Little Flowers

Coffee for Adrien

2012-01-28T21:38:00.001Z

A brew for my very good friend Adrien Wasila, the legendary Luxumbourgish, book-addicted, multilinguistic Egyptologist and honourary Lancastrian. Thanks for the postcard and the Earl Grey flavoured sweets, Adrien!

For fellow Coffeesnobs: I'm brewing here using a Kalita Wave pour-over, a Hario kettle and Columbian Somondoco coffee beans from J. Atkinson's of Lancaster. 28g/400ml; 3min.

The Cheeky Monkey

2012-01-28T12:07:00.000Z

Rosabel on one of her many cheekfulsome adventuringtons.

Joe's Blog

2012-01-22T08:59:00.001Z

Please check out Joe's brilliant blog and watch his amazing animations: theultimatepivotanimator

New Beds for Big Girls = More Sleep?

2012-01-19T22:31:00.000Z

Nursery: Day 2

2012-01-18T19:44:00.001Z

Another successful morning at Nursery. Violet and Ivy didn't want to leave! One of the other little children, who had clearly never experienced twins before, was apparently awe-struck by their identical appearance. As a parent of identical twins, it's so easy to forget that other people think they look the same. To me, they look so different. They have different hair, different heights, weights, gaits, mannerisms, voices, favourite phrases, favourite cutlery, favourite toys, favourite sides of the sofa, favourite parts of an egg (Violet just eats the yolk, Ivy just eats the white). It's only when I look back at old photographs that I have difficulty telling them apart (and in the middle of the night when they wriggle into bed!).What do you think? Are they easy to tell apart?

Nursery

2012-01-17T21:03:00.000Z

Violet and Ivy had their first morning at nursery today! They enjoyed playing with dollies, prams and a kitchen and they had banana and bread sticks for a snack. The twins haven't said anything about it other than that they want to go again tomorrow :-)

LoveYouTwo

2012-01-15T02:28:00.000Z

Watch in High Definition on YouTube.

Extracts from Rosabel Walton's Aeolian Wanderings for Piano

2012-01-08T19:42:00.001Z

Christmas Tea, Oh Christmas Tea!

2011-12-29T15:56:00.001Z

Boxing Day with the Kennedys

2011-12-28T18:50:00.001Z

Spoons by Gabriel

2011-12-27T10:43:00.000Z

Filming, puppetry, editing and music all by Gabriel Kennedy.

Happy Birthday, Rosabel!

2011-12-19T19:14:00.000Z

Happy Immaculate Conception

2011-12-08T05:02:00.003Z

... from the Walton 5.

Twin Toes

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000Z

Rosabel and Violet play the piano.

2011-12-05T20:28:00.001Z

Rosabel can now reach the piano keys herself and spends a good deal of time practising, often with help from her sisters.

Violet makes a pizza

2011-11-26T22:44:00.002Z

Rosabel & the very magical adventures of Sunday bath time.

2011-10-30T22:05:00.000Z

Rosabel - modelling a very nice not-quite-mustard-coloured reusable napkin - demonstrates her new found love of crawling, her ability to stand on tip toes whilst saying "Dadadadad", and her deep affection for her funny, elder sisters.

The Lovely Yellow Car and the Lovely Red Sock

2011-10-29T15:26:00.000+01:00

Ivy, Violet and one red sock dance to a psychedelic children's musical called The Lovely Yellow Car by Tim Weary

Ivy plays a C Major scale

2011-10-29T15:18:00.002+01:00

Oh! What's that noise?

2011-10-27T14:31:00.000+01:00

Rosabel makes a stand.

2011-10-23T16:59:00.000+01:00

Round and Round

2011-10-16T15:40:00.000+01:00

Crawl Stand Dry

2011-10-15T10:52:00.001+01:00

Sorry there's been such a dry spot in the bloggery recently. It's been busy.

