Finn and Cora at 4 and 5

As babies, Finn and Cora were so close.  Their bond was special from the beginning and once she learned to walk, they were more like twins, her desperate to be as big and capable as Finn, he lazy enough to let her keep up.  They potty trained together, they came out of a cot and into a bed at the same time, they started hitting milestones at the same time and they looked after each other, communicating in their own way.  Of course they squabbled too, but their bond was special and sweet.  

Finn started school last year and immediately things changed.  Not only were they suddenly apart for the majority of the time, he was learning and growing without her, making new friends and carving out a new side of his personality, one that was different and separate to us.  Suddenly we didn't know everything in his life anymore and the age gap between them stretched back out again, him growing so fast, her left behind.

This year Cora started school, one year behind Finn and desperate to be there with her big brother.  He was so excited to show her his school, to teach her how lunchtime works, to help her find her way in the playgrounds and I wondered whether it would change their ever evolving relationship again but of course Covid had other ideas and they are not allowed to mix at all at school as they are in separate bubbles.  

I have no doubt that Cora will start catching up with Finn and as they get older the age gap will seem smaller again.  I hope their friendship and bond stays though.  It is constantly changing as they grow and I find Finn can fight with her, but the moment someone else gets involved he is so protective of his sister.  He is so much taller than her, that the 16 months can look much bigger from the outside.  They are busy at the moment, developing their individual selves at school, making their own friends and their own decisions after sharing the same friendship group for so long and I hope that having the continuity and consistency they get from each other at home gives them confidence in new situations.

I never intended to have these two so close together but I am so glad I did.  It felt like I had two babies for a while as Finn wasn't walking yet when she was born but now they have similar interests and needs and they have a best friend at home.

Finn and Cora are both wearing Frugi clothing here which was sent to us as press samples

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Days Out in Devon - Canonteign Falls

When we were looking for days out near our yurt in Cullompton, we came across Canonteign falls, a National Trust site that we thought the kids would enjoy. It was our intention to go there for the morning before heading somewhere else after lunch but we ended up spending the entire day there as the kids were so content and happy exploring that it seemed a shame to drag them away!

Canonteign Falls is England's tallest waterfall and none of the children had seen one before so they were pretty excited, as was Ed who had also not seen one! We checked out the website and were reassured that all dogs had to be on leads (something that is important for us with a child afraid of them).  It was easy to find and parking was simple and at the entrance we were given maps and told about the Covid measures including masks when ordering food and a one way system.  

We found the playground first which had a couple of large trampolines in as well as the usual equipment so we had a play first.  Everything was well maintained and as we were visiting on a day where the weather wasn't the best, it wasn't very busy.  We had bought food for the ducks on the way in so next up was feeding the ducks in the huge pond at the centre of the site.

When it came to the waterfall, the first step was the bottom of it and we noticed regular visitors had brought wellie boots with them as you could play in the water.  My children decided to step in the water anyway with their shoes on so I would strongly advise bringing spares or coming better prepared! They could have spent much longer scaling the rocks and splashing in the shallow water but we managed to pull them away to begin the climb.

The path up to the top of the falls was well signposted and easy to follow.  There was a mixture of trail, steps, muddy walkways and boards and it wouldn't be accessible with a wheelchair or buggy. We took our time climbing up, stopping to spot all the fairies hanging in the trees, to explore the dinosaur made out of sticks, to sit on benches and eat snacks and to learn about the plants that grew around us.  There was so much to see and discover.  At the top there is a viewing platform where you can look down over the top of the fall and see for miles.  There were covid rules that meant only 2 groups could be up there at once and everyone followed the social distancing guidelines.  The views were spectacular and the children were amazed at how high we had climbed and how far they could see.  

The walk down didn't take nearly so long and at the bottom we discovered a wooden obstacle course with a zip line which entertained the kids for a long time too.  Again, there was not many other children and so it was easy to keep away.  We found more constructed animals and there was also a bee garden which we decided not to explore.

We had such a fantastic day out at Canonteign Falls and it is somewhere we would highly recommend and also hope to revisit in the future. Next time we will wear old clothes and welly boots though!

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