Vroom, Vroom

CARS!!!!! Coby loves 'em. Big cars, little cars, ones that go "nee nor, nee nor" and ones that go "vroom vroom". Coby was delighted when I popped him behind the wheel of our car...

"Is this the way to Amarillo?"

"Beep, Beep, Beep"

Cheese Rolling 2007

These folks are wacko...very funny!

Muppets - Mahna Mahna

Well this made us all chuckle in the Teplet house and Uncle Justin will appreciate me posting it too - enjoy!!

CAPTION COMPETITION

Easy enough, just come up with an amusing caption for the above photo and the best one gets a little present from Coby - click on comments below to leave your suggestions.

Poorly Coby

Poor little Coby took a sudden turn for the worse this evening and has a temperature and been quite sick. He's off his food and very lethargic - not his usual self at all. Al is away tomorrow night so we're going to burden grandma and stay over with her. An extra pair of hands will be handy in case Coby remains unwell tomorrow. Hopefully its just a tummy bug or teething, but we'll keep you posted.

IT'S A BOY!

Congratulations to Angela and Richard on the birth of their second baby.
Angela has given birth to Samuel, 8lbs, 13oz, a little brother for Alicia.

Best wishes guys and lots of love from our little clan

To Dare is to Do!

Most women would breathe a sigh of relief now that the football season is over. I'm quite disappointed. However, the good news is that Spurs finished 5th in the premiership - hoorah!

Coby has received his Dribblers membership renewal pack and uncle Mark is another year closer to taking Coby to his first game! In the meantime, Cobes is growing out of his Spurs strip, so I'm thinking of taking him down to the store to buy a new one - care to join us uncle Mark?

Mark is busy managing his own team, Chingford Rangers, who are in Division One of the London City Airport Sunday League. Maybe Coby will come down one Sunday for a kick around!

Springtime Stroll

"Come on mummy - off we go"

"Hmmmm, weather looks dodgy"

"But I'm fully suited and booted - bring on the rain"

"I could walk for miles"

"Fab! A dirty puddle to rinse my hands in"

"Swish this around a bit"

Time to go home

Sarah-Jane Tepper MAR - its official

I am promoting my recent qualification into the wonderful world of reflexology. If you are interested in receiving a treatment, I am offering a special 'first consultation' rate of £20 (usually £30). I am happy to treat you in the comfort of your own home as I have all the necessary equipment and I'm covered by public liability insurance as well as being a member of the Association of Reflexologists.

Click for more info

Thank you to Coby for allowing me to use his blog to my own selfish advantage.

Bon Voyage!

As we write this, auntie Teresa is on her way to South Africa at the start of her three month travelling experience. We spent the afternoon with her and made sure she didn't forget her toothbrush. Her journey begins in Pretoria where she'll be staying with a friend for a few days. Then she's off to Cape Town, the east coast of Australia, a couple of weeks in Auckland with auntie Lorraine and finally she'll be spending the remainder of her trip in Thailand before heading back to Heathrow on 16 August where I'll be waiting for her with open arms and matchsticks in my eyes - 6.20am she lands!!

BON VOYAGE TEE TEE!

Beautiful Boy - John Lennon

For a beautiful 18 month old boy

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY

Coby is 18 months old today!

It has been an amazing journey watching him flourish from baby to toddler. The day he was born will forever remain a vivid memory and the time that has passed since then, as fast as it has been, has been filled with so many delightful memories. I look back at photographs of him and can't believe the transformation from a totally dependent baby to a little boy with an emerging personality

Here are some reminders...

Coby Zephyr arrives at 8.35am on Wednesday 16 November 2005

After spending five days in the Neo-Natal Unit at Barnet Hospital
Coby is ready to go home

A moment captured in time for prosperity

Coby at 6 months old

Coby at 1 year old

Wednesday 16th May - 18 months old

FIRSTS:

TOOTH - November 2006 (1 year old)
STEPS - February 2007 (15 months old)
WORD - April 2007 (17 months old) and the word is CAR

Rainy Days & Mondays Never Get Us Down

Despite a rainy start to the day, we decided to get wet indoors instead and headed to our local Waterbabies class. It has been a while since I last took Coby swimming, so I was expecting a few tears. After a nervous start, with Coby clinging to me for dear life, he soon relaxed and was even unfazed when I dipped him under the water. After weeing in the changing rooms (Coby that is, not me!), we made a quick exit back home for lunch.

In the afternoon we tackled the recycling, posted some letters and bought a new blind for Coby's bedroom. He has been waking quite early these last few weeks (anything between 5am and 7am) and we suspect its because of the lighter mornings, so we're going to try a black out blind to see if this makes a difference.

