Friday, March 30, 2012

The French Version of Penny Lane.... (Roo's half-yearly post)

Please welcome Penelope Rue Phillips to planet Earth. She was born Thursday March 29, 2012 at 2:49PM. Penny came in at 8 lbs 8 oz, 20 inches, 2.5 weeks early, and exactly 21 months after her big sister. There were no problems or complications for Mom or Baby....and yes, I am hanging in there too.










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Location:Houston, TX

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Updates

Update #1

Did you know we're moving to England? A month ago there was not even a whisper of a hint of a prospect that this could ever happen. We were living contentedly in Houston. Paying our mortgage. Hanging curtains. Bracing for summer. We even bought a nice new bookcase to fill the empty wall in the living room so we could clear out all our packed up books. And I believe it was the same day we placed the final book on the bookshelf, stood back, and admired our commitment to this place that the opportunity to leave it all behind showed up unexpectedly.

Roo had the chance to either take a new job at a new company here in Houston or stay with the current company and transfer to England. For about a week and a half we talked pros and cons and I tried to wrap my mind around even the thought of living abroad. But I think the decision was already made the second the opportunity presented itself. We chose England. This will be our ninth move in eight years, ending our longest streak of permanent residence anywhere of almost two years.  Yet another uprooting, especially one so unexpected, is going to be a bit tough for me. And we have mountains of logistics when it comes to travel arrangements (obtaining visas, passports for kids, etc.) and selling our house and everything else that goes along with a foreign move to deal with.

By all rights, I should be overwhelmed, and most of the time when I think about it, I am. However, all stressful logistics aside, I think we all know that not going for this would have only left us with a long, hot Houston summer of wondering "what if?"

We plan to leave the US in the middle of June and live about 30 miles south of London for three years. And we plan to love it.

Update #2

At my 36 week appointment this week, Baby Girl was tipping the scales at 8 lbs already. I should have known based on how many people exclaim how huge I look, and on how I feel like I'm going to tip over all the time. The ultrasound technician had to make sure there weren't actually two people in there (there weren't...just one jumbo baby). But I've still got almost four weeks to go, and Baby has four weeks to grow even bigger. What this means is that we're all hoping she decides to make a sudden appearance very soon, otherwise she'll be so big that we may either have to coax her out (via induction) or cut her out (via c-section).

Update #3

Esmé has moved on from her crib and now sleeps in a pink plastic bed that has princesses on it. We're very proud.