Sebastian is 6!

Sebastian turned 6 a couple of weekends ago.  It tricky having 2 of our children with birthdays either side of Christmas.  Seb wants EVERYTHING! and pretty much plays with anything.  Him and Isaac play so beautifully together.  He loves Hot Wheels, so he got a play set for that

He has a thing for Buckaroo, as he has been playing it at school.  So that was in his pile also

He had to go to school on his birthday, which he was ok with.  He was a bit upset the week before, as he knew his birthday was on a thursday.  He got a little confused, thinking it was the week before.... He got very upset.  And consequently VERY excited when it was finally his birthday! 

His cake was a plain chocolate one from Tesco, which was absolutely delicious

For his birthday treat he really wanted to go to a race track, or a Formula one company.  These are not the easiest things to do in January in England, so we managed to persuade him to go to the zoo instead.

The saturday after his birthday we traipsed off to Marwell Zoological Park.  We have been  there before, for Oliver's 3rd birthday, when Isaac was still a babe in arms.  It was freezing the day we went, but the sun was shining so it did warm up

Marwell has not really changed that much to be honest.  All the animals were pretty active, think the cold must have made them move around more!

Quite a few big cats, but with good enriched enclosures 

We walked the whole zoo.  We could have taken a tractor ride, but we walked it.  It was gloriously quiet, a great way to have some family time.  They are building a new Hot House at the Zoo, opening next year, so it was a bit confusing going round at times, but lovely all the same.

Sebastian really wanted to see the ostriches.  Something to do with them being fast.....

Typically we did the zoo in about 2 hours.  Marwell is good, and certainly worth a visit.  We toyed with getting a yearly pass.  But they don't do family passes, only adult and child.  It would be over 200 pounds for us...... Not worth it unfortunately.

From Marwell, it was on to the outskirts of Southampton for everyones treat....... Five Guys!  So yummy, just like stateside.  Loved it.

Bad blogger

Ok, so I may be the worst blogger ever.  I seem to have forgotten how to do it.  That's not strictly true. I have found a new hobby / passion, and I don't feel like I have much to say at the moment.  But it has been nearly a month, so I thought I best get things up to date with what we have been doing.

                                

We took a trip to the zoo at the beginning of the month.  It was cold, hence Sebastian's attire.  Our membership expired at the end of the month.  We will not be renewing it I don't think.  We only have 5 months left, so it may not be worth it, especially as everyone is in school or work full time, and we have so much more to see and do befor we go.

I took a little trip down to Blythwood on the out skirts of Columbia.  It is about 90 minutes away.  There was a Zumba Glo party being held there.  The instructor was a lady called Lo.  She is a bit of a YouTube sensation, and loads of my instructor friends had recommended her

                               

I really enjoyed my self! It was almost like being in a night club, and was almost better, as no one knew me.  I really enjoyed getting some different choreography and hearing some different Zumba songs.  Zumba has been running for so long now, there are so many song and choreo choices.  I need to get as much experience from different instructors as I can before I head back to the UK and try and start teaching.  Speaking of which, I am doing Zumba Toning training next month.  I am very excited! 

Isaac was invited to a birthday party at Monkey Joes.  It wasn't an official party as such, the birthday boys parents paid Isaac in. The rest of us chose to go anyway.  Glad we did.  Out of the whole class, only Isaac and one other boy showed up.  It did remind us how awful monkey joes is.  The place was ridiculously busy, people everywhere.

                               

That same weekend was the South Carolina International Auto Show at the TD convention centre.  Not quite sure what made it international, maybe it was the Toyotas...... Anyway, they had family day on the Sunday, where the kids got in free. 

The boys had a great time trying out all the cars.  They weren't the only ones.  It was nice to be able to give them free for all on cars. It very rarely happens.

We took Isaacs training wheels / stabilizers off his bike.  He is finally down to 2 wheels.  Typically he took to it like a duck to water.  He was even slowing down and crashing off on purpose.  I just hope he has the confidence next time he gets on his bike

                               

Sebastian turned 5 this month.  He is not a baby or even a toddler anymore.  He had a good day, got most of the presents he wanted and enjoyed himself.  We went out for dinner at Chuckee Cheese (his choice). Because it was a Monday, it was lovely and quiet! He then had a delicious cake.

