Julie's Boggle

Jessica (11m) and Jonathan (3y 8m) in their first school portrait setting

I’d completely forgotten that the photographer was coming to Jonathan’s nursery school on the day this was taken but fortunately we were there early for a change, and in clean clothes – no breakfast / sick-up stains visible!   Jon’s hair was all over the show but he endured me trying to flatten it while we waited.  The friendly photographer was great at setting up the shot (Jon was delighted at being able to hold Jess on his lap) and getting them both smiling, and I think the result speaks for itself. 

The February archives were a little slim on photos in general but fortunately we had one proper “day out”, with picture-taking, that captured this moment.

The big orange label on Jon’s front is because we were visiting Bramley’s, our closest “indoor adventure playground” – a great way to exercise toddlers on a rainy winter’s day!

On the afternoon this was taken, Jon was getting a lot of pleasure out of being allowed to “help out” with the housework – trailing our lovely cleaner, Adam.  Here he’s clutching the vacuum cleaner ["VAC-leaner"] pipe in his hand, and he was in the process of gamely pushing it around his bedroom carpet.

In choosing this month’s smile, I was quite torn between the photo above and this one, taken on the same day.  Both of them showed examples of Jon’s gentle smile to great effect.

(As an aside, Jon is wearing a warm top ["wahm-cop"] of his own choosing which he outgrew about 4 months ago, but still loves to pick out.   The text is mostly inaccurate but it is wonderfully cuddly!)

In all the impromptu photos that have been captured over December, somehow there weren’t very many in the best smile category.   (Perhaps the latest bout of teething has kept Jon in a more sombre mood this month.)

Having said that, this was one of my favourites where Jon is laughing out loud as he plays with his Christmas present from us: a wooden train track.  (For reasons known only to himself, Jon has developed an avid enthusiasm for cars and trains over the last 6 months which made our choice of present an easy one this year! )

I love the way that Jonathan is still very easily amused especially by basic “horsing around” type games.  When I got this photo, he’d decided to lie down on the floor on a spare change-mat and I was getting him to shriek with laughter just from some gentle tickling with my foot.

After only a minute or two of clicking away, I ended up with a whole set of pictures that I liked too much not to share:

In this shot, Jon (at 27m) was enjoying a ride on a little pushcar at Snakes and Ladders, an indoor activity centre that we visit for the occasional treat, pausing just long enough to give me a lovely smile as I waved the camera at him.

(This is one of those annoying photographs which captured a gorgeous look, but with a woefully inadequate flash setting!  However, it was still October’s sweetest smile, so it’s had a little “processing” to make up for the original’s inadequacies.)

Late afternoon in the quiet playground.  Jonathan (26m) enjoying the opportunity to attempt to get onto his favourite playground equipment in a slightly unconventional fashion while also being distracted by the scattered children playing nearby.

This is another one of those fairly quiet little smiles, more evident in Jon’s eyes than anywhere else (click to get the larger version).

Jon was 26 months on that day and had just been submitted to his second proper haircut.  At this point he was quietly enjoying watching two of his little friends playing on the big slide.  (Every time he sees this photo he says “‘lide!”. )

The result of several months of low-key exposure to the English sun in his little Aussie sandals (and his Daddy’s lovely complexion).