And so endeth this blog

I've thought hard about this, but this blog was mostly for George's daddy. Now he is no longer with us, I don't have the heart to carry it on. In the next couple of weeks I will print off its contents and add them to the items I have already put away for George.

Thanks to the RFA having individual email accounts, I managed to copy most of the blog to George's daddy as i wrote it, so he did get to see the final pages even though he didn't come home to us.

Take care all of you that have enjoyed watching George's progress since Christmas 2008.

Jayne x

So far so good

Well that's the first weekend truly on our own out of the way. In the 9 years that he's worked away, this is the first trip that George's daddy has ever done where I haven't counted down the days until he was due home on the calendar. Perhaps on some level, I knew that he wouldn't be coming home.

George is being so brave. He had a postcard from his school saying that he made his school a better place this week by trying hard and being brave. He's also had 3 postcards off his daddy. I have put 2 away to keep them safe, but handed him the one that came on Friday. I told him that maybe his daddy wrote it before he died. George's answer was "No mummy, he's sent it from heaven".

I just hope that wherever George's daddy is, he's as proud of our little boy as I am. I'm sure he is. We love you Paul xxx

A sad week

We're having a bad week. The police came on Monday to tell us that George's daddy had been found dead in his cabin on board his ship off the coast of the Falkland Islands.

I have told George the news, and he said "Mummy, daddy has broken my heart", then he cried for a little while, then he ate his tea.

I'm so proud of my brave little man, who has been to school today and keep hugging me. He has told me several times that he is sad that his daddy has died, but I just remind him that I love him most in the whole wide world, and that he and I still have each other.

My heart is broken too, but if anyone can help me through this it is my gorgeous little boy.

School

So then, George is a big school boy now and is very proud of himself. He has settled in well, and some mornings he is so eager to be in his classroom that he forgets to say goodbye to me.

His daddy asked if I cried the first morning. Well, truth to tell, I was so proud of him bouncing into the classroom and running to sit next to his friend B that I came out with a great big beaming smile on my face.

I'm not having much in the way of feedback from him, but luckily, I talk to some of the mums of his friends - ladies that I have come to know from George's nursery days. B told her mum when they had a French lesson, George told me that they had been put into groups, and so the sharing of information gives us all a better picture of what they are doing.

I'm just so pleased that he is enjoying this new experience.

More Questions

You know how sometimes the split seconds words leave your mouth, you sense that you will regret what you have said? Well I did just that on Friday. Going up the slip road to the motorway traffic was very slow. Before I could think I'd already said it "oh the traffic is slow because there is a funeral procession".

G : What's a funeral procession mum?
M : It's when they take a person's dead body to that garden thing that you get when you're dead (we've explored the local cemetary).
G: (Sitting bolt upright) Are we going to go past it. Am I going to see a real dead body in a box
M : Yes, We're going to go past it because it's going a different way to us
G : Wow, mum, is there a real dead body in that box
M : Yes

Then the was a pause of about 30 seconds while he had a think

G : Mum, if your body goes in the ground in a box, how do you get to heaven?

Me - insert complex explanation about soul leaving your body etc. I really do need to learn think. Chances are that he would have seen it anyway. A hearse is quite hard to miss.

School

My baby started school today. He was so excited to be going that I was a bit worried. There was no need. He took off his jacket straight away, only said goodbye to me because his teacher reminded him to, and raced away to sit next to his best friend. Even though I was talking to his teacher Miss O for a few minutes, I wasn't given another glance. He seems quite happy to be going again tomorrow. He ate nearly all of his lunch - he did remind me this morning that he needed his lunch, and was hungry when I collected him. Oh my goodness me, I have a schoolboy!

August

August was a bit traumatic all round. My friend who was supposed to look after George came down with meningitis, so several people stepped in at very short notice to look after him. I worried about George, and I worried about my friend.

George however, took it all in his stride, and I think that the change from nursery to several different people did him good. He is all ready to start his new school routine tomorrow. He went to bed so excited that I'm surprised that he is asleep.

I hope that he has a good day tomorrow, and enjoys his first day of being a grown up schoolboy.

