Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Saturday Morning by the Railway Line
Things are very busy at the moment both at work and at home so Katrina and I decided we needed a few hours for Katrina to get some things done. Thus Guy and Jack got up early on Saturday morning and took the train up to Johnsonville. It was a beautiful spring morning and we sat right up the front of the train watching the line ahead as it curved around the hillside and through two tun-dels (tunnels in G-speak) We got some shopping done at Johnsonville, including the Warehouse who were having a buy 2 get 1 free special on Thomas trains. With a bit of sleight of hand Daddy got Guy to choose 3 but only leave the shop clutching 1. We caught the train back down to Awarua Street (two stops from our place) where there is a short walkway beside the railway embankment that takes you to our local playground. Here is Guy walking along the track, still clutching his new engine, and picking garse (grass). 
At the playground Guy is developing lots of confidence, climbing up the platforms by himself, and before I could get into position to catch him at the bottom of the tunnel slide, he threw himself down it headfirst. I needn't have worried as the photo (taken on his third go) shows, he has it all sorted arms, out in front, and loving it. Then we played Pooh-sticks, throwing twigs into the stream beneath the bridge, but it has been so warm and dry that they kept getting stuck in the low and sluggish stream.
So with our jobs done and still some time on our hands we went to the Villa Cafe for a date scone and coffee. Here Guy is enjoying his hot milk, 2 marshmallows and his new engine Stepney
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Run, Chase, Mummy!
These are from the same weekend as the Daffodil express but too nice not to share. Guy loves nothing better than running around in open spaces, usually giggling his head off or imploring you to chase him. Here he is in the Wellington Botanic Gardens with Katrina. Note he is rugged up with enough layers to mount an antarctic expedition, that would be his mother's influence, handy though in case of the inevitable full speed trip up.
Oh dear, Guy seems to have inherited his fathers's legendary marching skills .
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Daffodil Express
On Sunday 9th, a warm spring morning, we got up early and went down to Wellington Railway station to watch the 'Daffodil Express' excusion train depart behind a restored steam locomotive. Guy wore his best Percy jersey for the occassion.
After a bit of wait for everyone to get on board and stop milling around, we watched from the overbridge as it chuffed towards us. As they opened the cylinder cocks to clear the cylinders for starting, it hissed and chuffed into a mighty cloud of steam and Guy squealed with delight. Then we walked back down the empty Sunday morning platform, Guy running and jumping with the joy of being a small boy in such a big quiet open space.
Having got up well before Katrina's weekend breakfast time, we found a cafe with coffee and bagels and a handy little enclosed child play area. Guy can say 'bay-gel, bay gel' and comes wandering over to bite off a chunk without using his hands, a bit like feeding a little penguin in a pen. A three year old girl turned up and took quite a interest in Guy. Here he is leaning on the bar of the play pen, eating a chocolate fish, trying to look urbane and not like the little train-spotter that he is. His cool demeanour didn't last for long though, when we got home , it was time for a full on Thomas and Percy Fest.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Going to the Zoo
Last weekend we took Guy to the Zoo on Sunday morning. We went to the early morning Vege markets first where we saw these flowers (flah-lers) on a traffic island. We wanted to got to the zoo becasue Guy has been talking a lot about 'ammals' (animals) and especially 'tig-GAHs'. (he tends to stress the second syllable, maybe it was those early months in France?!) Guy had a marvellous time, especially as he got to run from one cage to the next and walk up hills. In one of the first cages we came to was a beautiful pair of Golden Pheasants, "chik-KAN" said Guy and ran on to the next cage where a bantam hen was pecking and scatching in a dust bowl. "chik-KAN ee-ting durt'" said Guy. We were very lucky and got to see the Tigers coming out for a walk, and had morning tea watching the 'jaffs' (giraffes). We had a great close up view of the Cheetahs. Guy has a good knowledge of animals, we went over to look at the cheetah, although I didn't bother to tell him what they were. As we watched it's mate approached along the fence and Guy turned to tell me "lepard COMES".
At the lions cage the viewing area has some large concrete boulders which Guy decided he should climb, from the top of one he noticed the lion sitting in the sun on the next boulder (over the fence). Then it was running down hill, Guy deciding runing on the steep grass bank was more amusing than the wide pathway.
And when we left the Zoo? We couldn't get in the car until we had checked out the very interesting stones in the garden by the carpark
Monday, September 03, 2007
More trains . . . .
When Katrina was away Jack and Guy went to dinner with our neighbours. Guy loves spending time with Merryn and the twins Ellen and Fiona, but even more than his girlfriends, Guy loves anything to do with Thomas the Tank Engine. So you can imagine that as soon as he spotted the girls' train set, any social niceties were over as he pulled Jack over and started playing with their trains.
The girls don't have much of an interest in trains now, so you can imagine how ecstatic Guy (and Jack) were when Rosemary handed the train set over to them. It is a train/road set, and has lots of buildings, bridges and tunnels. It didn't stop there however!
Our other neighbours have 2 little boys who don't have much of an interest in trains either, so their Thomas set also came our way, complete with another Percy (Guy's favourite) and some multicoloured tracks.
So Katrina came home to an enormous train set taking up the whole lounge floor, and Guy and Jack barely able to tear themselves away from it.
Guy's happiness was complete when Granny sent him another jersey for next winter, with Thomas on the sleeve. Here he is playing hard with his huge train set.
