Maia has a cold and a bit of a chest infection. As she is coughing and hacking like someone with a 50-a-day habit, I took her to the doctor yesterday evening. He told me what I already knew - that it was Not a Good Idea to take her on a plane. So, we are no longer going to Barcelona to see Pat for his birthday. However, as of this morning, he is booked on a flight to come over here for the weekend instead.
It has really brought home to me how free from artifice kids are - she is feeling rubbish and there is no hiding it. When she feels grotty, she grizzles and grumbles and groans. The flip side is, of course, that when she is grot (and snot) free, she is sunny and happy.
So, I have got a prescription to deal with the snottiness, and a Saturday afternoon painting session which may deal with the grottiness.
Might not have Spanish sunshine this weekend, but we will try and ensure a sunnier Maia.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
Bounce Bounce Bounce Bounce
Maia has discovered jumping and bouncing.
An example:
bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce "Look Mummy, look" bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce "No, LOOK Mummy, look" bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce
"Wow, good bouncing Maia. Would you like to do some dancing?"
"Yes."
music starts....
bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce
An example:
bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce "Look Mummy, look" bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce "No, LOOK Mummy, look" bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce
"Wow, good bouncing Maia. Would you like to do some dancing?"
"Yes."
music starts....
bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Adventures with Daddy: What Colour is a Lesson?
Well the easy answer, for those of you who don’t know, is quite simple. It’s blue.
Having spent the weekend with Maia sans Erica, I now have a greater appreciation for the power of children's poetry and for biltong.
Maia's love of poetry meant that the car drive of over an hour to see her great Uncle Douglas, (GREAT) Aunt Hilary and cousin Harry, was an example of how good her attention span has become. She sat in her car seat and quietly absorbed the various poems, while her father listened in abject horror as a little girl who told lies was burnt in a house fire and one little boy who wandered away got noshed by a lion. One of the poems was about a little girl on her first day at school, wondering what colour a lesson is and whether a teacher is someone who brings the tea...(there is a connection).
Harry (who is an outstanding junior tennis player) was playing in the club final at Wentworth and we tagged along to watch. Maia and I calmly undid all the good work of Erica and Heather by drinking Ribena and eating blueberry Muffins there might have been some chocolate as well. After the game, which Harry won to nil, Maia decided that she wanted to play tennis. Thoughts of Wimbledon and fame and fortune as her coach wafted lazily through my head as I chased her round and round one of the courts. I then tried to get her to play catch. (Note to self...this needs a LOT more work before fame and fortune).
And then home...more poetry and biltong (mentioned earlier). Biltong is dried meat from South Africa - it's dried to an ancient recipe, handed down, some say, by the god Zeus - or not. It is an aquired taste and one which Maia has aquired...if you listen carefully, you might be able to hear ancestors on my South African side cheering quietly. So, the journey home was poetry and biltong - and a moment shared in silence (broken up by jaws masticating biltong) between Maia and myself that I will cherish for as long as I live.
When we got home I prepped dinner and just as I was about to hand Maia her food she asked
"Daddy...what colour is a lesson?"
I spent five minutes patiently explaining what a lesson was. This was met with a perplexed expression. She asked me again.
"Daddy...what colour is a lesson?"
The answer is simple....it's blue.
Having spent the weekend with Maia sans Erica, I now have a greater appreciation for the power of children's poetry and for biltong.
Maia's love of poetry meant that the car drive of over an hour to see her great Uncle Douglas, (GREAT) Aunt Hilary and cousin Harry, was an example of how good her attention span has become. She sat in her car seat and quietly absorbed the various poems, while her father listened in abject horror as a little girl who told lies was burnt in a house fire and one little boy who wandered away got noshed by a lion. One of the poems was about a little girl on her first day at school, wondering what colour a lesson is and whether a teacher is someone who brings the tea...(there is a connection).
