Steam, steam and more steam...

Angus probably didn't stand much chance of NOT being interested in steam engines. Anyone who has paid even a little attention to the development of Angus, will be aware by now that his current phase (one that has been going on for quite a long time now), is steam. He doesn't really mind what form his steam fix comes in - locomotives, traction engines, lorries, Old Glory magazine, books about steam, completely imaginary - but he does seem to require a regular supply. In fact, his interest has really morphed somewhat into obsession: he now spends a large part of his life being a steam engine. This does has its benefits as it can be a really useful tool for making Angus walk anywhere, an activity which he appears to find relentlessly dull. Permeated with steam fantasies, even a walk to the shops can become tolerable for him.

A couple of weeks ago, the extended family celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday, his brother's 65th birthday, and it would have been their Dad's 101st, all within a few weeks of each other. For various reasons we all (about 35 of us) descended on York. We had a wonderful weekend and York is a beautiful city, well worth a visit. Sadly I saw very little of York. I saw the hotel, the walk from the hotel to the National Railway Museum and from there to the railway station to go home. I saw very little else! Okay, I did see the inside of the NRM, in fact I got to spend two whole days there with Angus completely entranced by the place. You see, the NRM holds not only steam engines, but one in particular: Mallard. Mallard is no ordinary steam engine, it holds the record for the being the fastest one ever. Angus can direct you to several You Tube clips about Mallard which he has memorised. He quotes from them, acts them out, and from a few months ago, began imagining meeting Mallard in the NRM, driving it, turning its dials and leavers, checking its steam pressure and putting coal in its firebox. Seriously!

4.20 on Sunday evening and Mallard's footplate was opened to the public; Angus got to stand there, play, pretend and live out his dream with lots of phooshing noises and woops of whistles. He looked at me through the driver's window and said, "Mum, I'm happy." Fantastic.

York was all the more fun as Angus's cousin Frazer was there too - also somewhat steam saturated!

Is Isla smiling because Angus is with her, the pages are being turned and the movement is fascinating, or because she is being initiated into the family interest? Or all of the above?

In preparation for the trip, Angus decided he had to educate Isla. A few weeks ago while I was cooking dinner I heard the following conversation and snapped the above picture.  The conversation went something along the lines of, "This one's a road loco - look, it has a solid fly wheel. This one is a showman's - it has lots of lights. This one is red..."

Isla doesn't stand a chance, does she?

Six months old already!

It truly is hard to believe that Isla is six months old, but she is. And she is adorable, but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

Actually, she really is! She wants to go to bed at about 7.00 in the evening, wakes up between 7.00 and 8.00 in the morning, has about three short naps through the day, and smiles a lot. She feeds well, is very sociable, isn't sick a lot (unlike her brother!), and is hitting all her milestones. We really are blessed. And it is just as well....

Angus us being a bit of a handful at the moment. He is causing problems at school to the extent that they are getting some support in for him. He has some freaky behaviour which is making them wonder if there is some underlying problem. Hopefully there's nothing to worry about but he can be very hard work indeed. Just as well Isla is a place of peace and harmony! I'll let you know what they say about Angus when I know some more.

In the meantime, last week while Angus was at school and the sun was shining in our lovely conservatory, Isla and I played with the camera. Enjoy!

Oooops...

When choosing a name for a new child there are various things that you are advised to take into consideration:

trendy names that date.
the combination of initials.
names that when combined with the surname, sound bad.
names that are too difficult to spell or say.
And so on.

Nowhere did either I or Ken read "Names that when combined spell something else."

Isla M Thompson. People liked it. We liked it. The intials look fine and don't stand for anything that we know of and it sounded good.

Because of the way Isla is spoken, no-one picked up the combination of Isla and M.

Not until we had a letter from the Child Trust Fund addressed to Islam Thompson.

Ooops.

Anyone any ideas? We already have her passport. It may not be a problem but who knows what the world will be like in 20 years' time. Would she get a visa to Israel if we wanted to visit my friend who lives there? Would it lead to misunderstandings about her beliefs? We don't know but I am not sure that it is worth taking the risk.

I think the easiest way is to insert a name between the Isla and the M. Changing names becomes more complicated (and expensive!) and it is also easier to do it before her name becomes "attached" to too many things. We would have to choose a hard consonant to ensure that the words are really broken up.

We had thought of adding "Patricia" after Ken's mum but then she becomes
Isla PMT. Not good.

Equally we can't have Grace, another name we liked, as a friend pointed out that she then becomes "I slag." Also not good.

Suggestions? At the moment we are probably going with Kathryn. We know that there is a children's character called Katie Morag but I don't think this would be a problem and Ken is running out of patience having to think about names again!

P.S For bureaucratic reasons we have to do this before Tuesday as after then the cost doubles!

Mothers' Day

Happy belated English Mothers' Day. I know in Germany it comes on a different day and I have no idea whether they even have a Mothers' Day in America. Here, we had it on Sunday. Ken and Angus bought me a plant, but as yet I am still to ever have a Ken-initiated Mothers' Day card either from him or Angus, but a plant is a step in the right direction for which I am grateful. I did, in all fairness, also have breakfast in bed, but I suspect that this was more to do with helping me multi-task as I was feeding Isla at the same time and Ken was concerned that we would be horribly late for church.

That afternoon we went for a photoshoot at a local photographers. I have enclosed a link as this really is going to be the easiest way for any of you to see pictures of Isla. I know they say that the second child always has fewer pictures taken and it is so true. I have come to the conclusion that it is to do with the need of the older child to be looked after and you just don't have enough hands or energy or undivided attention to wonder over all the achievement of your new bundle. Be warned, with a little support, Isla was sitting for her alone pictures and she is only four months old... She was also tired and so didn't smile as much as usual. Actually, she didn't smile at all!

Any ideas for what combination of pictures we should order?

Here’s how to view your images from the Mother's Day Weekend Photoshoot:

• Go to www.teneightstudios.co.uk
• Click on ‘Portrait Photography’
• Click on ‘Client Area and select ‘Portraits’.
• Your password is: thompson

Life in (random) short phrases.

Angus is mostly asleep.
Isla is asleep.
Angus is now reading (short words but hey, he is only three)
Isla sleeps through the night.
Angus still adores Isla and loves giving her a bottle and playing with her.
Isla is trying really hard to sit up and already stands a little.

I have lots of blogs in my head that I haven't written:
How great it is having a helpful Mum living around the corner.
How great it is having helpful inlaws who come to stay.
How great it was visiting my brother and his partner (I despise that expression!) in Belgium.
How great it is being able to scrap life and reflect on all the blessings that we have.
(That's not a blog, but it is true!)

The snow has been awesome this year and I haven't been able to go out to play in it due to small babies and breastfeeding. This makes me sad.

I love being able to breastfeed.

Too often my day seems to involve too much cleaning up pooh.

Why are my chronological age, physical age and emotional age incompatible?

Blue is really annoying right now and seems to revel in lying, standing or sitting in passageways and doorways that I want go through.

Spring is coming and I am really hoping and praying that I am going to be able to go climbing this year.

I have just been appointed Scout Skills Instructor for this area for Climbing and Mountaineering.

I am starting to enjoy some pink, flowery stuff - is this the start of a slippery slope or am I becoming a victim of marketing?

It is very different having two children from one.