Boy.

All boy.

'Scuse the flash making the letters hard to read.

He loves "the typing laptop" and asks to use it often. It's B's old work laptop so it's a clunker and stands up fairly well to, shall we say, inexperienced hands.

Dad is now in NY and planning to Amtrak it back West at some point. Having an extra pair of hands to change diapers (yes, he did! lots!), wash dishes etc was a big help! Fortunately E wasn't too traumatized by his departure and now often says "Granddad schleeping" to explain away the mysterious lack of grandfatherly presence.

B brought home a pumpkin from the local farmer's market today. I don't think they really "do" pumpkin patches here in the UK. Certainly not like they do Stateside. There isn't much of a buildup to Halloween here, which I find is refreshing yet disappointing. I don't mind the lack of emphasis on trick-or-treating, but some people are such GROUCHES about it, going so far as to put up signs on their doors warning people off. Given that there's no Thanksgiving here, as an American I always feel a little bit bereft in the autumn months... Halloween is kinda skimmed over by the majority of people, there's no late-November feast, so Christmas is a long, hyped-up wait.

Regardless, we'll be baking pumpkin pie this season (probably quite soon, with that fresh pumpkin) and I'll introduce B and E to toasted pumpkin seeds. Nom. Speaking of E and expat living, he was watching a signing show on TV (Makaton signs designed for toddlers and special-needs kids). "Giraffe" popped up. E turned to me, pointed, said "GirAffe." Turned back to the TV, said "GirAHffe." Great! Just great. At 2 and a quarter, dude already recognizes his mama talks different. Won't be long till he quits humoring me and starts correcting me. (And at that time I'll probably be tempted to suggest B takes a year-long sabbatical from work so that we can go back to MV to live for a year, for re-education, if you will.)

Speaking of the young gentleman, his quotes have been getting more convoluted, though no less funny. "OHH! Stubbed my tickles!" was a recent one. He calls the bottom of his feet his "tickles." Which tickles us. Obviously.

Another one - Dadden: "That toy has to stay in the bath for now...it's probably sleeping!" E turns, shakes his head and says "It probably wake up now!"

And he has taken to teasing me by mimicking a high-pitched yelp whenever he sees a speck-that-might-be-a-spider. Oh, the shame.

Well, we're all off to a baby event tomorrow in London since B got a free ticket through a friend. I expect it will mostly be overpriced and overhyped, but there will be deals and freebies and, apparently, play-spots with lots of toddler toys. Plus, I'm 33 weeks along now (that's technically 4 weeks until I'm considered "term") so it's probably time to look at buying a few things. Like, you know, diapers and a Moses basket. Cotton wool for wipes. Yadda yadda. And with that, swollen-ankled me is off to bed.

October Already

I really enjoy autumn, although it's becoming more difficult to get out and about as pregnancy progresses. It's been a bit of a roller coaster lately with some early contractions etc. Got tested for gestational diabetes last week. Fasted since 10pm the night before, went in to the hospital, got stuck in the arm with a butterfly needle, drank a pint of godawful sugary stuff, sat in the waiting room for two hours, then got jabbed in the other arm with another needle.

Surprisingly the results are within normal blood sugar range so I'm feeling a bit better about this blurry vision I've been having. Back to the consultant's tomorrow for more checks anyhow.

Been enjoying Dad and Stan's visit although I've had to take more of a back seat than I would have liked - am a bit jealous of all the museums they've been going to and I would have loved to go sailing on the Norfolk Broads with them. Perhaps another time! (P.S. - Fran if you're reading this, Stan had a bite of salad. Should this be listed in the Guinness Book of World records?)

E has been coming along really well. Lots of chatter about "Granddad" and "Stanpa" so I'm not entirely sure what he'll do with himself when Dad leaves next week. We've been going to playgroups twice a week which he really enjoys. We've also been reading a TON of books since I've been less mobile.

Without further ado... some pictures and a video of E "reading" me a Peter Rabbit book this morning. I think it's mostly memorization but he may very well have a few sight words by now.

Reading with Granddad.

At the playroom in the National Army Museum in Chelsea - visited with Dad a few weeks ago.





And here's the vid. Enjoy.

