School Notes and ZSL video

Just catching up five months later . . .

The school year began as it does, reluctantly back into fitted clothes and classrooms away from the summer, but excited to see friends and begin work in a structured environment. 

Eliza missed the brothers a lot during the first few days but has since been just fine, asking each morning "what are the girls doing today?  Museum?  Croissant and hot chocolate?"  The boys look so cute in their uniforms, all British schoolboy.  Their work is impressive and often above and beyond the assignment.  We've been invited a few times to school to assemblies to see their work and I feel so proud to see my boys stand up to say their memorized parts loud and clear and in a perfect British accent!  Home school the first year in London was a good choice for us and British day school the second and third has been a good choice, too.

In the week or two before school started I took some footage from a couple zoo trips and have at last put it together to tell the story of our love for the London Zoo (Zed-Es-El).  Please enjoy!

Football

The boys have been playing football at our local leisure center for two and a half years now.  They've had the same coaches and developed their skills from non-existent to quite respectable.  They enjoy playing and knowing about football as much as any other kid in the UK--or the world.  I've loved watching them grow in the sport.  They have each had challenges in figuring out the game and sportsmanship to deal with.  And they've done great at dealing with it!  I love knowing they'll sleep especially well Thursday nights and can play with their friends at school or any pick up game at the park.  Football is one of the most universal languages I'm aware of.  There was a game a few months ago that I watched with special satisfaction and gratitude the boys have stuck with football.  There were a bunch of kids playing--ages from 6-13 or so, Spanish, black, white, Jewish--and having the best time.

I'll have to add pictures in later of the professional match Collin brought them to.  They told me all about it in very loud, excited voices so I know they had a fab time there too!

Tennis Camp at Regent's Park

For a week in summer the boys had a tennis camp at Regent's Park.  We walked back and forth a mile each way every morning for the two hour camp.  The boys really enjoyed the games and drills they were taught.  Eliza and I watched for some of the time and went to the rose garden for the other time.

The boys have the true Lambourne quality of getting a job done in the most efficient way possible, not minding how silly they look while doing it.  Time to pick up all the balls?  Load them in the big jerseys, of course.

Eliza collected any balls that found their way over the little wall.  One of Davy's first shots he whacked it as hard as he could over the fence, "just to see if I could" when asked why.

When the brothers were settled Eliza and I explored the rose garden.  It never gets old, even day after day.

Eliza played Pooh sticks and watched the black swans on the little lake.  I learned that black swans are native to New Zealand, but the ones that are in the rose garden belong to the queen like their white cousins.

Eliza gathered up rose petals from the ground--anything already fallen is fair game under my guidelines!  I must have shown her an instagram image at some point of this idea, but it seemed to come out of nowhere.  She fervently and suddenly decided she wanted to make a mermaid bath with roses and collected so many so carefully.  My one regret from the week is that we were always so tired at the end of the day that I never let her actually take her flower mermaid bath with the pretty petals floating all around.  We have one more rose season here and I vow to do better in the spring so that if she still has that wish we will make it happen!

Sibling Love (video)

Man alive, if I were this productive all the time I would succeed at world domination!  Or, at least, household organization.  A long to-do list knocked out and we're ready (as ready as we can) for our travels.  I have one last selection of home movies and outtakes of various projects for those as interested in my kids as I am.  After this recent flood of journaling I may seem to have disappeared.  Never worry!  We'll be back soon with loads of European adventuring to recall.

Letting Kids Be Kids

I've had all these profound thoughts that I wanted to put in writing and illustrate with (what else?!) pictures of my own lovely children.  So I've saved and saved all these hundreds of imperfect, hardly edited photos and now I've just got to get them out, unaccompanied by any remarkable words on my part.  Or perhaps just a few, since this is me.

