My Daughter Called Me MUM!

Yes, it happened.  Amelia called me, "Mum".  I just blew it off the first time, but she kept saying it.  When I asked her why she decided to call me "Mum" instead of "Mom", she replied, "That's the way they say it here and I like it."  I have no problem with the word "Mum", but it sounds strange coming from my own child.

Amelia even knows how to spell Mum.  It is everywhere...on birthday cards, in her books from school and even on a set of sight word magnets I bought for her.  Even though I am not used to the sound of it, I have to look at the bright side.  It is almost like my children are learning a foreign language, which is great for their language development.

Most people think the British accent sounds desirable.  Everyone thinks of movie stars and their beautiful delivery of the English language.  I do not mind the accent, but it is hard for me to hear my own children changing their inflections and words.  Dylan picked up on the accent and several new words after just a few months in school here.  When we went to St. Louis this summer, my brother was Uncle "Don" instead of Dan.  That is just one example, but Dylan truly sounded different to everyone.  By the end of our 3 1/2 week visit, he lost most of his British accent, thankfully.

Now that Dylan and Amelia have been in school for 6 weeks, they both have changed their inflections and a few words.  Sometimes it's not the words they are actually saying but the WAY they are saying the words.  Their voices go up at the end of a sentence.  Dylan's new favorite words are "rubbish" and "massive".  Eric and I just smile about it.  I know they will lose the accent when we move back to the states.

A while back, I posted some words that are different here in England.  Here are some more...

BRITISH ENGLISH                      AMERICAN ENGLISH
rubbish                                           bad/terrible
rubber                                            eraser (Imagine my face when Dylan asked me for a rubber!)
fizzy disco                                       dance party
quiz night                                        trivia night
nappy                                             diaper
cot                                                  crib
plaster                                            bandaid
diary                                               calendar/planner
trainers                                           tennis shoes
jumper                                           sweatshirt
dinner                                             lunch
tea                                                  dinner
crisps                                              chips
chips                                               french fries
bin                                                  trash can
car park                                          parking lot
stabilizers                                        training wheels
"zed"                                               letter "z"
surgery                                           doctor's office
garden                                            yard
wooly                                             unclear/vague
holiday                                           vacation
que                                                  line
lemonade                                       Sprite
cloudy lemonade                           American lemonade as we know it (which is hard to find here)

Here are some pictures from their first day of school in September.  All schools here wear uniforms.  It makes life easier as a parent.

Cora's 6 Month Pictures

I could do photo shoots of my kids all day long.  The challenge is that I have to be the mom and get them to smile while also being the photographer.  Every once in a while, it all works out, and I am able to catch a few of their precious smiles.  Amelia is often my helper to get Cora to smile while I shoot away. 

The next challenge for me is that I need to DO SOMETHING with all of these pictures.  Boy do I miss Sam's Club.  I could print these, even in huge sizes, for such a great deal.  I haven't found that convenience or deal here yet.  Most of my pictures are just sitting on the computer.  I hope to get some printed on canvas and make some photo books for the kids.  We haven't hung many pictures on the walls here because we do not want to put any holes in the walls.  Their walls are made of a different material, and although Eric is Mr. Fix-It, he did not want to deal with the repairs when we move.  It's funny because the few pictures we do have hanging are on nails that were already in the walls.  They are in strange places, but I have gotten used to it that way.  So instead of letting these sweet pictures sit on the computer, I thought I would share some.  Enjoy Cora's 6 month photo shoot! 

 

 

One of my favorites!!!

I can't leave out my sweet helper.

Amelia and her new tap shoes 

 

One of Our Favorite Places

The weeks just seem to fly by.  When the weekends come, we love to spend time together as a family and put the TO DO list away for a few days.  When it is nice out, we enjoy spending the day at the Bowood House and Gardens.  The kids love the various playgrounds there!  They have the tall adventure playground, obstacle courses, a pirate ship, a sand area, boat swings and a small playhouse.  They also have a zip line, but we have not tried that yet.  I wish I knew of places like this in the U.S.  Our kids were so used to plastic playgrounds with the special soft ground in a fenced area.  There is something to be said about a large, outdoor playground made of wood. 

We pack a picnic lunch, and we usually throw in a soccer ball and a bat and baseballs.  They do not play baseball here, so we really get looks when we set up our bases in the field and Dylan cracks a ball with the aluminum bat.  Amelia gives it a try, but she would rather be picking flowers. Here are some pictures and a few videos from our fun weekends at Bowood.

 

Dylan and Amelia love the see saw.  Cora was not so sure at first.

And he wonders why I don't trust him with the baby. :)

Where else can you hit baseballs with sheep in the background?  England, of course!

VIDEO: Playing in the sand

VIDEO: Cora swinging and the obstacle course

Yes, this is what their baby swings look like in public parks.  It made me a little nervous at first, but with the blanket behind her, she was fine.

We definitely got our money's worth out of our season's pass!  Even better, we have lots of wonderful memories of playing together as a family.