In One Year, Out The Other

Our 2023 Wishlist

It's a new year! 2023 is here and there's lots to look forward to. Some of these things we've already got planned. Others are things I'd like to see happen.

Wills and me put our thinking caps on and came up with our 2023 wishlist - the things we're most excited about, or would most like to see, this year. Watch the video to see what we came up with. 

Spoiler: changing my favourite Darth Vader t-shirt isn't one of them (see last summer's blog).

Lots to look forward to, so let's get started!

These Are a Few of Our Favourite Things

Toys, Books and Shows

If you asked me today if I wanted to watch a cartoon for babies, or read a book with four words per page, or play with cuddly toys, I'd say "No, I've moved on from those now!" Actually that's not quite true, because I do still love my cuddly toys, but you get what I mean.

I'm growing up so fast that the things I liked a few months ago are too little for me now. And since it's been a whole couple of years since I last recorded what my current favourite things are, I thought it was time to do it again. But this time with a difference - we'd record William's too.

So watch the video for a summary of mine and William's favourite things to play with, read and watch. But because you can't see our favourite shows, we've drawn pictures for each of them above. Mine are a couple of oddly-shaped characters from Pokemon. William's is the mean kid Horrid Henry (he copied it from a picture, but it's not a bad job).

Dad thinks we should also do a list of our least-favourite things, like tidying my room for me and stopping incessant chattering for William. But he's just being silly. We're far too busy reading, watching and playing to waste time making a nonsense list like that.

Let's Meet: William

5 questions about William

We've met some of the other people in the family - what about the newest member, my little brother William? He's 3 years old now, can talk pretty well and has started preschool at daycare. He can also go from best friend to bad guy in just seconds, depending on how rascally he is.

I'm probably the person who knows him best, partly because he's always in my room playing with my toys. Even when I'm trying to play quietly on my own. Even if I'm trying to play a game on my iPad. And even though he has toys of his own in his room. Guess he just wants to be around his cool big brother.

So when it comes to answering questions about him, I'm the expert. Like I can tell you what his favourite food is (banana, or as he calls it, "lala"), and what his favourite TV programme is (The Wiggles - he still has a Happy Birthday banner of them hanging on his wall, even though his birthday was months ago!). Watch my video to learn some more about William.

Now, who else is there left to do a video about? Maybe the cats. Except they like eating and sleeping, and that's about it. It would be a very short video!

Let's Meet: Grandad

5 questions about Grandad

If there was a gold medal being given out to the naughtiest member of the family, it would be a close race between William and Grandad. That William does some pretty naughty things - I told you about some of them in one of my earlier blogs. But Grandad, well, he's a different sort of naughty.

So since I answered some questions about Grandma last time, it's only fair that I do the same for Grandad. But what tales of terrible tickling should I tell? Maybe I won't tell all of those - don't want to get him in trouble with Grandma.

I'll just tell you about some other things, like what job should Grandad do? I think a policeman, because he could then tickle the bad guys into giving up! Watch my video to see what answers I have to Daddy's other questions about Grandad.

There you have it - the answers to some tricky questions about Grandad. But who should we do next? Maybe it should be the turn of that naughty little brother William next..?

Let's Meet: Grandma

5 questions about Grandma

There's one thing I can always be sure about when visiting Grandma's house: both my piggy bank and my tummy will get fuller. Every time we see her she gives me some money to put in my piggy bank, and if we're seeing her at her house then she's always been baking something yummy. Sometimes she's even let us help.

But even when the baking has all gone, there's always a stash of white chocolate drops and round mints in her pantry - and I know just where to fine them!

But what else about Grandma? Daddy wanted to test me on a few questions about Grandma, like what sort of job would be best for her? I think growing vegetables and fruit would be the perfect job for her. You can watch me answering more questions about Grandma here.

If I had to describe Grandma (and Daddy asked me to), I'd say she's "very nice". But what about that Grandad? What will I have to say about him? That'll be in the next video...

