so what was happening today? daddy took the day off & they said it was a surprise for me! daddy moaned about the mega pram. he asked about the cheap little buggy. mummy said it's now in zim. hmm.i didn't think we could do a quick detour on our way to london so mega pram was coming. mummy did a quick back flip with a triple axl somersault. she also got to paint her nails in the car because daddy was driving - hmmm...who was going to be at this place? she went so far as to do her make-up. GAME ON. excitement was now at fever pitch!



we parked our car at a place called perivale and jumped on the tube. but not before mummy and daddy huffed and puffed with the pram up 3 flights of stairs. mummy avoided eye contact with daddy as she imagined how much easier that fold up buggy would've been. she consoled herself by thinking of a) how happy the woman she gave that buggy to was & b) how all this exercise was keeping her nice and warm on this otherwise cold day! yes, this was good!




next stop was oxford circus! are we in oxford? is there a circus? oh, we are now headed to picadilly circus...whoa, these are the fastest crosscountry trains ever! i can't wait to get to this circus! but not before more huffing and puffing and eye contact avoidance. finally at the circus...




but there are no clowns, no tent, no animals, just the biggest crowd of people. maybe they are all looking for the circus too. disappointing times! "Shaftesbury Avenue!" says dad and we continue to move in a circle...on the spot. maybe thats why it's called a circus...everyone is holding maps, chatting in different languages, smiling sheepishly as they bump into eachother and trying to look like this is their hood. uh huh. "Google maps!", says mum but dad has found it & off we go!





RAINFOREST CAFE! I was so excited! we were greeted and taken down to the restaurant area - but not before I eyed up a cute pink teddy. mummy excitedly brought it down for me (she loves a memento). then she saw £20 and put it back. a teenage boy was eyeing up a £35 tshirt behind us & his mum advised him to keep his money in his pocket. she called him poppet. not sure he approved.



we had a fantastic meal, seated next to 2 very obliging elephants. one of them let me touch his ear - he did turn and look at me which scared me a little.



 we all managed to eat something we loved which was great = i had macaroni cheese, daddy a burger & fries, mummy sea bass & mash and judah ham & cheese pasta. i don't know what mummy was expecting but she kept exclaiming how good the food was! it sure was yummy. the whole restaurant is done up like a rainforest. at first i thought we really were in the rainforest. i'm still not decided because i don't think those elephants can live in a restaurant. hmm.




mummy had had grand plans of exploring london a little more with us but the thought of those steps waiting for us was enough to get her back on daddys one way street...but not before i spotted this weird looking policeman! i just had to mimic him!

Nothing breaks up a tense moment better than your kid saying the craziest thing. This is the latest in the MH-isms we have had the joy of experiencing over the last few months! Enjoy!

Mummy: Morayo-Hope, please eat all the food on your plate.
Morayo-Hope: Do I like chicken mummy?
Mummy: You absolutely love chicken!
Morayo-Hope: Oh yes, I do! Hmm...but I mean do I like this particular chicken?
Mummy: You're 3! Where did you learn about "particular"!!

footnote: I am totally enjoying this current phase of her asking me if she likes something! Bring out every vegetable and fruit under the sun and she'll eat it as long as i enthusiastically proclaim her undying love for it. 







Me: Morayo-Hope! Please be careful!
MH: But I am be carefulling!



Back home after an outing & someone refuses to take their dress off before settling down to Topsy & Tim.

MH: Oh dear mummy I spilt some red juice on my new white dress
Me: **Blinks**
MH: It's ok mummy, we can just use Vanish Oxy Action
Me: **Double Blinks** **Bursts out Laughing** (how can you get mad?)

Out Grocery Shopping

MH: What's next on the list mummy?
Me: We need to get some spray for cleaning the table & kitchen counters.
MH: Ah, ok. We better get Dettol Power & Pure Advance.
Me: **Double Blinks** **Bursts out Laughing**  No more Tiny Pop for you young lady! You are an advertisers dream!
**Proceeds to check out Dettol Power & Pure Advance - it's on offer, it's in the basket, it's in the house, well done Dettol marketing dept!**





MH: wake up mummy, it's morning time
Me: no
MH: mummy, it's morning time and i need my breakfast
Me: my back really hurts (because you insist on sleeping in our bed halfway through the night & i end up sleeping in a yoga pose) - daddy is downstairs, he can make you breakfast.
MH: oh dear mummy. what am i going to do with you?
Me: why?
MH: well, because your back hurts and i just love you so much and i just want to play with you....
Me: **sits up too fast and worsens back pain but ignores it in light of the words just pronounced**  oh MH you are such a darling & i love you too! let's go downstairs then.

All new parents are ever eager to hear their child talk / see them walk / watch them run for the first time. I am yet to meet a parent who eagerly anticipates the day their child will disturb them mid long awaited steak dinner to announce "I need a poo poo." But this is the one thing our little princes and princesses are ever eager to do. Morayo-Hope is surely top of the leader board on that front. I feel like she has some kind of chip that activates as soon as I settle to any meal I've been eagerly anticipating. It doesn't matter the time of day or night. Doesn't matter if she's just successfully completed a session accompanied by her dad. I must still be invited to partake of my daily torture.