Dinotastic!!!!!

The family Hammond hit the dinosaur park for a grand day out today with Uncle Peter and Auntie Doris and had a cracking one. There were many lessons to be learnt too - dinosaurs eat pensioners and children, they roar as demonstrated by Anna and my good self and the last, most interesting and obscure lesson of the day learnt by Lucy was that if you pull your knickers and trousers down in public and attempt to run with them around your ankles you will fall over! Valuable life lessons that should always be reflected upon. On a beautiful spring day we bounded around the park attempting to find the dinosaur stamps so that we could collect our medal at the end of our adventure. I have to say my stamp enthusiasm wained a little at the end and Peter and I did contemplate violence with the attendant unless he handed over at least two medals for the girls. Picnic, ice cream, sunshine, giggling, mocking pensioners and playground after playground made up a wholesome family day. Thank you to one and all.......

It's all getting a bit silly in my house!

The girls have had an eventful week with a few moments I am not quite sure what to make of. Let's just say I have entered new parental ground and I am confused. The week began with Anna taking more of an interest in wanting to be a big girl and use the toilet, apart from the fact that she did not bargain on actually falling in the toilet which she did. Lucy, when told of her sister's distress, giggled and said 'can she do it again so I can see!' Anna has also developed a habit of going into the yard, getting some stones and putting them in the toilet. Oh joy! She can now say I love you though, so that makes up for everything. Lucy has become obsessed with bodies. I have previously noted in my blog that there is no privacy in this house, particularly in the shower. Based on the fact that Lucy sees everything and barges in on adults in the shower, we now have the worrying development this week that Lucy draws a penis and testicles when she draws a picture of daddy and adds nipples on a picture of mummy. Not good, not good at all......

Easter day zooms by!

The girls and I have had a lovely Easter filled with trips to the swimming pool, playing at the park, a carpet picnic at Grandmas and a massive Easter Sunday tea at Granny's and grandpa's with Uncle Stu, Auntie Kate, Evie and Matilda. The girls have received huge amounts of chocolate - the like of I have never seen. The sun has even shone, something that rarely happens to the family Hammond's bank holiday weekends. A less pleasurable end as a clearly exhausted Anna refuses to go to sleep and is screaming the house down. I have been winning the 'going to bed battle' for some time now and thought I had cracked it, but tonight she is really going for it. She wants to come back down and I don't see why I should give in! She is stubborn and never backs down. Neither does her daddy. Lucy has had a fantastic weekend, but today's picture epitomises the volume at which she has conducted herself - please note the wide open mouth in the very loud position. Let's say there has not been much peace and quiet for the last three days!

She's one stubborn customer...

Anna is one stubborn puppy. To say this young lady has a strong will is an understatement! She will not except help when trying to work out something new. She is such a determined problem solver and nothing stops her when she puts her mind to it. She enters the zone and quietly gets on with solving the problem in front of her. This morning she tackled the straps on her buggy - head down and focused, finished and said 'all gone'! Pleased with herself, she walked around the yard with a triumphant swagger that can only be known as a Wiggle! Now I have never seen that before....

A growth spurt and a half!

Some days it seems that all I have to do is turn around and Lucy has grow a few more inches and is talking in a more grown up voice. Today has been no exception. She has chatted away today in a manner that seems completely different from yesterday. The only thing that has been the same is the frequency and the volume! I can't even put my finger on it or remember what she has said, she has just behaved in a manner beyond her years. She has been very helpful in the garden today and was cracking company this morning as we walked around the car boot sale. All I know is that I have loved every minute of my time with the calm, polite and helpful Lucy today - please let her come and stay with us again!

Sisters are doing it for themselves....

Lucy and Anna are getting on great guns, apart from tiredness induced fights. They are a mischievous pair that really do seem to enjoy each others company with a healthy undertone of competition. I do love it when we all have a bit of rough and tumble followed by much giggling. The competition can rise over the edge at times about strange things such as using a bottle for a drink. Anna wants to be a big girl and use what Lucy uses even though she is very reluctant to give up her baby bottles and Lucy got very upset at nursery the other day stating that she was not old enough for a beaker yet! Lucy then does not want to use a beaker ever again as she wants to use a big girls cup! On it will go until they decide who can drink the biggest glass of chardonnay in many years to come! Will I ever be able to fathom the female of the species?!? I have plenty of opportunity to try and work them out...

A mixed bag of goings on.....

The girls (now thankfully talking to me) have had a mixed couple of days going from quite listless, knackered and poorly at times to have a wail of a time. Sometimes I think the five day week at nursery can really get on top of them. Lucy - had a very lethargic mother's day yesterday. A few cuddles from Granny did help greatly though. Both did manage to perk up though when it came to running into the kitchen, stealing cake mix spoons and eating them on the quiet in the living room. Not quiet enough, as I managed to catch them out on camera. There was much giggling once they realised they were rumbled. Not much of a mothers day for mummy though as we spent the day and night last night caring for two little ones with temperatures and not getting much sleep. I think she loved the cards, pictures and present though that the girls had worked hard on. Lucy in particular did seem to really grasp the concept of spoiling mummy, she did not however have the energy to carry it out. Maybe next year...All this tiredness has just provided me with the most amazing parental experience of carrying both sleeping children upstairs in my arms. You could not buy that kind of feeling if you paid a million pounds. The day to day experiences of watching the girls grow up simply get better and better. Watching them draw pictures together for over twenty minutes and the sponge throwing and giggling in the bath this evening was a joy to watch.

P.S Mental note - don't let Anna be in charge of the television remote control. This morning she managed to turn it over to the Playboy channel - much to Lucy's disgust!