Winter has arrived here at last! There's not too much snow here in the center of the city, but from the newspapers and what we've heard from other people, there is quite alot once you get out into the suburbs and the countryside. Lots of the trains are having serious delays or are just not running at all (this seemed really weird to me--I mean, it seems like trains wouldn't have a problem with snow--but I guess it's a combination of the snow blocking the tracks and snow getting packed up into the engines and the undercarriages from below). I have heard that lots of people who commute in to London haven't made it into work, and there have been snow days at the schools outside of town. Anyway, we are pretty unaffected here--there's a little bit of ice and slush around but nothing major.

It's only been a few degrees below freezing, but it's more of a wet cold than we have in Saskatchewan and I have turned pretty much into a winter sissy!! Wah wah. All bundled up in a huge scarf and toque when it's, like, zero outside. Oh well.

I'm trying to think of what's new and interesting from the past few weeks. A couple that we've got to be friends with here were kind enough to take bud for a few hours, so Trav and I were able to go on another date (to see the new Harry Potter movie). We went to a theatre close by our friends' place, mostly for convenience, but it happened to be in a HUGE mall, apparently the biggest mall in all of London. We were both beside ourselves, mostly because it felt so incredibly like being back in Canada. Really nice, new mall, felt like West Ed or something like. It was very surreal.

Apart from that, things have been fairly routine. Em has been sick again (a chest cold this time), but he is on antibiotics now so hopefully will be all fixed up soon. He's not crawling yet but he is getting better at scooting around by strategically rolling and swiveling. The other day he was in the middle of the bed, where he has his naps, with pillows on either side of him so he can't roll off the edge. But this time he managed to somehow scoot down right to the bottom of the bed; when Trav went it to check on him he was just about ready to roll off! So he is getting more nimble by the day, I think.

Anyway, on to the pictures!

These first three are from a week or so ago. It was super funny--Emrys was playing on the ground and his bottle was there. He apparently decided that he would like a little snack, and he managed to grab the bottle and get his mouth on the nipple, but failed to grasp that the milk would not just flow upwards to meet his mouth. The whole concept of gravity is a little beyond him yet, I guess.

Look Mom I found my bottle! K I'm going to eat now.

Look! I am licking the nipple! Why is my formula not coming out?
Seriously, it always works this way when Mom and Dad give it to me...
Emrys in the Riders shirt that Aunt Terry sent him! It is 3-years size but really not all that huge on him, haha! Unfortunately even the power of the shirt could not help the Riders this year...

Hanging out in his baybeeni (the little playpen thing we have):


Just chilling with Muk Muk.
Travis feeding Em in the baybeeni--a little cramped in there...

Emrys looking less than thrilled about sitting on Dad's shoulder.
Also looking less than thrilled, sitting in the easy chair. Perhaps he is depressed because neither of his parents have noticed that he is wearing one less sock than is generally recommended...
He looks very out of it in this one but the way he is sitting is just so cute!
This is in the outdoor shopping mall right by our place. Our grocery store is here and so are a couple of drugstores. This is just after they put up the Christmas lights and tree.
The tree, with the shops on either side!

"No, Emrys, open your eyes when Mom takes the picture..."
"OK well maybe not quite that wide. You look like a deer in the headlights."

In which he thinks he is wearing camoflage and tries to blend in with his blanket.
Travis at the movie theatre we went to last week. At theatres over here, when you buy your ticket you have to pick either regular or VIP seating. Of course Travis thought we should try them out, haha.
Outside the Big Mall. Lots and lots of Christmas lighting at this one!
This is about as snowy as it has got in the city centre. I walked out onto Waterloo Bridge to take this--it's looking west, towards the Eye. You can just see Big Ben and Parliament too.

The Strand, in front of King's. More wintry than when we first got here, anyway!
This one isn't very good but you can see a bit more of the snow--it's Russell Square, close to our place. I took it on the way to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas tree lit. Notice that some of the trees are still green--I am really not sure that snow even COUNTS as snow if it is lying on top of green grass and bushes! HONESTLY, England.
Em having his bottle while we were waiting in Trafalgar Square for the tree to be lit.
The tree! Quite an awful picture, but at least it is proof that we were there, and that the tree was successfully lit. The column you can see in silouette to the left of the tree is Nelson's Column, and at the very very far left of the picture you can kind of see Big Ben if you look closely.
Puzzled baby.
Happy baby.
Smiling baby! I NEVER catch him smiling! This is a very rare one let me tell you.
Fashion show with Dad's glasses. Yes, I think he is cut out to be a little nerd...


Mom! what's going on!
In which Travis tries to have a nice father-son picture, but ends up looking creepy, while Emrys looks like he is about to burst into tears. Hahaha! Hilarious.

One of the Christmas decorations up at Covent Garden--a huge reindeer made of, um, something green. Holly? A shrub? I didn't really get up close enough to see.
More decorations at Covent Garden!

And finally, me and bud! Signing off for now.