Brandon gets his Red Stripe Belt

Well done to Brandon who this weekend took his first formal karate grading over at Laindon Community Centre where he was awarded his provisional 8th Kyu (white belt with red stripe). This was his first proper grading as previously he has only done the tots tests where they earn the red tags. I was on the grading panel for the day but obviously did not grade Brandon so as to remain impartial. I was however keeping an eye on Brandon throughout the grading and he did do very well.

 

After karate we raced over to Roots Hall as MIchael had us tickets to see a local derby between Colchester and Southend on Seas. The result was a 3-0 win to Southend, however we were kind of forced to leave ten mins before the end when the score was 1-0 as some of the Colchester fans were getting very rowdy and a few fights broke out over the other side of the pitch. Although we were very safe in the family enclosure, its not good for the boys to see fighting and we were a little worried about of these would be trouble outside the stadium as the Colchester fans came out. It is such a shame that a few idiots can ruin a good game of football when you have paid money to go and watch it.

 

Completing Brandon's sporting weekend he was playing away against Rayleigh Boys today who are a very good team. They have only lost 1 match this season and have had some very one sided wins. So we was expecting a hard game and possibly a loss. However the boys played absolutely fantastic, probably the best they have ever played and ended up coming away with a 1-0 win. The parents and coaches couldn't have been more proud of the boys and it is great when they show this type of football. Probably the biggest thing I noticed was the amount of commitment and determination from the team today. The fought from the first whistle to the very end.

 

Joshua's match was not so good today as he played away against Southedian Manor Lions and they lost 7-3.

 

Brandon receives his red stripe belt from Sensie Quinn.

Me and Brandon after his first proper grading.

 

Joshua and Brandon enjoying the action at Roots Hall.

Me, Michael, Josh, Brandon, Uncle Paul, Zoe and Amy. Oh and a load of very colourful language from surrounding fans!!!

Garage Door & Sore Head

Last night we had our parents evening for the two boys and I have to say that both of their reports were extremely good. They are both well behaved, progressing will and either on track for where they need to be or slightly ahead. Brandon is in top set for maths, his Topic book had some absolutely amazing work in it and really the only thing we need to be working on is getting his reading less robotic. Joshua is now concentrating much harder and adding more detail to his work, his topic book looked very good and he is still showing a strong tendency for maths as well. The main thing to work on with Joshua is getting his hand writing neater.

 

Anyway once we got home Tina, Brandon and Holly went in doors whilst me and Joshua went to the garage to put the buggy away. To cut a long story short the garage door broke about 4 weeks ago and then 2 weeks ago me and Joshua repaired it by fitting some new cones/cables and then retentioning the spring. After repairing the door and re greasing everything we had done such a good job that the door opens and closes with a feather touch. Well last night I put the buggy in the garage, turned the light out and then as I turned around Joshua could not see at it was dark in the garage and dark outside and subsequent pulled the garage door down. It dropped with speed smacking me over the head and dropping me to the floor screaming in pain and yelling things at Joshua which I probably should not have said.

 

After squirming around on the floor for a while I realised my hand which was holding my head was feeling very wet. When I looked at my hand it looked like it had been dipped in a pot of red paint. So I shut up the garage and ran to the front garden to get Tina to grab a load of tissue to soak up the blood and get some pressure on the cut to stop the bleeding. Holly came to the front door and saw the blood and pointed to my head saying "Ouch" - so funny. Anyway after 5 mins or so the bleeding stopped and then I downed some Nurofen to get rid of the crippling headache.

 

Once I was cleaned up we finished dinner and got the kiddies to bed. Then Tina being Tina made me go up A&E as she was worried about concussion and also whether my head needed stitching or gluing. So after a 5.5 hour wait in A&E I was eventually seen and they shaved some hair back, glued the wound and then applied some butterfly strips. Lisa and David kindly waited with me at the hospital and gave me a lift home at around 1:15am!!!

 

Joshua was really upset that he had A) hurt me badly and B) with the way I shouted at him. So I had to have a chat with him and apologise for shouting at him and explaining it was an accident. I told him that we had done too good a job at fixing the garage door. I told him that it was much better that he had done it to me as opposed to the other way around as it could have done a lot more damage to him and I would have felt really bad.