Anyway, on Wednesday the 5th of October, Rosabel started crawling! On Wednesday the 12th of October, Rosabel pulled herself up to standing! We're taking bets on what she'll be doing this Wednesday. Cartwheels?

Also, Ivy had a completely dry night last night! Well done, Ivy.

And best of all, Violet, Ivy and Rosabel have got a brand new little cousin, Bob Jim. He's got beautiful black hair and is very cute. Well done, Auntie Fleur!

Filums and Photographs to come...

Mr Walton

Violet's Birthday Cards 2011

2011-09-16T19:20:00.001+01:00

Violet's Birthday Cards 2011, a photo by jcawalton on Flickr.

Ivy's Birthday Cards 2011

2011-09-16T19:19:00.001+01:00

Ivy's Birthday Cards 2011, a photo by jcawalton on Flickr.

Handwriting

2011-09-14T21:47:00.001+01:00

2011-09-04-08-59-41_1000000010, a photo by jcawalton on Flickr.

They're well on the way to overtaking their Daddy.

Elephant by Violet

2011-09-14T21:43:00.001+01:00

Elephant by Violet, a photo by jcawalton on Flickr.

Uncanny. She's a genius.

Jonah's 21st starring Nick Holme and the Ensemble Spontaneous

2011-09-09T23:59:00.000+01:00

Violet and Ivy turn 6, between them.

2011-09-05T21:39:00.000+01:00

Twinklers

2011-08-22T15:34:00.000+01:00

Coffee Camping 1

2011-08-22T13:17:00.001+01:00

2011-08-19T10:13:00.001+01:00

The Oven Glove Twist

2011-08-16T13:15:00.001+01:00

Video courtesy of Aunty Rosey

49 monthingtons!

2011-08-07T07:07:00.063+01:00

Well, fellow people of the internet, it has been 7 lots of 7 months since the 07/07/07, which means we (as in my wife and I, not you and I) have been weddingulated for four happy years and one (also happy) month, now. By Ailsa's estimations, she's been pregnant or breastfeeding for almost 46 of those 49 months! And, it would seem, we've changed approximately 8599.5 nappies. It has also occurred to me that the average age of our family is now about eleven-and-a-half, which is probably neither very useful, nor particularly interesting, but there you have it.

Hurray for numbers! And hurray for lovely wife! Hurrays all round. And Happy Lancaster Martyrs day!

A typical evening at the Kennedy household...

2011-08-02T23:48:00.003+01:00

*UPDATE 05/08/2011* - new slightly-more-in-sync version; hurrah!

Music vaguely reminiscent of the opening song from Frank Loesser's marvellous musical, Guys and Dolls.

Nicely Nicely - James Walton
Benny - Rory Kennedy
Rusty Charlie - Jonah Kennedy and Phelim Kennedy
... featuring Gabriel Kennedy as himself.

Typical.

2011-08-02T12:44:00.000+01:00

Auntie Rosey took the girls shopping this morning. Nough said.

Another Mental Bedtime

2011-07-29T21:11:00.000+01:00

Ailsa and I thought we'd check in on the twins this evening. This is how we found our little lovely monkeys:

TOOTH

2011-07-28T18:29:00.000+01:00

We discovered Rosabel's first tooth this morning! (It was in her mouth).

A Walk in the Park

2011-07-27T18:25:00.000+01:00

Ivy and the adventure of the naughty plectrum

2011-07-24T15:35:00.003+01:00

Twin Flap

2011-07-24T14:24:00.000+01:00

Rosabel's Baptism

2011-07-24T13:23:00.000+01:00

Rosabel Mary Ethel was baptised on the 10th July 2011 at St Thomas More, Lancaster. We had a lovely day :-)

Photographs courtesy of Jim Mann. Thanks Jim!

Bedtime Books

2011-07-18T22:26:00.001+01:00

Cousin Joseph at the Piano

2011-07-16T16:55:00.003+01:00

Joseph playing an exam piece. Well done, Joseph!

