G AT THREE (WEEKS)

The General turned 3 weeks last night, but you've only seen week one - sorry about that - we've had our hands full! So, here is a quick recap...

Sleeping on Mummy - like Garfield, I love the warmth of a nap in the sunlight.

Sleeping again. Do I detect a trend? M&D's bed is sure cozy.

My first near-naked baby time...

My big sister teaching me how to swim!

I want to get into the act.

SOME CLOSE-UPS

Bess holds her brother for the first time. Check out the sheer concentration in her face. Better not drop The General!

Lookin' up (at her new balloon - thanks new friend and neighbour Claire!)

The little man awake. Rare sighting.

The little man asleep. Frequent occurrence.

THE GENERAL A CASA

Sammy was feeling great by Friday afternoon (must have been the NY Marathon training a few years back?) and was eager to jet from the Lindo Wing. Guess she couldn't handle the thought of the Goulash dinner selection that was hours away.

So, we took The General back home to the Close. Here are some pictures from Saturday, his first full day at the house.

Here's the little man with Sam and Grandma Helen. ... And did I already mention that I am a proud pappa?

After refitting the 'boo for bassinet mode, Bess wanted to get in the act and cruise General style.

THE GENERAL

Team Jacobson welcomed The General on Friday morning, 27 April at 12.40am. He tipped the scales at 3.15 kilos.

Here he is, a few minutes old.

Here is the proud pappa.

Here is the happy family getting ready to head home.

I LOVE DADDY

What's better than breakfast with Daddy and a last cuddle before Daddy takes the Big Red Bus to work?? Maybe running around in the garden in my PJ's first thing?? Heaven.

DENTMAN TO THE RESCUE

Now that Finbar is getting serious about the family wheels, the next step after the Valeteers was to call in the Dentman. You see, some nice person in the Sainsbury parking lot decided to give the Rocket a kiss a few weeks ago.

Problem was, it was a bit too aggressive and it left the Rocket with quite a dent. So, we called in D-man after reading a good rec in Daily Candy. Check out his ride below.

Bess watches closely to see if D-man is treating the Rocket well. Good news is that the Rocket is now Back In Biz. You'd never know there was a dent or scratch! Cheers to the Dentman!

BESS' FAVORITE ZOO FRIENDS

We took Bess to the London Zoo for the first time a few weeks ago - here were her favorite pals!

RECORD HEAT AND A GOOD FRIEND

And Pink Converse Rule!!!!!

SURFIN'

Anyone know if Dora has a website??? Bess is addicted to wi-fi, and baby Jack.

JACK AND SPIRIT

Bess is digging Jack and showing school spirit!

SAVED BY THE THREE VALETEERS!

Let us introduce you to our new BFF. The gents at the Three Valeteers. This is a mobile car washing service. They are totally self-contained and specialize in house calls. Water, wax, cleaning fluids, vacuums, etc. - it's all in the van! Even Bess wanted to check it out.

Anyhow, here is the work in process.

And here is the final product. Look at that shine! The Guzzy would be proud, rest her soul.

TOT SEDER

BEHOLD THE BELOVED PEACOCK

Many have asked, "What's all this about the peacock?" This afternoon one of the two large male peacocks we visit at least once daily in Holland Park came looking for Bess. I guess he missed her - it had been two days without a visit. We opened the door and there, on the wall of a neighbors house, was a peacock. Here's the proof!

ON THE VERGE OF A LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND

Today was a stunner of a day in good 'ol London Town and to celebrate, we spent the majority of it in Holland Park. Bess demonstrated some surprisingly good football skills to the great relief of her mum. Sammy didn't manage to snap any foto's but we'll get it on tape soon. After some romping with pals, we all ended up at Haagan Dazs for some cooling treats. Bess was supposed to share with mum but that didn't quite happen.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO TEAM J ! !

Today marks our second anniversary as expats. We're celebrating with a pint of Ben & Jerry's tonight. (Ok, so one of us is VERY pregnant!!) (The other of us did have a hankering earlier for the smell of hot dogs on the BBQ-hmmm...how to remedy?!!!)

This morning we went to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo. Bess was most interested in the monkeys of course! Check out Bess on the swings.

This afternoon we were back in Holland Park to visit the beloved Peacocks. One of the big guys walked up to the fence where we were standing and jumped over right to our side. It was very exciting. Check out Bess on the slide.

OH! And in other exciting news and in honor of two years living here, Sammy passed her UK Driving test and is now the proud owner of a proper driving license. Amen.

WEEKEND

Bess got a special back pack this morning, not quite as special as Dora's magical back pack, but cool nonetheless. Here she is trying it on!

Bess took a monster nap, after a morning in Holland Park with the peacocks and Grandma Helen and a trip to Tesco. We finally went in to get her and she was asleep on a pile of books. Clearly she did some reading before she crashed out! She didn't look too happy when we first went in...

...but then it was all smiles and giggles!

FAT LIP – THE MORNING AFTER...

