Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

All Aboard the Duck Train

I just thought I'd share we you all something Callum did yesterday afternoon. He told me while describing it that the sun is sad because it's raining and that the gate is to stop anyone going onto the train track (the pencils laid out) so that they don't get run over by the duck train. The stars are part of a car, which is broken. I just love hearing how children interpret a picture and explain it to you.

Here's the picture.



Saturday, July 21, 2007

Happy Birthday My Special Little Four Year Old Boy

It's Saturday the day before your Fourth Birthday and I'm sitting here while you and Daddy have gone out shopping for your birthday cake and I'm thinking back to four years ago when a very special thing happened in Daddy and mines life. I just wanted to let you know my darling how special and important to Mummy and Daddy you are. Sure you've bought us a lot of heartache and tears and annoyance but more importantly you have bought us the biggest joy in the whole wide world and we love you so very much. I don't think any other little boy could give the bestest of cuddles to match yours or the cheekiest of smiles to beat yours. You have this beautiful passion for life and fun which I hope you keep all your life and everyone you meet is drawn into your love for life and falls in love with you. It's been wonderful to see you grow up over these four years and see you go from this tiny little baby to this fun, loving, clever imaginative boy who has such a huge passion for cars and wants to be either a mechanic or policeman when he grows up, although you've told us you won't be a policeman that wears a hat as you don't like wearing hats all the time. This next year is going to have so much happening in it with you going to Big Boys School and us maybe moving home and I'm looking forward to taking this next step in life with you.

I wonder what cake you're trying to persuade Daddy to buy you. *laugh* You've been telling us all week that you would like a Dr Who one but I wonder if you see the Lightning McQueen one or if they have a Transformers one if you'll change your mind.

So will you remember this day when you're older I wonder. I suppose in case you don't I should comment on the big day. Last night Nanny Mary, Grandad Steve, Aunties Katie, Els and Frankie came round to give you your presents which once you got over your shyness (which I never understand!) you delved into with your typical lust for things. You had a good time and wanted to play with everything all at once. Then after they all went Daddy bathed you and I read you two stories (Dig Dig Digging and Choo-Choo Clickety Clack) and then you went off to sleep cuddling the Optimus Prime that Nanny Mary and Grandad Steve had got you. It was so adorable to see you asleep all cuddled up with it and I couldn't resist taking a photo of that precious moment.



This morning Daddy and I allowed you, in our family tradition of birthdays, to have a present early. It was a double Transformers set of (hang on I have to go and double check the names) Ultra Magnus and Skywarp. Transformers are you current thing at the moment, you've been watching the cartoons and playing with the Transformers you already have and any you didn't you named your normal cars after them. It's been fascinating to watch you do this and funny to hear your little stories. You have such a brilliant imagination. Daddy showed you how they both transformed (they aren't meant for a five year old child but we know you'll be clever enough to work out how they transform properly) and you both had fun flying and driving them around the flat and making "doooo" noises, I assume that is how the word is spelt. Tonight Daddy is going to show me how to transform them so that I can help you during the week when you have trouble. Should be fun and I promise to not break them.

This afternoon we have arranged if it doesn't rain to meet up over Hylands Park (you call it the park near playschool) with some of your friends to have fun and eat fairy cakes, hopefully also to sing Happy Birthday to you and maybe play some football. I'm really hoping the weather stays nice as we don't want you to be disappointed in not being able to go. The last few years when we've tried to do something on your birthday something has happened to allow it not to happen. Fingers crossed this year is different.

Well I've just spoken to Daddy who tells me you've picked out a Darlek Dr Who cake and he is just about to buy fairy cakes and be on his way home so I should go and iron your t-shirt you've picked out to where today.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Naughty Big Toe

The last couple months we've been decorating the flat ready to put it on the market. This morning while Callum was at playschool I managed to at long last finish painting the floor in our bedroom. Upon returning home from playschool I gave Callum strict instructions not to go in Mummy and Daddy's bedroom and told him it was because I'd painted the area near the doorway. We've been home from playschool for about 1.5 hours and it's taken him that long to at last get paint on him! But of course it isn't his fault, no it's the naughty big toe's fault for making him go into the bedroom. He does make me laugh with his excuses. It's like Callum's latest trick to not go to sleep at nighttime is that there is a Monster in his room that is going to eat me (that's me as in me Sarah, Mummy, not me as in Callum, little monkey monster maker up of excuses not to go to sleep) up. I just make out that I'm talking to the monster and he's just telling me he's trying to tickle me not eat me up.

Mr Spider!

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
Now Incy Wincy spider went up the spout again!



This morning we were woken up about 6.20am by Callum saying "Quick Quick! There's a spider! It's on the window! You've got to come and see!" After ascertaining that said (smart) spider was on the outside of the window I got out of bed to see it. For those that know our flat you'll remember that we have huge bay windows. Well Mr Spider (that is what Callum has named him, as he's also in a Mr Men/Little Miss stage) has spun his web across one of the side panels and if you catch the light at just the right angle you can see all the intricacies of his web. Fascinating stuff. Also because we're not having much of a summer and it's a bit windy every so often a little gust of wind will come along and blow him about and he stretches as big as he can and all in preparation in case he needs to mend his web.

