Granny and Grandad live a little
way away on the 56 bus.
On Saturdays if it isn’t raining, Mummy, Daddy, Lottie, Humphrey and Baby Jack all go for a long walk down the path by the brook, over the bridge, then along a road and through the houses to visit. It takes ages. Mummy says the fresh air will do them good.
Grandad is usually in the garden when they get there. Humphrey finds little friends to show him. Grandad tells him how to make small holes and pop some beans in. He says in the summer we can have them for tea.
Granny says it’s time for some cherry cakes and makes
Humphrey wash his hands really well. She has a look and tells him to do it again.
Then they play snap, Grandad reads the paper and Daddy falls asleep with Kitty on his lap.
Mummy talks to Granny in the kitchen, Baby Jack has a nap and Humphrey and Lottie count the ladybirds in the garden.
Humphrey’s Mummy and Daddy knew each other a long time ago, because they went to the same school. They would go for long walks over the fields and talk about the world and what they were going to do when they were grown ups.
Then Daddy’s family moved house, far away and they didn’t see each other any more… Mummy cried every day for ages.
Years later Dad saw Mum at a party!
He said he wasn’t going to ever lose her again.
But that was a long time ago now.
Mummy says they are still the same on the inside even though they look a bit different on the outside.
Sometimes Lucy the baby-sitter comes and then they go to the nice vegetarian restaurant in the next town, or a friends dinner party, or to the pub for a guinness… and one time Dad surprised Mum and took her to the ballet. Mum cried, but said it was in a nice way, because it was so beautiful.
Humphrey is 3 years old.
He is a gentle and soft elephant.
Sometimes he gets a bit noisy (if he is being an indian) or grumpy when he gets tired but usually Mummy says what a good boy he is.
When he was first born Daddy bought Humphrey a toy rabbit.
His name is Mop.
One ear fell off because Humphrey always
sucked it when he was a baby.
Humphrey has got other toys, but he only properly loves Mop.
Humphrey has to have Mop all the time!
Mummy secretly washed him when he was asleep.
Mummy and Daddy both try and make sure Mop doesn’t get lost. That would be a big problem.
Humphrey likes doing lovely pictures to go on the kitchen wall
…Making mud potions in his camp
at the bottom of the garden
…Being a Superhero and saving everybody, da da daah!
and going fishing with Daddy down to the brook
(but they always put them back)
Humphrey goes to Mothers and Toddlers two times a week.
He likes it because there are lots of toys
and he has apple juice and biscuits.
He has a new little friend called Tilly who goes too!
She lives around the corner. Humphrey went to Tilly’s
birthday party. He had to play with her Barbie’s…
but he didn’t really mind.
Humphrey’s other friend is George.
He has a baby sister called Daisy. They live next door. They have a puppy too. Humphrey is allowed to go through the gap in the hedge to play in George’s garden.
When George’s Mum pops round she
always talks for ages to Mummy.
George came to Humphrey’s birthday party when he was 3.
They played pass the parcel and had bubbly pots and ran around the garden lots because it was all very exciting
On Friday afternoons,
Humphrey and Lottie visit
Granny and Grandad.
Grandad had grown a lovely
big patch of daffodils.
Lottie loved to play in them,
but was very careful not
to tread on any.
Humphrey wanted to pick some.
Granny said, “Why don’t you take
some home to Mummy?”
That gave them a very special idea.
Humphrey asked Granny for
some paper and paints.
Granny gave him one of Grandad’s
shirts too, so that he didn’t get messy.
Humphrey finished his rainbow
picture ... Mummy’s favourite!
Lottie made a special card too, with hearts and flowers.
The very next morning, Humphrey and
Lottie got up early. Daddy helped Lottie
to make a cup of tea and Humphrey
carefully put jam on some toast.
When Mummy woke up she found a big
Spring surprise waiting for her!
She drank her nice cup of tea and Lottie
and Humphrey shared some toast.
Mummy was all smiley
for the rest of the day. x
