(Steve)
After a fabulous Christmas and New Year with our family and friends we returned to Mountain View looking forward to what this year might bring. We decided that, since the children had pretty much shared a room for two weeks, we should try this at home. Of course, all the usual stuff about companionship and comforting each other in the dark but basically we wanted Tommy's room to turn into an office. After we turfed him out and rewired the computer, it turns out they really like it! Bedtimes have got relatively easy (sort of) and they seem to take real comfort in each other when it's cold and dark.
We both love having the conversations with our two grown-up little people. Some of the things they think of are great. One night, after being told that they should both be in bed, Sophia and Tommy wander out of their bedroom, looking for attention. Tommy very solemnly tells me that there's a pirate in the room and he's a ghost. I gave this the short shrift it deserved and Sophia turns to Tommy and says 'SEE! I told you that's what he'd say!'. So mature.
(Sian)
So January seemed to pass in a bit of a dream. The main thing to be remembered was how warm it was and how little of the 'rainy season' rain there was. Truly beautiful and I would like to say that we have been toasty and warm for the whole of the winter. That however would be a complete lie as the heat outside just has made the icy cold conditions inside our house even more apparent. Whilst sitting in our newly formed office looking at the blue skies outside I am often to be found in my dressing gown (over my clothes) with my big winter slippers on. California truly has never heard of insulation.
A whole week in January was dedicated to choosing and applying for a school (finally – hurray!!!) for Phia. There literally was some kind of meeting very night for a week. The forms to be filled in, the injections to be had, the tiny bit of soul you had to give was amazing. Still, done and dusted and waiting (for the 2nd time) for the results. The school we applying for is our local neighbourhood school (so we stand a good chance of getting in) and seems really nice. Its a bit 'full on' – I think the school motto is 'Yay – how good are we?' (or something like that) but it does actually seem very nice. The teachers are very personable and they seem to expect a lot of the kids which Phia is so ready for. She's sick of my 'lessons' at home (my god I so could not home school) and very ready for whatever they throw at her. The only sad thing is that she will leave her lovely little bunch of preschool friends behind. But having said that she’s proved herself to be a tough cookie and she will be just fine.
Tommy on the other hand has decided that we did not test the American health system enough when he swallowed a coin last year (we never did find that btw – I'm really hoping its not still in there). Anyway just to see what they really are made of he decided to develop a lazy eye. Now the T man is a bit of lunatic in lots of ways so his left eye constantly doing crazy things does not help with the look of sane boy. Basically he's definitely going to need glasses or an eye patch or both. We have an appointment in a couple of weeks to learn his fate. I wonder how the America health system will shape up. I'm thinking I will probably moan about it. I can't be sure but am thinking this could be the case :)
So February has been a fantastic month. Obviously first and foremost the kids turned 3 and 5 and surely that means that life starts again for Ste and I – doesn't it?! T had a lovely birthday time – he didn't require much – present and cake were just perfect. We did also manage a trip to the zoo with his little preschool friend Katie and a trip down to Big Sur on a beautiful sunny day. Quite stunning. He is now 'grown up'. I am not allowed to help him do anything. If I go anywhere near him at the Little Gym I am quickly told -'this is big boy class mummy, go away'. Maybe I should feel sad that both my babies are getting independent – but in all honesty, its great :)
Phia required a little more. She really wanted a Finding Nemo party so that's what we did. We had it at home which as we had 15 children was a little crowded but it actually turned out to be a big success and Phia was just in her element. Was so lovely to see.
Of course the main birthday trip was Disneyland. Granny and Pops arrived and the excitement built. And it was fantastic. Completely knackering but fantastic. It started with a 7 hour trip in our big green monster down to LA. The kids were happy to watch Jake and the Neverland pirates (for 7 hours!!) whilst the adults played games like places in Britain started with the last letter of the person before you (how many places do you know beginning with Y?) I was crap but Ste not much better! After making our way through the hell hole that in the LA rush hour traffic we were there. Our hotel was lovely and big and only a few minutes walk form the park.
(Steve)
We started the first day with breakfast at Goofy's kitchen. It truly was a sight to behold. For breakfast you could have mac'n'cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets and of course chocolate cake. Which is obviously what the kids opted for.
The chance to ACTUALLY MEET Mickey and Minnie was quite a surprise to the children. I seriously thought T may explode with excitement. As it was, the nice people in the costumes put up admirably with a snotty, chocolately seriously excited little boy doing his patented running hug: think like a cross between international Rugby and karate. It's necessary to plant your back foot if you're on the receiving end of one of these to avoid being thrown backwards and upside-down. I suppose he's not the first to try this – even the slightly reticent Princess Miscellaneous did very well.
The kids loved the rides too of course. We seem to have brought a couple of adrenaline junkies into the world. T's favourite was Autopia where you get the chance to drive a kind of go-kart thing that's basically forced to go in the right direction but with sufficient determination is possible to get some pretty impressive banging/swerving type behaviour. He was pretty keen to 'bump Mummy and Granny' – who am I to get in the way of a little boy's dreams? We had to go on this a few times including The Last Ride where at about 8pm, Daddy and Tommy trekked over to have a final go. By this point, Tommy was so tired he could barely keep walking. Still, he managed to keep himself going and (despite Mummy and Granny being on a different ride with Sophia) bumped 'Mummy and Granny'. I never did find out who they were. Afterwards, he walked straight over to the pushchair, jumped in, wrapped himself in a blanket and fell straight asleep. Sophia loved a few different rides but Finding Nemo (birthday theme you see?) just about came top. Sian and I went on a kind of 3D flying video type-ride and figured out Sophia would be tall enough to go too. Sophia was really not interested until we pointed out it was a grown-up ride and Tommy was too small. At which point, she came over all mature and pointed out to Tommy that he could go too when he was big enough. It was a fantastic, if knackering few days, and something we definitely plan to repeat at some point in the next year. The place is just so big we missed a lot of things out and Sophia already has a big list going of the things she's wants to do when we go back.
(Sian)
Unfortunately after a beautifully warm January and start of Feb the weather took a nose dive towards the end of the month and was actually quite chilly for Phia's birthday, although this didn't detract from the fun. Teacher Ian (a teacher in Phia's room at preschool) described in as 'frigid cold'. This is a man who spent the entire winter in his shorts and has clearly never stepped outside of California so this was in a fact a skewed point of view. However the cold was short lived and we after sadly saying goodbye to Granny and Pops we finished of birthday celebrations with a trip to Capitola beach on a gorgeous sunny day. It actually reminded me a lot of an English seaside town and we spent the day collecting seashells, building sandcastles and eating ice-cream – bliss.
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