Bug = 3 YEARS!!
Bub = 1 year 2 months 4 days What was Linus up to at this age?
Bud = 7 weeks 1 day gestation

Well, we’ve done it again – we’re pregnant! All going well, Bud will be with us in late September or October 2009.

Bug = 2 years 11 months
Bub = 1 year 1 month 28 days What was Linus up to at this age?

Ada has started making some meaningful noises over the past month. On demand, she can make these animal noises:

• Dog: this is undoubtedly her favourite, and the one she uses for any other animal – or inanimate object – she doesn’t know the noise for (see the picture!)
• Cat
• Snake
• Tiger: the other day Ada pointed at a tyre in a book. “That’s a tyre,” I told her. So she roared
• Duck.

And she also very cutely says “Boo!” accompanied by the appropriate action.

For the last few weeks I’ve been making up impromptu stories at bedtime for Linus, and he’s been asking for them again and again – you know how kids are.  As a result some of the stories are quite well known now with Linus taking part.

Here’s the story of Ronald the Red Rooster (I think this is quite cleanly butchered from one of the books that used to float around here somewhere).

Once upon a time there was a Red Rooster called Ronald.  He was the king of the farmyard and it was his job to wake up everybody in the morning.  He woke up the chickens, he woke up the cows, he woke up the sheep and he woke up the farmer.  He did this by climbing up to the top of the fence in the farmyard, taking a deeeep breath and going cock-a-doodle-dooooo! All the animals and the farmer knew it was time to get up.

Ronald did this every day and was very proud to be the rooster to do the job.  One morning a chicken woke up.  She thought there was something wrong because she hadn’t heard Ronald crowing.  She clucked to the chicken next to her and asked her if she had heard Ronald this morning?  ‘No’ was the answer, and word soon got around that Ronald had missed the morning call.

The chickens were quite upset and got together and went to see Percy the Purple Rooster.  “Percy!” they said, “you must come now and find Ronald and get him to wake the farmyard”.  Percy wasn’t so sure but he got up and started looking for Ronald.  They found Ronald asleep in a box and tried to wake him up.  It was no use.  The chickens said that Percy had to go to the top of the fence and wake everyone.

Percy wasn’t so sure but after some encouragement he climbed to the top of the fence, took a deep breath and … “BWAAARK!“.  The chickens were shocked and looked at each other.  Percy tried again …. “BWAAARK!“.  By this time Ronald had heard the terrible noise and came strutting out into the farmyard in a hurry.  He saw Percy up on top of the fence and flapped up there immediately. “Percy, what on EARTH are you doing?” asked Ronald.  “I’m trying to wake everyone up!” explained Percy.  Ronald said “but that noise you were making – what is that?”.  “I don’t know how make that noise you make so I’m making my own”.  Ronald tried to make the noise but when he took a deep breath and went to yell out, out came “cock-a-doodle-dooooo!“.

Percy said “Yes, that noise – I can’t make it”.  Ronald replied “and I can’t make the noise you make either.  How about we wake everyone up together?”.  And so now on the farmyard every morning you can hear Ronald the Red Rooster and Percy the Purple Rooster waking everyone up from the top of the fence with a loud “cock-a-doodle-doooo …. BWAAAARK!“.

The End.

Bug = 2 years 11 months
Bub = 1 year 1 month 16 days What was Linus up to at this age?

She’s still wobbly, but as of the last week or so, I would now describe Ada as walking.

Bug = 2 years 11 months
Bub = 1 year 1 month 14 days What was Linus up to at this age?

One of Linus’s favourite movies is Happy Feet. It’s all about singing and dancing penguins, and Linus has memorised lots of little bits of dialogue from the movie (like “I take you with ketchup!“).

But more than that, he’s taken to dancing like the movie’s hero, Mumble:

I love his dancing! I love it because he has never been much of a dancer, but without any input from us he’s become very enthusiastic about this tap-dancing. I love it because he’s not shy about “performing” it for people when we ask. But most of all I love it because he loves it so unreservedly!

You think THIS is good?!

The other day Linus was showing Bob’s colleague PS the dance. PS said approvingly “That looks great!”, but Linus confessed “It’s better on ice.”

Companion Movie

I also recently got out from the video store March of the Penguins. This seems like a companion movie to Happy Feet, but it’s a documentary rather than a cartoon.

Linus and I watched this movie together on the couch one afternoon, and at the end of it he curled up on his hands and knees and asked me to sit on him (like the Mummy and Daddy penguins sit on the eggs and chicks). He was so sweet that of course I had to oblige!