Snack time!

I did my homework. Somewhere in the back of my mind was a concern about feeding eggs to babies under the age of 1. So that's egg yolk on the toast. Turns out Lucy enjoyed it until the novelty wore off. In general, though, she's doing well with food. Although she eats baby food (in interesting combinations from Ella's Kitchen), she prefers to join in the family meals whenever possible. Fortunately, we eat a lot of pasta!

If only her older siblings were so eager to try green beans...

A sloshy stroll

It was meant to be a walk. Really. I insisted on Wellington boots for all (even wore mine) because I knew how soggy it would be. Unfortunately wellies seem to be a license to stomp in muddy puddles with reckless abandon. Unlike our New Year's Day walk two years ago in the snow, this sojourn ended with dirty children, with boots full of murky water. And yes, that's mud on Thomas' face.

 

Lucy doesn't crawl

Lucy has two teeth, and is working on a third. She sits up nicely and loves to try the food she sees the rest of the family eating. Fish fingers, green beans, sweet potato casserole, tender cooked broccoli and many other things have delighted her. If she is minded so to do, she can turn over. 

She's not often so minded: usually putting her down on her tummy results in a cry that sounds like she's been put down on a tack. And she absolutely does not crawl. Why should she? As you can see, the service around here is pretty good, if you're a baby.

A winter day

It was a lot colder on the windswept hills in north Yorkshire than I had imagined. But the boys were undaunted, having their first lesson in hurling from Liam on the playing fields at Ampleforth. (Shhhhhh...don't tell! I think the boys got a little carried away with their hurling sticks: the evidence was all over the field.)   

Meanwhile, Patricia took Lewis, Anna, Lucy and me for a look at the church. Lovely--and out of the wind, which was a definite selling point! Anna enjoyed looking for the little mice that are part of the decor, on some of the chairs and benches. 

We had a lovely time, anyway, though the inside bits of the day (lunch at the pub--yummy fish & chips for me, the abbey church at Ampleforth, and tea at Liam & Patricia's) were far more enjoyable than the outdoor bits. 

Plays well with others

It's something I hope that will be said about the children, and this week they're practicing. Iain and Thomas have been playing all sorts of pretend things together. This morning they were suited up in makeshift army gear, on a mission.

Thomas said they were looking for someone. 'He killed one of our best soldiers, and now we have a mystery to solve. We have to find him.'

Pretty soon, they were all outside, and Lewis was watching a documentary about the Russian front in WWII. And they didn't come back in until they were tired of playing--no squabbling or bickering.

If not peace on earth, at least we've seen peace in our backyard.

The second day of Christmas

Or, as it is known here, Boxing Day. Of course, there is a reason there's no 'Christmas Day' blog. At least four reasons, in fact: Anna, Thomas, Iain and Lucy. On Christmas Day, the usual noise ('oh the noise, noise, noise, noise!') and chaos increase exponentially. Partly, this is so because, well, it's Christmas Day, much anticipated and anxiously awaited; everyone has been up since...EARLY; and parents are preparing the culinary delights, which we have been eagerly awaiting. 

Yesterday, despite the chaos, was full of the usual pleasures and some unexpected treats. The children behaved astonishingly well in a very crowded narthex during Mass. (I thought, as we knelt during the Creed: here we are, adoring the Christ child in a crowded place. At least there aren't any barn animals in the mix.) The rolls were nearly forgotten in the run-up to dinner, and we never got around to eating the cheese, but the food was spectacular--as usual. Others might differ, I am sure, but my absolute favorite part of dinner was the sausage and chestnut stuffing. And the company was excellent, too. The kids had Violet, Camille, and Belen to play with, and we had their parents (Brandy, Matt, Eric, Tara, plus Tara's friend Amy) for conversation around the table. 

My special thanks, however, go to Tara, for singing the following lyrics I devised (to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas) in honor of Lewis:

It's Christmas at the Ayres' house, and here's the scene you'll see:

Champagne a-pouring

iPad a-charging

Daddy outside 'egging'

Mommy a-kneading

Anna a-singing

Iain a-drawing

Lucy a-fussing

Thomas wearing Chelsea strip

Chestnut stuffing's on

smells so good

time to tidy-up

and on the Big Green Egg, a turkey!

Not quite up to the usual standards of entertainment at festive gatherings I've attended at the university, but then--as I am made more and more aware all the time--I am not English. 

It was such a busy day, in fact, that it wasn't until this morning that Lewis remembered to tell me that yesterday was the 70th anniversary of the fall of Hong Kong. Now that is a busy day.

business as usual

on Holy Island in October

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. In the US, that is, tomorrow is Thanksgiving day. What are we doing here? Well, Anna has dance club after school and the boys are going to a friend's house for supper. Lucy will be at nursery as usual in the morning, and Lewis and I both have to work.

So it goes for the American living in Britain, married to an Englishman. True, he really enjoys cooking and eating Thanksgiving dinner--but only in the States. Here in the UK, we can't be quite that counter-cultural. If only: it would be great if I could get some canned pumpkin, thus making the pumpkin-pie-baking a much easier task...sigh.

Tonight, however,  we are getting the kids ready for bed, because they have school tomorrow. Fortunately, they're not too bothered. That's good: the last thing we need is an excuse for Iain to plead 'day off' from school. I can just imagine him saying, 'But I was born in America. I should have Thanksgiving day off!' Not, of course, that he's interested in the reason for the celebration, or eating the turkey--or even the pumpkin pie, for that matter--he just yearns for days off from school

With any luck (and a miracle at the UK border agency), he'll spend extra days off over the Christmas holidays traveling to California.

He won't want turkey then, either, or pumpkin pie. But we'll have it all the same. After all, a girl has to get that pumpkin fix sometime.