Autumn 2018

How Luca will go to get a funky new haircut at Just Cutz and will still choose from the array of videos to keep him entertained, "Peppa and George please mama"

Annick, observing an overstimulated Luca running about after breakfast, musing, "perhaps we should have a calming exercise as part of our morning routine mama."

How Annick writes Mama and Papa as 'MAMA PBPB' or sometimes, 'BPBP'.

How Annick wrote an invitation to Doudou Mouton to come to her school picnic, and addressed it to 'DDOOO MTOOO'.

How Luca will have long, querying discussions with you about "what is technology?  Is it like electricity?  Are they the same?  What can we do with technology?  Is a jet plane technology?"

How after listening to a great Fierce Girls podcast about Nancy Wake, the WW1 spy, Luca sat himself at the table and drew a 'WANTED' sign for her, the White Mouse.

Luca, looking at his calendar: What is Palm Sunday?
Me: Er... I'll tell you the story of Easter next week.
Annick: I know the story of Easter already.  It is about bunnies.
Me: Well, yes, there are two main stories of Easter, and one is about bunnies, the other is about Jesus.
Annick: What is a Jesus?

Luca: You know Captain Cook, Annick?  He's already dead.  He was a pirate who killed lots and lots of people.  He found land but he was greedy and wanted it all for himself.

Annick, passing a vase sale at the kitchen shop: Mama, look at all those wine jars!

How Annick still writes everything in mirror writing, and when showing us how she can tell her left hand from her right by making an 'L' with her fingers, gets mixed up because she can't tell which L is the right way round.

How Annick's immediate response upon regarding an immense whole salmon brought home from the fishmonger is to ask "can I touch the eyeball?"

Mama: if you had a dog, what would you name it?
Annick: I would call it Snowpea!
Luca: I would call it Michael.

Mama: if you had a car, what colour would it be?
Annick: ooh!  Golden rainbow sparkle PINK!

Mama: How was school photos today?
Annick: Good!
Mama: Did you take a photo together?
Luca: Yes.  I tried dabbing but they wouldn't let me.

Annick, getting up mid-breakfast to go to the toilet as usual: "I need to go wee wee before my next CHOMP!"

Mama: What is the difference between being seven and being eight?
Luca: Well, the bad thing about being eight is you can't wear Hot Wheels t-shirts any more.

Summer 2017/18

Luca: What is infinity time infinity?
Annick (triumphantly): BINFINITY!

How they read Tintin or Agent Jean in the morning before school and show each other the funny sequences, bursting into shared giggles.

How Luca can read enough now to actually read Andy Griffiths' The Bad Book to her, and how they both love this.

How they both excel at lo-tech entertainment - drawing, reading, dolls, Lego.  How Luca will animate a drawing and draw a battle as it happens, with sound effects and explosions and everything.

Annick: I already have a plan for school!  Number 1: I made friends already, number 2: I know everything, number 3: the puppets are funny! Number 4: (long pause) er, go outside to play.  Number 5: Go home.

Annick: a bug! Ewwwww!
Mama: Annick  a bug is just a creature on earth  just like you.
Annick: yes, but I've got underpants on. Bugs don't wear underpants.

How Annick has just blossomed at school and after not even three weeks can sing three songs in Mandarin, count to "nearly 100", sing a close enough approximation to the national anthem and has picked up phonics so fast I can't quite believe it.  Just two weeks ago she was 'writing' random strings of letters, but today wrote 'My book from home by Annick' as 'Mi B Fo Hom BiAnnick' and made a paper caterpillar labelled 'KATPLA'

How Annick talks blithely about her new friends of barely a fortnight, and talks of Tilly and Nhu and Elodie and Safa.

Mama: What did you learn at school today darling?
Annick: Well, I learned the mathematics.  And I learned to read and how to write using sounds!
Luca: I love maths mama.  I really love it.

How Luca takes the Abbotsford restaurant 'Pizza vs Burger' very seriously and considers who would actually win if they had a fight.

Spring 2017

Luca, on the way to school: Mama, my plan today is - one, get to school, two, find Kenny and play, three, go to class, four, learn things, five, have a snack, six, do some activities, seven, have lunch, eight, work some more, nine, finish school and come home!

Annick: Mama, there is an Annick shop around here and it is a shop where I sell things.
Mama: What things do you sell?
Annick: Well, ice cream, chocolate, lasagne, meat, flowers, princess dresses... and wigs!

How Annick calls her bear "Peddington"

Luca, playing some sort of boat rescue game on the sofa with his sister: Annick, don't do that!  Would you like it if someone threw you off a boat and then you got eaten by sharks?  Is that a kind thing to do?  Would you like it if it happened to you??  Annick, indignant: YES, I WOULD LIKE IT.

Luca: Oh no, my bandaid fell off!  It came off my tinkly finger!

How Luca is learning to play chess at after-care and talks about his "prawns"

Annick: You know, before you are born, you are in space and you are nudie!  You are from a planet called Nudie Holes.

Winter 2017

Luca, discussing how in the Gruffalo, the snake, the owl and the fox all want to eat the mouse, "and that's because a mouse has lots of energy".  Someone's been watching too many wildlife documentaries.

Me: Thank you for being patient today darling.
Annick: Not that patient!

How Luca will play his clapping syllable games as he goes to sleep.

How Annick will end a story to Papa with a cheerful, "et voila!"

Luca: Annick hit me with her guitar!
Annick: It is not a guitar, it is a UKULELE.

How Annick talks about literature, "mama, you know there are two kinds of books, friction and non-friction.  Friction is not real" and how she calls authors "wroters".