Joseph has a blog of his very own now called mechanicalmovies.blogspot.com which is full of some excellent films he has made.

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SPLASH

2011-07-15T19:02:00.002+01:00

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2011-07-13T17:28:00.002+01:00

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2011-07-13T17:20:00.001+01:00

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Jonah vs Speedometer

2011-07-09T22:02:00.003+01:00

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Where were you four years ago?

2011-07-07T22:56:00.000+01:00

2011-07-07T21:48:00.001+01:00

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Unstoppable

2011-07-07T21:26:00.001+01:00

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What shall we have for our anniversary dinner, dear wife of 4 years?

2011-07-07T20:57:00.001+01:00

Ailsa's homemade play dough!

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2011-07-07T20:49:00.003+01:00

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2011-07-07T20:49:00.001+01:00

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Happy Birthday, Jimmy!

2011-07-07T19:26:00.001+01:00

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From Excitement to Exhaustion

2011-07-06T21:14:00.001+01:00

Ivy

Ivy in stripes; Violet in pink; both in water...

Marianne & Rosabel

Ivy & Violet

Ivy throwing water at her Godmother

Ivy throwing water at her Daddy

There's always room for one more. Violet, Ivy and Eleanor

Coming to the end of a long day

Coming to the end of a very long year

Four hands, and a few feet...

2011-07-06T20:42:00.002+01:00

Party like it's 1989...

2011-07-05T21:06:00.000+01:00

Badger Attack

2011-07-03T21:06:00.003+01:00

Watch out, twins, there's an Anglican Badger with a hose.

Where's the hose coming from? 5 house points for the first correct answer!

2011-06-30T07:48:00.001+01:00

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LadyBel

2011-06-25T23:03:00.003+01:00

Spots and Stripes

Grandpa Comes to Play: Part II

2011-06-24T08:38:00.002+01:00

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Grandpa Comes to Play: Part I

2011-06-24T08:36:00.002+01:00

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Six Months

2011-06-19T06:00:00.027+01:00

Well, not only is it Fathers' Day and Uncle Gabriel's First Holy Communion (congratulations, Uncle Gabriel!), but it is also SIX MONTHS since Rosabel was born (unless sleep deprivation (from teaching, btw, not parenting) has warped my sense of time, in which case you should just smile and nod). Well done, Rosabel!

Rosabel at Six Months Old

It is a long time since Violet and Ivy were of such an age. Twas the 5th March 2009 if memory serves me correctly (which it really probably isn't doing). Violet was about eight and a half pounds, Ivy was about ten and a half pounds, but Rosabel is at least 15 and a half pounds, bless them all. I have trawled the blog to find some images of the twins at a comparable age to their 'little' sister...

When Violet and Ivy were Six Months Old

Violet sat on the nappy bag, playing our old piano at the little house in Galgate.

Ivy and Violet, looking positively menacing in those hoodies.

Violet and Ivy doing their reusable-nappy dance routine.

Peekaboo, Violet!

Pee-po

2011-06-18T18:48:00.002+01:00

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Grin

2011-06-18T12:10:00.002+01:00

A happy little Bel, sporting her sister's headband.

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Helter Skelter

2011-06-18T11:47:00.005+01:00

The best use of PlayDoh yet? Genius.

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A familiar face

2011-06-18T11:47:00.004+01:00

Violet Grace, looking not unlike childhood photographs of cousin Tracey and auntie Ursula. Does anyone agree?

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Give us a tune, Violet

2011-06-17T08:14:00.002+01:00

Violet on the harmonica

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Mother and Daughter

2011-06-14T20:52:00.002+01:00

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Daddy, by Ivy.

2011-06-13T07:53:00.002+01:00

...or a jalapeño?

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Incy Wincy Sisters

2011-06-12T09:28:00.002+01:00

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Pop.

