Lastnight Helen was running a bit late, so the kids and I set off down the cycle path to meet her on the way home. We got as far as the Millennium Milepost at Craigleith, only 1km from the house but pretty good going for a 3 and 5 year old. It was a lovely sight, the three of them pedalling back up the hill together to Davidson's Mains.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wobbly Tooth
Holly has her first wobbly tooth. It's a source of great excitement. What if it comes out in the night, how will the tooth fairy know?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
One Minet Later
Friday, and the last day of our wee holiday en famille before Helen and I popped into London. We headed for One Minet Park, a new and rather splendid skatepark in Saffron Walden. They have a wee beginners' area, and Louis took to it on his birthday scooter with great enthusiasm and aplomb. He certainly had the right shorts for the occasion. How long do I have to wait before they build one for uncoordinated forty-something dads though?
Front Page News
Visiting the Saffron Walden museum, Holly happened to be making a Chinese lantern when a photographer from the local paper happened by. Lo and behold, next day Holly is on the front page, looking like she's the perpetrator of a series of heinous tyre slashing incidents. The original photos are also online here.
Visitors for the Visitors
Thursday, and we had a visit from Kirsty, Peter, Bea and Imogen. Spring had truly sprung, the day was warm and glorious, and we sat in the garden with the kids splashing around in the paddling pool.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Look At Me!
Pottering in the kitchen last Wednesday morning, I heard a small voice yelling from the other end of the house; "Look at meeeee! Come and look at meeeee!" This is the scene that met me when I went to investigate. I had borrowed a bike from Pat & John's friend Olly for the week and parked it in the conservatory; Louis had climbed onto the chair it was leaning on and thrown his leg over the crossbar! We also did a bit of reading and a bit more cycling. In the evening, the kids stayed up late for Pat's wind ensemble (the "Windbags" I believe is the name they go by) to do a private performance of "Teddy Bear's Picnic" and "Charlie is my Darling". Holly was transfixed, Louis less so...
Two Birthdays, Two Wheels
Last Tuesday was, of course, Louis and Helen's birthday(s). We began the day with a session of frantic present unwrapping, then Honey (Pat's neighbour's wee girl; same age as Holly) and Eddie (Pat's friend's grandson; same age as Louis) came round for a wee birthday get-together. After mowing the lawn with Grandad and a restorative egg in the new Winnie the Pooh eggcups from Shirley (Pat's cleaner) we headed out to the park on the bikes. Holly had a loose stabiliser, so she asked if she could try without them. I took them off, pointed her down the hill with a 1, 2, 3, and off she went, no trouble at all. Louis spotted this and asked to try it too. Lo and behold, he too was soon pedalling down the gentle slopes of Saffron Walden Common in the tyre tracks of his big sister, figuratively speaking. Louis has put in the hours with the balance bike and so seemed to take to it quite easily - it comes less naturally to Holly but she's determined, and doesn't let the odd tumble put her off. Since then, she's been out a few times and is getting better at starting by herself *and* coming to a controlled stop, skills that remain beyond Louis for the moment...
New Big Red Mountain Bike
I dropped Louis off at Grandma and Papa's this morning as usual. He was about to sit down with Grandma for some books (as is his wont) when he saw Papa coming in from the garden. "Look," he said, "a new big red mountain bike!" and went out to see it, grinning broadly. It even has a wee water bottle behind the saddle, with which he is very taken.
We took it out the front, made a few minor adjustments, and off he went. Here's a video from papa:
We took it out the front, made a few minor adjustments, and off he went. Here's a video from papa:
Up A Tree
Following in his sister's footsteps, this is what Louis got up to when I was cutting the grass on Monday. He's going to be trouble, that one...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Cousins
The Monday after Easter, we travelled to Walthamstow (or thereabouts) to visit Robert and Louisa and their wee boy Sam. Robert is Helen's cousin, which makes Sam Holly and Louis' second cousin. I think. We had a lovely lunch and visited a local park where Holly had a lovely time mothering wee Sam.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Easter Shenanigans
Easter Sunday saw several easter egg hunts, in line with the miraculous chocolate-based resurrection of Our Lord Whatsisname. The first was in Grandma and Grandad's garden, the second was in Bridge End Garden in Saffron Walden, and the third was in the garden of Sylvie's house, a friend of Grandma's who had us all round for a splendid five-hour Easter lunch. In between, we went to the park.
Little Chef
We drove down to Essex at the start of April for the Easter holidays. The kids are usually pretty good on long car journeys, but this time they had the additional pleasure of in-car DVD players on loan from Leo & Nate, and were brilliant. We lunched in the car while stuck in traffic, then stopped at a Little Chef for a quick drink and a leg stretch. Here's Louis.
This Is The Future
Holly made a robot. This is it, enjoying the birthday cake Louis made out of Stickle Bricks. They're both oddly fascinated by robots, and can do the robot voice. Keith, upon hearing this news, sent me a link to a relevant Flight of the Conchords sketch, which Holly and Louis also enjoyed enormously. Unrelated to that, they (and I) also enjoy this splendid music video from OK Go.
A Whole World Of Mess
Found these pics on Helen's iPhone. They're from a few weeks ago, when we unpacked a new "work" table and benches for the kids. I assembled the furniture but - needless to say - Holly and Louis preferred to play with the polystyrene packaging. Goodness me, that stuff makes a mess. It took longer to clear up the 10,000,000 tiny static-charged beads than it did to build the table in the first place...
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