I have no doubt that Owen will enjoy school, he is very inquisitive and enjoys learning about numbers – he can already write his name and count to one hundred! He has met his teachers a few times, and had a settling in session earlier this week, where he definitely appeared to be truly settled in – exploring the classroom and adding his own commentary to the teacher’s story at story time. He just about managed to stay on the ride side of the line between being expressive and disruptive, although he has probably identified himself to the teachers as “one to watch”.
Along with the mandatory photo in school uniform for social media, I thought that I would ask him some questions and record the answers see how his answers change each year:
Owen and I had a fun bike ride at the weekend – in our new Little Rider Co jerseys! We wanted to find the “Old MacDonald” trail, which is the latest themed trail in the woods opposite the War Memoral Park in the Earlsdon area of Coventry. I am not sure who has been making these trails in the woods, but they have certainly made lots of children happy! Henry also loves exploring in the woods, so Jen brought him along in the running buggy, as I currently do not have a bike suitable for riding with him on the front.
Owen rode really well up through the woods on the common and along the pavement to Earlsdon, so we got to the the woods on Kenilworth Road way ahead of Jen and Henry. To kill some time we went to take a look at the dirt jumps, these are only small jumps in some bomb holes, but they are fun to ride. Owen remembered having ridden them on the Mac Ride with me last year, although he did not seem to remember riding them himself on his balance bike. I asked if he wanted to give them a go, but he said he would just watch me, but after my first run through I looked behind me to see Owen dropping in! He did really well on the steep drop in, but did not quite have enough speed to get out the other side. We did a few more laps before Jen called to say she was at the trail, so we dropped in one last time, Owen followed me in and made it out of the other side – he was stoked!
We explored the “Old MacDonald” trail in the woods with Jen and Henry, finding the animals which did, or did not, belong on the farm. Then the boys had fun adding sticks to a large log pile before we set off back home. After riding really well on the dirt jumps and in the woods, Owen had a really silly fall on the way home, when he got mixed up between brakes and went over the bars at a road crossing. After a big cry, and a drink from his hydration pack he was ready continue, even bombing down the “scary hill” back to the house. At 7.7 kilometres I think this is his longest ride to date!
Henry and I had the morning to ourselves, as Jen had taken Owen out to buy his school uniform (ready for starting school in September) – so we decided to explore our local woods! I say explore, we actually know the woods quite well, it is our default place to go, usually after collecting Owen from preschool on a Friday, but Henry really enjoys leading us down whichever path he fancies! Our first stop was “the ramp”, where Owen and I practice our bike jumping skills – Henry loved running up and down the ramp!
Then we met a bulldog puppy, who wanted to be friends with Henry – unfortunately Henry was not so keen. He seems to like dogs from the safety of his pushchair – even when we met my friend’s tiny and friendly puppy, Otto, last week Henry did not want to play with him. I put Henry back in his push chair and we continued to explore the woods, with Henry getting out out to investigate the dens and fairy kingdom that have appeared in the woods since lockdown started.
It is always a struggle getting him back into his pushchair, especially when we are in the woods, but the excitement of our adventure must have tired Henry out, as he fell asleep on the short walk home. I was able to transfer him to his cot without disturbing him, so I was able to have a productive few hours getting some jobs done.
All this time at home has meant mid-afternoon cake most days, so despite not really eating out for the last few months I have not lost any weight. Getting a takeaway from Basement Browns (the best pizzas in Coventry) this evening probably won’t help – but it is ten years since Jen and I went on our first date (and had pizzas), so can be excused!
Reinstate my mid-week cardio session
Until Owen started back at pre-school at the start of this month we were getting out for lots of bike rides – but I could hardly call them cardio sessions! Some of the rides have been whole family rides, with Henry on the front of my bike. I did have a great midweek ride last week though – twenty kilometers around my local trails.
