You didn’t know it, but you turned 4 years old today in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Sorry we tricked you a bit, and made you believe you birthday is a few days later. We just didn’t think we could do your birthday justice while on a trip to a foreign country.
The last year has been one of growth (physically, of course, but mentally too) and change. You’ve taken everything in stride with that same even keel quality of your Daddy. Our dear friend Miss Julie says, “That kid is unflappable!” She describes you perfectly.
You started the school year returning to the JCC in the 3 year old class with Teachers Hadassah and Joan. They fell in love with you quickly and had a different story every day to tell about something creative you did while in school. You missed Ben and Reiley at the beginning, but quickly made new friends in the class. Ryan joined you every day at drop-off and pick-up; sometimes we think he wanted to be in the class just as much as you did!
Life changed in a big way in November 2011 through January 2011. Mommy took a full time job at Skype, Daddy was working full time at Juniper, so you spent a fair amount of time with Dena and Grandma and Grandpa. Mommy’s job included a unique opportunity to move to London, England – a city 1/3 the way around the world. Home life was a bit stressful as packed up our house, interviewed dozens of renters, and talked about “the big move.” You took it mostly in stride, but you knew something was up. You had a hard few weeks at school – getting upset or angry – but that phase passed, as they always do.
In January 2011, the four LeRoys got on a plane and moved to London. We stopped halfway there and spent 4 days with Nanny and Papa, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Elma Jean in Pennsylvania. You played in the snow, ate plenty of Hershey chocolate, and road a horse. Nanny and Papa were sad to see you go – you brought so much joy to those days.
We arrived in London on January 15. Mommy picked out a 1-story flat in Chesterford Gardens. You and your brother ran around exploring the nooks and crannies of the house for the first week – crazy with excitement. It was cold and rainy, but you didn’t seem to notice. You’d just put on your jacket, hat, mittens, and boots and play outside till your nose froze.
In February, you started at a new school, Heathside Prep. Your teachers, Polly and Barb, bent the rules for you to join 3 afternoons per week. It was great to for you to meet some kids, head to the Heath to play outside, and get out of the house. You showed your confidence every day – being dropped off, chin held high, and just diving right into the afternoon program. You were part of the school musical, “Billy no Buzz” about dragonflies. You missed all but 2 practices since you didn’t attend school in the mornings. But we sang the songs at home now and again. On performance day, Daddy and Mommy showed up with all the other anxious and frazzled parents with cameras and video recorders. You sat with your class, wings attached and sparkling hat on as quiet as could be. Some would have thought you looked scared, but you weren’t. You were just waiting for your moment to shine. When it was your class’ turn to stand, you took your spot, and started belting out the words. You were off key, off the beat, and really really loud. Even if you were late with your timing, you’d sing through the end of the sentence because, by golly, you knew the words!
Teacher Polly remarked over and over how verbal you were at the age of 3. She thought you spoke better than more kids 11 months older than you in the same class. She recommended you move to Reception right after you turn 4 (which is what you’ll start in September this year). [Reception is the equivalent of kindergarten.]
Mommy’s days at work start late and end late, so Daddy does all the cooking and cleaning up for dinner. You know how to make yourself quite helpful (you put the clean silverware away every day; you peel the courgettes, etc.). Sometimes, you make Daddy crazy – asking a million questions or needing help every other minute while he’s trying to get something done. That’s typical 3-year old stuff though@
Last year, we wrote about your lawnmower obsession morphing into motorcycles. Now, you’ve moved on again; this time, to astronauts and space. We checked out a few books on space from the library and you memorized those. Everywhere we went, you’d spout off some fact about astronauts to a perfect stranger: “Did you know there is no oxygen in space and astronauts have to carry their own?” “The Saturn V rocket has 5 parts and fuel tanks drop off after takeoff.” “Did you know Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong were the first 3 men on the moon?” (Technically, Michael Collins didn’t stand on the moon – he drove the command module around while Buzz and Neil went down to the moon in the lunar lander. Kevin is happy to clarify this with you.) Your obsession with space and astronauts has been your longest phase yet. We’ve been to every space/science museum in all of London, Amsterdam, Scotland, and Stockholm. It has been fun to watch the confidence you gain learning so many wonderful new things.
We hired a new nanny, Maria, in April. You were skeptical and a bit cold at first. (We can’t really blame you. We hired a nanny in February and she quit 6 weeks later with no notice.) But, Maria knew exactly how to handle you. She took it slow, didn’t push, and now the two of you are very close. She has taught you all sorts of new things, even how to brush egg on the crust of an apple pie to make it “shine!”
