Telling Alby

Whilst the title might suggest this will be a post on educating Alby the reality is the opposite. Alby is really in his element when he is telling us. Sometimes we have great discussions - he can be really chatty about his day at school and I'm delighted he has yet to reach the "nothing" response I'm sure he I started doling out by age six. At other times it can be amusing, like when he tells us about how bikes work or what type of hungry he is feeling, an act usually accompanied by much "you see mummy" and "well, daddy" alongside rapidly twirling hands. Then there's the patronising telling. When we are all a bit tired and in need of a break. Albug gives his support to such situations by contradicting everything we say. For us, such situations are the ultimate test in parenting patience and tolerance. And let's be honest, it's a test we rarely pass with flying colours.

And finally we have the cute tellings. The ones where, to me, he is being genuinely gorgeous but to an outsider he likely appears as the biggest suck up. Like when he tells me I'm the prettiest, or when he hugs his daddy and tells him what best buddies they are. Or the other day when he was getting ready for school and we had the following chat:
Me: it's PE today Albs. Is that your favourite.
Albug: it's one of my favourites. It's not my most favourite.
Me: what's your most favourite.
Albs: when we sit still on the carpet.
Me: like you used to do in circle time at nursery?
Albs (arms now gesturing): yes mummy, because i am just so interested in learning things.

I love this boy.

"Dabbit dabbit"

George is increasingly embracing the world of words. Since moving house in the summer his babbles have turned to words, words to simple sentences. As such, Alby's tellings have now been joined with George's and Mark and I are enjoying instructions in stereo from morning til night.

When I say "words" I mean George's take on the English language which has a definite bias to the 'd' sound. So rabbit becomes 'dabbit', tractor becomes 'dactor' and, following logic only he understands, postman pat becomes "daddy dat."
Last week's new phrase was "stop it" or rather "dop it". A little influence from Alby and I and we quickly progressed it to "dop it daddy". Sadly he's too smart for us though and within 24 hours we've had "dop it mummy" and "dop it Alby". Alby thinks it is hilarious.
Typically the language follows his favourite or most needed things: digdig (for digger), dolly, dink, more, Alby, where are ooo, dout (shout), bye bye ev-i-one. In fact, everything gets the bye bye treatment: bye bye wet car, bye bye Nee nah, bye bye toot toot, bye bye bed or even bye bye boing bed.
Words are still mixed with an awful lot of signing. Thanks to the brilliant Mr Tumble he now knows more signs than us which leads to some cryptic, drawn out interpretations but has definitely helped with his manners and he is quick to say sorry, thank you and share. Understanding what share means however is still a work in progress...

*disclaimer - I wrote this post two weeks ago and it's taken me an age to upload it. In that time George's vocabulary has doubled and his mimicry is worrying. Anyone coming into contact with him please watch your words. I've done the swearing toddler thing once already, am hoping history doesn't repeat itself on this occasion.

**I've been updating the blog through my mobile which, annoyingly, won't upload photos or videos.  I don't have footage of the "dabbit dabbit" days but I do have this film from November showing Smalley when he is first working his way around words...

''Tis the season...

"Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
Dr Seuss. 

Alby in the maze

I am loving this Christmas. 
Celebrations started early this year with a trip to the Longleat Festival of Lights with my boys. Cue country drive, Trouble Monkey conquering his first real maze (taking the lead from the start the boy did good considering we were warned the average time to get around is 45mins), seeing cold animals and then walking past the most incredible, magical Chinese lanterns I've ever seen. It was breathtaking. This was followed by an outdoor light display and short film, projected against the walls of the house complete with musical Christmas tree and laser light display. Yes, Little Man got tired, cold and restless at the end but being the good parents we are we stuck him in the house pushchair, told him to be patient and then ignored him. A little bit. 

After a cosy night in a pretty little cottage we set off on a very muddy walk where Albs baffled us with his eye spy genius (sh for shadows and st for stinging nettles leaving us particularly baffled and putting Daddy's P for Percy and b for bulldog to shame). Once we'd slipped and skidded in the mud and spotted the olde man made hill we hugged a few ancient randomly placed stones and headed off for some pub grub. It was brilliant. Yes, Monkey's hunger and general tiredness meant we had a few grumbly moments which required the normal child - parent negotiations, but they were short lived and in fact magically disappeared the minute the packet of chips and glass of water (with straw) got placed in front of him. 

