Happy New Year 2011!

Hi everybody!
Happy New Year! 2010 is coming to an end, and I want to wish you all a Happy 2011!
Here are some pictures from early January 2010 (to start 2010) and late December 2010 (to end 2010)! And don't worry, I'm not yet done blogging about our London trip. I still have some work to do there.

These two pictures are from early January 2010, to bring in the new year! I had some baby fat because I was storing it for when I'd start becoming more active - as you know, I started to crawl in late April or early May. Then I first walked on July 26... and started to run sometime in August or so...

Here are some pictures from December 2010 - you can see that I'm now a bit thinner because I now run a *lot* as well as walk a bunch. This burns up a lot of the fat that I had when I was younger!

Despite all the changes in my life between January and December, there are a few things that I still enjoy doing. I'll let you guess what some of them are!
Happy New Year everybody! I hope that 2011 is a great year for all of you!
Love,
Julien the Baby

London Friday December 10, 2010

Hi everybody!
It's me, Julien the Baby!
On Friday December 10, we headed out to the Borough Market, near London Bridge tube station! We again took the Tube, again going to Westminster, only this time we transferred to the Jubilee line to get to London Bridge station! It's super convenient that Westminster and London Bridge have elevators.

In case you're wondering, we're at the Borough Market!


Borough Market is open Thursday to Sundays (or is it Saturdays?) - we went on a Friday so I can't remember the exact details. It's a food extravaganza! DOJ enjoyed a falafel that was made on the spot.

My parents and PoPo also enjoyed raclette cheese over potatoes. The cheese was melted on-site by order. It was very impressive.

I ate everything that my parents ate.

I think you all know how much I love pickles - so a cornichon was no different! Yum.

After the market, we saw a Konditor & Cook bakery. Mommy and DOJ had previously been to a Konditor & Cook on Tuesday during their walking tour in Southeast London. After the bakery, we continued to stroll in this area of South London, south of the Thames. We ended up at the Tate Modern museum!

This was DOJ's and PoPo's first time in the museum. The main exhibition in the Turbine Hall was Ai Weiwei's assortment of 100 million porcelain sunflowers, all painted by hand!

These look just like sunflowers, but they're really porcelain!

A lot of people were enjoying the view.

Admittedly, I was tired so I didn't see them. But we're not allowed to touch them, and if I had been awake, I'd probably be upset that I couldn't play with these. They look delicious!

I eventually woke up, and found myself upside down in the snack area...

After the museum, we walked across the Millenium Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge inbetween The Tate Modern and St Paul's Cathedral.

The nighttime views were gorgeous. Mind you this was probably 5pm, ha ha.

Welcome to London, in case you didn't know where we were :-) We strolled to the Mansion House tube station, and caught the Circle Line back home.

PoPo helped me walk up the stairs while Mommy and DOJ carried my stroller (now folded up) with their other gear.

DOJ helped hold me up so that I could study the Tube map, in case I need to give him directions for a future journey. I try to be helpful! We then headed home and had takeaway Chinese and Halal (you can guess who ate what!) for supper. I was ready for bed!
And that's our fun Friday in London!
Love,
Julien the Baby

London Thursday December 9, 2010

Greetings Everybody!
It's me, Julien the Baby!
On Thursday December 9, we headed to Westminster to enjoy the Changing of the Horse Guards. It was our first time taking The Tube!
You probably wonder *how* a little baby like me can take The Tube! Logistically, we strolled to the Tube Station Bayswater, which is on the District/Circle line. There's an entrance for strollers, which Mommy used with her Oyster card. Then Mommy and DOJ carried the stroller (with me in it!) and walked down the steps, because there weren't too many steps since Bayswater only hosts the District/Circle line, unlike other Tube stations which may host several different lines.

Here I am, waiting for the train. There's a train in the background, but that train was going in the other direction.

Once on the train, it was rather crowded.

In case you're worried, DOJ is the person in the orange coat! It seems that no matter where I am, whether inside or outside the house, there's always a parent or other very responsible person with me. Anyway our train led us directly to Westminster... and Westminster has elevators, so that after exiting the train, we take 2 or 3 different elevators to get to the street exit! It's very impressive - but only certain Tube stations have this service, so keep an eye on your Tube map so you know which stations offer it. For example, Bayswater doesn't have elevators!

Here's a very familiar site that we saw outside the Westminster Tube station: Big Ben! I think it's named after my playgroup, because there are a few Bens in my playgroup!


Here's a Horse Guard!

For the Changing of the Horse Guard, there's a big procession of men on horses!

