Dylan eats his feet! They don't make it to his mouth very often, but he always enjoys a nibble when they do.
Daddy and Dylan outside York Minster. Dylan's first trip to York, and he was as good as gold the whole time.
Trying on some stunning shades in Monsoon. They do nothing for his face, but he amazingly left them on for ages. The sales girls were all a little bit in love with him.
The family walk on the York wall with a stunning view of the Minster behind.
Dylan and I went to Baysgarth Park yesterday--a little reward for being the best baby ibn the world while I was sick. He's really starting to like the swings now.

Easter weekend was good. Martin actually had two days in a row off work, which hasn't happened since Christmas. It would be so nice if he had a "normal" job, but I am getting used to us only having Sunday off most of the time. I was deathly ill (ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration) on Saturday and Sunday. Dylan pretty much just sat on the floor and played with his toys all day Saturday while Martin was at work because I was so weak and achy that I didn't trust myself to try and pick him up. But he was happy all day as long as I kept the food coming. Martin took care of him all day Sunday, just handing him to me when he needed to be fed. By Monday I was feeling a little bit better, so we bundled the boy wonder into the car and went to York. We didn't spend any money on anything but food, but it was lovely to just wander around the city.

I had a comment on my last post about the in-laws reading the blog. I don't think they do, but even if they did it would be ok. I have never posted anything on here that I wouldn't say to their faces. I love Martin's family--I really do. I just love mine more. That's only normal. They have their problems and quirks, just like everybody does. When I'm not well those quirks are less funny and more annoying than other times, that's all.

I hope everybody enjoys the pictures!

Happy Easter...

Well, nearly anyway. It's just after 9 pm here, so it's nearly Easter Sunday for me.

My thoughts always turn to home at Easter. I know I should be thinking about Jesus Christ and what he did for me and you and everyone, but instead I think of my family. Every Easter the Lofleys get together for a big picnic/barbecue in the east desert. A few people camp out, and the rest of us drive out the next morning. The kids have a big easter egg hunt, we hike to see the Indian writings and hunt for ponds (if it's been a wet spring so far). We eat burgers and hot dogs and Grandma's potato salad (and never forgetting mom's pasta salad). We all get sun burnt and go home smelling of smoke and covered in a fine layer of grit from the sand and the ride out in the back of an open pick-up truck. Then we eat potato salad for the next two days.

Doesn't sound terribly exciting, I know, but it was a family tradition that I loved. The longer we live in England the more I miss home and family. Martin's family are lovely. But they're not my family, and so I will never love them as much. I ache to spend time with my mom and dad and sisters and brother. I know how much I am missing with my nieces and nephews--baptisms, blessings, and all of the exciting little bits of them growing up. They don't even know aunt Jamie and uncle Martin. They've never even met cousin Dylan.

England has been a lonely place for me since Dylan was born. I love staying home with him, but I feel the absence of my family so deeply. I know I could drop by unannounced and hang out with my mom or my sisters and they wouldn't mind. I have to give the in-laws at least a day's notice so that I won't show up and the father-in-law is hammered and in a state not fit to have a baby around. My sister in law is lovely, but if you saw the wrong thing to her, she may get mad at you and not speak to you for several months. I don't work any more, and some days the only people I speak to are Martin and Dylan--so only one of them talks back to me.

I miss home. I still love England and find it beautiful, but I would give anything to spend just a single day back home with all of my family near.

The beauty of a routine...

Dylan is currently having a nap. I am so proud of that, since he would not sleep at the house up until about a month ago. At least not during the day. Now we have a daytime routine of sorts established, and he's like a different baby. It just took us a long time to get into it.