2011-06-12T08:29:00.004+01:00

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy..."
Violet is very light, but that balloon has got to explode sooner or later...

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Kunik Haiku

2011-06-11T17:44:00.008+01:00

Daddy's girl, for sure.
They share a pair of noses
...and several chins.

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Beardy and the Belle

2011-06-11T17:44:00.006+01:00

Unimpressed. LoL.

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Auntie Lucy

2011-06-11T10:40:00.002+01:00

an AquaDoodle by Ivy. LoL

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Auntie Rosey

2011-06-11T10:37:00.001+01:00

an AquaDoodle by Ivy

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A Pink Tent.

2011-06-11T10:22:00.002+01:00

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Violet sings a song for her friends.

2011-06-11T06:34:00.002+01:00

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Good morning, Rosabel!

2011-06-11T06:26:00.002+01:00

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Canvas

2011-06-10T23:50:00.003+01:00

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AquaDoodle

2011-06-10T23:13:00.002+01:00

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Names

2011-06-10T21:21:00.004+01:00

The twins are doing brilliantly with their talking. They have recently learnt their "big names" and now recite them on a regular basis. They still pronounce Violet, "Yiyat", but otherwise are getting pretty nifty.

Violet Grace Lucille

Ivy Elisabeth Clare

Rosabel Mary Ethel

We're often asked about where these lovely names came from. Usually, by the time I've stopped talking, people wish they'd never asked, because, well, I love this kind of shizzle. Put simply, they constitute an infusion of homages to important mothers: biological mothers and grandmothers, 'mother' nature, and the blessed Theotokos, Mary the mother of God. For a more detailed analysis, keep reading...

FIRST NAMES - MOTHER NATURE

Violet is a name that Ailsa has liked for a long time. It is the name of a character from one of Ailsa's favourite childhood books called - wait for it -, "Ivy Cottage", by E. J. Taylor. Violet is a beautiful word to say and listen to. I like the way its three syllables flow into each other, giving the impression of triplets over two quavers.

Ivy is the name of my late paternal Grandmother, who died before I was born but for whom I have always had great affection. Like Violet, Ivy was a very popular Victorian and Edwardian floral name, and is another beautiful word to say. The twins' names fit perfectly together in so many ways. The obvious VI-IV mirror reminds me of their genetic identity but also their many undeniable differences. The reference to the Roman numerals for 6 and 4 is not intended but I'd be very interested if anyone can read anything into them?!

Rosabel is, well, several things. First of all, it grew from my thoughts: a simple contraction of Rose and Belle, which a quick Googling will show to be not without precedent. The name Rose, like Violet and Ivy, has floral connotations, but unlike violets and ivy, roses are often grown and presented as a single flower. Rose reminds us of the name Rosemary, which has an honoured place in both our families. The rose is also an historic symbol of England, particularly the beautiful counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, where our families come from. Rosabel was born in the same year that a great Yorkshireman, Uncle Melvyn, passed away, and whilst we couldn't call her 'Melvyn', she will always remind me of the joys and sadness of the final months of his life. The 'bel part of Rosabel is simply an Anglicisation of belle, 'beautiful' in French, an extravagance on my part and a way of differentiating her from all the other Rosey people in our lives. The rose, or Mystical Rose, has long been a symbol of Mary the Mother of God, another motherly presence in the names of our children:

SECOND NAMES - MOTHER OF GOD

Violet's second name is Grace. This takes us right back to the story of the Annunciation in Luke's Gospel, when the archangel Gabriel announced to Mary the incarnation of God: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee", which forms the first line of the Hail Mary prayer.

After Mary humbly agreed to carry the Christ child, she hurried to be with her cousin, Elisabeth, who was also pregnant with a precious child, who would be John the Baptist. He leapt for joy in Elisabeth's womb when Mary approached carrying his Lord. Elisabeth said to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.", the second line of the Hail Mary. Elisabeth is Ivy's second name.

