Something to file away

Mr. Foot Down here. I was home for the afternoon today, since Mrs. Thumb Up was at work. Not surprisingly, we have a set routine when it comes to nap time. I put Addie down first and then Theo in the guest room, and Jack just goes to his room on his own and starts playing quietly, since he has rest time, while the other two actually/usually sleep. Today, I was doing the blind in the guest room, and I turned around to see Jack coming into the room, which is unusual.

'Jack, what are you doing?' I asked.

'I just came to give Theo a hug', he replied, as he climbed up on to the bed where Theo was already nestled down (see yesterday's post). 'I love you Theo', Jack said as he climbed on him and gave him a hug.

'I love you too', mumbled Theo through the meme in his mouth.

And with that, Jack nonchalantly climbed back down and went to the other room, like this was a completely normal occurrence.

Mrs Thumb Up recommended that we post it, since she figures we'll probably have many days where the boys find such an interchange hard to believe (and we may too). So there it is as official as we can make it.

Theo Asleep

Here are some cute pictures I snapped of Theo waking up from a sleep (well not really waking). Theo is our 'worst' waker. It just takes him a long time to wake up. And the fact that his older brother bounds out of bed with loads of energy makes the two brothers a stark contrast. On the opposite end though, Theo is our night owl - often talking (mostly to himself, he often asks Jack a question and then when he gets silence he just carries on his side of the conversation!) for up to an hour while he lies in his bed at night while his older brother is fast asleep on the top bunk.

He is super cute though all snuggled up with his meme (thanks Grandma). He never goes to sleep without this special blanket and it is always in his mouth. I literally have to wash it weekly due to the smell! Enjoy.

Imitating Daddy, even in frustration

We were down in the local shopping district a week back and walked into a charity shop to look around. I had all three kids with me which means we are pretty much in and out pretty quickly - not a lot of browsing. Well, the charity shop was playing Jefferson Starship's 'We Built this City'. For those of you who do not know this song, you can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kF5ulIel2k

There is a section almost at the end where one of the singers talks imitating a 'fake' DJ (around 3minutes and 15 seconds on the video). He says:

I'm looking out over that Golden Gate bridge
Out on another gorgeous sunny Saturday, not seein' that bumper to bumper traffic
What's your favorite radio station, in your favorite radio city The city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps

The music plays in the background and then the singing starts up again.

Well, when Theo heard this section in the charity shop he said, 'Oh come on. Stop talking and let the music play. I don't like it when they talk over the music. Just let the music play.'

Clearly Theo has listened to this same complaint made by his Daddy and has decided to imitate him. Every time a DJ comes on the radio and talks over the end part of a song Charles gets frustrated and comments. It is just too funny to hear a nearly three-year-old voice the same complaint and even more so when it wasn't even a true DJ but rather part of the song!

The mind of a two-year-old

We were on our way to pick up Charles at the airport last week. Both boys had fruit shoot drinks in the back of the car. Jack's booster seat has a cupholder, well actually two, built into it. Theo's car seat has none. Jack kindly asked Theo if he would like to use one of his cupholders. Theo confidently said, 'No, I am going to ask for a cupholder for Christmas.'

I pointed out to Theo that his birthday was only two weeks away and Christmas is six months away. Theo said he still wanted the cupholder for Christmas.

A Son's Praise

Yesterday some friends watched Jack and Theo so I could run to the shops for a couple of hours. While Katy was watching Jack, he proclaimed:

'My mum is probably one of the best cooks at college, well at least in Byre Rd.'

Trooping the Colour

We went to Trooping the Colour a few weekends back (in early June) and had a great time. For those of you who may not know (which I didn't before this weekend!), this is the official celebration of the Queen's birthday. Here is some background and below I outline our experience.

Background:
The custom of Trooping the Colour dates back to the time of Charles II in the 17th. Century when the Colours of a regiment were used as a rallying point in battle and were therefore trooped in front of the soldiers every day to make sure that every man could recognise those of his own regiment. In London, the Foot Guards used to do this as part of their daily Guard Mounting on Horse Guards and the ceremonial of the modern Trooping the Colour parade is along similar lines. The first traceable mention of The Sovereign's Birthday being 'kept' by the Grenadier Guards is in 1748 and again, after George III became King in 1760, it was ordered that parades should mark the King's Birthday. From the accession of George IV they became, with a few exceptions and notably the two World Wars, an annual event.

This impressive display of pageantry is now held on the occasion of the Queen's Official Birthday. It takes place in June each year to celebrate the official Birthday of the Sovereign and is carried out by her personal troops, the Household Division, on Horse Guards Parade, with the Queen herself attending and taking the salute.

