We round the year off with a visit to the Science Museum in London as it was Sunday, and it seemed like a fun thing to do! We also had a walk down Oxford Street and Regent Street to see the lights, and supper at the Pizza on the Park in Knightsbridge.
Trying to think of something interesting to say about this with Miranda sitting on my lap wriggling like a little piggy, is quite a challenge! So I'm afraid you'll have to improvise...
It's been wet and windy here today so we've entertained ourselves with some games, ...some old, some new!. This one I think came from Miffi and involves spotty dogs and counting, but we also played old favourites like Scrabble.
After eating our lunch yesterday we were approached by two old dears from the Bournemouth Blue Rinse Brigade who complimented us on our children for their impeccable table manners! It was nice they said to see a "proper family" who still ate with a knife and a fork...
We had a visit to Bournemouth today to take the strain off Christmas. On the seafront we found this surfboard which was great fun!
Lewis and Gregory made our Christmas crackers this year and the hats were very fetching! Lewis' joke in mine was "What did the sheep with a sweet tooth say when he woke up at Christmas....... Baaaah Humbug!
We blew the cobwebs away with a bracing walk on the beach at Lepe, the boys as usual managed to find some debris to play with. This buoy doesn't look very heavy, but Lewis was pushed to his limits lifting it - but once it was in the water it floated beautifully!
All loaded up in the car, and we're off for a walk in the forest! There's just enough time for a peekaboo session with Mippy, whose wearing her Miffi hat!
She floats like a bumble bee, something in each hand, and still not quite sure if she can make those first few steps.
Work is history, and the festive season begins. The cake has just been decorated and we are savouring an appetite to eat it now!
Miranda's got lovely bluey eyes, and here they look like a pair of matching jewels. She's just gone to bed without any fuss, and it's amazing how much more positive one feels when things go easily!
Today the clan went down to the Library for an Art Club session. So here's Gregory showing us proudly the xmas tree decoration that he made...
Always game for a bit of fancy dress, and incapable of not posing for the camera, this is Greg moments before disappearing into the coral reef that is our study floor. I also managed to get a great shot of him swimming on his belly, but it means more to me as I know what he was doing!
Our Christmas tree was rather wet when we got it home on Sunday, so we thought it was safer to leave the electrocution until today!
Gingerbread men baked yesterday, and today they were decorated, and come to think of it, eaten by the boys (with a little help from Olivia and Archie).
When I see a picture like this I tell myself that I really should work harder at more formal portraits! In general I prefer the more candid approach, but when you have real engagement there's nothing to beat the emotional value of the image .....
Miranda having eaten her curds and whey, in happy bunny mode. Today we went to Waterside School Xmas Show and although sadly I did not take my camera, Miranda had fun heckling Lewis and Gregory as they did their best to be willing participants in Jack and The Beanstalk!
This is another picture in my ongoing set of people parts. Just small fragments of life that reflect the individual, I love the intimacy between the reader and the book that comes over in this picture.
Greg gets very animated sometimes, and he's always acting the clown. This photo captures some of that raw energy that drives him forward, sometimes perilously into our bad books!
A few nights ago Lewis and I were doing some picture editing, and this was one that we thought worked well in black and white. I took it earlier in the year at Portholland near Mevagissey, and brings back all those memories of scampering around in the rockpools - a nice change to some of the stormy days we've had of late!
Miranda doing some mental arithmatic - two bowls of pasta, one sticky pudding, one mince pie ... how many does that make Gregory?
Lewis and I have been having some fun with Photoshop, and I'm not sure what Greg is going to say when he sees this!
Miranda will play...!
One of the best hair conditioners money can buy is egg sandwiches, but the application can be a bit tricky!
It's usually me urging the boys to complete a task, but this afternoon Lewis encouraged and helped Greg to produce a lovely Greeting Card, with a Quad Bike on the outside and a lovely hand written message on the inside... all before I had left my workroom.
This is one of Lewis' drawings from Thursday or Friday morning before we came downstairs. There was no book out and it's unlike one of his drawings, so I asked him what his inspiration was...
Whilst many would argue that getting their kids to eat Brown Bread was a challenge, we can be proud of our Lewis who not only made Bread in school today with his choice of ingredients; sundried tomatoes and assorted herbs - but also ate half a loaf with his tea!
Lewis has been practicing using my camera to take photos, and here's one of us during the instruction process. He has been given a film camera by Gran and Grandan so I thought I'd improve the hit rate by experimenting with a digiSLR.
It's Lego time again, and Greg is building a Rocket to take us all to the Moon. Miranda is testing the Lunar Module, and Lewis for some strange reason is nowhere to be seen!
Greg has a capacity to melt almost any determination to persuade him to do something. Well I can be fairly determined!
This one from the weekend as it's not been possible to take any pictures today for one reason or another. I love watching the boys when they are out in the woods, sometimes they jabber away to each other acting out some role, other times they are lost in thought.
Greg went to his friend Toby's "King Party" dressed up in all his finery, and doesn't he just look regal!
The boys love playing games when there's a bit of time spare before bedtime, which is not every day! However this was last night's game which Lewis managed to win, although I'm not sure if his dice was loaded.
Today is the official birthday, but unfortunately Gran and Grandan had to head for home! So there was lots of hugs after breakfast and then everything was back to normal for the clan. All except for Miranda who was wearing her beads and badge, who headed off for Playgroup in the village, to tell her friends all about the visitors, ...and the party.....
Today we had Miranda's birthday party with the Brown Hall clan. Ron and Ann seeing if they can get Miranda to look towards the camera, and proving it's possible to get one person to look forwards but not three at the same time...
Gran and Grandan playing Pooh sticks with the boys on Saturday morning near Rans Wood in the Forest. We had a lovely walk in the glorious sunshine and autumnal colours, before stopping for a little smackerel of something - as Pooh would say...
Miranda was standing next to the chair in the study when she started looking at the book which happened to be sitting on the chair, so this shot is a nice follow on from the one of Lewis reading a few nights ago.
The days when Gregory would smile for the camera, or simply ignore me at my pleasure, are almost gone for the time being. He enjoys teasing me and depriving me of my photo opportunities - or at least that's how I see it!
Our neighbour Brian walked past as I was laying on the ground taking this picture - "Shall I call an ambulance, because someone's bound to get injured!" he joked...
Fun and frivolity at bathtime tonight. I dont normally have the patience for getting my camera at the same time as trying to get the kids bathed and ready for bed, but tonight I took a few pictures and this one capture the vitality of carefree playtime...
Cars and Jigsaws, you can't really go wrong with this combination where Greg is concerned - he's a natural when it comes to this sort of activity - he just picks up pieces and they seem to fit into place.
Lewis engrossed in his bedtime story, which tonight is the "Secret Seven Fireworks"
