Trust a man by the way he treats his own house...
Sunday 30 January 2011
Saturday 29 January 2011
Care home hunting in Staffordshire
We came up to Staffordshire late on Friday night and what a delight as we woke up in the morning... we were staying at a farm with sheep I could see right from my window!!
....it got even better when we went outside to find pigs and chicken, lots of cows and even a little pony!!
....it got even better when we went outside to find pigs and chicken, lots of cows and even a little pony!!
... but there was a catch! I should have known that! Nothing comes for free in this world I am told.... and hence Mamma locked me in the car with Dadda while we drove around Stoke on Trent visiting one care home after the other!!
What torture!!
Tuesday 25 January 2011
...and then came the cars...
...where were you guys hiding these cars!! They are marvellous and are starting to capture my interest and I play with them all day in nursery!!
Perhaps just the evolution of the animal species? Don't get me wrong, I still love my animals, but tonight it's the red and the yellow car I am taking to bed with me!
Night night!
Perhaps just the evolution of the animal species? Don't get me wrong, I still love my animals, but tonight it's the red and the yellow car I am taking to bed with me!
Night night!
Sunday 23 January 2011
Roma Roma Roma.. (unplugged version)
Ti sono venuto a prendere al nido Venerdi scorso e mi hanno raccontato tutte le maestrine quanto sei meraviglioso quando canti a squarciagola e con tanta passione quella canzone italiana che nessuno capisce ma che si intuisce parli "about Rome"...
...e ci credo.. la sanno pure i Thailandesi ormai!!
...e ci credo.. la sanno pure i Thailandesi ormai!!
Amols!!
...there is no better feeling than coming back home and finding all my "amols" waiting to have lunch with me!!!
Ponte Tibetano
...prove di equilibrio stamattina al parco dietro a Columbia Market mentre Mamma e Dadda compravano fiori e cactus...
...me la sono cavata egregiamente!!!
Buona Domenica a tutti!!
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Complesso Di Edipo
Questo post non ha foto ne tantomeno video. Solo un cenno dal tuo papa' che per dovere di cronaca vuole memorizzare sul tuo blog la fase che stai passando durante queste ultime settimane.
Durante l'arco della vacanza in Thailandia e da quando siamo tornati le tue dimostrazioni per la tua adorata Mammin si manifestano sempre piu' frequentemente e in maniera piu' impulsiva. Ahime' di paripasso tuo papa' svolge una funzione sempre meno rilevante e secondaria... spesso da semplice "comparsa" al susseguirsi delle tue avventure quotidiane.
"Mammin Cushheeeen" (tradotto, "Mamma coccolina") e' diventato il tuo cavallo di battaglia.
10-20.. anche 50 volte al giorno in qualsiasi frangente della giornata ti fermi e imprechi.. "Mammmmiiiinnnn cusheeeeeeen"!!!
Quando giocavamo in piscina a Krabi e non ti andava piu'.... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"..
...quando in aereo i posti erano 2 dalla parte del finestrino e il terzo nel mezzo... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando eri troppo eccitato dalla giornata con elefanti e dopo sei crollato sul pulmino.. "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando ti viene fame..."Mammmmin cusheeeeen"....
...quando sei stanco e hai bisogno di una coccolina..."Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando e' tempo di andare a letto... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando entri in macchina con mamma e papa' ma vedi da dove sei seduto solo papa' al volante (la mamma e' seduta davanti a te e non la vedi)... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando papa' torna a casa e vorrebbe divorarti di attenzioni... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando vuoi giocare con il trenino, gli animali, la palla o fare i salti dal divano e papa' non vede l'ora di partecipare... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"....
...quando ti svegli la notte e giunge papa' in camera a consolatri... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando torno a casa e fino a poco tempo fa, correvi al cancelletto in cima alle scale per accogliermi e sbaciucchiarmi, ora corri in braccio alla mamma... "Mammmmmin cusheeeeeen"!!!!
