A London Christmas

We are blessed to be spending Christmas in London this year with all my family! We're loving being together and Rooke is soaking up all the extra attention. We hope you, too, are enjoying a wonderful season of Christmas with those you love. Posts won't be as frequent since I'm not on my own computer, but here are just a few pictures of our first week in England.

We had quite the adventure getting out of Seattle . . . you can see why from this picture taken the morning we left

finally at the airport, waiting for our plane

Sitting with Kaye-K and Big Daddy while they open Rooke's present: a calendar with pictures from his first year

not all pictures turn out smiley . . .

Rooke opening his present from Mommy & Daddy
"this way, Mom?"

"ok, I'm figuring it out now"

he likes the inflatable ball much more than this expression shows!

Rooke and Evelynn together celebrating their first Christmas

we've done a little sight-seeing . . . here we are (the siblings) at Trafalgar Square

Apparently the British Museum wasn't too interesting for Rooke!

sharing Cheerios with Uncle Konnor


Big Daddy with his two grandkids

Still Snowing

I couldn't decide whether to title this post as it is, or to say HE IS FINISHED!!! The "he" being a man named Ryan who has agreed to be my husband and Rooke's father for the next three weeks until school starts again. Finals are officially over, Ryan is half-way through law school, and we could not be more excited for the next three weeks we get to spend together! We had a little dance party in the kitchen yesterday (Rooke included) to celebrate. Meanwhile, it IS still snowing.

A little wobbly with all the extra layers . . .


"um, I'm really cold."


Being inside more than we're used to, we're all feeling a little cabin fever. He was reaching for the handle. "Let me out!"

Occupying our time with new "toys" . . .

. . . and new hair-dos . . .

. . . some wresteling . . .

. . . and cuddling

Ick

This week has been kinda icky, starting with the weather. We've had rain/snow/ice since Sunday and, although I think it's beautiful, we've been inside more than we're used to. Here's Rooke checkin' out his mittens from Nana before a much-needed walk to the library.

Ryan's been working over-time in preparation for his last three finals this week. Ick. He studied at home on Sunday, so Rooke initiated a few study breaks with Dad.

On Monday, Rooke started feeling icky and proved he was really sick with a soaring fever that night. We've got the works: fever, cough, runny nose, goopy eyes . . . ick. I like the extra cuddling, but it's hard to get anything done (and there is plenty to be done!) with a sick, whinny, clingy little guy.

Even when Rooke's not feeling good, Daddy can get him to giggle!

Rooke loves his dog from Auntie Aubyn & Uncle Scott anyway, but has clung to it more since being sick this week. He will lay/cuddle with it for a long time (long being relative to the attention span of an 11-month-old)

A New Friend

Sean and Jessica brought several fun things for Rooke when they visited last month. One of their gifts was a singing and dancing dog! We thought it was pretty funny, but you'll see in the video it wasn't love at first sight for Rooke. It's taken him a couple of weeks to warm up to his new friend, but now they're buds.

Quite the little poser, don't you think?!

Christmas in Oklahoma

Rooke and I made it back to Seattle yesterday! We had a great time in Tulsa with Ryan's family and friends. The return trip didn't go quite as smooth as the trip down, but we are home and with Ryan again and I won't see those people that listened to my son's crying on the plane again (I hope). I didn't do a great job taking pictures while we were down there. We saw several friends and family than aren't represented here, but I'm posting several pictures anyway to catch up on not sharing any for the past week . . .


Rooke's new Christmas jamies from Grammy Deb that made him so excited he was shakin' his booty while wearing them!

Rooke and I both enjoyed being with Grammy & Grandaddy. Thank you for the week of special memories!

We drove to Norman for a quick visit with Gramma and Aunt Sara. Rooke tottered into the dining room at Gramma's residence and you would have thought Elvis had entered the building. He was "the cutest thing you've ever seen"!

Opening presents from Aunt Sara

Reading his new book with Great Gramma

Rooke's second cousin (or something like that), Blake, teaching him the intricate skills of Sesame Street carpentry.

Rooke had woken up and was checking things out in the backyard. I loved waking up and it not being pitch black outside! I kept Rooke on Seattle time with his schedule, so we slept until at least 8 most mornings, which meant the sun was already up and we didn't have to wait two hours for day light like we do here in Seattle.

Yes, that's a lemon. He loved it! Strange kid.

On our way to a Christmas dinner at Uncle Joe's.
(hey Ash - notice he's not smiling?!)

"Hey Mom . . . how many of these pictures do I have to take?!"

I love my son. He did so good on the trip, going to different places and being with lots of different people. We had a wonderful time together, although we were both eager to see Ryan again, who has one more week of finals!

On the Road

Sorry no pictures this week . . . Rooke and I are on the road visiting family while Ryan has his head in the books starting his first week of finals. Pray for him as he studies . . . he is almost to the half-way point of law school! I'll have several pictures to share once we get back to Seattle.

Follow Up

I had a few more pictures from our time with Sean and Jessica and thought I'd go ahead and post them for the rest of you to enjoy.

Rooke had just woken up from his morning nap and we were in the middle of a Settlers of Catan game, so Jessica distracted Rooke while Uncle Sean took his turn. Little did Sean know, Rooke was filling me on what cards he was holding. I'm pretty sure I ended up winning that game!

Showing off his chicklet teeth (as my friend calls them!) We keep thinking he's working on more, but nothing has poked through yet.

The Ball

Rooke loves playing with balls! But he is partial to his Uncle Konnor's polo ball (that is somehow still in our apartment). If you tell Rooke to go get his ball, he will bypass the football and basketball for the polo ball and can now walk around while holding it. I could learn the rules to water polo!