This is my first little family update in a couple of months. With glandular fever turning me into a sleeping machine for weeks and a much-needed break for Christmas, I just focused on snapshots of our lives and short videos of my family rather than a more detailed account of the children’s progress and quirky phrases.
I’m quite fond of January. I like new beginnings, celebrating my birthday with my children and baking cakes. I also keep reminding myself spring is just around the corner, with the promise of longer days, flowers sprouting everywhere and hopefully milder weather.
Wriggly (3 years 7 months)
- You love telling everyone what to do, and you’re pretty assertive when you give orders. Leader in the making maybe?
- I often wake up in the middle of the night and you’re lying on top of me. Not next to me or shyly appearing on the edge of my bed. No, no, no: you’re slumped on top of me. Every. Single. Time.
- You’re having growing pains in your legs and cramps under your feet at night at the moment.
- You had a huge meltdown in the bath, screaming, “I don’t want no bubbles. Yucky bubbles!”
- As we were cuddling on the sofa one evening, you declared: “Mummy, you so snuggly and cosy.”
- You’re becoming really gentle when brushing my hair: “I take all those tangles out of your hair. Your hair’s gonna be smoother. There’s a little bit of gold in your hair. It’s so pretty when your hair is gold.” I very much doubt there’s any gold in my hair. I’m pretty sure you were referring to grey locks!!! Oh, and last week, you said you were going to do my hair and I was expecting a nice brushing session, but when I turned around, you were cutting a few locks!
- When I was trimming your nails, I realised some of your nails were much shorter than others. I asked you whether you’d been biting them… “I didn’t bite my nails. It was Jumpy cause them taste good.” Nice!
Jumpy (5 years 2 months)
- You started bringing picture books home a couple of months ago to practise retelling stories and you’re really enjoying those.
- You’ve just started being conscious of our mortality and said to me one afternoon: “I don’t want you to get old cause you’ll get dead.”
- You’re really curious about the world around you and ask a lot of questions. “Where do rainbows come from?” is one of my favourites.
- You are starting to read 3-letter words like cat, dog, mat, pat.
- When you younger sister was being silly at the dinner table, you said, “She’s just like a jester!” Spot on!
- You’ve just read your first book, full of 3-letters words. To celebrate, you and I went to town for hot chocolate and to get you a new book.
Beanie (7 years 3 months)
- We all woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of retching one night. Your little sister was crying. When I turned on the light, you were vomiting on her head…
- Your reading is getting pretty confident and flawless. You’ve also started taking interest in chapter books, for the first time ever. You’re currently reading Paddington in bed at night and it makes me really proud.
- You passed your primary ballet exam with a Merit and you’ve moved up to grade 1 ballet now. You’re doing ‘proper’ ballet at the barre now. It’s so sweet yet it makes you look so incredibly grown up!
- You’re still struggling to control your anger and I really wish I could help you feel less frustrated.
Crevette (9 years 5 months)
- One night, as I went up to bed and gave you a kiss, you mumbled in your sleep, “I love you mummy!” Awwwww
- You had to go back to school 5 days before your sisters after the Christmas holidays and found it deeply unfair.
- On my birthday, I spent the afternoon in your school for a governor visit. I paid for a school lunch and sat with you and your friends. You all sang Joyeux Anniversaire to me. I love the fact you’re were happy to see me in your school.
- You keep losing coats. How does anyone lose a coat, seriously? Last academic year, you lost 3 coats at school. You would have it in the morning, then come pick up time, it would be nowhere to be seen. You’d check every nook and cranny in the school. We’d look at every item in lost property. The coat (with name tags on, I feel I have to add) had vanished into thin air. This year, when I bought you a nice duffle coat, you promised me this wouldn’t happen again. You had your coat on Monday night, and by Tuesday morning, it had disappeared. Aaaaargh!
