December 2006- where they've grown so much we spend more time talking about our lives than our children

[Indith]

Well that and our pregnancies and other non-dec '06 children

Tis a good thing I feel.

AQ - email me your address and they are yours, am having a final sort out over the weekend so should be on their way by Monday. Don't worry about P&P, I never gave you anything for those belly belts and would be glad of a few boy bits next year too, so we'll call it quits.

You sound much brighter today, are you feeling any better?

That thread is so true. Even after a half day ds1 is shattered. And RAVENOUS. Take food to school pick up.

Eli, ds1 bounded in again this morning, Dd looked had her big eyed 'I'm scared' face on but was very brave and sat on the carpet without any tears. She was very bubbly and happy whe she came out though. Twas odd just having ds2 all by himself for 3 hours though. I can't remember the last time that happened.

It is quite nice having the youngest one to yourself though, isn't it Olihan? I've had quite a lot of time this week with ds2 & he's been rather delightful, and best thing is he doesn't talk all the bloomin' time and demand things. Yes, he's exhausting in other ways, but ds1's tantrums and demands are wearing me out. He's also starving all the time, I forced a banana down him after big bowl of cereal so I didn't have to worry about him at school this morning.

Lennied, you are v.kind, I've mailed you

It was lovely having him on his own. I think I'll start to see a side to him that I haven't seen before. Usually he's Dd's sidekick so it will be nice to discover him as an individual. The demands for food weren't there but I did have an hour of him throwing books at my head and shouting 'dory' at me until I read to him . He's a story monster at the moment.

His other trick at the moment is telling jokes. Seriously. It goes like this:

Ds2: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Ds2: Nana
Me: Banana who?
Ds2: Seddit, (accompanied by raucous laughing and pointing)

Then we do it all over again, and again and again, and again, and again, apparently it never stops being funny.

Bloomin Ds1 and the stupid Knock Knock Dr Who joke which is his favourite, closely followed by 'Where does the King keep his armies? Up his sleevies'. They're born comedians .

I wish ds2 was a story monster, I mean he wants them but OMG he's so frustrating to read to! ds1 would concentrate, he has one page then throws the book on the floor! Can't believe your ds tells you jokes!!!! Wow.

Oli - wow at the joke telling.

We had running around a box for 1/2 hour and hammy attempts at falling over accidentally today.

dd1 now has an imaginary friend. It's a fairy, her name is Mary.

LOL @ Mary the Fairy .

Awww Oli school uniform is so cute

Sympathy for the trials of school starting, tantrums and anxiety. Tis tough to get shoved out into the social whirl of school.

AQ hope twin groups help, plenty of twins have survived into adulthood without being orpahaned so it must be possible! Seriously you will cope, you are a superwoman goddess and it shall all be fine. You may end up slghtly insane but we'll all pretend not to realise

Jokes? Jokes? Bloody hell!

We just got electricity back after 3 days without Also had one night without water in the middle of it all. Hurricane Gustav....

Congratulations Mrs. Indith I'm so happy everything went well.

Ds1 has only had one really bad morning before school to date but then it was closed most of the week last week so we may have to get him used to it all over again.

Counseling session went reasonably well I guess. We were able to ride home in the same car at least... The therapist said our marriage was akin to a garden that had not been tended, fertilized or watered for 6 years so a lot of work to be done We're going to go every week for 6 weeks and then reassess.

Ack, Jabber, wondered about Gustav glad you're ok, and also that counselling session went as well as it could for a first one (IYSWIM).

V impressed at Oli's ds2 - and am also looking forward to seeing dd2 on her own: I've had brief pre-views during dd1's playdates etc, and she's just so much more, iyswim, when she's got full attention. I probably would be too, come to think of it

Margo at your dd1. I used to have an imaginary friend called Mary as a child - not a fairy, just 'my friend Mary' and had to set places at table for her etc. My DM then had a friend called Mary, many years later, and she is still known as 'My Friend Mary' to this day

Anyone else's LO discovered the phone recently?

dd2 now grabbing it at every opportunity, switches it on, brings it to me shouting 'eyo, 'eyo! She has yet to ring China, but...

Though she did melt her granny by describing her dinner down the phone as 'numnum, , yeth, miam, byebye Mamie!'

Gosh Jabber! Makes me very grateful for our slightly less destructive miserable weather. The river may be over its banks but I live up a very big hill!

Glad the counselling session went as well as could be hoped. That you are both committed to giving it a good go is a wonderful thing whatever the outcome.

Eli ds has loved the phone for ages and holds anything phone like to his ear for long, really expressive "conversations" The actual phone remains out of his reach and all mobiles have the keypads locked!