I set a pretty low expectation for myself and my kids with pictures, even as I know I expect a lot out of them frequently for cooperation of a very boring thing.  As my boys often complain, I'm always only interested in pictures, never about anything else.  One morning when I looked around after our morning chores were done and lo and behold it looked like I'd dressed them in coordinating outfits--though I really and truly didn't!--I called out for everyone to hop up onto my bed where the light comes in nicely from the window.  There I forgot myself and tried to get all three to sit just so and smile at the same time at me.  Of course that didn't work very well, as you'll see.  As I saw their best tries at a mom-approved smile turn into strained grimaces I remembered.  Let them be kids and follow their lead.  They began to wrestle and giggle and interact with all that blissful sibling love.  And my children came alive again.

Composing Poems on the Fly

Butter and Marmalade 

by Davy

First you spread the butter

then the marmalade.

Then you fold it over

and cut it with the blade.

Washing 

by Eddy

Wash your hands.

Wash the dishes.

Wash, wash, wash--

that's all I ever hear.

Brother Love

I was around girls for most of my growing up (my brothers came a little later, when I was older and didn't really interact with them like I did my sisters) and so I am often amazed and amused by my own boys' brother bond.

They get along so well most of the time.  All their wrestling and jostling is for play.  Even from a young age they have such control over their "fighting."  Getting each other really hurt is no fun at all.  Overall, I seem to observe equal parts pushing and hugging.

I pray so fervently that my sons will continue their beautiful brotherly relationship, regardless of what life may bring in the future.  Life is so much better together, with give and take and turns.  Lots of laughter and inside jokes.  Cooperation and self control over those little annoyances.

Enjoy this little glimpse into the brother bonding that is going on pretty constantly around here!

More About Eliza

She's not fully crawling yet.  That front leg keeps getting in the way when she tries to transition.  I'm not even really encouraging her though, I'll be honest.  Just stay relatively immobile for a little longer, little one!  Eliza's got a wicked bum-scoot, however.  She can get just about anywhere she wants to when she puts her mind to it.  She loves standing.  Loves it!  She's pulled herself up a couple times by herself, and when she is up she's cruising along the line of furniture.  She wants to walk everywhere, holding hands.  Oiy, my back aches!  She'll give a great scream of indignation when I have to pick her up from "walking" to hurry somewhere.  Liza Bee wants to feed herself.  With her own bowl and spoon.   She's got preferences on food, too.

Emphatic no to:  bananas, kiwi, cheerios if they are a distraction technique, peas

Yes please and more to:  hummus, black beans, quinoa, pasta, mac and cheese (I can't believe I am admitting I feed that to my kids, never mind my sweet innocent infant), cheerios if hungry, oatmeal with cinnamon, lentil soup, carrot soup, naan, English muffin with jam, avocado, plain yogurt (and the sweet kind, too, but I don't give her that on a regular basis), mama's fruit/veggie smoothie, carrots (softly steamed, and great cold big hard ones for teething on), black olives

Maybe if in the right mood:  peaches, apple sauce, bread, scrambled egg

So overall, my current best eater.  Actually seems to appreciate my cooking.  Won't last.  (I am a definite Eeyore when it comes to my children's eating habits.  Total resignation.)

The other day Eliza got dressed--I mean, I dressed her--in a vintage (from my childhood) romper and some moccs I made for her.  She got so many compliments at Trader Joes!  I also had some lovely natural afternoon light and had been wanting to document some of the details of Eliza's baby body that I just need to hold on to for my own mommy reasons.

If I were at all poetic here, I could spin a song of dimples and gentle rolls of soft skin, double kissable chins, little finger and little toes.  Ruffles and lace and sweet stripes.  Eyes too big for this world.

Going in for the kiss.  Needs some work on aim!

I was calling for Eddy's attention at the park the other day and Eliza looked up from playing in the dirt at my feet and starting calling "E-ward, e-ward!" too.  It was so adorable I pretty much melted.

I don't think there is much our family loves more than this little darling.  Ice cream may be close (oh, Eliza likes ice cream and fro-yo too, naturally) but really nothing compares.  She's got all our hearts.