Approaching Autumn

Went out to Kew this weekend. I'm getting slower as this pregnancy progresses but it was nice to have a walk in the fresh crisp air. Lots of kids out in woolly jumpers, cardigans, jackets etc, unspoken concession to summer's end. E had a blast at Kew's playground as usual. We also found a little indoor play place in the shop which had a toy kitchen, a crawl-through tunnel, and crayons/paper with kid-sized tables and chairs. The cynic in me sees the probable extra profit they make, the parent in me just breathes a sigh of relief at something extra for a curious toddler to do.




After a long play session, we had sandwiches and water and B indulgently bought E a pinwheel and a little stuffed monkey in the shop. E fell asleep in the car on the way home clutching his new toy. We're all beat (especially me - aching muscles!) and looking forward to a nice warm evening inside perhaps with a movie.

Some recent quotes (lest I forget them):

"Mmm, flower. Smells DELICIOUS."
When asked to count how many eyes he has... "One... two... three FOUR FIVE! Six seven EIGHT!" (Big smug grin.)

And the worst, the very worst....
E: "Spider, Mama. Spider!"
Me: "WHERE?" (as I nervously peer around and attempt to stand on one toe)
E: "Spider... GONE.... Hahahaha!"

HANDS OFF

4 months into a Conservative-Liberal Democrat led Parliament.

They scrapped the ID cards and ContactPoint (where E's details would have been held for any Tom Dick and Harry "government-approved" person to peruse). I thought things were off to a good start.

Then the ConDems decided to axe playground schemes across the UK while pledging 20 billion pounds to renew the Trident nuclear weapons program.

Now the ConDems are taking the first baby steps down the slippery slope of privatization. Worse, that path leads down the UK losing its public libraries as we know them.

I've heard that some people are happy about that. Their reasoning? They can afford bookstores (or a library entrance/membership fee...). Besides, why should they have to fund something they don't use? They reckon the same goes for schools - if they don't have a school-aged child, why should their taxes pay for someone else's education?

To that I say - why should my son have to pay to support you in your old age? You want a libertarian attitude, then bring it on. Just be prepared to work for the rest of your life and deal with the crazies roaming the street because there's no facilities left for them and they're being denied the ability to sit quietly (or not so quietly) in the corner of a public library.

And believe me, the libraries are pretty much the front line for dealing with the mentally ill. If you read anything today, read this article. You might see underpaid social workers librarians through different eyes. After this post, maybe you'll see the ConDems through different eyes too. And knowing is half the battle.

September Remembrances and Mundanity

Before I get into the mundanity, I just want to say that I'm touched that Europe (the mainstream media, at least... and the friends I've spoken with) has such sensitivity toward what happened on September 11, 2001. I know it's overshadowed by more politicized events this 9th year on - but all I'm going to say about that is: Freedom of Religion. Separation of Church and State. Freedom of Speech.

I marked the anniversary by reading Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. I highly recommend the book especially if you love freedom.

B and I visited Parliament Hill recently to say goodbye to some friends who are moving to the Inner Hebrides. What a move - London to those remote islands! I'm actually finding myself a little bit jealous. How wonderful to be surrounded by nature, to have enough room to move around, to be able to avoid constant exposure to other people, your upstairs neighbors dropping what sounds like a bowling ball every so often.... yep, I'm a little bit jealous to tell the truth. Well, onto the photos.

E was more interested in the kites than socializing...


And jam donuts. And running down the hill with Dadden and the other kids.



As we walked back to the car I got this photo. The plaque says: George Orwell - 1903-1950 - Writer - Lived Here

And no, ironic as it would be, that's actually not a CCTV camera, it's only a light :)

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

(after having refused his nap, he then crawled under the desk in the spare room... for about half of this impromptu you-aren't-the-boss-of-me nap he used my foot as a pillow)

New Bed...

Last night was E's first night in his new bed. As you can see, the covers are rather pink (which we didn't expect) but I suppose that's preferable to random cartoon characters. Anyhow, he likes it. I snuck in last night and got this photo of him...


So far we've had one falling-out (at around 3am) which ended up being very nonstressful, as he went back to sleep immediately after B lifted him back into bed. Plus, he only has about 6 inches to fall, onto soft carpet.

Lately we have been...


...nomming late summer blackberries from our back garden and...

...generally being Cool. Because nothing says Cool like a stained onesie and oversized sunglasses.