Another long day that didn't go exactly as planned but was pretty good anyway.

We got a late start this morning, mostly because N didn't sleep well last night and despite first waking up at 8:30, went back to sleep until 11. We finally got our act together and left the house and headed down Portobello Road, which was in full market mode today. We saw a lot of cool things – headbands and antiques and photos and jewelry and old cameras and much, much more. We didn't browse as much as we wanted to because we met some friends of Daddy's for, er, snack? second lunch? nearby. But we all enjoyed the market a lot. I got an antique (?) ring as a late Hanukah present from Daddy.

M&A's hot chocolate:

 

We had a fun time with Daddy's friends and then headed out to go to the Museum of Childhood. Sadly, our trip was thwarted because the subway line had a planned outage that we weren't aware of. We ended up coming out of the subway and walking through Hyde Park, though it was already dark and quite cold. N was fussy so we suggested a ride on a merry go round. We went into the Winter Wonderland pop-up amusement park and he went on a carousel ride with M and Daddy. He clung on for dear life and we weren't sure he enjoyed it until he got off and said "MORE!". We walked around the park a little more, marveling at the super scary rides people were on (in the freezing cold). N saw a second carousel and immediately wanted to go on it, so we bought more ticket$ and he and M went on that one too. They rode a kangaroo this time. It was a double decker, and I asked him if he'd like to ride upstairs or downstairs. He said downstairs, because "upstairs is TOO SCARY!". So cute.

We were all frozen by then, so we ended up walking back to Knightsbridge for the second time and back to Harrod's for the second time so we could use a restroom. We were reminded that the chairs Daddy and N were sitting on waiting for us were "not a seating area" – perhaps prompted by M pulling off her boots and socks. 🙂

We then ended up taking a cab to a delicious Indian restaurant in Bayswater, where we met another friend of Daddy's and his wife and two daughters (9 and 12). The four girls got along famously and talked to each other from the second they sat down. It was adorable.

After dinner, we hopped in another cab home, where N had a huge meltdown, no doubt brought on by being completely exhausted. Poor pup. He has been a real trooper and we're proud of him.

A few things he did today:

1) Wanted to talk to the taxi drivers in both cab rides. He walked up to the pleixglass screen where you put the money through and said "DRIVER! DRIVER! DRIVER!" over and over again. On the way home, A suggested he ask the driver's name, so then he kept yelling "WHAT YOUR NAME? WHAT YOUR NAME?" over and over at the guy, who wasn't in the mood to indulge him.

2) Smashed an entire plate of layered papadum into pieces. 

3) Did "cheers" with my beer bottle when I wasn't holding it, knocking it over.

4) Ran through Harrod's away from Daddy for quite a long time.

5) Tried making a friend on the tube, which he does every time he sits down.

6) Didn't want to leave Portobello marktet because we had looked at some throw pillows at one point, and kept yelling "PILLOWS" as we walked away about 2 hours later.

Cutest boy ever. With best sisters ever, who have been great with him!