Welcoming the Olympic Flame

Yesterday the Olympic flame came past my office as it made it's way into London. It's been touring the country for what seems like forever and I haven't seem what the fuss was about until I saw it myself. The flame itself was exactly what you'd expect, a big, tall orange flame in a golden torch, made more shiny and spectacular by the bright sunshine we're currently enjoying after weeks of rain. But it was the spectacle around it that gave it the added magic, yes it was a big money-fest, with each of the main sponsors coming first on lorries and bikes, interspersed by loads of police, but they handed out flags and balloons and the crowd went wild.

Looking at some children next to me I felt a pang of guilt that C-bear had missed out, they were so excited, with homemade flames, the crowd moving so they could be near the front and all the procession smiling and waving at them. It's something the older ones will remember forever, and when your a kid the Olympics coming to your city is almost magical. So although he missed the flame I vowed I'd make more of an effort to get C involved.

And then when I got home hubs told me that he had seen the flame! I had a work author event on Monday night (Zadie Smith - yay), so got in after both my boys were in bed and left the house before they were up (at 6am to do the early shift at work so I could pick up C-bear up from nursery that evening). But the flame had come through Crystal Palace on Monday and his nursery had taken him to see it. I am so pleased that they did this, yes working full time is gutting because I miss out on things like this, but he still got to see it and can tell his grand kids one day that he saw the London 2012 Olympic flame! We're on holiday next week, so I've got a week to do Olympic things with him, hmmmm how to make a cardboard Olympic torch...

Now for photos, I had a camera malfunction, just after I took this photo - can you see the tiny torch on the right? My SD card got full and I couldn't take any more :(

So thank you to my colleague for taking these photos, from B. Waterhouse (you can see my hand and phone infront)

Dancing toddler film

Took this lovely lovely film earlier today.

I love it even more because normally my little guy hates dancing. So much so that when we had a family breakfast last weekend with Grandparents and Uncle and Auntie, just talking about C-bear dancing made him put on his perfect toddler pout. It was so over the top, we all got into fits of giggles, and the more we laughed the more he pouted, all because we mentioned him dancing! So imagine our surprise when we took him to a Dance festival at the local park and he completely got into his groove - not sure where he learnt these moves from, probably nursery because it wasn't from us!

Our week by Android - week 4

A fairly quiet week, here's what we got up to.

- Breakfast with my new Harry Potter studios mug (honeymoon present from my bro and his wife)
- Cycle race in Crystal Palace Park - stopped me from getting home, as the top gate was closed
- C-bear's nursery schedule for the week - lots of sand and water play!
- Stirring the Herman the German friendship cake (more on this once it's ready)
- Mama's week day Metro fix
- Our fridge

- Caramel Chew Chew - the best Ben & Jerry's flavour
- Crystal Palace Tower (C-bear calls it our choir)
- On the blue dino in the playpark
- Pasta, salad and garlic bread for lunch
- Seahorse at The Horniman Museum Aquarium - we've just bought an annual pass
- Coral reef fish at the Horniman

- New Spiderman clogs for the beach
- Boy with an apple
- Jawfish at The Horniman - it kept picking up stones and spitting them into it's burrow!

We're linking up with Amy at A Good Life

My 26 month old

Charlie, at 26 months you are such a good little boy. With reminding, you say "please" and "thank you" and instead of saying "pardon me" you say "pardon Mummy" or "pardon Daddy" depending on who's prompting you!

Your memory is brilliant and you often talk about things we did over six  months ago. You also know our routine like clockwork - who's day it is to take you to nursery, who's day it is to collect you and when it's the weekend. We're currently counting down to our holiday (one week to go!) and you talk about it a lot.

You love, love, love splashing in puddles - which is good because this umbrella summer if filled with torrential rain. Even though you know you're not supposed to splash in puddles when you're wearing trainers you can't help yourself, so we've constantly got to watch you on the walk to nursery. Last weekend when we were at Granny and Grandad's house we took you to paddle in Broadwell (a big shallow pool in their village) and you got the shock of your life when you went too deep and the water went over the top of your wellies!

You are still a very fussy eater, refusing to try new things and not eating vegetables unless they're hidden in pasta sauce. But you're getting a little better, you will now eat cereal and milk quite happily (before it was always a struggle) and love to take an apple with you when we walk in the park. Today you ate it all the way down to the pips, and were so excited by them, "look Mummy, look!"

The bike, you got it two months ago and still don't like riding it. You need to grow about a cm to feel confident on it. You're happy to push it around or have Mama push you, but don't like toddling yourself around on it.

You are still very much a Mama's boy, always preferring to have hugs with me over Daddy and always needing to know exactly where I am. However you and your Daddy have great fun in the evening before bed time, then it's a full on boy hullabaloo!

You are very loving, you say "love you Mummy, love you Daddy" almost daily and every morning you have with me starts with a hug and a cup of milk (not sure what you do with Daddy on the two days I start work extra-early).

So, at 26 months you are continually growing, learning new words and phrases, speaking French! (a French teacher visits your nursery once a week and you quite often say your numbers in French) and generally having a fun time. Yes, we have a few epic toddler tantrums, but nothing that can't be fixed with some calming down time and a big hug.

Catch up in Smartphone photos

Hello. How are you? Sorry I've not been around for a couple of weeks, I can't blame it on anything really, apart from general busy-ness and playing too much on my smartphone (currently addicted to Triple Town and Words with Friends). Here's what we've been up to:

- Playing cushions with Daddy
- Peepo over the sofa
- Latte for Mama
- Metro on the way to work
- Cousins with Nana
- I had a meeting at the Royal Academy
- Boy at the park
- With Nana again - so cute :)
- Baby apple hat and birth congrats card for my friend's 2nd little one
- Mama's desk at work
- Misty morning in Crystal Palace
- Boy in a tunnel

- Boy at the Horniman Museum
- Bandstand at the Horniman
- Stonehenge
- Sunset on Salisbury Plain
- Boy and his uncle
- Batman rash guard - ready for the beach!
- Poppies by the motorway
- The red arrows flew over the motorway on our way to Mum and Dad's
- Spiderboy with a snack after nursery
- Another latte for Mama
- Stonehenge on the way back
- Boy in a slide
- Daisies
- Batboy
- Rain rain rain

Bedtime High Jinx

Our Week by Android - week 2

A pretty hectic week and I didn't manage as many photos as I'd have liked, but here's our week in smart phone photos.

Early Monday morning sofa wrangling // There was a coffee morning at C-bear's nursery to meet the new manager, so I switched the days I work from home and will make up the two hours next week // Lunch at home, leftover salad and spaghetti.

Relaxing after nursery//C-bear's indoor play schedule for the week//Pink Olympic stickers have gone up all over the tube//Colleague at work had an operation, so moomin's dressed up appropriately//Zoo late at London Zoo on Friday night with work colleagues, giraffe having her tea before bedtime//Feeding the penguins - so cute, and because my colleague was on crutches, we got to sit at the front!

Family day out to Chawton, Hampshire. Baby Elephant came to the tea shop too//my boys//Jane Austen's house - the sky really was that blue//Pint and Half pint T-shirts from Father's Day//Jane Austen's house - beautiful pink roses around the door//Boys in the lovely cottage garden.

Linking up with Amy @AGoodLife: