William (these should have been posted long ago!)

William turned 4 January 2014….

We didn't do a party this year (not sure I want to create an expectancy for one every year so talked him into a day trip instead). He asked if I could do him party bags anyway for his Nursery Class, luckily I had a tun of tacky stuff and sweets I was happy to get rid of into them!
I really enjoyed watching him hand them out to his class at home time. I love his "birthday" excitement.

That evening after tea, we went out to Baskin Robbins for some Ice cream as a special treat for him.

Of course we were the only ones in there in January!

Ice Cream with Triceratops 

Then on Saturday we went to the London Aquarium to see the sharks. He chose two friends to bring, Cameron and Parker. He loves Cameron and giggles away with him all the time. He also had some of his Dixon cousins (Sophia and Sienna come and join him too).

Taking the tube to the Aquarium

Walking across Westminster Bridge to the Aquarium

I was lagging in energy (early pregnancy), it was a full on exhausting day….but I loved seeing how delighted and excited William was.

 

 After the Aquarium in the morning, we walked down the South Bank and played tourists with all the street entertainers before grabbing lunch at Pizza Express.

Stuff about William…

He loves Dinosaurs, Marine life, wildlife, and devours facts and information about them… he loves visiting the Natural History Museum, especially the dinosaur exhibition and I'm glad we've been able to live so close to it to indulge his interest. He also loves when his marine biologist uncle (Jon), stops by between his worldly travels and shows him photos, and videos of whales, penguins, sea lions, sharks… that hes seen on his job!

And I'm kinda sick of watching the series walking with dinosaurs…But Will isn't! And then on car journeys he hits me with all the facts.."mum did you know…"

We often go exploring looking for dinosaur fossils, and William is pretty convinced he's found some, as well as triceratops horns, and foot prints… The river has been very generous to us! 

He likes being in goal when playing football and is kinda good at it…

He loves to build and make and he brings his creations home everyday. 

His teachers tell me how kind he is at school to others around him, how inclusive he is, and how he maturely sorts out disputes before they get a chance to intervene.. I love hearing this but I wish he could be more like that at home!!! 

He is a sponge and loves learning, he thrives in a learning environment and loves nursery! He is so engaged, sociable and present in everything. He just kinda experiences life on a 100% level. 

This means he rarely just chills, but he's been like that since birth!.

.He is sooooo much like Anthony, its funny to see the things i get annoyed with, with Anthony, exploited and magnified in Will. 

He can be intensely affectionate, a perfectionist, a fuss pot, independent, knows what he wants, how he likes things, cheeky, physical… everything boy! Strong willed…always strong willed. 

He is protective of his sister, and loves her…. they wrestle, play fight, wind each other up, tease each other and make each other cry and then giggle and giggle and giggle… He had a brilliant full hearty laugh.

I love how he loves Anna though, i love how he has to hug her goodbye…

He is a brilliant older brother, and an amazing Son

Anna…. i just found this… forgot id done it and not posted…

I owe these kids a post each…. just to keep up with their fast growing which both pains and delights me!

Anna turned 2 in October (2013). I was hoping to getaway with out having to do a party but at the mention of her birthday William decided to educate her "Anna, birthdays are great, you will have a party and everything, with cake and games and presents"…. and so a week before I sent out an email to some of her toddler friends and my toddler mum friends. I kinda enjoyed the girly party prep in the end.

 I took her beloved blanket off her for a photo….

 I needent have bothered….

The cooker was a BIG hit and she got to cooking and baking straightaway, and hasnt stopped in the 7 months since…. such a great purchase. She LOVES it and I love seeing her enjoy it daily… as well as bringing me the food she prepares from it. She role plays with it all the time with her dolls and others. Most who enter our home are usually brought a plate of assorted wooden food.
 
Kinda proud of my pull off a party skills… although credit kinda goes to betty crocker and my "go to" party store Tiger. Both make birthday parties easier...

When ever we asked her what she would like for her birthday, typical for Anna it was all about the food, and she would say "cheese and pasta". She was genuinely delighted to see cheese and pasta shapes in the food spread… she cracks me up!  

Friends came and enjoyed it! Our mexican friend Paulina, who both Anna and Will love, surprised us with a home made number 2 Piniatre! Such an amazing thing to do! 

PARTY POOPED! 

ALL ABOUT ANNA 

(I just need the excuse and reason to record this stuff so feel free to skip it!)

Anna is an amazing personality in our family! She is addictive and everyone who meets her is cast under her spell. She is affectionate, maternal, generous and enthusiastic with love and expressing it, thoughtful, caring, observant and super sociable. One of our faveourite things is how she reacts when we come home to her or pick her up. With enthusiastically vocal delight she proclaims "mummy/daddy/william ive missed you so much" and hugs our legs! She never pines for us or anything but she always gives such a big reaction when she see's us… even if Anthony has only been in his shed/office for an hour and pops back in for the toilet she will still give this heart warming reaction. 

