Eleanor is starting nursery school tomorrow. She’s starting a couple of months earlier than Rosemary did, because the nursery school has changed the age when they start taking children (from 2 years 3 months, to 2 years). She is very excited about it and is talking about doing ‘painting and …
We had been considering going away for half-term. Actually, we went through a number of possibilities, from me and Rosemary going off to Barcelona or Valencia for a few days, to us all going to Menorca. In the end, though, we decided that a holiday at home, but a proper …
I’ve been thinking about stopping breastfeeding again recently, and a post from another extended breastfeeder has prompted me to consider it a bit more. I’m a very strong believer in stopping breastfeeding when both (or either) the mother and the baby are ready, rather than following a guideline put down …
Play Doh have introduced a new range of fairytale Play Doh kits and we got sent The Story of the Three Little Pigs for the girls to try out. The kit contains brown, yellow and pink pots of dough, a brick house (with a built-in pig mould), a straw house, …
I always think of Rosemary as having a very wide taste when it comes to food, however, it’s becoming apparent that this isn’t really the case. She has a number of meals that she really, really likes, a number that she’ll eat and then she has the increasingly frustrating refusal …
It’s almost time to go back to school and I was reminded the other day of the challenge of providing something for the girls to eat when they get home (Eleanor gets home from my mum’s at the same time as Rosemary gets home from school)* that will keep them …
We like words. Chris studied linguistics. I studied languages. We’ve both spent considerable periods as editors. We read. A lot. We’re also very interested in how children learn language and build vocabulary. And how the meanings of words can change over time. And how the words people use to talk …
It’s 4.30am and I’m upstairs on the Internet while Chris helps Eleanor get back to sleep and while Rosemary tries to go back to sleep. I just want to climb back under my covers and get that little bit more sleep I’m due. Please. Since moving into the bunk bed, …
Eleanor has started asking ‘Why?’ It took me a while to register that she was doing so and seemingly actually asking ‘Why?’ rather than just repeating a word she’s heard Rosemary use. ‘We need to hurry up and get dressed.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because we need to go and meet Granny.’ …
It’s been a while since I’ve done this, though I used to do it a lot when Rosemary was younger. As some of you will know by now, Eleanor is at ‘that age’ – the one where every single thing makes her cry and scream and kick. Apart from the …