Luca, making pretend ice cream in the bath: "the flavour of mine is fruity pineapple flavour!  It's delicious!  It's got lots of gluten free in it!"

How the soundtrack of our life is an unfurling sticky tape dispenser.

Sitting in the warm dusk, eating ice cream by the beach in Hawaii - what is your favourite part of this holiday so far darlings?
Annick: seeing the sea turtles!
Luca: eating this ice cream right now.

Luca 7yo and Annick 5yo

Luca at 7
Nicknames: Ti-gars, Binou, Mini-butt, Mini-bee
Personality: Stoic and literal, with occasional gusts of hyperactive glee.  Doesn't like giving hugs that much but quite keen to receive them.  Focused and curious, cheerful and solid.  Builds, reads, learns, soaks in information like a sponge, but cannot read behaviour.  My lovely little guy, full of quirks and love.
Favourite music: the soundtrack to Ninjago, Mickey by Toni Basil, anything with a thumping beat
Favourite books: "information books" about space, vehicles, engineering, animals, history, anything.  A refound love of 'Stuck' by Oliver Jeffers.  Agent Jean, Tintin.
Favourite shows: Madagascar Penguins, Numbchucks, but still also the old favourites of Ben and Holly, Hey Duggee, Peppa Pig, Octonauts
Favourite things to do: LEGO LEGO LEGO, Hot Wheels, any construction or puzzle games, jigsaw puzzles, reading (lots of reading), drawing ninjas, playing ninjas, dressing up as ninjas.

Annick at 5
Nicknames: Bellette, Bebe, Ladybaby, Minou, Mini-fille
Personality: Emotional and dramatic, funny and kind.  Beautifully affectionate, caring and full of advice, whether you want it or not.  An artist and a performer, unless someone is watching. Chatty and imaginative, an active acrobat.  My sweetest little lady, loved to the stars.
Favourite music: the soundtrack to Moana, the soundtrack to Frozen, a fair whack of girl power music including Beyonce and the Spice Girls
Favourite books: still all the Tralalire and Pomme d'Api stories, Disney princess stories, Agent Jean.
Favourite shows: Go-jetters, Barbie, Numbchucks, Ben and Holly
Favourite things to do: Drawing, play-doh, putting on a show, having a teddy picnic, dressing things up, dressing herself up, dancing dancing dancing, reading, Hot Wheels, blocks

Autumn 2017

Annick: Did you know it is Isaac's Day?
Me: Er, no... you mean it was his birthday?
Annick: All the Isaacs, they died.
Me: ... all... the Isaacs?  I didn't even know you had an Isaac in your class.  Do you mean the darkling beetles?
Annick: So we have to make cookies for them.  There was one, he was called Jack, and all his team mates, they died.  They died on the beach.  They came to the beach on a boat from America!  And there was a donkey who helped them.  All the Isaacs who didn't die, they rested there and they ate cookies to help their friends.

Annick: Luca hissed at me for no reason!
Luca: She was staring at me like an owl!
Annick: I was staring at you like a PRINCESS

How Annick says 'les bigs yeux' or 'les petits eyes'

Annick, rubbing her eyes in the morning: I have crumbs in my eyes!  Why do I have crumbs?
Me: It's because the Night Fairy has picnics in there.
Luca: What?!  I don't want her to!

Annick, randomly at breakfast: We can make America great again!
Me, aghast: Where did you learn that?
Annick: the radio said it!

Annick: Do you know what is world news?  It is so you can find out the news what is happening in the world that is bad.

Luca: Whoever reads the far-est, the goodest and the mostest will be the winner!

Annick: Do you know what churches are for?  They are for marrying and knowing the time.

Luca: If you make the wrong choices in class, your name goes on the board.  If you are still naughty, you have to sit by yourself.  The next one is you have to go to Hao's classroom.  Then if you are still bad, you have to go upstairs.  The next one is you have to go to Latham's office.  The next one is you have to walk with a teacher in the playground at lunchtime.  The next one is you have to take some days away from school to think about what you did.  The next one is you go to jail!  The next one is you die and you are born again as another person.

How Annick calls melaleuca trees 'lalaluca' trees.

Luca: Mama, why can't we have a big house?
Me: Because we can't afford one darling.
Luca: But we live in an apartment that is in a big building.
Me: Yes, we do.
Luca: Mama, did you and papa build the big building?  With the neighbours?  Was it a team effort?
Me: Er... no.  We don't know how to build a building, so we asked people who did know to make it.
Luca: I want to do that!  I want to build things!
Me: What would you build?
Luca: Buildings, planes, boats, rockets, machines...
Me: Well, you probably can't learn how to build ALL of those things, which one would you like most to build?
Luca: Planes, because I know how to build planes.  You put the engine in, then you cover it up with metal!

Luca, playing a clapping syllable game: Lu-ca!  That's two!  Cro-co-dile!  That's three!  Hmm... what is a word that has four? *thinks a while* Oh, I know! Pa-cio-re-tty!

Annick, musing on her perfect imaginary house: It can be made of white bricks and look like a castle, with roses!  And vines.  And there can be a dog!  No, wait, not a dog, a dog would ruin the plants.

Summer 2016/17

- Annick, drawing a book, on being asked what it is about: "They had a baby.  They called it Jack.  The mama wanted to give the baby away because of all the crying.  It cried a lot."
- Luca, after seeing plans for the proposed school improvement in the principal's office: "But the school is not broken, why do they have to fix it?" Well, even if it is not broken, it can be improved, it can be better.  "But how can they make it better?  It is so good already!"
- Annick's adoption of girl power anthems like Wannabe and Single Ladies, both the singing and the dancing.  And the girl power!