In May, Mommy had to fly to California for work and she took your brother with her. You and Daddy decided to make an adventure of your own. You went to Amsterdam for 3 days. Daddy was very impressed how adult-like you were on such a big trip. You were a trooper (as always), didn’t whine or complain in long lines, and enjoyed the boat ride, the park, and the science museum (to see the astronauts, of course).
London weather, sidewalks, and steep hills (where we live) make for difficult scootering and bicycle riding (which is what you spent most days doing in California). Instead, we enrolled you in a few sessions of swim lessons. At first, your classes required a parent, and while you enjoyed them, you didn’t really do much or get much better. Then you started in a class of 6 with just a teacher. A few of the kids were older and better than you, and wow, that’s all it took. You really took off! You can’t swim on your own yet, but you can push off the wall and make it 10 feet. You love to be pushed underwater so that you can touch the bottom of the pool with your hand. You have a new comfort level which makes us believe you’ll be swimming by yourself by the time you’re 5. The good news is, you love it. You come up choking and coughing and rubbing your eyes, saying, “Let’s do it again!!”
You have an interesting relationship with your brother Ryan. It is likely typical of sibling boys. At times, you give him the best hugs, you help him put blocks together, and laugh yourselves silly (laugh so much you pee your pants). At other times, you poke, prod, and push him, knowing he’ll cry and whine. Thankfully, it is more good than bad. You both love to eat, love to play in the dirt, and love to climb. He follows you around everywhere you go and tries everything you do. You are smart enough to know that when Ryan is present, you have to tone it down so that he doesn’t hurt himself. You have a good awareness of situations like that – way beyond your years.
The LeRoys are a happy family of 4, and you are a central part of that. You bring so much joy to our household. We love you very much.
Mommy & Daddy
Today we set out to visit Hackney City Farm. (Hackney, by the way, is now known to be the origin of the recent rounds of London riots) When we got to the tube, we learned the tube branch we needed was closed for construction. So, Plan B became a visit St James Park – a park we’ve never been to near Buckingham Palace. Halfway there, we changed plans again, and decided to visit the HMS Belfast – part of the Imperial War Museum. Plan C.
We jumped off the tube at Waterloo, caught the Jubilee line to London Bridge, and walked just 15 minutes to Hay’s Galleria, a beautiful building with shops, restaurants, and an interesting looking boat/water feature. We had a hard time keeping Ryan from jumping into the clear blue water.
Children under 15 are free and tickets for adults weren’t so expensive (compared to other London attractions). We spent about 2 hours roaming the boat and everything exceeded our expectations – funny, since we were originally going to feed ducks and pet sheep at Hackney City Farms.
Kevin and Ryan were like playful puppies on the boat. Kevin turned every switch and pushed every button he could find. He had a serious look at all times, thinking he really was in charge of the boat. Some of the boat “crew” had him salute with a sailor hat on. Ryan just enjoyed climbing on everything. He also got a kick out of the fake crew – they were realistic enough that a 2 and 4 year old took a second look, but fake enough to be creepy. The boat had lots of steep ladders to take you on multiple levels. Kevin did fine on those, but Ryan would get halfway down and sort of leap forward, yelping “hold me!” as he fell. It was touch and go there for a while.
Our entry fees included an audio tour, with numbered spots for information. We were sufficiently distracted by Kevin’s curious questions or Ryan jumping overboard, so, if you want to learn something, you’ll have to ask Ryan. 
Not sure if we’ll ever get to Plans A and B, but Plan C was a winner. A usual site for the end of our outings…..
Tags: boat, kevin, london, ryan, siteseeing
Dave and I got away for a whole weekend, to Paris, without children. Our wonderful nanny graciously and bravely spent Friday afternoon through Sunday night at our house, with our two rowdy, dirty, and loveable boys. I’ll get to their weekend in a moment; but now, on to Paris…
We took the train from London’s St. Pancras station to Gare de Nord in Paris. The train ride was 2 ½ hours long. There was a very chatty blond student from California who talked non-stop to the British chap seated next to her. She covered her entire life story, which, at the age of 19, isn’t much to cover. But she was excited about it all, and the chap pretended to be.
I’m not sure what I was expecting for the underground portion of the trip, but it was anticlimactic. I was hoping it would be like an aquarium, with fish and treasure chests and scuba divers whizzing by. Okay, not really. But, it was just like an extra long tunnel. That’s it.
