The Start of School Holidays

This time last year I was planning how we would spend the final summer of freedom.  My biggest boy had finished preschool and I knew it was the final six weeks before the start of something new and huge.  The year has flown by and my baby has finished his first year of school.  Reception is done and when he returns to school in six weeks time it will be as a year one student - no longer new but a proper school boy.  

He has grown and thrived at his school and I am so happy that we ended up with such a wonderful one.  He has been so busy and tired that we were all desperate for summer to arrive and so far it has been a fantastic one.  Dylan broke up on Wednesday and ever since the sun has shone and we have been outdoors enjoying it.

The first day was spent in my parents' garden, naked boys running in and out of the paddling pool, picnic lunch outside and a day that reminded me of being their age and playing with my brother and sister.  

Friday we headed to the beach, threw shells into the sea, built sandcastles and stayed out late because we could.  We ate ice creams, kicked a ball around and stopped for burgers and chips on the way home.

Today we went to the local woods to celebrate a friend's birthday.  We had a picnic and then explored, the babies in slings and the boys on foot.  They painted their faces with charred wood for some strange reason and they picked up every log to look at the wildlife underneath.  They snapped twigs to see how strong they were and searched for the perfect sticks.  They came home with mud under their fingernails and dirt on their knees and the bath has never been more needed.

We are only three days in to this six weeks of freedom and it feels perfect to be spending every day outdoors enjoying the weather.  The perfect antidote to a year in a classroom, a perfect way to enjoy all four of these beautiful children we created.

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School gets the best of him, I get the rest

School gets the best of him, I get the rest.

I don't know whether this is something all parents of reception children experience, I don't know if it is because my August born baby started school almost as soon as he turned four with trousers a little too long and sleeves that reached over his hands or maybe because he has always needed a little more sleep than your average child but I miss the 'him' that I have been reminded of these past two weeks.

Every morning I wake him, his eyes still sleepy and his body slow. I make breakfast and he dresses with little conversation. The walk to school sees him perk up, the fresh air hits and we chat about what the day holds. His eyes gain their sparkle, he holds my hand all the way and he is my boy. Almost as soon as we set out we are at the gates and he excitedly runs into the classroom with a kiss and a smile over his shoulder. 

His teacher gets the pleasure of his company between 9am and 3:15, she watches him learn and explore, build friendships, learn independence, laugh and smile. The child she sees is a delight, sociable, inquisitive and full of energy.

I meet him at the school gates and nothing beats the look on his face as he spots me, a smile that lights up his whole face.  He runs out and gives me the biggest hug. I ask a question about his day but I already see him shutting down and by the time we walk through the front door he is done, he slumps into the sofa requesting food immediately and needs some quiet time.

The rest of the afternoon is both long and short at the same time. The hours until bedtime seem to drag but nothing really happens.  I don't push too much as I can see already that I won't get anywhere, he can manage to watch tv, listen to a story or two but not much else. His energy is spent, he is still my boy but not completely.

The weekends are spent recovering, catching up on sleep, getting things done, time with his brothers who he misses in the week and Sunday night seems to follow straight on from Saturday morning without us really having time to catch our breath.

The past two weeks I have had him at home with me, and I have realised how much I love his company, how sweet and caring and intelligent he is, how much I miss having him around, how much fun we have together.  He has been at school since September, this isn't the first break but a mixture of the beautiful weather and all the possibilities it brings and the fact that by the next week off I will be so heavily pregnant that things won't be as easy, I won't have as much energy and he won't have as much of my focus.

This fortnight has been amazing, I have been privileged to see the side of my boy that only his teacher really gets at the moment, we have made memories, spent time just holding hands and making sense of the world, we have curled up together to watch films, done puzzles on the floor, built sandcastles on the beach and relaxed into our days with no set times to be up and out.  It has been the first time since he started school when I have seriously considered home schooling, just so that I could spend more time with this wonderful boy of mine.

Dylan doesn't feature so heavily on the blog any more and this is a big reason why, there just isn't enough time in the week with him.  I love this boy of mine, I love watching him grow, learn about the world and about himself.  I love his sweet smile, how he is so protective over his brothers, so loyal to his friends and how he can still be my baby when he gets tired.

