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June 16 Who are you going to call? DaddyWhile at home today with her mum Katie took a mobile phone-shaped magnet off the fridge and spoke into it as though she was calling me.
"Hello daddy. You coming home later? Bye."
How sweet is that?
Happy dad. June 12 Holiday in CornwallWe're back from a week's holiday in Cornwall.
We stayed at a converted farm (Glynn Barton) which had great facilities for children under five.
A soft play area:
 ...where you can get covered in balls:
 Katie loved the pigs:  She fed the donkey:  And the sheep:   May 31 K is for KatieIt's alphabet recognition and word association time.
The other day Urs was wearing a t-shirt with lots of words on it.
One of the words was 'Walker'.
Katie pointed to the letter 'k' and said: "Katie." Trying it onMy shirt, that is.
 First haircutKatie's hair has taken a long time to grow but in the past few months it's been getting in the way of her eyes so Urs bravely took her to the hairdresser yesterday for her first ever haircut.
I am told Katie wriggled a lot and the hairdresser earned her tip.
Before:
 After:  A little momentI put Katie to bed the other night and as I was leaving the room and I said, as usual: "I love you Katie."
She replied, for the first time: "I love you daddy."
Aah. May 16 Ice cream in the parkSpent a nice Sunday afternoon in the park last week.
Small bribe to encourage Katie to leave the house vaguely calmly was an ice cream.
   May 06 Picnic at Knole, KentWe had a picnic on Sunday at Knole, a National Trust Place in Kent.
Deer roam the park.
They like to come near when you're having your picnic.
 And Katie likes to follow them up to the top of the hill:
 Which means, er, that I do too (thanks to Tony Cakeman for the pic):
 Tomato soup is a good thing to have at a picnic:  April 19 Doing things by halvesOne of Katie's cousins isn't a big fan of girls. And he hasn't been Katie's biggest fan because they share the same birthday.
So there he was last weekend with his new Nintendo DSi showing how he could take photos with it.
He took one of Katie. I didn't expect it to stay too long before being deleted.
And now we hear he has been showing the pic to his friends saying: "That's my half-sister." He, he.
When reminded that she isn't his half-sister he replied: "Well, we share the same birthday."
Sweet. My car, my carI recently test drove a Saab for an MSN Cars review I am writing.
Katie loves cars.
And this one was no exception.
A day or two before I had to return the car she went up to it and insisted we drove in it rather than walked. We were about to walk a couple of hundred yards so she didn't get her wish.
"My car, my car," she insisted.
I hereby confirm Saab still owns that car as part of its press fleet and they came and picked it up this week. Sorry, Katie.
 Tender momentsIt's the little things that count.
1. I stub my toe, Katie runs over and gives me a hug
2. I'm half dressed, Katie sees me, grabs a spare t-shirt and gives it to me
3. I sneeze, Katie says: "Bless you, daddy."
Aah. Puddle paddleMost toddlers love splashing in puddles.
And Katie is no exception. If she sees a puddle she has to walk in it. Exceptions are not made/tolerated.
On the way home from nursery this week she happily walked back and forth in a big puddle in the park even though she didn't have her wellies on. Soggy feet but who cares when you get to walk in a big puddle?
 First pony tailAt nursery they played at being hairdressers.
Katie ended up with her first pony tail, which she has continued to enjoy all weekend.
We've never cut her hair, by the way, though it now needs a trim as bit of her fringe come down over her eyes.
 
April 12 Down on the farmWhat do you do if you can't make a living from farming alone?
Turn it into a B&B, as some have done, or open it to the public, as some others have done.
We visited one such place yesterday.
The best bit is feeding the animals yourself. It's good for the farmer as you buy the feed when you go in and you do the feeding. It's good fun for you as little lambs eat from your hand. And presumably it's good for the lambs too, although they still need their milk as well.
We had had a go at this last September on holiday and this time Katie was still nervous but not quite as much.
