The summer is winding down, so gratuitous photo shoot time!

Enjoy. I know I do.......

Getting to know you....

Today is the last day of my holiday and I have to say my enduring memory of these last two weeks will always be getting to know Anna better - her personality, what makes her tick, her character and enjoying the simple delight of just spending time with her. I have learnt that she is scarily like me in so many ways, not just her good looks. She is stubborn, strong willed, loves a giggle, hates to be shown how to do something, will not wait her turn and really loves a tasty biscuit! She loves a cuddle and a tickle and the magical giggle that ensues is amazing. I have touched on it before, but the best bit is watching her relationship and love with Lucy blossom. They are emerging as sisters who play together and enjoy each other. Fantastic to see. Oh well, back to work and less time with my girls. I will miss them greatly. Lucy finished off today with the line: 'I love you daddy, thank you for a lovely holiday'. She knows what to say and how to have an impact. That one got me....

Update on Wiggle's walking....

Anna has really put some graft in today. I would say she has put together at least fifty odd steps today. All this and I did not even see her for about seven hours as she went to nursery. She has been everywhere and is really pleased with herself. Her walking skills seem strangely improved when she has shoes on her hands, but I am not sure that I can make further comment about that! I have to say that every day she amazes me as to what she can do physically: she climbs, bounces, walks and struts her stuff around with the speed and stealth of a silent assassin. If she gets it into her mind that she wants to go somewhere, it seems that she is determined to get there by hook or by crook. 'Determined' is definitely an accurate word to use when describing my youngest daughter...

Team Hammond hits the Zoo!!

We hit the zoo today as another big holiday day out at Banham, accompanied by my Auntie Doris and Uncle Peter. What a day we had, made significantly better by a reduction in general levels of whinging by the Looby chick. Anna had a close encounter with a goat that tried to eat her buggy and skirted close to being a Bald Eagle's lunch! She was greatly amused by the big cats and loudly cried out her version of 'cat' around the zoo. Lucy had a cracker too, the only blight on her day was her dislike for the smells around the Zoo.'I don't like Poo', she stated to a passer by. Strange questions like 'Why do Penguins not use toilet paper daddy, Pingu does?' also became order of the day. To be honest she has a point. Lucy also acted as our guide for the day, armed with the guide book, she followed behind us all chuntering away that she was sure the Tiger cage was the other way. Both girls crashed out in the car on the way back covered in many souvenirs and stains relating to their day - face paint, ice cream, drinks, a squirt frog and a thoroughly tasty picnic! My only last comment is - damn those bloody wasps - the only animal I did not enjoy spending time with today. Hammonds and Party casualties 0 Wasps 4. Not a very good score I know, but they were slippery and elusive.....

I suppose that makes me the fat controller!

Lucy went on her reward train ride yesterday, although her behaviour continues to be a struggle to get on top of and appeal to her that the 'better you behave the more you get out of life'. She has accumulated 15 tokens in three days. A poor show, as she knocked off twenty in the first day! Not that impressive young lady. Despite her moaning, we had a fantastic time on the train. She charmed the other passengers with her impressions of a steam train and when she stuck her head out of the window and called a golfer a Muppet as we passed a course was priceless. She seemed so animated and genuinely enjoyed a new experience. All one can do is keep at her and encouraging positive things. Although whilst I am writing this, this morning she is being a polite and courteous young lady!

A token stint of good behaviour....

Lucy has been a grumpy, awkward young lady in the last couple of days and the adult section of the family Hammond has decided to strike back in one consistent attack. She now has a system of receiving one token for good behaviour and has one taken away for poor behaviour or not doing as she is told. At the end of the day if she reaches twenty tokens she receives a reward that normally would be a day-to-day thing or something planned will not be cancelled. It sounds a bit harsh, but she really has been a sod! She did well today and the family day out on the train that has been planned will go ahead tomorrow. She did redeem herself when Amy left the car keys in Sainsbury's today, by explaining to the lady at the customer service desk 'Sorry Mummy is a Muppet!' Wiggle, continues to obsess about shoes, she even steals them from other people's houses and crawls around with them on her hands. She also has a little bit of a temper emerging in recent weeks and it looks like life is going to be tough surrounded by all these strong willed women. She is feeding herself now, although the scene afterwards resembles something akin to post apocalyptic chaos. There is food everywhere, even the walls. She has also become more adventurous by the day and found herself on the dining room table yesterday, much to my alarm! Standing up with a triumphant look on her face, as if to say you are never going to win this battle. Despite all this, I am loving being on holiday with my family. A couple of post work grumpy days where my wife should have probably implemented a system of tokens for me, but hey, nobody is perfect....

Mad dogs and Englishman...

The family Hammond have been out all day in the beautiful August sunshine. I am on holiday and today marked the first big day out for us in my two weeks off. Ah bliss. We have spent the day at the Norfolk dog show with probably thousands of yapping pooches of all shapes and sizes. So relaxed was I in the company of my girls and Mrs H, that I even indulged myself in some beer. We ate, shopped, giggled, face painted, ate again, sat and enjoyed the sunshine and just chilled for hours. Wiggle really loved the animals and gave a wicked grin as each one passed by. She lost the eye contact battle when she met her match in three very large Saint Bernard's! Lucy, the 'butterfly that does not want to fly' (to use her words) gave us the ultimate wind down from our day in the car back with her mega mix of shrilling, ear piercing songs with such greats as 'if you are happy and you know it, clap your hands' and the emotional and classic 'Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall'. I have to say that she is improving and is at times bordering on singing in tune...

Dealing with those Germans can be tricky...

Cleanliness is important and Lucy is fully aware of the importance of good hand hygiene. There is one slight problem, instead of referring to the importance of cleaning your hands to get rid germs she is talking about the need to get rid of the 'Germans'! Not that politically correct Lucy. Imagine if people started to talk about cleaning the French or physically inspecting the Spanish to ensure that their personal hygiene was up to scratch. If you think about it, a public slip of Lucy's toddler tongue could mean the potential beginning of world conflict. Anna, as you can see, understanding the grave consequences of her sisters mouth looks worried!

Another year flies by and I'm still knackered!

It's my birthday today. It has been an eventful and fantastic day and now I am worn out. I don't know whether it has anything to do with being a year older, maybe I need to go for tests or maybe it is simply that I have two very active daughters who do not stop all day every day! I think the answer is defiantly the last option. Anna especially at the moment is everywhere and you can't sit still for a second. Curious is an understatement when describing her. She is full of beans and I am struggling to keep up, as I am now in my mature years and the distinguished section of my life. Filled in a questionnaire today and was shocked to find I had entered a new age category (between 35 - 45). Ahhh!!! See girls - I have pictorial evidence of the physical impact that all your antics have upon me. Remember your daddy is getting on now....