Freddie and Family: October 2014

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Wednesday 29th October 2014

Half Term is here and I decided the boys are ready for starting university...

We met our friends Esther and Daniel at Keele to take a trip down memory lane for us Mummies.

I thought I had forgotten where everything is but once we drove into Newcastle I went into auto pilot. It was quite surreal!

Now we decided £1 shots in the union and cheesy chips weren't massively appropriate (despite being very tempting) so we opted for playing at Keele Hall and having a picnic on the quad.

10 years on it was lovely to visit and see all the 'kids' studying or mostly mooching around.

The boys seemed quite impressed.

Endless fun in fallen leaves!

A 'new' sculpture on the quad made for a good game of hide and seek.

I'm coming to find you!

Daniel entertained a group of students by attempting to hide in a bush. Convinced he was camoflauged because of his trousers he backed into the foilage...he forgot about his bright blue coat!

We then had a trip to Trentham Monkey Forest. Esther and I were all relaxed until we had to walk through this prison like cage to get in!

How big are these monkeys?

Three monkeys.

Difficult to tell the difference.

Love Freddie's face...erm there's a monkey over there.

Just chillin

Monkeys are brilliant.

Lots of monkey impressions!

Crazy people.

Highly recommend the Monkey Forest.

Sunday 19 October 2014

Sunday 19th October 2014

Freddie update....

Well we are going through lots of little highs and lows with the little man at the moment.

I will get the lows out of the way first....

Number one on the list of Freddie Mark's bad habits at the moment has to be the tantrums. He has always had a very strong personality and we have commented from the start on his fighting spirit. That spirit is currently culminating in several tantrums a day whenever he is asked to do something he is not particularly keen on at that moment...these range from having a bath, eating his dinner or getting dressed, to brushing his teeth or switching the ipad off. A typical tantrum may last anything between five minutes to an hour.

The second reoccurring issue we are having with Master Sawyer at the moment is the inability to sleep through the night. He wakes up at least a couple of times a night and then is usually up before 6, ready to start the day but rather grumpy because he is tired! Hopefully this is just a phase and will be over soon!

Now, enough of the negative lets look at the highs...

It seems we may have finally made progress with getting Freddie to feed himself instead of us having to spoon feed him like a baby! It's only small steps but he is definitely happier to fill his face himself at meal times and receive lots of praise for doing so.

He is much more confident and able on playgrounds and parks. We have noticed a real increase in his strength and speed which is lovely to see.

A trip to Drayton Manor Park yesterday also confirmed he is now tall enough to go on some of the fast rides! He has passed the 90cm mark! Obviously, Freddie being Freddie, he has decided roller coasters and fast rides are the things for him. As Jon and I are passing the signs saying 'not suitable for people with heart conditions' looking a bit anxious, Freddie has a stubborn look of defiance about him as if to say...."ha, I laugh in the face of danger!" We have been told if things stay good there are only two things he cannot do because of his condition....become a deep sea diver or an astronaut.

I have no doubt that when Freddie grows up he will tell me that he is going on a trip to explore shipwrecks with his buddies and that his career advisor has told him to apply to NASA for an apprentiship.