Do a strength workout at least once a week
Strength workouts, and to some extent yoga, have definitely fallen by the wayside since I started working from home. I am so tired in the evenings, that I cannot face a workout. I did do some earlier in the year though and this has reminded me that I need to restart.
New blog server and theme
I have migrated my blog to a new server and created an automated workflow to reboot the AWS EC2 instance I run it on if the blog goes offline. The new theme will have to be a job for the second half of the year.
WordPress custom stories project
I did start looking at how I could switch up the order WordPress arranges posts when viewing by tag, but have not yet had time to try and code anything up. I did find a few plugins, but they did not do exactly what I wanted – which makes me even keener to build my own.
I have decided to put iOS development on ice – partly because my aging iMac cannot run the latest Xcode, but also because I want to concentrate on WordPress and web applications. Hopefully the logic/structure of the web application I am working on with transfer to an iOS app further down the line.
Tidy my desk
I tidied my desk during Henry’s naps when I was on parental leave, but since I started working from home my desk is overflowing – with at least two computers on it, multiple external hard drives, cameras, phones, and paperwork. I think I may have to reclaim my old office from Henry.
Tidy my garage
Tidying my garage is one of my top priorities now, it has got so messy that I cannot get my MR2 out! I recently completed a full strip-down and service on my Orange Four and I have another bike to build up – but a tidy garage will help with that process.
As it stands, Partho has got a 59 kilometer lead in our annual “who can ride the furthest” challenge – I had been leading for most of the year until Partho put in a few big road rides.
Do some night photography
Another one that has completely fallen by the wayside – hopefully I will get a chance to do this if our family holiday to the south coast goes ahead.
Fix up my radio controlled MX-5
This is one goal where I am almost overachieving… Before the end of January, I got the little MX-5 working again, and Owen and I took it for a spin. I have since repaired the body, but am yet to photograph/blog about it. However at the start of lockdown I treated myself to a Tamiya Lunchbox (a radio-controlled stunt monster truck van) and new radio gear, the build was fun, but as with the MX-5 I am not fully happy with the bodywork – hopefully, it will be appearing on the blog soon. I also managed to buy a 1:10 scale MR2 body, unfortunately, I do not yet have a radio control car that it will fit on, nor is it a common size. So I have got a few eBay searches saved for a suitable chassis.
Outside of my goals, I have replaced my BMW with a Volkswagen Transporter van, which has been a great purchase. I have also learned to build bike wheels, in anticipation of building a new hardtail mountain bike. Hopefully with lockdown starting to ease and things returning to a “new normal” I will be able to make progress on my remaining goals and be a bit better at posting on here, as I have a bit of a backlog to work through…
This weekend was Owen’s fourth birthday! It was a quieter affair than last year due to lockdown, we did not get to watch any monster trucks, but he did get a monster truck cake and t-shirt! Henry woke up really early, but I could not take him downstairs, as he would have unwrapped Owen’s presents for him! When Owen woke up, he rushed in to tell us it was his birthday and asked if he could open his presents. The Lego bulldozer and wrecking ball crane setaffiliate link was particularly popular! We had planned to go for a bike ride at Hicks Lodge, but the weather was horrible, so we had a quiet morning at home, building Lego.
As outdoor gatherings are now allowed, both sets of grandparents were able to come round (separately), which the boys loved, even if we were outside in the cold and rain! It was really good to catch up, and it felt like things were getting back to normal. Some of Owen’s friends also came to drop off presents on the doorstep, which was really sweet of them. After all the excitement had died down, Owen stayed up late playing with his Lego.
The weather also stopped our back-up plan for a Sunday bike ride – I got out, but got soaked! Instead we had a quiet day at home, Owen played with his Lego some more and I built the boys a castle out of an old box. After dinner, Owen got his wellies on and jumped in some muddy puddles!
It was not the weekend we had expected for Owen’s birthday, even given the lockdown, but hopefully Owen had a good day. He will be back off to preschool tomorrow – but in three months he will be starting school!!!
