Sunday 29 April 2012

'X' is for 'Xylophone'

I know, 'Xylophone' isn't the most imaginative word for 'X', but Freya enjoyed it! I downloaded an app onto my phone for her to play us a little tune. It's amazing the things you can find on phones to keep kids amused. Freya has a drawing app, puzzles, a piano and now a xylophone app on my phone and bongo drums on her dads! It's just a shame we have to let her get her grubby mitts on our phones to play them- and it's not even as if they keep her quiet! No doubt I'll hear more of these little 'tunes' over the coming days....



Thursday 26 April 2012

'W' for 'Wee Willy Winkie'

I wanted a nice simple post for 'W' as this was Freya's second video in one night of catching up with the A to Z, and I know how cantankerous she can get if I ask too much of her! She seems to love singing nursery rhymes, so we chose the only one I could think of beginning with 'w' and asked her if she knew it. Here's the result....


'V' for 'Velociraptor'

Ever since out trip to the Natural History Museum in London, Freya has had a little obsession with dinosaurs, helped along by her big brother, who was exactly the same when he was her age. It's actually really sweet watching them playing together with things that interest them both- I'm making the most of it as Jo is soon to start senior school, so I'm under no illusions of it lasting for much longer.
Anyway, Freya made up this little story about a Velociraptor after getting excited looking at dinosaur pictures on the internet. You can tell from her voice how exciting she finds them....


'U' for 'Unicorn'

Gosh, I'm in serious catch-up mode now aren't I? Today's post was recorded on Tuesday evening. After making me search again for the right toys, Freya decided to tell us a little story about unicorns. If you've seen previous posts, you'll know Freya has a tendency to slip her finger up her nose on camera, and this was one of those occasions. She got all embarrassed when I told her off for doing it though, and the story came to an end. She refused to start again, so I've stuck to this version, bogeys and all....





Monday 23 April 2012

'T' is for 'Twinkle Twinkle'.

Another old video today, as I'm in catch-up mode (Freya missed Saturday's, so did 'S' today- whoops). This one was found on her Daddy's phone; an 'entertaining' rendition of  the well known nursery rhyme, with keyboard too!




'S' is for 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'

Freya chose to sing another nursery rhyme for today's post. It took me a while to get her settled to do it as she insisted she held her bird while she sang it! After what seemed like an age of searching, the bird was located for it's star turn....


Friday 20 April 2012

'R' is for 'Rainbow'

Brace yourselves... it's time for another musical post! Freya chose today's word, only she didn't want to sing the usual rainbow song we sing together, instead opting to compose her own. I know, I know. I realise you've only just got your hearing back after the last song she sang, but I actually thought her creation today was quite pretty, if a little repetitive. Crucially, though, it's a lot quieter.


Thursday 19 April 2012

'Q' is for 'Queen'

Today is another of Freya's stories. I gave her the word 'queen' and told her she could tell us any story she wanted. She seemed in a really happy mood, so I imagined a nice happy fairy tale with princes, princesses and a maybe a fairy godmother or two. I should learn never to try and predict my child, because what I ended up with was a little bit different....

'P' is for 'Pablo'

Another video from the archives today. This is one of our dog Pablo. He's been trying for years to get hold of a particular book of Freya's with a squeaky button that he took offence to as soon as I brought it home! I tried hiding it on bookshelves and even in boxes but he always seemed to know where it was. Eventually we gave in and decided to let him have it (purely for entertainment!). This is the result....




The book once Pablo was finished with it...


Tuesday 17 April 2012

'O' is for 'Old MacDonald'

Today is another musical post. I won't bore you with an introduction as I'm sure most of you know the nursery rhyme. However, being Freya's version, this isn't just any old farm.....

'N' is for 'Naughty'

Freya, you'll be surprised to learn, can sometimes be naughty! Shock, horror! Of course, like most children, if you ask her, she'll claim to be an angel. I thought this is what she'd do when I filmed today's video. Failing that, I thought maybe she'd tell us about some of the naughty things she's done, as there have been a few! Instead, she went a bit surreal on me. She does that sometimes. I have no idea why but it keeps us entertained. For the record though, she's never horrendously naughty, just a little bit- and anyway, sometimes you *have* to be a little bit naughty!

Saturday 14 April 2012

'M' is for 'Mardy bum singing Matilda'

Today's post is another offering from the 'Archives of Freya'. I have captured a fair few moments on my phone over the last couple of years, and, looking through them, I've noticed there are fairly consistent themes; singing, dancing and arguing! This particular clip, as you've probably gathered from the title, has singing and arguing. As anyone who knows me is aware, we are huge fans of Matilda the Musical in our house, and it's the cast recording of this she is attempting to sing along to, but she's being hindered slightly by little sister Lola! 




Friday 13 April 2012

'L' is for 'Lola'

I tried recording Freya and her little sister Lola for today's post, thinking it'd be really sweet to get them sitting together talking about the things they do. This ranges from playing nicely to all-but-killing each other, just like most sisters! But, being four and not-quite-two, it all ended in chaos. I won't inflict that video on you as I'm not sure whatever speakers you are using will cope with the high-pitched noises they emitted. I know my ears struggled. Instead, I had a look through other videos I've recorded of the two of them together, and found this little gem- the pair of them singing Mama Mia. Well, it's the tune anyway, not too sure about the words! NB: you may want to turn your speakers down for this one too!!  :-)

Thursday 12 April 2012

'J' & 'K'. JoJo, Kangaroos, and Koalas.