Harry (who is an outstanding junior tennis player) was playing in the club final at Wentworth and we tagged along to watch. Maia and I calmly undid all the good work of Erica and Heather by drinking Ribena and eating blueberry Muffins there might have been some chocolate as well. After the game, which Harry won to nil, Maia decided that she wanted to play tennis. Thoughts of Wimbledon and fame and fortune as her coach wafted lazily through my head as I chased her round and round one of the courts. I then tried to get her to play catch. (Note to self...this needs a LOT more work before fame and fortune).
And then home...more poetry and biltong (mentioned earlier). Biltong is dried meat from South Africa - it's dried to an ancient recipe, handed down, some say, by the god Zeus - or not. It is an aquired taste and one which Maia has aquired...if you listen carefully, you might be able to hear ancestors on my South African side cheering quietly. So, the journey home was poetry and biltong - and a moment shared in silence (broken up by jaws masticating biltong) between Maia and myself that I will cherish for as long as I live.
When we got home I prepped dinner and just as I was about to hand Maia her food she asked
"Daddy...what colour is a lesson?"
I spent five minutes patiently explaining what a lesson was. This was met with a perplexed expression. She asked me again.
"Daddy...what colour is a lesson?"
The answer is simple....it's blue.
Going Potty
Maia Miss M is out of nappies during the day, and into Big Girl's Pants. In fact, Big Girl's Pants is not an exaggeration - she is so little that the very smallest ones we can find are a bit baggy on her.
We have a potty song that must be sung (at top volume) while she sits down and it goes like this:
(to the tune of Glory Glory Hallelulah)
Maia's sitting on the potty
Maia's sitting on the potty
Maia's sitting on the potty,
and she's going to do a pee or a poo!
It is getting to the stage where she nigh-on refuses to perform without her choral accompaniment.
Guess she will be fine if she ever lives in a house with no lock on the loo door!
We have a potty song that must be sung (at top volume) while she sits down and it goes like this:
(to the tune of Glory Glory Hallelulah)
Maia's sitting on the potty
Maia's sitting on the potty
Maia's sitting on the potty,
and she's going to do a pee or a poo!
It is getting to the stage where she nigh-on refuses to perform without her choral accompaniment.
Guess she will be fine if she ever lives in a house with no lock on the loo door!
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Flights of Fancy Cheese
Last night I was making a salad when Maia started chatting away about Cinderella. I started to listen more closely and discovered that she thought I was putting Cinderella in the salad.
Worried that her imagination had taken a rather Grimm turn, I explained that I was using tomato, onion, olives, basil and mozzarella. No mistreated young princesses in MY salad.
It was only after I passed her a selection of the salad ingredients did I discover that mozzarella is mozzerella no more. It is, of course, Cinderella.
Worried that her imagination had taken a rather Grimm turn, I explained that I was using tomato, onion, olives, basil and mozzarella. No mistreated young princesses in MY salad.
It was only after I passed her a selection of the salad ingredients did I discover that mozzarella is mozzerella no more. It is, of course, Cinderella.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The Fabulously Elastic Birthday....
Maia is loving the fact that, due to her many international family members and guardians, her second birthday bonanza is stretching far beyond the more traditional one-day celebration.
She comes home from the Funny Farm singing 'Happy Birthday' and says 'Time for presents!' quite alot...
She even managed to bring some birthday cheer to our trip to the park this weekend. We were happily pottering about under the trees in St Albans park when it started to look like rain. We hightailed it into the cathedral, where Maia happened upon the votive candles, sending the faithful's prayers up to the heavens.
In a loud and clear voice, which fully took advantage of the amazing acoustics in the building, she started to belt out 'Happy Birthday to you....' and then wanted to blow them all out. I had to explain that this wasn't really done. There was a gaggle of old ladies sat in front of the candles who thought that this was seriously sweet, and they laughed and fawned over her, so she wasn't too disappointed.
She comes home from the Funny Farm singing 'Happy Birthday' and says 'Time for presents!' quite alot...
She even managed to bring some birthday cheer to our trip to the park this weekend. We were happily pottering about under the trees in St Albans park when it started to look like rain. We hightailed it into the cathedral, where Maia happened upon the votive candles, sending the faithful's prayers up to the heavens.
