Marco at 13 months!

Here I am at the Science Museum! (That's Julia next to me!)

I'm sooo good at pushing my toy!

Look at me! I am WALKING!

Chim-chiminee, chim-chiminee, chim chim choree!

Ohh, this is the good part!!!

Now that I am one I can do all sorts of neat things: I can walk. I like to push my walker toy around the house -- specifically around the kitchen where I help my mommy. I can take at least eight steps before I fall down. (Good thing I have padding.) I can sweep really well! I find that I do a better job from the standing position. Who knew?

I also like to read with my dad. My favorite book is Goodnight Gorilla. I used to like to eat the pages but now I like to listen and point out the animals! I think my second favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar... I like looking at all the food the Caterpillar eats! Wow!

My favorite toys are my dump truck which I like to drive around the house. It's fun to launch it off the stairs and make it crash. (Mommy doesn't like this too much but oh well!) I also like my farm but Julia likes it too so I usually have to wait until she's done playing with it.

I LOVE to eat. Mom says I am a carnivore, whatever that is. I like chicken, beef, hamburgers and hot dogs. My favorite is beef but I won't turn down chicken either. I like vegetables too but not as much as meat. I also LOVE cheese and yogurt, and fruit. I think my favorite fruit is banana. Mom says it's because I'm a little monkey.

Speaking of monkeys, I like to climb. I try to climb up on the windows. That makes my mom scream which I think is funny. I am good at climbing on the couch and up on daddy's chair. It makes my mom scream when I do that too. She says I'm going to fall and bust open my head. I think she's being hysterical. Just wait until I can climb really high at the playground! Mom will really scream then! Hee hee.

I'm pretty good at pointing out my nose, my eyes, my mouth and my ears. Sometimes I like to point to the wrong thing just to see what my mom will do. I think it's really funny to point to my mouth when she says nose; or point to my ears when she says mouth. I think it makes mom nervous!

I think I'm going to be really good at taking things apart and putting them together some day. I cannot wait to get my hands on the computer, the dvd player, the washing machine, the oven and the toaster. I guess you could say that I like anything mechanical. Maybe I'll be a builder or an engineer??? Who knows. For the time being I just have to concentrate on getting taller!!

Bob the Builder!!

Here's where we went to the show!

Marco and Max having lunch at the neat cafe!

Madison and I playing on the exhibits!

Me and my friend Madison waiting to go into the show!

Last week we went to see the Bob the Builder show at the Science Museum! We went with my friend Madison and her brother Max. I LOVED it! We got to wear hats just like Bob! I even got up and danced with Bob and Wendy. (Mom said I pushed a little boy out of the way to get up front... I think mom is exaggerating a bit.)

I also helped Bob and Wendy build things -- a wall, a snake walkway etc. Mom said she was amazed because I don't like to participate in Tumble Tots but I danced and did things here. (What is she talking about!??? I LOVE Tumble Tots... I just don't like being told what to do. I like doing it on my own!)

Unfortunately, the people at the museum wouldn't let us take pictures of the show but mom took some pictures of our day at the museum. I hope we can go again soon!

Exsqueese me.....

I LOOOOVVVEEE to dress up in mommy's clothes and shoes. I LOVE this pair of sandals and the handbag! I think they suit me perfectly! Don't you?

The Happiest Place on Earth!!!

The entire group lands at Disney!

I really do like Tigger!

Mickey, Laynie and Julia!

I'm riding dumbo!! (you just can't see b/c mom was too close!)

My FAVORITE ride, "It's a small world"

My mom took me to Disneyland last weekend with some friends - My friend Laynie came with her mommy and her sister, Amaya; my friends Karsen and Garrett came with their mommy, Nancy, and my new friend Jude came with his mommy, Claudia. We had a great time!

We got to ride the big train (mom says it's called the Eurostar) which went really really fast. We had lots of snacks and played lots of games on the train. Before I knew it we were at Disneyland!

We stayed in a big hotel. Mickey and Goofy must live in the hotel because they came and danced with us every night. Plus, every time I'd go downstairs they were there. It was very fun seeing them so close.

We spent lots of time in Disneyland riding rides and walking around. I got tired but I did go on some really big rides. My favorite was "it's a small world" because there were lots of puppets and we were in a boat. I also liked Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo and Snow White. We also saw a neat parade. I wish we could've seen it more than once. Ariel was in it!!

I had fun with the big kids and my friend Laynie. I stayed up really really late and got to sleep in bed with my mommy. We had a slumber party but I didn't slumber all that much. We also got to eat dinner really late at night. Mommy said she thought I'd fall asleep. I never did though. I didn't want to miss anything!

