Winter Hat

WARNING!!!  SEVERE CUTENESS AHEAD!!!  PREPARE TO "AWWW!!!"

London got an early Christmas present the other day from our friend Lynn... an absolutely adorable handmade (not by her) fleece doggy hat!  It has eyes, a nose (you can't really see it in the pictures), and two floppy ears.  We tried it on for size and I just about died from cuteness overload!

My New Assistant

London helped me work this morning.  We have some friends coming over a little later this morning to take some family portraits and I needed a subject for testing out my camera settings.  Enter the cutest baby in the world!  London very patiently sat in his high chair (he joins us at the table for dinner these days... doesn't eat anything, obviously, but likes to be a part of the dinner time conversation) while I got the cameras ready.  And since our "studio" space is pretty blank and boring without a subject, I just had to take some pictures of him while he was there!  :)  London has many faces... here are a few:

No, the puppy is not called "Patches"... that's a puddle of spit up ! 

Anyway... on with the many faces of London:

Serious

Content

Delighted

Happy

Charming

Downright goofy!

Blinking

Surprised

Flirtatious

Cheerful

Slightly confused

He worked very hard this morning and is currently taking a well-deserved nap!  You try being cute 24 hours a day and see if you don't fall asleep from the effort!  :D

Bath Time = Relaxed Baby

London loves to take a bath.  He doesn't really enjoy the lead-in to bath time (taking off his clothes and diaper leaves him cold and a little uncertain) and he doesn't really enjoy the last part of bath time (taking him out of the warm water leaves him cold and mad as hell), but he enjoys the actual bath time itself!

We have a "Spa Baby" bath tub, which we (and he) love!  It is designed to allow the water to cover babies up to their chest in water so they don't get cold.  I do have to do a "preliminary wash" of his bits and pieces before putting him in the tub (it's a little tricky to clean down there when he's sitting on it), but it's not a big deal.  That should get easier as he gets older and is able to hold his head up and balance better.  I'll be able to lift him with one hand/arm and wash with the other; right now the whole balancing act involved makes me a little nervous.

Until then, I will keep a hand under his chin and conduct bath time one-handed!

London is quite comfy sitting in his tub...

... and is always alert during bath time!

Time to get out of the tub, London!

Aww, Mom!  Do I have to??

Bath Time = Relaxed Baby  :)

We wish you a merry Christmas...

Earlier this evening, while holding London and walking around the living room (trying, in vain, to get him sleepy enough to take a nap), a Christmas commercial came on the t.v. and I started singing along.  When I looked down at him, he was smiling away!  I grabbed my phone and "video taped" our little sing-a-long.  The quality of the video leaves a lot to be desired, but the content is enough to make me smile!

First Snow!

We had our first (of many, I hope) snowfall of the season today.  It started around 8:30 and is still going strong.  It's not adding up to much: it's a little too wet, but it sure does look pretty!  Since it was London's first time seeing snow (even though he has no idea what he's seeing) we wanted to capture the moment for posterity.  As you can see from these pictures, he was as excited as we were... so excited, in fact, that he fell asleep rather than deal with the strength of his emotion.   :)

He slept when I took him outside...

... he slept while we posed and got snowed on...

... he even slept through a round of kisses!  

Then it was Daddy's turn:

He slept through that, too.

And he slept through this... 

... and this!  Oh well.  At least we had some fun!

Just hangin' out!

London has started smiling and interacting with us a lot more!  He can be quite chatty at times!  

More cuteness!

No matter how we swaddle him, London always succeeds in freeing his hands.

Tummy time is going well - look at that strong neck!

A real smile!  Smiling started on Sunday - we have to work pretty hard to get 'em, but they're worth it when we do!