I can't believe he is 5.  He is turning into a proper little boy. His speech has come on leaps and bounds, and he has a lovely little personality.  He is a social monkey, who loves making people laugh, though his brothers wind him up something terrible! He is still in speech therapy, and it has helped a lot.  We have stopped the occupational therapy for now.  Insurance decided they weren't going to pay for it, so we got left with a very big bill.  We paid it, and are currently arguing the toss with them about reimbursing us / paying for more.  They need a diagnosis.  Both Isaac and Seb are down to be assessed by the behavioral psychologists, then they may have a diagnosis, but may not? We will have to wait and see.....

Isaac has had kindness week at school this week.  He wanted to walk the neighbors dog

                                 

The boys so badly want a dog.  It is a very firm NO. It's hard enough being responsible for these 3, and they can toilet themselves.....

That's pretty much it for the month. We had an ice / snow storm, the kids were off for a Friday and Monday.  They really didn't need the Monday..... I am doing a course on teaching English as a second language online.  It is going well...... I have made some drastic changes to my diet by going low carb.  I aim to eat no more than 50 grams of carbs a day.  That's about the same as what is in a sandwich.  I don't always succeed.  Eating out still gets me, but a lot of the time I am less than 100grams, and that is with eating out.  If I am at home, 50 grams on average a day.  That's is good for me.  It has made a big difference in my insulin use.  I have a diabetic appointment in 2 weeks, so watch this space.

My hobby / love at the moment is crafting. Crafts can be anything, but right now it is bead embroidery.  I love it!  Check out this I made recently

                  

In case you missed it, we have set up a little etsy shop.  Check it out here.  It has all the social media to go with it too: Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram.  Please find them and follow

That takes most of my time at the moment.  I would love to be able to work for myself eventually, with the crafting and the Zumba, and bring in enough to cover supplies/cost and groceries for the month.

That's my goal for this year 

Summer general catch up.

OK, so we are about half way through Oliver and Isaacs looooonnnnngggggg summer holiday.  Worked out that if we were on UK schedule, the boys would be going back next week.  Instead, they still have another 5 weeks of fun! Seeing as I have not blogged properly since Kiawah, I thought it was time for a catch up.  Cocktail Friday doesn't really count, as I tend to do those in advance.  It will probably be taking a vacation shortly too!

Thought I would do a photo drop with what we have been doing.  For those who care, I post a daily photo on my Instagram account, using the hashtag #CGis33.  Look it up!

So in no particular order.... We have been to the zoo twice so far.  First time Seb and I went after dropping the older 2 at camp.  Then I took the older 2 when Seb was at school.  Seb always loves it, but the older 2 really enjoyed it as well.  In the summer, they open at 9am, so we try and get there for just after that.  This normally means that most of the animals are active.  With all our visits so far this year, we have paid for our yearly membership, and some!

We finally made it to the BMW family fun day this year.  3rd chance, and we finally made it!  BMW hire out Carrowinds, a local theme park, for exclusive use for BMW employees.  Although our boys are still a little small for the roller coasters, they took full advantage of Snoopy Land, where they rode pretty much everything over the course of the day.  We also utilized the water park.  We put most of our stuff, other than shoes and googles in lockers.  We left these under a lounger by one of the kids pools.  The boys had fun in the wave pools and lazy river.  Unfortunately someone stole Isaacs shoes and all the googles, which put a bit of a dampener on our day.  BMW organized food in the form of buffet lunch, but the queues were horrendous, and nothing really to our boys palate.  They ate cookies and crisps......It was a good day out, better that we didn't have to pay for it too!!!!  We would not have gone if we had to pay for it.....

We met our good friend Liz at the splash area in Greenville a couple of weeks ago.  The kids had fun playing in the water, before it got too hot.  We  all walked down to Linky Stone Park to have a play.  By then it was super hot! We recently had a heat wave, where it was over 90 degrees every day.  Just how I like it.

As well as our trips out, of which there have not been many, we have been doing very mundane stuff too.  Given that Seb is still in school in the mornings, it gives Isaac and Oliver the chance to do things that are more appropriate for them.  Finding things for all 3 of them at the same time is HARD, and they are not even that different in age.  Thank goodness for the community pool.  We tend to be there at least every other afternoon, when the weather allows us!

So mundane things....... Oliver and Isaac have both been shown/ taught how to do the dishes.  Since Isaac was a baby, we have always had a dishwasher, and they will probably grow up knowing no different.  Unlike me!  I don't think we got one till I was about 12, and even after I moved out, my mum didn't get one....  My dad is a different story however!

