The Chicken Swing

A few weeks ago, our local farm posted an amazon wishlist of items they were hoping to have donated. I burst out laughing when I saw The Chicken Swing and ordered one straight away.

It arrived earlier this week - classed as a "Dog Toy" - and the kids and I have been so excited. It was a beautiful, sunny day today so we brought it to the farm.

I had been preparing the kids for a minor degree of disappointment: "they probably won't be able to hang it up for a while, so we'll have to visit again another day..." but the farm staff was wonderful. They gratefully accepted it and Tom took us to the chicken coops so that the children could choose where to hang it.

"Chickens, brought you swing!"

Tom even let K go inside with him. He was terrific - so calm and comfortable with the chickens.

And the chickens now have a swing!

We'll be sure to go back often and visit. Hopefully we can get a video next time.

Happy holidays

Juniorette's ninth month was mostly spent celebrating: Junior's birthday, S's birthday, xmas, New Year's. Junior was old enough to get excited about presents, and also old enough to get presents with small parts.





He was elated with his LEGO Juniors construction set. As was Juniorette. So we spent much of xmas day trying to keep Junior engaged with his gifts, while stopping Juniorette from eating bits of plastic and chewing on wrapping paper.





Fortunately she was happy to help fix the broken dishwasher - did I mention she started pulling up on furniture almost as soon as she figured out how to crawl?


We spent much of the time over xmas and New Year's with local friends. It was so nice to have playdates and good company.



South Bank Jubilee Playground









Wandle Park



Riding bicycles in Colliers Wood Rec Grounds






Museum of London, Docklands



Teaming up at softplay





We had a lovely, mellow, family-oriented holiday season. 2014 was a great year. 2015 is shaping up to be memorable and fun as well.

Junior turns 3

Happy birthday to our three-year old!





Junior turned 3 and we had an extended celebration for him. We had an early birthday party for him while my mother was visiting - we invited a few friends over to decorate gingerbread people. Even Juniorette got in on the action.











At three years old, Junior is talking practically nonstop. It is endlessly entertaining and fascinating to hear his stream-of-consciousness thoughts. He seamlessly mixes real life with imaginative play, to the great confusion of anyone who doesn't spend much time with him. Dinosaur - where? And it was riding a motorbike? No, you were riding a motorbike? And there was a lion???


He is also a great fan of The Octonauts, Pixar films, Wallace & Gromit, Spiderman (and Spider-Woman), The Gruffalo, and random videos on youtube. He hasn't watched much Peppa Pig recently, but he wears his Peppa wellie boots when splashing in muddy puddles. He wears his Dracula shirt and cape - from Halloween - at every chance. He believes the cape makes him fly (thank goodness he hasn't attempted it yet); he doesn't really understand who Dracula is, nor the difference between good guys and bad guys.





His natural athletic abilities continue to blossom. It is hard to contain him - he doesn't sit still and he's too fast for anyone to catch him. We don't often let him ride his scooter because he's *too* good. At least I can still walk with him while he's riding his bike (just!). He won't need the stabilisers much longer at this rate, though.


He has moved up to the preschool room at nursery, and his (OUR) next big challenge is potty-training. He gave up his binky virtually overnight when I told him that the Binky Fairy would bring him a present. He chose a yellow race car, helped me put the binkies on a windowsill, and went cold turkey the next morning when he discovered his present. He has incredible self-control, and at the same time, zero control. His tantrums are getting louder and more persistent; his stubborn streak is as strong as ever. He is funny, aggravating, determined, confident, busy, energetic, sweet, protective, and creative.


Looking forward to seeing what the next year brings!

8 months

The big excitement this past month was having Grandma come visit.








It was all so ...normal... having my mother around for three weeks. She has spent enough time with us over the past few years that she knows our routines, our neighbourhood, our supermarket, the local buses and tube stations - and probably more back streets than I do. She has the energy to play with the children (though no one is fast enough to keep up with Junior), and she spends the rest of her time Making Things. She knit a sweater for Junior while she was here and finished the incredible robot curtains she made for the kids' room. While regular talks on the webcam are nice for keeping in touch, it is still that much more special to spend time together.



Wimbledon Library


Meanwhile, Juniorette just keeps getting more and more agile. She mastered crawling, and started to enjoy herself at the local softplay centres.











She still has a knack for sleeping in unexpected positions, as well.



Not exactly how her sleepsack was intended. Don't worry, I didn't leave her like this.


We celebrated Grandma's last day with a dance party before bedtime. Juniorette finds her big brother hilarious! Actually, we all do...

Ruby Rabbit and Cousin P Come to Visit

Junior and Juniorette’s cousin P came to visit us from San Francisco, and we invited Ruby Rabbit to join us on our adventures. Ruby Rabbit lives at Junior's nursery, and has gone on holiday with the preschool families to exotic places like Japan, Turkey, and Poland. Junior and Juniorette had fun showing Ruby and P the more local sights of SW19 and central London.

At Deen City Farm, Ruby met the cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. She was sad that the rabbits were asleep so she could not talk to them.

Peppa Pig wellie boots for splashing in muddy puddles

Junior was excited to bring Ruby on the Tube to central London. We enjoyed the playground at Coram’s Fields (top tip: wonderful spot for children, right in the heart of London near the Brunswick Centre). Ruby got a bit dizzy on the roundabout.

Borough Market proved too exciting, though - the boys slept straight through it.

Junior wanted to introduce P and Ruby to the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace. Some of the dinosaurs looked like big crocodiles and turtles. On the way home, Ruby got tired so Junior carried her on his shoulders, like his Daddy does with him.

We had a picnic with some friends on Wimbledon Common. P and Ruby looked for the Wombles, but they must have been hiding. Juniorette kept Ruby company instead.

Since we enjoyed the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace, we went to the Natural History Museum to see some other ones. Sadly, we picked one of the only days all year when the dinosaur exhibit was closed. Luckily, P and Ruby were impressed with the blue whale and the elephants, while Junior liked the birds.

At home, Juniorette introduced Ruby to Flopsy Bunny. Ruby was pleased to have a cousin of her own to play with. Ruby also loved playing trains with Junior and P, but she liked story time best of all.

We hope that Ruby Rabbit can come with us the next time we visit P in San Francisco. We had a great week with her!