Oohhh look what the ancients made!

Muddy country walk

The traditional Thomas and Santa!

Next of the Christmas fun came one freezing Thursday night when. Father Christmas, riding on the back of Thomas the tank engine no less, did the rounds of our neighbourhood. I cannot explain how much a double win this is to my two boys, Goblin still saying "bye bye toot toot" an hour after he'd gone. The event was organised by the local rotary club and Albs was delighted at getting a chocolate after dropping his coins in their collection bucket.the fun was repeated the following night when he came straight past our house. The boys ran out in their fleece onesie pyjamas to wave and claim a second chocolate.


This was followed by the children's Christmas party held in one of the Mess' on Sunday afternoon. Whilst a full afternoon of fun had been laid on with kids supper, children's entertainer and Santa grotto. Monkry was so tired he only just made it to get his gift from Father Christmas before heading home for a rest. Smalley didn't even manage that. He fell asleep in the back carrier five minutes after we arrived and didn't wake up until it was time to clear at the end. 

Our next day of Christmas fun kicked off last Saturday when we headed into Reading for our first family panto. It was amazing. So amazing I was still living the laughter days in and even now I can't stop smiling at the memory. Star of the show was Justin Fletcher, a superstar of CBeebies and a favourite of Smalley. In fact I wouldn't have dared take our littlest one to a panto if Mr Tumble hadn't been there as I suspect he would have squirmed like crazy. As it was he was transfixed for almost the whole show (helped also by his flashing wand - compulsory panto merchandise). The panto was of Smow a white and the Seven Dwarves, but like all good pantos it was the Dame, Dolly Mixture and her son, jingles the juggling jester who stole the show, in large part due to the fantastic rapport they had on stage especially at the times they went off script (caused by too much silliness). They were professionally unprofessional and it had me in hysterics. (One up side of sleep deprivation is that it keeps hysteria close to the surface). 

School has also kept us feeling festive with Trouble Monkeys school play oopsie Daisy angel, where he did very well with his one line, "all of the other angels did very special jobs". There was also much singer and despite looking as though he'd like to fall asleep in his seat Albs belted out all the songs ensuring we heard him from across the hall. More school silliness came on the Friday afternoon with the chaos of the Christmas fair. Cue lots of simple games, children filled up on chocolate, cake and soft drinks and Local stall holders hoping to entice last minute shoppers with their posh, pricey goods. 

Finally, today we headed out to Blenheim palace for a family outing. After a little wander in the gardens we took the miniature train over to the yew tree maze and adventure playground. If I hadn't explained properly in the Longleat section, Albug loves mazes having discovered them in his magazines last year. Since then he has made his way though a number of osbourne maze books. His delight at real mazes is something that just has to be witnessed. We were informed very quickly that he was the leader and we had to line up behind him, no overtaking. It quickly turned out that Mark and I weren't taking his leadership seriously enough and so were informed that he now went by the name of 'captain sir' and we had to seek his permission before speaking. We aren't idiots and so we obeyed. It was a great maze. And a great miniature train ride complete with trip through a fairy light adorned tunnel with Father Christmas statues! What more could a little/big person need? We had lunch in the cafe, soup for the big people, sandwich and Christmas cookie for Albug, bread roll in ketchup for Goblin, before heading back (via the train) to the car. (Yes, you read that right. The boy has a rotten cold combined with never ending teething and has gone almost completely off food. His diet for the past few days being cookies, popcorn, fruit and ice pops. Bread today was regarded by us as a cause for celebration even if it was covered in ketchup!) One Christmas TV session later shortly followed by the traditional setting up of carrots (5 from us), mince pie and whisky for Father Christmas and co and the boys are asleep. Truth be told I'm just a little bit excited for tomorrow...! 