Perdipiu' quando mi avvicino a te, spesso e volentieri mi punti con lo sguardo deciso e mi dici "Go!.. there!" indicando la porta.... E io ti rispetto e abbozzo e prendo il colpo sul mento, alzo i tacchi e sparisco al di la' della porta...
Vorrei intervenire ogni volta ed assorbire anch'io tali attenzioni ma vedo che non c'e' verso, mi metto da parte e ogni volta ti aiuto a cercare la mamma che saziera' la tua richiesta di affetto e attenzioni!
E' una sensazione nuova per tuo papa' che papa' chiaramente non e' mai stato prima e quindi impara cose nuove assieme a te, giorno dopo giorno. Questa in particolare non e' proprio piacevolissima per un papa'.. da quasi una sensazione di "fallimento" esistenziale... ma provo a non dargli troppa importanza in attesa che il periodo passi.. (ma passa?) o che io impari a farci il callo!
Ma chi lo avrebbe pensato... hai solo 2 anni!!! Ora capisco perche' in terra inglese fanno riferimento ai "terrible twos"!!
Non ce l'ho con te. Non potrei mai. Documentandomi e discutendone con amici piu' esperti capisco che sono fasi normali nella crescita di un maschietto e tuo papa' non ha altra scelta che attendere, capirti e assecondarti come gli sara' possibile, quando sara' necessario e quando tu lo vorrai. E continuera' ad amarti piu' di sempre anche se un pelo piu' a distanza. E continuera' a scherzarci su mentre si sorseggia il caffe' al bar in ufficio scambiandosi appunti ed esperienze con colleghi papa' piu' esperti che sbuffano compiaciuti sapendomi alle prese con simili scene a quelle che hanno costellato le proprie vite....
"Il complesso di Edipo è un concetto originariamente sviluppato nell'ambito della teoria psicoanalitica da Sigmund Freud, che ispirò anche Carl Gustav Jung (fu lui a descrivere il concetto e a coniare il termine "Complesso"), per spiegare la maturazione del bambino maschio attraverso l'identificazione con il padre e il desiderio nei confronti della madre".
Intendiamoci bene... non sei mica diventato un mostro (.. o almeno non ancora..) e ci facciamo comunque un sacco di risate!
Sei instancabile e irresistibile e ogni giorno che passa e' costellato di momenti che riempie tuo papa' di meravigliosi momenti!
E un giorno quando saprai leggere e avrai la curiosita' di ripercorrere la tua infanzia tramite questo blog ci faremo su due belle risate!!!
Dadda
Durante l'arco della vacanza in Thailandia e da quando siamo tornati le tue dimostrazioni per la tua adorata Mammin si manifestano sempre piu' frequentemente e in maniera piu' impulsiva. Ahime' di paripasso tuo papa' svolge una funzione sempre meno rilevante e secondaria... spesso da semplice "comparsa" al susseguirsi delle tue avventure quotidiane.
"Mammin Cushheeeen" (tradotto, "Mamma coccolina") e' diventato il tuo cavallo di battaglia.
10-20.. anche 50 volte al giorno in qualsiasi frangente della giornata ti fermi e imprechi.. "Mammmmiiiinnnn cusheeeeeeen"!!!
Quando giocavamo in piscina a Krabi e non ti andava piu'.... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"..
...quando in aereo i posti erano 2 dalla parte del finestrino e il terzo nel mezzo... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando eri troppo eccitato dalla giornata con elefanti e dopo sei crollato sul pulmino.. "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando ti viene fame..."Mammmmin cusheeeeen"....
...quando sei stanco e hai bisogno di una coccolina..."Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando e' tempo di andare a letto... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando entri in macchina con mamma e papa' ma vedi da dove sei seduto solo papa' al volante (la mamma e' seduta davanti a te e non la vedi)... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando papa' torna a casa e vorrebbe divorarti di attenzioni... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando vuoi giocare con il trenino, gli animali, la palla o fare i salti dal divano e papa' non vede l'ora di partecipare... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"....
