So we're away on a very longed for family holiday in Sabinillas in Southern Spain. We're staying in a rented apartment 30 seconds from the pool and ten minutes from the beach. Sabinillas lacks the charm and authenticity of beautiful Pizzo where we went last summer, but it's perfect nonetheless for what we're looking for- which is mainly pool and family time.
Yesterday we walked down to the beach and were amongst the first ones there.
Alfred has a bit hesitant at first, didn't like the sand and found the lapping waves a bit scary.
It struck me that so much that we take for granted and know how to deal with is absolutely new to him.
He won't remember the beach in Italy so it's the first time he's properly experienced sand and sea. And new things can be a bit scary. He toddled around for a bit, got braver and braver when he explored the water and enjoyed playing and digging in the sand.
I know holidays are a great privilege and that many children never get to experience this. But it reminds me to experience new things with your children and try and see things from their perspective.

Now we're eagerly awaiting the arrival of mister Catrine, Magnus and cousins Åke, Folke and Elsie- fun times ahead!


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Location:Sea and sand

More summer!

Four days left in school and Vera is ready for her holiday. And aren't we all to be honest! A few weeks until we're off to Spain and we can't wait for some family and pool time.
Not complaining about the weather her in Sheffield though at the moment! Glorious sunshine and we've had some lovely weekends with visit to Whirlow Hall farm to meet and feed some animals, a visit to the Abbyedale miniature railway, a barbecue with nursery friends young and old, a couple of birthday parties and a photo shoot in the Botanical Gardens.

The kids are well, Vera is rocking missing a front tooth and loves her reading and arts. Alfred, still active as always, mixes Swedish and English. His latest is "more kaka" (more biscuit) which he yells whilst pointing to the snack cupboard. He can say and point to his eyes and ears. Loves looking at picture books, especially animals although most animals seem to be called "duck" at the moment :-)





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Vava

Alfred is exploring language and his latest is Vava- it's what he calls Vera. I guess Vera is quite difficult to say when you're not even 18 months.
Apart from that he's obsessed with nana (bananas) but to be fair, lately anything edible is nana.

The weather has been really dull this last week but brightened up for the weekend which was good timing! Yesterday the children and I went to Vera's school's summer fayre where we spent £10 in quick succession on rides, hook a duck and sweets but hey it's all for a good cause!
Today Vera and I went to Hathersage to the outdoor swimming pool where we had lots of fun. Spent 1,5 hours in the pool until we looked like raisins.
It was lovely to spend some quality time with my little girl.
Three weeks left in school now until summer holidays and we can't wait.



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Bank holiday weekend

Bank holiday weekend and a mini heatwave, what's not to like!
Vera's broken up for half term and both children has been smothered in sun cream this last week.
Last night we had our first barbecue of the year, it was so lovely to eat outside and enjoy spending time together in the garden.
Today we've been busy tidying and cleaning Vera's room. She's a hoarder like her mum and we threw up a good few binfuls, making space for new birthday presents.
Vera and I have baked cinnamon buns, I've made quiche and we've played with Alfred's Brio train set. A "normal" Saturday more or less.

Last Sunday Vera and her two friends Isabella and Louisa had their much anticipated joint birthday party. We had hired DJ Dave, I had bought disco glow bracelets and the three mums shared all the food and Louisa's mum Lenny made a gorgeous My Little Pony birthday cake.
Vera had a ball, dancing with all her friends and even went up to the DJ and requested Justin Timberlake's "Can't stop the Feeling" one of her favourite songs.

Alfred is his usual active self and keeps us busy. His vocabulary is expanding and now includes turtle, baby, down but there's also a lot of frustrated yelling and pointing when I do my best to figure out what he wants. 99/100 something he's not allowed, like scissors a plant pot or similar ;-)



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Our little monkey!

