Profound apologies for the relatively quiet state of 2008 on the bairn blog. things have been quite stressful and hectic in the henley household this year so blogging opportunities have been quite rare. the last few weeks we have seen a few visitors to Henley towers with aunty jo coming up from Londinium before P meeting up with Kate and a visitation of Uma and Oompa from deepest, darkest Leamington Spa.
Aunty Jo ventured up a couple of weeks ago and we all had a fun-filled weekend with trips to Five Sisters zoo in Livingston before a spot of shopping and the obligatory Sunday trip to South Queensferry for coffee, cake and chilled coastal vibes. Last Thursday Peta headed up to Perthshire with G to meet up with friend Kate and pay a visit to their old school master from CH, the Mundells.
This weekend Uma & Oompa ventured north and after the long drive we all set about an action-packed weekend. We made a couple of trips to Ikea to resolve our lack of book storage at home (care of some lovely new bookcases). The highlight of the weekend was a trip to East Links Farm – http://www.eastlinks.co.uk/ – where there was fun galore to be had for both adults and bairns. Cole and P delighted in some of the swings and slides – whilst G was content with the tractors, trains and small furry creatures.
It has been quite a tough weekend with Gethin who has been fairly challenging of late, particularly for Peta who has him for over half the week and does more than her share over the weekend. His last few teeth are coming through (much drooling ensues) which is clearly upsetting him but everything is now becoming a battleground for negotation. Dressing, eating, bathing, going to bed, leaving the house and getting in the car seat are all becoming a battle of wills. It is really draining and whilst there have been massive highs with G’s behaviour – he is really empathetic and quite a considerate wee child – there have been many moments of exasperation and frustration.
I suppose the frustation is as much his as he struggles to come to terms with new words and new abilities (this week he has perfected the art of jumping) as well as the physical and mental limits that come with being a proto-2 year old. Anyway, he is definitely going to hit the terrible twos running and whilst – as everyone tells us – this is all quite normal it is really difficult to manage on a daily basis so any suggestions/tips/hints through the comments are more than welcome….
This here blog is in honour of the esteemed Gethin William Albert Henley Esq, 5162 days old, who was born on 3rd April 2006 at 18:04 weighing a healthy 9lb 11½oz.
Daddy Cole is enjoying a career as a web developer whilst mummy Peta is juggling working part-time with being an all-round top mum