yeah yeah, yawnarama, enough of the Kate stuff already.....

A lovely trip to the beach with the cousins.

Pre-bedtime grouch.

Practising the haka on a day trip with Daddy.

the most most amazing thing that happened over the last few weeks was a visit from the very talented Aunty-shoe-shopping. Kate was totally overwhelmed by the arrival of her very own hand crafted Ninky Nonk, complete with all the characters hiding in one of the carriages. Today (which wasn't our best day after someone got up a 4 am) the Ninky Nonk was the only thing that would console her at one point, and every other day she has to get her hand-crafted superior ITNG characers and show them to the screen when their less interesting generic equivalents come on.


This morning Leon and Kate invented a new game called "sheep, coffee". It involved them saying sheep and coffee alternating all the way to the woods. A lot in common those two...

Some recent Kate sayings:
No way Daddy
Go back Daddy
Eat now boy
Das boot (long explanation required for this one really, but her reading doesn't yet quite extend to German classics. She was actually referring to Dora the Explorer.)

new camera part 2

it finally arrived at 4.45pm.... so i had to stay in from 8 this morning ..... all day just for a parcel.

anyway..... takes nice photos

new camera

having lost my camera about 3 months ago, we have been pretty short on the old postings here.
well today i have had to stay in all day to collect the new and improved camera, and so far no one has turned up. So it's been a bit of a pants day for the dogs..... and i still can't show you any photos.

It is half term however, so it's not all bad.

Leon

One day she's going to kill us for this one....

long time no post

Hello world,

Long time no message. In summary, we went on holiday to France(where Kate decided baths are ok after all, and also that ice cream is the way ahead), then to Polzeath, then around the country visiting the family. All very lovely. Then term started so we all got stressed, but the stress was alleviated by a very barbershoppy trip to London, and now we've topped it all off with buying (starting the process anyway) a very sensible house in Ivybridge. Saves a lot of time writing less often I reckon! Mary x

Hello everyone. Nice trip to France - more on that later with some pics too.

In the meantime I've been noticing some things that I do with Kate that have reminded me of the same things happening when I was little. Probably a bit bigger than Kate's tender 18 months, but all the same its kind of cool remembering my stuff through her:
1) Walking along and having to run my hand along the walls / fences / railings etc that are alongside.
2) Standing on someone's feet while they're walking along. Weirdly I can't remember if it was Keith or Dad, but I do remember that one of the reasons I liked it so much was having a little bit of physical contact.
3) Having someone else do up the buckles of my shoes.

Also, found the biggest, fullest most grimmest tick in the world today, just chilling out on the chair. Grimsville central. Has goose bumps for ages. Ugh.

Mary x

Kate's latest funny stuff:

Phones are called "hello"s
Every small electronic item is a hello
Every phone conversation goes "hello? hello? yah, yah, yah, b bye"

Body slamming the dogs and Mummy is her latest game, along with blowing raspberries on my stomach, and flopping backwards on the sofa and laughing.

Finding her tummy button, and mine, no matter where we are.

Socks are sacrosanct - they must stay on regardless of the temperature, and can only come off just before she gets zipped into her sleeping bag at night.

Having breast milk in the morning in as many different positions as possible.

Sitting up on big chairs.

Everything is all about the dogs - Millie and Tiki - but especially Tiki - is what it is all about right now.

When she does a lion's roar, she has to whisper it, and we have no idea where that comes from.