We managed to find our way to the hotel – Hotel Jardin de l’Odean – via a crowded metro ride and short walk. Our hotel was in an ideal location right near Luxembourg Gardens. Our room was small but quaint with $4 Toblerone and $5 bottled water.
Dave was grumpy because he was starving by this point (I still wonder when he’ll learn to take along snacks for occasions like these?) so we wandered a bit, without reservations for dinner or any idea on where we wanted to go. There are many fabulous looking restaurants around the Latin Quarter. We ended up at a Moroccan restaurant called Au Méchoui du Prince. Dave ate a pound of couscous and complained of a full belly all night and until the next morning. I think, even after couscous is cooked, it still expands to 3xs the size once in your stomach.
After an uninterrupted night’s sleep, we got out of bed at the lazy hour of 7:30am. We went for a 3-loop run around Luxembourg Gardens, showered, and headed out for a quick salmon baguette for breakfast.
I talked Dave into joining a formal Paris Walks tour of the Marais area. He originally made some comment under his breath about how his life had changed since his visit to Paris 20 years earlier. Way back when, he said his two lasting memories were visiting Jim Morrisson’s grave and sitting on the steps of Sacre Coeur drinking warm beer and listening to the locals playing guitar. Now, here he is going on a walking tour. “Aren’t walking tours for old people?” he says. And, I suppose he’s right. But we really enjoyed it. Our tour guide, Chris, was a funny fellow and we were entertained by his stories and information for 2 hours.
After our old-people tour, we meandered without a plan for a while, in and out of cafes and in and out of pouring rain. We walked by the Notre Dame and did some window shopping on the Isle St. Louis. We got on a mission to get a massage, so looked down every narrow alleyway for an available massage parlour. We were delighted to find a place around the corner from our hotel. It was fancy shmancy, and only one woman spoke any English. We started with foot massages (really, I think they just want to clean tourists’ feet after walking all day, they must stink!) and then had massages followed by a steam room. It was incredibly relaxing and well worth the time.
I had researched a place for dinner – asking friends and looking online. We decided on Le Procope – a short walk from our hotel. It served traditional French cuisine and was famous for the Calf’s Head (which Dave ordered). I checked it closely, and can confirm that the eyelashes and other odd head parts had boiled off in the cooking process. I stuck with something more tame – duck breast and vegetables. The restaurant was loud and bistro-like, but we enjoyed the company of a North Carolina couple seated next to us.
Another night’s sleep and we headed out to devote the day to the Tour de France. We met some friends of Dave’s and headed to the Westin – our designated viewing spot. It was right on the 1K banner mark and by 10am already had a good crowd gathering to hold their spots on the fence. We wandered a bit to look at all the Tour hype and then defended our position on the fence over 2 hours before the racers came through.
The cyclists didn’t come zooming through until about 4pm, so we had a long wait. It was sunny and hot, compared to the previous day’s rain. We chatted with Tour die-hards from all over the world. It is interesting to hear how many people join bike tours this time of year to ride some of the stages and follow the race every day. Dave’s friends that we joined were Tour experts – they knew which vehicles would be in the parade, what colour the lead cars were, which motorcycles to look for, etc.
The final stage in the Tour runs 8 laps around the Champs-Elysees, so it is the best viewing spot for the entire 3-week race. Dave and I have been watching the Tour on television for years, so it was exhilarating to be there in person. The cyclists came through on the first lap and the crowd went crazy.
We captured some fantastic pictures of the winners and the sprinters.
We potentially missed the best part of the finishing stage – where all the racers head to their team vans and buses and mingle with fans. We made train reservations back to London for later that evening and ended up in a time crunch to get there. Naturally, the train station temporarily shut down due to an unattended package and our train delayed over 1 hour. Sigh.
The ride home was otherwise uneventful and we were delighted to hear our nanny say that she loved our boys more than ever before. She and the boys spent Saturday “working the locks” at an all-day exhibition for kids and families. Kevin bragged about pulling open the heavy locks to let the water in and out. Ryan spent the day climbing on dangerous structures and flirting with all females in sight. They spent Sunday at our nanny’s house, running naked in the front yard picking apples that had fallen from their tree. (Which turned out to be a fantastic idea, since they made an apple pie together later in the week!) Here is a picture of Kevin and Ryan and our nanny, Maria. They made binoculars out of blocks and were reading Super Duck for the 100th time.
Funny, we looked forward to getting away for the weekend without our children and then spent most of the time talking about them. Family is good.
Tags: paris, tour de france, weekend
Recent Comments