I am afraid we have a cheeky little lady on our hand who likes to be teased and tease others. I know she gets this completely from her father.
A few days ago we had a little paddling pool out in the orchard and she was more than happy to get in with just a regular nappy on which of course meant it weighed loads when she got out. She was not the least bothered about this so she just ran around the orchard with her really droopy diaper on and shoes (which I put back on her to protect her feet). I wished I had a camera out with me at the time as she was hilarious driving a big John Deere play tractor around in just her nappy. I decided it was worth getting a picture of her afterwards when we were inside. You can tell she is more than pleased to play a game as I try to film her - maybe it is that she is modest? I doubt it.
It is almost like she is famous and is running from the paparazzi.
Enjoy the video:
Saturday, 31 March 2012
New Shoes
As Charles is away in America visiting his family, we have looked for 'activities' for each day. I have been aware that almost all of our kids are on the verge of needing new shoes so I decided this would be a good week to go shoe shopping.
As such, we took off down the long hill to our favourite shoe shop and shoe lady - Marie. I so love having her. She is the first shoe lady I know that will turn you away if your kid's shoes still fit or if she doesn't have anything that fits them properly.
I prepped the kids that it could be possible that not everyone would get shoes. I made it clear that we would not be buying shoes just to buy shoes but that if they had outgrown their shoes then we could look and see if Marie had any in stock that would fit them properly. They all seemed satisfied with this.
Theo went first and as expected he had outgrown his last pair (which were bought in August of last year!). I told Marie that we needed a pair that were incredibly easy to do up himself . The last pair had proved difficult with one of the straps coming out of the loop-hole quite easily. (Ed Note: Theo has made huge strides in dressing himself as well as putting his shoes on which is a goal we set before this baby was born - he doesn't know that though!).
Marie came back with two pairs - one red and one blue. Theo seemed really keen on the red pair. After consulting with Marie and getting her advice that they both fit equally well, and there was only a £2 difference in the two pairs, I decided that he could make the decision. I was sure he was going to go with the red pair when all of a sudden he said very decisively, 'I want the blue pair'. I was a little shocked and asked why he had changed his mind. He very quickly said that the English wear red and Americans wear blue. This all comes from the Liberty's Kids dvds on the American Revolutionary War that he and Jack are obsessed with. I know Theo well enough to know that the decision was done and blue it was going to be!
Next up was Jack. His last pair of shoes were bought in October. Marie measured him and said that he was still okay in his old pair. She told us to come back in 6-8 weeks. Jack was a real champ and didn't get upset at all which was nice to see!
Last was Addie. She was so chuffed with getting to try on different shoes. It was hysterical. She is such a little girl in the way she loves shoes and clothes. We found her a very cute little red pair. She has been walking around in them since showing them to anyone who will look.
Three cheers for new shoes, Marie, and Jack who showed great maturity!
Here are pictures of the new shoes:
And then I asked where is Mom (in an attempt to get them both looking at the camera):
As such, we took off down the long hill to our favourite shoe shop and shoe lady - Marie. I so love having her. She is the first shoe lady I know that will turn you away if your kid's shoes still fit or if she doesn't have anything that fits them properly.
I prepped the kids that it could be possible that not everyone would get shoes. I made it clear that we would not be buying shoes just to buy shoes but that if they had outgrown their shoes then we could look and see if Marie had any in stock that would fit them properly. They all seemed satisfied with this.
Theo went first and as expected he had outgrown his last pair (which were bought in August of last year!). I told Marie that we needed a pair that were incredibly easy to do up himself . The last pair had proved difficult with one of the straps coming out of the loop-hole quite easily. (Ed Note: Theo has made huge strides in dressing himself as well as putting his shoes on which is a goal we set before this baby was born - he doesn't know that though!).
Marie came back with two pairs - one red and one blue. Theo seemed really keen on the red pair. After consulting with Marie and getting her advice that they both fit equally well, and there was only a £2 difference in the two pairs, I decided that he could make the decision. I was sure he was going to go with the red pair when all of a sudden he said very decisively, 'I want the blue pair'. I was a little shocked and asked why he had changed his mind. He very quickly said that the English wear red and Americans wear blue. This all comes from the Liberty's Kids dvds on the American Revolutionary War that he and Jack are obsessed with. I know Theo well enough to know that the decision was done and blue it was going to be!
Next up was Jack. His last pair of shoes were bought in October. Marie measured him and said that he was still okay in his old pair. She told us to come back in 6-8 weeks. Jack was a real champ and didn't get upset at all which was nice to see!
Last was Addie. She was so chuffed with getting to try on different shoes. It was hysterical. She is such a little girl in the way she loves shoes and clothes. We found her a very cute little red pair. She has been walking around in them since showing them to anyone who will look.
Three cheers for new shoes, Marie, and Jack who showed great maturity!
Here are pictures of the new shoes:
And then I asked where is Mom (in an attempt to get them both looking at the camera):
Friday, 30 March 2012
Happy 12 Years!
Charles and I had the privilege of celebrating our twelfth wedding anniversary by going to Canterbury. Some friends donated a night in the cathedral lodge in the College's annual auction to raise money for our seminary partnership in Africa. At the last minute Charles and I bid on it and won it - and we are glad we did!
It was a great night away. The lodge was actually a very nice hotel on the grounds of the cathedral with views of the gorgeous cathedral from our window. We were waken in the morning by bells going off for the first morning's service which was quite different than the sound of a six or three year old calling your name as a wake up call!
