Felix Update

By the way, you may have noticed that Felix is not wearing his helmet any longer. We had it off during several photo ops in USA becos he was getting so hot, but officially he stopped wearing it in June, when Dr. Blecher said it will no longer be effective since Felix is over a year old and the skull bones are by now hardened up. Felix' head is a much more pleasing shape after the treatment, but probably not exactly as it would have been had he not had brachycephaly to begin with.


Also, this little guy has been walking for a couple of weeks now, though it's only within the past week that toddling has taken over from crawling almost entirely. He was getting frustrated that he was the only one in the gang who wasn't bipedal; he's visibly much happier for this new development!

tall, dark, and handsome

Solomon's playschool group took a trip to the seaside in July. It was a fun day but what made the greatest impression on me in the town of Hastings were these Net Stores (as in storage, not retail, for those who are not British!), which are unique to this location.


The sheds were used by fishermen to store nets and other gear along the shore. A maximum of 8' square footprint was imposed, so they were built upward like this to accommodate more storage within that area.


There are some more lovely pictures of Hastings here: http://www.clickmagique.com/Pics/Externals/England/Hastings.shtml

and a bit of explanation on net stores here: http://www.yorkfriend.plus.com/buildings.html

Digga dig dig

One word: Diggerland!



On most of the "rides", children under 5 had to be accompanied. David did NOT mind driving the various construction vehicles.



Thank you Auntie Sarah, Uncle Chris, and cousins Beth and Rebekah for the fantastic birthday present of tickets to Diggerland. All 4 of us enjoyed it thoroughly-- and came home very dusty!

plucking blackberries

We love to support organic (rather than conventional, chemical-dependent) farming. However, wild produce is just as good and can be had even in this big city. Along one of our walking routes to Deptford, we have found that there is a plentitude of robust blackberry bushes just waiting to be unburdened of their produce.

One day, frustratingly limited to just a few berries by being tired of getting scratched up by these big old thorny plants, I found a pair of tough gardening gloves chucked onto the sidewalk along a busy road leading to the area with so many berries on the way home. I took this to mean, "No excuses now!" So I was able to reach right into the spike pits; Soli and Felix helped to deposit the harvest into a water jug we carry with us. A week later, even more berries were ripe so we gathered another pound of them with friends at that time. What to do with so many free, pesticide-free berries? Freeze some, eat some fresh, and-- as shown below-- make blackberry ice cream!



I believe, however, that Elizabeth Barrett Browning might disapprove, thus:

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.

People's Day

Lewisham People's Day is a big local event in Mountsfield Park, Catford-- not far from where we live. There were live band stages, various food stalls, lots of local info tents, an incredible acrobatic/fire-dancing couple (Dream State Circus) whose performance and obvious love and trust of one another actually made me tearful; and, of course, face painting.



I was too awed by Sophie and Jacob to take pictures of their act, but here is a photo of the face painting experience that July day. Solomon had been given a dragon hat by his grandparents upon their return from Wales and wanted his face to match!

Here's an image of the Welsh flag-- to explain the dragon souvenir.

Back in London

It's amazing how entertaining the mundane stuff of home can be when you've been away for a few weeks! We were all refreshed after our visit to the USA-- to the point where staying indoors (usually a bit maddening for these very active boys and their mother!) all morning waiting for a package a short while later was actually quite fun, with the help of a basket full of bandanas! The scarf-flinging wrestling match that ensued was impossible to get pictures of, as I was in the centre of the wiggly giggly melee.

Welcome Home!

It was nice to come back from America to a London that was enjoying pleasant weather, especially after those loooooonnngg transatlantic flights with our little ones!

Wheeeeeeeee!

We were all very excited to spot this super slide in Estes Park. Well, the grown-ups were; all the kids were somewhat terrified of it. That was fine with the adults, though-- more slide tokens for us to use up!



Keri, Karli and Kori took a spin on the curly slide as well. Landing on the big cushion at the end was the best part!

Estes Park

Colorado is famous for its mountains; the Rockies are one of the things I miss the very most. If I had my way I would disappear into the range for weeks at a time. With two small children and only 3 days left, however, that wasn't an option. So we nipped in to Estes Park for a short stay, where we rented a house with some friends and enjoyed catching up in the fresh (and thin!) air.