...quando ti svegli la notte e giunge papa' in camera a consolatri... "Mammmmin cusheeeeen"...
...quando torno a casa e fino a poco tempo fa, correvi al cancelletto in cima alle scale per accogliermi e sbaciucchiarmi, ora corri in braccio alla mamma... "Mammmmmin cusheeeeeen"!!!!
Perdipiu' quando mi avvicino a te, spesso e volentieri mi punti con lo sguardo deciso e mi dici "Go!.. there!" indicando la porta.... E io ti rispetto e abbozzo e prendo il colpo sul mento, alzo i tacchi e sparisco al di la' della porta...
Vorrei intervenire ogni volta ed assorbire anch'io tali attenzioni ma vedo che non c'e' verso, mi metto da parte e ogni volta ti aiuto a cercare la mamma che saziera' la tua richiesta di affetto e attenzioni!
E' una sensazione nuova per tuo papa' che papa' chiaramente non e' mai stato prima e quindi impara cose nuove assieme a te, giorno dopo giorno. Questa in particolare non e' proprio piacevolissima per un papa'.. da quasi una sensazione di "fallimento" esistenziale... ma provo a non dargli troppa importanza in attesa che il periodo passi.. (ma passa?) o che io impari a farci il callo!
Ma chi lo avrebbe pensato... hai solo 2 anni!!! Ora capisco perche' in terra inglese fanno riferimento ai "terrible twos"!!
Non ce l'ho con te. Non potrei mai. Documentandomi e discutendone con amici piu' esperti capisco che sono fasi normali nella crescita di un maschietto e tuo papa' non ha altra scelta che attendere, capirti e assecondarti come gli sara' possibile, quando sara' necessario e quando tu lo vorrai. E continuera' ad amarti piu' di sempre anche se un pelo piu' a distanza. E continuera' a scherzarci su mentre si sorseggia il caffe' al bar in ufficio scambiandosi appunti ed esperienze con colleghi papa' piu' esperti che sbuffano compiaciuti sapendomi alle prese con simili scene a quelle che hanno costellato le proprie vite....
"Il complesso di Edipo è un concetto originariamente sviluppato nell'ambito della teoria psicoanalitica da Sigmund Freud, che ispirò anche Carl Gustav Jung (fu lui a descrivere il concetto e a coniare il termine "Complesso"), per spiegare la maturazione del bambino maschio attraverso l'identificazione con il padre e il desiderio nei confronti della madre".
Intendiamoci bene... non sei mica diventato un mostro (.. o almeno non ancora..) e ci facciamo comunque un sacco di risate!
Sei instancabile e irresistibile e ogni giorno che passa e' costellato di momenti che riempie tuo papa' di meravigliosi momenti!
E un giorno quando saprai leggere e avrai la curiosita' di ripercorrere la tua infanzia tramite questo blog ci faremo su due belle risate!!!
Dadda
Sunday 16 January 2011
More Couch Surfing at Diego & Biliana's
...after the late night couch surfing sessions at Veen's house I had no intention to stop...
Lunch at Diego & Biliana's flat gorgeous flat in Essex Road (Angel) was a tribute to Diego's great cooking but but was just as well an opportunity for me to steal centre stage and keep everyone on their toes as I jumped off the comfy sofa in everyone's direction...
Manu was such a good laugh and kept me busy and in good company all afternoon!! He is sooo funny!!
Manu was such a good laugh and kept me busy and in good company all afternoon!! He is sooo funny!!
Bella!!
... means "nice" (feminine) in Dadda's language but it also represents that big roundish shaped object that Mamma and I use to stay well away from the rain!!
Here we are holding our "bella" as we walk from the Hackney City Farm to meet Fabio, Clare and Mauro (D'Alonzo) in Columbia Market...
Here we are holding our "bella" as we walk from the Hackney City Farm to meet Fabio, Clare and Mauro (D'Alonzo) in Columbia Market...
"... I'm singing in the rain ... I'm singing in the rain...."
Saturday 15 January 2011
Saturday Evening with Veeeen!
