Monday 19/12
The start of the holidays for us! Matt is off for the next two weeks and I feel like I'm in heaven! We woke up slowly in bed with the boys. It feels so amazing to be together in the morning. We get ready for the day and then hop on the Elizabeth line to Canary Wharf to the Museum of Docklands to meet up with my friend Imma and her two kids Pennelope and Giulio.
James and George love hanging out with their Italian friends so much. They are both the sweetest kids ever.
Pennelope takes such good care of George and always knows how to put a smile on his face. It melts my heart.
Just watching the kids run around was so fun. We could hardly keep up with them so we just chatted as they had fun.
Towards the end of our play session they seemed burnt out so Matt read a story for them. It was so cute to see them reading together. James gave George the cutest hug when he came over to say hi.
We then headed up to the top floor of the museum to explore. James and Giulio took off running around together.
Everyone loved having a go on the huge hamster wheel. All the kids had a huge smile as Matt tried to push them on it.
We went down to the second floor and played with the kids there. James was a bit tired as you can see in the photo so he took a rest haha!
Then it was straight into the sailor town. I love the Christmas spirit of this Victorian town. It's so cute! The kids even saw Father Christmas's house!
We continued to see the rest of the second floor. The kids loved dressing up in a Victorian house and playing their part. Pennelope was so cute!
We explored the bomb shelters together. The kids always love playing with the suitcase full of toys they would take into bomb shelters back in the days.
The last section was on trains. Giulio's new obsession is with trains so he loved this section. I just love how interactive this museum is! There is something for everyone here.
Before heading out we did one last play session in Mudlarks. They had so much fun. George was finally happy to be with Matt so I went off with James to play. It was so fun to be with him. We would go down the slide together and he would yell out that this is the funnest thing ever. He brings me so much joy.
We then said goodbye to our friends and parted ways. James then took a nap while we journeyed on. He was so tired and exhausted physically and emotionally (if you know what I mean). He had the toughest time going up the stairs and staying emotionally regulated. We were all so drained.
We stopped at a Pret to have Swedish meatball wraps. George loved eating it too! Once we were all fed we seemed a bit better. We then headed home. Once we were home we all just headed to bed. It was such a draining day.
Tuesday 20/12
We woke up hoping that it would be a better day. It was nice to just cuddle in bed as we all woke up. George loves mirrors these days. Every morning as soon as he sees his reflection he has the biggest smile. We slowly got ready for the day and just chilled together. There was no rush at all. Once we had lunch we made our plan for the day.
By 2pm we were out the door and headed into Central London. We went to Piccadilly and walked into one of the biggest Waterstones bookshop we have been in.
It's always a Christmas tradition for us to buy each other our Christmas presents here. So we roamed through the floors and books to find what we wanted.
Matt, of course, got a Ray Dalio book haha! I got some parenting ones haha! James chose a Robot toy to take home. The boys loved exploring the children's floor at the bookshop.
We then started our Christmas lights walk! Because of illnesses we really haven't been out in the evening that much this past month so I have missed seeing a lot of the lights. So we begin our epic walk on Piccadilly Street passing St James's Church, Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly Arcade and Burlington Arcade.
We turned right onto Old Bond Street where all the high end shops are. I love walking down this street because these shops really go all out.
We walk up Molton Street where my favourite blue arches are. James, of course, loves this street and how we go through the arches. He was in such good spirits!
We then take a right on Oxford Street and walked down it for a while. Until we hit Regent Street with its beautiful angels.
We took a cheeky walk down Carnaby Street. These lights are always the greatest! I loved the random theme this year. James loved pointing out all the different lights he saw. George must had a sore neck from looking at everything.
We made it back to Piccadilly Circus and headed to the Leicester Square Christmas Market. We had some yummy Dutch pancakes and James got some sweets. Once we were all fed we were charged up and ready to go. All four of us were in such good spirits!
We continued our walk to Trafalgar Square to see their Norwegian Tree and Christmas Market. It was a lot quieter than Leicester Square. We loved the vibe and the music. James especially loved the nativity they had on display.
We then walked down the Strand and saw the Christmas lights on that street. So pretty!
That lead us to Covent Garden. Our favourite Christmas Market to come to is here. It's so chill and joyful at Covent Garden. James loved that we got to go in Father Christmas's sleigh!
George was blown away by the light display outside. He was there for ages exploring the bulbs. James joined in as well. I just enjoyed the live music as I watched them.
We followed St James's street which took us to Long Acre. We found the light tunnel down Conduit Court passage. Then through Slingsby Place to see some beautiful flowers overhead. George was mesmerised by the lights and colours. I love to see the joy in his eyes.
We followed Mercer Street until we hit Seven Dials. Then it was straight to Neal's Yard which is like the cutest little pocket in London. Once again James and George loved touching all the bulbs and decorations that were within reach.
We walked towards the tube station and made a stop at the Tottenham Court Square to play a bit longer. James and George loved the light tunnel. They were laughing so hard as they ran through together. I just didn't want the night to end. James regulated so well all day. It was so peaceful and happy!
Just before going underground we watched the screens at The Now buildings. It was so cool! James was in heaven seeing all the different things move on the screens. I love the new things they come up with.
We made it home just in time to get into bed by 9pm. It was such a magical day. We all went to bed with the happiest of hearts. Although we all had sore feet and legs from the 19,000 steps we did!
Wednesday 21/12
We did our usual slow morning as we got ready for the day. I love our new pace of having a slow morning and then heading out after lunch. George seems to love having his nap at home too since he gets to dream feed as well haha!
After we ate lunch and packed up we took the tube and made it to the Battersea Power Station which has been converted into a brand new shooting centre. They had fun Christmas activities outside for kids which Matt enjoyed too.