Other things we love ( and some that drive us crazy), are:

• How she sings her way thtough life, like she's living a musical, her improvised songs remind me of will farrels Elf Christmas gram song…. And she will often reel you into her world and before you know it you are duetting with her! She Loves when someone duets with her. Its kinda tone deaf funny! 
• She is a BIG foody! HUGE! Always has been. There is nothings she wont try, if you so much as have a crumb on your tongue she will sniff it out and ask "what you eatin'?", If you are near the kitchen surface she will ask "what you gettin'?", if you have anything in your hand that resembles food or a packet of food she will say "what you got? I want some!' before she even knows what it is… When Im cooking and she's "helping", she will try everything raw, I have to be careful with raw meat as she often wants to try that too! She is FOOD crazy! But we laugh at this and I also love that she eats such great food and is not picky at all… she eats olives, all raw veg, she even tried a raw onion! ha! 
• She says sweet things like "I knew I count on you" when i pick something up for her…. or she says that we are "best friends forever"…. I think this is from TV, but I love it! 
• She is independant and resourceful, happy to entertain herself and play solo but also more recently loves playing(and teasing and fighting) with William. They will full on scrap laughing as they wrestle. She has this one move that if she gets will in it, he's lost! He will be pretty rough with her but she takes it and gives it, and unusually wins once she gets her grip on him. She will basically hug him to death! She gets her arms round his neck in a kind of hug/head lock and locks them tight. If she gets her weight on him he cant move and he cant loosen her grip, and resolves to calling for me for help. She will be laughing histerically and rightly so! 
• In her independance she knows what she wants, and has a stubborn determined side. She dresses herself and chooses pretty much everything she wears… this means things like odd socks, tops go on backwards, the same hand me down unionjack dress every week for church and she will wear her "pretty shoes" all week to play in and then come sunday she puts her trainers on with her dress. I cant battle it, its too funny! 
• She will rarely let me do anything more than put a side clip in her hair. 
• She can come across demure, she's learnt how to look cute and innocent but she knows how to press her brothers buttons and wind him up like crazy!! As he organises something, or lines his toys in a certain way, she loves creating disorder where he loves order! (This can send me a little crazy too since I end up dealing with the head ache of it all).
• She has a real cheeky side, she pays no attention to rules, she doesnt care for disipline, she is not even phased by punishment! This makes some things tricky like bed time…. up she jumps and out she comes. The other night I couldnt help laughing when I noticed her coming down the hallway after bed time. I told anthony to be stearn straight away with her, his attempt was undermined when I heard a giggle and "lets race daddy" as she raced down the hall back into her bed! This simple disregard for rules and order also mean potty training isnt easy. Willam lulled me into a false sense of security with potty training. He is so exact and when you give him instruction he is precise about following it (very much his dad). He learnt potty training quickly and pretty much hassle free. She, (maybe more right brained like me) couldnt care less! Iv attempted it but with my health and seeing that she is going to be slightly more challenging lost the will power. I was hoping my health might have returned by now, but it hasn't…. i fear this could drag on and on… hopefully I can re-tackle in summer before the baby comes? :/
• She loves her scooter (and is fast on it), painting, drawing and is a jigsaw genius!! She is a story teller and will read you books more often than let you read to her. She 'reads" her made up stories to dolls and teddys and anyone who will let her…. William taught her to count to 20 before she was 2 by making her play hide and seak everyday! 
• She sings loud and proud in church to church songs, she also acts like the queen bee, waving and calling to her friends around the chapel! Such a social butterfly! 
• She loves playing in sand and water. She enjoys her sand box and going to the sand pit at the park now the weather is warmer. I have to tell this one cheeky story though… so she walked into the sand pit with a bucket of water, there was a boy diggin in the sand, his head down. I saw her look at his head, then look at her bucket. I saw the thought flicker across her face and rose to standing in my instinct, but I was too far away, the temptation was just too great for her, and she poured the whole bucket over this boy! I was mortified, as was the boy and his mum! But I was laughing inside too! 
• She can be a wanderer, you have to keep eyes on her as she will happily go off exploring on her own. In a building she likes to find sinks…she loves washing hands… i think its because she likes using soaps and creams! she's a girl! She also loves trying my makeup out! 
• She is a girl! and I love how she loves girly things! Mothering her dolls etc.
• Her fave tv shows and characters are Tinker Bell, paw patrol, bubble guppies….
• Her fave colours are pink, purple and yellow. 
• She likes to draw, paint, put make up on herself! 
• Her fave thing, that she would take everywhere if she could, is her comfort blanket! She has personified the thing. Dont come between her and her blanket! 
• And of course, she loves her brother Will.