 Ahh, school work.  Both the boys have a good amount of work required of them by school this year.  Admittedly, Oliver has a lot more than Isaac.  Isaac has only 1 math sheet left to do, Oliver has about 10.  They have been doing their school work and reading every morning before computer time when Seb is at school.  It has worked quite well.  They both also read for 10 minutes a night, while Seb is going to bed.  I think it has helped, I don't think they will have much of a learning slump because of the summer.  They both still have one more camp to do.  Jump start 1st Grade for Isaac, and Jump Start 4th Grade Math for Oliver.  Hopefully that will show them how much working over the summer has helped them. Hopefully.......

They have had fun baking cakes, making jelly and making freezer pops.  Isaac has also been a resident bug catcher.  So far we have kept cabbage white caterpillars and tomato horned caterpillars (I think thats what they were called).  The last ones grew to over 10cm.  We had to let them go.  They were just too big.  I was having to take tomato leaves off my plants twice a day to keep up with their appetites.

They do have fun though.  Paul bought some new golf clubs, and they came in a big box.  I had the idea to make a space ship out of it.  I started it, Paul ran with it, the boys loved it.  They played with it for a couple of hours, before repurposing it into a monster jam track.  Still obsessed with Monster Jam here.  Man, they are in for such a shock when we return to the UK.....

We have had a visitor in the form of slapped cheek.  Can't believe all 3 have managed to avoid this delightful virus until now.  So Seb woke up one Sunday with this rash on his face.  Over the next few days, we watched it spread to the outer reaches of his body.  I did my research, and saw that once the rash had spread he was no longer contagious.  School still wanted a doctors note, so I took him to the local MD360 ( like a drop in doctors clinic).  We were in and out within an hour, and the note was ready for school the next day.  It didn't really itch, but I gave him an antihistamine, and used some calamine lotion to help calm the red down.  It passed after about 5 days.  Isaac got it about 7 days later.  His face wasn't pretty, but the rash on his body was not too bad.  He was also very tired and grumpy with it, and feel asleep on the sofa at 4pm 2 days before the rash appeared.  It is pretty much gone now.  So on past experiences, Oliver should get it this weekend.  Hopefully it won't affect him too badly, as he is older.  The worst thing is, it is most contagious before they get the rash.  So who knows where Seb got it.  Could be school, could be the pool, who knows!

We also had 4th July the weekend just gone.  Because it was on a saturday, Paul had the Friday off.  3 day weekends rock!  Especially when all 3 kids are home!!!!!

We enjoyed a nice weekend at home, watching the neighbors fireworks.  It was great.  Even got the boys to watch Independence Day, so they can know the real reason why America celebrates the holiday (thats a joke....).  They really enjoyed it.  We stayed home all weekend, as we are off to Florida this weekend, for our holiday of beach and pool, beach and pool, restaurant, cocktail, beach pool, donuts, tacos and all the other great things about holidays............

Boy update

Ok, sorry, this has been a long time coming.  An update on the boys.

Oliver

Oliver had his operation on the 28th March.  This was to replace the ear bones that were removed last February due to cholesteatoma.  He was called in for 8am, the earliest ever.  He was through to the waiting area by 10am, and under the knife by 10.30.

As I say, the earliest ever.  We had Seb home that day, so Seb and I went home for lunch while Paul waited.  I took Seb back to the hospital after lunch, and Paul took him to get Isaac.  I was called through to recovery just after, so about 3pm.  The doctor was more than pleased that there was no more cholesteatoma.  He was able to put this titanium prosthetics in to replace the bones, and finish up some other things.  Oliver came round fairly quickly, and we refrained from giving him too much morphine.  We had the same nursing staff as last february, they remembered us!  This was one of the smoothest operations.  Hopefully it will be the last.  We were home by 4.30, the earliest ever.

Oliver is recovering well.  He has antibiotics, which will stop today.  He has been in some pain, so has been taking some strong pain medicine.  Since we started the ear drops to dissolve the packing around the new 'bones' he has been complaining of more pain.

It could be the drops making everything move a bit.  Or it could be the fact he is returning to school tomorrow, after his follow up appointment first thing.  He is not to do any physical activity or recess at school.  He is not to run around, jump around, or anything like that for 2 months.  2 MONTHS.  Very hard for a 8 year old.  We were going to do him a birthday party at the end of next month at a local trampoline place.  We will have to see what the doctor says......