In a loud and clear voice, which fully took advantage of the amazing acoustics in the building, she started to belt out 'Happy Birthday to you....' and then wanted to blow them all out. I had to explain that this wasn't really done. There was a gaggle of old ladies sat in front of the candles who thought that this was seriously sweet, and they laughed and fawned over her, so she wasn't too disappointed.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Now We Are Two...
Saturday 14th August
Wow. Two!!
In preparation for the big day, Maia had spent most of last week serenading all and sundry with slighty less than tuneful renditions of 'Happy Birthday' (dear MAAAAA-YAAAAHHHH! Happy birthday to YOOOOUUUUU). Hmmm.
At just before 2pm, Lisa, Austin and Charlie (2) appeared bearing gifts. Maia was pretending to be shy, but, I fear, only to lull Charlie into a false sense of security before she pounced and expertly relieved him of the gift he was carrying. She did give him a kiss to say thank you.
Her own-age party guests were Charlie, Lewis and Jennifer. Also in attendance was Millie (aged 7 months), who showed she had the skills to hang with the older crowd by holding her own against the tumbling older kids in the ball pool.
The kids ran about, playing in the Wendy House, ball pool and the not-so-fun Summer 2004 game du jour of 'Avoid the Wasp'.
A game of Pass the Parcel gave everyone a kazoo, and Lewis was especially good at getting a REALLY loud noise from his. The cacophany of the kazoos neatly led into a music session, with Maia's guitar toting dad, Pat. This went down fabulously with mothers and babies enthusiatically belting out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Wheels on the Bus and Row Row Row Your Boat. Everyone added to the noise with kazoos, maracas and jingle bells.
Present opening was highly successful, until the bright pink and silver teaset was opened and the proceedings were focussed much more on who would like milk and sugar than on opening any more presents. So we left the rest for later - and what a lot of presents she had! Huge thanks to everyone who came.
After food and drink and cakes and Happy Birthday (which Maia led us in) everyone took their leave, leaving a very happy, tired, slightly sugar delirious two-year-old Maia.
A good day all round - check www.patrickcull.co.uk for more pics.
Wow. Two!!
In preparation for the big day, Maia had spent most of last week serenading all and sundry with slighty less than tuneful renditions of 'Happy Birthday' (dear MAAAAA-YAAAAHHHH! Happy birthday to YOOOOUUUUU). Hmmm.
At just before 2pm, Lisa, Austin and Charlie (2) appeared bearing gifts. Maia was pretending to be shy, but, I fear, only to lull Charlie into a false sense of security before she pounced and expertly relieved him of the gift he was carrying. She did give him a kiss to say thank you.
Her own-age party guests were Charlie, Lewis and Jennifer. Also in attendance was Millie (aged 7 months), who showed she had the skills to hang with the older crowd by holding her own against the tumbling older kids in the ball pool.
The kids ran about, playing in the Wendy House, ball pool and the not-so-fun Summer 2004 game du jour of 'Avoid the Wasp'.
A game of Pass the Parcel gave everyone a kazoo, and Lewis was especially good at getting a REALLY loud noise from his. The cacophany of the kazoos neatly led into a music session, with Maia's guitar toting dad, Pat. This went down fabulously with mothers and babies enthusiatically belting out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Wheels on the Bus and Row Row Row Your Boat. Everyone added to the noise with kazoos, maracas and jingle bells.
Present opening was highly successful, until the bright pink and silver teaset was opened and the proceedings were focussed much more on who would like milk and sugar than on opening any more presents. So we left the rest for later - and what a lot of presents she had! Huge thanks to everyone who came.
After food and drink and cakes and Happy Birthday (which Maia led us in) everyone took their leave, leaving a very happy, tired, slightly sugar delirious two-year-old Maia.
A good day all round - check www.patrickcull.co.uk for more pics.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Welcome!
Welcome to the inaugural post of our new blog 'Maia Maia Jumbalaya' - your window on the world of Miss Maia Ani-Jo Sunshine Packington-Cull.
We have a website (http://www.patrickcull.co.uk/) in progress that will provide a much more comprehensive picture library of her exploits, but the purpose of this blog is to let you know about the day-to-day stuff that makes her just magic. Enjoy!
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