FIVE, part deux

The stack of gifts (not all from us):

 His birthday cupcakes (yes, I made them when I got home from work at 8pm):

 Birthday dinner -- pasta with pesto and no vegetables:

Five, Part 1: Legoland

Well, Eli and I have a five-year-old.  I knew it would happen but I didn't think it would happen so quickly.  (Yes, I sound like my mother.)

Tommy had a great day yesterday.  He woke up quite early, and I presented him with bubble gum to occupy him until Lulu woke up and he could open his gifts.  He chewed the gum for about thirty seconds and then admitted that he had swallowed it.  (This happened two other times during the day, so if it's true what they say about gum staying in your stomach, he's got a decent sized ball of gum in his.  Note to friends with children:  push the gum chewing age a bit later if possible.)

When Lulu woke up, we went downstairs to a huge pile of gifts.  He tore through them quickly, and then opened up all the boxes to begin playing Playmobil and Lego.

But we were in a hurry because we wanted to get to Legoland when it opened, so our first bump in the day occurred when Tommy realized that he couldn't actually play with all his new toys.  We put a few things in a bag and set off.

The trip to Legoland is not too far, but it took a combination of the tube, two trains, and a bus.  We were all happy to be there when we arrived, and walking in and seeing huge dinosaurs of lego made all of us very happy and excited (okay, maybe not me, but the rest of them were thrilled).  Then, because we had never been to legoland before, we went to see all the cities made of lego.  Eli liked it best.  

Here are some photos -- pictures of the rest of the day will follow in another post (I hope).

Tommy's Story (because I've been typing away and ignoring him)

It's about Harry Potter.

Jeff ran away from the dragon.  And then a knight came to rescue Jeff.  Then a witch came and didn't let Jeff go.  And then the witch is a goblin from Harry Potter and then he tries to beat the witch-goblin.  Then the knight helped Harry Potter.  And then they were two friends.  The end.

And here's a funny story about a conversation I had with Tommy this morning.
We were discussing school and how many grades there are (all the way to twelve??), and I said that he might decide to go to college when he finished with twelfth grade.  He said, "I didn't decide" by which he meant that he was not going to go.  I said I thought he would go because it's really fun.  He asked how come? And I said it's the first time you get to choose the things you want to learn about.  To which he replied cheerfully and enthusiastically, "lots of playtime??"

Yesterday,

Eli and I had Mandy come and we went shopping.  As we walked through the mall (that's right, we're Americans so we sought out one of the only proper malls in London), discussing something I don't quite remember, Eli described something as "daft."

"Excuse me, honey, but did you just say 'daft'?"  I asked.

"Yes, I'm trying to use it more," he replied.  And he meant it.  So I invite all of you to mock him when he uses it around you.

Another funny thing that happened is that Eli tried on a shirt that fit him really nicely, but decided not to buy it.  I could tell he wasn't sold on it, but I really liked it.  So we shopped a couple of hours and I told him I was going back to the store to buy it, and he was really resistant.  I didn't understand why, but I marched him back to the store and purposefully walked toward the rack.

And when I found it I saw that it had a huge EAGLE FEATHER on the shoulder that had completely escaped my keen powers of observation when Eli had tried it on before.  So I started laughing hysterically and all the people in the store thought I had lost my mind.

Of course Eli was so relieved that he didn't have to buy the shirt that he didn't care that I was acting like a freakshow.

It's only a week away...

So some of you may not know that it is Tommy's birthday next Wednesday, but HE KNOWS and so do the rest of us.  Since the 26th of December, we have been counting down the days and his excitement that it's only six days to his birthday is, well, really amazingly sweet.

Yesterday morning our children slept late and when Tommy meandered into the kitchen in his underwear requesting breakfast Eli said, "guess what? Only EIGHT days until your birthday!" and Tommy said, "WHAT."  He was firm (and loud) but also seemed like he couldn't actually believe it.

The birthday plan:

1.  French toast for breakfast.
2.  A spiderman cake.  He does not care that I cannot make a spiderman cake, he does not mind if I buy it.  (This will help me stick to my no sugar rule, so I am okay with it.)
3.  A surprise trip to Legoland.
4.  A toy that he has been requesting since he saw it at Harrods after the Christmas photo (which I never posted).  It's a sword and he keeps reminding Eli about it.  I believe this is because he thinks Eli is nicer than I am and will buy the sword.

An interview of sorts

I have been asking her if she's a baby or a big girl for the past six months, whenever she looks at me like I should be talking to her.

A sad day indeed when I realized I needed to ask if she's a big girl or a little girl.  Luckily, she always tells me she's a little girl.

I should stop asking before she decides to say she's big.  That will be a tiny bit heartbreaking (yes, that's a glass-is-half-empty attitude but give me a break, she's my baby).

Some cute ones of the Lula

(I know I have another child but my perhaps my iPhone forgot?)

As I type this post, Lulu is in her bed yelling for her daddy -- she doesn't want to go to sleep and she knows he's more likely to come than I am.  (And in this situation, one might consider this laziness rather than discipline.)

We had a fun and busy weekend which was good because we all woke up feeling sad that Grandma Sid had left.  On Saturday we got the house in order and went to swimming lessons ("wee-ming") and then we made pesto (Tommy's choice).  And today we had Eli's boss and his lovely wife over for brunch and I honestly don't know who enjoyed it more: Eli & me or TOMMY.  Actually, I do know. It was Tommy.  I am not kidding, they played lego with him for two hours.  Then, we all went to Bishop's Park to discover that the newly renovated playground is open.  Lulu got run down by a scooter but Eli just picked her up and brushed her off and she barely cried.

Sometimes I can't believe how boring I am.  May I take a moment to thank you for reading?

Happy week!  Here in London, we are working toward a four day weekend.  Two holidays is way better than a big rabbit coming to your house at night, don't you think?