Isaac

Ok so those who follow the blog will know that we have had some issues with Isaacs behavior at school.  It got so bad before spring break, that Isaacs teacher requested a meeting with us.  This took place in the second week in March. Isaac general behaviour was discussed, and it was agreed by all that he is a lovely boy who needs help managing his emotions.  We agreed to some form of parent coaching/training/therapy.  I asked for Isaac to be assessed for any learning difficulties there maybe, as I had noticed some things in his reading.  I also told school that I had given Isaac an incentive that if he behaved at school that week I would take everyone out for donuts.

Here he is eating that donut.

School assessed his learning, and everything seemed fine.  In conversation in the meeting and between the teacher and the learning assessor person, it was though that Isaac may have some sensory issues.  He chews a LOT, he does not like crowded places, loud noises or new things.  I have strategies to deal with these things at home, but school do not.  One of the coaching/training/therapy people they recommended was an occupational therapist (OT), and after Isaacs assessment, his teacher was very keen that we get in touch with this OT.  To be honest, we had no idea who we would use, and how we would even make that decision.  Its hard to be told your son most likely needs therapy.  Any whoo, long and short of it, Isaac has an assessment at the OT's office later this month.  This gent actually goes into school, so would be able to assist both Isaac and his teacher in finding ways to deal with his issues.

His behavior has been exemplary since spring break.......

Sebastian

Ah the monster.......

He has been assessed again for his speech, this time by a company his school uses.  They say he does not make his early sounds, the 'm', 'p' and 'b' sounds.  These need to be sorted first. He does not move his lips when he talks, and makes his sounds from the back of his throat. I am awaiting a call back from them to arrange speech therapy sessions.  They will do them in school time though, which is much better for all concerned.  he is a chatter box, full of life.  He thinks he is a monster truck, and our sofa is the course.  His most clear words are 'I want'.  His speech is so much clearer than it has been ever.  He is coming along nicely, but is a little behind on most things.

In the summer I shall be taking him to the doctors to find out how I go about getting him assessed for developmental delays.  I think this will make the transition into English education easier when we return home next year.  If we were in the UK, Seb should be starting school this September. 

So there you have it.  That is the boys, pretty much.  They are hard work, but can be very rewarding.  They are growing into these little people, I have no idea how they are going to turn out, but I hope they are going to be good......

My birthday and other musings

Hey!

So I am now a 33 year old. I got nicely spoilt with lots of cool presents.  We went for a very adult breakfast once we had taken the kids to school.  It was delicious

First time I Have had eggs Benedict, it was delicious.  From there we went to the fabric shop, the perfect place for me on my birthday! Then to the mall for a bit of retail therapy, before picking the small one up from School.  I was even able to get some peace and quiet while paul took Seb on the school run. 

I may have gone a bit nuts at the children on occasion for more silly pointless arguing on my birthday, how dare they!  This seems a constant thing in out house at the moment (more on that another time).  

We had arranged for the babysitter, and paul had booked us a table at Rick Erwin's West End Grille.  My word the place was heaving for a Thursday night.  I completely understand why.  The food was out of this world.  The service was exquisite.  Well worth the amount of money it cost....  

Two days later, paul left for Europe.  Luckily I have great friends.  We went to the Barton's on Sunday evening for dinner, with plenty of other families, and lots of children.  And all the children actually ate their pizza dinner.  

Monday was a usual day.  To be honest, it's been a fairly quiet week.  Oliver has had basketball twice.  I took all the children once, the second time the babysitter looked after Seb and Isaac.  Just makes it easier.  Here is Seb at basketball. He was most insistent on the ear defenders, but he behaved, so I was fine with it.

Oliver has a knockout tournament starting Monday.  His team have only won a quarter of their games, so I don't think they will advance very far.  Bit of a shame, but he has really enjoyed it, and wants to play again.

Isaac has been doing well. Not getting so many emails about his behavior, about once every 2 weeks now.  His teachers think he is learning to control his emotions better, which is great.  His reading and writing are going from strength to strength.  So proud of him, on many levels.

Sebastian is turning into a righ chatter box, and a general pain in the butt.  Ok, still no proper words, but we can make out what he is saying.  And the frequency is ridiculous! Honestly, think he is going to be more of a chatter box than Oliver, help us! Please some one, help us.......

January, where did you go???

Gonna try and make this short and sweet.  

So Seb had his birthday, loved all his presents.  He is coming on leaps and bounds.  Still not talking properly, but the effort is definitely there.  He has a word for me, and constantly shouts for me at home.  This is a good and bad thing!  At least he is really trying now, makes me less worried about him when we go out anywhere.  He is still really laid back, and will only try talking if something is not going his own way and he doesn't like it.

