Spring is springing...

Ah Spring is definitely springing...daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops appearing. The sun starting to shine with a warmth that feels wonderful on your face. Lighter evenings and mornings. It all starts to make me feel good.

 Jumbo sized sweet jar

And then Mother's Day appears like the financial sting in winter's tail. If Mummy hadn't fleeced me enough with Christmas, her birthday and our anniversary, this year caught me particularly on the hop on the back of our recent house purchase. And so I resorted to assisting Emily and Mummy enjoy Mother's Day by munching their way through an rather large sized jar of retro sweets. All quite exciting until the sugar rush kicked in, which was quickly followed by the sugar crash. Not very pretty to be honest...particularly with 3 kids and 2 grown women (the Gurney's were visiting) all going through the same sugary cycle at once. Still am sure the dentists will be clapping their hands with delight.

 Butter wouldn't melt before the sugar kicked in

 It all started with just one lollipop

And before you know it she looks like a liquorice allsort

Emily's really taken to our garden now that the sun is out. Which is great news for us and great news for the inside of our house, as we hope this love of the outdoors will be reflected in a reduction of internal chaos. The supreme being has also taken to a spot of photography, filling my memory card with a toddler's eye view of the world.

 Ball on Grass: A spring retrospective

And then the spring sun really came out. I love the poem 'Today' by Billy Collins...and last Saturday reminded me just of that.

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

To celebrate the best day so far of Spring's arrival, I wanted to take Emily up the Campsies for a hill walk where, for once, she wasn't going to be carried all the way to the top. It didn't quite pan out like that, as she did insist on being carried for some of it, but I did have a really quality Daddy-Daughter experience, and she rushed home to tell Mummy how she had climbed 'Daddy sizes mountains'. It was most restorative and just what I needed after a winter that seems to have been really dragging its heels in disappearing.

 Snack time half way up

Stunning sunset in our new garden

I need an axe...

There comes a time in every mans life when he needs to purchase an axe. 2 weeks into the new house and it seems that my axe-purchasing time has come. We are really settling in, and whilst there isn't any really major stuff that needs doing, there are lots of things that could be done. Extending the gateway to the drive was one, to make sure DDU (now 4th favourite) gets to sit alongside the house rather than on the road. And so I needed to purchase an axe. That's me, man of axe, and now truly come of middle-age.

 Man and Axe

The supreme being is loving the new house. She loves the space inside and running around in it. And, weather permitting, she loves the garden too and running around in that. She has also really got back into her book reading since the move which is great. She must get through 20 or so a day. Her favourite place to sit and 'read' is on her new window seat made by Mummy. It's a lovely spot and so we often join her and read with her too. Family life has never been so good :-)

 New window seat and comedy glasses

 Discovering posing for the photo

 Videoclip: Reading stories - Pittipats

Do we love February?...

There was a time in my life when my number 1 love was DDU - my beloved camper van. Then I met T and she became my number 1 love, then we had Emily, and now we've moved to a new house. Poor DDU gets further down the list with every year that passes. What also changes is that, like it or not, February is becoming a big month for us. Despite all our feelings of being stuck in winter doldrums in February, fate has conspired to give us much to be thankful for at the end of winter. We got married in February, Tanya's birthday is in February, Emily was conceived in February...and now we have moved to the most wonderful house in February. One week in and we feel like we have been here forever and we both have a new love (maybe not quite ahead of the supreme being but its certainly exciting)...So do we love February? Its getting very hard not too...

And please, we have lots of room for visitors and a lovely garden to run around in, so book in now for 2015. We hope to see many of you soon...

 Daddy made a very realistic banana cake for Mummy's birthday

 Boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes

The local 'pushers'

Videoclip: Letters and names

Really saying something...

It's incredible watching your child growing up. Everyday something new is discovered and something different is learnt. We are starting to enter the wonderful "What's this?" phase, where every possible thing imaginable is prefixed or suffixed by the question "What's this?". It's currently a true pleasure answering this question 50 times daily, although I am not sure that will last. Next comes the "Why?" phase apparently. That could be a whole heap trickier.

Emily's very first selfie

As the snow has melted away we've been out and about exploring our new surroundings with the first hints of spring in the air. It's been absolutely great having some of Scotland's treasures on our doorstep, and whilst the supreme being hasn't quite got our stamina she does enjoy trotting along through the countryside. Next week we move to our 'final destination' and we are all very excited. Emily is particularly starting to talk of 'new house'.

 The Campsie Fells are just a few miles away

 A rare shot of Daddy and Daughter out enjoying the fresh air

The Fintry Hills aren't far either

The best thing about the supreme being at the moment is her growing vocabulary and desire to chat about everything. Not everyone can understand her all the time, but we manage most of the time. It doesn't really matter though - she loves chatting away, singing songs, and her new favourite is counting. Sometimes she says the cutest things, particularly in mornings when she says "Mummy get up, Daddy sleep bit more." Now that's really saying something...