 



The before A&E picture once I had stopped the bleeding.

 

The after 5 hours at A&E picture with a shaved head, glued wound and 6 butterfly stitches.

Holly's 2 Year Check Up and Her New Hello Kitty Bike

Last week Holly went for her 2 year check-up and I am pleased to confirm she passed with flying colours. Unfortunately I couldn't be there in person due to travelling with work, but Tina told me that she walked in there babbling away, instantly playing with toys, picking up some books to read and even asked for "pot pot" to go to the toilet whilst there. Needless to say they had no concerns with her other than recommending that she had vitamin D for some reason. So despite not being 3 years old she is now taking one of the boys multi vitamin tablets every day!

 

Other news for Holly is that she has her first pedal bike with stabilisers. Auntie Lisa and Uncle David managed to pick up this fantastic bargain out of Tesco's. It is a Hello Kitty 12" kids bike for the grand sum of £10!!! To good an opportunity to miss. My intention was to just store it in the garage for a year or so until she was ready to ride it, however I set it up for her at the weekend and she absolutely loved it and kept saying "my bike" as I pushed her around on it. She hasn't quite got the idea of working the pedals yet but can certainly reach the pedals no problem.

 

Final update on Holly today is a picture of her holding an art angel that she made at her "Little Abs" club last week. She is so proud of her creative work.

 

 

Holly on her new 12" Hello Kitty bike with stabilisers.

 

She can reach the pedals OK but doesn't quite realise that you need to rotate them to make the bike move.

Holly testing her hands to see if she can reach the breaks.

We will soon have Holly ready to come out on family rides. I wonder if the boys old trail gator will fit this bike???

 

Holly proudly showing her art work that she made at her "Little Abs" club last week.

 

Minion Tooth Paste Dispenser

Joshua once again made it on to the school news letter this week we his achievements at the recent school swimming gala. The newsletter had the picture below of him keeping all wrapped up in his towel in between races.

 

Joshua on the school news letter again.

 

 

Other news is that the kiddies have a new tooth brush holder / dispenser in the bathroom which is shaped as a Minion. The dispenser sticks to the wall and the kids simply push their toothbrush into the Minion's mouth and the toothpaste is automatically dispensed. This should keep the bathroom a bit tidier and solve the problem of the toothpaste tube lid never been put back on!!! The trousers of the minion actually double up as a mouth wash cup which attached at the waist with a magnet.

 

Our new Minion toothpaste dispenser.

Joshua tests out the Minion.

Perfect, now for a rinse using the drinking cup shaped Minion trousers.

 

Brandon's Birthday Party

Today Brandon had his birthday party where he had invited half a dozen of his school friends and his football team for a round of bowling over at Hollywood bowl followed by a Happy Meal each. This was one of the first kids parties we have done where probably 50% of the parents dropped the kids off and didn't stay with them leaving them completely in our responsibility and I have to say it was quite stressful. Brandon really enjoyed his party though and got some really nice presents along with a stack of cash bringing his birthday money up to over £100!!!

 

This party was also the first time that all his football team have been invited to one of their birthday and it was intentional on our part as the team really hasn't come together as mates like what Joshua's U8 team has. So we figured that they really need some more interaction outside of the football to start to bring them together as friends as well as team mates. Brandon did ok and came 3rd in the bowling on his lane, the winner was our goal keeper, Connor.

 

Brandon with his U7 Tigers football team at Hollywood Bowl.

Brandon and all his biddies at the bowling alley.

 

Brandon's birthday cake was a Star Wars R2D2 cake.

 

Brandon looks on as his sparkler candle burns out.

After the bowling all the boys headed over to McDonalds for a Happy Meal (yes that is Joshua wearing shorts and t-shirt in the middle of winter!).

Brandon stuffing his burger and chips.

Once all the boys got their food we finally had a little bit of peace and quiet.

Everyone enjoyed the party and afterwards Brandon gave out his sweet cones and a football cup cake each as a way of saying thanks.

Brandons 7th Birthday

Today was Brandon's 7th birthday and would have normally been a typical Friday at school with after school archery clubs, karate clubs and football clubs. However by pure luck the school had an inset day today meaning Brandon had his birthday off of school. In addition to that I had been travelling in Slovakia and Czech Republic for the last few days and did not return home until late last night. So as it was an inset day, Brandon's birthday and I had been travelling - I also took the day off of work to make the most of his birthday.

