2010 in review

locomotion by laundry

When I started to think back over the past year, what struck me first was that fact that only one short year ago, Paige was not yet walking. Close, sure – but when midnight struck, hurling us from 2009 into 2010, our little Paigey was still lurching from sofa to chair and back again, or using the upturned laundry basket for support*.

And now? Nothing stopping her, as our no-longer-a-baby-most-definitely-a-toddler goes “wunnin’ wunnin’” through the Gardens to feed the ducks, or marching through the snow, or even waddle-waddling across the kitchen floor in imitation of mommy’s favourite penguins.

wunnin' wunnin' on South Bank

So 2010 was another year of firsts in the life of Miss Paige Roberta Agar – perhaps not surprisingly at this stage of the game.

After taking those first tentative steps in mid-January, Paige’s next accomplishment was talking. I can’t remember when the first one properly popped out, but do know it was one of her favourite summer entertainments: bubble.

And for the longest time, bubble was about it. Bubbles in the bath, blowing bubbles in the park, bubbles from the teacher at Monkey Music. At first, every new word was cause for excitement – “yes, that was definitely ‘Daddy’” and “I think she just said ‘milk’”. And then somehow it wasn’t. Although we continue to be surprised when she says something completely new, we seem to have taken the fact of her talking as ordinary already, which just shows how easy we become accustomed to actually quite remarkable activities.

That’s why a yearly look back can be ‘a good thing’ – it reminds you to marvel again at what we can so quickly take for granted. (Although I’d marvel a bit more if the introduction of talking didn’t also include the key phrases ‘that’s mine’ and ‘want chocolate’, but hey, you can’t have it all...)

Something else we take for granted is the engineering feats that come together to provide long-haul travel – which allowed us a number of very welcome and enjoyable visits with family and friends, despite our residing across the globe. (Well, on different sides of the Atlantic)

Beth's birthday in Miami

January saw Ashley take on the Mr Mom role for a long weekend, as I played a surprise visit to Miami to celebrate my friend Beth’s 40th with a girly getaway. While Ashley bonded with Paige and battled the sudden snow, I bonded with Beth and co-conspirator Lisa, along with a few glasses of bubbly and some pampering sessions. And despite the fact it was the coldest January in like ages, man, I was not going all the way to Miami without a dip in the pool!

Enjoying the Fete

Other jetsetters included Nana and Poppy, who visited Planet Wulfagar in June, perfectly timing their trip to coincide with the first Kew Midsummer Fete – enabling them to see Paige on her first merry go round ride... whee!!

August brought us new guests, with the Olson gang flying in en route to Jerusalem. Our front room became Camp Wulfagar with Kara, Jess, Toby, and Beruria all bunking down in, on, and around the sofas and tv. A bit crowded – but we loved having them visit, and wish it could’ve been longer. I especially loved to see Paige and her cousins running around and giggling – aww...

Swinging with her NY cousins

As soon as the Olsons took off eastward, it was our turn to head west – off to summer hols at Camp Nana. A couple of weeks of rest, relaxation, and New England sunshine... Every day was a great balance of activity and slothfulness, with visits to the lake, science museum, national parks and the ‘Path of Life’, plus local shopping and of course diners, diners, diners. Ashley & I even got the opportunity for a night away in the former mill town of Claremont New Hampshire. Ashley found the one nice hotel (our room even had an outdoor patio with hot tub!), and we had a great time wandering the town and imagining how it might have been in its heyday! We also had a lucky coincidence that my oldest friend Stephanie, er, I mean friend of longest standing had planned a visit to

Chillin' with Poppy at the Woodstock Farmers' Market

Boston at the same time – so she and her family became Camp Nana campers for a weekend. It was fabulous to get even that short weekend together – I think we managed to pack a week of talking into the less than 48 hours!

Camp Nana Campers

We arrived back from that fantastic vacation to the news that our landlord was planning extensive renovations of her other flat... the kind that meant she could no longer live in it, and instead would be moving into ours. So, after 6 years (!!) on Kew Green, it was time to move on, and before 2011 was out, we were ensconced in Kew flat #2, a mere half mile away, cutting Ashley's commute from a dreadful 12 minutes each way to the much more manageable 1/3 of that. What *will* he do with those extra 16 minutes each day?

Cocktails with the girls for 40th

2010 also saw me hit 40 – eek! In addition to a weekend of parties (girls, cocktails and movies on Friday, brilliant and truly surprising surprise party thrown by my sweet husband on the Saturday) I celebrated by running 100 (and a bit) miles in the 100 days leading up to the big day, and thanks to my generous friends and family raised $1200 for the worthy charity Quilts for Kids. Although the regular running led to personal bests in both a 5k and 10k that summer, it still didn’t *quite* translate into a lifelong running habit as I’d hoped, but there’s always next year! And ailing children in need received handmade warming quilts, which is more important!

Movember madness

Ashley got in on the charitable efforts this year as well, joining the Movember Movement, which meant growing a moustache throughout the month of November in support of prostate cancer research. His efforts were quite dapper, if scratchy, so I for one didn't mind when the calendar page turned to December and he was able to shave once more... Will he put his upper lip forward again next November? Watch this space...

Just as November led to December, December led to January and now we're one week into 2011, and already looking forward to another visit from Nana and Poppy in only a couple of weeks... and who knows what other adventures are in store!?


*Technically at midnight she was -- to our appreciation -- asleep, but you know what I mean