What a difference a day makes

Not many photos of today's adventures.

A trip to Little Builders to meet friends and create our own version of the prescriptive craft ideas, followed by a last minute get together in Horsham Park including lunch.

Bean had had a particularly difficult day yesterday, mostly fuelled by tiredness, I think but he is looking a bit pink around the eyes and Plum has a streaming cold so maybe a little under the weather too. He spent most of the time that we were at home being very angry for one reason or another and this manifest itself in hurting his brother (in various ways) and throwing any nearby object at people. Quite challenging.

24 hours later he is a different boy. We've had a laughter and fun day all the way up until bedtime :) He played a beautiful game with Plum this evening as he noticed her pushing the kitchen stool around the floor so he sat opposite her and pushed it back. All three smalls then made a band Bean on air guitar, Pumpkin on drums and Plum singing. It was great to watch.

Plum's food exploration is going well and tonight she tested out corn on the cob. She is now able to demolish a banana quite happily and most fruits and vegetables as long as they are ripe/ lightly cooked. 

I want to ride my bike

Wednesday 12th September

Bean opted for a trip to Tilgate Park today. We haven't been there for almost a year but he still remembered it as the place we have been to with cousin B. We spent a happy time in the play area. Bean challenged himself to the top of the crows nest and along many of the benches and bridges but was happy to watch Pumpkin whizz repeatedly down the curly slide. He did climb the steps and platforms several times with the intention of having a go and there was lots of encouragement from his brother waiting at the bottom but he didn't make it this time. He did brave the basket swing though and even stood up in it.

The main attraction for opting for Tilgate Park today was that they could ride their bikes again. We took quite the uphill walk to get from the play area to the Nature Centre. We arrived just in time to help feed the pigs and her new piglets and enjoyed taking a lot of photos of Australian animals (mostly birds.) Although things have been quiet on the Australian front Bean insisted I took photos of them for his book. This project has been going on and off now since the Spring and I am loving that home ed allows us to do that. 

Bean and Pumpkin spent some time in the maze together and we followed our noses down paths previously untrod to pop out of the park directly opposite the car (well done us!)

Da da da

Monday 10th September

I had no intention of staying at the play area today after gymnastics but Pumpkin had other ideas. In fact it turned out to be a really good idea. The boys had the whole sand pit to themselves and Plum feel asleep so I sat and had some time to myself (have to grab it when and where I can.) 

There was lots of working together in their play. Shovelling and transporting sand and getting the round about to work constantly by taking in turns to jump of and push or jump on and add wait to the process. Really enjoying watching the boys playing together.

I want to ride my bicycle

Tuesday 11th September

Lots of @home time today. Read some books and more books and more books and cycled to the library this afternoon to get even more books!

Bean and Pumpkin spent the morning making things out of jenga bricks again, interspersed with making models from lego and taking video recordings on my phone. 

Pumpkin dressed as The Snowman

During our cycle ride the boys played a game of trying to get as close to a squirrel as they could without it running off, Pumpkin won.

I lost the boys for the first time ever today. We've come pretty close before but this was the real deal. We came out of the library and went two different paths around a tree. I assumed they had cycled on ahead and not waited as is protocol and I walked to catch them up. When I finally got to a place where we have to cross the road and they weren't there I knew that I had missed them, possibly they had been hiding. I walked all they way back to the library and found the boys waiting inside. Thank God. I was so grateful that they had stayed together and returned/ stayed in the library. They weren't phased at all although they were aware that it wasn't a pleasant situation and it transpired that they had turned around and not seen me following them so had gone back to find me. All's well.

Be Thou my Vision

Sunday 9th September

A beautiful Sunday in more than one way. Wonderful Summer weather, excellent trip to church (where we gave thanks for our lovely daughter) lunch with SGG, SGS and their grandson, t@4, crumpets for tea and a film planned for the evening with daddy (although currently still have two children awake but hopefully they will be asleep soon.)

Bean spent a long time in the sandpit today building towers of sandcastles and making a bridge. There was a little altercation as he wanted to use 98% of the sand pit and was getting very upset and cross when others wanted a larger share. He's also done alot of colouring today and used the jenga bricks to make farm pens for his collection of animals.

Pumpkin has spent a large portion of the day practising his new skill of dressing and undressing himself and has been through several outfits and emptied the contents of his drawers onto the bedroom floor. We also found the bathroom mat soaking wet to which he announced that he had cleaned up the toothpaste that was on it. He has also decorated a toy car, the living room carpet, a table and probably other areas that we have yet to find in ink pen. Desperately trying to keep calm and remember that he is not being deliberately difficult but it is a huge clean up operation (which he has helped with in part) and that he is enjoying his new skills and I was so pleased with him for taking the initiative to clean the toothpaste mess he had made, was just wondering if he could not make it in the first place!

We gave thanks for Plum this morning in church. SGS led this part of the service as we requested as he has been such a support and majorly involved in our lives in the past year or so, not forgetting that he got to hold her when she was just 4 hours old. 

Feeling Continental

Saturday 8th September

Today's big adventure was our first family bike ride with Plum too. The boys rode solo and Plum rode with me, daddy took the enormous parcel on his bike. The ride was a trip to town, post office, food shopping and library. It was a great success.

The afternoon largely consisted of baking a pear upside down cake. Pumpkin is really keen on cooking at the moment and we are enjoying measuring, mixing, beating, and tasting, a wide range of foods, although he clearly has a preference for cakes! This recipe was one that Bean found though so he did the lion's share of the work this time.

Other highlights from today include Pumpkin announcing that his dinner was disappointing and not what he had expected (I was disappointed with his reaction but his use of language is quite impressive, i think.)
And Pumpkin writing down his sister's name perfectly and independently- quite a shock!

Walking on Sunshine

Back to reality...

Today we are still in recovery mode from our holidays and took a short trip to Southwater Country Park, what a fabulous idea. We spent a happy 4 hours there, paddling in the lake, eating lunch, checking out the play area, walking the circuit and eating ice-cream.

The best part was watching Bean's growing confidence in everything. He paddled in up to his thighs with no hesitation and stripped down naked to dry off in between dips (something he never would have done 2 months ago) and giving the death slide a go even if it was only after Pumpkin had tested it out first! 

We counted the boys pennies this morning and worked out that they had enough for one small ice-cream between them, I gave them the money for a second one.

Plum didn't sleep until 2.30pm! and then only had an hour so has gone to bed happily at 7 this evening with Bean shortly after. Pumpkin is staying up and doing a bit more of his knitted scarf for Mandavil and watching my favourite baking programme with me.