leaving Hanoi

The crib is sold.  The playpen is sold.  The dresser is sold.  The fishtank has been cleaned out.  The bookshelf is clear but there are boxes and baskets all over our room.  We're nearly ready to go.... I just need a passport.
We're having a relaxed time and it's like a holiday.  Yesterday I took Bernard to Kinder Park in the morning (a kind of kiddy theme park) and we went with Izzie and Sally to the Water Park in the afternoon.  What, no photos? you ask.  I know, it's really lame of me but I've got out of the habit.
It remains to be seen what form this blog will take when we hit the UK, if any.  Friends and family will be much closer by then.  And really, as Bernard gets older, the changes are few and far between.   He is obsessed with the alphabet.  He can recite it forwards, backwards and upside-down.  He will take a tune and sing it to every single sound in the alphabet, and then start back again at A.  The latest fave song is Ten Green Bottles.  Bernard prefers to sing it thus: "One green bottle, standing on the wall... and if one green bottle should accidentally fall, there'd be two green bottles, standing on the wall."  This is excellent language - but someone needs to teach him subtraction!!!
I am looking forward to the flight.  Honestly.  I feel Bernard has matured so much that the flight will be a positive pleasure.  Hopefully I won't be disappointed, but in comparison to previous flights it could barely be worse.  I am packing sheets and sheets of stickers, and will purchase myriad toys to keep him occupied.  Having mum so close, he will be happy and play whenever he is not sleeping, and he has a guaranteed seat to himself.  What could go wrong?  Watch this space.