Letters

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“Why not?” – Conversations with a two year old

Dear Elliot,

I’m loving the conversations we’re having with you at the moment, and the sayings you’re picking up from the people around you really make us giggle.

Image

A couple of snippets from conversations recently:

Daddy (holding two pens): Elliot, would you like the red one or the green one?

Elliot: Yes!

Mummy: Elliot, would you like a drink?

Elliot: No… (looks quizzical) Why?… Why not…

Mummy (at 4am, after hearing Elliot crying, and expecting a full on tantrum): Elliot, it’s still night-time, lie down please

Elliot: OK mummy, night night (lies down)

It makes the whole (shh!) terrible two thing so much more bearable!

Love you loads xxx

Check out some more funny things kids say via the Actually Mummy Wot So Funee meme:
Wot So Funee?

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The Book List 2013

Dear Elliot,

One of my favourite things at the moment is how much you love books. You can happily sit and amuse yourself looking at books on your own, and can tell us the titles of most of the Thomas books we own (quite a few!)

Elliot reading

I, on the other hand, have done less reading in the past two years than at any point in my life. Funnily enough, I don’t class repeated “I have this little sister, Lola..” or “Thomas was a Really Useful Engine” as particularly stretching literature at the age of 32.

Thankfully your grandparents came up with a brilliant idea to get me back into my reading habit and I’m now the proud owner of a Kindle. This means I now need a book list.

Looking on several lists that other like-minded bloggers have created  (see the lovely Aimee over at More than Toast who is an inspiration in herself) and those compiled by the powers that be dictating the “Top 100 books to read before you die”, I’ve come up with a slightly shorter list for myself, but would love recommendations to add to it (I’m already a book and a half down don’t you know!)

  1. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
  2. The Illiad – Homer (and The Odyssey)
  3. Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
  4. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
  5. Ghost World – Daniel Claves
  6. On the Road – Jack Kerouac
  7. Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
  8. Beloved – Toni Morrison
  9. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
  10. To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
  11. The Island – Victoria Hislop
  12. When God was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman
  13. The Outcast – Sadie Jones
  14. The Man in the Picture – Susan Hill
  15. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Schaffer + Anne Barrows
  16. The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch
  17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
  18. Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger
  19. Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
  20. The Book Thief – Marcus Zusac
  21. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
  22. When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead
  23. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  24. A Million Little Pieces – James Frey
  25. Enduring Love – Ian McEwan
  26. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
  27. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
  28. The End of the Affair – Graham Greene
  29. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
  30. The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls
  31. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
  32. The Women’s Room – Marilyn French
  33. Love Virtually – Daniel Glattauer
  34. The Other Half of Me – Morgan McCarthy
  35. Catching the Sun – Tony Parsons
  36. Delirium – Lauren Oliver
  37. Miracle on Regent Street – Ali Harris 
  38. The Distant Hours  – Kate Morton
  39. Sister – Rosamund Lupton
  40. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Yasutaka Tsutsui
  41. Saturday – Ian McEwen
  42. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
  43. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
  44. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
  45. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
  46. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
  47. Small Island – Andrea Levy
  48. A Ladies Paradise – Emile Zola (in French?)
  49. My Dear, I Wanted To Tell You – Louisa Young
  50. The Wierd Sisters – Eleanor Brown
  51. The Master – Colm Toibin
  52. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

So that’s one per week of 2013 which is highly unlikely to be accomplished, but we can but try. I’ve tried to get a big variety of styles and authors in there whilst also including some books which quite frankly have been on my “to be read” shelves long enough I just need to get on with it.

And, Elliot, don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of time to introduce you to the wonderful worlds within lots of books this year. It really won’t be long before you’re reading all on your own. I can’t wait!

by

The Book List 2013

Dear Elliot,

One of my favourite things at the moment is how much you love books. You can happily sit and amuse yourself looking at books on your own, and can tell us the titles of most of the Thomas books we own (quite a few!)

Elliot reading

I, on the other hand, have done less reading in the past two years than at any point in my life. Funnily enough, I don’t class repeated “I have this little sister, Lola..” or “Thomas was a Really Useful Engine” as particularly stretching literature at the age of 32.

Thankfully your grandparents came up with a brilliant idea to get me back into my reading habit and I’m now the proud owner of a Kindle. This means I now need a book list.

Looking on several lists that other like-minded bloggers have created  (see the lovely Aimee over at More than Toast who is an inspiration in herself) and those compiled by the powers that be dictating the “Top 100 books to read before you die”, I’ve come up with a slightly shorter list for myself, but would love recommendations to add to it (I’m already a book and a half down don’t you know!)