 

So despite a late night for the boys where they stayed up to see me once I had returned from the airport, Brandon still woke up at around 6am with excitement about his special day. Whilst in our bedroom he opened his presents from his older brother and his little sister, they got him a pair of Heeley skate shoes and a set of match box cars (respectively). After getting washed, dressed and having breakfast, Brandon then tucked into the rest of his presents and was a very happy and very spoilt little boy. He had a Razor E100 electric scooter as his main present, Ren's Star Wars light sabre, and soft bow archery set and case, some Skylander Supercharger characters, a Real Madrid IPAD case, a West ham football bag, some Star was pyjamas and then about £40 cash from cards! Then later in the evening when some of the family came to visit he also got a Build-a-bear Chubakka from Auntie Nicky & family, some Star Wars Micro machines from Auntie Lisa and family and some West ham shin pads and shirt from Uncle Michael and Auntie Lea. Despite all of that lot he still has a bowling party tomorrow and probably another dozen or so presents from his friends!!!

 

Anyway once Brandon had opened his presents we spent the morning letting him play and try out all his new toys and gadgets. He was flying around on the electric scooter, managed to hit a 9 with his archery, but is a little nervous and cautious on his Heeleys. After Holly's lunchtime nap we gave him some options of how he wanted to spend his birthday and he decided he wanted to try the new "360" indoor soft play over at festival leisure, so we spent about 3 hours over there and all the kiddies had an absolutely great time as you can see from the pictures.

 

All ready the night before Brandon's big day with his silver Razor E100 taking centre stage.

 

A happy little boy on his 7th birthday.

Brandon before steaming into opening his presents (before his sister opened them for him!).

 

Brandon opening his new Skylander characters.

Opening his new West ham rucksack from Auntie Chris and family. Ren's light sabre glowing away on the floor.

 

Brandon posing with his new light sabre.

  

Forget Robin Hood, now Brandon has his very own soft archery set.

Brandon posing with his new bow.

Brandon's new Real Madrid IPAD cover.

Complete with his name and player number on the back of the shirt.

 

Time for Brandon to test out the Razor with his brother to teach him the ropes on his electric scooter (they only had one crash together!).

Brandon sets off and builds up to a speed of 10mph.

Brandon practising his soft archery and after a few minor correction he was soon hitting the target and getting ever closer to the bulls eye.

Joshua and Brandon having an archery tournament.

Brandon started to get some consistency with his shooting.

 

Over at 360 degrees I had the pleasure of being crammed in to a bumper car so that Holly could drive me around the track, She did very well and had such a blast.

Birthday boy hanging around in the soft play area.

Brandon spinning his sister around on the 360 degree disc.

Birthday boy practising ready for Ninja Warrior!

 

Holly driving in a play fire engine.

 

Holly enjoying the 360 degree merry-go-round. Me and Tina took turns taking her on the ride and the small circumference soon has your stomach churning!

Holly rides in the princess carriage.

 

 

Holly riding a horse on the merry go round.

A lovely picture of "H" on the front of the princess carriage.

The only transport fit enough for my little princess.

She looks so grown up sitting there with the seat belt on.

 

Holly in the tots area where she absolutely loved the slide.

And more Ninja Warrior practise as Holly shows good balance.

Joshua and Brandon enjoying a race on the bumper car track.

Joshua took track position and Brandon just could find that line to get in front of him.

Holly in the soft play - see-saw.

Brandon showing good gymnastics as he is just hanging around.

Action shot of the Birthday boy. I hope he doesn't hurt his man bits and end up spending his birthday in hospital like his older brother did last year!

Holly playing in the kitchen area and serving up some wooden pizza.

Birthday boy showing athleticism as he leaps from the green light to the red light.

Joshua sets off on the climbing wall. As usual he only went about 2/3rds of the way up and then bottled it and abseiled down.

That's about as high as Joshua would dare go.

Brandon's homemade 7th birthday cake.

Singing happy birthday to Brandon as he readies to blow out his candles before Holly does. Or is he going to chop them off with his light sabre?