Alfred's got an enormous amount of energy and get go which is great, but it also makes him very impatient!
It's literally a full time job to look chase after him and make sure he's stimulated in a good way.
I don't remember all this energy from when Vera was the same age but to be fair that was a while ago and they are very different personalities!
He climbs up on the kitchens table, pulls ALL the pots and pans out of the cupboard a couple of times a day, fiddles with all the buttons on the cooker- last weekend he'd turned the oven up to 240 degrees when I was baking bread.
His child minder Wendy is a godsend- he's got lots of room to play, lots of toys, outings and a whole garden to explore!
We try to be out and about and keep him stimulated when he's at home too, but it's difficult when you're trying to cook dinner, do the washing and all the chores.
I'm not complaining at all, just looking forward to when he can play a bit more independently!
He's a complete blessing though and we love to see him develop, interact and try out a few words. He can say "mamma", "dada", "Baby", "there"/"där"
After having been such a tricky eater it's so nice to see him enjoying his food! He loves chicken, rice, meatballs, pasta, fish fingers, sausages and yoghurt and insists on feeding himself. It's a messy business but it's the only way to learn!

Vera is getting excited about turning six soon. She's got her class birthday party this coming Sunday with two of her friends from school and they're having a disco party with the whole class. Should be fun and great for me to share the load with two other mums. This will probably (hopefully!) be the last year they'll invite the whole class to their parties. She's getting a new dress and yellow sandals for the occasion- her favourite colour.
She's doing really well in school, loves reading and writing but less keen on maths. But hey, many more school years ahead to get into that.
Tomorrow it's "Green" day / Eco day in school- I'll never get over the amount of theme days in school.
They need to wear green so I've dusted off an old green dress and we've fashioned a popcorn necklace (!) and they also need to wear wellies for forest school as they'll be out and about.
It's a full time job keeping track of everything!
Speaking of outdoors, next Tuesday Vera's going grass sledding with Rainbows which should be fun!
So all in all, all a good here in Yorkshire and the kiddies and work are keeping us busy! All we need now is some sunshine so that we have have a BBQ and enjoy the garden more!


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Artist

Sometimes I just want to write down memories so that I can remember them later.
I asked Vera tonight what she wanted to be when she grows up. She loves "making" - being creative and making models, drawing you name it. Anyone who knows her will know that that's her favourite pastime.
I asked her if she was going to sell her paintings or else how would she make any money (the boring adult in me) and she replied that she was going to live next door to us and give most of her paintings away but sell a few and it was up to me what she was going to charge.
I can't really remember what I wanted to be when I was little and I so love her belief that she can be anything that she wants. And quite rightly so!


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Rainbows

Vera has fairly recently joined Rainbows, which is part of Girl Guiding:

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/what-we-do/guiding-by-age-group/rainbows/

She's really enjoying it as they do arts and crafts, play games and focus on good friendships. Part of the Rainbow promise is "to be kind and helpful" which is what we all want for our children isn't it.

Tonight Vera made her Rainbow promise to the rest of the group and parents so she's now a fully fledged member.

After school activities is a tough balance, you want them to take part in lots of good things, but not overload them as there's some homework (mainly reading) to be done, plus they also need to be just children! Free play, relaxation, spending time with family and being creative is equally important in my book.
Vera's given up ballet, she didn't enjoy it as much as she does more modern dancing and now focuses on her Dance Remix after school club. On Thursdays she goes to swimming, an important one for me as a life skill. So three weekly activities, a few play dates and a never ending stream of birthday parties is still quite a lot and plenty of ferrying around for us!

In other news, our little Alfred has finally started walking and is enjoying exploring the world on two feet!

We're looking forward to the upcoming Easter break too. Two weeks off, nothing major planned apart from a trip to London but Sports clubs for Vera and some play dates so should be an enjoyable break from school and will most likely include lots of chocolate!
She's already looking for clues that the Easter rabbit will be making a visit (mamma has been leaving white fluff in strategic places for her to find ;-) )

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