Two and Two

The children are all really close in age, when Cora was born I had 4 aged 4 and under but the biggest age gap is in the middle.  They have always fallen into two pairs really, the bigger boys and the little ones (who until recently were referred to as the babies). Archie grew up faster to keep up with Dylan and the little ones seemed to even out somewhere in the middle, acting more like twins at times.  They have an amazing relationship most of the time (although they are more than capable of fighting too) and sometimes at the weekends now, we end up splitting the children so they can do different things.

These little ones still need to run around, they need fresh air and freedom and they are easier to handle outside the house rather than in it.  The older boys, whilst still only 7 and 8 can cope inside for longer and enjoy quiet time to do their Lego or play games.  Ed and I are very different here (which works well at these times) as I would always rather be out, and I opt to take these two usually and go exploring.  He loves being at home and has the patience for Monopoly with children which I am definitely lacking! It feels strange having such a gap in what they want to do when they are all so close but it is lovely having the opportunity to indulge them all too and we make sure to spend time as a family as well.

These photos are from a recent weekend where we drove to a different beach to normal armed with a bucket and a ball.  We walked around the town and stopped for pancakes with Grandma, their Aunty and cousin and played out until dinner time.  We had a wonderful day and I loved being out with them.  The bigger boys had an afternoon of board games at home and maintain that they had more fun! 

I know that this age gap grows and shrinks, that it may get bigger before it gets smaller again and eventually I will have four teenagers but for now I am enjoying being able to spend time with them in pairs doing the things they love.