aquarium II

We found the hidden activities centre at the aquarium... i'm not really sure we were supposed to be there but...

Schuyler takes centre stage.

And learns about the formation of bermuda....

and then Uncle Dave, Jonathan and Schuyler learn about very, very small creatures that make up the food source at the bottom of the food chain.

aquarium I

As Uncle Dave pounds out "You're so cool" by Henry Mancini off the top of his head on the aquarium, Schuyler (here disguised as a boy) tries to help.

curry for breakfast?

Schuyler and Uncle Dave face each other down over a plate of morning curry. Considering Schuyler has been known to eat green beans for breakfast on occasion, curry seems downright tasty for breakfast... Sadly, Dave and his morning curries had to return to England, leaving the Schuyler Young residence in withdrawal for several days afterward ("Devh?" "No, Schuyler, sorry... Uncle Dave had to leave... because he doesn't love you.").

shelly bay II

Pick up the pace, Dad!

On the 'little' slide, it's an unfair race down the slides for Mama and child.

We really live on an ugly island... i don't know how to cope with it. Uncle Wavy had a hard time here and was happy to return to the sunsets of England.

Shhh!

shelly bay I

From here expression, Schuyler obviously hated being at Shelly Bay playground.

She hasn't quite got the idea of the swing i.e. that you do not have to cling on for dear life.

But she really digs the big slide (4 yrs + but shhh don't tell).

And if all else fails there is always dumbo

after dinner concert

Zoya let us have Uncle Dave for a week which means music fills the house. Here we see that Schuyler has inherited her father's (ahem) "unique" rhythmic and vocal sensibilities.

uncle devh

In all the hooplah surrounding the Queen's visit, none of the press covered the equally impressive visit from Uncle Dave(or "devh" to Schuyler) who is pictured here teasing out the tricky subtext in "Doggies".

the other elizabeth

Schuyler "met" the Queen and her husband what's-his-name while her parents were at work (thanks, Lucy!).

(s)nack time

If Schuyler is not a good chef when she grows up, it's not for a lack of interest. She is constantly rearranging the foodstuffs in the lower cupboards (baby-proofing is for wimps! [and negligent parents]) and taking them over to her coffee table where they are arranged in size order (although it is entirely possible that they are arranged according to sodium content - I haven't gone that far into it). Then sometime in the morning is "snack time" signalled by Schuyler's hungry sign and a persistent "nack? nack?". When the snack is retrived, she dutifully plops herself down on the ground and eats it wherever she found herself on the floor. I'll miss that when she's older.

hi! hi!

There are two things that all toddlers love: keys and phones. And Schuyler is no exception. Every phone (or remote control, calculator, phone-like food item) she gets her little hands on she smashes into the side of her face with exclamations of "hi! hi!" This is the beginning of a long phase of imitation. I remember seeing a documentary on Inuit Eskimos and a father 'teaching' his son how to build an igloo. Their teaching method meant that the father said nothing at all but just went about building the igloo while the son observed. Imitation seems to be a good way to learn. I better watch myself.

dip dip

Give Schuyler a "kakah" (AKA cracker) and something to dip it in ("dip dip") and she is the happiest bear in the land. Above she is enjoying steamed broccoli, yes broccoli, dipped in plain yogurt. We haven't found a food item yet that she doesn't like to dip into yogurt.

lions and milk

teething pains

We broke our Schuyler. Our wonderful little girl who was so happy, gleeful and carefee has suddenly turned "two". Of course, she's not yet two years old but she appears to be advanced for her age because she has had a spell of the terrible twos this past week. We hope it's just the fact that she is teething and has a cold and an ear infection (what about that combination wouldn't make you cranky). She's found countless uses for the word "no"; she throws almost everything that comes into her clutches; she cries when the slightest thing goes wrong; and she doesn't want to do whatever it is you wanted her to do (except sleep... thank goodness).

When she's been teething before she's been cranky so we're hoping it is just a phase. We'll see. We love you anyway, little bear. Your Dad went through the terrible twos from age two until age twenty so maybe it is genetic.

thank you

Schuyler, tonight I caught your mother mouthing something while she was lying on the couch watching tv. When i asked her what she was doing, she said "I was trying to imagine what Schuyler is doing when she tries to say 'Thank you'". I'm posting this because I want you to know how great I think your mother is and how she thinks of you all the time. You see, Schuyler, this isn't really your blog. This is the blog of the beginning of our family. We love you more than you will ever know.

scholar athlete

Schuyler has a habit of ignoring all the wonderful children's books we bought her and moving on to the hard stuff - straight philosophy and politics, no chaser. She pretends to read them at her desk, occasionally saying "car" and "flower" if anything resembling those items appears. Looks like she's trying to walk in Daddy's footsteps. Poor thing.

where's schuyler?

Believe it or not, these photographs are actually photos of Schuyler's Dad trying to get some Bermedia work done on the weekend. To be fair, I should have probably locked myself away upstairs for some peace but I couldn't resist the lure of Daddy's little rascal who played hide and seek all around my chair, in my lap, behind the chair, etc.

storytime

accessoires de la poupee

La Poupée can't be seen in public without a double helping of shoes. Schuyler ensures her couture is haute.

schuyler's game show

Schuyler is not just a child, she is a project. I don't even let the poor thing eat without quizzing her constantly. Am I going to be one of those parents I always deride who are constantly riding their kids instead of letting them just play and be kids? We'll see. Karma has a way of coming back to you. Then again, we do need her to get a scholarship.

blind schuyler

One of Schuyler's perennial favourites is her self-invented game of "blind Schuyler" where she puts a burp cloth over her head/face and then tries to navigate the house, invariably surprising herself with a harsh collision or two with such soft objects as a wall or a stool. This usually results in laughter not tears. We are concerned.

cafe al fresco and humiliation 101

Theo joined Schuyler for morning tea this morning at the al fresco cafe in the back yard.

Magic shows Schuyler how fashionable her coat can really be. (Sorry, Magic).