Pair of tarts with the birds

Well today has been yet another eventful day - especially for Joshua. It all started when the little guy woke up with a very red and swollen eye. So it was down to A&E to get it checked out. Turns out it is an infection caused by the recent cold that he has had which has caused some inflammation of the eye. So he is now on a course of antibiotics. As if that wasn't enough he was diving all over me tonight and got a bit carried away and head butted me cutting his lip open. So on Monday I have to take him to nursery with a swollen eye and a cut lip!!!!!!! How long before the CSA come knocking on our door??????????

I've mentioned several times recently how Joshua is learning so much so fast and knows a lot more than we give him credit for. Well unfortunately his latest achievement is the dreaded "temper tantrum". Yes it has started early - if the little guy doesn't get his own way he can throw one hell of a paddy!!!

Finally for today's blog update I can official confirm that my two boys are a pair of tarts. Why I hear you ask? Well we took them into town today and they had the "birds" flocking all over them - 'literally'! See pictures below and you will see what I mean.

Alphabet Time

Well the last few days have been very eventful and so there are lots of updates to talk about with my boys. Firstly Brandon has now taken his first bottle of milk which Tina had expressed. He took to the bottle very well indeed and so this will make feeding a bit easier going forward. The downside is it means we are now continuously sterilising the breast pump and baby bottles again! Here's a picture of Dad giving his baby boy one of his first bottle feeds.

Today we also had to take Brandon back to the hospital to get a check up on his positional talepes on his feet. They were very pleased with his progress and have said there is no need to make any further appointments. We just have to continue with the stretching exercises which they have given us for him. Next Monday we also need to take Brandon back to the hospital for his hearing test.

After the hospital visit today we took both Joshua and Brandon to get them weighed. The good news is that Brandon is now above his birth weight at last and weighs 6lb 15oz which is nearly a 1lb increase from 2 weeks ago. As for Joshua he is now over 26lb having gained over 2lb in the last 3 weeks. You certainly know you are carrying him around these days!!!

Whilst we was at the Health Centre we asked them about a small lump on Brandon's right eye. They seem to think it might be a cyst and therefore we have got to get him checked out at the GP sometime next week.

Whilst doing our weekly shop this week we spotted a rather nifty toy for the boys. At some stage I think every child needs to own a set of alphabet fridge magnets. Well we found the set below which has a base unit that Joshua and Brandon can insert the letters into. Once inserted the base unit sings out a little song about the letter and its pronunciation. Its a really cool idea and Joshua seems to love playing with it. Maybe this will keep him out of the kitchen cupboards for a while.

Finally for today here is a picture of little Joshie larking around with Mummy in the kitchen.

Shrove Tuesday

As any parent will know there are some very special moments with your children which you cherish forever. With Joshua there have been many of these for me over the last 16 months. But yesterday at the swimming pool he caught me with a real magical moment. He was playing in the baby pool and decided to toddle over to the main pool by himself. He then crouched down to touch the water and you could see he was contemplating jumping in. Everyone in the pool stopped to watch what his next move would be. Well he sat down on the edge of the pool, then rolled himself into the water, he started treading water and turned around to face me at pool side with a big beaming grin on his face knowing he had just achieved something massive. His face was just a picture, he was so proud of himself that he went on to do it a second time!!

Anyway yesterday as you know was Shrove Tuesday and this was Joshua's first opportunity to try out some of Mum's homemade pan cakes. We also gave him a toddler fork to try and get the hang of stabbing food. He seemed to enjoy little bits of the pan cake and soon got the idea of a fork.

"OK what do I do with the spiky thing in my right hand and what the hell are you feeding me in my left hand?"


"I see, the pancake goes on the fork, and the fork goes to my mouth - this is easy!"


"Oh I give up with the fork, its much quicker using my fingers, and its more fun!"

Brandon is still doing well. To me he is losing his baby wrinkles now and has a very cute baby face developing. On Friday this week we need to take him back to the hospital for a check up on his feet and then next Monday he has got to get his hearing re-checked. We also plan on getting him weighed this Friday to see whether he has finally recovered back to his birth weight.

Cinnamon or Sugar?

Today Joshua went swimming again with his friends Millie and Joaben. Joshua is getting so confident in the water now. A couple of times today he pushed himself away from me and treaded water on his own. When I gave him a clap to acknowledge his achievement his faced beamed from ear to ear and he wanted to do it even more.


As yesterday was such a nice day we took our first family trip out to Southend Seafront for a couple of hours. We have been out shopping and visiting as a foursome, but not out anywhere for leisure. Joshua loved it down there and was splashing around in the muddy water and climbing all over the sea wall.

On the beach he was absolutely fascinated with a flock of seagulls which were flying above us. Here you can see the little guy pointing them out to his Dad.

A nice snap of Daddy and Joshie on the sea front. The tide was out but we still had a nice walk.

