My last week of parental leave started with a solo visit from my Mum – Dad was working. The plan had been to take Henry swimming, to make up for his missed lesson last week, but the pool was closed due to a heating problem. It turns out we had dodged a bullet last week as the pool had been really cold – definitely not ideal with a poorly baby! We called in at the butchers on our way home from the pool, picking up some scotch pies for dinner. In the afternoon my Mum and I completed Henry’s paperwork to register him with the French consulate in London, then I serviced my hardtail.

Henry seemed to be feeling much better on Tuesday morning – he was less snotty and more energetic. He ended up having his nap later and longer than usual – he slept right through lunchtime! To the point that by the time he had woken up, got dressed and had his lunch, we only just had time to do the big shop at Sainsbury’s before picking up Owen from preschool to get him ready for his swimming lesson. After more than three years of swimming with Jen or I in the pool with him (with Paula at Little Ripples), Owen has graduated to solo lessons. We are using Laura’s Swim Academy, and as it was Owen’s first lesson we all went along to watch, and find out the logistics. Owen loved the lesson! Before getting in the pool he had a little wobble, but when it came to the start of the lesson he was so distracted by getting a swim belt fitted that he did not seem to worry. It probably also helped that the first thing they did was swimming with a noodle, which Owen loves anyway! There were two teachers in the pool for five children, so they managed to cram a lot in to the half hour session. Owen got stuck in trying the new things – Henry seemed particularly impressed when Owen swam on his back, he started clapping for his big brother! Owen was so pleased with himself when he got out of the pool. After the lesson I noticed that most of the other kids were getting changed into their pyjamas, which I noted for future lessons, as it ended up being a late night by the time we all got home.

Wednesday was a big day for Henry – his first settling in session at nursery! We are taking him to the nursery where Owen goes to preschool, where he has been since he was Henry’s age. In fact some of the girls in the “Baby Room” remember looking after Owen (and think that Henry looks just like him). Henry seemed to like being in the Baby Room, with lots of toys and friendly people – until it was time for Jen and I to leave. Understandably he was quite upset, however we had to do some paperwork in the office. Apparently Henry settled down fairly quickly and liked playing with the balls. However he was not impressed when they tried to move him to the food room – exactly the same as Owen on his first trip to nursery! He was very pleased to see us at the end of his hour though. When we got home Henry must have been too excited to sleep, even though it was well past his nap time. He eventually fell asleep eating his lunch! Because of his late nap, we ended up missing the Mini Museum Engineers session at the Transport Museum, which I had not been aware was open to babies under one, unfortunately they are only running on Wednesdays, so will clash with Henry’s nursery day going forwards. When Henry woke up we did some more walking practice with his trolley, I had to follow him across the front room, to turn him and the trolley around when they got to the opposite wall. He was doing really well and getting up quite some speed! After preschool, I took Owen to his Ready Steady Riders session, however the traffic was terrible and we missed quite a bit of the session. Owen rode really well and did some good listening to Coach Kazzi, however it was another late night for Owen.

After his busy day, Owen had a lie in, but Thursday was to be Henry’s busy day! He started off with his usual swimming lesson – probably my last with him! He enjoyed splashing about and jumping in. After lunch, and a nap, it was time for Henry’s second settling in session at nursery. He was fine as we got into the building, but burst out crying when we got to the cloakroom for the Baby Room. Nor was he too happy when we left him. Jen had taken the day off and we were now in the strange situation of two hours to spare – with no children! So we went into town for some lunch – the Noodle Bar is one of our favourite places, and also not really suitable for children, so we went there. It was nice to be out just the two of us. When we picked up the boys from nursery, Henry was pleased to see us, but very tired, as he had not napped at nursery. This actually played into my hands, as Jen went out in the evening, so I had to do bedtime by myself.

Owen had another lie in on Friday, usually Fridays are lazy mornings, and we let Owen come downstairs in his pyjamas and dressing gown. But this week we had to drop Henry at Nursery for his final settling in session, which would last the whole morning. We all set off in the van, then after dropping Henry off, we continued to the War Memorial Park, for Owen and I to have a ride round, and Jen to do some running. Owen rode particularly well, controlling his speed and managing to ride up the hills. The main point of our ride was the skate park. On our previous visit, back on my first week of parental leave, Owen could not manage to ride up the smallest ramp, but this time he had it nailed – even keeping his pedals level as he rolled over the top. We must have done over twenty laps waiting for Jen to finish her run. My Orange Four was overkill for the small skate park, but it was fun chasing Owen around. It was lovely being able to spend the morning together in the park the three of us. We were told that Henry had enjoyed his morning at nursery, but he was certainly very happy to see Jen when she collected him! We spent the rest of the day tidying the house ready for Henry’s birthday party and playing in the garden together. Henry had his first solo venture into the garden – usually he stopped at the threshold of the backdoor, but this time he just went for it, crawling up the garden path all the way to the garage!

The big day – Henry’s first birthday, which I have already blogged about. We had a fun day, Henry got to open lots of presents – mostly assisted by Owen, we had visitors and cake! By the end of the day we were all a bit tired, despite not having left the house. So we all walked to the fish and chip shop to get dinner.

After all the excitement of Henry’s birthday, Sunday, my last day of parental leave, was a quiet affair. I tidied up my desk area in the back room, listed things on eBay and managed to get out for a ride at the pump track in Solihull. However the weather was rubbish and it was not the best ride, a bit of an anticlimax after twelve amazing weeks off work with the boys…