1st Cuddles with Baby Rory-Paul

Last Sunday we finally had the pleasure of meeting the latest addition to the family - Rory-Paul. It seemed really weird because Holly has been the baby of the family for so long and we all still think of her as a baby, but when you see her next to Rory-Paul it makes you realise that she is definitely no baby anymore. 

Despite the blazing heat Rory-Paul was very well behaved around our house and slept most of the time. Come to think of it I am not sure I even got to see his eyes open! But he is a beautiful and very content little baby.

Me having my first cuddles with Rory-Paul with Holly looking on

Holly has had plenty of practice with her dolls. She seemed very comfortably holding a 1 week old baby.

It doesn't seem like that long ago that Joshua was this small and I was holding him in my arms as he now does with Rory-Paul.

And finally Tina gets a cuddle with the new baby. Brandon was too interested in his PS4 and gaming chair to bother with the baby!

Last Day of School / Nursery

Today is the day that Mum's all over the country dread - the end of the school year signalling the kids 6 week break from school. It makes me die reading all the comments on social media from mums who dread the 6 weeks and wonder how the hell they will cope and get through to September with any kind of sanity . I find this absolutely amazing and shocking as I would give anything to swap with Tina and let her do my job for 6 weeks whilst I spent 6 weeks entertaining the children. They don't realise how precious these school holidays are and just how much fun can be had.

Anyway Tina got very emotional at Treehouse today as it was also Holly's last day at nursery (ever) as well as the boys last day at school. It's funny because she hasn't got this worked up and emotional when the boys left nursery for primary school so we can only put it down to the fact that it is either because Holly is our youngest and there will be no more children or simply because she is our little girl. When we picked Holly up she had cuddles from all the staff and then chased them around the outdoor area squirting them with a water squirter.

Brandon was fine leaving Year 4 but we did make sure that we managed to get pictures of him with his teachers. Joshua has been very good the last 2 days after some serious talks after his latest school report. If only he could have behaved like this all year instead of just the last 2 days. Anyway Joshua's teachers got all the kids a really cool keepsake pen which is engraved with the words "I'm ready for year 6!". Such a cool idea and Joshua loves it.

So the 6 weeks commence and the countdown to September when for 1 year only we will have all 3 kids in the same school.

Holly looking so grown up on her last day at Treehouse, Tina out of shot and getting all emotional.

Holly's final cuddles with Paige.

No tears from Holly as she says farewell to Alish.

Amazingly Holly's teachers are still smiling after she chased them all around soaking them with a water squirter.

Brandon's farewell picture with Mrs Plough. Another good year for B.

And final cuddles with Mrs Meech.

This was the pen that Joshua received from his teachers.

Not sure why the picture is upside down but you can see the engraving saying, "I'm ready for year 6!".

2017/18 School Reports

So after Holly's amazing school report from last week it was time to receive the year end reports for the boys. 

Brandon's report was very good and shows that he is working at the expected level for reading, writing and science and is exceeding expected standard at maths. He puts in a good level of effort for reading and writing and an excellent level of effort for maths and science. 

The personal comments at the end of Brandon's report reads, "Brandon is a polite and kind young man and often offers to help in class. He also has a solid group of friends and clearly enjoys socilaising with them, he needs to ensure that his friends do not distract him though. Brandon clearly enjoys sport and is proud of his achievements in the cross country and swimming finals and rightly so, we are proud of him too. Overall Brandon is a pleasure to have in class. Target: Next year Brandon needs to organise himself more, as he often loses or misplaces his possessions". 

That final comment couldn't be more accurate having found his winter gloves, woolly hat and New York baseball cap in the end of year lost property!!!! So overall we are very proud of B's accomplishments this year and as such he has earnt an end of year reward and we bought him a new PS4 headset and dual gaming chair.

Joshua on the other hand had his first ever disappointing school report. At the Xmas parents evening we were generally pleased with both boys progress but there were comments from Joshua's teacher regarding his attention span, levels of concentration, the effort he puts in and how easily he gets distracted. So we had a big long chat with him and basically told him that he had 6 months to try and turn things around before his year end report.

