H is 9 months old!

What a sweet pea.

I just love those cheeks, thighs and pudgy hands! xo

my boy

I've been wanting to take a few minutes to sit down and write about Henry. Before he was born and for a while afterwards, I have to admit, I was somewhat baffled by having a boy. Being one of 3 girls and having a girl first, I just kind of thought of myself as a 'girl' person. That might sound strange, but for whatever reason, it's just how I felt. I didn't know what to expect - having a boy - whether it would require me to be different than I was or even how I would relate to a boy. Turns out, your child is your child... period. I now know the sex of your baby makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to the crazy way you will love them. Henry has shattered all my preconceptions of having a boy and made me so excited for all those boy things to come. My little boy is so calm, loving and patient. He's curious, resilient and it takes quite a bit to upset him. Oh, and snuggly, cuddly like no one else! Of course, I can not imagine my world without him and he makes me wonder how I could have ever worried. He's my sweet baby whom I adore and I just love getting to know him!

H is quickly approaching 9 months, and can I just say how much I LOVE this age. He's still a baby, but you can see the little bits coming that will transform him into a little toddler. Bowen seemed to bypass this stage as she never crawled and by the age H is now, was nearly walking on her own. Hard to believe when I look back. H loves crawling and exploring on his tummy so will be later to walk. He's now pulling up as of this week! He still has zero teeth - which I am also loving because he still looks so 'baby', but I think they are coming soon. On the food front, he's eating a pretty wide variety... chx, sweet potato and apple puree, vegetable lentil puree, sweet vegetable puree (potato, carrot, onion, peas, corn), courgette gratin, butternut squash, toast, pear, apple, mango, banana fruit pieces and puree (pear, apple, mango, bananas, strawberries, blueberries), porridge, and rice cakes. There's still more to get into, but he's really healthy, eating tons and growing like crazy. Most people guess he's 10/11 months. And his look is changing too. His hair is growing a bit - very blond. I think he may have a bit darker skin tone than Bowen - a little more golden and his beautiful eyes just seem to get a brighter shade of turquoise every day. As he's gotten a little older, I see a little more of myself in him, but on the whole everyone seems to agree - he is Stewart #2! Henry is so easygoing and will gladly sit with most anyone as long as he's not too hungry or tired. Just the other day, we went to a friend's birthday where H got passed around... everyone was raving about how sweet and adorable he is and he was just smiling away! He makes it all very easy for me (or at least much easier!!). Oh, and have I mentioned how much he loves his little owl comforter?! You should see his little face light up each time he gets to snuggle up for naps or bedtime! It's just like Bowen's little lamb by Angel Dear, but a brown owl. Too sweet and I think one of the reasons my kids love to sleep so much!

Stewart took these pictures when we were hanging out in the garden this past weekend and I am always thankful to have moments like these captured on film. Like most mom's, I'm often the one taking the photos (which I love) but in the years to come it will be wonderful to have ones like these to look back on.

Oh, Henry, I love you so, my sweet boy.

How could I have imagined my life without you?

Love love always - Momma xo

garden play

Some fun pics from the garden this past Sunday afternoon... xo

Look who's pulling up?!

At nearly 9 months... well done H!! xo

ps... Bowen didn't quite love that he was using HER chair for this purpose, so we had to do some quick negotiating to make sure he wasn't thrown from the post! :)

H digs the bus

now, if we can just manage to keep track of all those people!

so far, so good... xo

smile

oh, how i love this milky grin.

sweet, sweet boy... xo

A few things...

Just wanted to jot a few things down about Bowen lately...

Last Friday, Bowen & I went to dance where another little boy's mom is pregnant, due in a few weeks. After the class was finished, we were talking and Bowen came over and climbed up onto my lap. She sat listening for a minute, then pointed to her belly and said, "She has a baby in her tummy." I told her she was right and we went on to talk about going to the doctor and hearing the baby's heartbeat and so forth. It was cute to see her little mind processing everything.

