Introducing the Garbanzo!

Ladies and Gentlemen – meet the “Garbanzo” – who will be arriving the first week of March. Anna is going to have company! Why “Garbanzo” you may ask? When I first told Carlos that I was pregnant, I said that the baby was about the size of a garbanzo bean, and the name just stuck. Right now, the baby is a bit bigger than a garbanzo bean – 66 mm to be exact. We got confirmation from today’s ultrasound that everything looks good – hurray! Now we just have to wait until I reach 20 weeks to find out whether it is a boy or girl.

So, Garbanzo makes four.

Gliding in the English Countryside

On Sunday we all went for a drive in the English countryside – to Essex (northeast of London) to be exact. It was a gorgeous day for a drive, and we had fun until we got off the main motorways and onto the country roads. Boy, the lack of signage makes finding your way around rather difficult. Carlos and I have had a number of experiences of the crazy road signs here – we can’t get over the signs on the motorways that just say “The North” or “The West” as an indicator of which way to go. To me, that isn’t really helpful. Anyway, after making our way through a number of windy roads, we made it to our destination – Ridgewell Airfield. We each went for a glider ride. Pretty cool, huh? Carlos had gotten a gift certificate that he could redeem for the glider ride, and I got to tag along. We each did what is called a wire launch rather than being pulled into the air by another plane. The glider is attached to a wire winch (I think that’s the right term), and it pulls the glider up into the air at about a 70 degree angle really fast. Let’s just say that I’ve had moments in my life where I’ve felt less queasy. Once you reach about 1000 feet, the wire is released, and you just glide around. The gliding bit was fun, and it was a beautiful, cloudless day – a great way to see the surrounding countryside. Overall, though, I wouldn’t do it again. I think Carlos came to the same conclusion. We both thought it was a cool experience, but we definitely don’t feel a burning desire to do it again.

Anna had a grand old time. She got to see lots of gliders up close which she thought was very exciting. Plus, she got to have a little picnic lunch at the airfield. Here’s a picture of her eating her latest favorite – grapes.

Good books

I've read a few fantastic books recently. If anyone is looking for a good book to read, I highly recommend the following:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Saturday by Ian McEwan. I just started this book, but it is already so good, so well written that I know I can recommend it.

Confession of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. A very fun read (fictionalized account of where the fairy tale Cinderella may have come from).

The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory. Great historical fiction.

Got milk? . . . or sushi? . . . or olives?

Anna’s tastebuds continue to surprise me. Thankfully, she has finally started drinking milk. It has been a long time coming. After she was weaned, she would not drink formula or milk unless it was poured over cereal. That was it, nothing else. I tried a number of different types of formula and milk (soy milk, flavored milk, etc.). Nada. She just didn’t want any of it. Then, when we were in Iceland last month, she started to ask for milk and then actually drinking it when I gave it to her. Ever since we came back to London, she’s been drinking milk constantly!! At last!

I think Anna’s tastebuds are taking more after Carlos than me. She is constantly surprising me by the things she wants to eat. For instance, she eats sushi – the vegetable or shrimp variety. I haven’t given her the raw fish ones yet, but if she is anything like Carlos, she’ll eat those up lickety split once she gets a taste of them. Anna also loves olives. She would eat an entire jar if I’d let her. As soon as she sees the jar in the fridge, she starts asking for “Oleees Oleeeees” very insistently. Anna has also started eating the Spanish cured meats like jamon and fuet (a salami-like cured sausage that is delicious). She can’t get enough of it. I’m just glad that Anna doesn’t seem to have inherited my huge sweet-tooth.

Snip Snip

Anna had her first haircut on Saturday (that is, if you don’t count my minor trim of her bangs over Easter). Carlos and I decided to make an outing of the event, and we took Anna to Harrods to have her hair cut. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous to take your child to Harrods to have her hair cut, but it is the only place I know of in London that has a children’s hair salon. I thought it would be fun for her first haircut to go there. So, Anna’s mullet is now gone. I kind of miss it because it was a rather cute mullet with curls, but a mullet no less.

New words:
mooksick = music
eebah = zebra
doubleshoe = double u (the letter)