After all that exercise we figured it was about time Joshua tried one of the local Essex specialities - yes Southend Seafront donuts. Of course the big question is sugar or cinnamon - well for Joshua this was easy - since you have two hands then why choose one over the other - have both!!!

Of course we can no longer go to the seafront and not let Joshua have a go on some of the toddler rides. So here he is playing Thunderbirds and Bob The Builder (yes still eating his donuts!).

Finally I guess your wondering what Brandon thought of his first visit to the seaside. Well he was busy counting zzzzzzzzzz's in his buggy all the time we were there.

After all that fun and activity it is time for the two brothers to get some much needed R&R with an afternoon power nap. Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths would it????

Comforter

One thing we missed out on with Joshua in his younger days (like he is sooo old now!!!) was that he never really had a "comforter". Well tonight Brandon latched onto this little blue teddy and cuddled it to sleep on Mum's lap. So could this be his comforter? Look out for him dragging it around in future pictures................

We are still trying to get Joshua to understand that he needs to be gentle with his little baby brother. Perhaps those years of "pinging" Min in his bouncy chair have come back to haunt me as Joshua seems to enjoy doing the same thing to Brandon.

Here's some pictures of Joshua doing some drawing at home. This morning the cheeky little monkey dragged one of these blue chairs over to the conservatory back doors, climbed on the chair, and then tried opening the back doors! Speaking of doors he can now happily open all the doors in the house on his own so he is no longer bound to specific rooms!!

On a trip over to the park with my two boys............

Joshua getting to grips with the balance beam. He can now traverse the full length whilst only holding on by one hand.

The fearless one has no trouble in going down the slide completely unassisted now (and often slides right off of the bottom and onto his bum!!!)

3 Weeks Old

Can you believe that little Brandon is 3 weeks old today???? How quick has that gone. The little guy is doing really well although he is still keeping us awake nearly all night. Between Brandon and Joshua it seems like 50% of the day is spent changing nappies at the moment. Mine and Tina's hands are becoming very sore where we are washing them so much!!!

Anyway here is a nice picture of Brandon having a bit of play time.

Joshua seems to enjoy playing with all his old toys which we have resurrected for Brandon. Ironically he never used to like playing in this ring when he was younger. However now that Brandon uses it, suddenly he wants to start playing in it!!

Here's Brandon in his car seat getting ready for another trip outside.


Mummy and her boys.................

Daddy and his boys................

Today at nursery Joshua has been a bit of a cheeky boy and has been caught on several occasions biting and pulling hair. I have to put my hands up for the hair pulling because I do not mind Joshua playing rough with me, so when he is climbing on me at home I often let him pull my hair, nose etc.etc. But I guess I need to clamp down on that and make him be a bit more gentle. We thought the biting had gone away since he got bitten back at nursery, however this week he started doing it again. So this weekends objective is to teach him that biting is naughty and to stop him from hair pulling.

Double Trouble Trolley

Well both the boys are fed, bathed and asleep. So after a busy weekend chasing around being Dad it is time for some R&R. So tonight's blog update will be very brief as I am off to chill out and watch a movie or something before the crying starts!

Anyway onto something different. I have often bitched about the design of Tesco's shopping trolleys. It seems they try and reinvent the wheel and make a perfectly good design completely naff. But I have to give them credit for this design - how marvellous is this twin child trolley with a baby seat one side and a normal toddler seat on the other side? As you can see Josh seems happy and Brandon in soundo!!!


Here's a picture of Joshua playing with Brandon's new toy which he bought with Auntie B's Boots voucher this weekend. As you can see Brandon was not too impressed.

And for those that still doubt that Brandon ever opens his eyes - check out this lovely little shot.

PS To all the ladies out there ----------- whats going on??????? I have two handsome young men living in my house and not one valentines card yesterday for the young studs!!!!

Brandon Is Official

Well Its official - Brandon Michael King was registered today and now has his own birth certificate (or 3)!!! The picture below shows the little chap posing (well sleeping) next to his certificate (its just a bit bigger than he is)!!!!.


It has to be said that Joshua makes his share of mess around the house these days. But to give him some credit he is also learning to clean up after himself. At meal times he often signals for a wipe to clean his chops or wipe the table down. But today he excelled himself. After the builders had left there was a substantial amount of mess which I started to hoover up. Well Joshua grabbed the hoover off of me and took over. When we tried to take it off of him he just threw a paddy and started crying. So I just let him carry on..............

Paternity Over

Well that's it - the paternity leave finishes today so as from tomorrow Tina is on her own through the day with Brandon. The 2 weeks off work have flown past very quickly. Somehow I think I will struggle getting up tomorrow since Brandon's night and days are still very topsy turvy!!!! Here is the little guy on one of his day naps wrapped up snugly in his Gunners blanket.