Both Grace and Elisabeth, then, remind us of the wonder and beauty of pregnancy and new life, and in particular the story of Our Lady's journey from fear to joy as she embraced God's will to bring Christ to His people.

Rosabel's second name, then, is Mary itself. Mary, in its various forms (from the Hebrew, Miryam) is a very popular name amongst Catholics, and is often taken as a second name by nuns and monks of many religious orders as a way of honouring Our Lady and asking for her intercession. We would probably have given Mary as a second name for our first born daughter, but since we had two (!) first born daughters, we saved the name for Rosabel. Mary is a very precious name in Ailsa's family as the name of Ailsa's maternal and paternal grandmothers. Mary Kennedy sadly passed away not long before Rosabel was born, and it is a great privilege for Rosabel to take her great-granny's name. That brings us nicely to the girls' third names, which are all names of matriarchs, past and present:

THIRD NAMES - GRANDMOTHERS

Our mothers and grandmothers are unquestionably the most important people on the planet. They have given us the incredible, generous gift of life, have nurtured us and loved us and guided us with their wisdom. Violet's third name is Lucille, after Ailsa's mum; Ivy's third name is Clare, after my mum; Rosabel's third name is Ethel, after my maternal grandmother, and our other grandmothers have been accounted for already: Ivy is named after my paternal grandmother, and Mary is the name of both of Ailsa's.

---

So there we have it.

Big Sis, Little Sis.

2011-06-06T22:04:00.000+01:00

Violet was greatly amused when she awoke from her afternoon nap to find a little Rosabel in her cot.

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Rosabel at the keys. Daddy at the pedal.

2011-06-06T17:19:00.000+01:00

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She's really giving it some wellie.

2011-06-06T17:04:00.000+01:00

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Guten Nacht :-)

2011-06-05T20:09:00.003+01:00

Sweet dreams, little Bel. X

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Matching Cardigans

2011-06-05T14:40:00.003+01:00

Bespoke knitwear by Nanna Mary.

Lovely :-)

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Sisters

2011-06-05T08:51:00.003+01:00

Ivy, who adores Rosabel, is quite firmly impelling her to "say 'cheese', baby; say 'cheese'!"

It's very cute. It is.

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Good morning :-)

2011-06-05T07:38:00.003+01:00

Nothing like a good chew of the old bathrobe while waiting to be dressed.

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Little and Lovely

2011-06-04T12:20:00.001+01:00

Bel knows a good spro when she sees one.

One Thousand Days!

2011-06-02T05:08:00.009+01:00

According to Grandpa, who always knows these kinds of things, the twins are 1,000 days old today, each! Ha!

Midnight Raspberries

2011-05-16T23:53:00.002+01:00

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Sunday morning fun...

2011-05-15T09:48:00.002+01:00

If you listen carefully, you can hear mummy singing in the background.

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Well done walkers :-)

2011-05-14T18:56:00.003+01:00

This fearsome five walked 200 miles* last Saturday, all the way from Keswick to Barrow! Hurrah!

Walking so far is obviously pretty crazy indeed, but only real nutters would leave the lovely Lake District town of Keswick and intentionally end up in Barrow - and all for a plate of peas. Well done, everyone! :-)

UPDATE: I found out recently that this picture was taken by my cousin Anthony - sorry Anthony! It's a very good photograph!

*between them.

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Eldest and Youngest

2011-05-14T08:36:00.002+01:00

Every morning, having been successfully extracted from their cots, the first thing the twins want to do is see their little sister and give her a lovely big cuddle.

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Sleepy girls at bedtime...

2011-05-13T19:54:00.002+01:00

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Dancin to the blues on a cloudy Thursday mornin...

2011-05-12T08:00:00.000+01:00

Dance: Violet; Music: Hugh Laurie

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Ivy

2011-05-10T16:45:00.002+01:00

Piano practice

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Violet

2011-05-10T16:33:00.002+01:00

Piano practice

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