Someday Her Prince Better Come

Laura often proclaims that she is not afraid of anything (except when stalling at bedtime and feigning an occasional fear of the dark). Last night at dinner, Danny seized this challenge by firing several potential objects of fear at her, from poisonous, constrictive snakes to losing mommy in a huge crowd (??). Finally exasperated, Laura cocked her head and said, "Listen, Danny: A prince will save me!"


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Three Times 4

I have come to the conclusion that January 2 is a pretty lousy birth date. By that point, we are simultaneously over the holidays and yet depressed that they have ended for another year. I will forever need to muster the enthusiasm to make Laura's day feel special. This year, we managed to celebrate her three times (actually, once Grandma and Grandpa arrive next week bearing her gift the tally will grow to four), so I think we covered it this year.

We even managed to celebrate in two different countries! We first toasted her on New Year's Day in the U.K., where she thoroughly enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake as well as gifts:

Making a wish.

Listening to Uncle John read her new story.

I specifically mention the cake, because for her "real" birthday she insisted on a strawberry cake, with Elsa in frosting. We suggested that as she doesn't generally seem to like frosting, perhaps she would want something else? But she insisted. She also requested that the entire house be decorated with princesses. She originally felt this should extend to everyone's rooms, including Danny's, but we managed to talk her off of that particular ledge.

Above all else, she required balloons:

Note princess decor taped to the mantle. There was more around the house, I promise, but I think she wasn't overly impressed.

Her new Frozen scooter, which I think has turned out to be her favorite gift, judging by how much she scooters around the house:

Here we have the cake. She professed to like it, but in reality she ate about two bites, and since then has consistently opted for just about anything else for dessert. Chocolate cake next year, please!!

Finally, today we celebrated her birthday at school. She was very excited about this event, even though I knew it would amount to about 10 minutes of her day. If only she were always so easy to please. For the treat, she wanted a purple popsicle. Turned out today was frigid, but that didn't affect her enjoyment of it one iota!

And now she is really and truly four years old! I admit, I am not one bit sorry to say goodbye to age three - but I am very glad she joined our family four years ago!

Final Scenes

We've been home for a little over 24 hours now, and I think in many ways we are still processing our trip. It was incredible. Exhausting, for sure, but definitely a trip of a lifetime!

Here's a picture from the fun Sunday Roast we attended at The Hare & Hounds pub in Claygate. "Fun Uncle John" was a big hit!

On New Year's Eve, while the guys plus Katy & Nicki went to see the latest Hobbit movie, the rest of us attended Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. This was Laura's highlight of the trip: it was a giant winter carnival.

On our final day, New Year's Day, we ladies went to tea, and later in the day we celebrated Laura's 4th birthday. A fun way to wrap up our British holiday!

While serving Laura's cake, Danny sported his new Arsenal jersey, a high priority that Tim and John fulfilled for him.

Back to the City (Sans Laura)

We took advantage of Aunt Sara's and Grammy's generosity and left Laura with them for another outing to London. Navigating without her little legs was gloriously liberating!





After a great visit to the Victoria & Albert (we ladies loved the wedding dress exhibit), we wound our way to a terrific pub Tim had scouted out for us. Tasty, and fun company!


The three amigas, as we strolled toward Harrods (or Harold's, according to Clare).


The kids are definitely taking the Tube in stride now.

Another great day in Great Britain!

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Windsor Castle

All 11 of us ventured out to Windsor Castle, and it was a great outing. Before heading to the castle itself, we stopped for a delicious Indian lunch. It was the first Indian meal for the Seymour kids, and both Clare and Danny genuinely enjoyed it - one of those moments where I gave silent thanks for how far we've come on the food front!


As we wound our way through hallways adorned with weapons, Danny asked if he could live there - a definite win with him!


Enjoying an excellent vantage point.


A royal sunset.

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Sights in the City

We hopped on the train and headed into London to visit the British Museum...along with a few other people. We got our fill, found our way to Chipotle, and then made our way to some iconic sights.









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Harry Potter Studios

Thanks to Fun Aunt Sara, Grammy and Grampy, we took off sans Laura and explored The Making of Harry Potter at the Warner Bros. Studios. It was incredible. ALL of the sets, props, etc. from the movies - definitely put us in the Harry Potter mood!






Danny was particularly in his glory, starting with the honor of opening the doors into the set of the dining hall!












Butterbeer!





The Knight Bus





Spectacular model of Hogwarts.

A magical day (har har).

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Location:Copsem Lane,Esher,United Kingdom