Lazy days

With two little ones, we don't get to do this much. But lazing around with friends is just delicious. Particularly when Mom's cookies are involved.

Ah! Where are the girls???

The best £3.20 ever spent

Jo Jingles (who is the character from Ana's music class) arrived in the post the other day after a brilliant purchase by my wonderful wife. And what a hit he has been! Here is Ana singing along with Jo (fresh out of his envelope).

Her singing is beautiful. Sometimes (ok, mostly) atonal, but that is modern music, is it not?!

Playing catch

Look how high I can throw this ball!

Playing with an old box

We had to buy a new car seat now Rose is getting older, and it was delivered in a great, playhouse-sized box. We have some really cute photos of Rose and Ana cuddling each other in the box, but this one wins as it just typifies toddler-play... "I'm done holding my sister. I'm going out through the window..."

Sisterly cuddles

Just before bedtime most nights, Ana has a short stint of television. On this occasion, Rose joined her, and both were transfixed.

Going to work

Daddy rarely rides his bike to work these days - but when he does, there is a certain level of excitement from our eldest. Ana now likes to pretend that she goes to work too - and makes maps there. And rides on trains. Work seems soooo fun to a toddler.

Our sleeping Rosie

There is something truely wonderful about a sleeping baby. So peaceful and warm and quiet... You almost want to pick them up - but then they might wake up. And you'd get less sleep yourself.

Playing with water

We have started taking lots of changes of clothes when we go to visit Gran and Grampa in Cambridge. Ana likes to run to the sink to start playing as soon as we arrive. Then, after this it is out to the garden for plant watering, and more pouring... Wetness ensues.

You will see here that Ana is sporting a waterproof vest to keep her dry.

It didn't work. At all. Oh well.

And she strikes again...

As we were just saying....

Great Grandad and Rose

Rose has a habit of lunging at our faces, grabbing on with her (very sharp) fingernails, and not letting go. Oddly enough, Great-Grandad was a willing participant in this game, but that made Rose VERY happy!

What's the moon made of, Ana?

"Basalt!"

I am so proud!

Playing Pooh-sticks

One of Ana's favourite games to play is Pooh-sticks. If we let her, she could play for hours, probably. So here she is on Goosey bridge playing with Mummy and Gavin on a beautiful May day.

And though it may be precariously balanced, Gav's jumper didn't fall into the river... ah well...

Bubbles

Bubbles are one of the joys of toddler-hood.

You can blow them, you can pour the bubble mixture from one pot to another (and then back again!), you can make sure your parents don't need to use ANY washing powder when your clothes are in the wash...

And Mothercare bubbles are by far and away the best we've found so far : )

Happy Birthday Daddy!

One person in the house was excessively, excessively excited about Tim's birthday coming up, and it wasn't Tim (well, he was a bit excited!).

Ana could not wait, and in the week running up to Tim's birthday kept saying 'happy birthday' to him, just in case it had suddenly happened! She told him about all the secret surprises we were preparing for him, despite having a discussion with her about what a secret was...

Then, the moment of her anticipation arrived, and, before Tim got a chance to enjoy the moment, with a few short puffs the candles on his cake were all extinguished!!! Only one or two candles were blown out by the birthday boy, but he certainly had one VERY happy toddler : )

Rose is crawling and has a tooth!

So our Rose-bud is an active little thing - now if you place a toy a few feet from her, she will (very cutely) pull herself towards it with her arms. Her legs have the right action, but are not really in contact with the floor, so don't help too much!

And in other news, her first tooth (lower front) has come through!

Rose's first time on the swing!

Well, yes, that day has come! Today Rose had her first go on the swing, and the slide too!

So, she can't walk or even crawl yet, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying some of the same things as her big sister!

The Kiss

We thought this was far more beautiful than Klimt's rendition, but then we are rather biased.

This shot was taken early in the morning, before my eyes could properly focus - so it is a good thing my camera can auto-focus!

Beginning to sit up

So, at a few days over six months, litte Rosie Posy Posy sits unaided for the first time. Obviously, she is bound for great things in life!

Thinking, rolling, thinking

Daily, Rose becomes more active, more interested in food, and it is wonderful to watch her figuring out the world. Think back to the first time you felt grass - hard, eh? So it is quite a privilege to share these 'moments of discovery' with the girls.

Another great example was the other morning, when Ana asked where her friend Giovanni was (he's in Brasil) - so we called up google maps, showed her Olney, and gradually zoomed out until we could see Cambridge, and then Bristol, and the the ocean with the fishies (a real hit, it seemed), then finally Brasil. She was quite enthralled.

I'm sure the teaching profession could be rewarding if all kids showed such interest, 100% of the time.

Out in the garden

We are so enjoying the sunny weather! Ana spends most of her time outside, generally getting stuck in trees or behind bushes... and Rose is spending her time practicing crawling and rolling off her blanket.

Ahhh! Don't touch the camera!

Messy, messy, messy! But what fun! I now have a lovely hand painting up on my wall in my office.

Feed me!

"Please sir, can I have some more?"

Rose is (as of tomorrow) six months old. Time flies. And her first taste of food was also over in a blink of an eye. She gobbled it down very quickly for someone who has never eaten before, almost leaping out of her chair in her eagerness to eat!

Steak tomorrow, Rose?

The Bunny, the Bunny, ohh I love the Bunny!

For Easter Ana was given a white chocolate bunny. So, as a sunny Sunday treat we let her munch it for a while.

She was, quite understandably, very happy! We were graced with a performance of the "I've got a white chocolate bunny" dance around the garden, and a long sequence of happy munching sounds.

Rose vs. the chair

Our rambunctious Rose wrestles her bouncing chair! And wins!

She is really becoming so active now - rolling here, there, everywhere and back again. We don't think it will be too long before she is crawling - so watch this space.

Laughing with Daddy

We discovered that blowing raspberries on Rose makes her giggle - so cute!