Phoenix Loves... England.

And in a flash it was over.

You know, one week seems like a long time for a baby but when that's all the time you've got to spend with the ones you love it's sadly not that long at all...

Back home now after an ace week in England and so much to talk about and remember - all good stuff if we forget about mum almost choking on a chicken bone! Where to start? Well, I guess the start is as good a place as any...



Hey ho let's go! Ready for the trip to the airport.

Munching on croissant at Kastrup airport.

First up we headed off to farmor and farfar's (granny and grandad's) house. I hadn't been there since we left England but it didn't take me long to settle back in, especially now I can crawl. So much to explore! Farmor, farfar, auntie Sophie, Lily and Daniel were all waiting for me when we got there. Not only was I spoilt with cuddles but there was a huge bag of presents waiting for me as well - you shouldn't have! I got to see dad's cousin Chris, his auntie Carol, his other cousin Liam and his girlfriend Hayley (Liam's gf, not dad's!) too - Brucey bonus or what?!?

I might have mentioned before that prior to me being born dad was the only person left who could carry on the Barker family name, despite farfar having five siblings! So now that honour (or pressure) has been passed onto yours truly - again, you shouldn't have! To celebrate this, here's three generations of Barkers sitting down for a spot of tea, English style...

Now who's king? Holding court with farfar and pappa.

On the Thursday we drove up to my auntie Kate, uncle Jon and cousin Harry's new house. It was so good to see them and how happy they are in their new home - we can't wait to come and spend Christmas there soon. I reckon my cousin Harry and I have got loads of fun times ahead. More blogging on this in particular soon!

Cousin Harry and me.

Next it was off to mum and dad's old hunting ground - London. We've still got tons of friends there (most tried to convince us to come back) so we had a busy schedule to stick to.
 
First we headed to dad's old work to say hello and have a bit of lunch with his friend Damien. Then we went to mum's work for a drink and chat with Shiona. Then it was off to meet mum's friend Noorin who let me share her muffin and finally we headed to find our beds for the night at Wayne and Roni's house south of the river. Wayne cooked mum and dad dinner which was nice for them but next time Wayne, save some food for me! Mum and dad always get all the good stuff.

"I'll take the expensive mirror with the cute baby in it please." At Heals.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to head back to north London where this little blogger (I said blogger) was born. After a new haircut for mum we went for an early lunch with my godparents Tom and Kathryn who just happen to be two of my favourite people, enough said. After that it was off to the Salisbury pub where, you might recall, we had our leaving party in June. Now at this point lots and lots of friends came down and needless to say we had a wicked time. Most were adults but two special people get a mention, my friends Jet and baby Leo, who it was great to see again (Jet) and finally meet (Leo) - two cuties after my own heart.

Saturday night saw my parents abandon me (call the social!) to go out and have fun. Can you believe the cheek of it? I guess they're allowed a bit of fun without me, especially when I get to hang out with Jet, godmummy Kathryn, Kathryn's sister Sophie (a Phoenix Loves blog fan - shout out) and Jet's mum Molly. All I can say is that I was in toy heaven. So. Many. Toys. Mum and dad went to the London wedding party of dad's friend Davey and his new wife Twinkle (cool name) and I guess they must have had fun as they still had the same clothes on when they came to collect me the next day...



Dad and mum (whisper it) having fun.
 

Mum and Dad who?? Me and Jet causing trouble.

Sunday was a super quick breakfast with friends at our old favourite Cafe Lemon and then back to farmor and farfar's to chill out, and lord knows we needed it after such a crazy few days!



The Cafe Lemon Breakfast Club (CLBC).

A big, huge, giant thank you to everyone for making our trip so much fun. We can wait to see you all again soon in England... Or Sweden? Easyjet do super cheap flights - go on, I dare you!

Phoenix mused... Me pondering our travels.

What? We have to go home now?

All my love,

Phoenix Love x x x

P.S. I've heard a rumour that some people seem to think this blog isn't written by me, but by mum or dad instead. DON'T BELIEVE IT. Do you really think they could write like this? Puh-lease.

Phoenix Loves... 21st November.

21st November 1965 - Icelandic singer and musician Björk born.
21st November 1975 - Elton John received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
21st November 1983 - In Los Angeles, movie theatres premiered Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.
21st November 2012 - Phoenix Love comes to England.

Ok, so maybe I'm getting a head of myself a bit but you never know - November 21st 2012 could be that momentous!

After months of waiting I will soon be hopping on a plane to the land of the Queen, fish'n'chips and oh just some of my favourite people in the whole world. Farmor, Farfar, my aunties Sophie and Kate, my godparents Tom and Kathryn - the list is endless.




Coming to get you England!

Mum and dad have been invited to the London wedding reception of dad's friend Dave and his new wife Twinkle, and we get the added bonus of spending some quality time with family and friends. Swedish life is great but sometimes I wish we could see everyone more often...

Mum's going to be running a tight ship as we've got loads of people to hang out with and just under a week to do it but I can't wait.

See you all in a few days!

Phoenix Love x x x

Phoenix Loves... Bolibompa.

Yaaaaaaawn.

It's hard work getting up at 5:30am, all those early mornings start to catch up with you after a while. That's why it's good to start the morning the right way - you know, set yourself up for the rest of the day.

