swans

Days 5 – 11 of Project 365

January 11, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 61 Comments

5-11 of 365

5. Flutter (Of all the toys that The Boy received at Christmas, the £1.99 plastic men with a plastic parachute attached to their back are his favourite by far. He will happily spend an hour floating them down and then going and fetching them to start all over again. And those aren't Christmas lights still up as I took all my decorations down; those are fairy lights that I put back up to brighten the hallway.)

6. Happiness Is… (… was the topic for his Christmas homework and so in true last minute style we sat down to do it on Monday afternoon. The Boy decided that happiness is Christmas because he likes having people over. He wrote all of that independently.)

7. The Weekly Stock Shot #1 (First day back at work and I didn't have time to take a photo other than once The Boy was in bed asleep; my fall back photograph! I was also demonstrating to someone on twitter how to use a torch light angled and no flash on the camera as it creates a softer photograph than with flash light, and doesn't wake your sleeping child!)

8. Concentration (A little sand art was the perfect after school activity, and I love this photograph because of the concentration throughout his body.)

9. Reflecting (I took delivery of the reflector pack that I'd ordered from ebay today (having read A Party Of Seven's post about bouncing light around). It's a cheap pack but I didn't want to spend much when I'm getting used to the technique of using reflectors. The light in our house is so dim and there are so many shadows that I decided we'd try to bounce some light around. In this photograph I've used the black as a backdrop and he's sat on the gold reflector which adds warmth to his face.)

10. The Weekly Stock Shot #2 (Feeding the swans on a Friday after school has become a habit of ours, they were certainly very hungry tonight.)

11. Oh Mummy! (Again another tip from A Party Of Seven is to have something silly on your head or around the camera lens to obtain a natural shot of your child's reaction. The Boy was clambering all over the old dock machinery in Cardiff Bay today and was pulling some ridiculous faces as I tried to get a decent photo of him. I bunged his dinosaur hat on my head and called him; this is what he thought of my new headwear.)

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Days 349 – 355 of Project 365

December 21, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 24 Comments

Days 349-355 of Project 365

349. MONSTER BINGO (… is the phrase that needs to be shouted out by the winner of the latest Orchard Toys game we're reviewing. I love the exuberance on his face here.)

350. Daddy Does Craft (This is not something which happens often in our house, in fact he groaned when I asked him to do this activity, "Homework; yes. Reading; yes. Craft; NO!" However, it was a super easy activity from Toucan Box with ~~idiotproof~~, fo~~olproof~~, comprehensive instructions.)

351. Intent (Watching his video message from Father Christmas via the Portable North Pole app, he was enchanted with the whole thing. Every time Father Christmas said his name, he nodded eagerly and smiled.)

352. Dear Miss… (Making his Christmas cards for his teachers, the effort was immense but he made a super job of it.)

353. Bedtime Reading (New pyjamas and books sent from Marks and Spencer for a bedtime reading project. I love seeing him in old-fashioned pyjamas, he looks so cute!)

354. Hungry (For a few months now we've visited our local nature reserve once a week to feed the swans, our confidence has grown as has their hunger. Yesterday they were starving, and with it a little bit nasty. For the first time, I felt nervous feeding them in the slipway area; one of them hissed at The Boy and flapped his wings, another pecked my hand. We walked up to the boardwalk as they can't manage it and it forces them into the water to have the bread; more controlled you see! Within thirty seconds of us being at the board walk, the 40+ swans had worked out what was going on and swum around to feed on our stale offerings.)

355. Best Buddies (We ventured to Tredegar House near Newport today to see Father Christmas in his grotto. Normally we go to Cardiff Castle but it was completely sold out weeks in advance, so we decided to try here in their first year as a National Trust property. The Boy was over the moon to see the Big Man himself, and the room was dressed so beautifully! He walked in cautiously, took one look at him and ran at him to give him the biggest, most heartfelt cuddle I've ever seen which was received warmly. Unfortunately the photo is too blurred to share as a 365, but it was a wonderful sight to see. And all for only £2.50.)

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Days 342 – 348 of Project 365

December 14, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 18 Comments

Days 342-348 of Project 365

342. Reach For The Stars (We ventured over to Cardiff Bay to the Christmas Food Market set out in the old dock basin. There were a few small, fairground rides there and The Boy relished the opportunity to try out this jumping trampoline ride thingy. I love the silhouette against the stormy sky.)

343. Burp (Reviewing a game sent to us from Orchard Toys, The Boy found it very amusing that the gorilla burps after feeding it junk food!)

344. My Little Star (This is The Boy performing in his first Christmas concert. I took photographs of him walking up and down onto the stage that showed off his costume better, but this is the picture that I love because of the sincerity on his face, filled with the effort of getting it right. I'm so proud of him for fully taking part as he was so petrified during the Harvest service he could only cope with standing on the stage.)

345. Homemade Gifts (I've written in the past about the significance of giving teachers presents to acknowledge their hard work, I decided that we'd make some lovely ornaments for The Boy's teachers and LSAs. With four teachers to buy for, and additional Reception staff, it would never have been cheap and I don't know enough about them to buy a worthwhile present. I thought Christmas tree decorations would be a good idea as they're resuable and show care and attention on his part.)

346. RUDE! (Our weekly trip to feed the swans saw an extremely cheeky seagull swoop in to grab a stray piece of bread lying on the boardwalk. The Boy was incensed!)

347. Wriggler (A busy day Christmas shopping with my mum in Cardiff, taking The Boy to a classmate's house for tea and then me swanning off to Cardiff Bay saw me sneaking a last minute photograph of a wriggling Boy in his sleep.)

348. Family Days Out (On a day when the blogging world is remembering a special blogger and her legacy of Family Frolics, it seemed very fitting to me that we spent the day with extended family; my brother and his family. I'd bought Mr. TBaM a segway driving experience for his birthday and we finally redeemed it with my sister-in-law joining him on a device which I would be useless on. My brother, niece, The Boy and I explored the other adventure activities possible in the centre and made a vow to come back and try the zip wire out when the children are a little bit older. We finished off the day with a lovely meal in a newly-opened restaurant nearby. A wonderful family day out.)

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