One man and his dog....

Last Saturday we took ourselves off up north to Bromsgrove (just south of Birmingham) to visit Frankie & Agnieszka and their new addition to the family - Jethro - a golden retriever. He is now 5 months old and full of bounce and lick.
The weather was glorious and the local playground was well frequented during Jethro's walks. We also popped into the café for ice cream. It was such a good break - far away from all the responsibilities and to-do lists. The only challenge was getting up at 6:40am most days with Calvin, sigh. But beyond that it was a special time with family.

we went to Cadbury's World on Monday. Sadly Keith missed it as he was back at work

Zack and Aga take on one another on the iPad

Calvin's potty-training continues unabated. He is doing mightily well and altho we have accidents here and there, he is in underpants all day, every day. Praise has worked really well with this little chap, and I regularly catch him saying, "I so clever", to himself. Delightful.
His vocabulary is excellent and he is making himself well understood. He is most definitely a two-year-old with lots of "no's". Strangely we are still getting to know him, as Zack is such a big personality and tends to take over. Having Tina (our housekeeper) away for a month was really a special time of one-to-one with Calvin and I think we both feel that we understand and know him better.
Hammy, the hamster, is still healthy and busy (at night). He has been 'downsized' from Chairman Mao's palace as he managed to chew a hole in the bottom of one of the panels. he is now in a smaller box with a wheel attached and he seems more settled and less intent on escape.

and we're IN

Calvin has been accepted to attend St James' nursery. That means as of September, Calvin will be going to school with Zack in the mornings. I can collect him each day at noon. Again, I feel like God was in control through all the insanity that was his time in-utero and delivery. He was supposed to be a September baby (end of September), which would have made him the oldest in his year. But God had other plans : he is now going to be the YOUNGEST in his year. The only person younger will be he/she who is born on the 31st of August!
Calvin's language skills are coming along in leaps and bounds - he is sooo good at it now. We spent all of today together and he had so much to say and talk about. It was a real blessing.

at Kenwood House, climbing "by 'self"

He is potty training too - we started last Thursday (which makes him 2 years and 7 months). He is doing brilliantly. We've only had a few hiccups - mostly when we've been out and about and far away from "facilities". Today, we spent more than 5 hours in the car and he did very well both on arrival and departure. Bless him.
He and Zack are still sharing a bedroom. I'm not sure how long it will last as it's really trying our patience at bedtime each night. We may move them back into separate rooms to remedy it.