... after our long stroll with Julian & Co off we went to see Veeeeeeeeen (short for Levin) in Swiss Cottage!!
What a lovely new house they got themselves... they even have two elephants inside!
... As Mammin and Dadda were having lunch at the table with Man (Daniel) and Viola.. Veeeeeen and I had a whale of a time jumping on the sofas!!
What a lovely new house they got themselves... they even have two elephants inside!
DOING...
...DOINGGGG...
....DDDDOINGGGGGGG....
....BOOOOM!!!
Veeen showed me his busses, train and his neverending toy collection...
... which we drove all around the flat...
...and we even had a damn good game at fishing!!!
A very pleasant day it was and there are promises made of going to the countryside again in the near future perhaps to visit the Cotswolds which Man (Daniel) is sooo keen on visiting again...
We shall see.. you never know with these Germans!!
;-)
Brunch with Julian
... Mamminnnnn.... what do Axel and Kattrin give Julian to eat? He has doubled in size since we saw him last month!!! What a peaceful chap he is!
Anyway... was lovely to catch up with them all in Belsize Park and take a lovely afternoon walk around Hampstead (which I somehow missed out on as I was snoozing in my pram)... and Mammin even surprised me with a new squeeky giraffe when I woke up that was exactly like Julian's!
Friday 14 January 2011
Burning Candles...
... new year new resolutions and also new birthdays lining up for everybody...
... no better time to practice some birthday celebrations then!
Click on this link to see my birthday celebrations!!
... no better time to practice some birthday celebrations then!
Click on this link to see my birthday celebrations!!
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Monday 10 January 2011
New Year New Haircut
I lived over 2 years without ever cutting my hair... then while Mammin distracted me with Youtube videos played on the Macbook this fell of my head....
....and this is what I am left with...
Sunday 9 January 2011
There is playground and playground...
this one is my playground... not quite the same as I have been getting used to in sunny Thailand but my playground nevertheless... 30 degrees colder and with the sun barely reaching my height from the horizon line this is the playground I love and the one I have spent most time and no doubt the one I am planning to see more of in the coming weeks!!
Look Mamminnnn! (I say this a lot now...).... Look how I go on the swing all on my own!
Look Mamminnnn! (I say this a lot now...).... Look how I go on the swing all on my own!
Friday 7 January 2011
Goodbye Thailand!
So it was time to go and Mamma and Dadda's faces were turning a little sad that our holiday is over... we checked in at the Krabi airport and there were just two airplanes to look at that airport which was slight disappointment... still, there is plenty of entertainment all around and not sure I really understand the disappointment in having to go back home?
I have my animals there, the park, the farm, my friends, the nursery and over the past few days I have been telling Mamma and Dadda all the great things we could be looking forward to
...strangely their jobs never turned up on my list... in fact, what is it my parents do again???
Our day long trip started with a short flight to Bangkok with plenty of drawing opportunities....
Then after a 3 and 1/2 hour stop in Bangkok, 7 hours flight to Dubai, 3 hours in Dubai, 7 hours flight to London and a 2 hour drive back home... I was energised and ecstatic to start playing with all my toys again...
... yet Mamma and Dadda were far less excited to join in with me and forced me to go to bed at 3 in the afternoon!!!
...Dadda didn't even manage to finish watching Roma beat Catania having nodded off towards the end of the first half!!!
Get yourself together!
Good job I'm off to nursery tomorrow!!
I have my animals there, the park, the farm, my friends, the nursery and over the past few days I have been telling Mamma and Dadda all the great things we could be looking forward to
...strangely their jobs never turned up on my list... in fact, what is it my parents do again???
Our day long trip started with a short flight to Bangkok with plenty of drawing opportunities....
Then after a 3 and 1/2 hour stop in Bangkok, 7 hours flight to Dubai, 3 hours in Dubai, 7 hours flight to London and a 2 hour drive back home... I was energised and ecstatic to start playing with all my toys again...