Videoclip: Nursery Rhymes (although not sure what the first one is)

Videoclip: Learning to count

Snow-trepidation...

"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood."
(Andy Goldsworthy)

Or at least that's how I imagined it would be. Emily's first snow since being a baby...exhilaration, playfulness and fun. Supreme wonderment from the supreme being. Again, at least that's how I imagined it would be.

For at least the hundredth time...note to self...nothing is ever straight forward bringing up children.

We were away for the weekend with a whole heap of adults and their progeny. Feverish anticipation was in the air as we arrived on the Friday night. There was snow on the ground, sledges were going spare and there was a whole weekend to enjoy it. All the ingredients required for an experience to remember.

 Picture postcard Pitlochry

It started so well

But that was maybe where the problem started. Too little sleep, a grotty cold and a world full of stuff that's actually quite cold and wet, seemed to introduce the concept of snow-trepidation into our lives. I was all set to revert to my childhood memories of sledging and snowballing. Emily had different ideas. She was more than happy to play indoors and look at the snow from a distance. But venturing out seemed to induce over-tired tears, sleep or minor discontent at the wrong snow for snowman building. Not quite what I planned but we did manage to get her on a sledge for at least a little bit. She almost seemed to enjoy it...almost.

Videoclip: First sledge before Mummy took over 

So for the weeks after we have been trying to foster better snow vs supreme being relations with mixed success. There's been moments of delight and some definite leanings towards pure snow-heaven, but I have to admit it's been patchy. Maybe another year will solve that and we just won't be able to get her out the stuff. At least I hope so...I am always one for re-living my childhood.

A smile in the snow

Letting off steam...

Emily is learning at a phenomenal rate. Apparently toddlers learn more in their first four years than in the rest of their lives put together...and this is nearly all done through play. From the moment she wakes up till when eventually she wears herself out, mainly all she justs wants to do is "more playing Mummy...or more playing Daddy". Either that or indulge in her guilty pleasure of "telly". If only we all got to spend the rest of our lives like the first four years. And to think, in years to come she won't remember much about it either.

Supremely happy

All the playing though helps her learn vital skills, whilst having fun and letting off steam at the same time. And given her voracious appetite its important we help her burn off those calories and use up all that energy...otherwise she would never sleep (and neither would we).

The theory of being an on-demand playmate for the supreme being sounds quite delightful. The reality is somewhat more demanding and exhausting. Most nights we sit silent and spent after she is in bed, till we summon up the energy to drag ourselves off to bed too. Weekends are a great way to rejuvenate as we get to take it in turns whilst the other sneaks off for a crafty nap. Fun and play for the wee one equals a pair of worn out old parents!

Emily is a delight though, and we are truly blessed by a daughter who has a lovely nature and a thirst for life. My most recent proud Daddy moment was when she went solo on her balance bike for the first time. As spring comes on I reckon she'll master it and then there'll be no stopping her. Well done to Emily!

Videoclip: Couch jumping...a good way to let off steam

Videoclip: First time solo on balance bike

A warm welcome to 2015...

Double steak pie-tastic

So once more we deposited ourselves on North Berwick to see in the New Year. And we had a lovely, lovely time. The evening started with a traditional scoffing of a steak pie doubler and the kids staying up far too late. This was quickly followed by a wee dram and watching Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham play in 2015; accompanied by the ritual conversation that Scotland really does have much, much better traditional music to offer but for some reason the BBC are contractual obliged to wheel these two out every year.

The next day Daddy decided to brave the loonie dook into the Firth of Forth, under the watchful eye and tutelage of the original Man of Iron and longstanding dooking veteran Big John. Daddy seemed not to disgrace himself in such notable company, managing to successfully dunk his head under, although other parts of his body are only just now reappearing. The afternoon was then followed by some first footing from Ohms and Ciara and their wee posse. But the highlight of New Years Day had to be Emily's first sparkler holding - to which the supreme being seemed to be supremely delighted.

Daddy delighted at breaking his dooking duck

Emily delighted at breaking her sparkler duck

And so followed a few more lovely days of quality family time. Lots of fun, laughter and merriment was had by all. Emily became completed besotted by her big cousins; Gurney's and Rooke's alike enjoyed some competitive Love Letter's (a great family game); lots of tasty food was eaten; all followed by Daddy and Big John blowing the cobwebs away with a jog round North Berwick. Thanks once again to the Gurney's for another lovely New Year, and here's wishing you all a wonderful, wonderful 2015!

Emi completely enthralled by big cousin Abbie

Guess who's who?

The happy couple 10 years on and not looking a day older

A nearly full moon shone over North Berwick