Robin the Birdie

You love looking out of the lounge doors into the back garden, to see if Robin the Birdie is there.

We bought a bird feeder, which means that he often comes to visit (I haven't had the heart to tell you that there may be more than one Robin).

Unfortunately, squirrels like to climb up the clematis and sneak a few peanuts too.

We also had another little visitor the other day, and I managed to get a photo.

I gave you the choice, and you decided that the peanuts should only be for Robin the Birdie, and not for the squirrels and Mr Mouse. So we moved it.

You Met Father Christmas!

We went to the Horniman Museum in the lead up to Christmas, along with our NCT friends, and we looked at some of the fun exhibits and kiddie installations, including a real working beehive and a stuffed badger.

Most importantly, you met Father Christmas for the first time.

He was in a little shed, and he gave you a present, which was a pretty cool doggie dynamo torch.

You were quite brave really, and not freaked out by him (as some other kids clearly were).  Well done :)

Christmas in Spalding

Having recovered from a family bout of norovirus just in time, we had a delightful Christmas in Spalding with Granny and Grangrad. Minnie has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of her ability to play and keep herself entertained. And you had two of your uncles to keep you entertained!

I want to talk to you about people and DVDs

Sometimes when it's bedtime you feel a little lonely so you ask us to stay to talk "about people and DVDs". It seems to be your way of processing the nuances of the world by means of your favourite movies. For example, you explain that sometimes, like in Lion King, daddies go away and that is sad. Or, sometimes babies cry and sometimes mummies cry.

You've also started making up words sometimes. Like "fub" or "glop", which you use to try and avoid punishment when you've hit one of us during a tantrum. As in, "I didn't hit you, I fubbed you."

On an unrelated note, your sister learned to clap this week:

Pox

You with the pox:

Two weeks later, Minnie with the pox, having her first shoulder ride:

Not so bad huh? (It's the fever afterwards that's bad…)

And here's couple of pics of you both looking cute:

Thanksgiving

Last week was a bit of a tough one. Minnie had an operation to insert a portacath so she doesn't have to be cannulated in future when she's being transfused. It feels like a little button under her skin.

And then you got the chicken pox! At one point you were chanting a phrase from one of your favourite books, Dr Seuss's ABC, "Icabod is itchy, so am I."

Sadly, the pox meant that we had to miss Yaya's annual amazing Thankgsiving gathering in Brighton with Sadie and Ruby and Erika and Dan and Alexis and lots of other people. So we did a mini thanksgiving in the Brighton tradition, hanging leaves on a tree to say what we're thankful for.

Halloween Housewarming

What a party we had!

Mummy was dressed as the Cat in the Hat, you were Thing 1 and Min was Thing 2:

In the afternoon your friends from our NCT group came over...

And in the evening you stayed up until the witching hour...

Being progressively more freaked out by the various people wandering around in masks!

Running for Minnie

Minnie often goes into hospital for blood transfusions and other clinics, so I wanted to raise some money for the Evelina Children's Hospital as they have been so brilliant with her this year.  So I ran a 10km race in Dulwich Park in early October and managed to raise around £600.

She is generally very good natured about her hospital visits, although they can be painful.  But the nurses just love her and are always after cuddles.

Autumn Walking

Every year Alex arranges a walk out in the countryside in the autumn, so we can get some fresh air in our lungs and some mud on our shoes.

This year we went to Woldingham, and it was just lovely to show you the wild outdoors.  Lots of animals like horses, dogs and cows were everywhere, and you enjoyed splashing around in the mud in your duck wellies.

Daddy got lots of exercise, especially when he had to carry you while you had your afternoon nap.  I carried Minnie on my back in the rucksack, which she enjoyed a lot.  Good thing too, as we managed to lose her dummy on the train out.

Minnie Growing Up

Your little sister Minnie is doing so well now.  She is sitting up, and being ever more engaging and interested in the world.

You like playing together, even if you sometimes get a bit bored of being gentle with her.  She saves her biggest smiles for you.