Sunday, January 26, 2014

Raf's week!

Raf's weeks are usually very busy, with Monday swim class, school Tues-Thurs, dance class on Friday,  gym class on Saturday mornings, and usually a birthday party, too. He's only 4! What will the teen years bring us, I wonder. When at home he really has fun with his magnet tiles he received at Christmas... usually he builds some sort of house, garage, or depot for his trains, trucks, and cars. 


Last Sunday was Raf's best friend's 5th birthday party! It was a super fun event at a local bowling place. It was Raf's first time, and he was pretty good at it! He even had a spare (whatever that means!)


Raf and his friends Rowan and Elier.


The birthday boy!






Birthday hugs!


On Monday, with more snow, Rich and Raf built a snowman!


A hug for his friend.



And then it was to swim class.


Early morning train playing with his brother.


A good morning from his bunk bed....


After a good night from his bunk...


Backwards roly poly at his gym class.


Getting so big!



Charlie's Week!

What has Charlie been up to this week? He drew his first proper picture, ran Nana rugged with his continual desire to ride in the car she bought him for his birthday, played with his first balloon from Raf's best friend's birthday, and was generally just a sweetie, albeit one that slept horribly (just in time for the first week of classes!).


He loves bath time! I didn't get a picture of it, but Charlie also loves swimming. Whilst Raf has his lesson, I take Charlie into the pool for a quick splash about. He can often be heard saying, 'quack quack'.



Charlie's sleeping blankets with legs so he can walk, are really adorable. We call him the 'boy in the bag'.




Feeding Sammy...


Stories in bed.


Little climber...


Loves to drive his car, though it involves one of us pushing him around the house, around and around and around and around. The car is currently hidden in the downstairs loo!




Early morning play with trains.



Sunday, January 19, 2014

Nana!

Nana is here! My mum's been here for a week and will be staying with us for 5 more. The boys are so excited! Raf joined me for the trip to Boston to pick her up, and after the most nightmarish journey I've ever had (broken wiper blade in torrential rain and a really awful demented homing pigeon moment which saw me drive into downtown Boston), we arrived back in Maine late Saturday evening. Raf would not leave her alone... so many hugs and kisses. This was the welcome mum received.. 




And he's been glued to mum's side ever since.


Charlie is really into Nana, too! Lots of sloppy, sloppy kisses.


And Nana is FUN! Especially mealtimes.




And she even joins in with arts and crafts, though she'll be the first to admit that art is not her strong suit.



What will Nana create?


It's really lovely having Nana here! Raf is especially delighted. When I asked him who he loved, he said, first, 'the two girls in the house'. Later he responded, 'the girl from Spain'!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Words


Charlie's vocabulary is beginning to blossom, though we're not always good at deciphering what he's saying.

So far we have:
mama
dada
nana
hiya
Rafi (ay ay... at least we think he means Raf)
doggy (daaaaa)
duck (du... or ca ca - quack quack)
milk (mini)
go go (also stands in for choo choo)
this (dis)
that  (dat)
cheese (chee)

There are other things, but we're notoriously bad when it comes to interpreting things. My mum reports that he's been saying lots to her. We were singing some songs in the car and he was happily singing along, too!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Cryptic Raf

Raf, more and more, likes to talk a little bit cryptically. For example, I asked him the other day who he wanted to drive him to school, and he responded, "the girl in the house'! Another time, when I asked him who his best friend was, he replied, 'a little boy, he's my brother'.

It's not always so sweet! He went to the bathroom yesterday and said he was doing a surprise... 'something stinky that comes from my bottom'.

Funny, funny boy.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Cooking with Dad: Magic Banana Bread!


Mixing Dad's secret formula


Steady hands


Having a break


Charlie points the way



Looking good


Firm yet moist


Our little test-taster!



Raf's feet wanted to speak at snack time!