Sunday, June 28, 2009
Track Laying
It took a week for the plaster to dry while cold southerly rain lashed the house, but eventually it did and then we got to spray paint it all brown and sprinkle on some model grass and wait another week for all that to dry, but eventually it did and we brought the layout back into the lounge so we could work on it it. Here we are laying the track and running the express coaches over the track to check clearances. Hard to keep track of all the tools let alone rolling stock in this view where Guy was playing with things as fast as Jack could arrange them. The sun made an apperance here, on the shortest day of the year. Guy was delighted to find the express train has a dining car with little plates on the tables.
Landscaping in the Lounge
Building a realistic landscape of plaster soaked papertowels over carved sheets of polystrene was always going to be stunningly messy, even before you include a three year old assistant. The plane was to do this in the garage. But with outside tempertures plummeting the fridge was actually warmer than the garage and Katrina decided Guy would turn into a little popsicle before we were even halfway done building mountains. So in like the truly good mummy she is she suggested we set the project up in the lounge, with plastic tarpulins and drop cloths in place. While Jack glues and shapes the slabs of polystyrene, Guy couldn't wait to get some trains running, so Jack has laid out his blue plastic train set in an reasonable approximation of where the rails will go.
Note the assistant is now trying to balance on a soccer ball while Jack works with an open bucket of plaster.
The Underbed Layout
Since last year when Guy discovered the box of old Hornby trains that Jack had hidden away under the workbench and aided by the purchase of a single bed for Guy that came with a rollaway bed underneath it, Jack and Guy have talked about building the 'underbed layout'. With the cold and wet of midwinter keeping them indoors, this June the construction has begun in earnest. First steps were to build a good baseboard, in the garage with the power tools, note assistant with small ear defenders, but nonetheless escaping from the noise.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Guy loves Grandad
We went down to visit Grandad and Verna a few weeks ago and Guy was so excited to go down and see them (and their train set!). Guy loves his Grandad and just loves hanging out with him, and they had a great weekend together.
Guy likes Grandad's cropped haircut and he liked sitting on the arm of Grandad's chair and patting his head....
Then when he'd had enough of sitting on the arm of the chair, he leant back on Grandad's legs to watch TV.
He was so taken with Grandad's buzzer cut that Grandad took Guy down to Clark's garage barber shop and had "his ears lowered". Grandad has a number zero cut but Mummy said she didn't want Guy to look like a thug so she agreed to a number 4. Guy sat there very nicely and let Clark shear his head with the clippers. He was very pleased with his new haircut and kept running to the mirror to check it out and touch it (and 2 weeks on is still doing so!). Here are Grandad and Guy with their new haircuts....
Guy likes Grandad's cropped haircut and he liked sitting on the arm of Grandad's chair and patting his head....
Then when he'd had enough of sitting on the arm of the chair, he leant back on Grandad's legs to watch TV.
He was so taken with Grandad's buzzer cut that Grandad took Guy down to Clark's garage barber shop and had "his ears lowered". Grandad has a number zero cut but Mummy said she didn't want Guy to look like a thug so she agreed to a number 4. Guy sat there very nicely and let Clark shear his head with the clippers. He was very pleased with his new haircut and kept running to the mirror to check it out and touch it (and 2 weeks on is still doing so!). Here are Grandad and Guy with their new haircuts....
Random Guy things
Because it has been MONTHS since we've done any blogging, there has been a lot going on in our lives, but we continue to take photos as we go and Guy's fan's have been requesting some updates, so here he is having fun and being Guy!
Guy the copy-cat
We took Guy to yum cha at a very large chinese restaurant some months ago and he got really into it and was very keen to try the chopsticks when he saw us using them. He didn't have much luck, but he gets full points for trying! His (and our!) favourite part of the meal was the delicious coconut buns for dessert. Mmmm!
Guy the swimmer
Some months ago we were in the habit of taking Guy to the pool quite regularly and he just loves it. He's gaining more confidence in the water now and will navigate around the little pool by himself. He was very impressed with his friends Jack's and Elliot's goggles so we took him to the swim shop and bought him some teeny tiny little goggles! He was so thrilled with them he insisted on wearing them out of the shop and for most of the afternoon looking like a little Biggles in the back of the car!
Guy takes a shower
He's a little bath-boy and seldom agrees to a shower as he doesn't like getting water in his hair and face so we tried him with a shower cap and lowered the shower right down to little boy height. He thought it was great!
Guy shares his milkshake
Every so often Guy will request pizza from one of our favourite restaurants on the waterfront, so we will go there for a weekend lunch treat. He loves banana milkshakes made with bananas and was kind enough to share it with his Daddy (Jack's excuse was that he was ensuring Guy ate some of his lunch instead of filling up on milkshake). But lately Guy has been saying "Daddy is greedy" so it sounds like he has the measure of his father's appetite!
Guy the copy-cat
We took Guy to yum cha at a very large chinese restaurant some months ago and he got really into it and was very keen to try the chopsticks when he saw us using them. He didn't have much luck, but he gets full points for trying! His (and our!) favourite part of the meal was the delicious coconut buns for dessert. Mmmm!
Guy the swimmer
Some months ago we were in the habit of taking Guy to the pool quite regularly and he just loves it. He's gaining more confidence in the water now and will navigate around the little pool by himself. He was very impressed with his friends Jack's and Elliot's goggles so we took him to the swim shop and bought him some teeny tiny little goggles! He was so thrilled with them he insisted on wearing them out of the shop and for most of the afternoon looking like a little Biggles in the back of the car!
Guy takes a shower
He's a little bath-boy and seldom agrees to a shower as he doesn't like getting water in his hair and face so we tried him with a shower cap and lowered the shower right down to little boy height. He thought it was great!
Guy shares his milkshake
Every so often Guy will request pizza from one of our favourite restaurants on the waterfront, so we will go there for a weekend lunch treat. He loves banana milkshakes made with bananas and was kind enough to share it with his Daddy (Jack's excuse was that he was ensuring Guy ate some of his lunch instead of filling up on milkshake). But lately Guy has been saying "Daddy is greedy" so it sounds like he has the measure of his father's appetite!
Sleepy Gymnastics
Our little boy is very pleased with his "Big Boy's Bed" and has been very good about staying in it all night until he wakes up in the morning. There is nothing more wonderful than a sleeping child.... but some of his sleeping positions cause me so much amusement that I bring the camera in and take photos! Despite his room being lit by a flash he doesn't even stir....
The last one in this series was a rare afternoon nap on the couch; we told him to shut his eyes and the power of suggestion seemed to work very well...
The last one in this series was a rare afternoon nap on the couch; we told him to shut his eyes and the power of suggestion seemed to work very well...
