August Holiday

It looks like they arrived okay...

Sunflowers

Last year we tried growing sunflowers. Despite buying "giant sunflower" seeds, we had a paltry 2 foot thing with a tiny head.

But we aren't the type to be beaten by a flower, so this year we had another attempt.

As before we got nice new compost, carefully planted our seeds into the seed tray, kept it warm in the mini greenhouse and watched them sprout. Then came the bit where we kind of lose interest and they get a bit tall and straggly before we decide we really ought to do SOMETHING with them.

So, this year I looked up on the internet how sunflowers like to grow. Turns out it's best to plant them out straight away. They need to develop a good wide root to get nutrients and to stop them toppling over. They drink an awful lot of water, and like a nice fertilised soil as they use a lot of energy with all that growing.

So, I duly stuck 2 in the pot in the back garden, then at a slight loss as to what to do with the other 8 I quickly shoved them into the border at the front of the house.

They were tall and spindly. The wind blew them over a bit. The watering washed the soil away and exposed the roots.

BUT WE WIN! WE GROW GOOD SUNFLOWERS!

Playing

So, this is the third time I have written this post. I fear things are conspiring against me, or possibly against Linus, because this was to be our first collaborative post.

This was always intended to be Linus's website. Not our website that we use to write about him. And so, as he progresses ever so gradually at school and learns to read and write you can expect more and more content written by him. It's a win-win-win situation. We don't have to worry about keep updating it, he gets to mess about on the computer and you all get something to read! Well, I say read... it could be interesting to start with!

Anyway, as I mentioned, this is hopefully third time lucky. The first attempt was inadvertently deleted by Linus whilst he was busy mashing his hands around the keyboard, the second was eaten by my computer when I hit save, but hopefully this one will survive!

I asked Linus what he'd like to write about on his site and he said "playing" so that's what this is kind of about.

Linus has mostly been playing at school (lego batman and ben 10), having his friend Charlie here to play, playing at Charlie's house and not playing very nicely at all with his little brothers. He has spent hours in the front garden digging up small stones to take in for show and tell, many more hours making lego creations in his room and has a new-found interest in drawing and painting which is nice.

This is the bit where Linus would have done some typing. He managed to write Linus, Bob and no all by himself! go Linus! maybe next time he'll have even more to say...

FIVE!

It's still February. Just about. Which means that technically this post isn't too late. Perhaps.

When I asked Linus this year if he'd like a party he said no. He doesn't really like parties. He would, however, like to have some friends round to play pass the parcel and have birthday cake. It wouldn't be a party though. No.

So that's what we did. In fact, we had 2 um, gatherings on the Saturday before his birthday. The first, in the morning was his school friends, and the second was in the afternoon and was friends and family. We had to invite Grandma, because otherwise she just turns up anyway even if we don't ask her <rolls eyes>

So, invites went out, excitement reached fever pitch, Mummy wanted to run away... but it was great! The 3 boys we had over for the morning not-party were all lovely. They played together beautifully and I ended up wishing we'd made it longer. Linus had a really lovely time. It was really the first "proper" party he has had, where we've been able to invite children he has made friends with all by himself (with no parental intervention!) and I have to say that, on the whole, he has done a very good job of choosing friends.

Linus was very, very lucky and got everything he had written on his birthday list. A playmobil submarine (which can rise and sink, and go along underwater), a giant plastic robot contraption and a Ben10 omnitrix and some other little bits and bobs.

His cake was made to his exact specifications (and those who know him will know just how exact he likes to be!). A number 5, with blue 5's all over it and five blue candles. I think it was ok.

I also want to include some other pictures that weren't taken on his birthday but are very recent, just because they're lovely (and also because we were a bit too busy to take many of his party!)

Guarding his Gogos

The picture you thought you'd never see! This is the child who refuses to eat chocolate biscuits in case his hands get mucky. The one who wouldn't touch sand, or grass with his bare feet... and look at the smile on his face :-)

Christmas 2009

The build-up to Christmas this year has been quite lovely. Linus is well and truly at an age to be rather excitable and interested in the whole thing. He loved his advent calendar, he loved the decorations and lights (oh, it looks soooo beautiful Mummy) and he has spent much time telling me all about Father Christmas (woe betide anyone who refers to him as Santa!).

He very sweetly told me one day that he had decided what to get his brothers for Christmas, a dinosaur for Gabriel because he loves dinosaurs, and a cuddly toy for Asa- an owl, to be specific. So on an afternoon shopping trip we managed to sneak away from Daddy and the other boys and go and buy our gifts, then wrap them once we got home. So cute!!

Linus didn't have a specific Christmas with-list because he apparently likes "everything", so we got him his first proper big boy's bike. He was rather underwhelmed with it when he came down in the morning- or maybe so overwhelmed with the whole thing that it just didn't show? Either way he'd have been happy enough just with his stocking I think.

We toyed with the idea of not putting stabilisers on his bike, and letting him just learn how to ride it, but the general icy-ness outside and his natural catiousness meant that they're on for the moment, but watch this space for proper bike-riding announcements!!

Here he is eating his candy cane, which I ended up with because "I don't really know why it has to be so hard"

Looking a bit worried, but getting the hang of it!