I've had to combine 'J' and 'K' into one post as Freya neglected her duties yesterday because she wanted to spend time with her Nana and Grandad. Honestly, you can't get the staff nowadays. When she finally returned today, she point-blank refused to do two separate videos!
She decided to talk about her brother Jo, and a trip we went on to see Kangaroos and Koalas when we were over in Australia in 2010 visiting family.
I should point out that part of the story Freya recounts here did not happen... I think it's fairly obvious which bit!


Some photo's of the Koala Freya & JoJo were lucky enough to cuddle. Her name was Pearl.  :)






Tuesday 10 April 2012

'I' is for 'Irritated in Ikea'

Today's post title was decided earlier today over coffee with a friend. 'Ice cream in Ikea.' Sounds very civilised doesn't it? Only I didn't take into account that going to Ikea with three children in tow is a bloody nightmare! By the time her father and I (yes, it took two of us!) had shoe-horned Lola into a trolley, stopped Freya from jumping on every single slightly springy surface she could find, and listened to incessant chants of 'I want one of these Mummy', 'Look at this Mummy', 'I want a drink Mummy', 'I need the toilet Mummy', I was, unsurprisingly, in no mood for buying anyone ice cream. In fact, it's a small miracle I didn't just abandon them all once we reached the children's section. Nevertheless, Freya did (just) make it out alive to tell the tale of her day. She was still in a hyperactive mood when I recorded her, as you might tell from the latter half of today's video. And I'll apologise now for the finger-up-the-nostril incident. What can I say? She's no lady.

Monday 9 April 2012

'H' is for 'Happy'

It took me a while to do today's blog as I had a hard job convincing Freya to talk about anything other than dinosaurs. Eventually I got her to tell me about things that make her happy. Number one? You guessed it- dinosaurs! Other things she mentioned were hugs and kisses from Mama and Dada, kisses on the head from her brother Jo, chocolate, and playing in her bedroom and not tidying up. She went on a bit, so I have cut down today's video to the last bit of our conversation, where she finished telling me about what made her happy and then started pulling faces and just being generally silly. That bit made me happy.

Sunday 8 April 2012

'G' is for 'Goosey Goosey Gander'

Due to a very busy weekend of baking, card making and visiting family, we've opted for a simple nursery rhyme to fulfill our 7th post for the A-Z challenge, (a day late too, oops!). 'Goosey Goosey Gander' was chosen on the basis it was the only one I could think of beginning with 'G'. Not very imaginative I know, but I think you'll agree, Freya does add a little something to it - different lyrics mainly!! Below is the original version of the rhyme, see if you can pick out her additions in the video....

Goosey goosey gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady's chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn't say his prayers,
So I took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stairs.




Friday 6 April 2012

'F' is for 'Friday with Friends'

Today's post is a little late, as we've been winding down after a busy day spent at New Walk Museum in Leicester looking at dinosaurs! Annoyingly, 'D' has already been and gone, as it would have made today's title a little easier! 'Friday with Friends' seemed fitting enough though, as we did go with friends, and a fantastic time was had by all. I was hoping Freya would tell you all about it, but she was flagging by the time we got around to recording her, as she had spent the afternoon wandering around the museum drawing pictures of pretty much all the dinosaurs she saw!



Some pictures of our day....



Freya's drawing of the 'Barrow Kipper'


The 'Barrow Kipper' (Arranged for display by Arthur Cruickshank: I know some reading this blog may be interested in that!)


Little sister Lola


Thursday 5 April 2012

'E' is for 'Elephants Eating Easter Eggs'

Well, I thought it'd be a shame to let Easter pass without Freya having something to say about it. To be honest, I thought she'd just tell me all about how much chocolate she would like to eat. Instead she decided to tell a story, though it is about Easter eggs, so I was nearly right. The elephant in her tale eats, very specifically, '5 Easter eggs and 1 marshmallow'  because that's what she was given last week in her nursery class by the Easter bunny, and so, in Freya's head, that's what everybody gets! I'm kind of hoping I get more though....



Wednesday 4 April 2012

'D' is for 'Daddy'

Today's video should probably come with some sort of health warning. I thought the subject might be quite comical, but Freya has veered away from the normally funny things she says about her Daddy and instead said some really sweet things. It's a bit vomit-inducing, and it's actually made me look a bit bad really, which isn't what I was going for at all. She was a bit reluctant to start today (note the roll of the eyes when she starts) which makes me wonder if she'll get to Z. This child labour isn't all it's cracked up to be! Once she gets going though, she reels off an impressive list of everything her Daddy does for her. You're probably left wondering what I do. Evidently, nothing! Get the bucket ready....


Tuesday 3 April 2012

'C' is for 'Cinderella'

So, today I decided to get Freya to re-tell a story as yesterday we had trouble getting her story to go beyond a description of her character getting up, having meals and then going back to bed! Turns out, Freya prefers her stories short and sweet if she's the one telling them. This is in stark contrast to bedtime, when Mummy or Daddy's stories are never long enough! Enjoy.



Monday 2 April 2012

'B' is for 'Bumblebee'

Welcome to day two of the A-Z challenge and another glimpse into the mind of my small child. Today Freya decided to tell us a story about a day in the life of a bumblebee, including her wonderfully simplified explanation of how a bee makes honey. The echo you can hear in the background is little sister Lola trying to join in. That might give you some indication of the constant level of noise in our house!



Sunday 1 April 2012

'A' is for 'Astronaut'

After weeks of trying to think of something interesting to do for the A-Z challenge, I'd pretty much drawn a blank. So, I've resorted to my secret weapon- my daughter Freya. Friends have often told me I should share some of her pearls of wisdom, so here we go. For each day, Freya will be telling a story about something beginning with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. We've already had some suggestions from friends about what she should talk about, and any more suggestions will be considered!
Enjoy a daily glimpse into the weird and wonderful mind of a 4-and-a-half year old!