At the weekend I took Ellie and Ben to Edinburgh Zoo. The king penguins were all gathered near the edge of their enclosure, taking a look at Exhibit 1, Homo sapiens.
Showing posts with label Ellie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ellie. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Trip to Edinburgh
We went to Edinburgh last weekend. It was a lovely warm day (last of this summer?)
Ellie insisted on drinking Jana's hot chocolate. Ben insisted on chewing the lid of my coffee.
Landmarks
It's been a busy time recently. Kids' illnesses and plenty of visitors are guaranteed to throw any routine out of line.
But it's settled down a bit now and given me a chance to reflect on a couple of important milestones.
On 22 August it was Ben's first birthday. His grandparents were up for the occasion. Ben himself was a little overwhelmed by all the attention and the new toys. Like most one year olds he was more interested in exploring the wrapping paper and boxes that things came in.
But that's him firmly set on the path from babyhood to toddlerhood. It can't be long now until he starts walking.
The other recent milestone was that Ellie has started at nursery. She attends the nursery attached to the local primary school and goes every afternoon. She loves it. I was quite prepared for tantrums and/or clinginess when we first took her there but quite the opposite - she didn't want to leave! It did feel a little odd leaving her in the care of other adults but we're getting used to it now too.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Kitchen Project: Day One
We are making some major changes to our house. Our project to move the kitchen downstairs and create a large open-plan kitchen and living space has begun.
Jana, Ellie and Ben have flown out to see their Czech family for three and a half weeks. I'm left here alone to keep an eye on things. We've got builders in to do the work.
Nothing can go wrong, surely?
Today was the first day of the work. This was the downstairs at the start of the day:
And this is how it looks now, after a full day's work on it:
We're also getting the stairs boxed off and a doorway put in:
Jana, Ellie and Ben have flown out to see their Czech family for three and a half weeks. I'm left here alone to keep an eye on things. We've got builders in to do the work.
Nothing can go wrong, surely?
Today was the first day of the work. This was the downstairs at the start of the day:
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| Our House Downstairs [24 February 2013] |
And this is how it looks now, after a full day's work on it:
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| Our House Downstairs [25 February 2013] |
We're also getting the stairs boxed off and a doorway put in:
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| Our House Stairway [25 February 2013] |
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Happy Birthday Ellie
Ellie turned 3 on Sunday. She really is looking less and less like a toddler and more and more like a little girl.
I hate to say it, but they do grow up so fast, don't they?
Anyway... Happy Birthday Ellie!
Life is so busy at the moment we decided not to organise a full scale party. We filled her room with balloons and hid her presents in various spots, and she loved this! She was still finding presents in the afternoon.
We bought her a shopping till.
She had loads of other presents from friends and relatives. Her favourite was a playdough dessert making set from her Czech grandparents.
I took her to see her first ever movie at the cinema in the afternoon - Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings. She just about kept her concentration to the end. I love these moments as a parent when you discover you had start doing something new with your child.
I hate to say it, but they do grow up so fast, don't they?
Anyway... Happy Birthday Ellie!
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| Ellie's Third Birthday [20 January 2013] |
Life is so busy at the moment we decided not to organise a full scale party. We filled her room with balloons and hid her presents in various spots, and she loved this! She was still finding presents in the afternoon.
We bought her a shopping till.
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| Ellie's Shopping Till [20 January 2013] |
She had loads of other presents from friends and relatives. Her favourite was a playdough dessert making set from her Czech grandparents.
I took her to see her first ever movie at the cinema in the afternoon - Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings. She just about kept her concentration to the end. I love these moments as a parent when you discover you had start doing something new with your child.
Friday, January 04, 2013
A New Year
Today was my second day back at work since the New Year. What an odd, odd time of the year this is. A whole mix of emotions caused by the end of the bubble that is Christmas-time and the shock of being back into the daily slog with nothing immediate to look forward to. A real uncertainty about whether the year ahead is going to hard, fulfilling, memorable, forgettable, or ... who knows what?
Yet it's also a time of year where renewal and opportunity are undeniably in the air.
By a quirk of the Christian calendar, Christmas and New Year come in quick succession meaning a prolonged period of festivities and indulgence come to an abrupt end once January arrives. The mere fact of seeing a new year documented on the calendar, "2013," feels strange and new. Midwinter has just passed and it won't be long before the first signs of new life start to emerge from the winter.
For me, 2013 is going to be the first full year of having a family of four. I'll watch Ben going through the same stages I watched Ellie go through two and half years before. Just today I saw him reach out and grab one of his feet for the first time, something I still clearly remember Ellie doing.