I have been meaning to write this post for the last two months, but could never find the right time – or given how busy things have been, the time full stop! However last weekend we had a great afternoon out in the van – riding bikes and enjoying a picnic. It reminded me of our trip to Hicks Lodge, just before lockdown started, but warmer. And given that the boys started back at nursery this week, I thought it was a good time to blog about what we have been up to during lockdown.
Fortunately none of us seem to have caught coronavirus, or “the virus” as Owen calls it, we have been keeping ourselves to ourselves and only venturing out for essential shopping and exercise. Given that the boys have not been at nursery, there have probably been less germs/illnesses that usual! However we did start lockdown with some sort of stomach bug, that we all seemed to get at different times. The worst part of it was that after Owen was sick on his bed, Jen’s iPhone managed to find its way into the washing machine hidden in his bedding. iPhones do not like washing machines. Even worse, was that Jen had not been backing up her data – so please, let this be a warning – back up your data!!! Fortunately Jen was already in the market for a new phone, so the hardware has been replaced (and a back up mechanism put in place). Other lockdown casualties have been my Leatherman Style PS multitool (Amazon affiliate link), which I have lost at home somewhere and our landline phone, which I think Henry has broken. Given that I have barely driven anywhere, I decided to SORN my MR2, which has been stuck in the garage since mid March. We also had a nightmare three days where our home broadband stopped working – talk about bad timing! We were able to rely on 4G data from our phones, but for one particularly important meeting, I had to drive my van to work, park within wifi range and convert it into my mobile office. Fortunately the BT engineers were still working and one came out to fix it.
As lockdown began I was already overdue a haircut, and managed to buy a set of clippers before they became a rare commodity. I had been toying with getting a “number three all over” for a while, but my hand was forced by the lockdown. My mates were in the same position and we have called it a “covid cut”. I am usually against home hair cuts, but was pretty pleased with how it turned out. I am probably about due a third “covid cut”. Owen’s hair was also getting long, Jen tried tidying it up, but it looked even worse, so he got a “covid cut” too. I thought it looked good, but Jen was not convinced, admittedly it does look better now that it has grown out a bit. Henry is still yet to have a hair cut and his hair is now getting quite long (and blonde), hopefully he can wait a little bit longer until hairdressers are open again!
Jen and I have both been able to work from home, which is easier said than done with two small children in the house! I am also busier than I have ever been at work, as the project I work on is about to hit some critical milestones. As I already spent most of my morning on Teams virtual meetings with colleagues in the Far East, working from home has not been much different – in fact being at my desk before 7:00, rather than at 9:00, after the nursery run, has worked well, giving me more contact time with my colleagues before they log off for the evening. It has cemented my view that I would much rather work from home full time – hopefully more telecommuting will be one of the good things to come out of all this! I do not think the same can be said for Jen, especially as it seems all the boys want to do is break into our bedroom, where she is working. They rarely seem to bother me in the dining room…
When we aren’t meant to be working, it has been great spending all the extra time with the boys – within a few weeks of lockdown starting, Henry had learned to walk, and now there is no stopping him! He is in to everything, especially my desk drawers, Jen’s dressing table drawers and the cupboard under the sink. He started walking a few months earlier than Owen, but Owen was speaking by this age. The nearest to a word Henry gets is a “gaga” sound, which he only makes when he sees my mum on our daily Facetime calls. He has also learned to blow kisses, which is incredibly cute! Despite not talking yet, Henry is good at getting his point across to us, and he is particularly vocal when it comes to food, especially when it comes to “asking” me to share my crisps or cereal! I think Owen has suffered more than Henry during lockdown, as he was used to going to preschool or to swimming/Ready Steady Riders, then all of a sudden everything stopped. We have been trying to get him out most days, and his bike riding has improved considerably. Early on during lockdown I tried him on a local bridleway, which Owen named “the scary hill”, but after a few days he was zooming down it! Jen and Henry have also been getting out for bike rides with us – Henry loves being sat on the front of my bike, especially when we are going fast! Over the last few weeks, as restrictions have eased, we have loaded the bikes into the van to check out some local riding spots as a family, which has been great. Something else that I hope will continue post-pandemic!