Self Portrait

George loves taking photos. He decided to take some of himself

This is one that I took of him playing golf. He's swinging the club in the air and shouting "goal", so I don't think that he quite has the hang of it yet.

Bubbles

What do you do when the weather finally turns sunny again. You celebrate by blowing bubbles in the garden of course!

Well I never

George ate pea soup this evening. My little non-eater asked to try my green soup with floaty bits, said it was yummy and polished off a bowl full. I have always offered him a taste of whatever is being prepared in the kitchen, and I do puree veg and hide it in his dinners so that he doesn't lose the taste for food that is good for him, but I am so pleased that he has been so unusually adventurous with his eating today. Whatever next!

My Poor Baby

My poor baby has been ill today. He woke me at 12 :50am this morning, and he was sick at 1:00am, 2:15am, 3:30am, 4:15am and 6:30am.

By 7:00am he was asking for cornflakes (no, he didn't have them, he was allowed small sips of water), by 8:00am he was asking for spaghetti (he didn't have that either, just more sips of water).

At 10:00am I allowed him 3 chocolate buttons, at 11:00am he had another 3. At 3:30pm, 9 hours after he was last sick, he was finally allowed the spaghetti. He ate it and asked what was next. Errm, nothing?

He was so good, didn't make a fuss about being sick, and I'm proud of him. He has been a bit whingy and clingy today, but he's only 4 after all and we had very little sleep last night. The bit that upset me was that even though George's daddy has been away since the 7th of June and is thousands of miles away, this morning was the first time that my brave little man cried and said he needed a snuggle off his daddy. Just about the only thing I couldn't fetch for him.

Old fish, Goodbye fish, new fish

George's two goldfish died this week. One of them was eating less than the other, and the healthy one was growing noticably larger. On Monday morning, the smallest fish died. We buried it in the garden (at 6:45am), with due ceremony.

Once I had removed the smallest fish, the biggest fish just stopped swimming. We have had them for three years, and for most of that time, they have been swimming side by side, constantly touching each other. Twelve hours after I removed his friend, the biggest fish was also dead.

Luckily, George is quite accepting of death and dying. We had a new tank, so it was cleaned and the water set up and ready. Twenty four hours later, with the water ready, neither of us could wait until Thursday (our first day off) for new fish, so we went to the shop tonight and came home with two tiny goldfish. I now realise exactly how much the others had grown! I'd like to show you the new fish, but they're a bit too fast moving just yet. Thay have also taken up opposite ends of the tank. I hope they make friends soon!

In memory of Bill and Suzy (whose name changed from Ben when she/he died), here is a picture of little George, many, many moons ago, and his first pets.

While I was looking for a "fish of the past" photo, I also found a very funny picture of George from when he was small which I thought you may like to see. Luckily, I have managed to teach him that standing on the table is a bad idea. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.....the expression on his face says that he is up to no good.

Reading and writing

George sometimes gets annoyed that he can't read or write. I have been trying to teach him to write his name, but so far he has refused to let me show him how. On Thursday he finally let me hold his hand and guide him to show him what the letters should look like. He already knows what the letters are called, and could write some of them. Here is his second attempt at writing his name, made on his own this morning. I think we're getting somewhere at last.

Moral support

George is an enthusiastic supporter of me, his elderly mother, lol. In his eyes I am capable of who knows what.

Today he asked me to scan and copy a picture for him, so that we could cut out some characters for him to play with, but without ruining the original picture.

I have a new printer which I haven't used to scan and copy pictures with until today (I've had it less than a week). I told the boy that I would do my best to do as he'd asked.

"Give it all you've got mum" was his response. Four going on........forty?

Earthsong

Really this story starts with my ipod - George wants one too. On Wednesday I bought myself a cd player for my bedroom as there are some cds that I wanted to listen to. As I also have an ipod, I bought an inexpensive player with an ipod docking station. George couldn't resist having a play with it, and Michael Jackson's "Earthsong" came on (the only MJ song that I have).

