Starting Nursery

In mid-January the boys began Nursery, a ten-minute walk from our house. Here they are on their first day being escorted across the playground.

Gregor goes every afternoon and Alastair just three at the moment and increasing to four after half-term. They've both settled in well and easily. Gregor, in particular, seems very happy and challenged. Alastair doesn't want to leave when I pick him up and is benefitting from one-to-one support. Here he is sitting nicely and waiting for instructions - quite uncharacteristic. The teacher doesn't know him that well yet and is asking a lot more of him with regards to his speech than we do, which is a good thing. Sometimes it's a bit of a rush to get them there, fed and cleaned and not too out of breath, but we are slowly becoming accustomed to having lunch at 11.30! As for me, I am thoroughly enjoying the break at least thrice a week and have no qualms about upping Alastair's sessions - I can't wait!

I don't quite know what's happened since Christmas but the boys have changed hugely in the past few weeks. They are both just so much more physical. They have started to playfight and touch each other in a way that was completely off limits when Alastair had all his holes. Now he's fit and well, I think they've both sensed a green light and just love covering each other with cushions, tweaking noses, splashing in the bath, grabbing in headlocks, the lot. I am learning to let them get on with it as much as possible. They clearly need to do it and I conclude that it must be a boy thing. Coupled with this is a distinct desire on both their parts to take more risks.

A good place to indulge them therefore is at our local soft play centre. Here is Gregor swinging on the roof netting - not quite what it's designed for, but hey.

And Alastair would never have attempted this rope bridge a month ago.

Neither would either have gone down the slide without me. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have been so keen to let them alone. Praps this is the beginnings of letting go....

Suffolk Silvestr

In our family we have a double dose of Christmas and new year because of the Orthodox calendar which the parents in Kiev mark with an enviable vigour and excitement. The boys' birthday falls on Orthodox Christmas. During this extended festive period we took them to the pictures, the theatre and the museum - all for the first time.

Here's Gregor meeting his match in the Ipswich museum, which was very warm and welcomingly cosy, and a good stopover before the theatre just over the road. We went to see a 45 mins puppet show called "Shoe Baby", about a baby in a shoe who has lots of adventures. Both boys were mesmerised and the music was great.

Back to normal and we braved the cold weather to go shopping. Alastair decides he wants to help collect trolleys at Asda. It's those men in florescent jackets, you see, they do something to these young, impressionable boys.

The view from Asda, part of Lowestoft port, just a bit west of the harbour. If you continued along you'd reach Oulton Broad, the southernmost part of the Norfolk Broads waterways.

And with the new year comes great intentions, here clearing up the garden with the little helpers. Hmm, didn't notice that enormous scratch on my car till now!

And after the cinema, where we watched Bee movie, Gregor was trying to fly like a bee. Alastair wasn't as taken with this as Gregor, which is no surprise as it was twice as long, very wordy and distinctly lacking in music. Still, the rest of us enjoyed it.

Birthday boys

Last week we had a little gathering to mark the boys' 4th birthday. Auntie Judy came over from Norwich, and a good mix of sisters, cousins, bro-in-law, boyfriend from Ipswich. Food was light - tea, sandwiches and cake, mindful of post-Christmas bulges that can appear at this time of year, apparently.

Just as well really, because I couldn't manage one cake each this year. Not sure if we'll be able to wing it as peacefully next time, but hey.

Indulging Gregor's continued obsession with spotting electricity signs, we compromised on a "Danger" cake.

With four relightable candles, of course.

The teenagers.

And a new board game - The great game of Britain - I picked up at a car boot sale and which Allie and I christened the other week. The aim is to visit six places of interest in Britain and be the first to return to London from where you set off. You travel on the old railway networks as they were laid out in days of steam travel, which, I might add, seem to be a darn sight faster than half of them today. Anyway, it's lots of fun and the rules contain a tactics section which urges you to delay your opponents as much as possible, adding "it will be the natural policy of all players to select as their victim the player in the lead at any one time." Love it.
Gill won.