Although there were not a lot of pictures of them, Uncle Steve and John had a good time together.  Steve made a fire for us on several evenings, and John wanted to help. 

*

In his entire 30-odd years Steve has never changed a baby’s diaper.  Unless there was an emergency, he wants the first diaper he changes to be his own kid’s.  Looks like he’ll get there, as he avoided diaper duty all 8 days John was here.

My sister is my new packing hero.  Not only did she schlep a baby and 90lbs of luggage full of American goodies for me over to England, she made the return trip with only two carry-ons!

Now, in my defence, not ALL 90lbs were mine.  She did bring a week’s worth of diapers and baby formula that got used up along the way…

Here they are as they headed into T4 – excited to get home and see Daddy Robbie. 

I miss them already!

Thursday Margie, John and I went in to London.  John took his very first train ride!

John was a champ on the train, and we got him a Paddington Bear at the station.  

As soon as Margie put him in the Baby Bjorn he was asleep on the tube.

We headed to Westminster.  John was not so impressed.

Our destination was Westminster Abbey.  Margie had always wanted to see it, but was thwarted on her previous two trips to London as it was closed.  Third time a charm?  Nope, but we saw Prince Philip.  Margie seemed unimpressed, and annoyed it wasn’t the queen.  This was the first legitimate royal celebrity I’ve seen in my two years here so I think she should just be thankful.

Since Prince Philip apparently needs ALL of Westminster to his bad self, it wasn’t open until 1pm, so we headed up to do a little shopping on Bond street. 

We had lunch at a little pub.

We then headed back and got into Westminster on Margie’s fourth attempt in the last 8 years.  John promptly fell asleep shortly after we got inside, and gave us plenty of time to take in as much as we could handle.  The history is so thick there you can only take a bit of it in at a time.  Worth going back again someday I’m sure.

So, with our celebrity gawking, shopping and history intake complete we headed home, tired but happy.

John was a CHAMP all day, and really all week.  He slept through the nights and was good during the day.  He was maybe fussy on Tuesday, but after giving him a day of playtime on Wednesday he was right back in top form.  I hope my little boy is as good and fun as John.

PS:  Monday and Tuesday were spent in Wales, where I didn’t take very many pictures.  Margie’s blog post about that is here.  Wednesday I gave Margie the day off.  She took the train to Oxford and John and I stayed home and played.  He needed time to roam free on the floor.  The little man needs to keep his crawling skills fresh.

Sunday was another low-key day (we’re like that).  Our friends the Davies’ were so kind to host us for Sunday lunch.  Caroline is a fabulous cook and we had roast lamb and all the trimmings – including two desserts!  Margie got to experience a traditional English Sunday roast.  After lunch we visited, then watched the end of the NY marathon and then the karaoke came out.  Margie, as the first time guest, had to go first…she wasn’t so sure she would have accepted the lunch invitation had she known she had to sing, but she had fun!  We made for a boisterous bunch, so much so that John seemed extra tired when we went home.

Then we went to church at the Binfield Heath chapel.  Everyone was so excited to get to meet John, who looked especially handsome in his new church and Christmas outfit.  Such a little man.  We got a picture with Margery, who made John a blanket back before he was born.

Saturday we took Margie and John out on a 2-pub walk.  It was John’s first pub crawl, and I have to say if they’re going to start, start them with quality.  We went out to Turville and Skirmett – and got a beautiful bit of afternoon sunshine.  My sister doesn’t get to see much fall color in Texas – so she was happy to be out in the hills and through the woods.

John was really happy in the backpack – he was quieter than I have ever seen him (he is usually all babble) – Margie says it is because there was so much to take in.  His first pub visit was The Frog in Skirmett, where a little 4 year old girl was flirting with him but the main attraction was my pocket pack of tissues that he played with for a full twenty minutes before moving on to an empty crisp packet.

Friday Margie, John and I went into Henley. 

Our last stop was Waitrose for groceries.  Margie had gone back to look for a magazine so I had John in the checkout lane.  The clerk looked up at me, looked at John and then said, with a concerned look on her face “when is this one due?”  I quickly explained that John was my nephew here for a visit, and not mine.  She was audibly relieved.  

So, be careful pregnant ladies, toting a baby while your pregnant is likely to induce concerns from random townsfolk.

My sister Margie is here for a visit from Houston, Texas.  She is a brave woman, bringing a 7 month old nephew John over 5000miles by herself.   She has a great writeup about travelling with an infant here.  I picked them up Thursday morning at Heathrow – and they both looked great.

We just laid low on Thursday, and John went to bed before 7pm, but then up to play at 8.  Margie hadn’t slept on the plane and was toasted, so Steve and I tag teamed the rest of the night.  I grabbed a catnap while the boys played. 

*

I got the fun bit.  John hit the preverbial wall at 9pm and just laid in my arms crying, poor thing.  He was just exhausted, but confused about why it was dark at what felt like 4pm to him, and why he was not in his familiar surroundings.  He cried until he finally gave in and fell asleep close to 10pm.   This was followed by a full night’s sleep – he didn’t even wake up for a bottle – so we all consider it a success.  (45 minutes of crying after a 10 hour flight and 5 hours time difference is pretty stinkin good)

* Please note: Uncle Steve was not letting him play in the garbage bin.  Margie told us not to bother buying or borrowing any toys – that household items were fine – so I’ve been laying aside water bottles, yogurt cups and sturdy little boxes and threw those in a basket along with some kitchen spatulas.  These, along with the radiators and chairs have kept him entertained for 3 days now.

I suppose it is time to update you all on how we’re doing and how the baby is coming along.  I know I don’t post much baby news here – I just don’t want to bore folks.  If you didn’t read the Monaco posts I suppose you may not have known we’re expecting.  So – surprise!  We’re expecting!