The town itself was very quaint and rivalled some of the most picturesque I have seen in England with meandering streets and fun boutiques to look in. We found a wonderful Belgian restaurant to eat in that night which had literally a book of beers that made Charles one happy man. A different pint was suggested for each course which Charles happily took part in. We even stopped in the next morning to get a couple bottled pints of what he had had on draft the night before to take home to some beer-loving friends.
The night away would not have happened had it not been for the lovely service of some of our friends at College to look after our three. Duncan and Rebecca Bell were a great blessing to us as they came to our house and stayed with our kids while we were gone. The kids had a blast and have asked many times since we have returned when Duncan and Rebecca can come back to spend the night. This is the first time we have left our kids with someone outside of family, and it couldn't have gone better. We are very grateful to Duncan and Rebecca.
One funny aside, Rebecca told me that Jack came in in the morning to talk to her as she lie in bed still waking up. She said they were having a really lovely in-depth conversation when Jack stopped and said, 'I am sorry, but what's your name again?' It looks like he may take after his Grandad in this area!
Pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Picture of cathedral:
Erin inside the cathedral
Looking out of the cathedral gate
Taking our own picture (I didn't realise until I was home that this is the only picture we have together - kind of pathetic since it was an anniversary trip)
View from our room
It was a great night away. The lodge was actually a very nice hotel on the grounds of the cathedral with views of the gorgeous cathedral from our window. We were waken in the morning by bells going off for the first morning's service which was quite different than the sound of a six or three year old calling your name as a wake up call!
The town itself was very quaint and rivalled some of the most picturesque I have seen in England with meandering streets and fun boutiques to look in. We found a wonderful Belgian restaurant to eat in that night which had literally a book of beers that made Charles one happy man. A different pint was suggested for each course which Charles happily took part in. We even stopped in the next morning to get a couple bottled pints of what he had had on draft the night before to take home to some beer-loving friends.
The night away would not have happened had it not been for the lovely service of some of our friends at College to look after our three. Duncan and Rebecca Bell were a great blessing to us as they came to our house and stayed with our kids while we were gone. The kids had a blast and have asked many times since we have returned when Duncan and Rebecca can come back to spend the night. This is the first time we have left our kids with someone outside of family, and it couldn't have gone better. We are very grateful to Duncan and Rebecca.
One funny aside, Rebecca told me that Jack came in in the morning to talk to her as she lie in bed still waking up. She said they were having a really lovely in-depth conversation when Jack stopped and said, 'I am sorry, but what's your name again?' It looks like he may take after his Grandad in this area!
Pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Picture of cathedral:
Erin inside the cathedral
Looking out of the cathedral gate
Taking our own picture (I didn't realise until I was home that this is the only picture we have together - kind of pathetic since it was an anniversary trip)
View from our room
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Jack's Letter
Earlier today I heard Jack up in his room really working on something. This is not that rare of instance so I just enjoyed the peace and went about my business downstairs. A few minutes later Jack came down and asked me if we had any envelopes. I told him yes and where to find them. A few minutes later still and I heard Jack go out the front door and then heard the noise of some post slipping through our door slot. I went to the door and collected the envelope (which had obviously been posted through by Jack). This is what I saw, an envelope addressed to 'Erin' with the following letter inside:
Basically Jack had acted as though he was my mom Julie or 'Jooly' and had written me a letter (if you double click the picture you can see the lettering more clearly).
He then asked me how the spelling was. I told him I thought it was very good, but there were a few places that he had misspelled a word. I pointed those out and then he proceeded to go upstairs and rewrite a new letter doing his best to correct the misspellings on the second one. This perfectionist tendency is a trait he definitely gets from Charles - I don't have itt (but I do have a sense of humor)!
He then brought the new version down and asked which one I liked better. I told him that I liked the first one best because it was the first one I had received and I really enjoyed the creativity he had put into it, but I then praised him for wanting to get better and try to improve his spelling. He seemed content with that answer.
From a mother's perspective, I will never throw away the first letter - it is now in my keepsake box with others of my favourite letters.
Basically Jack had acted as though he was my mom Julie or 'Jooly' and had written me a letter (if you double click the picture you can see the lettering more clearly).
He then asked me how the spelling was. I told him I thought it was very good, but there were a few places that he had misspelled a word. I pointed those out and then he proceeded to go upstairs and rewrite a new letter doing his best to correct the misspellings on the second one. This perfectionist tendency is a trait he definitely gets from Charles - I don't have itt (but I do have a sense of humor)!
He then brought the new version down and asked which one I liked better. I told him that I liked the first one best because it was the first one I had received and I really enjoyed the creativity he had put into it, but I then praised him for wanting to get better and try to improve his spelling. He seemed content with that answer.
From a mother's perspective, I will never throw away the first letter - it is now in my keepsake box with others of my favourite letters.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Jack, the dropout
Today we were reading Ramona the Brave and got to the part where Ramona becomes a kindergarten dropout. The boys didn't know what the word 'dropout' meant so I gave them a quick definition 'it is someone who use to go to school and doesn't anymore'.
At this moment, Theo quickly piped up and said, 'Jack is a dropout. He use to go to my pre-school and he doesn't anymore.' Before I get cross-examined by the Department of Family Services or the Homeschooling authorities, I should point out that Jack still goes to school it just isn't at the church pre-school anymore - it looks like my brief definition of dropout was a bit too basic to capture the true meaning for Theo!
At this moment, Theo quickly piped up and said, 'Jack is a dropout. He use to go to my pre-school and he doesn't anymore.' Before I get cross-examined by the Department of Family Services or the Homeschooling authorities, I should point out that Jack still goes to school it just isn't at the church pre-school anymore - it looks like my brief definition of dropout was a bit too basic to capture the true meaning for Theo!
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