Say Mackerel

The boy has been watching too many episodes of Octonauts and so after doing lots of 'say cheese' he said 'say mackerel' hence my funny expression.

It's very tempting to edit myself out of the day's photos (or at the very least to heavily edit them) but I am trying to be in the recored of my children's lives as well as keeping a record.

The peony, true to form, is about to fully flower just as we go away. We'll only be away for a couple of days though so it should be in full bloom when we get back.

Isabel has quite a lot of words (well distinct sounds or signs rather than full English) and one her favourites is hat. Shame she'll never keep one on when she's in the sun though.

Tents excitement

Isabel's favourite things at the moment, the big brush, books and her baby.

We are currently in possession of some tents and things that might be related to camping. I am still unsure how this happened or whether I can be persuaded to use them. It may depend on the weather....

One thing I'm glad of though is that the dog will not be camping - it's safe to say he doesn't understand.

The kids were excited though - and by kids I mean Matthew.

Miss Bel is loving her new independence and wanted to walk to the park this afternoon - she wasn't bothered if I was going with her or not. She spent the evening riding her bike up and down the street.

When my back's turned

This is what she did.

I was alerted by her turning the coffee machine on - she'd pushed both the right buttons & left the middle 'steam' one off.

Lots of daisies

Lazy parenting tip number 107 - let them draw on you (with washable pens). It means you can sit there and you know exactly where they are and what they're drawing on. (Kneeling on the carpet afterwards to change a nappy may result in a blue patch on the carpet though.)

On sunny days this is a common event in our house. If you don't keep an eye on them Isabel is off climbing along next door's wall and Finny has taken himself off to smell the cats up the street though.

After lots and lots of dry days we've had some rain this weekend. The garden is grateful but the grass now needs cutting. The daisies in the park have really gone to town. Isaac spent a lot of time running around in a big patch of daisies before plopping himself down and grabbing handfuls and then running around again.

Isabel likes playing with the camera - we don't need shape sorters in our house as she puts the camera back in its case and gets it out again and does it over and over.

She's still snotty but much improved on last week.

The boy spent a lot of time staring in the bin.

"Mummy, mummy come and see the dead pigeon."

Then he cycled off to the climbing tree and was up it before we could make our way there.

Nearly there

We are spending lots and lots of time outdoors at the moment whether in our garden or in the gardens of friends. We've also been to various parks and played on the play equipment (yep I was on a zip slide again) and climbed trees (not me).

Even an evening potter to go and vote turns into a family outing.

Pine cones were inspected and attempts made to pick the seeds out.

Sticks were found (and brought home) but there weren't enough to build a house.

Small person got in on the pine cone action.

And then helped bring the washing in.

And the peony is so nearly there!

Going with the flow

I don't really have a plan for when my children 'should' be meeting various milestones but try to follow their lead. I am a little surprised though at Isabel's desire to drink from an open glass. She can do it in a controlled manner 90% of the time but then drowns herself by tipping it up too much. It's very cute to see how pleased she is with herself though learning a new skill.

The peony is making slow but sure progress.

As usual next door's are in full bloom ahead of mine.

There's been a lot of marble run action.

A lot of cushion action - these cushions are so great. They were off an Ikea sofa that we brought with us to this house but that met a fateful end when Mike Catt missed a drop goal attempt in the rugby world cup (oh so many years ago now) but the cushions have lived on and been used in various guises. They are currently informal seating, sometimes bed but mostly for jumping on.

The boy wanted to be a pirate. So pirate he was - in the park and round the garden centre.

And then friends dropped by and afternoon became dinner. The cushions did their job again.

More child labour

Honestly they fight to do the dysoning. I am not discouraging it.

Isabel keeps grabbing a wrap and wanting up - not a problem unless it's got pins in it because it needs hemming. After a quick sew she got her wish though. She's getting premolars at the moment and spends most of her time feeding or wanting cuddles. I don't know what I'd do without being able to put her in a sling as she's too heavy to just be in arms.

I made some cookies this afternoon and like a good mother thought I should share a small part of one with the small child. Hmmm maybe not such a good idea.

She then did a bit of a Morris Dance with the wipes before clearing herself up - apt for Beltane I guess.