Unfortunately, all went terribly wrong for Guy when he decided to drive both his Percy's into the nice little engine-size "tunnel" at the bottom of the stereo speaker on the floor next to the TV. Both Percy's disappeared and were not able to be retrieved much to Guy's consternation. Here he is looking for them.
He continued to look and look for them, Jack took the front of the speaker off and couldn't get them out, so Guy was told that they were stuck. When Guy had his nap, Jack had to pull the whole speaker apart (including the glued down bits) to get the engines out. What a mission! They were put away for a few days until Guy realised they might never come back and was so inconsolably sad, Daddy fell at the first hurdle and gave them back to him.
Here is Mummy reading "One Fish, Two Fish" to Guy to distract him from the missing Percy's
The girls don't have much of an interest in trains now, so you can imagine how ecstatic Guy (and Jack) were when Rosemary handed the train set over to them. It is a train/road set, and has lots of buildings, bridges and tunnels. It didn't stop there however!
Our other neighbours have 2 little boys who don't have much of an interest in trains either, so their Thomas set also came our way, complete with another Percy (Guy's favourite) and some multicoloured tracks.
So Katrina came home to an enormous train set taking up the whole lounge floor, and Guy and Jack barely able to tear themselves away from it.
Guy's happiness was complete when Granny sent him another jersey for next winter, with Thomas on the sleeve. Here he is playing hard with his huge train set.
Unfortunately, all went terribly wrong for Guy when he decided to drive both his Percy's into the nice little engine-size "tunnel" at the bottom of the stereo speaker on the floor next to the TV. Both Percy's disappeared and were not able to be retrieved much to Guy's consternation. Here he is looking for them.
He continued to look and look for them, Jack took the front of the speaker off and couldn't get them out, so Guy was told that they were stuck. When Guy had his nap, Jack had to pull the whole speaker apart (including the glued down bits) to get the engines out. What a mission! They were put away for a few days until Guy realised they might never come back and was so inconsolably sad, Daddy fell at the first hurdle and gave them back to him.
Here is Mummy reading "One Fish, Two Fish" to Guy to distract him from the missing Percy's
Boys weekend
A few weeks ago Katrina had to go down to Christchurch to clear Granny's house as it has been sold, so Jack and Guy had a boys weekend at home together and did lots of fun things.
First was a trip to the pool. Guy was a bit uncertain to start with but once they were in the water he was off! He was paddling around under his own steam and loved every moment. He also enjoyed a nice shower afterward.
Then a visit to the planting site where Guy tumbled over a few times, grazed his knee and got some big bruises. He's wearing some little turquoise plastic sandals that belonged to his girlfriends Ellen and Fiona and he loves them. He often refuses to wear any other footwear and says "handles, handles" if you ask him to get his shoes.
Then it was nature appreciation at Otari Wiltons Bush, a favourite spot of ours.
The boys had a wonderful weekend. Poor Daddy was struggling with the winter virus that laid Katrina low for a few weeks, but he had to keep soldiering on. But were they happy to see Mummy when she came home? Jack was because he'd been so unwell, but as for Guy . . . . Poor Guy got woken up to go and collect Katrina, so was quite sad about that, and when Jack asked who Guy could see at the airport he said "trolley". So there you go, the first sight of Mummy for 4 days, and Guy was much more interested in her luggage trolley. . .
First was a trip to the pool. Guy was a bit uncertain to start with but once they were in the water he was off! He was paddling around under his own steam and loved every moment. He also enjoyed a nice shower afterward.
Then a visit to the planting site where Guy tumbled over a few times, grazed his knee and got some big bruises. He's wearing some little turquoise plastic sandals that belonged to his girlfriends Ellen and Fiona and he loves them. He often refuses to wear any other footwear and says "handles, handles" if you ask him to get his shoes.
Then it was nature appreciation at Otari Wiltons Bush, a favourite spot of ours.
The boys had a wonderful weekend. Poor Daddy was struggling with the winter virus that laid Katrina low for a few weeks, but he had to keep soldiering on. But were they happy to see Mummy when she came home? Jack was because he'd been so unwell, but as for Guy . . . . Poor Guy got woken up to go and collect Katrina, so was quite sad about that, and when Jack asked who Guy could see at the airport he said "trolley". So there you go, the first sight of Mummy for 4 days, and Guy was much more interested in her luggage trolley. . .
My Train Ride
One cold but fine weekend a few weeks ago, we decided to take Guy on a train trip. The plan didn't go quite as expected as Guy's sleeptime is quite variable at present, so the trip up to Johnsonville and back ended up being a drive up to Johnsonville and a trip back on the train with Daddy while Mummy picked the travellers up at Crofton Downs.
Guy was a bit grumpy this particular afternoon, but a nice cup of fluffy milk and 2 new Thomas (what else?) books later, he seemed to perk up a bit. Especially when the train pulled into the station. He told us all about the train, especially that it is like Diesel (i.e. not a steam train).
Mr Milk-Moustache and reading all about Rusty the Diesel
Watching the train pull in
All aboard! Yeah, a train trip! Like Daddy's new glasses?
Guy was a bit grumpy this particular afternoon, but a nice cup of fluffy milk and 2 new Thomas (what else?) books later, he seemed to perk up a bit. Especially when the train pulled into the station. He told us all about the train, especially that it is like Diesel (i.e. not a steam train).
Mr Milk-Moustache and reading all about Rusty the Diesel
Watching the train pull in
All aboard! Yeah, a train trip! Like Daddy's new glasses?