On the subject of bikes, I decided to bring forward the big annual strip down/service on my Orange Four, which usually happens in June. My logic was that as I would only be riding local trails I would not need to be riding it – and it had just clicked over 2,000 kilometres since I got it. I stripped the bike right down and sent the suspension back to Fox UK for a full service, their turnaround was longer than normal, but I have it back and almost have the bike rebuilt. I also accidentally picked up a few new projects – I have been considering a new hardtail, to replace my Vitus, for a while and had identified a few options – the Marin San Quentin (as ridden by my best friend Partho) and the 2019 Orange Clockwork Evo (I did not like the geometry on the 2020 version). With cycling being one of the few allowed activities, bikes have been flying off the shelves. I noticed that the Marin had sold out everywhere, and I could only find one 2019 Clockwork Evo frame available – it was in my size, it must have been a sign! So I bought it! It took a few weeks to arrive and being a frame means I need to build it up. The plan is to move the parts over from my Vitus, the exceptions being the headset and rear wheel which are different sizes. Not only did my local bike shop, Albany Cycles, have the correct headset in stock, they were able to fit it for me while I waited. I started looking at options for rear wheels, but struggled to find what I wanted and eventually decided that the best course of action was to learn a lockdown skill and build my own! I am able to true a wheel, and already had most of the equipment needed, I also had a spare wheel that I could strip down and practice on. So after a successful rebuild I ordered the parts needed – I managed to get what seemed to be the last Hope Pro4 hub anywhere online, and had to get the rim/spokes/nipples from Germany. So far I have laced and tensioned the wheel, I just need to finish truing it. I am waiting until the Four is back together and the wheel build is finished to start the strip down and build on to the new frame.
My other lockdown project has been building a Tamyia Lunchbox (the #LockdownLunchbox). I had already been rebuilding my Tamiya MX-5 (which I need to update on another post), but with nowhere to drive it, I wanted something that could be driven in the garden. The Lunchbox had not really been on my radar before my research started, but it quickly became obvious that a 1:12 scale stunt monster truck van would be perfect for wheelieing around the garden. I think Owen was even more excited than me when it arrived! The build went well, but I struggled with the painting – always my downfall with building models. The bike projects have taken over my time, so the build has stalled while I wait to order more paint (the MX-5 build is at the same stage). Owen and I have driven the naked chassis around the garden a few times, which was great fun. Once the build is finished I am sure it will be appearing on the blog! Owen and I also set up my old Scalextric set, which I tweeted about and got well over two thousand “likes”, probably my most popular tweet ever.
Other lockdown projects which have stalled are painting the kitchen and dining room doors – we got off to a good start on the first weekend of lockdown, prepping and undercoating the kitchen door. During the initial three week lockdown, I had planned to wash a car every weekend, however I only just got round to washing Jen’s Yaris this weekend – the van is next! I had also started learning the Laravel PHP framework, which I need to get back on with, as I have a few ideas for projects using it. However I did get to use some knowledge picked up whilst studying for my AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner qualification to get my blog server to reboot whenever I get an email alert from Jetpack saying my blog is offline.
I am mostly happy enough at home, venturing out for the odd bike ride, so my life has not changed too much, the main things I have missed out on are a couple of trips to Wales. I have postponed my trip to Coed y Brenin with Partho, but we have cancelled our trip back to Bluestone, as the whole plan was to go for a term-time holiday before Owen starts school. As it stands we are still planning to go away with my family in August. Hopefully we will also be able to fit in some longer day trips in the van. The van has not been getting much use at all, initially it was only used for essential shopping trips, but now also for taking Owen for bike rides. However, I noticed a few problems – a rattle from the roof console and a nasty smell from the air conditioning, both of which I managed to fix, with a little bit of help from Owen. One unexpected benefit of the van is that it is so easy to work on the interior due to the space – I could even have Owen in there with me. There is no chance of that happening in the MR2!
