Sunday Sunday

3 years ago the perfect Sunday for me would have been to wake up early and head down the gym for a workout or go out for a run. Then have brekkie, clean the car, mow the gardens, watch a grand prix and chill out with a Sunday roast. 3 years later and this is far from the perfect Sunday for me as its all about the boys.

This Sunday wasn't massively different from last week. Up bright and early to get the boys to football club. The good news hear is that Joshua will be moving up to the next class at 10 o'clock starting next week, so we do not have to rush around so much on a Sunday morning. The bad news is there is still no sign of Brandon being able to officially start. After football club I managed to squeeze in a quick cheeky workout before taking them both swimming. Whilst I was in the gym the two boys run riot for 45 mins in the soft play area.

After swimming it was home for lunch which was followed by some painting and then some role playing. Both boys decided they wanted to dress up, Josh as a Police Man and Brandon as a Fireman. So to further enhance their role playing I grabbed a big sheet from the airing cupboard which we draped over the kitchen table to make a play den. 

Anyone here was Mr Fuzz driving around in his police car, arresting me for running around the house too fast.

And here is Mr Fireman Sam who was bashing everything with an toy axe.

Mr Fuzz calling the Fireman to let them know there was a fire to attend too.

In the afternoon both boys were asking if they could go out in the bike trailer. So despite a very tiring morning off we set. I decided to take them over to the Wickford Church off  Runwell Rd. Unfortunately it was closed so we only got to see it from the outside. However on the way back we decided to explore the Wickford Memorial Park for the first time.

The boys at the entrance to the Church.

Now I have to confess I have lived in Wickford for over 10 years and have not been to the Memorial Park. What a mistake? It is probably one of the better parks in our area and has basket ball courts, a big park / play area, crazy golf, ice cream parlour, a bit of woodland and a nice river flowing through to name just a few bits. Despite today being a bit chilly, both boys loved playing in the park and time seemed to fly past. Next thing I know Tina is calling the mobile saying dinner is ready and we have a 20 min cycle to get home (doh!). Despite blasting home on the cycle Brandon managed to fall asleep in the trailer, albeit only for about 10 mins.

Anyway here are just a few snaps from the Memorial Park.

Brandon only braved this slide once, Joshua was up and down like a yo-yo.

You won't be surprised to hear Joshua climbed up on this all on his own.

The two boys racing each other down the extra wide slide.

Brandon is addicted to swings. The picture doesn't really show it but these swings were pretty "free" swinging and consequently went very high. All Brandon kepy saying was "higher", "higher" as usual.

So you can see my Sundays are now jam packed with activities for the boys and to be brutally honest at the end of the day I am not sure who is more tired, me or them. Reading the bedtime story tonight I could have easily nodded off myself.

Southend United

It seems that just lately no blog update is complete without mentioning Brandon and food. Yesterday I was cooking up a quick easy dinner of sausage, mash and beans and Brandon was helping out in the kitchen (given that Joshua and Mummy were out at Tia's birthday party). First time I turned my head and he was diving down the saucepan of uncooked baked beans and chomping away. Then outcome the uncooked sausages from the fridge and the moment I turn my head he has picked up a raw one and again is chomping away! Honestly you'd think we never feed the boy.

Still no signs of Brandon being potty trained. Now that the weather is warming up a bit we have decided to start letting him walk around the house with no nappy or trousers on in hope that he might start showing some interest in the potty/toilet. So far there has been no accidents which is good.

Brandon is also desperate to start football club with Joshua. We now take him along every week in hope that the coach will tell us there is a space available. Unfortunately it looks like it will be March/April before he can start (at which point Joshua will be moved up to the next group!). Today we let Brandon don his Southend Football Kit so that he felt like part of the class and gets used to wearing a kit for football club.

Out on the wing.

Setting up the shot.

Gooooaaaaaallllllllll.

In comes a cross.

And its in the net.

After football club and then swimming I decided to dust off the bike trailer and take the boys out for a ride. We ended up doing a bit of a tour of multiple parks in Wickford and was out for some time in the end. Both boys seemed to love being i the trailer though.

Joshua is scary in public parks as he now seems to be capable of climbing the highest possible climbing frames he can. How long before he really takes after his father and sprains an ankle or two or three.....?

