The 'stop sucking my thumb' campaign seems to be going rather well. We have had a few nights of 'it's taking a long time to get to sleep' and 'the night is too long', but generally it seems to have happened rather quickly. Might have something to do with the thumb-sucker thinking that he's going to get rabbit teeth if he ever sucks his thumb again - and going into a mild panic whenever he puts his thumb anywhere near his mouth - its amazing how literally children take things!

Had a fab experience on Saturday evening (23rd). Putting my 'nearly' 2 year old to bed, I said 'I love you' as usual and he replied 'lub oo'. Amazing. I can still remember the first time my eldest son said the same thing. We were sitting on my bed in our house in Manchester and he just suddenly said it, plain as day, with absolutely no prompting from me. It was clearer as he was speaking earlier, but the message and feelings it evokes are the same.

This week is a strange one. My eldest has finished at nursery as he starts 'big school' next Thursday. He is going into reception and is really looking forward to it.

The children seem to have an amazing bond between them. I am up at least once every night and usually around 6 every morning - and rarely with both of them. Last night it was the youngest - up at 4am because he had lost his 'cysgu' (comforter) and then up for the day at 5.45. I can deal with it until the two of them get together and then the fireworks start - between all 3 of us. This morning, the eldest got up at 7.00 to find the youngest playing (in his own way) with the Wii. There was immediately a fight and a tantrum because he wanted a go, which resulted in him sitting on the naughty step within 3 minutes of getting out of bed...and so the day goes on...

The next challenge

At a visit to the dentist a few months ago, we were told that my eldest had to stop sucking his thumb or he was going to permanently alter the shape of his upper jaw and no amount of denstistry would be able to rectify it. This was mortifying to him as it is his prop for getting to sleep (and he's an excellent sleeper). So we agreed that he would stop sucking it in the day immediately and when he was 4 and a big boy, he would stop at night. Sounds like a good plan and one he was completely committed to until it came to it. He was four at the weekend and we gave him a bit of grace before implementing the carefully laid and endlessly agreed plan last night.

It was heart-breaking; him wailing that he didn't know how to get to sleep without it and it was too hard and me relentlessly repeating, 'just try sweetheart', 'big boys don't suck their thumbs', 'Power Rangers, Sporticus, Ninja Turtles, Spiderman (and any other superhero I could think of) don't suck their thumbs', 'just try'...

Eventually, at around 8pm he relented and went to sleep...and I came down stares to a dried out pan burning and stinking on the cooker that my mum, partner and 2 nieces had failed to notice.

Unbelievably, he slept until 4.15am when he called me into his room to say that he couldn't get back to sleep ('it's taking to long'). After me repeating my 'just try' mantra, I left and heard him tossing and turning for about another half hour before not hearing a peep from him until 7.15 this morning.

Aren't they amazing. He did it. He says he didn't suck it and I believe him. What a star. Hopefully, I can now convince him that if he can do it once he can do it again, and again, and again. One prize Power Ranger well-earned I'd say.

Six months on...

So its a whole six months since I last posted and I have limited recollection of what has happened in that time. The children are growing up so fast, the eldest has just turned four and the youngest will be two next month - definitely out of the 'baby' stage and adding more and more words to his vocabulary every day. The latest additions are 'o-taaaaay', 'ta-tu' (thankyou), 'peese', 'that way/this way' and saying his own name in the cutest little voice....butter definitely wouldn't melt.

The four year old is really coming into his own now. We have just returned from a two-week holiday and it was a mite challenging deciding who was in charge on a daily basis...although sleeping, eating and all other seemingly endless kiddy challenges have disappeared. If only we could persuade him that dressing himself is something that he really wants to do and that fruit and vegetables really do taste good.