Soli quickly found a buddy in our good friend Matt. Lots of time was spent choosing and skipping stones.



The kids and I roamed the back yard in jammies first thing in the mornings, saying hello to the bunnies, before the other grown-ups arose. It was a pleasant, quiet time of day. This was Felix' first time at this altitude. He found the dirt as tasty here as anywhere else. And believe me, he's sampled widely!



All those present say, "Cheese".

Welcome to our new 'blog!

Hello! I've finally got enough of this put together to have let you know about it. But there is still a lot more to come! Hopefully i'll manage to get the rest of our USA trip (May '06) on here soon, and then i'll work on catching you up on what we've been up to since we've been back in London.

Please be aware that if you want to view things in chronological order, you have to go from bottom to top.

All the best to all of you from all of us.

The Hutchinsons
Life,Love,London

side trip

On the way out of Denver to our next rental in Estes Park, we stopped to see Kori's long-time friend Julie. It was a pleasure to catch up with her and to meet her family.



Our boys had fun with the Williams boys (of which there are now 3!).
TJ showed Soli how to drive the Jeep.

off to the Mile High City

After 2 weeks in AZ, we flew to Denver, where my mom joined us for a week.



During that time, Solomon turned 3. We went to a Museum of Transport, but the pics from that were all too dark. So you'll just have to take my word for it. These pics of Sol cutting and eating his cake may serve as evidence of celebration, however.

story time

Soli and Gramps enjoy a book from Gramps' childhood.

Look Mom, no hands!

See, I told you! Felix spent a lot of time like this, thanks to a big open window on his side of the rented van. He loved all that air pouring in.



Now that we're back in London and have acquired our little red car, i sometimes drive on longer errands-- much to Felix' delight when the windows are down! He lifts his arms, grins into the wind... and gets annoyed when we hit a red light.

Burning energy, not skin

This playground, like many in the Sonoran Desert, has a canopy over it to protect children from the sun's UV rays and heat.



Rrrreeeeealeeeease meeee!



Soli loved the sand everywhere-- and not too hot to walk on at this place! Hooray for shade!



Stick 'em up! Now this isn't an amazing photo, but it documents an interesting phenomenon: Whenever there is the slightest breeze, Felix seemingly automatically throws his hands in the air like this, and does a deep intake of breath. Even at home on he actively seeks to have the fan on in his room so he can play in a breeze.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Mundane tasks like chair-washing (gotta hose off that desert dust) were done by the grown-ups (in this case Gramps, Kori's dad), while the youngest reclined and relaxed.



"Puff of pinecone, anyone? Too hot for a smoking jacket, I daresay!"

Felix's First Birthday

Felix and Solomon (and assorted adults) had much fun at Chuck E. Cheese pizza place on Felix' birthday.








And afterward, there was plenty of (proper American) birthday cake to be had! YUM!

May in the USA

First we hit Arizona. It was hot there, but the house we rented had lemon and grapefruit trees, so we had plenty of fresh juice (and went through a lot of ice!) to stay quenched. Here we see the cool Solomon demonstrating his pro knack for juicing citrus. Uncle Blake supervised this particular session.



David was amused by the mural in the entryway of the rental house.




We don't have any pics of the boys IN the pool at Yaya and Papoo's because every time we took either of them actually INTO the water, there were many tears. However, they did have a great time playing from the edges, and Soli spent much time with his uncle Blake sitting on the steps, chatting and playing.


Unfortunately, there are relatively few publishable photos from this part of our trip, since Solomon spent most of the two weeks in Tempe naked. (You'll notice that this shot is haphazardly censored by the inflatable snake.) We did put clothes on him every morning and repeatedly throughout each day, but they disappeared immediately within view of the pool, which was Sol's favourite place in town... except for maybe Chuck E. Cheese's (see following entry)...

Soccer Sol

This picture was taken early spring 2006. What is it about boys and balls?! Definitely a favourite toy. As long as we have a sphere with us, we can have a grand ol' time on any bit of grass-- although Felix and Soli don't always want to share! That may change a bit when Felix can walk, run, and kick.

In September, Soli will start an actual football course for 3-5 year-olds. He attended a taster for "Little Kickers" last month and loved it.