Lemons are SOUR!

Well, now I'm 2 1/2 I've been looking through some old videos from when I was a baby last year.  Mommy thought I should post this one of me eating lemons.  Yum!  Sour!

Our Fun Trip to Kent!

Mommy and Daddy were supposed to go to the french alps this week, but the naughty volcano in Iceland caused their flight to be canceled. So instead, mommy saved the day by quickly planning a trip to Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. Its a National Trust property that is very very old. We all had lots of fun!

The trip to the castle is by train from London Bridge station. Mommy and Daddy gave me some new toys especially for the train ride! I love riding on a train. My favorite is the tube. I like to wave at the trains as they zoom past. Sometimes the engineers wave back at me!

We stayed in the farmhouse at the castle, which Mommy and Daddy call a "B&B". The owner, a woman named Sue, told us that they had just finished refurbishing the farmhouse, which was built in 1850. Its not connected to the Castle, but its on the Castle grounds. I made some new friends there -- the other guests were all grown-ups but I still shared my toys with them at breakfast and told them all about our day.

Sue and her husband have a dog named Inca who is very very sweet. She's a little bit old and has some gray hair around her snout, but she was very patient and let me pet her a lot. Mommy and Daddy kept reminding me to be gentle. Inca liked playing with me and running around on the lawn. I gave her lots of hugs and she tried to lick my face but I ran away.

The Castle is about a mile outside the little village of Sissinghurst. When we got to the farmhouse, mommy and daddy put our bags and my buggy into a storage closet and right away went for a walk through the woods back to the village. The day was bright and sunny and I walked the WHOLE way! The trail went through the woods, past a pond, across some sheep and cow pastures, and through an orchard. I got to see Salamanders, Pheasants, Cows ("Moooo!"), lots and lots of Sheep (my favorite) and lots of other animals. When the lambs (there were lots of lambs) bleated for their mommies, I would help them by yelling "Mommmmyyyyyy!".

Its problably not a big surprise, but I had a lot of fun kicking the ball on our long walks. Its still my favorite game and Daddy says I'm getting very good at it. He says that I know how to dribble and can kick with either foot. I don't know about that stuff, I just know its fun.

At the end of our long walk we stopped at The Bull, an old pub in Sissinghurst, for food and a pint. The Bull is a lot of fun for me because there's a kids' play area in the back that has fun play structures, a lot of open space to run around, and DUCKS! I spent lots of time feeding (and chasing) the ducks at The Bull.

When we got back to the farmhouse, we went for a nice walk to the lakes, where there are Geese. Mommy sat with my on a bench and we waved at the geese before we set out back to the farmhouse. The night was getting chilly, and so were we!

So off we went, back to the farmhouse, to see Inca the doggie and go to bed.

The next morning we woke up and this was the view from our window. Mommy and Daddy kept saying how pretty it was ... I was happy just to watch Mr. Tumble on CeeBeeBees.l

We spent most of the next day exploring the Castle and the grounds. Apparently Queen Elizabeth the First stayed here, as well as some other very famous people from long ago. Also there were apparently many French soldiers held captive here in the 1700's. Mommy said that there is more information available on the National Trust site.

Later that day we took a long walk along an old Bridle Path to go out for dinner. The scenery was very pretty and mommy and daddy let me run the whole way, which was over a mile.

Well, I guess I didn't run the whole way. Daddy and Mommy both let me ride on their shoulders which I love to do.

The gastro-pub where we ate was called the Three Chimneys. Its very old -- its been a pub since the 1400's!! Mommy says if you look, you'll notice that the building only has two chimneys. Its never had three -- apparently it took its name from when the french prisoners called the intersection where the building sits "the three ways" which in french is "Les Trois Chemins". Then through mispronunciation it became known as The Three Chimneys.

While mommy and daddy waited for their table, they each had a pint and I got to play with some of my new toys.

Then when dinner was over we all walked home as it started to get dark. I walked the whole way (again!) and was pretty dirty by the time we got back.

The next day we all went on a long walk from Sissinghurst to Cranbrook, which is another small village about 3 miles away. The walk took us through pastures and woods. I don't remember very much because I was asleep for most of the hike.

Cranbrook was very pretty. Apparently Charles Dickens lived there a long time ago. There was a big church there, a very pretty estate, a lovely high street and a neat old windmill. Once i woke up i had lots of fun runnning around.

