May in photos

In training with Tris doing some coastal footpath walking - rewarded with a funny face ice cream at Chapel Porth

Lighthouse exhibition at the national maritime museum - the boys loved this lighthouse kitchen

cooking seagulls eggs!

Rowan got really into learning semiphore, he did his name and even remebered it when we got home

There is also an exhibtion on polar explorations.  We all love the Capatin Scott stories.  The boys dressed up in real cold weather gear, this coat was amazing!

Roly poly time

Tris gave some walnut wood to a local wood carver as he gets so much wood he doesn't know what to do with it all, so in return the guy carved us a salad bowl (only thing is its so large it makes a big salad look tiny!)

Tris broke his hand, so has been off work for 6 weeks, at first he was a bit lost but he soon got into pottering about and making stuff.  He made these shelves for Reuben

Tris' birthday cake.  I wanted to keep it simple, but the boys had other ideas!

Rowan trying to eat cake with a fork!

Some birthday air guitaring

Salad crops from the garden

More of Tris' handiwork

the last seeds sown

The first crop of salad leaves

Conquering fear

Over the last couple of weeks Rowans general mood seems to have changed.  He usually struggles with a lot of day to day things, having major meltdowns at the slightest thing.  But recently he seems to be dealing with things a lot better, of course he still has meltdowns that are louder and more extreme than a lot of children but that’s Rowan.  They do seem to be getting less extreme at present.

Another thing that has become more noticeable is his confidence.  Rowan used to be very quiet around people he didn’t know really well and he also used to be quite fearful of things, ie; climbing trees, swimming, falling off things.  Well this week two people have noticed and said to me how much more confident around people Rowan has become, he will talk to other adults and children he doesn’t know confidently and is even learning to use someone’s name to get their attention.

Also this week he swam!  This is quite amazing for Rowan, he has had a healthy fear of the water for a while now and after a few swimming lessons (which he really disliked the teacher) he really didn’t want to be in the water without armbands on.  I was fine with this in theory, but living in Cornwall learning to swim is quite important as we are surrounded by water in most places.  Anyway this week we went swimming with his best friend, who can swim a little bit.  Rowan jumped straight in and half way through he realised he had just swam!  “Mummy, I just put my head in the water, kicked my arms and my legs and swam!”  Well to say he was proud of himself was an understatement!  The boy did not stop diving under and swimming.  And that is from no lessons, no pressure, just swimming around him and letting him play alongside people swimming.  It is so amazing to see your child conquer a fear, and for him to do it at his pace too. 

Then today we went for a bike ride at our local woods.  Another fear of Rowans.  He learnt to ride a bike from using a balance bike and at his own pace moved onto a pedal bike, but one fall off his bike and he wants his balance bike again.  The last time we took bikes to the woods he fell off and since then has never wanted to go back to the woods and also only wants his balance bike.  So today we agreed on going to the woods and I took both bikes.  When we got there I suggested he ride his pedal bike to the squirrels and we can come back for his balance bike if he still wants it.  He reluctantly agreed and then was off like a shot!  We reached the squirrels and he said he wants his balance bike, so I pointed out that we would have to go all the way back to car park and get it, to which he replied “Actually mum, I don’t!”  and was off again.  In fact he zoomed off so quick I lost him!  He shot past the path we were meant to take and headed off out of sight towards the bigger walks.  I must say I did panic, especially as at the time Reuben was having one of his I can’t walk moments!  I figured he must have carried on and ran shouting his name, then I heard his little voice saying something.  I told him to wait where he was and we eventually found him and I was so relieved  to have not lost him and also so proud of him that he rode his bike so far that I had to give him the biggest hug ever!  And all he could say was “Mummy, I learnt how to stand up on my pedals like my Daddy!”

And to top all of that he climbed really high in a tree too!

