The creative juices are flowing in the Hammond house!

The girls have been drawing like their lives depend upon it this week. Lucy is loving school and is coming home drawing, reading and generally just wanting to learn. All this educational behaviour is clearly rubbing off onto her little sister, whose life mission is now to emulate her big sister. They will sit quietly and create an assembly line of imaginative creations, although Anna is not quite as skilled yet in explaining what she is drawing. You find yourself in that parental place that is a bit of a blur by simply saying 'That's nice Anna, very good!' - the reality being that you have no idea what you are looking at! Lucy treats Anna's pictures like the 'magic eye' ones in the eighties and spontaneously shouts out things like 'Well done Anna, it's a princess castle!' She obviously sees things that I don't!

Creative happenings are not just restricted to pictures, Lucy has developed a talent for elaborate story telling and her tale of 'Olivia the rainbow sheep' will go down in literary history forever as a classic. This week she came home from school having received a sticker for the best singing in the class, her teacher must be deaf, because in nearly five years of her life, this is not a talent I have heard any evidence of! Anna's powers of observation have expanded - she is now obsessed with my hairy arms and ran into the bathroom a couple of days ago whilst I was in the shower, pointed at my genitals and simply said 'What's that?'....

A tale of two girls...

The girls have had contrasting weeks as they both begin new chapters within their lives. Anna - bless her, is having a wail of a time at nursery in her new 'big girls room', but is not fairing very well when she gets home and is quite simply exhausted and horrible. I could flower it up with understated language, but she has been awful this week. She is so tired and so wishes to impose herself on every situation, that high levels of frustration are kicking in and we have had many a strop. Phrase of the week is 'It's not fair!' complete with the most hilarious 'monk' face that Amy and I simply cannot take seriously (probably doesn't help the situation at all). Her energy levels just fade and turn into temper at the moment. Ah, the joys of the terrible twos. In contrast Lucy is coping very well with long days at school, is doing her reading homework with enthusiasm and without complaint every night, she is talking about her day and has even been helpful this week. Watch this space the bubble is bound to burst. She did declare to Amy today that there is one bit of school that she does not enjoy and that is 'listening to the teacher!' Apparently that is soooooooo boring......

Crazy Chick!

Anna is one crazy chick! She is completely mad and at times uncontrollable. Despite this I have to say that this forms the basis of her charm and character and makes her so special. Mayhem is her speciality and she is very skilled. The path of destruction that she leaves when she plays with toys for example is equivalent to a level four hurricane and takes much longer to clear up! As much as she drives you mad, never listens to a word we say and does not sit still. You can't help but love this girl so much. Now that her speech is developing, her variety of insults and back chat has improved to a level that I can be nothing but proud of! She does wear me out though, coupled with a back problem I have at the moment, one is feeling a tad older this weekend and I have to say it is fifty percent Anna induced. Please slow down just a little bit for the sake of your old daddy, he's getting on a bit you know....

My baby girl is now a school girl!

Lucy will never forgive me for calling her my baby girl as she is always telling me that she is a big girl but to me she always be my baby girl. She has started school this week and is taking every day in her stride. She does not seem worried at all - it is Amy and I who have been a nervous wreck and tearful! I have been desperate to take a photo of her in her uniform and it just makes me smile all day. I am so proud of her and she is fed up with me telling her. 'Oh Daddy you tell me that every day' she said yesterday. May be I need to slow down a little and recognise that I am being a little over the top! Please also see Lucy's first ever piece of home work that we received early last week and it took us five days to get her to do. That does not bode well for the future at all! Please also see a highly excitable Amy pictured modelling all Lucy's new school kit. Please note the chequebook in the background as the endless cycle of sending money to school for lunches and bits and bobs begins! Lucy I have to say it again - I AM SO PROUD OF MY BABY GIRL! Lucy is normally very secretive about new things, but she has not stopped talking about what she is doing and her new teacher. I don't want to tempt fate, but I am so pleased and reassured by the start she has made. However, it could still go pear shaped yet. Since the early blip with homework she has sat down diligently with Amy and read her books with enthusiasm. Well done Looby chick!

A birthday treat for Grandma!

Grandma turns the ripe old age of eighty tomorrow and to celebrate a large section of the family gathered for a meal, a cake, presents and a general catch up and what a lovely family gathering it was. It was a long party and I was so proud of my girls who were impeccably behaved amongst a lot of people and noise. They were patient, polite and their manners were excellent. They charmed many people in the pub today and were rewarded with chocolate ice cream for their endeavours. Lucy found it very difficult to fathom how old being eighty actually is and could only come up with the sentence 'Grandma is very, very old!' I think she looks fantastic and if I look that good at eighty I will be very pleased indeed. Here she is pictured mastering the new technology of the cordless phone system that she was given for her birthday. Despite this modern gadgets she still manages to cut me off when speaking to me several times a week! She is such an important part of the girls lives and it was lovely to share in her big day. After all my girls are part of the legacy that she helped to build. It was a good family gathering today, I enjoyed people's company and I felt a big part of a wider family and that realised I do indeed have many people in my life that mean a great deal to me, even though I am not genetically connected to them. Happy Birthday Grandma...