ten thoughts on a wednesday |44|

one.
i feel like i am coming out of a bit of a fog - the past couple of weeks have been kinda crazy. i'm realizing (re-realizing, really) that life is really just a series of peaks and valleys. and when i'm in a dip, even one that feels pretty deep, i can just look forward to going up again (while also remembering that more dips are ahead). things seem to always get better over time ... and if i just anticipate the up and down i can do my best to enjoy the ride no matter how high or low i am.

 
^^ just a couple pictures of gabriel being the sweetest baby alive. i'm seriously convinced he is. ^^
 
^^ a stop by borough market one day recently revealed that bread ahead is now selling passion fruit flavor filled donuts. ooooookay. (yes, i ate one, and yes, it was delicious.) also, autumn gourds are always fun. ^^
 
^^ look how gorgeous these baskets of mushrooms are! and i always love seeing displays of colourful produce. ^^
 
^^ ian was out of town for work a lot at the end of september. i am sooo thankful for facetime. ^^
 

two.
our boys just keeeeep growing up. moses is becoming a pro on his scooter, has started saying really clever and hilarious things, and has been practicing hard to master his best two-year-old-tantrum. gabriel turned six months old this past sunday and started eating solid foods (which he loves), recently took his first buggy ride and first swing ride, and has four little teeth just barely poking through! i'll never get over how great it is to watch these little souls grow.

 
^^ trying out new modes of transportation: gabe's first ride in the buggy and mo's first bone fide journey on his scooter. we made it to the science museum and back and we are gradually graduating from the buggy + carrier situation to a buggy + scooter or rideboard situation! ^^
 
  
^^ ^^ moses helped to feed gabriel his first food! gabe had smashed up avocado, just like his big brother did upon turning six months old! ^^ ^^

three.
on 9 october, we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary! we had a nice night out at a romantic restaurant in soho and walking around mayfair and trafalgar square. every year as an anniversary gift for ian i make a video (of photos and film clips from the last twelve months). it's always so fun to watch together on the evening of october ninth, our cheeks totally aching from smiling about the beautiful life we share by the end.
marriage is a wild ride that i'm so so glad to be on with ian. lately i've been thinking a lot about the power of meeting one's spouse where they are - loving and accepting them truly unconditionally. and i've been working on seeing and expressing the abundant positive much more than any negative. ian is such a fantastic companion and i love experiencing the deepening of our love and partnership with every year.

 

four.
last week, gabriel had his first ride in a swing, and moses had his first opportunity to push his baby brother in a swing! for five minutes there was sooooo much joy oozing out of both of these little boys as they giggled together. this made me so incredibly happy. like a new brand of intense happy that i've never experienced before. it's sooo fun to see mo and gabe start to play with each other a bit.

 
 

five.
the main reason that the past few weeks have been wild, and a dip: moses had surgery. this is the third of four operations that he needs, and the whole ordeal is just no fun. we are all learning a lot, bonding closer together a family, and feeling heaven's help in beautiful ways ... but it's just no fun. everything went as well as we could hope for, but some days over the past few weeks have been pretty hellish, to be frank. little mo has really been a trooper.

 

six.
we always love having visitors, but especially this past week. it has been so wonderful to have family around during a tough time. my sister saren and niece eliza's trip to london happened to coincide with moses's recovery from surgery, and ian and i were sooooo grateful to have them here! they babysat gabriel for pretty much an entire day when we were at the hospital for a follow-up visit with moses, and just having them here was so comforting. we also got to have a few fun excursions around the city with them, which was great for everyone's spirits. love these two beautiful ladies so much!!


^^ gabriel enjoyed gallivanting around london with his touristing auntie and cousin! ^^

^^ these two are such cute cousin-friends. moses is obsessed with eliza and the first thing he has said each morning lately is "play with liza."

seven.
last saturday, i ran a 10k in hyde park with some friends. gearing up for that has helped keep me motivated in lengthening my runs, with the marathon next june looming in the future. it was so fun to do this with three pals, one of whom won the race among women runners! it was a gorgeous fall morning and those six point two miles were so exhilarating for me! my pace was way better than it has been lately and i just felt pumped up and high on life. because the race was a fundraiser for the natural history museum, people were dressed up as animals and dinosaurs - so moses was crazy excited when ian brought the boys to the course to cheer me on. it was a really great morning. and i'm soooo grateful for my healthy body.


 
^^ i actually took 9th place among women (whaaaaat?? there weren't a ton of runners, but more than 100, so i was pretty proud of myself!). i got a goody bag for placing in the top ten, and the stuff inside was pretty thrilling for mo. here he is with his friend zoe (whose mama came in tenth!) eating some chocolate shaped like a triceratops :) ^^

^^ we ended up going to the zoo after the race with zoe's family, and these two cute pals were holding hands and having a blast together all afternoon. so fun. ^^

eight.
my nephew recently got engaged! (wild...i'm still wrapping my head around that fact...!) and when ian and i spotted a really cheap plane ticket to arizona in december, we decided that i should fly across the pond to gather with family to celebrate with the groom and bride. moses will stay here with daddy, and i'll bring gabriel along to spend just four quick days with family right before christmas. it's kind of crazy, but i'm so excited.
it's funny, i think most people would consider a transatlantic flight (then layover, then another flight) with an 8 month old and no other adult to be pretty much a nightmare situation. but i am totally looking forward to it! it sounds luxurious and relaxing actually to travel with just one (mostly immobile) child - haha!

 
^^ some random pictures: moses peering out the window waiting for his friends to come over for playgroup (he set up the chair like that totally unprompted) // mo absolutely bowled over with happiness holding our friends' adorable new dog. ^^
aaaaand here's the largest pumpkin grown in all of europe, displayed in covent garden:


nine.
i am still catching up on listening to some talks from general conference (it's so tricky to watch live with the time difference!) -- but what i have heard i have really appreciated. our prophet challenged members of the church to take a ten day fast from social media and to read the book of mormon by the end of the year. as i have taken him up on these invitations, i have learned and felt renewed in lots of ways (maybe i'll elaborate in a future blog post).

ten.
today was moses's first day of joy school!!! some of our friends formed a joy school group over the summer, and even though mo is a bit young for it (it's meant for 3-4 year old children), we couldn't pass it up. the first session was today and very exciting. joy school has touched my life all my life and it was seriously such a thrill to see my little son starting to learn about and engage in it. (hearing mo whisper "oh boy!" at the end of the "oh boy, i've got joy" song melts my heart like nothing else!)
i had to take some photos of mo on our front porch as we headed off to his very first day of school!

 
 

happy wednesday! life is beautiful.