We went to Frankie's fun park for his birthday. They all played a round of mini golf, and went on the go karts.  They love it there!

Thanks Aunty Jen for his Paw Patrol stuff.  He isn't really into coloring yet, but I am sure the time will come!

Every January Monster Jam comes to Greenville.  We thought we would try it out this year.  Tickets were reasonable, hardly anything is cheap when there are 5 of you!  After the initial noise, Seb got used to it.

Thank goodness for ear defenders.  They have been a priceless purchase!  Monster Jam is good, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena is good.  The two together, not so good.  The arena is just too small, the trucks kept breaking down, it seemed to take a good while to set the courses ready for the next race.... I could go on.  I re kong in a bigger arena, like Atlanta or Charlotte, it is probably awesome.  Not so much so in Greenville.

But we have seen it now, and the kids seemed to love it!

Oliver's basketball season is slowly drawing to a close.  So far they have won one game.  Big change from baseball!

But he has really enjoyed it, and has improved so much.  He even scored tonight.  Okay, it was from a free throw, but he is even fouling without realising it, and that's a good thing, right?!?

Seb and I got busy last week, and made these.  My first time making rice crispy treats.  The choc chips are a nice added touch.

The boys do after school clubs on a Wednesday afternoon now, so paul collects them, meaning I get extra time with Seb.  We tend to hit the library and a dollar store of some description.

There is a new gappy Gosling in the house! Isaac lost his first tooth on Sunday night.  I had noticed they have been slightly wobbly for a while.  All of a sudden on Sunday morning he is complaining of it being really wobbly, take a look, and you can see the adult tooth coming in underneath it!

The tooth fairy visited, and left a dollar.  She wrapped it in the same kitchen roll the tooth was in, so someone thought she hadn't been! She only wrapped it, as the tooth fairy bank was out of notes, and only had quarters.......

So January is done, as is my dryathon.  Thank you so much. To everyone who sponsored me.  With gift aid I raised well over 100 pounds for Cancer Research UK.  So proud of myself, and I know my mum would have been too.  I have had a few beers since though......

But with the giving up drinking, I also gave up smoking.  Didn't know I smoked?  Only in the evenings since September, not around the kids.  Had been a smoker for 16 years.  Much worse when younger.  I have now been smoke free since 1st January.  This is such an achievement for me, I am so proud of myself for making this life style decision, and I feel so much better for it health wise.

Mental health wise?  Some days are a real struggle at the moment.  Things get to me very easily.  Anything bad will out rule the good.  Today was a prime example of that.  Cemented some good things for the summer, then something came through the post to make me doubt something and bam!  In tears for an hour.....my moods seem all over the place.  So contradictory in the space of one day. Trying to take a day at a time, a morning at a time.  I have so much in my head, I need a list everyday to remember what I am doing!  Some days better that other, weekend seems harder.  Think it's the pressure of trying to please everyone.  But I know no one is perfect, and it doesn't matter if things go wrong.  But when they do, I feel so awful....

Sorry to end on a sour note.  If you have got this far, you have done well!  I will make more of an effort to post more often, especially if I have things on my mind.  Might be time to say what I really think about certain things......

Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh😗

Sebastian is FOUR!!!!

(If you thought Isaacs post was full of photos, prepare yourself.....)

My baby is four. I can't quite believe it.  Seb was an early baby, born at 36 weeks, weighing 5bs 15oz. He also came very quickly.  My waters went at 1.15pm, he was born at 2.45pm.  Paul just about got home in time, my mum got there to look after Isaac and get Oliver from school.  The ambulance crew and midwives got to the house about 20 minutes before he was born.  There was no time to get to the hospital, so Seb was born at home, in the playroom, on the car mat (we still have the car mat.....).  We were taken to hospital, and were fortunate enough to only have to stay in for one night.

He fitted into life straight away. Don't know if it was because of the school run, or all the groups we used to do, but he found a routine quite quickly.  Saying that, when he was very small, he would like to feed at night, and invariably ended up staying in our bed.  Even now, he is the one boy who will come and get into bed with us.  He was a very cute baby.

We weren't afraid to let him be up a little later, so we could dedicate time to get the older ones to bed. He fed well, and nursed till just over a year.  We did the usual bottle of formula at bedtime, always seemed to help them know it was bedtime.

Seb has always been a water baby.  He was introduced to a pool when he was about 4 months, as Oliver was having swimming lessons, and family were able to use the pool at the end of term.  He was a bit unsure at first, but it wasn't to last.