Indith - you all looked lovely.

Photos are lovely Indith - are there more on FB? Or more coming at least - that was like a tantalising starter!

I love seeing wedding pictures.

DD also a phone addict - has only just built up the courage to actually talk to people but has very interesting conversations with pieces of duplo or anything square-ish. She even talks to the cord bits that hang down on her coats! Indith - have learnt my lesson with the locked keypads - 999 still works! DD managed to dial 999 but fortunately passed the phone to me (Daddy was wanting to talk to me apparently ) before pressing dial.

She has suddenly developed an imagination. Is incredible to watch for me being a first-timer. She sat down on the floor this morning and built a house out of magazines and then got her doll and put it in the house and sat there bringing the doll water and toast . Game fell apart when she attempted to get the (real) dog to join the doll in the 'house', dogs just don't seem to get the importance of going where she pleases.

Jabber - glad you have survived relatively unscathed, and pleased to hear that the counselling is ongoing.

AQ - all boxed up and ready to go. Got quite emotional at one point over seeing all of DDs little things again and have got more in bigger sizes if and when you want them. Should be there by middle of next week.

Wow - must press post before I bore you all into submission.

Ah Indith....lovely lovely photos! More, please

LenniEd, I get amazed too, and I'm not a first timer - think kids' developing is just extraordinary. One minute they're a small blob, the next they're figuring out the world and re-inventing it...

dh sounds as though he has croup not physically possible in a 48 year old man, I'm sure. God I hope dd2 doesn't catch it, whatever it is.

He also bought himself a Wii Fit for his birthday a couple of months ago, and we have finally set it up - I'm not sure whether to love or hate it: it says my BMI is perfect but my fitness age is 63 [anger]

But I did beat dh in a two-person jogging match....

That would be

Brain-age also 63

lol - your fitness age will soon improve (how I wish that was true for my real age)

I'm intrigued by those Wii fitness things but also totally terrified by the results. 63 doesn't sound too bad to me Eli. I look and feel about 150 these days.

Lovely piccies Indith.

Hope the counselling continues in a positive way Jabber and you don't get washed away in the meantime. Things can only get better eh?

DD2 has been an active phone user for some months now. Probably got it from her siblings: the police turned up at the ILs house on Christmas day once when DS and DD1 had been repeatedly dialling 999

Indith - lovely pictures

Jabber - glad counselling wasnt a negative experience. Are you concerned about hurricane Ike?

Eli - DD loves the phone. Obsessed with it.

We have a wii fit. It is great but i havent been able to use it with the holidays! My plan is to try and go on it when DD2 has her nap and DD1 is at school! She starts tomorrow. Eek.

I love the thought of all our lo's simultaneously obsessed with phones and shoes . DS2 wandering around as usual jabbering into ours when it rang, he just about jumped out of his skin and sprinted over to me looking horrified!

Indith, more photos please!!! Lovely

I have put one of me (taken today!) on FB, a few people wanted to see how huge I was.

Lennied, really appreciate the clothes, just finished ironing all the boy stuff up to 3-6 I had OMG. It is lovely watching them develop, ds2 v.patiently putting several animals to bed this morning in the (shoebox) crib complete with pillow & duvet, saying night--night to each.

Jabber, I like the garden metaphor, hope it gets there for you both.

Ah AQ you carry them well. It's a lovely picture!

Ooh, AQ I was going to ask you for a bump photo - it's lovely. I do feel a bit . I bet you get masses of comments, don't you? I've got a parcel of Newborn girl's babygros ready to post to you tomorrow. Is there anything else that you're short of?

I've added a couple of photos of ds1 and 2 to FB, need to find a nice one of Dd. She's a bit camera shy.

Jabber, that garden metaphor is very applicable to my marriage too. I hope you get the reults you want from the counselling.

Indith, your dress is stunning, as is the bump. We do want more photos though please, have you got that yet?

We have a phone addict here too, he likes to talk to dh when he rings from work "Ello.......fine..........yeah........yeah.....okay...byeee". He has the same conversation regardless of whether anyone's on the other end or not!

AQ, soon as I get off MN, I'm going to find that photo of you on FB

Wii fitted with dd1 this morning, she beat me on the press ups but made up for it by cheering me on on my short distance run, which I got 4 stars and an extra game for as a reward. Not bad for 63, eh

Been preparing uniform for dd1 tomorrow, and can't find the PE shorts - cue panic (mine) as letter from head said 'dont' forget your PE kit'. Ah well, have put nice pink shorts in PE kit in case they need them on first day and will buy new ones...can't think what I've done with first pair??!? She's very excited now. I feel mixed .