Summertime in London

It's official - it's finally warm here. Finally. I've even had to strip Beatrice down to her onesies. Luckily she's still well dressed no matter how little she's wearing!

This weekend has been a bit of a blur. Very fun, but still a blur. I was looking through the photos and realized just how much we'd done. The fun started Thursday after I got back from work and greeted Cristina and Karina, who babysat for Beatrice. Sofia, Cristina's daughter, got Beatrice these fantastic sunglasses for her new life in California. Adorable. (You'll notice by their clothes...not warm yet)

Also Ayanna and Will arrived on Thursday to stay with us for two nights. We had a fantastic time with them, and Beatrice enjoyed being able to thank Ayanna in person for her (now too small) adorable Aubergine Hat. They spoiled Beatrice to no end - she loves her new rhino.

And on Friday the Slovenians arrived en mass! Andreja, Urban and Urban's sister Barbara came to London to see the sights and see us off. Luckily for them, they stayed with John and Jasandra. Lucky because...Beatrice decided to go INSANE on Friday and Saturday nights. Perhaps it was all the people, but she just did NOT want to go to sleep. 3 straight hours of screaming. Wow. On Saturday we joined everyone at the Tate Modern with significantly less screaming and then quickly left to find a pub by the River Thames. The ladies had Pimm's and lemonade. There are certainly some things I'll miss in London...

Beatrice decided to get close to Auntie Jasandra on the walk from the pub (notice her hand...).

That night we left Bea at home with Lia, her babysitter, and went to Jane's house for an outdoor picnic. The setting was fantastic - all the flats and houses in a single block open out back onto a secluded garden. It's huge (you can see about 5% of it in the photo), and as it is now light until 9:30pm and was actually warm on Saturday, with lots of friends and great food, we had a wonderful time.

On Sunday picked up Jennifer and Jason and headed out to my colleague Brian's BBQ. After a stellar entrance by Jason (think: college, passing out on the grass, etc), we all had a great time in the sunshine. Beatrice particularly enjoyed herself - there were lots of willing 10 year old babysitters, and a 3 year old Maya to entertain.

And believe it or not Zack and I got out AGAIN later that night, leaving Beatrice with Lia (I love this woman), to go to John and Jasandra's for a homecooked Korean meal. YUMMMMM.

So lots going on...Andreja and gang leave today, but I'm expecting Vicki's arrival any minute now. She'll be here until Thursday. Our last visitor - should be fun! Of course, they're all staying here through our packing too, which has just taken over our flat. Everytime Beatrice wakes up from a nap she looks around to see what else is gone and what new pile has been created. The movers come Saturday - wish us luck!

Finally, some of my favorite photos...from the weekend: I will miss seeing the www.handyman.co.uk old-timey truck drive down the High Street blowing bubbles (?) and blasting 1950s songs to draw attention. A good Chuck Berry tune followed by The Supremes - you can't go wrong. Then there's one of Beatrice and Daddy reading in the turret. They're reading Tatler Magazine. And my new all-time favorite - Zack called me in to see Beatrice watching "the High Street TV show, in widescreen"...