Ili in the woods

Little Ili started an extra Spielgruppe date in the woodland group that Bea used to attend when he was also three years old. They play outdoors in a little pocket of woodland, build a fire and cook sausages. The lady who runs the group is very cool. I remember Bea used to kiss her when he said goodbye, and she was the first to really bring his Swiss-German language out. Today she was showing the children the first signs of wild garlic ("Bärlauch") coming through the cold ground. Hopefully Ili will enjoy it just as much as Bea.

Back from the Seychelles

Bea and Ili were super excited this evening as papa came home. Here's a few pics of his trip on the island of Praslin. . . including a couple of him up a tree, of course! The palms inland are the Coco De Mare, and the pic of him swimming is Anse Lazio beach, Praslin.

Old friends

Ili at Malika's class.

Both Bea's and Ili's music and dance group have grown this term, and Bea was chuffed to see that his old friend from his first year at Kindergarten, Theodore (the little boy who looked after Bea during this time) has joined his group. Bea told me how they were "tickling each other" instead of talking as they were both too shy, but I'm sure that will change over the next few weeks. Great that they'll start to see each other regularly again.

Back to Kindergarten

Getting back into routine today after the 'sports holiday' comes to an end, and back to Monday afternoon footie. (Bea is in blue).

Modern day movies

Snuggled up indoors this weekend, one thing we did do was try and watch some movies. Classic Disney movies don't seem to hit the spot (often "too sad" or "too scary") and we often struggle to find something that the children like that isn't from the 1960s! Mary Poppins continues to be a firm favourite with both of them — they've watched it over and over and still giggle and sing. We were introduced to Mr. Poppers Penguins with Jim Carey. Nothing disturbing in it, it's all good silly fun, and while the storyline is very different to Mary Poppins', the subtext is actually the same. Father, or in the case of Poppins, the Mother too, are preoccupied with work and overlook the joys that parenting brings — but in both movies, it all comes good in the end as parents 'wake up' to what they've been missing. Both Bea and Ili enjoyed it lots, but can't imagine it still being watched in 50 years time! But we are hoping to watch the new children's movie 'Brave', so we'll have to wait for another Baltic weekend inside. If anyone is interested, there's a great TedTalk about modern day movies for children here (including Brave).

Grounded

Pretty much grounded this weekend as three below zero the last few days, so nothing much to report. No pics of the Seychells yet from Frith, which is maybe just as well as a sun-drenched beach might be too much for me to take. Just getting back into gear for returning to Kindergarten and Spielgruppe after the last two weeks holiday. Ili will start an extra morning in the outdoor woodland group that Bea used to enjoy this Wednesday, so hopefully she takes to it well.

Icy biking

The children were not very happy with me today as I dragged them up to Zürichberg with the bike and scooter for some much needed fresh air this morning. Being on wheels wasn't so much the problem as the icy weather — they were quickly chilled through to the bone. But we tried! They were both much happier this afternoon cosy at home as we had friends over to play (Gnome and three of her four children).

The children's choice

It's their holiday after all and the kids set the agenda for today . . .  and we spent it at Trampolino. Aaarghhh, poor mummy! Bea was there for a recent birthday party but it was my fist visit. It's essentially a HUGE hanger, in industrial 'Ikea territory' full of equipment for children to run like crazed mice through tunnels or to jump (or rather be thrown about) on giant plastic air bags, ride on kiddie trains, smash-up on bumper cars, or climb vertical plastic walls all in the safety of wall-to-wall squidgy crash mats. And of course, the kids LOVED it! Bea ran around in state of adrenaline-fueled excitement and once Ili came to terms with the bigger kids ability to easily bowl her over, she coped very well and enjoyed the challenges. The best moment for me however, was watching Bea assist Ili hike herself up a huge plastic slope — what appeared like a circus tent — where they had great fun sliding down together when they failed to reach the top, but they were eternally persistent and after many many attempts finally made it together. Very sweet!

Lazing in the Zurich thermal baths

While papa is no doubt enjoying the warmth of the Seychelles, we sought some hot water ourselves. It's been a while since we visited the Zurich Thermal Baths which are housed in an old brewery and very luxuriously renovated. They have three warm bubble pools (from 35 degrees), as well as a shallow meditation pool — happily, the children will actually stay quiet now while we wallow amidst those 'properly' relaxing. The highlight as always was the thermal pool on the roof overlooking the city. We needed to keep our bodies under the hot water to stay warm as it was a bitterly cold winter day (snow floating in the air). Spent most of the afternoon there. Very nice. Couldn't take my iPhone for pics, but can get the gist here.

Bea and Ili in the entrance to the Therman Baths, Zurich.

Donkey treats

What we didn't eat was a donkey treat. Bea and Ili feed our neighbour's donkeys in the morning before we embarked on the long journey home.

Sunny Sunday

Bea insisted in lounging in his PJs all day, and Ili fancied herself as a little owl –  nice painting papa! As you look down the valley now, you can see more 'garden' space appearing rather than tree tops , so the garden is definitely starting to take shape. The neighbour's daughter said she hadn't seen the house like that since she was a young girl (in the 1960s). We had fun doing it all, but a shame that after we all settled happy in the relaxed outdoor groove it was time to head back to Switzerland. But we'll be back in the April holidays!

Space for fruit trees

Got warmer still and we managed to have afternoon tea (and scones) outside. The bonfires carried on, and by now we could start to imagine places for fruit trees to grow. Bea got up the oak tree that he calls his own, and it was nice to see the children starting to run around and enjoy the garden more, and great to be more outside than in!

Seeing a difference

Had a great day today. The skies got brighter, butterflies fluttered, and we started to see a difference after our bonfires and hard work. Papa put together a little tepee and we finally got the hammock up in a good spot— so had lots of laughs! Little Ili found a worm she wanted to keep as a pet, and over the next few days her little 'pet' worm was introduced to more 'friends'.  Kids had their first baked spuds fresh off the night bonfire.

Too wet to work

Too wet to work outdoors today, but papa kept the bonfires smoldering on. . . .

Going commando

Chris was up another tree to try and work out a commando rope for Bea and Ili — seems ideal for a garden on a hillside.  The prototype required a little too much help from papa running along pulling, so hopefully the next one in the spring will work with a little more help from gravity.

Starting swinging

As the terraces started to grow in size, we had some space to start hiking up ropes and putting up swings.