School will be claiming his energy again but I am holding out for the next week off and some time to really appreciate him again.

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Just the Three of Us

Dylan started school in September and we have had to find our new normal.  The half days didn't help as there didn't seem to be long enough either before school or during to get up to much, so we had another couple of weeks until we could create a routine that works for us.

Archie took a while to adjust to this huge change.  His big brother has been part of his life since he was born, and as soon as Dylan started preschool, I looked after a friend's son, so he had a playmate still every day.  He is a middle child, used to constant company and he loves having someone to share his play with.  He is happy to play alone, but he wants conversation as he does it and he would always pick playing together.  

Finn is laid back, and at six months the change didn't bother him so much.  At eight months now he is starting to play, to communicate, to entertain his brother and whilst he is no substitute for an imaginative four year old, Archie loves him.  Whilst Finn is still not particularly interested in moving, he wants to be part of his brother's games and he has the biggest smiles when he thinks he is being included.  He chats in his own language and Archie interprets him in some rather strange ways, but they are happy this way.

Our new routine is set between the hours of nine and three fifteen.  We have to make sure we are back at the schoolgates on time for their all important reunion.  It has been amazing watching the bond between my youngest two develop.  The big two are so close they are the best of friends and I want Archie to continue to have a friend.  Finn has a lot to learn but they are finding ways of playing together and poor Finn is always getting cuddled (unfortunately Archie has a tendency to cuddle with his arms around his neck).

I grew up with a brother and sister close in age and my memories are of the games we played.  I remember the arguments too of course - they are inevitable when any three people spend that much time together but mainly I remember how we played.  Obstacle courses in the gardens that we set up together and raced around competing.  Upturned tables that we hopped between as rabbits with hutches under chairs.  The playing pretend with schools and shops that I see my own children doing when they pack their Trunki and go on 'holiday' to their bedroom.  I still have a close relationship with my brother and sister and I hope that my boys carry on being friends as well as siblings.

Archie and Finn have two years to get used to each other, we have two years of our new routine, of it being the three of us every day.  I hope that they get closer as they spend more time just the three of us and as Finn gets more mobile and able.  I know crawling will change everything all over again, but once they are both walking and running, I imagine there will be no stopping them together.

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The First Day

I feel lucky in a way that we are one of the last to start - I have watched all Dylan's friends pop up on facebook looking smart in a new school uniform and heard off for their first days.  Some have run in and not looked back, some have had to be peeled off of parents, and nearly all of them have come home exhausted after their half days.  I have managed to fit in a couple of last minute family trips - the last we can really take during term time and I have spent every day with this boy who is on the cusp of change.

I have had to watch them all though, knowing we are on a countdown until I help him put his smart black shoes on the right feet, and pack his water bottle into his new book bag.  I knew our day would come, and now it has.  My baby boy, who I am sure was a newborn just last week is now four and it is time for his next adventure.

I know things may not change all of a sudden, but I am under no illusion that they won't.  His friends that I carefully chose for him have gone to other schools, and he will be able to pick his own.  I won't know what he is doing for the most part of every day. He will be exposed to words and stories and actions that I can't control, he will learn things that I don't teach him, he will run to someone else for a cuddle when he gets hurt instead of me.

My baby boy has just turned four, he is still so young, so full of innocence and trust.  I have tried to explain the foreverness of his life, that infant school will be followed by Juniors, then secondary then either more education or work.  It will be seventy years before he can contemplate spending every day as he does now - carefree and with no concept of time.  

I think most of my apprehension around him starting is selfish.  He has been by my side for four years, my little buddy.  I love that we can do what we want, stay out late when the weather is nice, jump in every puddle and then run home to put on a onesie and have hot chocolate.  I am not known for punctuality and I am dreading the 9am and 3pm school run every day.  I will miss him and I know that his little brothers will too.

I hope he enjoys school.  I hope his teacher recognises what a wonderful little person he is.  I hope he makes friends easily, that he likes the lunches, that he can get changed into his p.e kit on his own, that he comes out telling me all about it.  I am so proud of him, my biggest baby boy.

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