Breaking the silence!

I really am going to write today- have been meaning to all week! Can't believe quite how long it is since I wrote anything here though there is a strong correlation to the first few months of pregnancy- much of September and October are a blur! Now feeling much more normal- phew! Also of course had a much welcome visit from Chris and Sue (Tim's parents)- really is a treat to have family visiting over here!! Photos from that time can be found at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/timclarebrown/ChrisAndSueVisitCHBBirthday?authkey=UO46b5ayqWs if you've not already seen them...



Hmm so what else has been happening? L is very chatty- lots of 3 word sentences with the occasional 5 word one- 'I wa milk nin cup' generally misses out 'want' in a sentence, much to C's amusement and copying- 'I cracker'. 'Read it' has become 'Read it me', and lots of bossing me about- 'Mummy look', 'Mummy come........ Mummy COME!'. She's also becoming very attached to a few soft toys ( a new behaviour), and gathers things- carrying as many items as poss from one end of the house to the other- either in her arms or stuffing them into any bag she can find!



C is also very chatty, and beginning to correct some of his own speech which is encouraging (though at the moment I'm not convinced its making him any more intelligible- we've been working on end sounds which he is now beginning to emphasise (used to miss them out) eg spooN, miNE, liD- hopefully he'll find the right emphasis soon!). We have sessions with the speech therapist most weeks now, and work with him ourselves most evenings.

He starts morning kindy next week- 5 mornings (has been 3 afternoons) starting at 8.30!! (30min walk or so)- will be a big change for us- no more slow mornings and endless breakfasts, but also no more organised things with mummy- found myself a bit sad at Mainly music this morning being the last thing I'd take him to- time to entrust him to the education system for more hours! It will also mean lots of just L time for me (well until next June) which will be a change in our relationship I think- quite fun too tho I expect!

He's still very in to building sites and we're discovering new stuff all the time- like the crawler crane that's got a 'clam shell grabber' on it next to our normal shopping centre, and the proper name for things so his 'digger t-shirt' has now become his 'backhoe loader t-shirt'!!!


I've managed to plant a bit in the garden- potatoes (belatedly- not sure they'll be the Christmas new potatoes I bought them to be!), Sweetcorn, tomatoes and Capsicum (pepper) so far, trying not to do too much but would like a bit more, and keep promising the children we'll plant some sunflowers! Tried making another batch of marmalade last night but pectin levels seem to have dropped over the last 5 months since I last made it, so took hours to get a set, and then not a very good one- next time I'll add a lemon to help! Am really regretting not making more tamarillo chutney- we ran out a month or so back and I'll be 9 months pregnant before I can make any more ( don't think that'll stop me!!).

The children did us proud last week- as a farewell to Kunio (our homestay student) we all went to a Japanese restaurant- getting there at 6pm I was a little concerned about how they would cope- esp L. They were very good! To start there were disposable chopsticks for each person (that needed pulling apart), and then drinks WITH ICE which kept them amused for ages. As far as food goes, C tried most things and ate a reasonable amount, L only really ate one of the dishes, but 'dipped' most others in soy sauce (ie dip in, lick off soy sauce avoid eating actual food!!). They behaved so well- L without a high chair too! Well done!


That's a bit of a mammoth post- will try not to leave it so long next time- there's so much to say! But now I need to go to bed!!