Ellie herself will be growing up too. My Dad said that one of his friends told him that 3 years old was the age that children really started interacting with you and while I'm not sure I agree with this I can certainly see that Ellie's general awareness and also speech have come on leaps and bounds very recently. In August, Ellie will start nursery.
For myself, I'm hoping to keep up my new found love for blogging and I've also made a commitment (oh, alright then, a New Year's Resolution) to learn at last one new Czech word every day.
Yet it's also a time of year where renewal and opportunity are undeniably in the air.
By a quirk of the Christian calendar, Christmas and New Year come in quick succession meaning a prolonged period of festivities and indulgence come to an abrupt end once January arrives. The mere fact of seeing a new year documented on the calendar, "2013," feels strange and new. Midwinter has just passed and it won't be long before the first signs of new life start to emerge from the winter.
For me, 2013 is going to be the first full year of having a family of four. I'll watch Ben going through the same stages I watched Ellie go through two and half years before. Just today I saw him reach out and grab one of his feet for the first time, something I still clearly remember Ellie doing.
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| Ellie Grabbing Her Foot (June 2010) |
Ellie herself will be growing up too. My Dad said that one of his friends told him that 3 years old was the age that children really started interacting with you and while I'm not sure I agree with this I can certainly see that Ellie's general awareness and also speech have come on leaps and bounds very recently. In August, Ellie will start nursery.
For myself, I'm hoping to keep up my new found love for blogging and I've also made a commitment (oh, alright then, a New Year's Resolution) to learn at last one new Czech word every day.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Happy Christmas
Happy Christmas from the whole Hopton family. This picture is actually from 24 December, because that's when the Czechs have their main Christmas celebration.
This is also the first ever picture of all four of us :)
This is also the first ever picture of all four of us :)
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| The Hoptons (December 2012) |
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Getting Ready for Christmas
It's three days until Christmas. I've genuinely not enjoyed this time of the year so much in a long long while. Ellie is at the right age to start appreciating Christmas properly. I've had a week off work already so I'm winding down and in the right mood for it all. We're not traveling anywhere or hosting any visitors.
Ellie and Ben have both come down sick, however. Ellie has got a vomiting bug of some kind. She won't eat much, is always tired and whine-y, and is occasionally sick. I'm writing this having just put her back to bed and cleared up another batch of vomit.
Ben has got an eye infection (a recurrence from a couple of weeks ago) and a stuffed nose which keeps waking him up. We also think he's started teething. Jana and I are sleep-deprived and shattered.
The thing with kids is how they bounce back. Even during the day, most of the time you wouldn't know either of them is unwell. Ellie helped decorate the tree. She enjoys taking several baubles off at once, wandering around with them strung from her fingers, and then placing them back in a little cluster. We bought Christmas crackers today so she's been placing them on the tree too.
Mum and Charlie visited recently. In Edinburgh we heard Christmas pop music so my mum bought us a CD and Ellie keeps demanding it be played. I recorded a video of her dancing and sent it back to my mum.
Jana is taking the opportunity of having me around helping with the kids by spending more time in the kitchen, cooking and baking to her heart's content. We are eating our main meals at midday. In the evening, we're eating Stilton and drinking port (well I am.)
By and large, give or take, this is what I imagined (and hoped) the run up to Christmas would feel like once I had my own family.
Ellie and Ben have both come down sick, however. Ellie has got a vomiting bug of some kind. She won't eat much, is always tired and whine-y, and is occasionally sick. I'm writing this having just put her back to bed and cleared up another batch of vomit.
Ben has got an eye infection (a recurrence from a couple of weeks ago) and a stuffed nose which keeps waking him up. We also think he's started teething. Jana and I are sleep-deprived and shattered.
The thing with kids is how they bounce back. Even during the day, most of the time you wouldn't know either of them is unwell. Ellie helped decorate the tree. She enjoys taking several baubles off at once, wandering around with them strung from her fingers, and then placing them back in a little cluster. We bought Christmas crackers today so she's been placing them on the tree too.
Mum and Charlie visited recently. In Edinburgh we heard Christmas pop music so my mum bought us a CD and Ellie keeps demanding it be played. I recorded a video of her dancing and sent it back to my mum.
Jana is taking the opportunity of having me around helping with the kids by spending more time in the kitchen, cooking and baking to her heart's content. We are eating our main meals at midday. In the evening, we're eating Stilton and drinking port (well I am.)
By and large, give or take, this is what I imagined (and hoped) the run up to Christmas would feel like once I had my own family.
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