Mary x

Portsmouth / southsea weekend

fab fab fab bank holiday weekend, little fuss ( chuff loads of traffic however) and as always the perfect host in David Neale. the weather behaved, so did the dogs, kate and Mary (most of the time).... twas only me that was naughty.
great breakfasts, great dinners and that kicked back relaxed feel that you only get with very few friends... both the wife and i feel totally relaxed now.... and about a stone heavier!

also managed to put the kite into the skies for the first time... and with barely a breathe of wind the kite flew well and definately gave us a hint of what is to come with some serious wind! I just know that there is a big accident just round the corner waiting to happen with that thing!

stopped off at steve and debs house on route home.... daniels birthday... so sunshine, beer and good food followed. just helped make the long weekend feel like a complete week off, fortunately... i have got a whole week off on top of that too.

leon x

Well, me mary, jim, laura, shona and paul and claire had an absolute blast all weekend laughing and drinking, walking over wonderful countryside!



love leon

(ps none of that is true ... by the way... but stop having fun without us please!)

our first BBQ of the summer

the weather behaved and so did the friends who came along..... just lovely to spend some time outside with food and beer and the dudes of the 2000 raleigh gang. definitely won't be the last... especially after those lamb steaks were so gorglussous.... mary reminds me we have not finished the washing up yet from the day..... and it is tuesday..... but she does not regret a thing , and neither do i.... more hot weather please.

don't the garden look good.... not a dog shit in sight ( i threw them all over to the church)
lots of love
leon

All the pictures of Kate from this lovely day on the moor with the sun shining look like she is giggling to herself about some really rude gag. Maybe she was. This was also the momentous day that she decided that she does like ice cream after all. Then we all went home and had a curry. Lovely.
Mary x

Padstow to Fowey

So 30 miles, 1 day, 5 grown men and some very sore feet. Cornwall is a lovely place, even better when the weather behaves and the banter is amusing and plentyful.

much discussion about footware, snack times and how many more miles to go..... i think it was almost always " 3 more miles"... even when we reached Fowey!

The worst bit was being interviewed at the very end for ten minutes whilst a bench and a pub were both in sight.......

a classic day, and now i am walking like an old man round school...

big thanks to chris for organising.... my turn next year!

leon x

thelma - our new addition

she's gorgeous, and she knows it. And boy she can put it away! she was udderly wasted on her first night here!

kate loves her by the way.

leon x

satsumas and work

Hello all,
Kate's latest exloit at the end of most meals these days goes like this:
me - do you want any banana?
kate - na
me - would you like any apple?
kate - na
me - how about some raisins?
kate - na
me - cheese?
kate - na
me - breadstick?
kate - na
me - are you finished? Full up?
kate - na
me - satsuma?
she points at it and goes to take it
me - ok dude, I'll just peel it for you then
so I peel the orange, pass her a segment
kate takes the satsuma, looks at it, then throws it across the room and says na
this has happened pretty much every day this week
What does she think - that satsumas grow on trees?

Also, work is going really well. Kate is totally happy with the childminder and so I am too, but Leon says he doesn't like being told how many soiled nappies kate has produced when he goes to pick her up. As some sort of response to Mama Musings, I know exactly what you mean and when you do get back out there it really will get much, much better. I think our generation has been raised to work, which makes it so much harder and more admirable to commit your whole time to caring for your children. xx
Mary x

So it all starts again

Day one of the new term and I am instantly thrown back into the firing line of the constant verbal abuse from a colleague. It has got so frequent that it is now ridiculously funny. I came home today and ranted at Mary about how unbelievable some of the things said to me are and realised i wanted to do more, so perhaps i might keep a record here of the things said..... i realise i should be careful about posting anything that could be read by anyone in the world, so protect the colourful characters of work i shall make everything up.

today's humourous offering

me ............ " good morning Mrs Splat, how was your holiday?"
Mrs splat........."you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong...... what did you say? ah never mind.... you're wrong anyway..... arsehole!"

school really feeds my sole you know.

I love my wife.

L xx

cafe cornwall stylie

kates first attempt to swallow the entire cafe in one go!

leon xx

worming tablets

to anyone that knows me, please say to me "worming tablets!" next time you see me.....

As i have been writing the last post, the dog has been licking its arse constantly.
the sound is very off putting, and the sofa gets wet!

leon xx

most westest hill in england

hunkering down and having lunch on the top of a hill in the sunshine down in cornwall very close to to landsend/cape cornwall. others in the photo are the awesome Knights, they really should buy a round table. This was one of the best walks with children i have ever done. Just love that walk straight out of your hired cottage in the middle of nowhere... find a 2400 year old ruin, see almost 360 degree views of sea and have cheese sandwiches that you didn't even make at the best out of the wind spot known to man. if it hadn't been for the "get orf me land" mentality of a couple of land owners it would have been perfect.

leon xx

holiday to the motherland

Cornwall , deepest bestest cornwall. but god knows where kate gets her great looks from.

