Amsterdam

We went to Amsterdam to see Opa, Saskia and SinterKlaas. We went after school on Friday and flew to Amsterdam. We then went straight to our hotel as we were all very tired.

We had fun exploring Opa's aparetment and roof garden. We ran round lots. 

We were also very puzzled as to why Opa has three naked Goddesses on his winch/balcony! They look out over Amsterdam and lots of people take photos of them.

 We went on a tour of some of the Amsterdam canals. It was a good trip and I took lots of photos of Dutch buildings.

 The next day, we went to Dam Square to watch the arrival of SinterKlaas. We met some Zwarte Piet and then eventually we saw Sint! He was on a big white horse. I'm still eating all the chocolate and biscuits I got from the Zwarte Piets!

 Theo didn't want to wear a hat, apparently it tried to cut off the blood supply to his head!

To geek or not to geek?

Theo:
I got this t-shirt as a present from Mummy's friend! I wore it to the Microsoft Head Office last week. I got lots of comments!

...and to prove I like geeky things...

Feeding myself

Theo:
I can now use a fork properly. I stab my food, sniff it, pick it off the fork and shove the food in my mouth! Sometimes though I do put the food and the fork in my mouth. Mummy isn't allowed to feed me now as I protest too loudly.

I'm not allowed a plate or bowl yet though as I tend to throw the whole thing on the floor!

Powerpoint!

Sophie:
I love Microsoft Powerpoint.
Here is a presentation I made for my homework.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our trip to Wales

Sophie and Theo:

We were meant to go to France over half term, but due to the French striking and running out of petrol, we rescheduled our trip. We wanted to go somewhere so Mummy found us a caravan in Pembrokeshire. We arrived on Monday afternoon. We'd broken up our journey with some caching en route. We loved the caravan. It had three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen/diner plus a living room area. Mummy was thankful for the gas fire!

On Tuesday we woke up to lots of rain. We went out and did a few caches and then went to Tescos to buy some bits and pieces. I wanted to go back to the caravan so we did. The weather improved so we both went bike riding round the campsite.

On Wednesday we went for a little caching walk and then we went to The Dinosaur Park. This was excellent; we saw all my dinosaur friends and went on lots of rides.

On Thursday, we waited for Daddy to arrive. Whilst we waited we tried out the campsite's swimming pool. We got changed, leapt in and then leapt out. It was more than freezing. I had a quick splash whilst Theo refused to move off Mummy's knee; she looked quite pleased about this. We got dressed, had lunch and then Daddy arrived. We were so excited. We then all went to Folly Farm. We saw the animals and then went on lots of rides. My favourites were the traditional fairground rides like the merry-go-round and the waltzer. We then went for a walk by the harbour and had fish and chips for tea.

On Friday we went to Pembroke Castle which was excellent. We had a lot of fun exploring. After lunch we went for a walk, which also happened to include a few caches!

Saturday was spent in Tenby by the sea. We played on the beach, had lunch and explored a bit. We also found an indoor play area where we burnt off some energy.

On Sunday we went for a walk, played on the stony beach, had a pub lunch, went to a play park and then Daddy went home.

We left on Monday and cached our way home along the M4!

We had a great holiday and we want to go back. I made a Powerpoint Presentation of my holiday which we'll upload at some point

Powerpoint

Sophie
At the weekend, Mummy gave me a 10 minute lesson on how to use Powerpoint. By the end of the day, I had produced 5 different Powerpoint presentations! When I couldn't find a picture I wanted on ClipArt, I just opened up Paint, drew a picture, saved it and then imported it into my presentation! Mummy thought Daddy had shown me what to do, but he hadn't.
I even worked on my presentations in the car:

Mama

Theo:
I thought I'd surprise Mummy and shout Mama as I walked into the kitchen. She was very happy as no one has ever called her Mama or Mummy. Sophie used to call her Aiti, which is Finnish for Mummy. Then she called her MummyDippy until Mummy got extremely fed up of being referred to as a Diplodocus. Now Sophie doesn't call her anything, but I do! I can now say Mama, Daddy, go, up, down, yes, no and hiya. Sometimes I say things like cat, but it could be car. I have called cows 'cats' before!

Mummy and I had a lovely walk round Cricklade at the weekend. Daddy had gone to work and Sophie had gone with him.

Outdoor adventures

Sophie and Theo:

We are still geocaching a lot. We now have 840 finds. You can read all about our caching adventures in Mummy's other blog- click here!

Here I am in my outdoor gear!

Odd behaviour

Theo:
Mummy thinks my behaviour is getting a little strange. Here I am using my garage to climb up to steal food from the top of the surfaces. I do like my food and will eat anything. This weekend, Mummy stopped me picking food off the ground and eating it. Apparently, I shouldn't eat it.

The other day, I piled all my toys into the centre of the room! They were scattered everywhere so I just tidied them up into one huge pile! The rest of the carpet is clear!

I'm taking after my sister in the need to be semi naked whilst wearing some odd accessory! Here I am with my new bike helmet, my Ferrari and sans trousers!

Big Bluey

Theo:
I sleep with 'Bluey'. I own two Blueys as they seem to get filthy very quickly. Recently, Mummy spotted a BIG Bluey bear- a bigger version of my little Blueys!
I like putting him the pushchair and taking him to school.

What have we been up to?

Sophie:

I am enjoying school a lot. I have just been made School Council Class Rep! I got voted in by the other children in my class. I stood up and said "My name is Sophie and I want to be your class rep. I will help you all with your work", then I felt nervous so sat down. I got lots of votes so now I am the class rep. I'm rather proud of myself.