We then went over to the playground to explore. It was a pretty fun playground and James tried it all! It was a bit busy so after about 20 minutes he was done haha!
We then went inside the shopping centre to see what we could find. It was fun to see the Christmas decorations inside. But there really wasn't any shops that interested us.
So we went outside and checked out the Christmas Market and ice rink. It was massive! The Power Station is also such an impressive building to look at. It was nice coming here but I don't think I'd come again all this way.
We got back o the tube and headed to Westfield. We had Christmas shopping still to do and we definitely know Westfield has the shops we needed. I love the Christmas decorations at this shopping centre. I love that this is my local place to shop!
James had some time in the toy shop (that was swamped by so many people) and then we played a bit in the Mickey Mouse play area. George joined in play at the Winnie the Pooh play area. After a bit of food we then set off.
Our next stop was Putney Bridge. We crossed over and picked up something from Facebook Marketplace and then got on the tube to go home. My feet were so defeated. Since we haven't been out so much due to illnesses yesterday's walk nearly killed me and today (16,000) was still quite hard. But we made it home for 9pm and then snuggled up in bed.
Thursday 22/12
I didn't really sleep much since I had a blocked nose… I hate my nose during winter! And between the kids I think I got 4 hours of sleep. I really didn't want to wake up in the morning. But George will chat and chat until I open my eyes and then he gives me the biggest smile. So how can I not wake up haha! We played around all morning, George napped, and then we had lunch.
We got on the bus and headed to Hammersmith to do some more shopping!
We went to a charity shop to pick a Granny present. The boys had fun playing with the toys there and I found some cute trousers there. James walked out with a pram that he fell in love with. It was cute watching him next to Matt.
We went into IKEA to have some meatballs as an early dinner and then picked up a rug I was looking for. Because James was doing so much walking (due to having his pram) he wanted a rest in the comfy seats on the stairs. So we stayed there for ages. It was so nice to chill all together doing nothing.
IKEA had some ice cream so we went and got some ice cream. Ice cream is so good! Ikea is so good! We then caught the bus and headed home.
James still had a lot of energy so we did some wrestling after dinner. He was so happy to be all over his dad. George couldn't help but join in too. He can't resist it. By 8pm we started getting ready for bed and snuggled up together.
Friday 23/12
Sleep was a bit better that night. I had everything done that I had on my list so we decided to just stay home that day. James had so much fun just playing with his dad all day long and hanging out with him.
After George's first nap he seemed a bit low on energy (teething? Leap?) so he just stayed on my hip all day. We all watched a movie together and then played some more.
By dinner George seemed so much better. He was back to his smiling self again. He helped me put the laundry away while Matt and James wrestled together on the bed. George eventually joined in on the fun too. I love watching my boys laugh together. We then headed to bed.
Saturday 24/12
Christmas Eve! We had our usual slow holiday morning. I love the rosy cheeks George has after he wakes up. They are so cute! We all played around in the morning as we got ready to go. We had lunch and then we were off!
We got on the tube and headed into Central London. We got off at Farringdon and walked around to explore the streets. James fell asleep by the time we got to the house where it looked like Santa was climbing up a house haha!
We finally made it to Doughty Street which is where Charles Dickens used to live! The houses on this street were so Victorian and cute! The last photo is Charles Dickens's house!
We then continued walking to our next destination. Both boys were asleep so it felt like a date haha! We chatted for ages and loved the things we would run into.
We finally made it to the queue for the St Paul's Christmas carol service. It wasn't due to start for another 90 minutes but because its free and unticketed we knew we needed to get there early. And we came at a perfect time! James slept the whole time we were in the queue.
Once we went inside the building our jaws dropped. What a magnificent building! We took our seats near the front and waited for it to begin. The choir was magical and divine! It felt like being in heaven listening to them! The scriptures shared were beautiful and I loved singing the hymns. I cried after each song they sang. The lyrics hit me so much that evening…
George had a hard time sitting quietly so I had to hold him in a corner. There was a beautiful plaque next to me that was dedicated to Queen Victoria when she came to St Paul's in 1872 to pray for her husband. Aww. Once the service was over we were in the first group out of there. So by the time we got to the tube it wasn't too busy.
For our Christmas Eve dinner we have decided to follow my family's tradition of eating as the Saviour would have at the last supper. We then talk about him and celebrate him. We then watched the nativity episode from The Chosen. Absolutely beautiful! I have never cried so many happy tears in one day. We finished off the night by wrestling a bit and then got ready for bed.
Sunday 25/12
It's Christmas!!! James was so excited to wake up to those words! We quickly got ready in the morning since James slept as late as possible for us to leave for church. There is no public transport on Christmas so we drove to church which saved us time. We got there and enjoyed the beautiful service. James and George loved seeing their little friends there.
We then got home and had some lunch and finished packing. Then it was straight back out to the car and we made our long journey to Worcester. The boys were so happy to see their grandparents. But mostly they were excited to run around in such a big open space haha! It was fun seeing them enjoy it so much.
Matt's grandparents arrived in time for Christmas Dinner. George loved cuddling with Pat. Christmas Dinner was so delicious and filling.
It was then time to open presents. James loved it so much that he unwrapped everyone's presents for them haha! So kind haha! He had so much joy!
George also enjoyed himself so much. He found a little paper ornament and played with it the whole time. It was so cute watching him hide it from himself under the sofa and then laughing when he would find it again. It's amazing to see how his object permanence and theory of mind is developing!
Once presents were done we played around for a bit longer. James loves playing with his little minion. We play a hot/cold game to find it and James can't get enough of it. But eventually we were able to start getting ready for bed. George went to bed overtired which meant there was more crying than sleeping that night… And that finishes our week! On to the next!
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