... yet Mamma and Dadda were far less excited to join in with me and forced me to go to bed at 3 in the afternoon!!!
...Dadda didn't even manage to finish watching Roma beat Catania having nodded off towards the end of the first half!!!
Get yourself together!
Good job I'm off to nursery tomorrow!!
Thursday 6 January 2011
Finale Col Botto!
E' stata proprio una vacanza meravigliosa... tanto bella che ci avevo fatto il callo e ci sarei rimasto volentieri al caldo tropicale coccolato come un re dalle attenzioni di tutti i miei amici Thailandesi...
Per rimanere un po' di piu' a Krabi avevamo sperato nel maltempo Europeo e nel caos che abbiamo sentito ha costellato milioni di passeggeri e tantissimi aeroporti Europei nel periodo natalizio... magari nevicasse ancora un po' da "costringerci" a rimanere un po' qui...
Invece niente... le ultime notizie dal Bangkok Post ci rivelano che il peggio era passato e che non c'erano piu' scuse.. questo sarebbe stato davvero il nostro ultimo giorno!
Allora ho pensato bene io di cercare di estrarre il coniglio magico dal cilindro. Papa' era insolitamente tranquillo spaparanzato in terrazzo con un presunto malore di stomaco forse dovuto alle cozze Neozelandesi consumate la sera prima con Mammin... Mammin era presa invece a mettere un po' a posto mentre mano mano si preparavano le valigie...
...e cosi' prendendo spunto dalla loro disattenzione ho preso il comodino di pietra granitica dal peso incredibile e l'ho sbilanciata facendola cadere sul mio piede!!
Un male pazzesco da cacciare un urlo che mi hanno sentito anche a Bangkok! Mamma era sicura mi fossi ritto il piede e visto che si e' gonfiato subito anche Dadda sembrava perplesso...
Pochi istanti dopo si sono precipitati i miei amici dalla reception a soccorrermi il piede mentre Dadda e' scappato in farmacia a comprarmi gli antidolorifici, garza e crema magica!!
Qui sotto il mio povero piedino con impacchi di ghiaccio sotto le mani della manager dell'albergo...
Abbiamo contattato il medico locale che ci ha informato di una lista lunghissima di pazienti e che dunque una verifica piu' specifica con tanto di lastra non si sarebbe verificata prima di diverse ore... dunque niente da fare.. tocca stringere i denti, buttare giu' lo scirippo e aspettare di vedere come sto all'arrivo a Londra eventualmente andando da medici e/o ospedale se necessario...
Una volta tornato Dadda abbiamo applicato anche la crema magica...
Chiamatela pure magica ma a me fa un male pazzesco e cosi' per le seguenti 24 ore non ho fatto altro che sedermi su 3 aerei e stare in braccio a Mamma per evitare di poggiare il piede...
Per la cronaca, atterrati a Londra il giorno dopo e rientrati a casa continuo ad avere il piede gonfio ma ho ripreso non solo a camminare ma a fare tutte le scale di casa seguito da salti dal divano sul parquet. Sembrerebbe dunque non si sia rotto nulla!
Tuesday 4 January 2011
My Nakamanda World
Nakamanda has been a great place to live for the past week or so and besides the lovely scenery and the great weather I have to start sympathising with the views of the cabby we met in Bangkok... the people really make the difference out here!
Everyone has been soo nice to me in every bit of my holiday and has ensured I had a great time at all stages...
I got to spend time as a Baywatch... which I thoroughly enjoyed as you can see...
.. and I could practice my shooting in the pool as well!
The girls that managed the hotel were wonderful and always played with me while we were waiting for taxis or while Dadda was talking to people at reception! They even came me a cow as a present!!
And Pol not only drove us to the Krabi Night Market in his spare time... he even guided me to the wonders of the resort!
Mamma always took me to see the temple that was full of horses and elephants and in the morning the cleaning ladies even filled the temple with fresh fruit that the birds and squirrels nibbles on throughout the day!
As in Chiang Mai this place was full of steps and places where I could run around...
I just loved my time at Nakamanda!!