Credit where credits due

I appreciate I am completely biased, but Alby is turning into an awesome little chap. It's so easy to get lost amongst work, chores and errands let alone dog walks and the demands placed by George that we can lose sight of what a little star we have. When busy weekends lead to afternoon meltdowns or long days result in mild daddy bullying ("No daddy, want mummy") or bouts of hyper/unhinged hysterical laughing it can be too easy to focus on how we as parents need to address issues rather than take stock of what a great five year old we have. We will say "he's really really tired" and "we've asked a lot of him today" almost as a standard precursor to our great parenting chats but we don't really probe further. We don't take stock that we've got a five year old who is just trying to do his best. A little boy who has no say in how his day is going to unfold. Who gets told what to do constantly, who gets delegated responsibility for his brother constantly ("Alby, go follow George", "Alby, can you get this for your brother"...) who is always having to either share or wait as we sort out George/ourselves/Percy. If that was me I'd spend my life stomping about in such a huff. In fact, what am I saying? I regularly stomp about the kitchen telling my learned cautious husband that I just need to be left alone.

When we say we've asked a lot of him it's a blanket statement, rarely do we really appreciate the full depth of such. A couple of weeks ago Alby was ill and had to have the day off school. I had an appointment and for the first time ever Daddy came home to look after Alby.  And for almost the whole day it was just the three of us and it was so easy! Despite having a sick little boy at home who needed a lot of attention it was just so easy. And since then I've tried to really remember and appreciate how much we put on him as well as to treat and respect him as an individual and not just as a big brother.

And what an individual I have. He's doing brilliantly with his phonics and now has a handful of words he can read. Not bad for one term of school. I'm not claiming he's a genius by any stretch, he is completely average in regards to ability but where credit is due is how eager he is to learn. He is so interested in words, he wants to practice and show his knowledge.
Almost every week - and actually three times just in the past week, he has come home having won house points for school. He's got them for being kind to a classmate who was crying, for singing nicely in their Christmas concert rehearsals, for sitting still and quietly. Proud mummy moment came the very first week of school when he came home with a certificate for settling in so well - only one of two children out of thirty to get one.

At rugby tots he engages with the activities, runs like anything and, when concentrating, is a pretty good kick too. He has started Ninja Tots which he absolutely loves and has jumped in feet first, no looking back.

At home he makes his bed, pretty much makes his own breakfast, gets dressed and tidies up every morning. He loves telly and he loves racing cars and playing ninja turtles but he also loves his arts and crafts, making stories, baking and generally being involved with whatever we do.

Credit where credit's due, Alby is a little superstar. I'm so lucky to have him in my life.

Joke time

Alby: Mummy, would you like to hear an alien joke?
Me: Yes please Alby
Alby: Blurp blurp bing bop bop blurp.

Alby makes up a lot of his own jokes. This is the first I found genius.

Bean loves his Bot.

Morning snuggles 

I’m not sure exactly what expectations Mark had for his children in regards to bulldog love.  I suspect he has always been so preoccupied with how much he loves bulldogs that he’s never really had the time to question other people’s love.  His attitude is generally one of believing the whole world adores them as much as he does which extends so far as to mean that he is genuinely baffled on those random occasions that people don’t stop him in the street to congratulate him on owning such a fine specimen of a dog.

Double bulldog love

What? Nothing to see here.  Just your average bulldog on a swing

I think it is safe to say Alby is a Percy fan.  As a baby he loved walking him and would be pretty good at giving Percy a kiss before going up to bed (you can make little ones to do anything!) but mostly, Percy is just another body in the house.  One who every now and then inconsiderately lies where Alby is racing his cars or rudely tries to lick Percy ("I do not like licks) but mostly a friendly playmate.

Walkies! 