  1. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
  2. The Illiad – Homer (and The Odyssey)
  3. Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
  4. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
  5. Ghost World – Daniel Claves
  6. On the Road – Jack Kerouac
  7. Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston
  8. Beloved – Toni Morrison
  9. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
  10. To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
  11. The Island – Victoria Hislop
  12. When God was a Rabbit – Sarah Winman
  13. The Outcast – Sadie Jones
  14. The Man in the Picture – Susan Hill
  15. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Schaffer + Anne Barrows
  16. The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch
  17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
  18. Her Fearful Symmetry – Audrey Niffenegger
  19. Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
  20. The Book Thief – Marcus Zusac
  21. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
  22. When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead
  23. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  24. A Million Little Pieces – James Frey
  25. Enduring Love – Ian McEwan
  26. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
  27. The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
  28. The End of the Affair – Graham Greene
  29. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
  30. The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls
  31. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
  32. The Women’s Room – Marilyn French
  33. Love Virtually – Daniel Glattauer
  34. The Other Half of Me – Morgan McCarthy
  35. Catching the Sun – Tony Parsons
  36. Delirium – Lauren Oliver
  37. Miracle on Regent Street – Ali Harris 
  38. The Distant Hours  – Kate Morton
  39. Sister – Rosamund Lupton
  40. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Yasutaka Tsutsui
  41. Saturday – Ian McEwen
  42. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
  43. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
  44. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres
  45. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
  46. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
  47. Small Island – Andrea Levy
  48. A Ladies Paradise – Emile Zola (in French?)
  49. My Dear, I Wanted To Tell You – Louisa Young
  50. The Wierd Sisters – Eleanor Brown
  51. The Master – Colm Toibin
  52. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

So that’s one per week of 2013 which is highly unlikely to be accomplished, but we can but try. I’ve tried to get a big variety of styles and authors in there whilst also including some books which quite frankly have been on my “to be read” shelves long enough I just need to get on with it.

And, Elliot, don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of time to introduce you to the wonderful worlds within lots of books this year. It really won’t be long before you’re reading all on your own. I can’t wait!

by

Your story – part two: Time to be born

To Elliot,
Here’s one of your scan pictures from before you were born! This is from your 12 week scan and you were sleeping soundly.
You and I had a great pregnancy – including trips to Germany, Malta (where I first felt you kick at 15 weeks) and China (at 28 weeks – I felt HUGE!) Towards the end, the pregnancy seemed to go on forever, particularly because I had thought you’d arrive early! You clearly had other ideas and at 11 days overdue I was induced and you were on your way!
The lovely midwife Naomi helped us get through a really tough night, and then handed over to two other midwives who were to get us to the final stage. Unfortunately, before long it was clear that you were in distress and the doctors couldn’t find your heart beat any longer so we were rushed to theatre for an emergency cesarean section to get you out safely. It took them 8 minutes to get us to the theatre and get you out. I remember how silent the room went as you were born, everyone waiting for you to breathe, and the relief when you screamed!
We didn’t know whether you were a boy or a girl but helpfully I could clearly see that you were a boy in the way they carried you past my head as they went to check everything was ok. Your Dad was the first to hold you, and you waited to open your eyes until you were safely in his arms. It was a magical moment after a traumatic few minutes and we were so pleased you were safe and well.
You and I stayed in hospital for 5 days and got to know each other. We finally came home on the 18 December 2010 – in a massive snowstorm. It was so bad we couldn’t get back to our house so we stayed at my mum and dad’s, your Grandmum and Grampy’s for your first night out of hospital.
Thankfully the roads were better the next day so we went home to get ready for your first Christmas!
Lots of love,
Mummy xx
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Your story – Part one

To Elliot,

I think there are very few times in your life that you’ll remember forever, like I’m sure those around to see the first man on the moon can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing at that moment. Mine is a little less globally important, but it completely rocked my world so I’ll tell you all about seeing that little blue line appear on the pregancy test – actually it was a digital one, with an indication of how many weeks pregnant I was also – very handy.

I’d been in Italy with work for a week, and had a little suspicion that something wasn’t quite normal, but since I was busy at Bologna book fair, I put it to the back of my mind and continued working hard all day, and wining and dining in the evenings. I had also just got back into running so had taken my kit with me and ran in the park a few times that week, enjoying the escape it allowed me from the busy days.

It was only when I got home – Saturday 27 March 2010 – that I thought we really should find out if I was pregnant. i called your Dad who went out to buy the tests, and came back with a bottle of gin too. He asked which I wanted first and poured me a gin. I thought perhaps if there was a baby growing in me, it may not appreciate yet more alcohol to swim in so I took the test upstairs and waited, and waited, while it determined whether our lives were indeed going to change.

I was shaking as I came back down the stairs, and felt a complete mix of emotions – absolutely ecstatic and at the same time terrified at the prospect that in a few short months we’d have a little baby to join us. Your dad was thrilled too, saying that he knew it would be positive this time.

After a brief scare during those first few weeks of pregnancy, we knew all was well with you. An early scan allowed us to see your little heart beating away. I’ve never been more excited in my life.

This was the beginning of our adventure…

Lots of love,
Mummy xxx