Everyone has been soo nice to me in every bit of my holiday and has ensured I had a great time at all stages...
I got to spend time as a Baywatch... which I thoroughly enjoyed as you can see...
.. and I could practice my shooting in the pool as well!
Dadda showed me how to jump in the water keeping my nose closed so the water doesn't go in!
And then I perfected my "volo d'angelo" dives!
The girls that managed the hotel were wonderful and always played with me while we were waiting for taxis or while Dadda was talking to people at reception! They even came me a cow as a present!!
And Pol not only drove us to the Krabi Night Market in his spare time... he even guided me to the wonders of the resort!
Mamma always took me to see the temple that was full of horses and elephants and in the morning the cleaning ladies even filled the temple with fresh fruit that the birds and squirrels nibbles on throughout the day!
As in Chiang Mai this place was full of steps and places where I could run around...
I just loved my time at Nakamanda!!
Monday 3 January 2011
Andaman Cruise
Dadda was determined for days to go on at least one other boat trip, the Andaman Cruise, which involved hopping on and off 4 different islands to the south of Ao Nang. Trouble is that in this time of the year 26 other agencies work in this same area each of which carrying dozens of tourists to the same destinations on their several boats. The Koh Phi Phi experience was enough not to want to repeat that feeling of crammed tourist destinations so we decided to set off a good hour and a half earlier than anyone else...
Good friend Pon picked us up at the Nakamanda resort at 7.30 sharp just as we finished our breakfast.. as soon as we left the bay in front of the hotel we realised that what appeared to be a good day actually materialised in a day of big sea and waves of up to 2 metres high which was considerable given the size of our boat!!
Within seconds we were soaking wet... and we had another 40 minutes to go before our first island!!
Finally we arrived on Poda Island and there wasn't a boat or a person to be seen.... it was beautiful and there were millions of crabs on the shore...
..and tons of shells too!
There were even monkeys like in Koh Phi Phi but these ones seemed less interested in tourists turning up on their island's shores...
As soon as we dried up a little and had a good chance to look around we set off again as we could see in the distance that boats were starting to arrive... time to go!!
We then made our way to Tup Island just a short distance from Poda... this time we found other people on shore with us already and it wasn't even 9am!
We were still a little cold from the trip and nobody quite fancied having a dip in the sea just yet so Mamma tried her very best to keep me busy....
...and eventually dragged me into the sea but only to kick the sea with my feet!! I didn't want to get wet again and that sea salt is really irritating on my skin I'd much rather the pool water or in fact a normal shower!!!
Next stop was Chicken Island and we were taken first to a good spot for snorkelling... Mamma was first to disappear into the turquoise sea to observe the fishies and I really didn't enjoy that a single bit.. (I developed this syndrome during this holiday such that if Mamma is any further than 5 yards from me I start crying my eyes out!!)... I started yelling: "Mammmmiiiiin..... Mammmmmiiiiiin......"....
Once I was over my tragedy, Dadda pulled out the Winnie the Pooh book and my tantrums were easily put aside...
...and as often happens the emotional distress ended up making me a little tired and I fell asleep on Mammin just as we approached Chicken Island.. the most beautiful of all!
Mamma was restricted to the boat with me lying face down on her tummy! So Dadda was the only one that could wonder around and have a look and a bath in the marvellous sea... Dadda also came back with some goods from the local bar including a can of coke for Mamma and...
... my pringles which I diligently shared with Dadda...!!! We decided to give Railey Beach a pass and head straight back home as the shores were filling up by the minute with boats and people and the sea was getting rougher and rougher... I would have liked to see the faces of nonno & nonna (not to mention oma Marlena) if they shared the same boat with us!! The sooner we started our open sea crossing the sooner we would get back home..
... for our swimming lessons in the pool!!!
Still have to work on that breast stroke routine!!
But I can tell you I am mastering my colourful pencils now and finally after a long day at sea and in the pool I can draw all the lovely animals, places and experiences I have treasured today!
Kuss!
Tino
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