Art

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Fish puzzle

Play

Bernard got a free garden set on the front of a magazine. He has been enjoying watering the pretend carrots. Watering the real carrots has been happening for some time but pretend play is a rare treat. He has also been learning to mix colours in his painting.

reading

It didn't come as such a surprise when, aged 2 years and 5 months, Bernard learned to read.  He has been obsessed by letters since the age of 18 months, and has been able to identify initial letters for some time now.  Last week he read all the animal sounds in his animal counting book: moo, quack, squeak, woof etc, on the page which has no pictures on it (though he may of course remember which sounds are likely to be written there).  But yesterday morning we were fooling around with letter sounds and I said, "What does M-U-M say?" and he said, "Mum," and then I said, "What does D-A-D say," and he said, "Dad," and then we carried on that game in the car, all the way to nursery.  "More letters," he kept saying, and he was able to do phonemic blending on plenty of three-letter words such as "peg", "bed" and more.  That was a step he hadn't taken before.  And so yesterday evening, we read the page in his alphabet book which has three letter words in it, and he was able to read about half.  Well done, little one!

at college

Nicholas and son visit Darwin College, where Nicholas is doing his PhD.  It's so nice there I'm surprised he doesn't spend any time there.

We met up with him for lunch and had a snack from the Snack Box Van, and took it to eat on the lawn at Darwin College.  Bernard has just learned to JUMP and it was very amusing to watch him jump like a kangaroo all the way over the wooden bridge and back.

at the green man

in grantchester.  ong ba ngoai came to visit, and Fenton, and we had lunch at the Green Man.  Must get the fridge more prepared for family to drop in at random moments!

nursery school

17 Oct was Bernard's first day at nursery.  His teacher is called Andrea and his nursery is a tiny Montessori on a farm slap bang in the middle of nowhere.  It seems to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  I drive ten minutes away from town and I am there.  There is no sign on the entrance.  Sometimes you can buy farm fresh eggs for £1 a box on the driveway.
Bernard said he had a nice time at the nursery, and he played with a boy called Alex.  The toddler class is also the toilet training class (!), so often when I arrive one or more of them are running around without trousers on.
Bernard is learning to sit on the potty now, and he is doing very well; I was very impressed at how much easier it was this time round.  He is quite proud of his peeing prowess and he has had a few al fresco pees in fields too: all very challenging for the first timer!

solar panel

Sorry about the sideways photos lately; it's my phone - but hopefully I have managed to rotate this one of the brand new solar panel on our roof.  It works along with a spaceship-like installation in our airing cupboard, and hopefully it will reduce our reliance on the oil in a way that won't require a lot of maintenance.   The cylinder is well insulated anyway so it seems I just put the hot water on once in the day and it stays hot all day and night with the help of the solar.  Jolly clever.

progress

autumn is here.  the house martins have flown.  and the last storm blew most of the remaining apples from the tree.  we have three huge tesco bags full of apples ready for crumbles, juices or compote.  there is an increasing amount of furniture and we have lots of boxes to unpack.  a healthy state of moving house.  i keep thinking that if we hadn't bought this house earlier in the year, we'd be still agonizing over houses.  now we are almost functioning in the new place.  it feels good.

queen of hearts

Bernard has been enjoying his nursery rhymes so much that we decided to make jam tarts.  He had one for dessert served with a petit filou. 

new house

we arrived in convoy with ong ngoai who installed a curtain rail and a stair gate.  Then we tuck in to a meal served on an upturned wine crate. 

out and about

Since arriving in England we have been visiting a lot of parks and Bernard is getting more and more confident at climbing, swinging and balancing.  When we arrived, he had never been on a swing.  Now he loves swings and asks to go higher and higher!