George asked who was singing and I told him. "But mum, you said Michael Jackson was dead" he replied (which was a relief as contrary to appearances it means he can actually hear what I'm saying). I explained about recording, and he started listening to the song.....which then led to a discussion on pollution, global warming, the melting of polar ice caps, no homes for polar bears etc.

He wants to go litter picking on the beach this weekend. He also asked what people were doing to save our planet so I mentioned "Friends of the Earth". He wants to join.....he is 4 years and 8 months old. I don't know if I should feel proud or just plain worried!

Everything is growing

Everything is growing well here. This is a picture of George, with the results of his pumpkin and lettuce seed planting. All of them, including George seem to be growing just as they should.

The "moobarb" had a bit of a problem though. We had to remove twelve caterpillars from it. George was very indignant that they had the cheek to be eating his moobarb leaves!

We've also had the start date for George's infant school. As from the 9th of September, he will be a big school boy. He came into school with me last week to hand over his information book that we had to fill in, and was charming and lovely to the school secretary. He is keen to go back for another look around on the 16th of July. I just hope he is as keen to go back once he has completed his first whole day.

Little Ted

This weekend was very busy in George's house. As well as his Aunty Mandy and his cousin Lisa being over from Ireland, he also brought Little Ted home from nursery.

The children take turns to look after Little Ted each weekend, and have to write in his diary. We took Little Ted and cousin Lisa to the zoo. Here is a photo of George and Little Ted sitting on a Mayan throne.

Big School

George went for his induction afternoon at his primary school today. I waited until he had his hands on the toys before I told him that I had to go and speak to his teacher and I would be back to collect him in a short while.

An hour later, after the headmaster's speech to parents, I collected my boy. He was very impressed that the school had thought to provide him with a badge with his name on, and he is very proud of the lovely purple book bag that he was given.

In fact, he was so impressed that when we came home he asked if he could wear his uniform for a bit to try it out. I let him change into his P.E. t-shirt, and he was very pleased with himself. I am so pleased that he enjoyed the afternoon and is now looking forward to "big school" in September.

Such a sad day

At 11.15am today I had a phone call asking me if I would like to pick George up from nursery. One of the children from the class below his was taken ill on Friday and had died of meningitis on Saturday. Knowing that the nursery staff would be upset, I checked with my boss, and arranged to leave work.

I rang one of my friends who was pulling up at the nursery gates to collect her daughter as I called her. My friend offered to collect George there and then as I rushed out of the door at work. George stayed at his friend's house and I took his friend's baby brother for a walk while their mum did some of the jobs that were planned in the house. We also talked a lot and had coffee. Most of all, I think we just felt lucky. Lucky that our children were still sitting in front of us. Noisy, boisterous, busy, demanding, but most importantly, still alive.

My prayers and thoughts are with Daniel's mummy and daddy tonight. Sleep peacefully little man xxx

The Man of the House

George's daddy has gone back to work today, so George is once more the man of the house. He has promised his dad that he will be good and look after me.

George is growing up so fast now. I have noticed this past two weeks or so, that we are no longer his mummy and daddy - mostly we are mum and dad. We haven't mentioned it to George, but it does show how big our boy is becoming.

Tatton Park

We took George to Tatton Park last week. We had our picnic when we arrived, which George enjoyed. He couldn't wait to have a go on all the things in the playground though. Here he is on a rocking bike. After he had played for a while, we took a stroll around the fabulous gardens. here is George trying to catch a fish in the lake. As he was using an unbaited twig, his success rate wasn't good.

It was "Grow your Own" week too, so we came home with a pot of soil and a pumpkin seed. George has announced that he will be growing his own "punkin" for hallow'een this year. He also asked to plant some more seeds in the garden, so he's planted a tub of lettuce as that generally makes an appearance quite quickly. There's no danger of him eating it, but he'll be so proud when the seeds start growing.

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

This is George watering my garden on Sunday afternoon. We decided just to have a quiet afternoon in the garden as the weather was so good.
The next step in a proper relaxing afternoon is to take a dip in your pool, which has been carefully filled by mummy, with warmish, not freezing cold water.
After you have had your swim and dried off, put your clothes back on, and settle down in mummy's comfy deckchair for an ice cream.
Later on, share a small snack with a friend, whilst demonstrating to your friend the art of relaxation.