Reuben is 3

Last week it was Boos birthday, a great big 3!  It was the first year that he has really cared about it and he was very excited about becoming a 'Big Boy'.  When asked what he wanted for his birthday he would just reply "A number 3 cake", then a few days before his actual birthday he suddenly said, "Actually, I would like a present all wrapped up, and a present for Rowan, and my Mummy and my Daddy"  Bless him!  He is so loving and caring he couldn't possibly hog the limelight and be the only one getting the attention and presents.  On the day he made sure that Rowan always helped him to unwrap each parcel.

He had a lovely day, pressies in bed, a trip to Dairyland with friends, which he loved as there was loads of baby animals for stroking and he went on the Demon drop!  Then we came home for a bbq with family, the his amazing number 3 cake and then he sat up and watched a DVD with Nanny and Grandad whilst me and Tris went out (It was Tris' birthday the day before Reubens)

I can't believe he is 3 already, where does it go?  Part of me is a bit sad my baby is growing up so fast, but the other part of me feels blessed to have such an amazing, caring, loving and funny son.

Happy Birthday Reuben you crazy little chickpea xxx

Reubens birthday breakfast table

Every year I make the boys cards with a photo from each month of the last year, its lovely for them to look back, although Reuben did ask "whos that?" a couple of times!

Superhero cows at Dairyland!

They do a session called 'pat a pet' that Reu really wanted to do (I think it was stroking rabbits etc) but on our way there we came across a zip wire and by the time everyone had finished on that 'pat a pet' had finished, but Reu was quite happy stroking anything he could find, wether it was real or not!

BBQ in the garden

The amazing number 3 blueberry cake

Happy Birthday Boo xx

Catch up time

Well April passed in another blur and May is almost gone too!  Life seems to be a bit of a whirlwind at present and no sooner has a week started than it has ended and it is next week already!  I honestly don’t know how people manage to work when they have children, how on earth do you get anything done?

So what have we been doing?  The boys have been full of energy, we have had two birthdays, visited museums, home ed group trips out, gardening and I have been feeling so tired by the time the evening gets here when the boys are all tucked up in bed and all my jobs are done (well, not all of them, that would be the day!) all I can do is sit in my armchair with a cup of chamomile tea, so blogging has taken a break.

But this last week, all birthdays over, I have rested (after a weekend of being so tired and poorly all I could do was sleep) and I feel the need to get all the photos off the camera and get up to date.  Tris has gone away for a week on a walking holiday with some friends to the Isle of Skye and the Caladonian forest, so I have the computer all to myself.

Here is a mishmash of Aprils antics...

Rock pool ramble at St Agnes with the Cornwall wildlife trust, Rowan and I caught a blenny!

Tris and Reuben caught a little crab

Rowan eating an ice cream whilst sitting on a whale vertebrae

Good Friday Cockle picking.  Rowan being buried in the sand whilst we waitied for the tide to go out.

Tis an bit of a tradition to head to certain beaches around the Helford for a bit of cockle and mussel picking on Good Friday.  After a bit of confusion as to which beach we were meant to be going to, we turned up amongst hundreds to search the sandy/muddy banks as the tide went out to look for cockles.  The cockles were a bit hard to find, whereas the mussels, well there were so many that if they weren't bigger than the palm of your hand you had to throw them back.  We went back to a freinds that evening and cooked them all up, very nice to!  it was a lovley family fun day out with free food to boot!

Leaving nests out for the easter bunny

Wow, teeny, tiny, shiny eggs!  (Rowan left his nest in the woodstore and I put in 5 little shiny wrapped chocolate eggs before going to bed and when we got up in the morning his were all gone!  Fortunatley I went out before him and I hadn't eaten all of the left over ones the night before!)

Don't my children look happy first thing in the morning!  I think this was "Mum, just let us eat the eggs and stop taking photos!"

A trip to Glendurgan gardens on Easter Monday for an easter egg trail

Gnarly trees and bluebells

Rowan and his friend seeing if they could reach around the big old tree

In these gardens there is a big old maze, Rowan was so excited about going into a real maze and he was so good at it, he didn't get lost once (unlike Tris!)

Give the boy a map and a stick and he is ahppy!

The bluebell fairy

Learning to forage

And loving it

Reuben getting his dose of vitamin D

Easter face painting