I had a GREAT time and I really really REALLY want to go back. Maybe next time I can take Marco!????

Ceremony of the Keys!

Here we come!

Where Ann Boleyn got the axe!

Laurie, Allyson & Sara

The Ceremony of the Keys is the nightly ritual held to close the gates at the Tower of London. Each night at 10pm the yeoman warders pass off the keys and bolt the gates. This ceremony has been happening for hundreds of years and even took place during the blitzes of both world wars! We were lucky enough to go on an after hour tour of the grounds, visit the pub (cheapest pub in London) and see the ceremony! It was fascinating. A.Julie loved the tower so much that she spent the day there as well. (I think she wanted to take home some jewels....)

Auntie Julie and Uncle Jim Come to London!

Nana's farewell and A.Julie & U.Jim's welcome!
Julia showing Uncle Jim her new dance moves.
A romantic dinner at Marco's favorite restaurant.

Hmmm, where shall I sit? Oh, this looks like a LOVELY spot!
The National Gallery!

As Nana headed home, Auntie Julie and Uncle Jim arrived via a stormy Ireland. Luckily, they have relatives (us!) in the area so their golf trip was not completely lost! We were sad to see Nana go home but we were happy to have new visitors!

Julia was particularly thrilled to have her Uncle Jim back. She had a captive audience in him! She made him dance with her, hold her hand, follow her around etc. She LOVES her Uncle Jim and Marco loves his Auntie Julie.

Luckily A.Julie and U.Jim were here for a few days so touring was definitely in the cards. They packed it in!

Hopefully we can expect them again next year!

Nana's final weekend in London!

Hampton Court
Daddy and kids going into the palace.
Family shot behind the palace!
Get us outta here! (The maze at Hampton Court Palace)
Over the river and through the woods.... (just kidding, just over the river)

Sadly, Nana had to go home to reality last weekend - or at least that's what mommy says. Mommy says that Unkie Andy and Aunt Cathy have a good thing going with Nana. I'm not sure what she means about that but I think it has something to do with the fact that Nana gets to play with Calvie, Freddie and Drewsie all the time. I'm jealous.

Mommy was really sad that Nana had to leave. Marco and I were too. Marco liked sharing a room with Nana. He said she was a good cuddler. I liked having tea parties and baking with her. She let's me lick the beaters more than my mommy and daddy do. She says that's what Nana's are supposed to do.

Before Nana left we got to go on some fun car trips. The day before she left we went to a huuugggeeee palace called Hampton Court Palace. Mommy said some kings and queens lived there a long long time ago. We got to go see the gardens, the fountains, a cool maze and tons of other things. We even went INTO some of the rooms. They were very big and very loud; I used my outside voice to make lots of noise. Mommy made me go outside!? I wonder why?

We got to play in the fun maze at Hampton Court. We ran around. We tried to find the center but we kept getting lost. My favorite part of the whole day was when daddy got me an ice cream after lunch. I love ice cream. Daddy says I'm my mommy's girl - whatever that means.

I was super duper sad to see my Nana leave but I was REALLY happy to learn that we had MORE VISITORS COMING!!!

Watch Out World! Here I Come!

Marco and his bodyguard.
Huh? You are slowing me down!

Look at me! I am soooo close to walking! I can only take a few steps alone before I fall down but I'm good at walking around tables and chairs. I'm also good at pushing my walking toy. I can push it all over the house. I get a bit tripped up on the stairs in the hallway but I know that if I launch my walker over the edge, I can crawl down behind and then start walking again. I'm very clever.

My sister likes to walk with me. Sometimes she pushes my walker with me. She goes fast and we fall down. I think she wears her helmet so she won't hurt herself when we fall. That's no fair!! How come I get all the bruises!!

Just give me a month and I'll be running!!

Harrod's Fun!!!

Nana and Daddy in the Pizzeria
Tea at Harrod's
Toys, toys, toys!

I LOVE HARROD'S. It's one of my favorite places in the whole wide world! We are lucky because my daddy works right across the street. Sometimes mom takes us there on the big red bus. We go visit daddy at his office first (where I "work" on his computer) and then we go across the street for lunch. I LOVE the bus; I LOVE Daddy and I LOVE going to lunch at Harrod's because my mommy always takes me upstairs to play with the toys.

Last week we took my nana with us. We had lunch in the pizzeria. I like the pizzeria because it's right next to the candy store. Mommy let me pick out a sweet after lunch. She said I was a good girl. I got a pink lolly. (Pink is my favorite color.) Marco didn't get a sweet. Mom says he doesn't like them yet. I'll have to teach him that they are very yummy.

