Blocks

When we were in CA, my godmother and godsister took us out and bought us a generous load of baby stuff, including a set of wooden blocks like the ones I used to have as a child. E really loves the blocks and will often drag one of us into his nursery (by the legs - makes for awkward walking!) and say "More down!" until we sit and play with the blocks.

Today when he woke up from his nap he wanted lots of block time. I managed to slip out and get the camera about 75% of the way through and take a short video. Keep in mind he's...

a) Only recently woken up
b) Not yet 20 months
c) Coming to the end of this period of natural playtime - nearly ready to move on to something else

You can still hear him spontaneously naming a few things (including a color, which he's getting more into these days). His pronunciation needs a bit of practice but he's doing really well. Right now he enjoys holding up the block with an M on it, shouting "M!" and then turning it upside down and shouting "DUMBLE!" which is his word for the letter W. He does similar for 6 and 9.

Here's the vid.

Spring

The UK holds Mother's Day in March, so I was surprised with a chocolate croissant and tea in bed this morning... plus a great card:


Then B and E headed outside to build the tent and tunnel that Grandpa in California sent us for Christmas....

I didn't fit down the tunnel.

But E did.


B also built a little trampoline we picked up last weekend.

Anyhow, that's all I have time for - it's time for a certain gentleman's nap, and I'm off for a hot date with a pot of tea and my notebook at a local cafe. Happy Spring.

19 Months Today

Celebrated today by going out and getting a blueberry muffin, then walking to the park. We sat on a bench and ate our treat then fed the crumbs to the ducks, swans, and geese. Then walked through the mud back home, touching every mailbox on the way, of course, and most of the trees.

The young gentleman pictured above can now recognize and say: A, E, I, O, Y, D, H, R, S, T with great consistency - and other letters some of the time. His greatest barrier at this point in time is pronunciation so I'm being conservative with that list. At this age, it's all fun and games, until someone loses an I. Sorry. I had to do that.

Hoping for Spring...

...so we planted lavender seeds today in a little pot!

Or rather, E ate his lunch and watched me do it.

It's on the windowsill awaiting sunshine. February is a hard month for our family. I think of these tiny hopeful seeds as a little something to remember my mother by.

More February

B is off to Cannes tomorrow for a business trip. He'll be in France for two nights and three days. I am already looking forward to his return!

Friday afternoon, E slept late...

...so we decided to go out for dinner. We walked up the hill about a mile to a nearby Italian restaurant that we knew was kid-friendly. Last time we went there, E was about 4 months old. This time, he was able to do a lot more than just sit there - he had dough balls and some pizza, and boy did he enjoy that. We let him walk quite a bit of the way there/back so despite his late nap he had no real problems going to bed.

Saturday we went to the local Farmer's Market, bought a few treats (pesto, ciabatta, an interesting orange-and-rum cakebread, etc) and then went to the very large playground nearby. E had a blast...



And... that's all for now.

February

This winter keeps dragging on, dreary, gray and really, really cold. It totally can end already. I am so ready for more sun. Fortunately, the days are incrementally lengthening, so things are starting to look up a little.

B and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary last week. He took me to a local Michelin-starred restaurant. I feel a bit spoiled!

Other than that, I have no major updates. Elijah keeps growing and is surprising us almost every day with things. He can recognize the letters "O" and "Y" (and probably more, too, but pronunciation is an issue with him). He says "Ticka-tah!" instead of peekaboo. He can run at about a million miles an hour. Don't get me started on the climbing. Last week, B and I tried to tally up all the different words he says and we've come up with 50+ at least. Still says "Dadden" for Daddy. He also recognizes some numbers and can say them/point them out. The one downside to all this talking is that he still cannot pronounce the "L" in clock. Yeah.

Here's a pic taken today of E in his pyjamas "helping" Granny play the harmonica.


And a video of a video of a, well - just watch it and see.

Brief Update

Been busy.

Went to the National Army Museum, which has a great children's play area. We plan to go back. Here's E inside a tank. He was trying to figure out how everything inside of there worked, hence the intense expression.


Went to visit his new cousin last week. B multitasked by swiping at E's drooly chin with a tissue while holding his newborn nephew.


E is not quite 18 months old and is recognizing some written letters and is able to identify them when asked and say the sound. I'm a bit scared.