Chat with Jamie's Keyworker

Daddy and I went along to pre-school on Monday for a chat with Jamie's keyworker there.  All she really had to say problem wise, was that Jamie needs to have more confidence to try things.  She also mentioned that he is only happy with certain children.  But, as daddy pointed out, he is very similar and they are not necessarily bad things.

Overall, we are very happy with Jamie and his progress.  He is just about dressing himself.   He can certainly put on and take off his shoes (no laces as yet).  He is getting better at brushing his teeth, but still doesn't like brushing his hair.  He will let me wash his face most mornings after he has cleaned his teeth, but he doesn't seem to like his bath's as much as he used to!!   He seems to know his left from his right but still struggles to put his wellies on the right feet.

His talking is coming on so well.  The other morning (after having a sleep over) he rang me from Nana's and we had an actual conversation, rather than him drifting off or being talked for.  He actually chatted away; recognising who I was and answering questions. 

Academically (if that is what you call it) he can now count past 10 and recognises numbers.  However, for some reason he struggles with the number 8!!   He is getting better at letters and can recognise all the letters in his first name as well as in his second name.   He is always asking 'what does that say' at the start of his programmes, and wants to follow the words as I read to him from his books.   His favourite book still seems to be 'Cats Ahoy' and he took this to Pre-School as part of World Book Day.   And we do try to read with him at night at least 3/4 nights a week. 

He does watch a bit of TV but we limit his watching to CBeebies and the occasional Spiderman taped from CITV.  Any other programmes (like The Hulk film) he usually watches with daddy in case there are any scary bits.  Lately he has been watching the Toy Story trilogy quite a lot and was so happy when Uncle Paul bought him a Woody and Buzz set of walkie talkies for his birthday - even though he does not use them as such!  He keeps saying that he will play with his toys 'forever'.

I do try to make sure Jamie eats healthy every day, but its not easy to always get his 5 a day down him!  Since stopping working I have started doing more meals from scratch, and these guarantee that I can add more veg to the recipe!  He has finally got rid of his high chair (to cousin Laura) and Jamie now sits on the sofa with mummy and daddy, with a little table to eat on.   I know people say that we should not eat while watching TV but it works for us.....

Halle Berry Pregnant at 46

Over the past 6 months, I have often wondered what it would be like to have another child.  I suppose this is because Jamie is 'all grown up' now.  Not to say that I don't love him any less, but I realise that he is certainly no longer a baby... He has lost his vulnerability and soon he will need his mummy less and less.

I know this is a change of tune from two / three years ago, when - in the midst of it all - it is nothing but hard work.  All of sudden these times don't seem quite so hard any more, and I keep having to remind myself that it was (at times) very difficult and having another would be so much harder - especially now that I am 40+

After reading about Halle Berry, I did a quick search on the Internet.  The general consensus is that it is 'highly unlikely' that she conceived naturally.   The question 'What are the odds of getting pregnant at 46 naturally' came with the answer "Not good," said Dr. Joshua U. Klein, medical director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York-Brooklyn.  "Natural pregnancies—when a woman is trying to get pregnant with her own egg—do occur in women in their mid 40s, but it would be nearly miraculous," he said. Even in women using the assistance of IVF (in vitro fertilization), there has never been a clearly documented case of a baby being born from an IVF pregnancy in a woman older than age 45 using her own eggs. Klein estimated that the chance of having a baby at age 46 without intervention is probably about 0.01 percent or less."   See: www.foxnews.com/health/2013/04/20/halle-berry-pregnancy-real-deal-on-fertility-in-your-40s/#ixzz2RTtA36cn

What we have done (she whispered) is to have a home check from Lincoln Cat Care, so there may actually be the patter of tiny feet sometime soon, see: www.lincolncatcare.com/

Not everyone got in....

Since getting confirmation of Jamie's place at Ling Moor, at every social event - or indeed any event with pre-schoolers in attendance - this has been the general topic of conversation; "Did you get your first choice?"  "Where are you going?"

Unfortunately, Jamie's friend Will; who we have known since ante-natal classes and we went to his 4th birthday party at the weekend, put Ling Moor first and still didn't get in.  He did however, get offered his second place.  His mum has decided to appeal.

Talking to someone who already has children at Ling Moor she has been told that '23 siblings applied for Ling Moor this year - that's half of the intake'. 

I do hope they get in, but she has been told that Will is 15th on the reserve list and the twins who were also at ante natal with us are 19th on the waiting list!  Apparently there are more on the waiting list that got into the school!

First Choice School Accepted!

Today was the day.  I had heard a few mummy's saying they were going to be staying up until midnight so they could see if they got their first choice school ASAP.

As it turned out, I was up at 5.15am with daddy so had a look then.