Alton Towers

Last week was my birthday and George's daddy's 50th birthday the day after that. We thought long and hard about a suitable way of celebrating the occasion, and then we booked an overnight stay at Alton Towers. As you can see, George approved of the hotel room, although he wasn't actually allowed to sleep on the top bunk. His favourite ride was the Squirrel Nutty ride. He had 3 goes. He liked the Beastie roller coaster too, but unfortunately there was a queue for that, so he only had one ride.

On the way back to the hotel, the train was full when we reached the platform, but there was a strange hiss, and a finger beckoned us into another world - the world of a train driver. Here is George sat in the driver's seat entertaining John the train driver. Thank you John, you made his day.

This is the restaurant overlooking the swimming pool. We had passes for the pool too, so we did go swimming, but no photos allowed.

Overall, I think that the trip was a success. I haven't asked George which was his favourite part, as knowing George it could easily be something involving the shell pattern on the hotel carpet or similar. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

The one that got away.

I was taking some things upstairs the other night when I noticed a rather large spider on one of the stair treads. I called George to show him the spider as I always do, and then I asked him to watch the spider while I went to fetch a glass to catch it in.

When I returned, not two minutes later, George was standing exactly where I had left him. There was no sign of the spider. I asked him where it had gone. "No idea, I didn't see it go" was the answer.

I know that he's only four, but I honestly thought that he could watch a spider the size of a 50p piece for less than two minutes without losing it...

(p.s. I caught an even bigger spider in the downstairs toilet later the same night, so honour was restored!)

All work and no play

The usual Monday morning feeling was with us today. "I don't want to go to school" our hero proclaimed. I gave him my usual response "I don't want to go to work either, but we're going so live with it".

He then started moaning about not being to finish watching a programme on tv. Stomping up the path towards the car he announced "I've been waiting my whole life to watch Underground Ernie, and you won't let me".

Wow, he's been waiting his whole life! All four and a half years of it. He'll be waiting a bit longer too, as we have work and nursery again tomorrow and Wednesday. Heaven forbid that real life should interfere with tv watching.

I would ban the tv from our house if I could.

A hard life

George's daddy has gone on a course today. He'll be gone for the week. I've just become
used to having an extra pair of hands to help with George, and fetch things if I'm busy. Tonight, just as I was climbing into the bath, George announced "I'm really thirsty and I don't suppose I'll get a drink now you're in the bath". Foolishly, I thought that I could solve the problem by telling George that his bedtime drink was on the side and he could drink that.

How wrong can you be? He had his drink and then said mournfully "Don't suppose I'll be getting anything to eat either". Poor child, it's a hard life for some! Given the size of the dinner that he ate earlier (pasta and meatballs), I didn't think he needed anything else, but I was obviously wrong. I managed to direct him to the small pack of cookies in our going out bag in the hall. I shall have to be more organised tomorrow.

This morning's question

At 6.10am this morning, George asked me why he doesn't have pockets in his pyjamas. I'm not entirely sure why this is so, but if the average small child is anything like George, who takes to bed with him 2 toy cats, average size, 2 small toy mice, 1 toy rat, 1 toy flappy bat, 1 small "Erik the Viking" stuffed toy, his Winnie the Pooh dream thingy, and his beloved "cloffy", then maybe it is because keeping things in pockets in pyjamas could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

What could you need anyway, in the middle of the night that you might need to keep in your pockets? If I ever find out I'll post and let you know.

Growing up and leaving home

George told me tonight that he didn't want to grow up as that would mean leaving home and leaving me. I told him there was no rush as his dad was 42 before he made the final break.

I then had a great idea and told George that as this house is so big, if he marries a kind lady, she can move in here and help with the housework, so he won't have to leave at all.

"That's a good idea" said the thinker. "You two could clean the house while me and daddy have a cup of tea".