The chat at Xmas obviously didn't work as Joshua's report showed that he is below standard on reading and writing and at the expected standard for maths and science. More of a worry though is that his report says that his effort in each subject needs to be improved. The personal comments at the end of Joshua's report reads, 

"Joshua has a good group of friends with whom he gets along with. He needs to remember that if something is bothering him he needs to tell an adult immediately and not say anything back to the child.

Joshua finds it difficult to stay focused on his work. He gets distracted very easily by using different procrastination techniques such as talking or saying he is thinking. He is told very regularly to stay focused. Unfortunately, due to this, he does not produce enough work to show his true ability. When he participates Joshua shares fantastic ideas. However because he does not always listen to what has been said, he is unable to participate in the discussions. As he goes into Year 6, the expectations of what he produces will be much higher. I know he can do it, as he has shown it from time. However, he needs to try and motivate himself to do his best as he will not always have an adult telling him to stay on task.

I wish Joshua the best of luck in Year 6 and hope that he shows his true ability with his hard work. Good luck".

Needless to say the report wasn't what we was expecting and as such Joshua has been punished with Playstation time and also did not receive any rewards like Brandon did for his end of year report. Josh tried telling me that he will work hard and concentrate next year so could he have a reward now. I told him that unfortunately the world doesn't work like that and that I get performance reports at work in just the same way that he gets school reports and that if I get a bad performance report then I don't get a bonus. I can't go to my boss and ask for a big bonus telling him that next year I will have an outstanding performance report!

Well done to Brandon for working hard in Year 4 and being rewarded with this PS4 headset and gaming chair.

The kids did all get a little treat today though as unfortunately I had to travel to France for work yet again this week. Last time I went I bought the boys a World Cup Brazil and Portugal school ruck sack - both of whom got knocked out of the World Cup in the very early stages. So this time I bought them both a France World Cup bag and told them it is the bag of champions (at least for 2018 it is). For Holly I bought her a 12 pack of Shopkins which she absolutely loves at the moment and plays with them all the time.

Out go Portugal and Brazil, in comes the new French ruck sacks. 2018 World Cup winners.

A very happy Holly with the latest additions to her Shopkins collection.

Sex Education at Year 5!

It seems hard to believe but at the end of Year 5 the children get the start of the sex education talks from the school. I was somewhat surprised that this starts so early and to date I haven't really given this subject much thought, thinking I still have years to go.

Anyway apparently the school split the Year 5's in to boys and girls and then took each group off for a discussion. This initial discussion seems to be more about explaining to the kids the changes that their body will go through during puberty as opposed to how babies are produced. Apparently the kids have all been told that the correct words for the male and female genitals are penis and vagina (respectively) and that they are to use that terminology when referring to them.

The boys were also told about getting pubic hair, hard feelings in their penis and the possibility of wet dreams and that the wetness is not urine and is nothing to be ashamed of. It all seems a lot for a 10 year old to take in if you ask me.

Apparently in Year 6 just before heading off to senior school they are given the full on sex education talk taking things to the next level. So I guess I have a year to prepare for the inevitable questions and the first "chat" that I will need to have with one of our children.

Abacus Summer Bounce 2018

You know it is getting near to the end of the school year when the kids have their Summer Bounce. Holly in particular had been getting excited about this all week long. The school have been so lucky with this event as every year when they hold it seems to be blistering, hot weather and this year was no different.

As usual Tina was working at the event as part of the FAPS group leaving me on "Daddy-day-care" duties. This year was a little easier than in the past as the two boys just went off and did their own thing with their friends and I only really had Holly to chase around after. I barely saw the boys for the full 3 hours unless they wanted money for a burger or drink or something in which case they would soon seem to find me!

Holly on the giant inflatable slide.

Great action shot of a not so lady-like Holly.

Joshua looks to have nearly outgrown the electric go-karts. Not sure he will be going on these in Summer Bounce 2019.

Joshua leading his mate Tom on the go-karts.

Holly chilling on an inflatable.

Joshua getting wiped out.

Good high jump from Josh this time as he avoids a wipe out.

Brandon tucking in to some candy floss after his burger.

Brandon doing a forward flip on a bouncy castle.