Let's Meet: Mummy

5 questions about Mummy

That Mummy's pretty great. She makes my lunch for school every day, makes my bed all comfy before I go to bed at night, and always rushes to look after me if I'm sad. We've even got kind of the same smile, if you look at the picture.

But Daddy wanted to see just how well I knew Mummy, so he asked me a few questions about her. Like, what's one of my favourite things that we've done together? That would be going to Australia when we went a couple of years ago. Or what would be a great job for Mummy to do? I think flying a plane, because flying's fun - plus then she can fly us to Australia.

Daddy had five more questions as well, but you have to watch the video to find out what they are and what I said. Let's get ready to meet Mummy!

Not sure if Mummy would agree with all of those answers. She might think Daddy had something to do with making me come up with these, but they were all mine - really!

Next time, let's meet: Grandma!

My Favourite Things

The best book, toy & show (at the moment anyway)

Coming up with a list of my favourite things to read, play with and watch is hard. Especially when Dad said that I could only say one for each.

My bookcase is crammed full of books (even with some of them being passed on to William for his little bookshelf), plus we're always getting new books out to read from the library. My toy box is also really full, so the toys have started spilling out across the floor of my bedroom. And my Netflix list of programmes I've watched is getting longer and longer...

So you understand just how hard it was coming up with only one favourite thing to read, play with and watch. But I've made up my mind. Want to know what I came up with? Then just watch this video of me and I'll tell you.

Now what could I do for my next list of favourite things? Maybe food, or games, or... Hmm, that's another hard question. I'll need time to think about it...

By the Book

Ollie's Book Reviews

Books have always been one of my favourite things. Every night before bed I need at least two books read to me, and every weekend morning I sit with Daddy in bed and get him to read as many books as I can before he tries to get up and do something else.

I've got quite a good collection of books in my little bookshelf (I used to have more but now they've been given to William), and Daddy is always getting me more out of the library. With reading so many, the books I love most can change a bit sometimes. But I've given it some thought, and these are some super-short reviews of some of my absolute favourite books of all time (so far).

Digger and Skip - I like this one because it has lots of cool building site vehicles

Hairy Maclary - I especially like the ones with Scarface Claw, and get all mock-scared when we're about to turn the page to show him there.

Bedtime Bear - this one has lots of flaps to lift up and reveal hidden things, plus it's a good "finding book" where Daddy gets me to search for things in the pictures.

The Little Yellow Digger - I like this one because it has lots of diggers in it, and some I've never seen before; I also like the "constructions".

 

The Last Tiger - this book is one I've had for a while, but I like the tiger and the beautiful garden at the end of the story.

Anything by Richard Scarry - I've recently discovered all these books about Busytown, and love reading the stories and finding things hidden in the pictures. Luckily the library has lots of these books, so it looks like I'll be keeping Dad pretty busy with trips to get me more out to read.

Time For a Rhyme

Singing silly songs

Originally published 21 December 2016

I enjoy a good song, especially if there’s a bit of silliness included. It’s fun to sing along to silly words, maybe even incorporate a silly dance to go with it. Most of the songs I learn at home are silly ones, mainly because Daddy makes them up to make me laugh I think. For example, here’s one he made up that we sing together:

Two little turds, swimming in a stream
Front door, back door, never to be seen

We learn new songs at daycare too, but they tend to be a bit less silly. They’re also more polite though! One of the earliest songs I learned was called Two Cupcakes; here I am doing a rendition of it.

Things I Don't Like

From one end to the other

Originally published 30 April 2016

A little while ago I listed some of the things I like most, like books (specifically reading and having read to me the same few books repeatedly, until Mummy and Daddy can recite them by heart) and cats (specifically chasing them and sitting on them while they're eating). But in the interest of fairness I thought it was time to list a few of the things that I just don't like as well. The sort of things that will have me protesting loudly or running away from crying.