At the age of 4 1/2, with a father who cooks (and cleans if I point him in the right direction), I have no idea where these grand ideas come from. I will do my best to correct him, but I think he may make a lovely ex-husband one day.......

George is cross

We had a stroll around the pots and flowerbeds in the garden this evening as you do. George was entranced by the bluebells slowly opening their flowers into beautiful bell shapes.

He wasn't happy about the caterpillars though. He blamed the caterpillars for "munching the moobarb leaves". I've tried telling him that it's actually called rhubarb, but he's very stubborn, and I actually quite like "moobarb". The holes in the leaves are very small incidentally, but he was very cross and wants caterpillars banned from the garden!

Somebody else's mother?

You know how when you reach a certain age you realise that you have the sayings and some of the actions of your mother? Well, George is turning into someone else's mother. Let me explain.

I broke open his second Easter egg yesterday. He hasn't finished the first yet, I think he just fancied a change. I put the entire egg and the buttons in a tub for him - he's not a big fan of chocolate, so I knew he wouldn't eat much.

With impeccable manners he first offered a piece to me. I asked for a small piece and received a piece the size of a fingernail. Serves me right. Next he offered his daddy a piece. His daddy is even less keen on chocolate than George, and refused the kind offer.

George thought about the refusal for a few seconds and then announced "Well if you want some later and it's all gone, don't come crying to me".

As "don't come crying to me" isn't a phrase that we use at home, I can only assume that he has acquired it from one of his nursery friends who has in turn acquired it from their mother......

Making a bunny

Our next door neighbour knows that George is not a fan of chocolate, so a bunny building set arrived yesterday. We made the plaster bunny this morning, and there was a very impatient small boy waiting for 3 hours for his bunny to set so it could be painted.

This is the finished product. There was a pot of glitter in the set too.....the bunny is very glittery

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from George xxx


This is the start of the egg hunt. Baskets at the ready.








There's some here on the stairs and some more at the bottom















and here's George checking the end result. George isn't that interested in chocolate, so I have hidden the eggs that other people have bought for him (bad mummy moment) and he has ended up with a handful of Cadbury's mini eggs and a small Milky Bar shaker egg.

Luckily, he still managed to fit his cornflakes in. As it's such a beautiful morning, he had breakfast out in the garden today.

Paddling Pool

The water obsession continues. I opened George's sand pit for the first time this year today. I wanted to weed and tidy the garden, and the only way to do it in peace is to let George play in the sand. Unfortunately the lid of his sand pit doubles as a paddling pool.

He had 2 buckets of water and a change of clothes before lunch, but I thought that I'd escaped a total water fest. Sadly after a break for lunch and after watching The Little Mermaid, the water thing started up again. By 2.30pm he had stripped off and was sitting in his half full paddling pool, complete with toy mermaids, whilst muggins here was on filling duty using the old nappy bucket and some warm water.

George and the boating lake

Just for Jacksmummy, here are some photos of George and the water. I've no idea how he managed to stay out of it. Probably all the swimming took the edge off the deep water addiction. We were watching him very carefully though, and he was told over and over not to go in it.

George wanted to move house and go and live in this magical place with so much water, and so many friendly ducks and rabbits!

George's holiday

We've just been to Center Parcs in the lake district. George had his own bedroom and bathroom with a small jacuzzi bath. He loved it.He was a bit possessive about his bathroom, and nobody else was allowed to use it. He did let me wash my hands in there once though.
There is a lot of wildlife around. This is George feeding his new friends. And these are George's new friends. We were very close to the lake, which George also found fascinating. Luckily he managed to stay out of the water.

Another new friend for George. He was quite taken with Rupert the bear.

Zoo trip

We had a family day out at the zoo today. I can honestly say that it was one of the best days out that I have ever had with George. We had a fabulous time.

Here is George riding on the Komodo dragon model

and pretending to be a tortoise

Georgisms

Last night George informed me that he would like a brother or sister to hold his hand in the dark. He has a nightlight, that is as far as I'm going I'm afraid.

He was also pondering the subject of who will live in our house when we are dead. I suggested that maybe it will be his children. Apparently he is going to marry a kind lady and have five children. So far, so good.