We start our day at around 7:30, when Dylan wakes up. I feed him while Martin gets a shower, then Martin keeps an eye on him and he plays while I get my shower. When Martin leaves for work, Dylan and I watch "America's Next Top Model." I make myself breakfast and tidy up the kitchen and front room during the commercials. When that's over, we go for our morning walk. Dylan falls asleep while we are out walking, then we come home and I clean the house while he is sleeping. He has banana when he wakes up, then a feed and a cuddle. We play for a while, and he sits in the kitchen with me while I get dinner prepped. Then it's time for his afternoon nap. I lie down with him and feed him until he falls asleep, and then I either finish the housework or have some free time, depending on how long his morning nap was. When he wakes up he has his afternoon banana, then Martin gets home and we just hang out until dinner and bed time.

My life is so boring.

For all that boredom though, it is really satisfying. And Dylan is flexible with the routines now, so we go swimming some days instead of the regular routine, and he skips his bath on choir nights, and it is OK. We can go out and do fun things, but he knows that he is supposed to sleep during the day now, and he gets horribly grumpy if he doesn't nap. Getting enough sleep has turned him into the happiest baby around.

Now a quick update. Our car broke down last weekend ( I think I wrote about it), and it would have cost more to fix it than the car is worth. We have found a "new" car--a '97 Renault Clio. It has a smaller engine, so we will be paying less tax on it and it will probably get better mileage. Martin's grandparents have kindly let us borrow the money from them, and we will repay it when we sell the house and move home. We are picking the car up on Sunday, so we have been car-less all week. Hence me being grateful for Dylan's routine, because it's made the week bearable.

Anyway, I'm going to have a sit and a relax while Dylan is sleeping. Hooray for sleeping babies!

I know I just posted pictures yesterday, but Martin did this video clip tonight and it's too cute for words. Dylan loves playing the piano--he's just discovering how much fun it is to make a lot of noise.

Dylan's ninja training pays off once again!
Is this where Alice is hiding?
i know, i'm the cutest, you don't have to tell me!
I am so sick of the papparrazzi following me around! stop pointing that thing in my face!
After the first annual fleetgate cup, Dylan and Marley pause for photos

Something new...

Martin didn't get the Grimsby Institute job, but Dylan got his first tooth. He was really horrible all day Thursday (once he woke up, that is) and that evening he had a really high temperature and was all achy. I wanted to take him to the doctor, but decided to wait and see for a day. Then, when he woke up on Friday morning, he had a little tooth poking through. He's also working on his second one already--both on the bottom. I'd take a picture, but it's still too small to see. The good news is that he isn't biting me.

Our car is in the shop. It broke down on Saturday on our way home from Scunthorpe. We were stranded at the side of the road for around 2 hours. Martin's parents were not home, so we didn't know what to do. We ended up calling our neighbor, Simon (Marley's dad). He came right out and towed us to the garage. It is probably our fuel pump, so we might have our car back by Wednesday. But we might have to find a new car. Ugh!

Martin has been doing loads of work on the house (hey, we can't leave Barton so we need to keep ourselves busy), and it's looking good. Our entrance hallway is painted, has skirting board and a chair rail, and is mostly tiled. We need to get another box of tiles before he can finish, and then he will grout between the tiles. They are natural slate, and look beautiful. We also painted our front room a different colour. It was Edwardian pale cream. Now it is Willow Green, and so lovely. The room looks much bigger and lighter. Bamboo floor is next--we hope to have it done before Dylan starts crawling.

Spring is coming quickly to England now. The birds down at Water's Edge are nesting, and we'll have ducklings and goslings in a few more weeks. Dylan and I went for a walk yesterday and fed the ducks and seagulls. He was actually really interested in the seagulls. He's going to love the ducks by the end of the summer. The trees and hedgerows are just starting to blossom. I adore England in the spring. There really is nothing on Earth more glorious. Hopefully I will have some lovely scenery pictures. But most of them will continue to be pictures of Dylan.

dylan's first karaoke night

sleeping on the job--my little gangsta

high flier at jen's birthday party

why play with just your hands when you can use your feet as well?

all dressed up for "pass the parcel"