Family Update – May 2016

The sun is shining people, the sun is shining! Goodbye winter coats, bye bye boots and scarves. See you in winter!

Wriggly (23 months)

· You love being read to, especially at bedtime. Your favourites at the moment are Peppa Pig stories (“papa!”) and Llama Llama Red Pyjama.
· Your sleep pattern has gone out of the window once again and I have just started singing to you in French (“À la Claire fontaine” & “Au clair de la lune”) as you are falling asleep. I saw my friend Cé do that with her little one and so far, it has helped you settle down a lot better.
· You are drinking more and more milk. On top of your night time bottle, you have recently been asking for a morning bottle and sometimes another one before your nap. It is so sweet when you ask for “Meeewk lots” (lots of milk)

Jumpy (3 years 6 months)

· One afternoon, I looked at you and I felt a surge of love. I said, “I love you!” To that, you replied: “I just done a pop!” quickly followed by, “I need a pee pee.” OK, then!
· One morning, you started getting enthusiastic about tidying up. I was so impressed about this new habit…. I really thought I had cracked that parenthood thing. I mean, how many pre-schoolers do you know who tidy up after themselves without making a fuss? Then about a week later, your big brother hinted I should look under beds and furniture. Ah, right…
· You have been saying quite a few cute things recently:
“Scribbl” is a squirrel.
“Isabella is my best friend in the whole world!”
“Mum, the sun keeps looking at me. I want the sun to leave me alone!”
· You had your first sleepover away from home. It was so sweet watching you and your little friend having the best time together.
· You have tried the balance bike a couple of times, but you are still unsure.
· You can whistle! One morning after dropping your brother and sister to school, you said to me, “Can you hear my whistle mama?” You were really sweet and shy. You only whistled when I was not looking at you. You amaze me every day!
· You are very shy with new people, or people you rarely see. It is almost a ‘wild animal’ kind of shy if that makes sense. You look at them from a distance, wary, and if they go anywhere near you, you flinch or shriek.

Beanie (5 years 7 months)

· On the day you had your first wobbly tooth, you wrote a note to the tooth fairy to warn her she might have to come soon. A week later, you wrote her another note to go with a page of Sudoku for her to do!
· You lost your first tooth. You literally did. It fell under a chest of drawers 5 minutes after you pulled it out and no matter how much we tried to find it, it just vanished! Luckily, the tooth fairy must have spotted the gap between your teeth and she did not forget to leave a small token under your pillow.
· As you were writing a story about a boy in the forest, I suggested you draw a picture to illustrate it. You declared: “No, it’s a tricky story with no pictures!”
· After some serious regression in the swimming pool and me having to go in the pool with you again for almost a year, you have started lessons on your own again. You even got the swimming cup in your first lesson and every day, you ask me when we are next going swimming. I am so proud of you!
· I have been spending every Thursday afternoon in school with you thanks to a lovely initiative called “Once Upon a Time” taking place in your school. After focussing on strategies to help you spell more accurately and become an enthusiastic reader, I get to spend an hour with you doing fun activities, crafts and listening to stories. That is so special and previous time we get together and I love every minute of it.
· As we were leaving the soft play area: “You’re a selfish mother!”
· In the car: “Put some rock music on!”
· I am trying my very best to find strategies to reduce your use of the words “stupid” and “twit!” Any advice welcome!

Crevette (7 years 9 months)

· As your sister was starting to get excited about the tooth fairy, you took me aside and asked, “The tooth fairy is not real, is she?”
Me: “Why are you asking?”
You: “Fairies don’t exist. Magic powers aren’t real, magicians use tricks.”
· Oh little man, you are growing up… Does you innocence and have to fade quite so soon? I wish I could sprinkle fairy dust over you when you are asleep to keep fairy tales real for you just for a little longer.
· Your swimming teacher said you were almost ready for your 100m badge!
· As you were putting make up on me (as you do), I asked you whether I was going to be pretty, and you replied, “Yes, but you’re always pretty!” Heart. Melted!

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