A quick trip to Radcliffe

I've popped up to Radcliffe this weekend with Lara to see Grandma and Grandpa and to give Olga a chance to get some things done at home in preparation for Luda's arrival.
It's also an exercise in seeing if I can get Lara to sleep in a bed other than her cot or a travel cot. Grandma has an inflatable child's bed that Olga took to Russia in January, and also a proper, wooden child's bed. Lara slept in the inflatable one last night, and is currently in the wooden bed tonight (assuming she hasn't got up and walked about, but I think I would have heard about that if she had!). It's actually been easier than I thought it would be, I assumed I'd be popping in to her room regularly to coax her back into bed, but that hasn't been the case. The poor lamb is really struggling with a cold and cough at the moment, but there's nothing that can be done about that other than doses of tixylix and nurofen.
Grandma has been able to entertain Lara, it seems one of them loves to do the washing up...

Google Street View - spotted

Our house appeared on Google Street View recently. There's nothing worth showing - we were out when they came past, and I'd not mown the front lawn so it looks untidy! Olga did remember seeing the camera car though, one day when she was driving home to walk the dogs (it might have just been the one dog at the time!), and a bit more searching proved her right:

A terrier comes second at Crufts

He isn't an Airedale or a Welshie or a Border, but Rico is a Scottish Terrier who came second at Crufts tonight..

He comes from Russia, which was another reason we were cheering him on tonight, but he lost out to a Hungarian Vizla called Yogi, who won the Gundog group today. So.. the crowd was full of Gundog lovers, and the Judge has bred Gundogs in the past, and a Gundog won...hmm ;-) Never mind, Mishka and Jackson are the winners in our house :-)

The little bossy boots

Lara continues to make us laugh with her personality. I was brushing her hair before bed the other night, not something that Dads are naturals at, I suspect.. if Lara's comment of "Oww, Papa, be gentle" was anything to go by. She's not quite worked out apologising yet, as she also has a habit of apologising to me when I brush a knot out of her hair (when I'm being gentle).
Then as I'm offering her her bedtime yoghurt, she wants to take the lid off (and ripping it - "Broken, Papa"), and hold the pot herself whilst scooping a huge spoonful into her mouth. After one messy spoonful, I'm allowed to help, but I receive the strict instruction: "Don't drop it, Papa. Not on the floor".
I had the day off on Wednesday to work on the fences in the back garden, and Olga took Lara to nursery. Now, there was a major tantrum a few weeks ago when I tried to take her coat off for her upon arrival in the Dolphins room, and she wanted to take it off, so we've learnt to let her do it in her own time.  On Wednesday one of the other girls in the room hadn't understood this rule, and came over to give Lara a big hug before Lara was quite ready, and poor Freya was put in her place with a withering look and a sharp "Taking my coat off!". As if this wasn't bad enough, Freya was shouting "Lara! Lara!" while waiting for Lara to slowly take her coat off, to which Lara's response was "Don't shout." accompanied by a look that said this was Freya's last warning. It is fascinating that Lara can match her facial expression with the tone in which she says what she needs to say, and those three things together means she gets her message across with no misunderstanding.
We've had to take one of her potties into nursery as yesterday she wouldn't let any of the other kids use the one she normally uses.
What kind of a madam have we got?
Then again she does have her lovely moments...

Lara on the job

I couldn't think of a better title, sorry....
The boys are very protective towards Lara when she's at her most vulnerable.