No Arm Bands

Well sorry for the lack of blog updates lately. Unfortunately it is that time of year where the 24hr Thunder Run preparation takes priority and it is increasingly hard to free up time to write blogs when I am running over 100km per week! Still all the hard work is now done and I am resting up ready for the race this weekend. The good news is that this year we are planning on taking Joshua and Brandon. I think it will be absolutely great for them to witness their Dad competing in such an event and firing up their enthusiasm for running and exercise. Also it will be a great opportunity for the two boys to have their first real camping experience (outside of the tent in the back garden). So hopefully I will have some good pictures from the weekend to share next week.

On a different subject the two boys are slowly starting to settle down in the new nursery. It has only been a month so far and Brandon is still a bit tearful when we drop him off. However Joshua seems to have gotten over this stage now. The nursery are helping us try to progress Brandon’s potty training but he is proving one stubborn little cookie on this subject and despite sitting on toilets and potties, he has yet to use one properly. He is itching to wear big boys pants like Joshua but just will not make that first attempt. The big question is can we get him potty trained before holiday in September. One thing is for sure, Joshua was much easier to get potty trained than what Brandon is proving to be!

We are now starting to explore opportunities to get Joshua booked into swimming classes soon. I know I keep mentioning this, but both boys are doing so well at their swimming. It’s a reflection on the fact that they have pretty much been going every week since they were both 8 weeks old. Joshua is now at a stage where I would say he spends 80-90% of his time at the pool WITHOUT arm bands on!!!! You still need to keep a close eye on him at all times, but he has now learnt to tread water when he can no longer swim any further and can therefore keep his head above the surface. His confidence is growing by the week and he can now swim about ¼ of a length in a 25m pool unassisted and with NO armbands. The only problem is that Brandon sees his brother without armbands on and next thing you know he has whipped his off and jumped in!!! Unfortunately he can’t swim or tread water yet so you end up diving to his rescue Baywatch style!

Party Time

It seems like almost every other week one or other (or both) of the boys have a birthday party to attend. Most recently it was Joshua's best friend, Tommy's 4th birthday party. As you can see from the main colour in the pictures it was a very green "Ben 10" affair which was held at Tumbletown in Basildon.

All the kids lined up eager to go running off into the soft play area.

Before the food came out all of the children played some games which started with an electronic version of pass the parcel.

And Brandon wins a prize.

Closely followed by Joshua (the kids didn't notice but Daddy spotted the woman with the remote control to ensure the parcel music stopped on each and every child at some stage).

Then the moment Brandon had been waiting for - food time!

And notice Joshua still has a sausage left on his plate. Now that is a rare picture if ever I have seen one.

Wickford Open 2011

The boys are both very aware that Daddy plays golf now (or at least that he tries to play golf). Joshua in particular has expressed an interest to come along one day. So I guess it will not be too long before I have my very own caddie. However both boys are too young for a golf course just yet, so to quench their first we headed over to a little crazy golf course over the Memorial Park. Its not the most challenging course and by no means is it the tidiest or best maintained, but it is free and it is good enough for us to knock some balls around.

Joshua celebrating his ball in the hole.

Woops, missed.

Brandon desperately trying to hit his ball through the tunnel.

Trapping the ball between your feet is other wise known as cheating.

In the end Brandon shoves the club through the tunnel in order to push his ball through.

And there is even a water hazard on the course. Like father like son, Brandon ends up in the water.

Digger Land 2011

Somewhat of a late blog update as these pictures were taken a week and a half ago. We had a rare Sunday where there was no football clubs for the boys and thus we decided to have a family day out in Digger Land. Since last going to Digger Land they have changed the ride criteria from being age related to height related. So no longer could we just say that Brandon was 3 years old as the yard stick was set at a minimum of 90cm for all rides!!! This was a minor problem as poor little Brandon is 87cm. So with some cunning planning, a thick soled pair of trainers and a spiky hair cut we managed to get him to about 89.5cm. A cute smile at the cashier and the wrist band is on and he is allowed into the theme park to drive some diggers and dumpers - happy days.

To start with both boys went on the big 2 tonne dumpers. Amazingly Brandon pretty much had the steering completely under control and just needed minimal guidance from me to tell him which direction to turn.

Joshua is now old hand at these given that this was now his 3rd consecutive year at Digger Land.

This is the "Digaround" ride which Brandon absolutely loved. He must have rode on this bad boy about 6 or 7 times. Not good for the accompanying parent (i.e. me) as spinning around and around with the smell of JCB diesel is not good for the guts!

But how could I deny him another go when his face beams with pleasure as shown below.

Joshua in the tank.

Me and Brandon riding shotgun in the back.

Is this the Redbull pit crew?

One of my personal favourites is the joystick controlled JCB buggy's. These were a little difficult for Brandon to control so he just came along for the ride. But Joshua again got the hang of the controls and understood that one joystick goes forward and one back to turn etc.etc.

For the first time in 3 years Joshua was tall enough to go on arguably the biggest and fastest ride at Digger Land - "Spin Dizzy". From the ground this does not look very impressive, but trust me it is high and it is fast. I was a little apprehensive when Joshua said he wanted to try it, but we went on and he absolutely loved it. As soon as it finished his first words were "again".

Back down to earth with some small ride on vehicles.

A family picture of us on the JCB train ride.

Me and Brandon digging for some bricks.

Brandon taking a leap of faith from another armoured vehicle into Daddy's arms.

My two boys being lifted up 100ft into the air on a JCB. Stunning views across to Rayleigh Castle.

One of the rare rides that Brandon was too small to go on. Again this ground shaker does not look that impressive but me and Joshua were in hysterics getting bounced from pillar to post sitting in the front row.

Brandon in a big digger.

Brandon in a little digger.

Again Brandon was not allowed on the bumper cars due to height restrictions. Roll on when he is over 1m. Mind you they way Joshua spun me around and around I am actually glad that I didn't have to go on with Brandon as well.

We picked one of the hottest days of the year to go to Digger Land and come mid afternoon no amount of water or sun cream was cooling the boys down. So it was inside to the soft play area and out of the sun for a while. This didn't really help the boys call down much as they simply charged around like lunatics for an hour.

And to end a great family day out, another family picture.