Tonight he was also wondering what being dead feels like. There is a reason for this popular subject (very popular amongst his nursery friends) appearing on the agenda again. His friend B's hamster died last week. Bye bye Buddy hamster.

A busy, busy day

George had a busy, busy day today. He went swimming with his daddy first thing, and then while his daddy went to work on the boat, George played outside on his scooter while I cleaned the inside of the car. The car hasn't been cleaned since the weather turned cold, so there was a great deal of outdoor exercise taken, because the cleaning took a long time. His friends M & S came out to play, so George enjoyed chasing them up and down the road as they cycled.

He was very good and stuck to the limits that I gave him (no further than that house that way, that house the other way, and don't go on the road). He complained that his scooter had a squeaky wheel, but it was actually the perfect way to keep track of him.

After lunch George helped me to make cherry scones and chocolate brownies. He tasted the cherry scones which surprised me as he has always refused cherry scones so far, and pronounced them as being fine. He did prefer the brownies though.

George also helped me weed the garden. He has always helped me with the garden. The advantage this year is that he recognises the weeds, instead of just pulling the heads of everything.

It was such a busy, busy day that he asked to go to bed at 6.30pm. He'd already had his roast chicken dinner at 5pm, so there was no problem with an early night. He should certainly sleep well!

Shoe painting

George's daddy polished his own shoes last night because we were going out. I shouted downstairs to ask him to polish George's shoes too, and George rushed off to help.

An interesting time was had, but George was a bit disappointed that his daddy wouldn't let him paint any of his trainers with the navy blue shoe polish. Life is hard when you're small.

The Purple Peril

Lush bath bombs are a treat usually reserved for solo bathing (mine, not his!). I don't think George has even seen one until this week, but he went shopping with his daddy, who let George choose a present for me. George was very keen to see what a Blackberry Bath Bomb did, and was keener still to jump into a beautiful purple bath. It's the first time in ages that I haven't had to coax him into the water!

A pizza this and a pizza that

George made his own pizza tonight. He helped his dad knead the pizza dough, rolled it out himself, and decorated it with mozzarella cheese and a squiggle of pizza dough.

Even more impressive for a fussy eater, he than ate it!

The Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo. George had to start his picnic while we were still in the queue waiting to pay. He ate the rest of his picnic while we were walking round, and we had to buy him a cheese pasty as well.

We saw elephants, camels and went into the new butterfly house. George was well behaved and we had a lovely day out.

This is George riding on the little elephant statue by the elephant enclosure.

This is a picture of George and his daddy outside the butterfly house. George's daddy finally came home on Monday, and George was very excited to see him.

The Sweet Smell of Success

subtitled "diary of a nag".

George has had his eye on my perfume for some time. The tell tale signs have been questions such as "Can I hold your perfume bottle?" and "Please can I have some of your perfume?".

He finally snapped this week and advised me "Some people in this house have two bottles of perfume and some people have none. It's nice to share you know mum."

I found an old bottle of "Bugs Bunny" childrens perfume at the back of a drawer and handed it over. If I just say that we won't be needing any air freshener for some time to come, then you will probably have a fair impression of what it is like living here just now!

Questions, questions

This morning before 9am George asked me the following questions. If zero is before number one then why do we say twenty and not twenty zero, why I wanted children, why is people's wee all different colours and if God made the outside of the Earth, who made the inside.

Luckily at 9am my friend came and took him off my hands for a few hours. By the time he came home, his parcel of Kinder egg jellyfish had arrived from ebay (the sealife obsession is alive and well), and he has played jellyfish games all afternoon.

A Grand Day Out

George and I had a day out today at the Liverpool maritime Museum, with some friends. Although my friend's daughter E is a good deal older than George, he is always keen to see her, and once we were home he told me that he'd had one of his best days ever.