Offer of a school place for your child in September 2013.
School Name and Type: North Hykeham Ling Moor Academy (Academy)
Status: Place offered

Unfortunately, not all of Jamie's friends were successful in being awarded their choice of school.  I know some are talking of appealing, so we shall see. 

Happy here.  We got our first choice!!

Blog Baby 34

Born this morning at 7.30am, Abigail Faith to Rebecca and James.  (My sister-in-laws sister)
A little girl cousin for Noah.

Parties, Parties, Parties!!

Did I mention that after Jamie's party on the Saturday, we had the twins party on the Sunday morning and Josephs party on the Sunday afternoon?   And then this weekend we have Indie's party on Saturday, followed by Will's party the following Sunday?

It's no wonder we are all shattered, but its nice to know that Jamie has some great friends!

Superheroes Party (Organisation) !!

Had a fantastic party.   Mummy was doped up on painkillers as her back was very painful, but I think everyone had a good time.

Getting to the venue was - as usual - amusing.  We had a 6ft Dinosaur to take, but luckily Auntie Chrissie walked him down the road. She got a few 'beeps' from cars and a few cars even slowed down, but at least they both got there in one piece! Sadly, the same could not be said for our car, which had a flat tyre by the time we arrived! Luckily Uncle Dean had a pump to re-inflate it to get home, but it still needs to be sorted.....

As well as the Dinosaur, I bought a couple of inflatable Spidermen. I should have bought more, but then everyone would have wanted to take one home.  If it had Spiderman on it, I bought it for the party; invitations, banners, bunting, balloons, plates, napkins, cups, tablecloths, loot bags, pencils, candysticks and I even managed to hire a Spiderman bouncy castle.
 

We invited 23 children and all made it on the day (plus a 5 day old baby) with a total of 29 adults in attendance.  Most of the children who came did dress up for the occasion.  We had 4 Batmen, 4 Supermen and 5 Spidermen in attendance, along with a nurse, a princess, a couple of cats, and little red riding hood! Mummy wore a Batman costume; T shirt with cape, mask and matching nails. Daddy was Batman, Uncle Dean was Superman and Chrissie wore a Superman T shirt, as did a few of the other parents.  Jamie already had a Superman costume but as it was his birthday he got a new Spiderman costume.
 

Again, I set up a colouring table. I got some superhero pictures from various sites on the internet of Spiderman, Superman, Batman, The Incredibles and of course Toy Story, which I was then able to photocopy. We took Jamie’s box of felt tips. We also provided some tattoos along with a bowl of water and a flannel. Once again, these went down very well.

For Jamie’s birthday tea, we gave the children hotdogs in rolls. I also purchased some pizzas which we cut into slices.  The cake was a large Spiderman cake from Asda, which we reserved the week before to ensure we got it.

As for games; a few had been suggested such as ‘Pin the Spider on the web,’ Musical Statues (Superfreeze!), Chairs and Bumps, but (as last year) everyone was too busy on the bouncy castle and fighting with the dinosaur (who unfortunately, didn't make it to the end of the party).

I blame the drugs, but my only real mistake was (prior to the party) writing everyone’s names on the party bags and then just giving them out at the end of the party; without checking on the names.  This caused tears for a couple of the girls who thought someone else had got their party bag. The only reason I did this initially was because we had a few attendees who were under 2 and I did not put a Spiderman pencil in their bag, but a small set of pencils instead. However, I forgot this.....

As the party 'clashed' with the Grand National, my brother organised a sweep stake, which meant listening to the radio towards the end of the party which kinda killed the party atmosphere, but as the bouncy castle was still up, I suspect the children didn't even notice!

Saving the world....

 

Just been to see my Physio as my back is still very sore. Apparently, trying to save the world at the weekend was not such a good idea (though the tablets did make me feel like Wonder Woman!!) Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate Jamie's birthday. We love you all!!! Xx

Superheroes Party!

Jamie had a fantastic birthday party.  We hired The Ark (as usual) and had a Spiderman Bouncy Castle.  I intend to write up the party properly in the next few days, but we had 4 Batmen, 4 Supermen and 5 Spidermen in attendance.....

Happy 4th Birthday Jamie!!

Should we be worried?

A few years ago we saw one of those 'SuperNanny' programmes which had a boy on - about the same age as Jamie - who refused to take his Spiderman costume off - even to go to school.  We laughed then, but we aren't laughing now.  This week he seems obsessed with being a super hero and will only answer to the name Super Jamie!!

Perhaps its just because of his party this weekend.  Lets hope so.  I don't want to appear on Supernanny!!

Blog Baby 33

Congratulations to Karley and Gary.  Baby Boy - Brody Adam Clitheroe-Scott - born Monday April 1st   7.35pm    weighing 7lb 14oz.     Hope to see you all at Jamie's party on Saturday!!