  Remember to wash your hands after! We had a fun day but Katie did fall over and hurt herself. On the odd occasion when she falls over she shoots her arms out in time to pad her fall but somehow this time she wasn't quick enough when she tripped and she hit her face on the hard ground. She chipped a front tooth, her lip is swollen and her cheek grazed. Ouch.
Not the farm's fault, by the way, in case an accident lawyer is hoping we want to sue.
Katie was upset for a bit but then perked up again as she usually does.
PS
I chipped a tooth 18 months ago by eating a mint imperial. Too big for my bootsWell, actually, too small for my boots.
Katie decided to try on my walking boots.
 April 04 Still waiting for some teethYou'd expect Katie to have all her teeth through by now.
But she doesn't.
There are still about four more on top and bottom to come through.
And it doesn't look like they're going to make it any time soon, although she gets some pain from time to time. April 03 Bless you daddySneeze and Katie will say: "Bless you daddy."
Very sweet.
Cough a lot and Katie will say the same thing. Breakfast with a toddlerHere's how a typical breakfast goes at the moment.
There's no such thing as a typical breakfast.
Katie likes porridge and will happily eat it with a few healthy raisins added on top.
Except when she doesn't want to eat it any more.
Which is where we are right now.
Then she'll have Weetabix.
And if daddy sits by her eating his Weetabix then it's one spoonful for Katie and one for daddy until we've finished.
That works really well and is a pleasure.
Except when she decides she's had enough before she's finished her bowl.
Or when she says she doesn't want Weetabix.
So you move on to toast.
That's always a winner.
Except during that time when she didn't want it, obviously.
And now it helps if you call it Tubby Toast.
Even though it's exactly the same.
And she'll have butter on the toast and she'll tell you by saying: "Butter, butter, butter."
Over and over.
So you put some butter on it and she'll happily munch away like the sweetest, cutest, most content toddler in the world.
Except when she might just lick the butter off the toast rather than munch the toast.
Which can happen from time to time.
Except when she would like jam as well.
And she'll tell you by saying: "Jam, jam, jam."
Over and over.
And if you produce the jam that will encourage her to munch her toast.
Except when she decides to just lick the jam off it.
Or when she wants Marmite.
And she'll tell you by saying: "Marmite, Marmite, Marmite."
Over and over.
And then, and only then, will she eat her toast.
But it would help if you would sit down too and eat your Tubby Toast with her.
And she'll let you know by saying: "Sit down please."
Over and over.
Then she'll really get into it and the two of you can munch away happily together. Bliss.
Except when she'd rather eat your toast than hers.
Or except when she'd rather throw it on the floor.
And did I mention that she'll let you put a bib on her?
Well she does,.
Except on the days when she doesn't want a bib.
Put it on her then and she'll rip it off. She's got such a strong grip.
And when you sit down with her to eat the toast remember to bring along her cup of water because she likes drinking that.
Unless you've brought in your orange juice.
In which case she'll insist on drinking that.
All this assumes, of course, that you made it to the table in the first place.
Am I complaining?
No.
She's being a toddler. She's doing what toddlers do. March 07 Big schoolKatie recently moved from the baby care nursery to the pre-school nursery.
A big step for one so small.
And quite a change but she seems to be enjoying it and it certainly tires her out.
Before she moved up we had a visit to it, Urs and I taking Katie up from the baby nursery for a while. We were supposed to stay for only an hour but just as it was time to go Katie spied lunch arriving and sat herself down at the table in front of a plate and cutlery with the other children. Rather sheepishly we asked if it was OK if she stayed for lunch, which it was.
That's my girl  .March 04 Tubby toast and other Teletubby obsessionsAt breakfast Katie now asks for "Tubby toast". It's exactly the same as regular toast. It just has a different name. The Teletubby obsession has also extended to when she wakes up. I overheard her the other day reciting the Teletubbies' names in her cot. On the way to nursery I ask her what colour each character is and she knows the answer. And today she somehow got me to do an impersonation of each Teletubby and their favourite thing. Some things are best done at home rather than in the office. |
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