at the park

We are in the kitchen. Bernard is playing with his blocks. Temperature is probably about 36 or 7 degrees but it is cloudy as we are building up for a storm. And so humid you break out in thick sweat just changing a nappy or washing up. This morning I brought playdough out of the fridge and the atmospheric humidity turned it horribly slimy. Bernard is doing fine with the heat but has a rash on hbiggbhhhhhjhfdzsfm,vbxctf jnhsgdxfdcfbnv vbbbggbddffxf bbvczzxcbbggnhnnhhhhjhrqghjk,kjmmjjjmjhgdaaaqwertuyuukiiooopppsadfhhhjkk.llzxvccvbb mm,,. Ah yes the joys of trying to do anything on a computer when he is awake. We have had to stick to cotton reusables because the plasticky disposables are making the rash worse. he loves the cream, though, and asks for more every time!
Today was a happy day as we did our usual Saturday routine of going to the market then to a cafe to play. We had a long nap and then Bernard, refreshed, played beautifully with his toys until we went to Tiniworld. An older child adopted Bernard and took it upon herself to guide Bernard round the soft play climbing frame, which he loved.
Just a few more days to go and I have a complex plan pinned up on my fridge. It looks like I may have found a few more hours for the nanny so am happy about that. Everything is falling into place. Glad I had all this time as it has been a relaxed process so far. Advice please on entertaining an alphabet obsessed toddler on the plane!

Sent from my iPad

Bye bye daddy

Nicholas' last day today before he heads off into the jungle.  We won't see him till September.  Yesterday Nicholas and I went to see the Matrix at the cinema followed by a delicious Japanese meal at Ky Y restaurant, just a stone's throw from the cinema.  The aubergines topped with bean and sesame paste were amazing.  Today we celebrate by having lasagne at home followed by chocolate mousse.   The chocolate mousse went wrong just the same way as last time and i guess I need a lesson from someone in whipping eggs to soft peak - I never get it right.  However, un-risen chocolate mousse is... refrigerated chocolate!  The lasagne also went slightly wrong as I got all the sauces ready and switched on the oven, to find that the second half of the lasagne sheets had gone mouldy in their tupperware box.  I tried rinsing them under the tap to get the mould off, but they still smelled kinda mushroomy so I went for penne bake instead.  Our mini-mart is having a holiday.
Anyway, the passport is here hooray hooray, and I have hired this super guy to help me with all my last minute bureaucracy.  He's called Quan and he is helping me to get a police check, without which I cannot work with children in the UK, I believe.   He also offered to come with me to the immigration department to apply for a new visa in my new passport.  I was extremely glad he was there, even just as moral support, as the officials were corrupt and irrational beyond belief.  The guy behind the desk initially refused to serve me because he said I should apply through my company (now on summer holiday).  Then he didn't want to because I didn't have a police certificate detailing my loss of passport, which I was unable to obtain as I lost it in an area about 2 hours drive from Hanoi and my local police refused to issue a certificate outside their area.  We pleaded politely and he said he would ask his 'boss' (actually his employee, as he was just messing with us).  Eventually they accepted my application.   The guy who was also in the laughable 'queue' with me was Canadian, and they refused his application because he could not remember the phone number of his guest house in Hanoi.  He remained remarkably calm considering the circumstances.

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.

fun at the Trade Union Hotel pool

Bernard singing - with words

growing up

Mrs Nhung said very self-deprecatingly "I smiled too much"

Bernard is now big enough to brush his teeth ALL BY HIMSELF. "Baby do it," he says.

At the pool today.

Flapper

Bernard has developed a tendency to flap his arms with excitement. An unusual development where everything else is remaining constant. He steadily bilds his language every day. This morning Bernard was learning to count up to 29 with his daddy. When I got home from work he was still hard at it, re arranging the magnetic num ers on the fridge.
last weekend was wonderful but tinged with regret at leaving so many friends before we had sufficient time to get to know them. Nicholas returned from a three week field trip on Saturday morning (I won't miss those!) and we had the baby brunch group at our house. Aubrey, Blake and Luc were all there, as well as Izzy, an adopted child. She currently has pneumonia but they are very relieved because they thought at first it wa TB.
On Saturday evening we went to a goodbye party for Sarah and Simon. they spent a while in the jungle looking for rhinos, and unfortunately ot is now extinct in Vietnam. Tabitha somewhat untastefully made these amazing rhino head shaped cupcakes, with jelly sweets for eyes. They were somehow fitting as a farewell gesture ... They also happened to be delicious. Sarah said she wanted to eat the very last one.