lessons learned

It's our last night in Biarritz and we're learned a lot this trip. Mainly, we've learned that we need to have big toys over here to take with us when we go out, or the spud will see someone else's toys and we get this:



(* "Calvin & Hobbes" is copywright Bill Watterson and Universal Press Syndicate, view the whole archive here.)


We have also learned not to forget the buggy when it's his nap-time or he wakes up early and we get this:






...especially in restaurants who don't bring toddlers' food out with the starters





That's not all we learned. We, that is the spud, spent time with our French cousins and all of a sudden came out with 'Non', which is actually pronounced 'nonononononono'. Over and over and over. Whenever something unacceptable is placed in front of one as an option. Such as breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Or anything that doesn't involve ice-cream. Or a croissant.

The Frog and I are very fair when it comes to sleep-ins. We take turns listening out for the spud at night and we take turns getting up with him in the morning, meaning that one or another of us is often to be found in bed around the 9am mark which is heaven.

Yesterday morning it was my turn to sleep in however this was interupted by a small, fast-moving root vegetable who (now he is tall enough to reach the door handles in the French pad, curses) came powering into the room, slapped both hands on the bed in front of my nose and started bouncing up and down on his feet at top speed, whispering loving titbits into his Mummy's ears at the top of his lungs. His hair was practically on end. As the frog entered to remove him I asked what he'd had for breakfast. The frog came all over sheepish and admitted that the spud had been stealing croissant and then... dipping it into the frog's coffee. And eating it.

Can you imagine? Funnily enough, not more than three hours later the spud was having screaming arching tantrums in the restaurant. Now, I wonder what could have happened to cause that? ***cough *** cough *** coffee *** cough ***

'Come on spud, we've walked around this square five times in the rain, let's go back to the restaurant'... 'NONONONONONO'





Finally, we learned that the spud, who has always been a daring sort of a bod, has worked out all of a sudden how to climb things. I mean, really climb them.

Firstly, he managed to climb this (please turn your head sideways for this one, I dozily had my phone the wrong way up):





Which makes it absolutely no surprise that he has now managed to climb out of this:






I know that I keep saying this... but life as we know it must surely be ending.





Over and out.

.