If Alby is a Percy fan, George is a super fan.  The little chap may have my big eyes, my dad’s chin and my little ears but he has his daddy’s love for bulldogs.  Perc-bot gets cuddles, strokes, smiles, kisses, the occasional kick but plenty of love from little George-bean. George will even give Percy his treats after a walk, and by give I don't mean just randomly throw them across the kitchen floor for Percy to chase like Alby used to do, but actually put his hand right inside Percy's mouth to ensure he gets every crumb of kibble goodness.  Just this week I got shouted at for trying to take hold of Percy’s lead when we were out for a walk.  It seems George is the only one allowed to hold his bull-love. A few weeks ago the house went quiet and I thought George was getting up to trouble but found him snuggled up with Percy in his bed.  George squeals with delight when he sees him in the morning, after nursery, anytime really.  It’s no wonder all dogs get called a “dogdog”, to George all dogs are double syllabled in honour of his favourite, Percy bulldog. 

Milestones

I feel like we've just gone through a month of milestones and tomorrow we have one more, one for the photo album and memory books!

I'm ashamed I haven't written my blog in a month especially as there has been so much to report on. So many memories missed!! From filling the living room with decorations to celebrate another year of Mark and George finally cutting the teeth I've spent four weeks looking for at the start of the month to moving house in the middle, George starting a new nursery, Alby starting tae Kwan do lessons, Alby starting after school club, a family itrip to the London to see the CBeebies Prom, to present day with (drum roll please) Alby starting school tomorrow.

Although actually I don't need a drum roll. My little lad is absolutely ready to start school and I'm just excited for him. He is going to have so much fun. He is going to make so many friends and learn so much. I'm not saying it's been without emotion. Alby is really sad at having had to leave his best friend Charlie and there are nerves about having to start again, but he's visited the school, he's met the teacher, he knows where his classroom is and he's going to be just fine. If not better than fine.

And to top it all, we are totally prepared. I may indeed be guilty of some last minute sewing this evening, but the clothes are labelled, permission forms signed and book bag packed. Not that Alby has a clue. He's too busy thinking about the pizza he will get for lunch on Tuesday. And his ninja turtle cookie awaiting him after school tomorrow.

George has been setting his own milestones over the past few weeks. As well as cutting four teeth in a week (not so clever) and, most recent of all, deciding that the hours of 10pm and midnight are good for mummy cuddles (he is currently lying next to me literally just falling asleep) again not so clever, we've had some flashes of genius.
He is proving a dab hand at tennis and cricket. The boy has serious skills. He has also tripled his vocabulary. As well as cries of "mama" and "da" we now get "daddy", "mummy", "baaa", "moo", "woof woof", "neigh", "tweet", "toot toot", "ne naw, ne naw", "narna", "bobba", apple", "bubble", "ball" and, our two favourites "woah" and "Alby".
Inspired by TV favourite Mr Tumble he will cup his hand to his face and call loudly for people. Or almost, more he cups his hand over his mouth and shout through his fingers.
Following a weekend with GG he learnt "nose" which he can say and point to, albeit sometimes with very scratchy fingers. He remains a keen dancer now having aced "row row row your boat", "if you're happy and you know it" and most recently, the "shake break" (don't ask).
He loves dinner time. Especially if provided with a fork as he is a keen food shoveller. Unless it's fish. Fish he just rams into his face in large fistfuls.
As I say, genius.

It's hard for a four year old to compete with this level of genius but let's not go thinking Alby isn't developing. He has taken an interest in learning to read and in maths, although the latter seems to mostly come in the form of pop arithmetic tests for mummy. He has suddenly got colouring and has spent days on the same picture to get it just right. We've also done a good few science experiments, most recently growing a crystal tree. He is absolute ace on his bike and has done really well at rugby and his new ninja class. A bit of bribery and new goggles and he'll put his face underwater too which is a bigger step than I can fully explain in words.
Most however I would say his negotiation skills and manipulation skills have seen most improvement.
Somebody told him about pinky promises which are called upon daily to seal deals on how much TV he can watch, where we go on walks, what games we will play, what junk food he will eat each day/meal....
And finally, he has rediscovered his cars. For months they've been sitting in the toy cupboard untouched but now they are in continuous races or football games. Whether it's because George is older and not quite so destructive or because he has a new house to turn into a race track I've no idea but he loves them and that makes me happy. Last week I even saw George line up a few cars for the first time. Bless him. I don't know what he'll do without Alby in the house. They have barely spent a day apart in eight months. I suspect the house will seem very big and empty this week.