One of the traits I inherited from Daddy is a bit of a juicy nose. Most mornings I start the day with a few hearty sneezes; it's sort of the dawn chorus for Mum and Dad in our house. Unfortunately one thing I just don't like doing is blowing my nose. Having it wiped is fine, but even with repeated requests I just won't blow it. Sometimes to give Mum false hope I'll tell her that I'll blow my nose, then instead I'll just sniff it all back up again.

Fluff is something else I just don't like, which is a bit of a problem since I spend so much time playing on the floor and grabbing the cats' fur. But if I get some fluff on my hands, especially if I'm eating, that will send me running to Mum or Dad yelling "fluff! fluff!" until it's removed.

Going back to my first days of 'double breakfasts' at daycare, I've always been a good eater. I love biccies, pizza, pasta, raisins... lots of things in fact. But not eggs or tomato ("mato" as I call them). If I see them in my salads or sandwiches I'll quickly pull them out and leave them on the plate, if not actually cast them onto the floor. In true parent fashion, Mummy will sometimes try to snek tomatoes into things, but since I'm always on the lookout for these horrible things I rarely get sucked into eating them.

I'll be turning 3 in a couple of months, so am quite a big boy now. My vocabularly is expanding all the time, I run around and play on my own or with friends at daycare, and I'm starting to get a better handle on numbers. But one thing I'm just not ready for is using the potty. Nappies work just fine for me thank you; no need to squat on the cold floor with my pants off just to go toilet when I can do it whenever I please without any hassle. Mummy and Daddy keep trying to encourage me, but I'm wising up to their game and make myself scarce when I can see they're about to try to get me to go again. Maybe they're just jealous that they don't have handy nappies too.

Bad Things Come In Twos

The Terrible Twos

Originally published 15 October 2015

No, this isn't a story about a bad trip to the toilet (that would be the terrible number twos), but rather about that stage of life known to parents everywhere as the terrible twos. These last few months I've been working on a few behavioural modifications of my own in honour of this magical time.

Throwing things - The terrible twos are a great time to really work on your arm muscles and throwing skills. The bigger and heavier the object, and the furthest they're thrown, the better. Hurling toys across the lounge is a good one, as is heaving bits of food from the high chair during dinner. You may not reach the television, or Mummy and Daddy, first time, but practice will make perfect.

Being contrary - It's like when you check the calendar and find that today is opposite day, where everything said is the opposite of what you mean or want. Except that it isn't just one day - it's every day. One of my favourites is waiting until Daddy is sitting down to read me a bedtime story, then asking for Mummy to do it; when he doesn't move I then start to pull his sleeve to drag him out of the chair. This one is always good for a colourful response from them.

Selective deafness - This has a thousand uses, but is best employed when you need to ignore your name being called. Mummy calling me to get in the car to go to daycare when I want to run across the garden instead? No problem - can't hear a thing. Daddy calling me to come and get dressed after a bath when I want to play with my cars? Daddy may as well be on mute. Mummy yelling for me to come and get my teeth cleaned to go out when I want to chase one of the cats? Oh sorry, was that me you were calling?

Being negative - An oldie but a goodie, this is all about being as negative as possible. At its simplest it can be answering "no" to most questions (with extra kudos for saying "no" to something you actually want to do, yet still managing to persuade Mummy and Daddy to let you do it), but also to things like saying food is universally "yucky". With a bit of practice it's easy to become as negative as an undeveloped roll of film.

With the end of 2015 approaching and the terrible twos nearly halfway through, Mummy and Daddy probably think they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately for them, other parents have warned that there are often closely-followed sequels, known as the terrible threes and the (insert f-word expletive) fours. Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel is an approaching freight train after all...

My Favourite Things

Or 'Best ways to annoy those I live with'

Originally published 20 August 2015

Unravelling half the roll of toilet paper onto the floor, throwing pieces of dinner across the lounge, kicking my legs about when my nappy's being changed... there are so many enjoyable ways for me to pass the time. There really is never a dull moment when there's Mummy and Daddy to torment. But since these generally make them both turn red in the face and get all shouty, I have a few other favourite things that are less likely to cause a Hartland meltdown. These are the ones at the top of my list.