Today Brandon had another visit from the health visitor for a check out. His weight has increased by an ounce and is up to 6lb. Still 4oz short of his birth weight. Other than that everything else was healthy. Me and Tina are still amazed at just how Tiny Brandon is in comparison to Joshua, the pictures really don't capture this at all. Its not until you pick him up that you realise just how small and fragile he is. The picture below tries to show just how small his hands are.


I cannot forget to mention Joshua as well. He still loves giving his little brother lots of slobbery kisses. He is at the stage where he is into everything and anything and when he isn't causing havoc in cupboards he can be found climbing over everything (especially the sofa as shown below!). PS do you like Joshua's new Lightning McQueen slippers which he is sporting in this shot?

Guitar Hero

What is it they say - "start them young". Well here is young Brandon only a week old and getting ready to conquer guitar hero. Notice the right hand glove removed by the little man himself in order to strum the guitar strings on his sleep suit. PS and for all those who doubted that Brandon ever open's his eyes - check out the baby browns.

For my regular readers you may recall a Joshua blog update around 15 months ago where a young Joshua was asleep inside my fleece (it was a dad and son power nap time). Well some traditions just need to continue so last night it was chill out power nap time with Brandon.

Today we got Joshua his new shoes. I am glad I did not buy them yesterday as I was told he was a size 4.5F, today he was measured at 5F. So either they were measured wrong yesterday, or he had another growth spurt overnight.

Going back to the "starting them young" subject. Check out this picture of Joshua wearing a diving mask. OK so its off of his build a bear teddy, but there's no harm in getting him used to scuba equipment. One day both my boys will be get to experience diving for real as they buddy up with mum and dad.

Tonight I gave up on running a baby bath for Brandon and a normal bath for Joshua. So since Brandon seems to enjoy bath time I decided they can both go into the big bath. So here's a piccy of both the boys sharing their first bath together - place your bets as to who you think peed in it first..........and don't ask where Joshua's left hand is!!! No fighting yet about who gets the tap end, although Josh would be quite happy as he loves playing with taps!!!

Once Brandon was out of the bath it was time to get Joshua cleaned. Whilst shampooing his hair I decided it was time to see if we could get a mohican on the little guy. This was the outcome.........almost there.

Big Foot

Just recently I have noticed that Joshua's shoes, which are a size 3.5G, were getting a bit tight. Fortunately we bought a pair of size 4F's in the Clark's Xmas sale and so I changed over to them yesterday only to find they were also very tight. Since I wasn't sure whether it was just the thick winter socks I decided to get his feet measured today. Turned out he has lept to a size 4.5F!!! So much for the shoes purchased in the sale which he can now no longer wear. Fortunately Amber and Nelson bought him a pair of size 5 Nike trainers for his birthday so he at least has something to wear today. So I guess its a family outing to Clark's tomorrow to buy his next set of shoes!



Joshua also got some good news on Friday morning that the council have finally approved the plans for his 2nd floor penthouse suite. The chosen builder is obviously desperate for work and called up immediately saying he wants to start first thing Monday morning. I hope Brandon can sleep through construction work!!! Watch out for pictures as his new bedroom develops.



Brandon has also now been dragged out kicking and screaming (well not quite - actually he slept all the way!) around Tesco's for a weekly shop. The pictures below show his first experience in a shopping trolley.

Cordless Baby

As I sit here using my cordless mouse I can now confirm that Brandon is also officially cordless!!!!!!! Yes his cord dropped off a few days ago - this makes the bathing and nappy changes a bit easier. We have been joking that Joshua's cord stayed on a bit too long and overcharged the little fellow. If there was a race off between him and the energiser bunny then my money would be on Josh. He just doesn't slow down from 6am to 7pm!!!!!

Today we took Joshua and Brandon out for a little spin in their new twin buggy. We only went to the health center in order to get Joshua weighed. The little guy weighed in at a whopping 24lb 14oz which was over a 2lb weight increase. This has jumped him up a couple of curves on the growth chart and confirms my recent suspicion about his growth spurt.

Here's Tina pushing the two boys along. Joshua is "Me" and Brandon is "You".


Since you cannot see Brandon in the above picture then here is a close-up of his outdoor experience. Whilst I am talking about Brandon - how many of you know the meaning of the name? Well there is some argument about whether it is an old Irish or English name. But the most common meaning I can find is either "Prince" or "Brave". It is also referenced to a location of a hill which seems to have various names depending on where you look. So I will just call him my brave little prince. King by name, prince by nature.

We have also found a new favourite food of Joshua. Forget chicken bites, cheese sticks, white chocolate, yogurt covered raisins etc.etc. He is obsessed with chipates. Once a week we tend to cook a curry and rice and if we show him the chipates then he will not touch any of his dinner. He gets really excited at the site of them. So we have to hide them until he has eaten most of his dinner and then show them to him.

Finally for today here is a little snap of Joshua learning how to build with his mega blocks.