Trying to look at museum exhibits with George in tow is still interesting to say the least, but hopefully everyone enjoyed the day. This is George posing...

and this is George, lover of all things mermaid related, in the children's corner

George's other friend E who used to be his pre-school teacher had tea with us and some other friends last night. She has offered to look after George for a few hours tomorrow morning and take him out whilst I tidy up. I have jumped at the offer as living with George just now is like living with the speaking clock, but being unable to hang up. Luckily his daddy is home on Monday to share being talked to!

Return of the sock

I searched high and low for the missing sock last night. I needn't have bothered.

George has milk and cookies every morning downstairs while I get dressed. This morning when I came downstairs for the second time, George was sitting on the sofa with both of his feet in the one missing sock.

Sock puzzles

Where do children's socks go to? We have one tidy sitting room with very little in it, and one sitting room that looks like a bomb has hit which has George's toys in it.

This evening George was watching tv in the tidiest room on his own. He wandered in to see me in the messy room, with his feet already bare, complaining that his feet were cold. I have just been to look for his socks, and can only find one.

Two weeks ago we lost a pair of George's socks in the same room. I still haven't found them. Maybe George is right and there really is a sock monster...

A Funny Old Week

It's been a funny old week with one thing and another. George and I have both felt a bit sad, so we haven't been up to much. George's pre-school teacher was sacked from his nursery last week (yes I do know the full story, and no, she didn't deserve it), and it's upset both of us.

George has been slightly more rebellious than usual - understandable I reckon, and I haven't felt like taking him far in that kind of mood.

On Friday we visited Kidz Aloud again. George met a friend from nursery there. His friends mum was also pleased that her daughter had found a friend, and we ended up staying for four hours!

On Saturday we went to a birthday party. I can really see the diference in George now he's getting older and more confident. Six months ago he would have just clung to my leg whinging, but this time he joined in and had a really good time.

It's been a very mixed experience time for us - like I said, a funny old week.

Fast food and slow walks

Fast Food
Today we went to Burger King, as we do now and then. I believe in teaching small people to eat in company and how to behave themselves whilst doing so. George the non-eater usually just has chips and ketchup.

Today he asked for chicken nuggets and ate them . I was shocked, amazed, and pleased. Although it is not the sort of food that I would prefer him to eat, it proves that he is starting to try new foods. He has never eaten meat before whilst with me, although his nursery have reported him eating chicken twice.

Slow Walks
This evening at 6:30 pm he announced the he NEEDED to go for an evening walk. Never being one to refuse any reasonable request, I put his socks back on, encased him in wellie boots, a cardigan, a scarf, his hat and his coat, and we set off.

We did two circuits "round the block" which is about 10 minutes each circuit. We inspected the building site at one end and George was very excited to be out at night and equally pleased to see the moon.

We did the second circuit singing "If you're happy and you know it", but making up our own verses such as "If you're happy and you know it squidge your George" and "If you're happy and you know it walk along". He went straight to bed when we arrived home (after brushing his teeth), so the fresh sea air must have done him some good. I have to admit that I enjoyed it too. With his daddy away I don't go far in the evenings and it was good to stretch my legs and have some fun with George.

Incidentally, he has more than made up for his lack of food intake yesterday. He had cornflakes for breakfast, nuggets and chips for lunch, and cheesy mash and beans for dinner. In between he has had one home made fairy cake, 2 pieces of shortbread, a kit kat and probably at least a pint and a half of milk. The sniffing has stopped. Coincidence? I think not!

A cold

George has a cold and a runny nose. Sadly, despite a lot of effort on my part he still doesn't understand how to blow his nose. He has sniffed roughly every 30 seconds today. He hasn't wanted much to eat either. I assume this is related to the sniffing - well it must be going somewhere.

I hope he's better soon. Apart from being a bit grumpier than usual, and the sniffing, there isn't much to show that he's ill. let's hope it stays that way.

Mr Caring

Last week George's friend B was too poorly to come and play. I know that B was back in nursery this week as I met her mum on Monday. Today I asked George if B was feeling better.

"I didn't ask her, but her nose isn't red any more mummy" was the reply. Now I know 4 year olds aren't renowned for their sympathy or empathy, but still. When George had flu just before Christmas (proper can't get off the sofa, fetch me carry me manflu), I was expected to dispense sympathy on a very regular basis. It's obviously a one way street.