1. Reading - ever since my first book, 'My Day' ("Time to eat; yummy lunch, shiny bib"), I've loved to read; or at least, have books read to me. Most days I'll start demanding a book just after I've woken up, and request a small handful just before bedtime. Books with animals have always been favourites, as have ones with lift-up flaps and funny textures, but lately I'm especially enjoying some about dinosaurs, pirates and robots. Not all in the same book - though that would be a great book!

2. Trucks and other vehicles - I'm not sure where my interest in vehicles comes from; maybe from Grandad or Grandpa, as it certainly isn't from Daddy. I'm not sure he knows one end of a car from the other; there's as much chance of me changing a spark plug as him. But despite this I love playing with my ever-expanding collection of trucks and cars. The green rubbish truck and red fire engine from my birthday are my current faves, but I'll try to get as many out of my toy box and onto the lounge carpet as I can to play with at the same time.

There's a rubbish truck that goes past our house every week, and I always rush over to watch it from the windows. Driving that does seem a pretty cool job, even if the men don't sound their horn or blast any sirens as often as I would if I were behind the wheel.

3. Helping in the garden - we've got a pretty big garden, so there's always something that needs doing in it and that I can help with. Daddy often complains about how much work it is to maintain, saying that at one time there were 11 different trees or bushes on the front garden alone to have to mow the lawn around. Moan, moan, moan...

So I help as much as I can, using my trusty trowel and green wheelbarrow. I'll watch Mummy and Daddy pulling out weeds from the garden, so I'll use the trowel to do the same - even if it's often digging up dirt or the lawn itself. The wheelbarrow is handy too, but the rides when I sit in it and Daddy pushes me around are even better.

4. Cats - if there's anything I love (or just love to torment) more than Mummy and Daddy it's our 3 cats. It's a bit of a one-way love affair though, as while I'll yell out their name and rush over to them when I see them, they tend to look startled and rush the other way. It could be due to my tendency to lean, lie and sit on them whenever they're not quick enough to get away. But if they didn't want to be treated like that, then they shouldn't feel like comfy fluffy cushions.

So those are some of my current fave things to do. I'd make a longer list but I see there's a new toilet roll on the holder that needs to be unravelled...

Not Feline the Love

Enthusiasm for cats not always reciprocated

Originally published 25 July 2014

There are many things in this life that I love. Mummy and Daddy of course, pulling people's hair, being tickled... But most of all, I love cats. Which is handy, since we have 3 of them at home: Bailey, Robbie and Chocky. Ever since I was a little baby, just a couple of months old and smaller than they were, I've been drawn to them.

Whenever I see one now I squeal with delight. Unfortunately this delight isn't a two-way street, and the cats don't seem to share the same enthusiasm for seeing me, which is a shame. You could say it's a downright cat-astrophe, but I'd never use such an awful pun.

One of the potential reasons they're not keen on seeing me is my propensity for pulling their fur or tails. I haven't quite mastered the art of gently patting cats yet, so instead of this I tend to grab a big fistful of fur and skin, a little like a mother cat might do when picking up another by the scruff of the neck. Except that I do it on their back, tail or pretty much anywhere within my reach.

They do get a bit of warning though, as my squeals tend to alert them that I'm approaching. This gives them time to brace themselves appropriately or escape to somewhere a bit safer (that is, anywhere I'm not).

Even if they do make a cat-dash to another room they're not entirely safe, as now that I'm a pretty fast crawler I tend to trail not far behind them, crawling frantically to catch up.

Some things will distract me from my pursuit though, for example the cats food bowl. There's normally a few little biscuits left in there which look awfully appealing. They look a little bit like the raisans I have for afternoon tea, but they don't smell like any of my food.

Mummy is pleased that I've not actually managed to sample any of the cats food yet though. Or at least, that's what she thinks...