Sharing the I-phone

They were watching a YouTube video of a song from Guys and Dolls... Nice to know the classics haven't lost their magic.

Leo creates an Installation

But then we needed the table for lunch... So much for Ars Longa and all that...

Monkey see, monkey do

It's good to see Leo teaching his baby sister something really useful...

Clean air act

Some pictures from last month's trip to the uplands. If you can work out where this is, give yourself a pat on the back. The region is not as well known as you might expect. Yes, that's me and Leo in the rowing boat. (Click on photos to enlarge).

Leo joins the Fire Brigade

Yesterday (and again today) Leo wandered into our local Fire Station uninvited. Fortunately a very nice fireman there showed him around. Careers advice is now surplus to requirements, at least for the time being. Well, at least I can breathe easy that my eldest doesn't want to be a writer...

A break from the action

Things have been pretty hectic around here this month. The pressure is getting to us all. Well, some more than others...

As full of spirit as the month of May

With the advent of summer comes a new threat to the lovingly planted, if anarchically laid out flower beds in our back garden: a menace additional to the fox orgies, incontinent cats and miasmas of cement dust generated by nearby ‘refurbs’ (which go on ceaselessly in our street, recession or no.) Leo, at 20 months, has now discovered the pleasures of the outdoor life and, inevitably, of football. 

The flora face a triple jeopardy. First the ball is booted or thrown into the flower beds; then Leo toddles in after it; then he goes back in again (and again and again), just because we have told him not to. I suppose it is only natural that a toddler should test the boundaries, now and again. I just wish he would test them well away from the nascent delphiniums and fuchsias.
I admit to not being very good at enforcing Leo’s boundaries, though I try to do my share. His strength is considerable, and his vocals could raise the roof off the Albert Hall. At the same time, he has such an appetite for life, such an obvious delight in the world around him, that it’s almost impossible to tell him off without breaking into a smile.
Of course, one day Leo’s misadventures won’t be my responsibility. He will have learned to respect the borders, herbaceous and otherwise. He will probably prefer not to be carried up to bed and tickled when he gets there, nor to fall asleep while holding on to my ear. 

I'm not impatient for that day.