Cloudless Dartmoor. Its March and its Cloudless ! and about 18 degrees! The next time i hear an English person complain about the weather I am going to ram the nearest Tor up their backside!

Come on Britain, its March and its simply fan - something - tastic!

Leon xx

And a couple of latest piccies. The first one is of Kate enjoying the push chair before it goes back (thanks Auntie Caroline and the gang for the loan!) Peekaboo never loses its charm. The second really is a run of the mill dinner fall out. The girl likes her food..... all over.

Mary

Here's an example of my brilliant photographic skills. This one is of Leon throwing Kate in the air and her laughing a lot.....

He says he's either just caught her, or he's thrown her a long way up.

Mary

We managed to catch the best of the weather on the Dewerstone. Here's a lovely one of the birthday Calds and Jasmine.

Mary

So we went for a posh lunch the weekend before last. Squealix and Kate just wanted to play twister, and Jambeans was as lovely as ever....

Mary

SOFA..... SOFA ... SOFA......

IT'S ALL MINE!

Millie xox

Dog walking

Saturday walking with Neil and Nic...... one of our favourite things to do at the weekend. Everytime I go down to the river the light is different coming off the water, this week we had a good old sea mist coming in ... twas lovely. Kate missed it of course, she was busy doing her favourite thing at the weekend.

We had a diet roast right after the walk ( i only used one pat of butter on the bird! and half a can of goose fat) and Mary and i ate until we passed out, perhaps out of spite that the fitness regine starts this next week.

We lay in bed arguing about who's turn it was to go to the gym tomorrow on the start of this new plan (neither of us wanted to go!!! ) oh what perfect start.

I won the arguement, and Mary is now at the gym as i write this.

Leon xx

i love the beach - i don't care its raining, i need to poo in front of many other people, whilst they look at you and tut. In fact i will make sure that when i do start making piles of stuff , i will shuffle round in small circles so that it takes you ages to locate all the small break off bits of my mess, and then drag my butt along the sand with my back paws up round my ears. You should try it, old kellogg had a few ideas, but this rocks!

Tiki xx

So i upset the balance of the universe by moving the baby gate two feet!

But on the upside, school gave me a free palmtop for my endeavours on the diploma! I am such a boy when it comes to gadgets.... i will probably never use it, no scrub that, i will probably spend 5 or 6 hours setting it up and downloading the software, and then never use it.

Got a stack of marking to do - 61 year 7 geography projects....... so anything to cause some procrastination is welcomed..... i even did the washing up.

One good reason why it was high time for someone responsible to look after Kate.
On my last day of working in the home (as I've been insisting on), Kate, Sam, Sarah and I went to rhymetime and then lunch. In the lift to the restaurant, I touched Kate, and gave her an electric shock. "Oooh", I said, "a shock - sorry darling" - and touched her again to say sorry - of course giving her another shock. So Sarah said "did you give her a shock?" and touched her too....
Kate sat in her pram looking at us as if to say "will you two just back off please?"
Maybe I will do less damage at work.
From Mary x

Kate is about to experience the joy of mum going back to work. Well she is one now, so she is ready for the big wide world and chasing boys (apparently she has had her first kiss..... i am not happy about it, she got sent to bed with no supper for that... and it was an older man!!)

The dogs will also have to get used to a quiet home, the sofa not being used and the freedom of the lounge without being grabbed and poked at all times.... man they will be happy dogs.

i have just watched the english rugby team play the worst 80 minutes of rugby i have ever had to endure ... i am contemplating giving up watching, had it not been for martin johnsons reaction to the second sending off i probably would have done.

anyway, weekends rock.

leon