Family Update – June 2016

Wriggly (2 years old!)

· No matter how much I try to process it, I simply cannot believe you are 2 years old. On the one hand, it feels like you have always been part of our family; before you came, we were not ‘complete’ if that makes sense. On the other hand, I still see you as my ‘baby’ although you are growing more and more each day. In fact, it is the first time I have had a two-year-old toddler without being pregnant or without a small baby in my arms.
· Your speech and vocabulary have improved dramatically! It is a bit like moving from a fuzzy connection to a crystal clear one. You are now more and more capable of letting us know what you want or need. It feels like something clicked in your brain and pieces of the puzzle are connecting. What you want to say is actually starting to come out of your mouth!
· You are repeating everything we say and you are speaking so much I have not managed to write down your new words this month (too many!).
· We had a great day at Willows Farm to celebrate your 2^nd birthday with a few friends, despite the rain.
· You are full of mischief and cuteness.
· You have started mimicking me.

Jumpy (3 years 7 months)

· Me: “It’s too wet to play outside.”
· You: “but I’m gonna have my head on!” (Erm, did you mean ‘hood’ on?)
· I am fascinated by your hair. When it is wet, it almost touches your bottom; when your hair dries, your curls bounce back and always look great with no need to do anything.
· No matter how much I try to convince you to wear what I have planned for you each day, you invariably empty your cupboard and choose something different. I just wish you would choose piece that actually go together. You also tend to get changed a couple of times a day. That drives me crazy!
· I have been trying to convince you to attempt riding the balance bike, but you are really not keen, despite your shiny new helmet.

Beanie (5 years 8 months)

· You have been desperate for a bike for months. Getting one has been out of the question as it would mean turning our front room into a garage (there is already a bike, a balance bike and a scooter in there). As I was chatting to one of our neighbours, she offered to give you the bike she bought 10 years ago for her eldest daughter and I could not say no, really.
· I bought you a helmet and you climbed on the bike (no stabilisers) and started riding. I did not even have to hold the bike the first time you used it. You never cease to amaze me.
· You have been completely and utterly in love with our butterflies.
· “I’m gonna live in Scotland. Do you know why? They speak English in Scotland now!”
· Me: “What do you like about Scotland?”
You: “There are nice swimming pools in Scotland. We lived in a hotel at Scotland. I want to live in that hotel.”
· As we were having dinner one Friday evening, you exclaimed: “Oh no, I forgot my brain at school. I left it in the LEGO box…” Then a few seconds later, you declared, relief in your voice: “Phew, I had a spare brain in my pocket!”

Crevette (7 years 10 months)

· Letting our ‘pet’ butterflies fly away was equally sad and exciting for you. On the one side, you were reluctant to let go of your first ever pets, but on the other hand, you knew butterflies were meant to be free and flying around rather than trapped in a house.
· Mamie gave you money to buy books and you got yourself quite a few, which was a nice change from the library as you could get the latest Tom Gates and David Walliams books.
· Me, as you were reading whilst walking, on our way back from a doctor’s appointment: “is it a nice book?”
You: “of course it is. I wouldn’t be reading it otherwise!”

Us

· We had my Mamie (nan) and auntie over for four days and we had a wonderful time.
· My site was the victim of a ‘bot attack.’ Seriously, who would bother hacking into a small blog about kids growing up? It took a week to get it fixed.
· I gave some tips about time management at BlogCamp.
· We spent a few days in Devon with family during half term.
· Hubby and I have just celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary. How time flies!
· This little blog was in our local newspaper a couple of weeks ago. I might have bought a copy or six of the paper!