birthday candles

first birthday party

bernard getting excited about the paddling pool

working on a technical issue with baby andy

opening his birthday cards with daddy

little bao anh (Chi Nhung's daughter) is not impressed by Bernard's Jonny Ball impression

Hoi An

MC Bernard hits Hoi An

Bernard loved jamming with passers-by on his new guitar

On a very hot afternoon an inspiration struck me to take B to the Hoi An History Museum. It was a sorry affair with a couple of cannons and some coins, but had a nice child-level fishpond.

bernard makes a friend within the hustle and bustle of the airport

holidays begin

it is RAINING.  Not just average rain but raining so hard that you can barely see the lake from here, and the starfruit tree in the neighbour's garden is tossing around like a mad rocker.  It's rumbling with thunder and flashing with lightning.  Last night there was another big storm just like this with less rain and more lightning.  There was one big crack and the power went out, not to return till three the following afternoon.  It didn't matter that much because the lightning was so bright I could see to brush my teeth etc.  I opened the door after the storm was over and allowed the breeze to flow into the room.

Oh gosh I'd better post this before the storm cuts the internet again!

Plans for the holidays

A short Google search has yielded a surprising amount of stuff to do MY side of the river.  It seems South Londoners these days take parenting very seriously, whereas North londoners are too busy to blog!!
Things it might be fun to do this summer:  (looks an awful lot funner than last summer already)


The London Aquarium


Vauxhall City Farm

Battersea Park Children's Zoo

The Horniman Museum

Science museum Basement garden

Coram's Fields petting zoo 93 Guildford st

Mudlarks at the Museum in Docklands

Hamleys Toy Store

Toddler soft Play in Peckham Pulse and Peckham Library

Sand areas and ducks in St James Park

Francis Peak Community Centre, Dulwich Park Tues am/pm: monkey Music

sleep

Last night baby slept through from 7.30pm till 3.30am!!!!   This is the longest he has ever slept, since before the night waking began at three months.  When he had colic before that, he would scream till 10 then sleep through till 6. 

I'm exhausted though, because as usual when he sleeps well I don't.  And it is the end of the school year and everyone is exhausted. 

Yesterday B and I went to the park and played football with a rather grumpy two-year old.  We then went home and Bernard ate liquidised vegetable stew.  (I know - he is back on the mush it seems.)  We had a brief and unhappy bathtime and then read Giraffes Can't Dance for the third time that day.

It's doggy doggy doggy at the moment.  It's the first thing he says in the morning and the nanny says he is still listening for dog barks in the neighbourhood as he drifts off for his nap.  He runs to the doggy picture as soon as he can in the morning.  The other thing is Beep Beep!  We're very excited about the remotes from the fan and the air conditioning, which do indeed beep when you press the buttons.  If you listen carefully in the video I just posted, you can hear Bernard at the beginning saying Doggy,  Woof Woof.

Bernard's toothy grin

teethsleeptoads

bernard has been working on pushing out the top two teeth.   Nights are much better since I read Dr Marc Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Baby.    Now, thanks to the strategies outlined in the book I have been cutting down on the night feeds and Bernard is much easier to get to sleep.   On the night of our farewell gig for Julianne Bernard slept right through while the babysitter was looking after him, i.e. from 8pm to 1am.  This is now pretty normal.  He still feeds at 1, at 4 and at 6 when we wake up.    When he wakes at other times  I tell him to be quiet and go to sleep without even getting up out of bed.  A LOT better than the two-hourly feeds we were used to till recently, and MUCh better than waking up to 20 times a night when he was younger and hungrier. 
he is very talkative and communicative now... even though his vocabulary seems to have shrunk since the spring break, back to Doggy and Woof Woof.   Today he and Aubrey had a little play at school, because I forgot my pump valve, and Aubrey was visiting mum anyway.  So Mindy and I both tried to feed in her room but it was far too exciting for either of them.  Aubrey is an excellent sound mimic, and does maa and growl, moo and roar expertly.  Bernard seemed to copy her roar and I can occasionally get him to roar like a lion these days.  He loves the lion on his little tee shirt and is always looking down at it when he wears it.
We went to the lakeside today and there was a puppy!  Bernard loved it but it played too hard and so he lost interest in it.  He liked watching the older boys Maxim and Arthur playing plastic golf... they were rather distracted by a toad they found jumping in the grass, though; it was a funny game to watch.