So, where are all of the pictures from this beautiful vacation? It turns out that carting a baby and all of his junk was about all that I could handle. I hope to nick my friends photos and post some of them. Until then, I recommend checking out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/akryger/

or

http://www.annamorrisphoto.com/

Annie is a VERY talented photographer who we were lucky enough to have on our vacation. She's got some great shots from the trip.

Alright...its time to hit the hay. Hope everyone is doing well!

Cheers,
Dori

The End of the World As We Know It

As We Know It
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

So...I've been just a little bit busy lately and blogging went to the very bottom of the to do list. The events of this morning inspired me to provide a very overdo update to our friends and family. I walked into the man's room to find the picture you see. My baby was STANDING!! As Tim said, its a little spooky to see your child do this for the first time Needless to say, the mattress is now at the very bottom setting.

In other news, Ollie can sit up now. He's not crawling exactly...he seems to have perfected the low man crawl. Ollie discovered Risby's water dish, and I am perfecting my "No" as well as my disapproving Mother look. That shiny bowl full of water is a little too tempting sometimes : )

Ollie's top two teeth are in. I'll provide a picture when I get a good one. The next two top teeth are working their way through the gums as well...its amazing how much teeth change his look! Ollie is also proving to have a very nice temperment. Like all of us, he's a little cranky when he's tired or hungry, but he's usually cheered up with a funny face or a tickle. The man also loves people...not much of a surprise to anyone who's ever met his father!!

Ollie's most favorite thing is his dog...he's learning to "gently" touch the Riz. Thank goodness that Risby has such a nice temperment!! Ollie also loves books, anything that makes noise, and motorcycles passing by. He's such a little boy.

Alright...I'll do my best to post more entries and add more video soon. Hope everyone is doing well!

Much love,
The Spauldings

Eight Months And Counting

The Man
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Life's been busy here at the Spaulding Casa. Ollie spends most of his time belly crawling and cutting teeth. He can make it onto his knees, where he sways back and forth before falling to his tummy. He's an expert at the commando crawl...pulling himself along with his arms. It so funny to see the progression. And, his top left tooth has cut through. It will be a while before we have anything picture worthy, but the top teeth are on their way! I'll do my best to get some footage of Ollie moving and making more noise.

In other news, I completed my first post-pregnancy triathlon at Blenheim Palace outside of Oxford. A HUGE thanks to Jen for keeping Ollie for me during the race. While the race was not my best ever, it felt great to get back into the swing of things. The water was the coldest I've ever been in in my life at a frigid 18 degrees Celcius (about 64 degrees F). I felt like I was slipping into a huge glass of ice water! Thank heavens for wetsuits. After the swim, I had a lovely time biking through the sheep fields and running around the lake.


I'd like to plug my friend Tara's Photography business...she took this shot of the man for us, as well as several others.
www.tlohsephotography.com

Hungry and Tired

Ollie is quite demanding if he is both hungry and tired. Fortunately, this is not my son's normal temperment! We keep videoing him, but there aren't any good shots of him scooting around yet. He gets better by the day, so stay posted!
Love,
The Spauldings

Ollie Noises