Adults weekend in London

B.D. and I had a rare treat this weekend....a trip to London without the kids, with other adults, for dinner and a show!  We had such a great time.  The kids were in safe hands so we caught the bus at 7:30am on Saturday without a care in the world.  Had a leisurely cuppa at Starbucks (and some porridge for me) then met Gary and Lynn, Ann and John at the train station.
We statyed at the Lansdown Club, a reciprocating club with B.D.'s St Paul's here in Birmingham.
After a stroll through the streets of London, we got dolled up for the show: Avenue Q.  For those of you who have not heard of Avenue Q (which would have included me up until a few weeks ago) it is a very adult muppet show.  The topics span from homosexual relationships and one night stands to racism and philanthropy.  Very, very funny and a really clever show.  There are actual people with the puppets on their arm throughout the show, moving the puppet characters through their day and saying their lines....but after the first few minutes you barely even notice the people and only focus on the puppets.  Amazing.

Anyway, here are some pictures, we can't wait to do it again soon!                

        

Talia is growing up

Talia is such a different person than her big brother, which I'm sure most of you are saying "of course she is".  Today we had some time alone with Talia as Max was over playing with some friends, so we've experienced a bit more of her personality uninfluenced by her brother.  She is just as curious as Max was, wanting to participate in everything B.D. and I are doing.  She wants to touch the computer keyboard and play the Wii.  She loves to look at books, but does not really need us to read to her.  And she loves to sing and dance.

When I was changing her nappy she was trying to form the Itsy Bitsy Spider movements with her hands.  Once I started to sing she just giggled and giggled, and copied all the moves.
She is desperate to talk, grunting and getting frustrated much quicker than Max did.  She says Papa and Mama, Max, Talia, Fish, and numerous other sounds we can't quite decipher.
And she is learning her animal sounds.  BAAAAA is for sheep, and QUA QUA is for duck.  She is working on pig, the funniest snorting sound you've ever heard, and dog.
She's growing up fast, and we're so proud of her!

The reasoning of a 4 year old

Max has said some pretty funny stuff the last few years, but this last week we've had two particularly funny episodes we thought we'd share:

1 - When picking Max up from aftercare last week the teacher pulled me aside and said "Max was eating twigs today".  "Twigs, you mean, small sticks?" I asked, quite surprised?  "Yes, when the class was outside playing Mrs. Bradish saw Max eating twigs.  When she asked him why he was eating twigs his response was 'I didn't know I couldn't'."  Fair point, but I think they told me so I'd be prepared for any ramifications.

2 - Over the holidays some friends gave Max and Talia a Fisher Price kitchen, complete with bags of plastic food, plates, utensils, tea pots and cups.  Yesterday the kids were playing with it in Max's room, when Max came downstairs sans pants, socks or underwear.  "Max, what's going on?"  "I had to take off my trousers because they were all wet."  "Why are they wet?"  "Because the water from my teapot spilled."  He had not only used the towel from the bathroom to clean up the water, but also his sweat pants, and a paper map (which he had to throw away because "it was ripped and wet").  I explained that we need to keep water in either the bathroom or the kitchen, so in the future could he please not bring tea pots full of water into his room.  I got him to look at me and agree.  Problem solved.
Except today when I went upstairs to see what they were up to Max had pulled the kitchen into the bathroom, along with all the plastic food and items, and was playing with the water there.
He did exactly what I asked, how can I argue with that??

building snowmen

Wednesday night Max, Talia and I played outside and tried to build a snow family.  Max was just learning how to roll a big snowball for the snowman's body, and Talia had more fun eating the snow than helping build the snow family.  But we all had fun (for about 20 minutes)!!

            

Max's official Nativity Play pictures

Bathtime toys

I finally gave Max his gift from his Alaska Auntie and Uncle (from two years ago, I think):  arctic bath toys!  But the timing is right, he absolutely loves them and plays with them in and out of the bath.  Luckily he knew about keeping a washcloth over his privates.  Enjoy the pictures.

          

   

6 January Snow Day

Birmingham has had nearly 5 inches of snow fall in the last 24 hours...which it is NOT equipped to handle.  Talia's nursery closed at 2pm on Tuesday, and Max's school at 4.  Luckily today Talia's nursery was open but Blue Coat was closed so Max and I spent the day together at home.
We watched the Aristocats, did some chores, Max made me a fish mask and reindeer antlers/nose out of Playdough, then we made snow angels and finished by curling up under a blanket and reading.  Overall, a great day!

      

  

 

Happy New Year!!

Our good friends Gary and Lynn came over for a "quiet" evening to ring in the New Year.  B.D. made a scrumptious Japanese dinner, then Michelle beat everyone at a couple card games (go Michy!!!) then the Spanish tradition of eating a grape on each ring of the bell for the New Year....looks like Lynn was really struggling!  Here's to an exciting 2010 - bring it on!

            

  

    

New Year's Eve

We had a fun family day on New Year's Eve....starting with Max getting a haircut, stopping at Starbucks, getting the kids' feet measured for shoes (UK 10 for Max and UK 4 for Talia), and then the Sea Life Centre courtesy of Chris and Carmel who bought the family a pass for Max's birthday!  We had such a fun day.

Brunch at the Macleans

We had a lovely brunch at Amy and Adam's on Wednesday....and Talia really, really, really enjoyed her pancakes with Christopher.