Don't Blink

It's been a while--suffice it to say we have been extremely busy! With the Holiday season come end of term papers and extra meetings with professors, but I can't say we've been busy only with school--we've enjoyed a few holiday excursions, some shopping (for Christmas of course!), and some good, quality play time with our ever growing boy. Henry will no doubt be telling you all about his meeting with Father Christmas as well as putting up the Christmas tree on his blog and all about Thanksgiving Dinner at Peter's, so I'll spare you the repeat.

In the meantime, I'll give you an update on how we are. 

Derek has been rowing like a madman as of late--ok, perhaps not that much, but it seems like it! The Clare Regatta was this last Saturday, something he was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, one of his teammates "caught a crab" and the ended up on the side of the riverbank--literally. Henry and I were right there, just across the shore, and caught every moment of their spectacular fail. The tragic thing is they really were winning! A full length ahead of the Corpus Christi boat. Oh well, luckily they have another race this coming week, the Fairburns. Henry and I are hoping to get up and haul our cookies over to the river to cheer Pembroke on again, but we'll see what time he decides to get up (race is at 9am, I believe). I was pretty proud of our Pembroke boys, however, as they finished the race with dignity and gave Corpus their semi-deserved 3 "Hip-hip-horrays". 

Derek's also been rather busy keeping up with school. He's stayed up well past 11:59pm a few nights this last week completing his assignments and went in to college early once or twice so he could keep up. I'm proud of him and his dedication to getting things done--it's not easy with Henry around (I should know). 

Daddy continually makes his little boy smile and is teaching him all sorts of new, amazing things. Last Sunday, during church, Mr. Squeaky Hedgehog found his home in Daddy's suit pocket. Of course he didn't stay there long, as Henry found that absolutely delightful. It's wonderful to watch Derek in his role as Daddy--certainly makes me love him even more.

Speaking of Henry, he has learned how to turn the turbo on around here. Derek has compared him to the Weeping Angels of Dr. Who: "Don't blink...[he] is fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good luck.". Seriously, one minute he is right there playing blocks with you, and the next--half way through the kitchen. Yes, keeping up with Henry requires constant vigilance at our house--way too many things to get in to, pull over on top of himself--you know how it is. 

He is still the delight of our home, however fast he is, and I am finding my days with him are wonderful. I must admit I do get a bit frustrated when he wants to help type my homework assignments, or assist me as I try to get some work done (try being the key word here), or when he lets me know that I'm done doing the dishes, even though I'm only half way through. Thank goodness he has started sleeping a lot better and that his two new teeth (yes! two now!) have come through and seem to be staying that way--I felt them just before he went to bed and they haven't snuck back in yet. Whew!

The Holiday season is well underway here in Cambridge. Just this evening (4pm and it was dark!) we took a family walk through the city. The lights are all up, several of the booths at the Market were sporting Christmas items (we bought a real holly wreath for our front door on Friday!), and there are lighted trees in the square. I'm aching for snow, but truly enjoying our Christmas tree, which made its debut on Friday as well. So yes, life is good here in Cambridge. We are incredibly busy--thank goodness the end of Michaelmas Term will be here this week!--but we are enjoying our time here. I'm trying not to blink, because just like Henry, our time here will go faster than we think. 

Moments You Wish You Had Videoed

Sometimes, a video camera ruins the moment. Especially with Henry, because he is such a ham and just sits and grins at it (I've creating a monster...a delightful one). But I wish I had whipped it out today.

By baby crawled from one end of the room to the other today.

This brings me both joy and horror--all in one breath.

Honestly, I've been wondering when it was going to happen. A lot of my friends have babies younger than Henry that have been crawling for a while now. Henry has been close for a couple months, but Derek and I have not been encouraging him much since we moved in to our little house in Cambridge--put off the increasing dangers that come with crawling and let the kid learn when he's ready. A lot of things about our house are not baby friendly--things we can't do much about.

That is a piece of the horror--how will I protect him from all the cupboards, heaters, plugs that I can't find safety covers for, and tile floor that he's already banged his head on a few times? I understand I can't protect him from everything and that he'll have to learn on his own, but there are some things a mother should be able to keep away from her child until he's old enough to understand why he shouldn't touch it--then make his own decision.

The other half of the horror--my baby is crawling--he's growing up and becoming more independent. I have loved every stage of his life so far. As he gets older I miss things he did as a tiny infant, but love that he reacts to me, smiles at me, reaches for me, and chants "mamamamama" when he wants to be held. I also love that when both Derek and I are in the room he reaches for me (sorry Daddy, love you--but I'm glad he's a Mama's boy right now!). I love that he has learned to crawl, all on his own.

So yes, Nana and Papa, Grandpa and Grandma, your Little Brute is crawling.

Oh--and don't worry that the first thing he crawled towards is a rather menacing looking heater with all sorts of sharp corners, places to get fingers caught, and tile beneath it. Sheesh kid...


The P.S.:

I took a video of Henry today, the 4th, so you could see him crawl in the early stages. :) Just a few little crawls, but still cute.

Our Home in Cambridge: The First Floor

In just about everywhere but the States, the first floor is not the floor you walk in on: it's the one at the top of the first flight of stairs. At our home here in Cambridge, we have a ground floor, which consists of our "living areas," and a first floor--two bedrooms.