I then took Coby to Pets At Home to look at the rabbits and fish. He was slightly startled by the huge black were-rabbit, sorry fluffy bunny, leaping about its cage. The fish seem to be a favourite and he pointed at almost every tank exclaiming "oooohhhhh!!!".

Then it was back home for some fruit juice, cheese biscuits and a flick through the latest Tellytubbies magazine....

"All's well that ends well, mummy"

IT'S A GIRL!

Many, many congratulations to our dear friends Rob and Dee!

Dee gave birth to a baby girl at 4.15pm on Friday 4 May

Here is baby Alyssa...

And with a very contented daddy...

In a world of Uniteds, Cities and Boroughs, there's only one Hotspur, eh Rob?
Alyssa is a mini Tottenham fan and she doesn't even know it yet
Welcome to the world Alyssa!

Mischievous Monsters

What fun we had on Saturday when Louis spent the day with us! Maddy and Justin hot footed it to Wembley to catch Stevenage Borough play Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Trophy.

While Stevenage thrashed them to win 3-2, Coby and Louis thrashed their way through Coby's granny's house. Chaos ensued as lego blocks, cars, books, strawberries and raisins flew over our heads.

There were a few tears as heads banged and toys were thrust in faces and there was a very obvious display from Coby to show just whose territory Louis was on.

Could we cope with another child? Probably. But for now, it was a pleasure to hand Louis back to his mummy and daddy.

Eric Prydz Vs Floyd : Proper Education : OUT NOW!

This video totally rocks. Watch it. You will not be disappointed!

Do something...

Madeleine McCann was snatched a week ago whilst on holiday in Portugal. Tomorrow is her 4th birthday. I pray to whatever forces rule this world that this little girl will be found unharmed and soon...I cannot begin to imagine what her parents must be going through...

Please help spread the word...someone somewhere on this planet knows where she is...please please please just send her home...people suffer all the time but lets see if we can make a difference just this one time.

Peace!

Al

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDAD!

My grandad is celebrating his birthday today. Unfortunately we can't be with him, but we've been thinking about him all day and will be visiting very soon.

LOVE YOU GRANDAD - YOU'RE THE BEST!

McFly - All About You

Coby likes to bop along to this and the video is quite a giggle too.

Cuddles

Bank Holiday Monday - a good time to pop in for tea and biscuits with friends. So we caught up with Michaela, Tony and Lola. Coby and Lola were very pleased to see each other and enjoyed a welcome hug...

What is a Trillion?

There's an interesting article on the BBC today about how challenging it is to make the number one trillion meaningful to us, the ordinary public. As an illustration of just how large a trillion is, if you compare the fact that a million seconds equals 11.5 days and a billion seconds is 32 years, it would be astonishing to discover that a trillion seconds is equal to 32,000 years!

Anyway, aside from an interesting article, it made me ponder over what a trillion nappies looked like, so here's a puzzle for you...

The BBC article estimates that if you can get 50,000 pennies into a cubic foot - a trillion pennies would fill two St Paul's Cathedrals - based on that estimation, what do you think a trillion nappies would equate to?

No right or wrong answer for this, although I'm sure Al would come up with something close enough to a valid solution if you gave him enough time to work it out, but just for fun, we'd be interested to hear some suggestions.

You Can't Catch Me

Some rather odd, but amusing pictures of Coby here. I was in hot pursuit of the little one this morning following his refusal to get dressed again.
He shut himself in the kitchen and made faces at me through the frosted glass...

Gardening for Beginners

Always wear the correct clothing and prepare your pots in advance

Pat down the soil nice and firm

Insert sticks to assist the tomatoes in their growth

Sit back and survey your hard work

Celebrate in the sunshine with daddy!

Thanks to grandma Wendy. She helped us pot some strawberries and tomatoes yesterday. The tomatoes had funny names - Bigboys and Moneymakers. She also bought us over some hanging baskets and a big planter for our geraniums and begonias. We even put up a new feeder for the birds and filled it with lovely fresh seeds.

Double Trouble

Congratulations to our friends Sandie and Gary who are expecting identical twin boys in September! The big question is, will they support Liverpool or Charlton?

Fast Food Nation

On Wednesday evening we went to see a special screening of Fast Food Nation at the Vue cinema in Leicester Square - excellent film! Based on the novel by Eric Schlosser, the film follows the various people involved in the meat packing industry from the supervisor at the plant to the person behind the counter at the local burger bar

Your Dash?

My friend lost his mum recently and his dad read this as the eulogy. Wonderful and thought-provoking.

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
From the beginning ... to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth ...
And now only those who loved her,
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars ... the house ... the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard ..
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile..
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash ...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Cheers

Al