Our garden, like I am sure many around the world, has been getting a lot of attention. One of the last things we did before lockdown was go to the garden centre to buy vegetable seeds – now the plants are pretty big! I need to get the last few out of the greenhouse and find some space in the soil for them! Our strawberry crop has started to come through and it seems like it is a good year for strawberries. The main problems our plants face are the “two-legged pests” – Owen and Henry love digging, especially in the raised bed. This was fine in the winter, but now that there are plants in the beds, we have had to get strict with them. We have also had some visitors to our garden – a family of blue tits have moved into the nest box which has been on our shed for years. I had seen them checking it out earlier in the year, but it was only after we tidied up the shed, and attached a trellis under the nest box, that I found a tiny baby bird on the ground under the shed. It did not seem to be in a good way, but I scooped it up with one of Owen’s spades and returned it to the nest. Shortly after the parents started regularly flying into the nest regularly with food, which I took to be a good sign!
I will finish this post where I started – with our trip to Kingsbury Water Park! We had already gone for a few trips out in the van for family bike rides around Coventry, but with the lockdown restrictions relaxing and country parks opening we decided to venture out further afield to Kingsbury Water Park. We had to pre-book our parking ticket (we were able to do this 24 hours in advance), which meant it was not too busy, other than all the cars abandoned on the road outside where people had not booked. Part of the reason for choosing Kingsbury was that we could park up the van and have a picnic in the big field – something that we had been looking forward to doing since buying the van. We set up our picnic chairs beside the van and tucked in to our lunch, but Henry thought the next door picnic looked more appealing and wandered off, so he had to get strapped into his pushchair. After lunch I got the bikes ready, whilst Henry made friends with the dogs at the next door picnic – he has not met a dog since Christmas, but did not seem at all scared. We rode a big loop around the park, the trails were quite busy, but there was still plenty of room – it was great to see so many people outside enjoying the glorious weather we have been having! I also noticed the lack of litter which was a nice surprise given reports I had heard from other parks. Owen rode well and Henry enjoyed being along for the ride on the front of my bike. We even saw ducklings and goslings! After the ride it was time for a well-earned ice cream. The queue for the ice cream van was extra long due to the social distancing, but it was worth the wait. I got Henry his own ice cream, which he ended up smearing all over his face and pushchair, but it was worth it for how happy he looked when he realised he would have a whole one to himself!
One of my goals for 2020 was to become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner – and after a stressful online exam yesterday, I am pleased to say that I have achieved that!
For those that do not know, AWS is Amazon Web Services – Amazon’s cloud computing platform, which essentially makes all of the tools that Amazon have developed to run their online store available to other organisations from Apple down to individual developers/bloggers, like me. I have been using AWS to run this blog, and a few of my other sites for a few years, and decided that it was about time to formalise all the skills that I have learned along the way. Whilst completing the online training I also picked up a few new things that I could apply to my website, or improve how I am using the tools.
The exam itself was really strict, I completed it online from home, although usually it would be possible to do it at a local testing centre. I was monitored the whole time through my webcam/microphone – with the exam being terminated if anyone else came into the room. I also had to have a totally clear desk – given that my usually crowded desk is currently doing double duty, with my work PC alongside my iMac, I opted to take the exam on my laptop at the dining table. As much as I like the idea of online exams, I do not think they are ready for the mainstream, after I had passed all of the entry requirements, showing my passport and desk space etc the application locked up, just as I should have been starting the exam. If AWS, probably the biggest cloud computing company in the world cannot get it right, I cannot see it being rolled out for GCSEs/A Levels! After giving it a decent amount of time to recover I ended up having to force a shutdown on my laptop and eventually managed to get back to the exam and start it. I found the exam hard, but finished it well within the time limit, and got told I had provisionally passed, with official confirmation arriving a day later, which is certainly an improvement over previous exams I have taken.
