Happy Birthday Gra-Gra!

We hope you have a lovely day xx

Ti-Ti and the things he loves

He has changed so much over the last few months, growing bigger and being funnier than ever before. And sometimes embarrassing.
Last week while sitting in a cafe he exclaimed, 'Mummy! That lady has a beard!" as he pointed at her. She kind of did have a beard, but I'm sure she really didn't want someone pointing it out for her!
Other things remain the same. He is still very shy. He wouldn't climb into the fire engine and press the buttons, even though the firemen outside Seven Seeds cafe were so lovely in offering to let him do so.
And he still loves Gaw-Gaw. His best friend, his sleep companion, his travelling buddy.

And these are his latest loves in no particular order:

• Dancing. Any kind, but he still loves break dancing, and has totally perfected his backspins now.
• Michael Jackson. Beat it and The Way You Make Me Feel are favourites. And it makes me laugh when he asks, "Mummy, is he a girl?"
  
• The Gruffalo. He can recite the pretty much the whole book. In the car on the way home from work, we recite it together. I am the narrator and other animal voices, and Toby is the mouse.
• Mechanics. All his stories that he makes up involve mechanics.
• F1 Racing
• Lego
• Chocolate
• Pretending to be a newborn baby
• Helping (or hindering? Not sure which...)in the kitchen
• Talking to inanimate objects. And making me do the voices that answer him. We've even had to make a rule, only objects/things that have a face can talk back. He now asks, "Mummy, does a potato have a face?" That's kind of a difficult one, as they have eyes...
• The Stone Men (The busker who dresses as if made from stone and stands completely still in the middle of the city)
• Beards/Mustaches and the people that have them.
• Making up words, I have no idea what they mean. Kissanova, Tilly-Tilly, Pulla-Pulla. What your name Toby? "Tilly-Tilly" is his reply. Why did you keep waking up last night? "Because I was kissanova" ???What? We have no idea...
• Aquariums
• Good Eggs and Bad Eggs (from the Willy Wonka movie). He asks about some people that he thinks are not nice - "Mummy, is he a bad egg?"
• Playing cops and robbers. And locking people in jail.
• And of course, Gaw-Gaw.

A Bowling Superstar

We went bowling last Friday with Uncle Pablo. I may have been an expert on the Wii, but I was terrible in reality. But it was still good fun. Toby had a brilliant time, and thrashed us all. He had special bumper bars that came up when it was his turn, so his ball couldn't go in the gutter. And a special ramp to help guide his ball. He just loved it.

Later in the afternoon, we did some painting. And Toby painted his very first portrait of me! He was even copying me when I draw, and studying me while he painted. I was very proud.