Since 1987, The Queen has attended in a carriage rather than riding, which she did before that on 36 occasions, riding side-saddle and wearing the uniform of the regiment whose Colour was being trooped. The regiments take their turn for this honour in rotation as operational commitments permit.

Over 1400 officers and men are on parade, together with two hundred horses; over four hundred musicians from ten bands and corps of drums march and play as one. Some 113 words of command are given by the Officer in Command of the Parade. The parade route extends from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and back again.

Precisely as the clock on the Horse Guards Building strikes eleven, the Royal Procession arrives and The Queen takes the Royal Salute. The parade begins with the Inspection, The Queen driving slowly down the ranks of all eight Guards and then past the Household Cavalry. After the event, the Royal Family gathers on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch an RAF flypast.

Our experience:
We were asked by some of our good friends to go with them (Susie's husband was away for the weekend and she was going to meet her mum down there). We waited until the last minute to decide to see what the weather was going to do. Much to our surprise, it appeared to be a good weather day so we thought, 'sure why not?'. We headed down on the underground to Central London - three adults and six kids under the age of 5. We got lots of looks on the underground of people trying to figure out how we all fit together!

Once we got off the underground in Green Park we were met by mobs of people. We managed to make our way slowly through the crowds and down to the Royal Mile. We decided after a few minutes that it would be good to try to get to the other side of the street as it looked less crowded and had a prettier side of the park. This was easier said then done. They only had a few places that you were able to cross the road.

We waited patiently for the parade and Queen. Susie's mum saved a great place right up in front so the kids could sneak through when we heard the procession coming. In the mean time, they ran back and forth and played in the grassy area right behind. We finally heard the band coming so the kids quickly ran through the rows of people right up to Elizabeth, Susie's mum. I took my position a little further down (where there were shorted people in front of me) and Charles stayed more in the back by our picnic blanket and pushchair while holding Addie.

About two minutes later, I turn around to see how Charles is doing. He then says to me, 'Do you have Theo?'. My heart stopped. No! I didn't have Theo. I quickly ran back to Charles and said he went up to Elizabeth with the other kids. Charles said that Elizabeth had just inquired where he was because she didn't have him. I am trying not to panic but I am also thinking 'time matters'.
Don't panic.
Time matters.
Don't panic.
Time matters.

Charles and I went up and down the row for about a minute looking intently for Theo (who we were thinking was likely in the front row - but the crowds were at least three or four rows deep). There was absolutely no way to yell for him because the band was playing so loudly. Elizabeth, quickly left the other kids with Susie and came back to help (although wrongly, I think she may have felt somewhat responsible!). Any parent who has ever lost a child in a crowd knows that one minute is a long time. Two minutes is even longer. Two minutes went by. I looked at Charles and said should I get the police to help (there were loads around)?

At that moment Susie yelled I see him. He was down about 100 yards at the front of the crowd just watching the parade go by very intently. He certainly had the best view of us all. I ran over to him, pushed my way through the crowds, and then did what only a parent can do - hugged and disciplined him at the same time! Thankfully, he never knew he was lost.

About twenty seconds after finding him, we had a plain clothed police officer walk up to us, show us his badge, and then ask us if that 'stuff' was ours, pointing to our pushchair, picnic basket and blanket. I said, Yes. He then started to rebuke us for leaving it unattended. I firmly, but respectfully, told him that 'we had just lost our son and we had prioritized finding him over that 'stuff'. He then could see the look in this mother's eyes, to say 'I understand. Thank you, mam.'

It was a really fun experience and I am glad we got to take part. At the end of the day, we all answered the question what was our favourite part of the event. We all had good answers, but then Charles rightfully said 'Finding Theo' To which, we all said 'Quite Right!'.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh














The Whole Crew minus Susie














Red Arrows














Red Arrows













Jack and Jos (with matching shirts)



















Our family

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a great time celebrating the fourth with some American friends today.

I am very convinced that I have learned much more about being American since leaving America. It is hard to know what is 'American' until you compare yourself with those who are not. Never in America would I have been described or introduced as 'Erin the American.' That has now become my identity!

We missed Charles this year, but still managed a bit of fun. Here are some pictures:

Pirate Show

Last Monday we went to Legoland which is a little kid amusement park. The boys had a great day. One of their favourite activities was watching the pirate show which is impressive. Ever since we have gotten home they have worked to try to reenact it. Here is their latest attempt:



I love the part where Theo talks because you can tell he is trying so hard to get his mature thoughts out. And I also like the part at the end where Jack gets a 'key' but then he finds the need to tell you that it isn't really a key (i.e. it is a fabric Thomas the Train costume). Why he feels the need to tell us that I am unsure - it is not like anything else is 'real'!