Grangrad (although you have sometimes started calling him Grandad now) took you to see the largest ever gathering of Routemasters at the weekend.
He had a couple of stories to tell from when he was looking after you. In his words:
1
Yesterday morning Penny seemed calmly excited about the prospect of going to Mini-Stars.
M was a bit upset when Charlie went outside to get the bike and trailer ready so I picked her up and stood in the front doorway with her so that she did not crawl into the front garden.
P seemed quite concerned for M (who had vommed earlier). P turned to me and suggested I take M into the lounge to play. I accepted P's suggestion and it worked!
P is learning about distraction tactics!
2
On Saturday P and I used the lifts at KX / StP underground station. As you perhaps know, level 0 is street level, -1 is ticket hall level, -2 is interchange level , and -3 is platform level.
Penny of course spotted and recognised the numbers alongside the push buttons inside the lifts, but was mystified when the lift went down when -3 was pressed.
I leave it to you to explain to her the concept of "minus" signs!!!
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Meaningful Milestones
Your little sister Minnie has learned to walk.
It has taken her a little while, she has been a very speedy crawler (unlike you) so she didn't see much point in it till now.
And it has been quite emotional for me (Mummy).
When you reached your milestones we were of course very proud, parading all your new tricks to the world and declaring you (slightly tongue in cheek) as very advanced. But we barely even thought about the prospect of you ever NOT hitting any of them, you just did them automatically and there was never any need for intervention. Indeed, the challenge with you is figuring out how best to encourage you so you fulfil your potential, as you are so bright and eager to learn.
But with Minnie, none of these milestones were ever guaranteed. I remember sitting in the hospital with Daddy a few days after Minnie was born. It was the evening and we sat opposite the beautiful prospect of Big Ben in the Riverside Lounge. It was quiet and empty as it was late, and Granny and Grangrad were kindly looking after you while Daddy had some time at the hospital.
We sat, and we had the most heartwarming discussion. One of THOSE discussions, you know. We declared how lucky we were to have each other, as a solid foundation as rough times had hit us with a thud. How lucky we were to have you, our spark of joy in the darkness. And how lucky we were to have our friends and family who rallied round so valiantly.
And we talked about the brutal realities. About how we would manage Minnie no matter what, however broken she was. But also being honest with each other, agreeing that what scared us most was not losing her, but for her to be left alive as a mere shell of a person. Unable to move, feed, feel happiness, independence or to properly live. But that, even if that happened, we would manage.
So with every milestone, I remember that conversation. I see her smiling with elation that she is taking her first steps, I hear every babbling word and grab onto it with glee, I love that you play together so joyfully now she is bigger, stronger and becoming her own person.
And despite all the clinics, transfusions, blood tests and hearing challenges, they are simply nothing compared to where we might have been, had fate not cut us some slack last year.
We are so lucky … and every milestone really is a miracle. I adore you both.
It has taken her a little while, she has been a very speedy crawler (unlike you) so she didn't see much point in it till now.
And it has been quite emotional for me (Mummy).
When you reached your milestones we were of course very proud, parading all your new tricks to the world and declaring you (slightly tongue in cheek) as very advanced. But we barely even thought about the prospect of you ever NOT hitting any of them, you just did them automatically and there was never any need for intervention. Indeed, the challenge with you is figuring out how best to encourage you so you fulfil your potential, as you are so bright and eager to learn.
But with Minnie, none of these milestones were ever guaranteed. I remember sitting in the hospital with Daddy a few days after Minnie was born. It was the evening and we sat opposite the beautiful prospect of Big Ben in the Riverside Lounge. It was quiet and empty as it was late, and Granny and Grangrad were kindly looking after you while Daddy had some time at the hospital.
We sat, and we had the most heartwarming discussion. One of THOSE discussions, you know. We declared how lucky we were to have each other, as a solid foundation as rough times had hit us with a thud. How lucky we were to have you, our spark of joy in the darkness. And how lucky we were to have our friends and family who rallied round so valiantly.
And we talked about the brutal realities. About how we would manage Minnie no matter what, however broken she was. But also being honest with each other, agreeing that what scared us most was not losing her, but for her to be left alive as a mere shell of a person. Unable to move, feed, feel happiness, independence or to properly live. But that, even if that happened, we would manage.
So with every milestone, I remember that conversation. I see her smiling with elation that she is taking her first steps, I hear every babbling word and grab onto it with glee, I love that you play together so joyfully now she is bigger, stronger and becoming her own person.
And despite all the clinics, transfusions, blood tests and hearing challenges, they are simply nothing compared to where we might have been, had fate not cut us some slack last year.
We are so lucky … and every milestone really is a miracle. I adore you both.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Jokes, Pythagoras and favourite things
You asked to learn some jokes, so I taught you a few, and you've been delighting all of our friends by reeling off such classics as:
After about a year of trying, I also finally managed to get you to be able to recite Pythagoras's Theorem, by putting it into a song. But you refuse to perform it. You sing it in the bath, sure, but in front of our friends you're suddenly shy.
Pythagoras had some special news
"The square of the hypotenuse
Is equal I swear
To the sum of the squares
Of the other two sides!
(For right angled triangles)"
If I sing any part of it wrong, you correct me like I'm being very silly indeed...
"Peppa Pig had some special news -"
"No! Pythagoras!"
"The square of the hippopotamus -"
"NO! Hypotenuse!"
And today I asked you, out of curiosity, what were your favourite things in the world.
- Two fish in a tank and one of them says... How do you drive this thing?
- What game do you play with a wombat? Wom!
- How can you tell if there's been an elephant in your fridge? Footprints in the butter!
- What's yellow and dangerous? Shark infested custard!
- Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!
- Horse walks into a bar, the barman says... Why the long face?
- What brown and sticky? A stick!
After about a year of trying, I also finally managed to get you to be able to recite Pythagoras's Theorem, by putting it into a song. But you refuse to perform it. You sing it in the bath, sure, but in front of our friends you're suddenly shy.
Pythagoras had some special news
"The square of the hypotenuse
Is equal I swear
To the sum of the squares
Of the other two sides!
(For right angled triangles)"
If I sing any part of it wrong, you correct me like I'm being very silly indeed...
"Peppa Pig had some special news -"
"No! Pythagoras!"
"The square of the hippopotamus -"
"NO! Hypotenuse!"
And today I asked you, out of curiosity, what were your favourite things in the world.
- Your favourite place? Brockwell Park.
- Your favourite colour? Pink.
- Your favourite person? Uncle David.
- Your favourite book? Anything with boats in (although you couldn't name any in particular when pressed).
- Your favourite film? The Little Mermaid (it used to be Lion King, then I'm sure it was Tangled and/or Frozen for a while...).
- Your favourite food? Spaghetti (with butter and cheese).
- Your favourite thing to do? Play and eat.
- Your favourite toy? Björn (Although we'd got home by this point and you were losing attention - Björn just happened to be nearby...).
- Your favourite animal? Bears (This said with Björn on your shoulders).
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