So, when Bess' sitter arrived yesterday afternoon and rang the bell, Bess flew into action. Problem was, her hand slipped and she face-planted on our stone kitchen floor. OUCH ! ! Blood everywhere. Golf ball sized fat lip. It took a few minutes for her to calm down, but then she went on to have a nice evening with the sitter and she slept 13 hours. Here is the morning after picture of her lip.

What a champ she is! In great spirits all day.

And she is currently asleep in her BIG GIRL BED for the first time tonight. Stay tuned for more news on that front...

TEA TIME ON MOTHERING DAY

In honour of Mothering Day 2007 and Sammy's amazing accomplishments, we took the family to Brown's for high tea.

Daddy reading Bess a story waiting for the food to arrive...

Bess wore her best party dress and really loved the scones!

MORE BESS IN THE BACK GARDEN

We promise to be more creative with the locale next weekend when Grandma Helen is here. Hear Bess wax on about her boyfriend Massimo, more on peacocks, nice giggles, and a solid "bye" at the end.

Try to tune out Finbar's constant goading.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BO?

Courtesy of Stephanie, here is Bo in the parking lot of our beloved Suicide Six. This was the site of many happy family vacations growing up on Sammy's side. All three kids learned to ski there and had many a hot chocolate and Toblerone bars in the lodge, not to mention one or two injuries. I'm particularly fond of the time my parents tried to slip some aspirin in my New England Clam Chowder-there's no hiding that taste! I had had a run in on the chair lift with some older boys and when it came time for me to get on the lift, the chair hit me. Hence I married a younger man!

Anyway, great memories!

Thanks for sending Steph!!!!

MAJOR, MAJOR BUGGER

I, Sammy, failed my driver's test today. All for a really stupid reason...really thought the instructor was trying to trip me up. Bloody hell! And my wacky but wonderful Irish, meditating, driving instructor yelled at me half the trip home. Bloody hell again!

I will go back. And I will pass. And if I don't, then bloody hell, I'm just not going to bother. Like with everything else in this blasted country, they just make things so darn difficult.

There, I've said it. Peace out.

MORE VIDEO

Yes, the gorgeous day that Sam just wrote about did exist. Here is video proof. Note the sunlight in Bess' hair. Note the ghost that pushes the buggy along... Also fun with animal names!

GORGEOUS DAY

Finally, some nice weekend weather. We spent all morning in Hyde Park, saw lots of horses, ducks, dogs and had a visit to the Serpentine Gallery. Saw a terrific exhibit by American Karen Kilimnick. Definitely worth seeing if you are local.

Bexter wore herself out running up and down the hill by the Albert Memorial. We also managed a quick visit with a favorite cuz in town for work.

Ahh....naptime!

WE ENTER THE VIDEO AGE

Okay, so we're the last people on the Close to figure this one out. Forgive us. But anyhow, now you can all see Bess live (sort of), and really stay up to date. In today's episode, Finbar and Bess are putting together Bess' new table set. Close observers will notice that Bess is having more success than her father - and check out those fine Moto Skilz!

BILINGUAL

A lot of Bess's friends will speak two languages. I was thinking Bess won't, at least not until she's in school. But actually, it's becoming quite clear she'll have to. Take for example our favorite new book, Nappy Duck and Potty Pig. Yes, we live in the land of nappies. But that is one word we have not adopted (buggy, yes; diary, yes; nappy, no!). So, how to make sure Bess understands that "no more nappies for ducky" means ducky has kicked the diaper habit?!!!! I suppose I could substitute one for the other. But what about her babysitters who call it a nappy? She's just going to have to be bilingual.

I was visiting a primary school today (looking ahead to Bess being 4) and in the computer class they were talking about the color of the little girl's "jumper." And I thought, hmm....jumper, going to have to teach Bess that jumper=sweater. I'm sure there will be many more.

Some of our favorite words we've adopted so as not to immediately stand out in day-t0-day conversations:

• Buggy (stroller) (by far Sammy's favorite word and a new one for Bess)
• Diary (calendar)
• Bin (garbage can)
• Massage (with an emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second) (Very important word!)
• Garage (again, with an emphasis on the first syllable) (Much like garret!)

Finbar and I keep threatening a more complete list but you know we are very bad at this blogging thing so you'll wait a long time to see the rest.

ROUND TWO

So 4 out of 6 of us are getting ready to have second babies....the three mama's on the couch are all due in April. MORE BABIES!!!

WORLD'S WORST BLOGGERS

We are. That's just how it is. My only excuse at this point, and it's valid, is our computer is in need of a, well, break. It's tired. It's old. Good news is new laptop is on it's way! So hopefully we'll rev up. In the meantime, we continue to be busy. Bess has begun swimming in the bathtub which makes Sammy very proud-a future swimming star perhaps?!! Too cute. Good thing she's already had all those swimming lessons.

Finbar continues to be happily busy with work. We're talking vacation plans for the summer but with two monkeys, should be wild! Maybe a quiet week on the beach in Norfolk or something deliciously cozy as such. We'll see.

We've got 8 weeks until Baby Due arrives and lots to do. Sammy cannot imagine getting any bigger and hopefully won't. It's all in front but it's big. Bess has a new book about the house growing in Mummy's tummy and man is it ever.