They face off with a crew of other men on horses, but it's a very friendly situation. It's not like they're going to compete or joust with each other! One crew of men is about to go off duty while the other crew will start their duty!

There were *many* good photo opportunities here! After we got to see The Changing of the Horse Guards, we walked to Picadilly Circus and walked towards Mayfair.

We stopped at Fortnum and Mason department store. It's very pretty!

I had some Limon Gelato. Yummy!


After we departed Fortnum and Mason, we walked around Mayfair. There are lot of posh stores and arcades that are nicely decorated for the holidays.

This is an indoor arcade, with a glass ceiling!

We also stopped by the Browns & St Georges hotel, because Mommy first stayed there when she first went to London with her parents (Grams & Grandaddy X) and Aunt Nancy!

I loved the bunny topiary.

I think DOJ preferred the elephant topiary. After our visit, we ended back up at the Wolseley, where we all had another round of scones and clotted cream! Very yummy. After this, DOJ left us to visit his friend Alexis while Mommy and PoPo took me on a stroll before we took a bus back home. I was ready for bed after another fun day of exploration!
Love,
Julien the Baby

London Wednesday December 8, 2010

Hi everybody!
It's me, Julien the Baby!
I hope that you are all enjoying the December holidays!
I've been very busy with assorted festivities, not to mention my usual activities! But I still want to share stories about our London vacation!
On Wednesday December 8, we had a leisurely morning, and then strolled through Hyde Park. We started on the north side, near where we stayed, and walked South towards the Royal Albert Hall. There is a large statue that's the Albert Memorial, and Mommy took a few pictures.

Here's the Albert Memorial, in honor of Prince Albert who died in 1861. His widow Queen Victoria had it built that decade, and then it opened in 1872. This is before I was born!

This is the Royal Albert Hall, also named after Prince Albert. DOJ is always interested in this place because a lot of his favorite music bands played there. He first learned of it because Pink Floyd performed there in 1969! DOJ later met a guy who attended that concert - he even visited and stayed at that guy's house!
Anyway after our stroll, we took a bus to Leicester Square to purchase tickets at a musical. There was a lot of construction and minor chaos, so it was a long journey; after we bought tickets for Mommy and PoPo to see Love Never Dies (the sequel to Phantom of the Opera), we went to a restaurant near the theatre district.



After our late luncheon, we took a stroll in Covent Garden area, visiting shops like Muji. Then we went to find the theatre so that Mommy and PoPo wouldn't get lost, since DOJ (who seems to know London geography pretty well) wouldn't be with them. Instead the plan was for him to take me home so that I could go to sleep! My parents are very thoughtful, always arranging their schedules around what's best for me. They're keepers!
After we found the theatre, DOJ then insisted on showing Mommy and PoPo the route for them to get to their Tube station to take the Tube home. This was right by Charing Cross Station, where they were to get the Tube at Embankment.
Even though we didn't take pictures, we stopped at the hotel by Charing Cross Station for scones! My parents and PoPo enjoyed them, although I had more fun looking at the beautiful Christmas tree and the big ornaments!
After our snack, Mommy and PoPo went to the theatre while DOJ and I strolled to Picadilly Circus to await the bus to take home. DOJ thought that it was cold, because he kept trying to put mittens on my hands. It's very hard for me to remove a mitten if I'm wearing mittens, but I realized that I can use my teeth to remove them easily! Then I threw them away so that DOJ wouldn't keep trying to put mittens on my hands... except then a very nice lady told DOJ that the mittens were on the sidewalk and he took them. But he got the hint - he didn't try to put the mittens on me again. Victory!
Once the bus arrived, we had a nice journey home! I went to bed soon after...
That was a fun Wednesday in London!
Love,
Julien the Baby

London Tuesday December 7, 2010

Hi everybody!
We stayed just north of Hyde Park, which is Golden Gate Park or Central Park. All sorts of activities going on in the park...
On Tuesday, we went to the Princess Diana Playground.

It was great to see this pirate ship... because not only was I running around it, but I later got to also be *in* the ship! That was fun!

I'm hanging outside the ship with DOJ...

Ahoy Matie!

Here was some fun big basket for me...

DOJ helped me maneuver this obstacle course!

There was also a fun teepee section!

Lots of exploration for me...

I had so much fun running about. There were also slides for me to descend.

After our park adventure, I spent the afternoon at home with PoPo where it was very warm and cozy for me.

There was also a lot to examine and see! My parents took a walking tour in the afternoon, and then we all went to fish and chips dinner at Geale's in Notting Hill!
Love,
Julien the Baby