After more than twelve weeks off, returning to work was never going to be pleasant! However the biggest hurdle seemed to be getting the morning routine sorted, not helped by Owen having a lie in! Luckily my parents arrived earlier than expected to look after the boys. I cycled to work – starting the year as I meant to go on! Unlike parental leave with Owen, I had not switched my work laptop on since finishing work on the 19th of December – so the IT department insisted on taking it away to be scanned/updated before I could see how many emails had piled up in my absence. When I eventually got my laptop back, the answer was 1,564, most of which were automated emails from our issue tracking system. Not too bad at all – I had them all sorted by the end of the day! Nothing seemed to have changed in the office, so it was back to business as usual. It was raining heavily at home time, so I got completely wet through riding home. After the boys were in bed I ordered myself some waterproof overtrousers to go into my work bag should I get caught out again.
Tuesday added another element into the mix – pre-school! Now we had to get Owen out of the house too, but of course he had another lie in! However the promise of being able to ride his bike to preschool got him moving and out of the house in record time! The ride to pre-school went well, and is something we will do again. However continuing the ride from pre-school to my office was not quite so successful – I took what I thought was a short cut, which looking back on a map I realised was longer, as well as being hillier than riding back and joining my usual route. I ended up a bit sweatier than I would have liked by the time I got to work. The day went well, I got my holidays booked and childcare payments sorted. After riding home I only had time for a quick change of clothes before taking Owen for his swimming lesson – something else which needs to be factored into the new routine! Fortunately Owen was cooperative getting changed and really enjoyed the lesson again. This week I got him changed into his pyjamas at the pool, so at least bedtime was easier.
The challenge for Wednesday was fitting Owen’s Ready Steady Riders Wheelie Wednesday session in with full days at work and nursery! We are lucky enough to have flexitime at work – so as long as I was in the office by 7:30 I could leave in time to collect Owen from preschool early enough to get him to Sutton Coldfield by 17:00. Jen would then pick Henry up on her way home from work. Of course, because we needed to get up and go in the morning, the boys both had a lie in! I just about managed to catch Owen on my way out. It was strange being in the office so early, but at least the afternoon went quickly! I was able to leave at four o’clock on the dot, picked Owen up at ten past and made it to Sutton Coldfield with ten minutes to spare! Owen rode really well again – there was another little boy on a similar green Frog bike and they were at about the same level, so it was good to watch them racing each other around the track.
On Thursday I did the double – Owen and I rode to preschool, then I carried on to the office. Then after finishing work, I rode back to preschool to pick Owen up, and rode home together. I was proud of myself having ridden in three times in the week – especially as I took my lunch with me and did not visit McDonalds for lunch. Thursday ended up being my last day in the office, as I have continued not to work on Fridays, and then we were all asked to work at home due to the Coronavirus outbreak and I have been working from home ever since.
Yesterday was Henry’s first birthday! It is crazy to think that it has been a whole year since he was born – the time has flown by! He is growing to be a right little cheeky monkey – even cheekier than his big brother! In some ways Henry seems more advanced than Owen was at that age – he has more teeth, and his gross motor skills are ahead of Owen, probably from copying him. However, Henry is yet to start talking, whereas by one Owen had a few words, which he used in the correct context. Henry just makes sounds. I have loved watching him grow up over the last year, especially the last few months, where I have been on parental leave to look after him.
We had a small party at home to celebrate, just close family and a few friends. Jen made some amazing cakes, including a “1” shaped birthday cake, which Henry could not wait until we had finished singing “Happy Birthday” to taste! It was so nice to have everyone round, although a bit overwhelming for Henry at first. Although he soon realised that lots of people meant lots of drinks to try and steal! And unlike Owen he managed to stay awake for the duration of his party!
The sad news is that Henry’s first birthday marks the end of my parental leave – I will be starting back at work tomorrow after more than twelve weeks off…
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…