The way up consists of an incredibly steep staircase, with a turn at the bottom. Don't worry--I've already tripped up it twice and missed the last stair at the bottom once.

At the top, if you take a quick right, you find yourself in Henry's room. His cot (or crib, as we Americans say), was lent to us by the Relief Society. The other bed was there already, and we were pleased that the duvet cover was blue!

Henry's hat, made by Nana, even has it's own hook!

Henry has a very "English" view: lots of rooftops!!

Next to Henry's room, is the master bedroom. 

We have a lovely window that gets lots of morning light. 

Closet 1

Closet 2

My jewelry tray--found at a Charity shop. It's partner holds our napkins on the table. :)

I love the doorknobs and locks on our doors. 

Little Brute lounging on the bed. :)

Mornings at the Bruton House

Around 8 o'clock I hear the voice of my baby from the next room. I've never known anyone to be so happy when they wake up in the morning: he oos and ahs, kicks his legs in excitement, examine his blanket (as if it's brand new, every day!) and will usually do that off and on for about 20 minutes. Sometime around the 20 minute mark, Derek or I go in and greet our Little Brute with a "Hello! Good morning!" and "How are ya?" This is usually met with legs kicking in excitement, wide blue eyes, and a big two-toothed grin. 

Little Brute is then brought in to our room for another 10-15 minutes. We have a couple of toys we pull on to the bed with us, and he sits and plays between us while we doze/laugh at his joy (mostly doze). Around 8:30, he gets bored of that and starts to realize he hasn't had breakfast. 

Now that he has a high chair, breakfast is a lot more fun. Derek and I sit and eat our granola, alternating between our bites and spooning pureed fruit into Little Brute's mouth. He bangs his tray in approval and generally asks (demands) a bite or two of our breakfast. Watching him discover different textures is rather hilarious--granola usually means a confused face with lots of "mmm, mmm, mmm" as he figures it out. 

After breakfast and clean up, Little Brute and one or both parents sit on the floor and play. Blocks, his musical elephant from Nana, and stack-able cups are the current favorite, though about a week ago it was the small fabric bag the laundry hampers came in. Everything goes in his mouth at this point, and he usually gives us a low down on what it tastes like as he munches away at it. 

Around 10:00, yawns, eye rubs, and fussiness begin to make their appearance. Sometimes, a bottle is the ticket to get him nice and cozy and he goes straight to sleep; other times, the bottle is still greeted with eagerness, but a the customary two songs are needed as well. 

Little Brute is learning how to go to sleep on his own, however. After two songs, he gets put in bed, whether he is asleep or not. I have been pleasantly surprised at how well he has taken this--the first day, he was shocked that he wasn't rocked all the way to sleep and told us about it for about 15 minutes. The next day, he was indignant that we didn't get the message and yelled for around 10. After that, he understood what was going on and 2-3 minutes or nothing are all he needs to remind us that he's there and he's going to sleep. 

Nap time for Little Brute means shower time for Mama. Luckily, Brute usually sleeps at least half an hour (sometimes more), so that's the perfect amount of time for me to get myself together, my hair combed and teeth brushed, and sometimes I can work for a while before he wakes up. 

Mornings here are, as you can see, quite chill. It's more about enjoying each other's company than it is hurrying to get ready. Of course we have those "hurry and get ready" days (like Sundays before church), but I'm grateful Little Brute is such a morning person--his giggles and kicks make it a lot easier for me to get myself out of bed and greet the day. 

Our Home in Cambridge: The Ground Floor

Now that we've decorated a bit, this place really feels like home. We even got a scented candle (Cinnamin Sticks!) which has helped considerably, too.

So, here's our Living Room:

I was hoping for a fireplace... but I LOVE the bookshelves!

We found our rug at the British Heart Foundation Charity shop. 

In Britain, they have on/off switches on their outlets. 

This couch converts into a bed! The arm rests go down, it's pretty sweet. This wall needs something...we're hoping to find a nice painting of Cambridge we can bring home. 

Our mail slot!

Our new "cushion." In England, throw pillows are "cushions"

The doorknob on the door into the kitchen. LOVE it!

Our nice big window! It had hideous curtains on it, but we found some nice ones at Primark.

Just next to the door into the kitchen is the cupboard under the stairs, affectionately known as "Harry's Room."

Then, we have the kitchen/dining area:

Our oven and "the hob," or stove. :)

our washer/dryer--all in one!

Our doorbell--sounds just like the one in 101 Dalmatians!

Our fridge--1/2 the size of most American refrigerators. 

Both vase and napkin tray courtesy of a charity shop. 

Our Walmart whiteboards--where we keep track of each other's schedules

Of course we have our narrow little hallway with the backdoor:

:)

And then the fanciest of rooms, the bathroom. :) Also: note that the bathroom sink and tub have two faucets: one for hot water, one for cold. So if you want cool or warm water, you have to make your hands go back and forth really fast. :)

I'm happy to say we have continuous water heaters: one for the shower and one for the kitchen/bathroom sinks. AWESOME.

One of the first things Derek noticed was our towel heater. 

Cupboard, which as obviously once a fireplace. Too bad it isn't still...

We have a nice LONG tub--I can stretch my legs all the way out! It's narrow, but it's nice. :)

So that's the ground floor of our little home! We do really love it here. I'm so grateful to Pembroke College for letting us stay here; it's usually let out to professors. We know that the Lord has His hand in getting us this place.