We've been caching loads. We found our 700th cache last week. You can read all about our caching adventures on our other blog- click here.

I've been for tea at my friends, had a sleepover, discovered X-Factor, been swimming, joined Dance Club at school and signed myself up for Chess Club.

Theo:

I've been busy too. I go to Playgroup and my Music class every week. I was going swimming but I have developed a phobia of water so wont go in the bath or swimming pool. One week I was as happy as a fish in water, the next, I wasn't. I don't get bathed very often at the moment as I scream the house down...and puke in the bath!

My favourite thing to do is break household objects. My list includes the cafetiere, a plate, a wine glass, a measuring jug, a pot of Sophie's and a bowl. The other week, whilst Mummy was looking after Sophie who was scared of the lightening, I unscrewed the lid of the fabric conditioner and smeared it all over the floor. Mummy was not happy with me and told me off.

I love going to school every morning. I try and join in with the big boys but they are a bit too fast for me! I like walking to school and running round the playground.

I do like my food, a lot! I will eat anything, even inedible things. I say a few words, but mainly blabber on in my own language.

Status Updates

Sophie:
Here are some of my recent status updates...

Sophie: who is coming to the car boot sale tomorrow? We are selling lots of toys and we are selling two buggies as well. We are also selling my old pink bike that is too small for me!
- packed the car ready for tomorow!

Sophie: I like my new laptop. I am going to make literacy groups on WordPad for my dinosaurs.

Sophie: now baby dippy is back.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Theo's Birthday

Theo:
Last week it was my birthday! Mummy forgot to take any photos...
I had some great presents. From Mummy and Daddy I got a stacking toy and Sophie gave me a noisy music toy. I got some lovely presents from friends and relatives, I especially love the garage and all the cars!
Here is a short video of me being happy and excited. I pant like a dog and do a funny foot shuffle!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First drawing

Theo:

Instead of using a pencil on the furniture, Mummy gave me some paper to draw on. I drew this today; it is um... a scribble!

Theo and his shape sorter

Theo:
Apparently I have been destroying the house. I like to climb on everything, empty the bins, sit in the dishwasher, eat anything edible or unedible etc. Mummy thought she'd give me something constructive to do. I really enjoyed myself for 5 minutes. Here is a short video.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Reading

Sophie:
Two years ago, we made this silly video. I am reading some extracts from 'War and Peace'.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Translation: The princess started. Apparently Pierre’s words had touched a sore spot. “Ah, that is just what I say!”she said with her society smile. “I do not understand, I absolutely do not understand why men cannot live
The two weddings were celebrated together on the same day at Otradnoe, which had now come back to life and was flourishing once again. Nickolai duly left for the regiment and entered Paris with it, where he met up yet again with Andrei

A few weeks ago, we made this silly video of me reading one of Daddy's books- Microsoft Sharepoint 2010

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is a post written ages ago on how I learnt to read...click here!

The Playdoh experience!

Theo:
I tried Playdoh

I prodded it

I pulled it

I ate it....

Then I threw it!

My Holiday Reading

Sophie:
Mummy got this list from the library website. She's sorted it out a bit, but this is a list of all the books I read over the 6 week summer holiday. They are all chapter books.

Heavyweights
Prince Caspian- CS Lewis
The Hobbit- Tolkien

Fairy books by Gwyneth Rees
Fairy Secrets
Fairy Treasure
Fairy Fun

Pet Finders by Ben Baglio
Rescuing Raisin
Help Honey
Looking for Lola
Kittens in the Desert

Animal Ark by Lucy Daniels (aka Ben Baglio)
Siamese in the Sun
Tabby in the Tub
Kittens in the Kitchen
Bunny on a Barge

Flower Fairies by Kay Woodward
Rose's special secret
CandyTuft's Enchanting Treat
Willow's Underwater World
Jasmine's Starry Night
Lavender's Midsummer mix-up

Magic Kitten/Puppy/Rabbit/Pony
A Christmas Surprise
Seaside Mystery
Pony Camp
A Forest Charm
Holiday Dreams

Rainbow Fairy by Daisy Meadows
Poppy the Piano Fairy
Belle the Birthday Fairy (3 in 1)
Francesca the Football Fairy
Mia the Bridesmaid (3 in 1)
Summer the Holiday Fairy (3 in 1)
6 of the 7 new Twilight Fairies

Felicity Wishes by Emma Thomson
Crowning Cure
Clutter Clean Out
Wand Wishes
Holiday Hullabaloo
Winnie's Wonderland
Newspaper Nerves
Winter Wishes
Starlight Songs
Star Surprise
Snowy Showdown
Fairy Fun
Designer Drama
Spectacular Skies
Perfect Polly
Storytelling Stars
Happy Hobbies
Fairy Fame

Nina Fairy Ballerina by Anna Wilson
Star Turn
Double Trouble
Dream Treat
Glitter Club
Flying Colours
New Girl

Others:
Fish by Charlie James
Dino-Egg by Charlie James
Tiger's Great Adventure

First Day of School

Sophie:
I went to back to school today. I am now in Year 1! Everyone in the class got assigned a responsibility job. I am the 'toilet monitor' which means I have to check that the taps are turned off and the toilets are flushed. Mummy says I get all the 'crap' jobs. I told her not to swear; she thought she was very funny.

A swimming video

Sophie:
Here I am having a swim in the pool.

Theo:
At the end of the video there is a short clip of me looking very 'cool'

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com