My favorite part of Cranbrook was the playground mommy found behind the church. There was a big old horse ride that i loved, and there were swings and a long slide too. I love going on the swings. I had so much fun.

After Cranbrook, we got back into a taxi to the train station and headed back to London, very tired. We all had a wonderful time on our little impromptu trip to Kent. Take that, you naughty volcano!!!

GOALLLL!!!

As you know, I'm crazy for football (Mommy and Daddy say that back home you call it soccer, but everybody here just calls it "footy"). Now that I'm getting so good at kicking it really hard and straight, I have to practice my goal celebration. Here's a picture of me raising my hands and shouting "GOOOAAAAALLL!" the other day on Hampstead Heath. You can't see the ball, but I've just kicked it past daddy.

Springtime with my pal Jasmine!

Its springtime and London is turning green! And to make it even better I've been spending a lot of time playing with my best friend Jasmine. Mommy and Daddy are friends with Jasmine's parents, Nick and Lizzy, too, which makes it extra fun to get together and run around. Jasmine and I like to run around and scream a lot.

Now that the temperature's getting warmer I like to go to the playground with Mommy or Daddy (or both!) and play on the swing. I call it the "wheeeee!!" for obvious reasons.

Last week Mommy, Daddy and I went to Kew Gardens with Jasmine and her parents. There's a play area there that I love called "creepers and climbers".

Mommy got a treat for Jasmine and I on the way to Kew Gardens --- CUPCAKES! I'm still practicing how to eat frosting without getting it all over my nose. But hopefully I'll get lots of chances to practice, since we plan on going to Kew a lot this spring and summer.

That's Me with my blue cupcake and down there is Jasmine with her Red cupcake. Later we traded, so my face was covered in red and blue frosting.

I'm soccer crazy!

Everybody who knows me knows i love to kick a ball around. In the heath or in the flat - it doesn't matter where. If there's a ball within reach i must kick it!

So daddy thought it would be nice to share some pictures of me doing my favorite thing. He hopes you enjoy them!

This one is me in hampstead heath. I'm not kicking here, but I'm pretty psyched.

This one is from when we went to Paris. We were in a square, near a pretty church. There were tourists everywhere.

Here's another one from the same square.

This one is from the other day when it was snowy in London. I was kicking the ball all around hampstead heath. I ran a lot that day!

Here's me posing for the camera. Yayy!

And here's a quick little video of me dribbling the ball on our trip to Stockholm this past summer. I was pretty young then, only about 15 months old. I'm a lot better at it now!

Snow or bust!

There was a bunch of snow the other night when we were walking home from the tube, so I had my first snowball fight! Here's a video of me and mommy and daddy.
xoxooo Merry Christmas!

Time to catch up!

Hi Everybody! Merry Christmas!!



It's been a while since I've posted, the summer and fall have just been too fun. Now that I know how to run and hide and jump and climb better, Mommy ends up pretty tired at the end of the day. And on the weekend, I wear Daddy out too. Daddy and I have started watching football matches on the computer and I love seeing them kick the ball. Whenever there is a goal I yell "Goal!" with glee. So far I've only seen the Tottenham Hotspurs in action, but I'm sure there are more teams in my future.
I have also learned how to scribble and play with Play dough. My favorite thing to do with the play dough is to cut out little coins and then stamp them with patterns. Mommy and I put these into jars and containers and parade them around the living room.

I've also started really being a helper in the kitchen. I have learned how the mop and broom go back and forth and that when we're cooking I can, very carefully, pull my stool up to the counter and watch. Sometimes I get to help stir or put things in.
In September, Mommy and I went to Cologne to visit our friends Sabine, Jan, Annick and Ian. I had so much fun playing with Annick and Ian, even though it was very very cold the whole time we stayed there. We still went to the parks and playgrounds and had a great time. One day we went to Annick's kindergarten and she rode me around on a bicycle for my first time and I LOVED it!
I'm still only going to Gymboree but I'm very busy having fun with my friends Zephyr, Jasmine and Alafair most days. We go to the playground or play at each others' houses.

I'm very much looking forward to Christmas this year. I already have seen and played in the snow. Mommy and I made snowballs yesterday and threw them at the wall in the shower. Oh boy! What fun.
Finally, I have to let everyone know I have discovered a food I love (among many others!) Sweetcorn! Mommy and Daddy let me eat it off the cob and it is delicious AND fun.

Big big hugs and cuddles to everyone! See you all very soon.
XOXO Eamon Howard