Then, yesterday at dinner time, Bowen and I had our first real conversation about how she came out of my tummy. I couldn't really tell you how it began, but it was so sweet how she listened intently as I told her about how she came to be. I told her how she grew in my tummy as a tiny tiny baby, that she grew and grew until she got big and strong and then she came out. Then I told her how I cuddled her and kissed her, rocked her, fed her milk, changed her, dressed her, played with her, tickled her, laughed with her, cuddled and kissed her, sang to her, read books to her, talked to her, played patty cake with her, helped her and watched her grow and learn everyday. She just sat there with a big smile on her face and I love to think that she was imagining me caring for her as a little baby. It got me thinking back to her as a baby and what a sweetheart she was, how I just adored her and how to me she was just the most perfect little baby girl on the planet. All of those feelings are just magnified now and I have so much pride in the little girl she's becoming.

And B is really growing up too. She's had a particularly great week - really happy, relaxed and enjoying all her activities - it has been super enjoyable to spend time with her. Just like any 2.5 year old, she has her moments of willfulness with tantrums and breakdowns, but thankfully, they're relatively rare. She's speaking and communicating her thoughts so clearly these days and I find us having actual conversations. A couple of days ago, when Stewart got home from work, she asked him, "Did you have a nice day, Dadda?" Stewart almost fell out! She's very interested in using complete sentences and documenting everything she see's and does verbally. I love listening to her learn correct sentence structure. There is just something about hearing such a small, sweet voice work out English grammar! :) A couple cute quotes... "Oh, Momma, that would be fun!" and "Oh, Momma, that sounds yummy!"

One more I need to note - she's really into Mary Poppins lately! Every morning, that is the request and she loves it.

Bowen, I am so proud to be your Momma! xo

Transport Museum

Last weekend we went to brunch and then over to Covent Garden to the Transport Museum. Friends had said it was great for toddlers and I couldn't agree more. As a bonus, it makes for a really interesting visit for adults too with lots of info on how the tube was constructed etc. Really amazing. Many of the lines that were constructed in the Victorian age are actually still in use today! I'm not sure whether to find that impressive or scary!! Anyway, we had a really nice day out and it reminded us how much we have at our finger tips and that we really need to take advantage of it. Bowen loved it and had a great time exploring all the trains and buses as you will see! xo

Off to ballet...

OMG - is there anything cuter than a 2 year old in a ballet get up? This is just too much!! Bowen had her first REAL ballet lesson today (complete with brand new ballet slippers!) and it was adorable. Jill and I enrolled the girls in a class with The Ballet School - you can check it out here - and today at 3:30 was their first lesson (30 mins). The girls are young... the youngest in a class of 16 (2.5-3.5 year olds). It is also a 'drop-off' class, so that is going to be quite a change for them as well. Both Bowen & Esme were reserved/shy/clingy at first, but 1o minutes into the class, they were engaged and very happily participating with rest of the girls. When we left, Bowen said - "I do it again"!! I think that says it all - she LOVED it. This week, Jill and I sat in the room and watched. Next week, our goal is to sit outside the door with an end target of skipping out for a quick coffee with the babies once the girls are comfortable! Bowen's teacher, Miss Nicholette is lovely. She has an assistant, Miss Arlette and Miss Colleen plays the piano. The live piano makes such a difference and you can see it in the girls faces. I have to say, I was wondering whether B would go for a class where she participates without me, but she and E did great today and made both Jill and me very proud.

You may be wondering what Henry was doing... well, he was there and as I was busy encouraging Bowen in the beginning, he sat on the side, happily entertaining himself by digging through my purse. Didn't make a sound! Both he and Paloma were perfect sweethearts!

I am so excited about this, not only for Bowen to begin a proper ballet class, but also for the independence and confidence it will help cultivate. She proved to me today she is a strong little girl, excited to try new things and meet new people. All invaluable.

Lots of love to my little ballerina... xo