3!

Our Sedona Rose turned 3 last week. Although this event may not have been met with the fanfare she had hoped for (party with all her friends; clowns; gifts including a cat and/or a goldfish), this was made up for by the trans-Atlantic visit of her grandmother Meme, as well large quantities of sugar-dosed cupcakes made by her mom.

We all celebrated this event with gusto. The past year has brought many fantastic moments with Sadie: who is, to her father's completely unbiased eye, an incredibly bright, interesting, funny, verbal and charming little girl, not to mention a (mostly) caring and attentive sister to her little brother. But Sadie is also a handful, and we have had our fare share of "terrible two"-ness this year. It's a tough age for most kids, I know (thus the term)... but I think the combination of having a brother before reaching age 2 and then moving to a new country/environment before reaching age 3 has made this all a tougher phase for her. There is something about the transition from fully dependent baby to more independent child that is a real struggle for Sadie. Karen's theory, which makes sense to me, is that the birth of Parker forced her to grow up faster than she was willing to do, and many of her emotional struggles seem to revolve around her fighting a rearguard battle to claim back her lost baby-ness... resulting in lots of tears along the way. (If that sounds rather psychoanalytical, chalk it up to our living a few blocks from the Freud's London home.) In any case, we're hoping that this year brings a bit of emotional settling for her.

My mom's other reason for coming to London was a "granny nanny" visit (her term) to allow Karen and me to take a weekend trip to France for my business school reunion in Fontainebleau, France.  We took the Eurostar and drove a further hour south to spend a decadent weekend of fine dining, sleeping in a real live chateau/hotel, a black tie ball in a mega chateau (Chateau de Fontainebleau) and a morning in Paris before hopping the train back on Sunday afternoon. It was a delightful weekend. I was a bit disappointed that not more of my better friends from INSEAD actually made it to the reunion, but Karen & I certainly enjoyed getting decked out for a serious night of Euro-glamour.

A royal time

It's probably a sign that we're settling in that I am not writing as much these days. Our lives have fallen enough of a pattern that there's not a whole lot new to report over the last few weeks. This is a good thing. We've have enough change over the past few years, and for now are happy enough for "more of the same".

Which is not to say nothing is going on. Will and Kate, for starters. Given the avalanche of inquiries we've had about the royal nuptials from people back home, it would seem that this was more of an overseas media event than a life-changing experience for most Britons. People (including me) were happy enough to have the extra day off, and Karen and I witnessed quite a few drunken street celebrations which seemed to generate a bit of goodwill towards the Windsors. Most Brits that I know seem to view the Royal family as a quaint, slightly absurd institution that is good for light entertainment but not much more. This is about right, but it was hard not to be impressed by the pageantry on display at the wedding... which was also a great brochure for the splendour of English choral music.

No, we weren't at Westminster that day, or at Harry's after-party, and Karen didn't get to wear a Princess Beatrice-style hat. Instead, we watched the event on HD over at Joe and Olya's in comfort, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Other highlights of recent times have included a great visit from Frank and Linda Karen's FFPIL (former-future-parents-in-law) from Westfield NJ -- now great friends of all of us We had a good fun hanging out at our usual neighborhood haunts (mostly playgrounds) as well as going out to see a great play at our local Hampstead Theatre about the Soviet space program, "Little Eagles".  A trip to the Whipsnade zoo north of London with Tina, Tom, Romilly and Theo. Karen & I also continue to enjoy our Wednesday "date nite" - when Andrea works late -- and have in recent weeks enjoyed the St. John Passion sung by King's College chapel choir; a debate between the Archbishop of Canterbury and philosopher AG Grayling about humanism; a steak by the Thames river out at Canary Wharf; and a few trips out to Camden.   

Weather is still holding up pretty well, lots of sunshine although the temperatures don't tend to get much above the mid-60s. Kids are lots of work, lots of fun, and... lots of work. But healthy and, much of the time, happy!