Brandon sent the evening running around with his best mate Brett.

I spent all evening looking after this one as the boys did their own thing.

A Hot Day at Papermill Lock

This summer has just been off the charts as once again we have had a weekend basking in 27 to 29 degree C temperatures. Like last weekend I want to make the most of every weekend for the next 4-5 weeks whilst the football in on a summer break. So today we went canoeing at Papermill Lock. 

We did our usual and set-up at a bridge in Boreham and then rowed up to Papermill Lock to meet Tina for a picnic. This time we took a load of water bombs with us and played battle ships to make the row a bit more interesting. It was just so hot today that you actually enjoyed getting splashed or hit by the bomb to cool you down!

One of the main reasons the kids like going to Papermill Lock is their chocolate cake! Well can you believe it, for the first time ever since we have been going there they had no chocolate cake. So Brandon settled for a scone, Holly a caramel slice and Joshua a lemon cake. After the picnic the boys enjoyed cooling off by jumping in and out of the water (sometimes with a little helping hand from Holly who would sneak up and push them in).

The King Armada launches in to the Chelmer.

Beautiful water today, no current and blistering sunshine.

A quick family picture before heading off up river.

And off we go, let battle commence with the missiles.

Joshua pushes Brandon in to Papermill Lock.

Joshua celebrates whilst Brandon vanishes in to the murky water.

Both boys enjoying a refreshing dip in the water on a very hot summers day.

Joshua jumping in to the Lock.

Can Brandon walk on water or is he jumping in?

Rory-Paul Arthur Brickwood

Today could have been the most amazing day for two reasons had it not been for Croatia beating England in the World Cup semi-finals last Wednesday. So whilst we were not playing in the World Cup final,which eventually saw France beat Croatia 4-2, there was a new exciting addition to the family as Zoe and Nick gave birth to Rory-Paul at 16:02 weighing 6 lb 14 oz. So Holly is no longer the youngest in the family and the next generation of KISMET has been born in to the world.

Joshua, Brandon and Holly are all really excited to meet the new baby and have been digging out their old Rory the Racing Car stuff which they can hand over to the new baby.

Loving the hat. Welcome to the world Rory-Paul. Born on the day France won the world cup for the 2nd time.

Holly Graduates from Treehouse Nursery

Today was a very proud parent day as we got to attend Treehouse Nursery to attend Holly's graduation from Nursery before starting Primary school in September. All the kids and staff did an amazing job and put on a really good graduation. It all started indoors with a picture slide show presented with some backing music. We then all went outside and waited for the kids who were marched out and ready to perform a little show for all their parents. They sang some songs, did some dance routines and then all got up one by one  to receive their graduation certificates and mortar boards etc.

There were a lot of emotional Mum's and teachers at the event. Tina certainly had a little weep seeing out little girl and our last baby graduating from nursery and moving on to the next chapter in her life.  Holly received some lovely little keep sakes from her graduation including her work book, a graduation certificate, a wooden Treehouse key fob type thing with her name on it, her Treehouse mortar board, a poem about when they started and were small and so much more.We managed to get pictures with all of her teachers before leaving.

Holly's report is outstanding and she is at her age level or above for everything and they have absolutely no concerns with her development. However there is one extremely amusing comment right at the start of her report which absolutely sums Holly up completely - "She is a lovely polite lady until she pops at the lunch table and thinks its funny!". That's my girl!

Holly marches out with all the other kids ready for their graduation ceremony.

Holly has grown so much at Treehouse and has changed from being a toddler to a young lady.

Holly doing a hula hoop dance move.

Holly having fun with her dance routine.

Receiving all her graduation gifts from her teachers.

The teachers made all the kids one of these mortar boards with leaves on top staying with the natural Treehouse theme.

Our little girl proudly holds her graduation certificate.

Class of 2018 keep sake.

Personalised with Holly's name on the back.

No graduation is complete without the shot of you throwing your hat up in the air.

Holly with her Treehouse keep sake.

Holly and one of her teachers Mary.

.... then Alish.

.....then Katie.

......and finally Paige.

Holly's official graduation picture from Treehouse. Such a beautiful little smile.