After we got our sweets we went upstairs to play with the toys. Nana and I had a tea party while Marco banged on drums and stuff. He made lots of noise. He likes to make noise. The louder the better.

We had a good time. I hope we can go again soon.

I AM ONE!!!

I LOVE CAKE!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE may I have more?

I am finally ONE!! I'm a big boy.

I can stand by myself for several seconds. I can take a step by myself. I don't walk yet, why should I? I can crawl super-duper fast. I'm lightening fast, according to mom. I can talk really really loud (mom says I take after dad's side of the family). I can say "mama" "dada" "nana" and loads of other words that no one can understand. I also like to shriek, a lot. The more I shriek, the more attention I get. Ha ha ha.

Mom says I am a good eater. I like to eat lots of food. My new favorite is chocolate cake. Mom and dad gave me a really big piece on my birthday. Now I want it every day! I also like tons of other things like chicken, black beans, carrots, crackers, cheese, yogurt, noodles, and bananas - I LOVE bananas. Mom says I'm a good eater even though there are several foods I don't like. I really don't like peas (mom, STOP giving them to me!)! Mom also says I'm a messy eater because I get it in my hair. She says she has to bath me after every meal! Not fair! I LIKE putting banana in my hair.

Last time we checked I was 9.1 kg. I'm not sure how tall I am though. I think I'm probably 3 feet. (Just kidding). I'm tall enough to reach things off the coffee table but not quite tall enough to reach things off the kitchen counter. Darn! Soon enough! Mom says she can wait for that day.

I'm a good sleeper. I LOVE my afternoon nap. I do best if I sleep for 2 to 3 hours which mom loves. She says she gets stuff done when I sleep. Too bad my sister doesn't like to sleep. I think mom would REALLY like that.

I got LOADS of really neat stuff for my birthday. I got a computer, a dump truck, a farm with animals, something to pound on, a ball, and some really good books. I love to look at pictures. I'm sure I'll be reading soon.

I can't wait until my next birthday when I get more cake (of my own) and more good presents!

Fun with Nana!

Kisses for Nana!!

Julia and Nana in the tube!

Julia and Nana making soup.

Nana playing in the sand box with Marco and Julia.

Nana buying treats at the Borough Market.

Stonehenge!

Marco enjoying Stonehenge!

Going to Kensington Palace

A guard booth outside Kensington Palace!

Here are some pics from Nana's visit thus far. We've packed a lot in these few weeks: We've been to Borough Market, shopping for pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, to Stonehenge, we've visited a plethora of museums, we've shopped and much much more. We still hope to hit a few shows before she leaves.

Nana has had A LOT of quality time with Marco and Julia. Julia now won't use the toilet without her Nana in tow (to monitor, of course). And, Marco likes to shower his Nana with slobbery kisses. (Sometimes he bites which is not fun.)

The little swimmer!

Julia "warming up" in the locker room!

Here I come!

I'm a swimmer!

I'm taking swimming lessons and I LOVE them. My instructor's name is Ross and I like him. He sings songs with us, let's us play with pool toys, and he makes us kick our feet and blow bubbles. I don't really like going under water that much but if I do mom let's me stand on the box at the end of the pool.

I suspect that I will be ready for the 2012 Olympics here in London. I think I'll probably be good at breast stroke or back stroke. I'm really good at floating on my back. (I like to look at things on the ceiling when I swim -- it's an indoor pool!)

My favorite part of swimming lessons, however, is the shower we take after we are done! (Mom says that's not a good sign......)

Almost one!!!

Big stander!

A man amongst his friends.

I love my Nana!

I'm ALMOST one!!!

Less than two weeks to go until my first birthday! I'm looking forward to eating chocolate cake and ice cream. I'm also looking forward to real, fat, milk! No more of this powder stuff. It smells and it's really not that good.

I will be able to walk soon. I can stand by myself already. I'm really good at it. I can also crawl. I'm very speedy. Mom is always chasing me down. I can go up and down stairs by myself. Sometimes I go up the stairs outside our house - TWO flights! Mom says I'm not lazy. I think I'm quick.

My Nana is here visiting and we've been having lots of fun. I like it when she feeds me and reads to me. I like to give her kisses (see above). She says I'm a good kisser. I also like to cuddle with her. I will be sad when she leaves. She's here for my birthday so she will be here for awhile - thank goodness.

Gotta run now!!! (Not literally!)