We’ve passed the 5 month mark – under 4 months to go now.  Baby Schrock will be joining the party at Schrockthehouse in February.  We found out earlier this month that ‘it’ is really a ‘he’!  We’re both very happy to know we’re having a boy – they’re so much fun – although I do have to admit I was a little sad that we can’t have a girl also (since they’re pretty fun too).  No – we’re quite sure there is only one in there.

The boy is starting to make his presence known, kicking around a bit, but all in all I think he’s going to be a pretty laid back person like his dad.  (I can hope!)

I’m feeling really quite well.  I was lucky in the morning sickness department, almost none at all.  I did have a pretty major dose of exhaustion, and spent most of June, July and August camped out on the sofa when I wasn’t struggling to stay awake at work. 

Now, a little FAQ

Q:Are you still travelling?
A: Yes, we had to postpone a couple of trips this summer when I was so tired, but we’ve been making up for lost time.  I’m not planning on flying anymore though, so our remaining trips will be via car or train.

Q: How many countries has the boy been to already?
A: 6 (England, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, France, Monaco)

Q: How many countries will the boy have been to by the time he’s born?
A: 10 (add Wales, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg)

Q: Are you going (coming) to Illinois for Christmas?
A: No, don’t want to be flying 8 hours home 6 weeks before I’m due.

Q: Will you have the baby in England?
A: Yes. 

Q: So, the baby will get a UK passport and be a British citizen, right?
A: No, not automatically.  It’s a long story, which I promise to cover in a separate post.

As I started telling you yesterday, my friend Brandon plays bass for Andy Williams.  Most of the year this means playing almost daily shows at the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri.  But, fortunately for me the show was on the road and booked a one-night-only show in London at the Royal Albert Hall.  The RAH is big time.  I’m just tickled to get to say I know someone playing on that stage.  I was already in London on Monday for a work meeting, so I left a bit early (walking out on Steve Ballmer) to make it across town to the concert. 

Mr Williams brought his rhythm section and backup singers from America, but hired a full horn section of local studio musicians, as well as having the musical director of  Strictly Come Dancing playing the string parts on keyboard.  The show was really enjoyable.  The first half was good, but things really got rolling after the interval.  He did a string of his most popular standards, which the crowd really got into.   When he did  ”Can’t take my eyes off you” the crowd was singing along, swaying back and forth and quite a few hands were in the air.  This from a 60 year+, relatively stodgy looking British audience.  I’m pretty certain the drinks consumed at the interval helped.

To be honest, before Brandon told me he’d be in town I had never heard of Andy Williams.  I’m just too young.  I read up on him, and his music on Wikipedia so had an idea of what he did. During the concert, it was great to hear lots of songs that sounded familiar.  I’m sure I had heard them before, and was actually familiar with his voice, I just didn’t ‘know’ that they were sung by Andy Williams.

After the show I got to go backstage.  By the time I got back around to the stage door a small crowd of fans was gathered, waiting for the star to emerge.  I felt very strange pushing through the crowd to go in. 

I got a skeptical look from the woman at the desk, but when I gave my name she handed me an envelope with my pass.  I had to soft of stumble around to find Brandon, getting wary looks from all the security guys along the way. 

My post-concert conversation with Brandon revealed a few insider tidbits – and a unique perspective of an American musician playing their first English gig.  We discussed the decided change in tone of the concert, and the crowd, after the interval.  Besides the fact that the big ‘hits’ were designed to build to a climax in the second half of the concert I suggested that interval refreshments likely helped the mood of the audience.  Brandon and the band had not been briefed about the British drinking culture and were pretty surprised when the horn section hit up the backstage bar at the interval to toss a couple back.  (Drinking while on duty in Branson is a no-no.)  Seems both the audience and the act were getting loosened up over intermission!

After Brandon packed up we headed outside, so he could catch the band’s van back to the hotel.  He had to push through the crowd, which had now grown to quite a big one, and I pressed through following behind.  No one took our pictures or asked for our autographs.  I was a little bit disappointed, I have to admit.

Anyway – it was a great time getting to see my old bandmate play on such a big stage in London.  Congrats to Brandon and hope to get to see you in another show soon!

This past weekend a good friend from high school was in London playing a gig at the Royal Albert Hall.  Brandon plays bass for Andy Williams – and they had a one night show at the RAH.  Brandon used to ‘play changes’ for the Morton High School jazz band – where I mostly faked my way in the trumpet section.  Brandon was obviously much more talented and is a professional musician these days, aren’t we all proud of him!

I was flattered that such an international music sensation would want to spend his free day with me.  He arrived in London Sunday morning, and we met at 1 for a walking tour of the city.  We took the tube to Tower Hill tube station and walked all the way back to Westminster.   I am a rookie at giving tours of London, evidenced that I drug a jet-lagged musician, who was going to have to stand in rehearsals all the next day, 4 miles across town.

We saw:

• Tower of London
• Tower Bridge
• City Hall – Brandon is a modern architecture buff and he really liked it
• The Tate Modern – we both enjoyed the thought-provoking piece consisting of a rope hanging from the cieling, threaded with lots of half used bars of soap.  Fab.
• The Millennium Bridge
• St Paul’s Cathedral – we sat in for the first 15 minutes of evensong.  Brandon enjoyed it but we were sitting way in the back which didn’t really do it justice.  Hopefully he’ll get to return to London someday and get the full experience sitting in the choir.
• Fleet Street and The Strand
• Trafalgar Square
• Downing Street
• Westminster Abbey
• Houses of Parliament
• The London Eye

Wow, that really was a lot!  We headed back to Kensington and found a pub for dinner.  It was a really great day getting to catch up and see the sights.

You can read my concert review here.