Boring Blog

I’ll be honest this blog has died a death. It’s not that Jay isn’t wonderful and interesting (to me) anymore; it’s just that I don’t have the time to write about it these days.

The Johnsons are very busy lately; Daddy Johnson is working very hard and is also going through some medical problems. So, he is tired and very overworked. However, it is wonderful in a way because he’s been promoted at work and still loves his job.

Mummy Johnson is busy in her own way with work and study. I recently did lots of Health Care training and work has been more than a little crazy. If you take long hours, a large case load and add in some emergencies and a clinical audit you will understand why I prefer to come home and sleep rather than Blog.

Jay is just wonderful; he has his own little routine and I am so proud of him every day. He is adaptable (although can be bossy and stroppy) and a generally happy little boy. He has his own little social life and I love him more each day. Friends around us are currently having their second and third babies and I just don’t want that for us right now. I look at him and think of all the things I would miss if we had a little baby around.

I enjoy my little boy and I was pretty devastated when I had a positive pregnancy test recently. Lucky for us it was a fluke and faded to negative within seconds (which is why they say don’t read right away) but I think the women of Westfield knew my feelings as I swore loudly at the result. It’s those raw reactions that tell you how you really feel and I really don’t want another baby right now.

But, things with us are good. We are well and healthy (well, husband has some disease which he is waiting to see a specialist about but it’s more annoying than fatal).

 

Telling Stories

I love the fact Jay can talk to me properly now. When a child first learns to speak there’s often times when you question their understanding of their utterances. They can make beautiful sentences but there’s a disconnect between that and meaning.

However, Jay has been chatting away to me today and I know he has a perfect grasp of language and I love him for it. I love communication and seeing his language / communication develop. Seeing the world through a smaller person’s eyes is just wonderful.

“What did you do today” “We went Wacky with Maggie and Harry and Lisa and Benji and I went down the big slide. Weee”.

“Did you have fun” “I have big fun, the slide was big and high and I went down slide. Big slide”.

“What else did you do” “I play football with Harry, I play outside. Kick the ball”.

“Do you want anything” “I want to watch Octonauts and have warm milk. No juice, just warm milk”.

“Would you like a bath” “No want bath now, bath later. Milk and Octonauts now, bath later”.

“What story would you like” “I want Frown Fish then Poo Bus and Robot Dog, Please Mummy”.#

“Mummy, I saw the cat and she ran fast and said MIAOW”.

Bragging Blog

So, I was lucky enough to have a little bit of a day off today. I normally work Mondays, Tuesday off with Jay and then Wednesdays – Friday (four days a week with a day ‘off’ for childcare).  However, this week I was doing vaccination training Monday and Tuesday so had a day off in lieu today without Jay.

I’ll be honest, all I did was run around the house and West Ealing doing chores (sewing, hoovering, cleaning, shopping, cheques in the bank, charity shop drop etc. etc.). and I missed Jay so much I went and collected him early from the ChildMinder.

We are so lucky with our childminder; she is far superior with her work than nursery ever was and I am very glad we moved from there to her (that and we’ve saved about £700 since the switch).

Anyway, because I was early she had a chance to go through Jay’s development record with us. She showed me all her observations and how he matches up against where he should be with his peers.

I was so impressed; he is doing so well and she is very happy with him. He is hitting 30 month development markers already and she is very pleased with his progress (as are we).

I suppose it’s nice to have someone outside (with a professional eye) tell you that your son is doing well.

Bless him.

28th Month Development

As always I’ve been looking at my copy of What to Expect (Toddler Years)  just to see how Jay is getting on. Now he’s a little bit older his development is not so obvious; back when he was a few months old big things were happening all the time. Now it’s more subtle but still wonderful and very exciting.

This is reflected in the book as the development stages now go in months at a time rather than  something new each month. So, we are now on the 28th-30th month part of the process. It’ll be interesting to see how different he is in June to now.

Jay Can

Identify pictures by naming (really, the book expects just one. Jay can name litereally hundreds of different pictures)

Put on an article of clothing (does a jacket, hat and shoes count?)

Jump Up

Name body parts (he can name nearly as many as me)

Identify friends by name (he goes to a Childminder and there are 7 kids, he knows all their names and tells you all about them when he’s home).

Balance on each food for a second or two

Identify Colours (Red, White, Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Pink)

Use adjectives (big, tall, wide, slow, fast)

Not yet tried with Jay

Draw a vertical line in imitation

Broad Jump

 

 

 

Potty Training

We’ve done it!

He’s potty trained…

I don’t know how we did it, but we did it!

Yayyyyy!!!

27th Month Development

My child makes me laugh, as soon as I posted Last Month’s Development Post he suddenly started jumping and talking his head off.

Jay Can….

use 50+ single words

Combine words

follow a 2-step command without gestures

wash and dry hands

put on an article of clothing

build a tower of 8 cubes

balance on one foot for a second

identify a friend by naming (names his cousin and various people we know)

use prepositions

carry on a conversation of 2 or three sentences

learned to jump up (and he really loves doing it)

He’s not yet… 

brush teeth with help (mainly because he hates having them done)

put on a t.shirt (he throws a strop instead).

Childminder

She won’t read this because I am pretty sure she has no idea this blog exists.

However, I just want to tell the world (well, those who do read this) that I adore our Childminder. It wasn’t until we look child out of nursery that we really saw how unhappy he was there. Since going to Childminder he is just a bright little button and he is happy.

Aside from the fact she feeds him his evening meal (so he’s not waiting for tea at 7pm when we finish work), looks after him, teaches him and loves him like her own she is a fraction of the price of nursery and is flexible.

God, I LOVE our childminder!

26th Month Development

Another month another list about Jay!

Jay Can….

use 50+ single words

Combine words

follow a 2-step command without gestures

wash and dry hands

put on an article of clothing

build a tower of 8 cubes

balance on one foot for a second

identify a friend by naming (names his cousin and various people we know)

He’s not yet… 

learned to jump up (and it’s really funny watching him try as he puts so much effort in).

brush teeth with help (mainly because he hates having them done)

use prepositions

carry on a conversation of 2 or three sentences

put on a t.shirt

 

Review: Rugby Tots

Since the whole Little Gym Experience wasn’t successful we decided to enroll Jay in something we like… rugby!!

So, since January Jay has been attending Rugby Tots and it really is fantastic. There’s some running around, kicking, jumping, shouting, catching, throwing, recognising shapes and colours and RUGBY BALLS! What is not to love?!

We go first thing on Saturday morning so we’re up bright an early and it sets Jay up for an active weekend.

I’ll do a proper review later but for now I just want to rave about RUGBY TOTS!

Review: Riley Pirate

When Jay was about 1 and  half we bought him a little Pirate named ‘Riley’. However, the proper name was the Manhattan Toy Dress-Up Pirate (we called him Riley as he has a very wry smile).

Anyway, to say that child dislikes Riley would be a massive understatement  He absolutely detests him!

I am not sure exactly what Riley has done to deserve being thrown off the swings, castigated and generally banished from any room Jay happens to be in… but he has been!

I thought that the toy was a great idea. I had visions of child learning buttons and shoelaces. I imagined him diligently dressing Riley and being gleeful at this achievement. But, no! Riley is disheveled, untied, and languishing under the bed until he learns his lesson (whatever that may be).

I suppose the point of this is you really can’t choose what your children will like; they do make their own way in life and in a way it’s amazing to behold.

However, I would like him to learn his laces at some point. Let’s see how he gets on with Riley Princess instead.