I think we all know what I'm talking about. The most important part of the day? Helps keep you going until night time? Begins with a 'B'... No, not breakfast - Bolibompa!

Good morning.

Bolibompa is kid's TV and it's on every morning here in Sweden. Dad says it's a bit like something called 'The Broom Cupboard' in England - for those of you old enough and ugly enough to remember!

They show all my favourite programmes and not just the Swedish ones, but loads of my old favourites from England too, like Mike the Knight - sweet! And not only do they show my faves but they also dedicated a day to celebrating my name. You see, in Sweden Phoenix doesn't officially have a names day but thanks to Bolibompa I do - check it out.

That's my name!

And it's not just me that enjoys Bolibompa, the folks do too.

Dad likes it as he can watch all the shows and try to understand what's being said in Swedish. He's been learning at S.F.I (Swedish For Immigrants) for almost two months now and he's getting better, but kid's TV is still just about his level...

Mum on the other hand has a whole other reason for not minding the early mornings. Each day there's a different person presenting the show and one in particular seems to tickle mum's fancy. His name is Farzad and I think he's my favourite too. Dad says mum fancies the pants off of him, whatever that means! Anyways, here he is in all his glory.

Farzad's the one on the right!

Don't worry though dad - you've got nothing to worry about. You may not be as tall, dark, handsome, young, cool, stylish, funny... Oops got a bit carried away there. Basically what I'm trying to say is that you're ours and no amount of Bolibompa can change that. We love you!

Phoenix Love x x x

Phoenix Loves... Words.

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

A lady called Mother Teresa said that. She's not my mother (she's called mum!) but I guess she must be someone's mother. Answers on a postcard please...

I've been told that if I want to grow up and be a real boy then I have to practice something known as talking. Now, to be able to talk you have to know some 'words' of which there are millions - all meaning different things! All sounds rather tiring to me but I'm on a one way path to boyhood you see, so needs must.

I thought I'd been talking for months, but dad says I've just been making noises. He says that once I can talk a bit then him and mum will be able to understand me better. That explains why they never do what I ask...

So far I've managed to say 'mamma' which I really like 'cos it's fun to say, but apparently it also means mum. I say it quite a lot, even when dad tries to make me say pappa, which makes mum laugh and dad frown!

I think I've also mastered 'yeah' which is pretty funny to say over and over again, usually when mum and dad are still in bed. Cue evil laugh!

Then I think I've managed to get the hang of 'no' too or 'nej' here in Sweden. This one's good to use when I fed up, which isn't that often really.

Finally, the other morning dad says I managed to say the word 'Barry' which is in fact a name. The folks have been wracking their brains to think why I might have said this. Barry Manilow? Barry McGuigan? Maybe Barry White? No, after much soul searching they've decided it must be inspired by the one, the only, Barry from Eastenders. They say a picture paints a thousands words and I think this calls for a picture!

Barry from Eastenders . a.k.a Shaun Williamson

That's all folks!

Phoenix Love x x x

Phoenix Loves... The Dark Side.

As I grow up I'm quickly finding out that with age comes something known as responsibility and there are some pretty tough choices out there to be made. In particular this happens for me every evening around about 6:45pm.

Picture my bathroom - well it isn't actually mine as it belongs to my mormor and morfar, but it's where I have my bath every night. As soon as I get in the water I'm allowed to choose one of mormor's rubber ducks to play with - check them out!



Decisions, decisions.

You see there comes a time in every little baby's life when they arrive at a fork in the road and simply have to decide. Good versus evil - which way to go?

- Nice kind helpful policeman duck Phoenix?
- No thanks.
- Friendly life-saving lifeguard duck then?
- No thanks.
- Biker duck?
- Hmm sometimes, but I think I'll plump for robber duck, devil duck #1 and then back for devil duck #2!

I can't help it. That's always how it goes down. No matter how hard mum and dad try to make me choose the good guys, I just can't. I don't think I'm particularly bad, in fact I think I'm a good boy really, but let's hope for mum and dad's sake that this isn't a sign of things to come! Mwah ha ha ha!

Yours evil-y,

Phoenix Love x x x



Phoenix Loves... Halloween.

Scary!

I don't know about you guys but I know I wouldn't want to bump into these freaky people on a dark night. Just think that some poor kid probably has these two for parents - bad luck or what?! That man's nose is even bigger than dad's and the lady has funny coloured hair... Wait a minute, isn't that my old moses basket in the background? Oh no, that's MY mum and dad!

This photo is my folks on October 31st 2011 which was before I was born, although if you look closely enough you can see me there - in mum's tummy!

October 31st is Halloween - also known as All Hallow's Eve, which in Sweden is a time when families light candles and lay them on the graves of their loved ones. That's a sweet thing to do I think. Mum and dad must not have got that memo though as it seems they just like to get dressed up in silly clothes, and this year they got me involved. Well, if you can't beat them... join them!

Roar!

Check out my spooky jack-o-lantern.

Dad says that when I'm older there'll be tons of fun stuff to do on Halloween, mainly involving something called sweets. I haven't tried these but I always see mum and dad sneaking them into their mouths on Saturdays. They don't think I notice but I do and if the noises they make when eating them are anything to go by then sweets must be well tasty! I can't wait!

Phoenix Love xxx

P.S. In Sweden having sweets on a Saturday is known as 'Lördags godis' - mums!