Happy Birthday to me.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone (here and on facebook :-)

I think Kate is next on Feb 16, then Ann on Feb 18. Anyone else with a bday coming up soon?

Mark asked me a few days before what I wanted. I said, "I would like Antony to say 'Happy Birthday Mommy!'." Since he says "Happy Birthday George" at the end of a Curious George story about George's birthday surprise that we read a lot, I thought it wasn't too much of a stretch. They went out on Saturday to get me a birthday cake, and apparently mark was talking about it as they were walking through the store, because they came home, and Ant said "Happy Buhrday, Mommy", a couple of times. With no prompting whatsoever. Totally made me teary :-) Then when he woke up on Sunday morning, my actual birthday, and was chatting to himself in the crib, he was saying it again. I really couldn't ask for a better birthday present!

I took a video of him saying it this evening. Clearly not unprompted. And then we go on to have some more fun :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIC

For Sunday

Kapanakis Update

Ok, I figure Nic cant *always* post for me... Oh, and I swear, I didnt let Sami actually drink any of the Jack Daneils, really...


Here's the whole clan:-)

Christopher is only 7 weeks old in this pic - can you believe it?!?

Christopher is packing on the pounds like nobody’s business. He’s got to be over 17 lbs now and probably over 26 inches. We seem to have settled into a pretty good schedule, although I would like him to go to one feeding a night instead of two, but I suppose to sustain the chubby little boy (as Sami has taken to calling him) he needs the extra calories! Oh well, it will all come in good time. Most nights he goes to bed right after Sami, at around 7pm and then sleeps (with his two feedings) until 6:30 or 7. He’s a really good, laid back baby which is so nice considering that mistress Sami is quite demanding these days. We’re getting lots of smiles, gurgling and cooing, but have yet to get a real laugh out of him. No rolling over yet, probably because I am bad about putting him on his tummy because he complains about it.

As for Sami, she has finally decided that it is much better to be nice to Christopher and get praised instead of being nasty and getting put in time out. So all is good on that front. Her language is developing at an amazing pace. She can repeat *anything* you say to her (be careful, Billy!!) and has an incredible vocabulary. It is so much fun to have real conversations with her. She is such a fun little girl. I wont say that we dont have any terrible two episodes, but for the most part she's a great little girl and I really love being a mom these days. I dont have any other pics of her to upload right now due mainly to her habit of removing all her clothes just as I pull out the camera. I have a wonderful series of self portraits of the little photographer, but I wont bore you with those:-)

Love to you all,

Kate & co

MORE OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

Hello Clan,

Anne has extracted some photographs for the blog and it is quite amazing to see the likeness from one generation to another. I set these out as a collage using Paint Shop Pro, but unfortunately the person viewing the pics must also have the program, so I have scrapped that idea. (Now I am too lazy too scan them over again as a collage, so I am afraid this will have to do.

Ant and Dave

Ant and Dave Boy Scouts

Ant The brothers wth Anne

Anne

Edith and Gerald (Granny Daphne's Parents' wedding during the 1st World War)

We have plenty more pics should anyone be interested. I could email a pic if you are looking for anything specific. This was a great idea. I think we need to have projects like this to keep the blog alive. How about everyone submitting the two best photographs you have taken in the last couple of years? Anything goes! If you think the subject matter or the technical aspects of the photographs are good, let's see them. Is anyone interested? I would love to see your favorite pics.

Take care, Anne and Graham

Look what my sister is teaching Sami!!!

'Nuff said! :-)

Pictures, first attempt

The encyclopedia trick didn't work very well. Barely straightened the pics at all. So I think I'm going to need to tape them onto something in order to scan them reasonably straight, which of course adds a lot more work! I tried scanning a few with just laying them on the scanner... think this is okay? Also, let me know if you have any labels for the pics (post a comment with any labels). If you click on the picture, you'll get a larger view, you can also right click to download it. If you'd like any scanned individually I'm happy to do so, just thought it would be faster for now to scan a bunch at once.


The one on the top right has "Mandy Sykes Jane Charls" written on the back, so I'm assuming it's Mandy with a dog named Charls (is that the correct spelling?). Also, the bottom left is obviously Mandy. Not sure about any of the others.

More pics

Lovely picture of Grandpa Bill at the top right. Bottom looks like Mandy's Christening, with the whole family present. Above that, my dad with Mandy? and to the left, Dad, Granny D and Mandy? Is the pic on the far right Anne with Mandy as a baby? The one in the middle left looks like the house the family lived in at some point, perhaps? No idea on the two above that, although the boys in the top pic seem to be having a marvellous time!