April...

A year ago this month, we found out via ultrasound that we were having a little boy. It's amazing to think that he's now 8 and a half months old! We visited friends today and had a nice springtime walk.

Elijah is actually a lot more interested in adults than other children but this little fellow intrigued him. And, oops, he's wearing the same shirt as the last blog entry he was pictured in. But what can I say? He's a handsome chap and the blue suits him.

All tuckered out after a long afternoon in the outdoors.

First Museum Visit

B suggested visiting the Horniman Museum today in lieu of going to the local funfair (mini carnival type thing) since it was raining. Elijah had a splendid time staring at all the new things. It's hard to believe he's 8 months old now.

He loved the fish...



...but the jellyfish were a little bit too blue and confusing.


Posing for the camera.



The museum has an eclectic collection of items ranging from musical instruments to Chinese silk patterns. There are landscaped gardens outside and an enclosure where rabbits, chickens and geese roam freely. We enjoyed the aquarium most of all, though.

For Your Entertainment...

Some daddy acrobatics...


...and a bit of hair-chewing as well.

No Time!

Elijah is getting two new (top) teeth, we gave an official statement to the Council about the neighbors in case they take them to court, B's work is hammering him hard, the government is demanding more paperwork for my visa, and both the baby and I are getting over colds.

Last night, a certain young gentleman woke on about 4 different occasions. Maybe it was 5. I don't actually remember now. At this point, we consider a night where he wakes up twice to be a good night, and a night where he wakes only once is a damned good night, although very rare. It's nice to be able to commiserate with the other mothers about this kind of thing. Everyone else tends to either a) be childless or b) view their own child-raising years through rose-tinted glasses.

Ironically, as I write this, he's snoring away in his crib in one of those rare daytime naps. I'd sleep too, but I know I'll just be drifting off when he wakes up. I'll just go to bed early. In the meantime, I've written 600 words and hope to get a bit more done...

(Oh, the above photo is of B and E at Kenwood, at the edge of Hampstead Heath, a few weeks ago.)

Been Busy...

...doing lots of spring cleaning, lots of walking, some writing, and of course, tons of baby entertaining.


Some officials from the local council came around yesterday and made suitably grim noises at the state of our balcony/yard. The bad neighbors are continuing to let their dog roam free, and it's cleverly found a way into yet another neighbor's yard to wreak destruction. Our downstairs neighbor has had all of his flowerpots upended and dug out. I'm hoping it's only a matter of time before something's done about it.

Meanwhile, life continues as usual. Elijah and I are off to our usual baby singing group tomorrow at the library, where we've made some friends. Speaking of friends, the baby in the above picture is nearly 2 months younger than him, and is the daughter of our friends in N. London. Isn't she a cutie?

Mother's Day

For some reason, the UK holds Mother's Day earlier than the US. B took me out to lunch at the cafe on the Common. We had a nice long walk while the baby had a good doze.

Here's a photo of me (one I deem worthy of posting). Elijah is looking very serious, but he was concentrating on swapping the spoon from one hand to the other. That's serious business, you know. Shortly afterward, he was all smiles like usual.


Also, thank you to everyone who emailed and wrote about my mom. It was so nice to hear how she affected everyone and the stories people remember!

On a different note, we continue to have neighbor problems. I don't want to write in-depth about it because a) it's depressing b) it's infuriating and c) it's an ongoing issue with potential legal ramifications.

To sum it up, we have 3 sets of neighbors in our immediate area (our building is 4 converted flats/apartments). Unfortunately, the neighbors to our left have been problematic in terms of loud (bass) music for about a year and a half now. They're social tenants (think Section 8/welfare if you're confused) so we and others have been complaining to the relevant authorities.

The latest annoyance is their acquisition of a pit bull mix in January which they've been letting run wild. There's no fence in between our yard and theirs, so our yard is completely trashed right now. Our flowerpots are broken as well, and nobody bothers to clean up after the animal whatsoever. To make matters worse, the neighbors keep trash in their back yard/balcony which the dog drags around.

So... rather unhygienic situation, and potentially dangerous, since when I was out in the yard this afternoon I was nipped and jumped upon. Typical behavior from an adolescent puppy - I'm not complaining. But what if I'd been out there with the baby?

Boing!

The latest edition to His Nibs' repertoire of toys: The Bouncer.