I wonder how long Mr Spider will be living on our window? I doubt it will be as long as we had Peter Parker living on our fire-escape. He was a cool spider that we had living with us for a couple months when Callum was born. As Daz was still a smoker at the time he'd go outside and sit on the fire-escape, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other and a newspaper on his lap and have a smoke. Peter Parker would ocassionally spin down on a line and have a look at Daz and then slowly make his way up. Also PP would like to try and make me jump when late at night I would be bringing in the washing and quickly spin down just inches about my shoulder. Sadly though one day we woke up after a heavy downpour and PP was longer there. You'd never guess from this post that I have a fear of spiders but the thing is if they are outside my home I don't mind them. They just have to learn to be smart and not enter my home and if they do we'll be fine with each other.

Hopefully Mr Spider will stay smart and for the moment he's keeping Callum entertained.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Slideshow

Since I got my digital camera all those years ago I've become click happy. This of course does have its downfalls... mostly how much space those photos take up on your computer/laptop. I won't tell you the exact amount of photos currently on our laptop but I think it's round about a few thousand. Armed with this thought I have planned to try and upload as many as I can onto the photobucket site that we have so that they (hopefully) won't be lost. While at photobucket I noticed that they have added some cool little features one of them being slideshow.

So here (if it works) is a little sample of one the I created with a couple of my favourite more recent photos of Callum.


Robots in Disguise

Yep Transformers has hit the White House.

True to Callum form the release of the new Transformers movie has him with a new love although one that still encompasses his one true love of cars! The last few weeks Callum has been asking about us taking him to see the movie at the cinema but luckily Daz had some episodes on DVD which Callum has been lapping up, so we may not have a disappointed little boy when we don't take him. Also (as Daz and I... well mostly Daz, are such geeks) we have some Transformers comics. Most mornings Callum will come into our bedroom and bombard Daz with questions about the Transformers, such as "What is the yellow one called Daddy?" (by the way it's Bumblebee and Callum knows this full well, he just likes to ask Daz.) "What's the digger called Daddy?" (I have no idea the answer to this!) and so on and points them out in the comic he has chosen to bring in.

With all this and the cost of the actual toy Transformers costing so much that we haven't bought him any Callum has resorted to the next best thing. We have this huge toy bucket that is full to overflowing with Callum's small toy cars/vehicles. The last few days Callum has been going through this bucket and finding the vehicles that match up with the Transformers, mostly the Autobots, I've yet to hear him name any Decpeticons, and give them the right name. The red lorry he has is Optimus Prime, the green jeep he has is Hound and the yellow beetle car is Bumblebee. He then lines them all up in a row and makes the Transforming noises and pretends that they have transformed. It's so cute and adorable and each one has it's own different voice. Also along with the transforming noises Callum also sings part of the Transformers song. He makes up his own little battle scenes with them and "the other cars" and little stories. I shouldn't be surprised but I'm amazed at how much he has taken the Transformers to his little heart.

Hopefully he won't have outgrown them in a couple weeks as I've asked someone to get him the Transformers Dress Up costume for his birthday. Now that's going to bring on a whole new level of fun and stories.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Favourite colour is Blue

So today Callum and I made some Thomas the Tank Engine fairy cakes. It was one of those little packs with all the stuff made up you just add and egg and water, nice and simple. Callum was very helpful in mixing it all togther and I put the mixture into the cake cases and put them in to cook.

After that came the icing. Now Callum's favourite colour for those that don't know is Blue and what with these being Thomas Tank cakes I thought it would be cool to have blue icing on the cakes. I didn't think I'd end up with a blue son too! I'd careful put the lid back on the bottle and put it to the back of the sideboard (hidden I thought) while I mixed up the icing and started putting it on the cakes. Callum comes strolling in and first thing he spies is the bottle of blue food dye. So being Callum he has to ignore the loud shout from me of "No!!!!!!!" and open up the bottle and take a gulp. As you know that stuff tastes vile neat and that's what Callum thought. There was blue dye all dripping out his mouth so he did what was only natural and wipe it... all across his face and hands! The little monkey monster!! LOL!! After the horrible taste had dissipated he did find it funny. Then we had the mad rush to the bathroom where I found that it wouldn't wash off his face but thankfully toothpaste cleaned up this teeth. So then I had the panic but laughing phonecall to my Mum asking what to do. Plenty of ideas were given. I then remembered that in the cupboard I had a tub of Bicarbonate of Soda so I've stood Callum at the kitchen sinks and scrubbed him clean. Now I just have to make sure he doesn't go looking for the green dye to make himself look like The Incredible Hulk.