Final update on Joshua is that we appear to have reached a natural phasing out of the milk bottle with him. For breakfast / mid-morning he is happy to drink a cold glass of milk and nighttime he no longer has his bed time bottle.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To get away from Brandon.

What do you get when you cook a Sunday roast with a hungry little carnivorous 2 year old around? You get a resourceful little chap who gets his stool from the bathroom, climbs up on the kitchen side and starts feeding himself with your Sunday roast chicken.

A King's Banquet

Like our Queen, it is only fair that the King also has two birthdays every year. So despite Brandon actually being 2 three weeks ago, his birthday party was held this weekend. The venue was Pitsea Leisure Centre with an hour in the Fun Factory soft play and then an hour in a party room for some food and drinks. Overall I would say the party went very well and both Joshua and Brandon thoroughly enjoyed themselves. There are not too many pictures to share as we were all pretty occupied with the party more than the camera, and in fact I have no pictures from i the Fun Factory. I have never seen Joshua so red faced and hot after charging around with Mia, Zac, Tommy and Brandon for an hour solid!

In the party room all the kids sat down for some grub. We had a Buzz Lightyear birthday cake so that we could all sing happy birthday to the little man.

Is Joshie's cheeks redder than the bottle of juice?

Little Brandon in his green "I Am 2" top.

The highlight of the party room seemed to be the giant inflatable birthday cake. All of the bigger kids thoroughly loved charging into this and pushing it all around the party room. All good things come to an end though and it was only a matter of time before a candle was pulled off an slowly but surely the cake deflated.

Brandon got yet more lovely presents on the day which I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with. So thanks to everyone who came along to make his day special and who bought him a present. Also a big thanks to all the helpers in the party room and in the Fun Factory.

JJ - (Not Joshua Jason, Jumbo Jigsaw)

Poor little Brandon had a rare accident at nursery today . Whilst charging around the little guy fell over and cut his bottom lip on his tooth. Fortunately his lip is not too swollen and it hasn't stopped his appetite in anyway. Speaking of appetites I am sure Joshua is having another growth spurt as he is eating incredible amounts of food. He is tucking away two breakfasts every day and at nursery asked for 3 portions of dinner today!!!

Anyway as promised after nursery today I had a special treat for the boys. A jumbo sized Fireman Sam jigsaw puzzle. Both Josh and Brandon wasted no time getting tusk in and with a little help managed to complete all 24 pieces.

Team work eh!

And in goes the final piece.

To give you an idea of the size of the puzzle here is Joshua laying on the finished piece.

The really cool thing about this puzzle is that it is reversible. On the reverses is a simple wipe clean, black and white Fireman Sam picture which the boys can colour in. Brandon seemed to thoroughly enjoy this part of the puzzle.

Solve the puzzle

Now that Brandon is 2 it is time he starts his phase in sessions into the Bob The Builder room at nursery. He had his first session this week and the feedback was very positive. He will now be a lot closer to his brother (in adjacent rooms) and when they have garden playtime they will both be together. God help all the other children!

For Brandon's 2nd birthday we bought him lots of dressing up costumes as he has shown an interest in this at school and home. However the little dude has hardly touched any of them so far. Joshua on the other hand is relishing having another Fireman Sam costume.

Joshua has also shown a real keen interest in jigsaw puzzles lately and is actually very good at them. He can pretty much complete a 12 piece puzzle on his own and can just about manage a 16 piece wit a little help. Both boys are going to love me tomorrow as I have bought them a jumbo size fireman Sam puzzle which is reversible and can be drawn on on one side. In fact it is so big that I couldn't get it home on my bike tonight hence why they have got to wait until tomorrow.

How do you keep a noisy, active 3 year old quiet. Easy - stick his mouth together with handy manny stickers!!! Before anyone reports me for child cruelty can I just add that this was completely Joshua's idea and his own doing. We actually told him to stop.

Finally another first for Joshua. This morning when he woke up he was full of excitement telling Mummy all about a dream he had, The dream was something about me taking him to a zoo with frogs and giraffe's etc. We know Joshua dreams quiet a bit and is showing signs of being a sleep talker like his Dad, but this is the first time he has discussed a dream with us.

Posh Boys

What could these handsome little chaps possibly be dressed up for????????????? They will be putting their old man to shame. What a pair of lady killers.