phew! life seems to be slipping between my fingers lately! the boys are so sweet and so exhausting, and our days are full and fun and frenzied. thanksgiving has come and gone and it’s on to christmas …!

in this season of life i feel perpetually tired, and everyday i tell my kids that i wish i had more than two arms, and there are sooo many different thoughts and to-dos and things to remember floating around in my brain. but also, in this season of life i feel so beautifully full, savoring every rare sliver of quiet and still, being stretched as i tinker around for the right balance, compelled to be deliberate and disciplined and delighted.

here’s some tidbits from the second half of november for our little family…

ian and moses took a daddy date trip to berlin. mo slept through brandenburg gate:
 
but had a blast at berlin zoo!
 
 
 
including the gift shop, always the highlight of any excursion for moses.

i loved seeing photos of the pretty foliage in the german capital, and moses really enjoyed putting on the hotel room and taking a swim with dad in the hotel pool!
 
meanwhile, back in london, gabriel and i enjoyed a chill weekend, the highlight being our walk home from church, taking the scenic route through kensington gardens. gabe made lots of squirrel friends, and i marveled at the golden foliage.
 
 
 
i found my favourite tree on earth.
 
and could not get over the multicoloured leaves it provided.
 
 
this month gabriel and i had a lot of fun at our regular wednesday morning playgroup … here’s a few snapshots from different weeks with friends:

 
and on morning a friend shared a half-off deal to the aquarium so we played with little pals (of both the toddler and sea creature variety!) there:
 
here’s a snap of moses on the way to the library one afternoon. one totally dry and totally overcast afternoon, haha. i thought he looked pretty adorable in his wellies, sunglasses, and his mommy’s hat!
 
we spent a saturday at the temple and then at nearby godstone farm, one of our family’s favourite places in england. the boys had so much fun seeing the animals and especially playing in the soft play area.
 
the highlight of our month was definitely my brother tal and his daughter, who live in switzerland, coming to visit us! they come to london every christmastime on a daddy-daughter trip. it is the best!

we had some really great times with them, some pictured in my next blog post … but i wish i would have taken more pictures. moses and gabriel were overjoyed to have their cousin around (and their super cool uncle, too). there was a lot of laughter and joy in our little home with our swiss family there (we missed tal’s wife, anita!).

one night a babysitter came and ian and i got to go see dear evan hansen with tal. we bought out tickets to see this show literally nine months ago! so lots of anticipation. we all loved it.

there’s this tree around the corner from our flat that gifts our world with the most beautiful fall leaves. every year i just can’t get over this carpet that we walk past every day. it makes me so happy.
gabriel has been really into walking everywhere lately. he often will walk all the way to the museum or all the way home from school drop off – not a remarkably short distance for a 1.5 year old! it’s soo cute to watch his little speedwalk, usually with a snack in hand, along the city streets. he is always just soaking in the world around him, noticing all kinds of things with excited points and shrieks. he’s not much of a talker yet, but he sure works hard to communicate about things that excite him!
 
moses and i have started doing joy school once a week while gabriel is sleeping. every other week a little friend joins us. it’s so great – i love joy school so much. right now we are talking a lot about service, empathy, and thinking of/watching out for others. moses is a really high-energy child and it can be really exhausting to be his parent, but he is such an amazing soul and he teaches me so much. and i wouldn’t trade an ounce of his enthusiasm for anything! we are working on his primary school applications right now, which is a mind-boggling experience here in london.
ian and i have started working out together in the mornings before the kids wake up (or, if they are are awake, they are fascinated watching us, haha). we’ve been trying to be better about keeping to our different budget categories. ian is settling in more in his new job, and we are trying out different daily and weekly routines. i’ve realized my sweet tooth has gotten out of control lately! moses and gabriel both love animals and books, and they are playing together more and more, often making each other laugh so hard. both boys are pretty much constantly asking for a snack. i’m grateful for marco polo and how it helps me feel connected to family and friends that are so far away. we’ve been able to have some opportunities to serve lately that have been really enriching and stretching for our family. and the four of us are all pretty bubbling over with excitement for christmas!
 

this is a crazy and beautiful season of life!