christmas is coming!

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it's the most wonderful time of the year - hurrah! we have begun celebrating in earnest. on 18 december, gabriel and i fly to arizona for my nephew's wedding, and we return on the morning of christmas eve -- so i am making sure i get in all the immediate family and london festivity i can before then. i have been so on top of christmas cards and christmas presents and have decided to forgo some christmas traditions in order to really enjoy the ones that mean the most to me in the limited december days i have at home.

here's some pictures of the things we've seen and been up to this christmastime so far!

bits of fall lingered around the city:
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as the city sidewalks got increasingly dressed in holiday style:
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we went to get our christmas tree last friday evening with our friends that live around the corner from us. moses had a blast running around the tree lot and we were so glad to have a bit of help getting the tree home on the tube this year :) we went with a little bit smaller tree this year. we loooove having it up in our big bay window.
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last saturday, after our ward christmas brunch, mo got to pick out something from the "giving machines" in our church building ^^, and ride the carousel in front of the natural history museum:
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we went as a family to the christmas market along the thames near tower bridge:
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moses was pretty amazed by the candy stall!:
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the boys spent most of a day this past week at the childrens' centre at ian's office. this picture gabriel got sent home from slayed us with cuteness:
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looove this yellow wreathed door, and always love those dang bread ahead donuts!:
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flowers at liberty and last autumn leaves:
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there's this one tree on our street that gifts the sidewalk the most spectacular leaves every day. i love it so much. and i'm obsessed with this little elfin sweetheart:
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more fading fall and christmassy awesomeness (seriously, london wins at christmas):
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we had to visit this display ^^ both at nighttime and during daylight hours!
gabriel has continued to drop percentiles in weight. we found out a few days ago that he is now on the 0.4th percentile - woah! so our tiny boy has been getting a lot of food lately ... and he is loving it! (can you tell? haha):
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we aren't too worried, but just working on beefing our angel gabriel up a bit!
moses adores our christmas tree:
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and gabe has pretty much mastered sitting up on his own!:
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last night i took the boys to the lighting of the christmas tree at trafalgar square. i've been to this event every year that we have lived in london and i love it. there's a beautiful band and choir that makes gorgeous music and the story of this tree is just amazing. every year a pine is cut down in the forests near oslo and brought (in one piece!) to the heart of london. it is a gift from norway to great britain as a token of gratitude for assistance in the second world war. this has been happening annually for seventy one years!
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our experience at the tree lighting this year was a bit wild - there were a few minutes where i was wrangling both a screaming baby and a yelling toddler in the sprinkling rain amongst sea of people trying to hear the program and enjoy the event. but it was all worth it when the big crowd all joined in singing "o come all ye faithful" as the hustle bustle of this big, vibrant city continued around the square. it was pretty magical and really kindled my christmas heart.
we walked to the tube via the amazing angel lights of mayfair:
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gosh, i love london. especially this time of year.
here's the gorgeous exterior of a home in chelsea, and the cozy (and a little bit messy!) interior of our home in kensington. so grateful to live where we do.
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happy christmastime to all!

Comments

  1. Lovely post, Charity. Love all the Christmassy things there is to see and do in London. Also nice to know the history behind the Trafalgar Square tree.

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  2. You are such an inspiration as a mama! Great job with your boys, traditions and loving on them.

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  3. London at Christmas time is on my list! so dreamy!!

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  4. Everything looks delightful and you capture it so beautifully. I admit I am grateful you mentioned Gabe's weight and are offering extra to beef him up. Hoping he outgrows all his clothes super quick.

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  5. Lovely pictures! I wouldn’t worry about sweet Gabriel’s weight. My five year old has always been in the negative percentile (didn’t even know that was a thing until him! ha!). I honestly wish I lived in the days where there were no charts comparing children and their growth/size. As long as they are happy, healthy, and thriving, I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on a growth chart. Just my two cents, as I’ve had five years to learn that my Bennett will probably always be on the small side, which is how God marvelously designed him. ❤️

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  7. Beautiful photos, beautiful boys. People come in all shapes and sizes (mostly due to genetics. Have you asked Ian’s parents? I bet he was a skinny baby too.)

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  8. love your cute family! so exciting about max's wedding! (i love reading blogs that are written by people in the same family, so fun!) my husband was always super skinny and wicked tall on growth charts, and my daughter is finally at 3 years at a better spot on the charts. you're not alone! smooch those babies!

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