Bullseye

I was getting in the bath tonight when I suddenly felt a blast of icy water where there shouldn't have been any. A triumphant voice announced "I shooted you in the bottom mummy". He certainly did! George was given his water pistol in a party bag about 18 months ago, but he is careful with his toys, so even though it is small and made of plastic, it has survived intact. He has obviously been practising with it as I can't fault his aim.

When he asks for one of those super soaker water thingies, I'm leaving home!

Pedal Power!

George has owned a little tricycle since he was two years old. The art of pedalling it has defeated him completely. On Saturday, we gave up flogging the proverbial dead horse, packed the trike in the car to pass on to my friend's grandson, and bought him a new bike from Argos.

It's this one in the picture. I thought that having his weight above the pedals may help him finally realise what was supposed to be happening. Tonight, at the grand age of 4 years and 3 months, George finally pedalled his bike across the kitchen. He was so delighted and excited that he was jumping up and down on the spot afterwards. Yay for George the cyclist.

Little Ambitions

George has several big ambitions ready for when he is older, like the shark doctor one, but he also has some little ambitions for just now. He would like to be able to blow up a balloon, and he would like to be able to whistle.

He's getting close on the whistling one, but as these pictures show, there's still some way to go with the balloons yet. The bruise on his head is from the seesaw incident earlier in the week.....

Carrots and bumps

George informed me today that he likes carrots if they are soft. I already know that he likes carrots as I hide them in his mashed potato and have done ever since he started refusing to eat them. I hide broccoli too, and he's never seemed to notice if his potato is orange or green. I am pleased that he has finally realised that he does like them. It must be something in the air as his equally fussy friend E has started eating peas this week.

He also came home from nursery bursting to tell me that he knew how to say Happy New Year in Chinese. He's just like a little sponge soaking up information.

George banged his head today because he was on the seesaw with his friend B who is a good eight inches taller than him and weighs a good deal more. She made him go up in the air and he just slid off and bumped his head. I've told him that it is a better idea if he only goes on the seesaw with people who are the same size as him. Apparently B was distraught because she'd hurt one of her best friends. Unfortunately George makes the same noise if he is cut and bleeding, or just slighly damaged, so I understand why the poor girl was so upset.

4AM

It's 4am in the morning as I glance blearily at my bedside clock. A voice is shouting "Mummy". I wait a little while as George is a sleep talker. The shouts get louder, so reluctantly I climb out of bed and go upstairs. The shouts have changed now to "Ouch, ouch, mummy OUCH!!!!".

When I arrive at his bedside I ask him what's the problem. He tells me that he has a sore eye. I suspect it's just an eyelash, and given the amateur dramatics taking place in front of me, it will be cried out soon. Sure enough, five minutes later I am sitting beside his bed, looking at him. He is looking at me, as I'm holding his hand. Then, "So mummy, how's it going?" he asked. It's one of his favourite questions just now - it makes him feel like he's looking after me while his daddy is away.

"Not that good just now George" was my answer. Well it was 4:10am! I suggested that he switch his musical nightlight on and go back to sleep. He rolled over and that was that. At 5:10am I was still awake. No wonder I'm always tired. If you asked him if he was awake in the night he would tell you he was fast asleep all night.....

Questions, questions

In two months time give or take a week or so, we will find out what school George will be going to. It's hard to believe that my little baby from this picture has grown up enough to be going to school in just over seven months. It's just as well though. I'm starting to think that I should have a black chair like on Mastermind as day after day I am called to answer question after question. I am ashamed to say that I have occasionally told him that he will have to wait and ask his daddy when he comes home. This week he wanted to know (amongst other things) could he have a baby sister, why winter lasts for so long, and how it gets dark when the sun goes down. It will be so good to share the question answering with his teacher when the time comes.

Best Friends in the World

Tonight when I was kissing him goodnight, George told me that "My best friends in the world are daddy and you mummy". I hope that as his parents we don't ever do anything to change his view of us. In return, I promised him that I would love him "forever and always".