We took Seb to France for the first time when he was 7 months old. He travelled well in the car and on the boat.  He liked the beach a lot.

He loved spending time around the mobile with Nanny and Granddad Lee.  

By now we were weaning Seb, and went full throttle down the baby led weaning route.  This suited our needs, and certainly suited Sebastian.  Here he is with broccoli, and a spoon covered in yogurt.  I am guessing just out of shot is the pot.  I cannot rave about how good this was for our family.  Seb was able to eat pretty much everything we could.

I think this is his first Christmas at my mums.  So smart.  The joys of being third baby: plenty of hand me downs from brothers, and friends!

I just love this photo of him.....

This was taken just after his first birthday.  He had just started walking.  He certainly didn't rush to do anything, such a change from how Isaac was.  It's funny too, as I find it harder to remember what he did when.  Think it is all starting to merge into one....

Because of his older brothers, Seb may have been introduced to chocolate a little earlier than his brothers

Again, another photo I love of him.....

This one was taken in France, he was about 19 months old.  We had gone out for lunch at the restaurant on the campsite.  The weather was pants, but we managed to keep him amused.  See how happy he looks

A month later we were on an airplane.  This was all the small boys first experiences of flying.  Nothing like a transatlantic flight to break them in gently

Fast forward another 2 months, and we were living in America.  Getting used to a totally different way of life.

Seb stopped communicating around this time.  Could be cos they were in the play room, with out us constantly watching over them, could be the change in accent everywhere we went, could be he was happily contented in his life and didn't need to ask for anything or that he couldn't get a word in edgeways.  Who knows?  We never will.  

He was still a happy chappy, and celebrated his second birthday stateside. 

Followed 6 months later by a trip to Disney.  Seb loves the film Cars 2, and was enthralled to see lightning McQueen.  I think he enjoyed that holiday.  It was here we discovered he didn't like shows.  He freaked out at Disney and sea world killer whale shows.  Not sure if it was the people, the anticipation, the noise....

But noise has never been an issue when it comes to NASCAR.  He has been to two races, fell asleep during his first one at Martinsville. Sebastian loves cars, in fact most vehicles.  

He loves playing with his and his brothers toys.  He has trains, cars and all of his brothers stuff too.  It has taken him a while to learn how to use technology, but he has finally cracked it. He can even play some of the basic car racing games on the Xbox now.

Seb has seen his first proper snow since he has been here.  That hat?  Been through all 3 of them.  So cute, from Gap.  Cheers Aunty Jen!

Seb started school last February.  I say school, it is daycare.  It took him a few weeks to settled, which I was completely expecting. But he got there.  They have been really good with his lack of speech.

First day

I love his school, they are so good at sending us photos and reports of what he gets up to every day.  He seems to have a really good time.  Since moving classrooms at the start of the school year, he has really come out of his shell.  

Seb went into a bed last April, the last of the boys to do so.  It was a sad day when we got rid of the cot.  Seb has also been dry at night (pretty much!!) ever since.  

Didn't stop him happily going into a cot when we did our big road trip last summer.  Some mornings he didn't want to get up.

Seb has adjusted fairly well to all the changes in the last six months.  It is hard to know that he won't really remember nanny in the same way that the other two will, but I will do my best to make sure that he knows all about her.

Seb loves life.  His speech in the last year has developed so much.  This time last year I would have said that nothing had changed in the previous year.  That is not the case now.  Ok, he is still talking in vowels, but the tone and inclination on the syllable sounds are there.  The boys involve him so much, which helps a lot.  Their relationship is beautiful, but they are boys, so they do fight, and they can be hard work.  Seb in particular can be very hard.  Because of the lack of speech he can't get himself understood some time.  But he can be reasoned with.  I know him well, so I know if he gets upset, I can pretty much know what it is that is bothering him, and try and help him sort it out.  We are on the waiting list for speech therapy.  By the time we get seen, he will most likely be talking!

Seb likes to be involved in everything.  He has a word for me and Paul now, anny and addy.  Oliver is oher, Isaac is iaac.  He is so getting there.  He has had a really bad cold for the last 3 days.  Friday night, all he wanted to do was snuggle up to me, and he fell asleep watching TV.  Same last night, but it was a little bit later.  It was so cute, but I felt for him being ill.

While my children can be wildly independent, I think Sebastian is going to be the one who needs us more.  He is building a beautiful relationship with the whole family, and is a little character. Doesn't stop him being a royal pain in the butt, but he will always be our baby.