Hiya Family and Friends,
This blog is mostly a family update - okay, mostly a kids update :) We've been busy in March with weekend trips which we'll blog about soon.
The past two weeks in the Manchester area have been just glorious! Highs of around 18C and sunny - we've all even got some colour! (Probably should have got the kids' sun lotion out) It's been great to go out in T-shirts and hoodies - no coats! Just yesterday and today though it's been a bit rainy and cool so it looks like it's going back to typical English weather. Everyone here is curious about how the weather is back home and what it will be like when we go back in a couple of weeks - they are very surprised to hear there was a huge snowfall last week and it's very possible there will be snow when we get back! We're all looking forward to the Spring double feature. We just turned the clocks forward on the weekend (two weeks after Canada) so it is extra nice having sunlight into the evening - although it makes it harder to convince Liam that it's bedtime.
The past two weeks in the Manchester area have been just glorious! Highs of around 18C and sunny - we've all even got some colour! (Probably should have got the kids' sun lotion out) It's been great to go out in T-shirts and hoodies - no coats! Just yesterday and today though it's been a bit rainy and cool so it looks like it's going back to typical English weather. Everyone here is curious about how the weather is back home and what it will be like when we go back in a couple of weeks - they are very surprised to hear there was a huge snowfall last week and it's very possible there will be snow when we get back! We're all looking forward to the Spring double feature. We just turned the clocks forward on the weekend (two weeks after Canada) so it is extra nice having sunlight into the evening - although it makes it harder to convince Liam that it's bedtime.
Liam had his first ever Dentist appointment last week. It was with a private practice, as opposed to an NHS practice which would have been free since he is under 16 (the NHS is so great!). Liam has a ‘bad tooth’, as we call it, and I wanted it checked out before we left the UK but I left calling the NHS office too late not realizing they would have a 2-3 month waiting list and we would already be back home by then. The visit was only £16.50 but Liam didn’t even get in the chair. He didn’t even go near the Dentist. He wouldn’t even open his mouth for her! I had a Plan B in my back pocket in case this happened – Just Keep on Roaring - yes, like a lion. So Liam literally roared his way through the appointment whist standing near the chair and holding onto me tightly while the Dentist did her best to look at his bad tooth. From what she could see his tooth is just stained and we can just work on his comfort level at the Dentist back in Canada. And we’ll try to claim the appointment on our health insurance back home although we don’t think Manulife will like the receipt we got – the cost printed on the back of their leaflet with a handwritten ‘Children’s Dental Exam’ – yeah right!
Liam’s embracing his role as a big brother – he gets really protective of Gemma if another child plays with her ‘not gentle’ and if she is upset he sings - without prompting - one of her favourite songs (‘Twinkle Twinkle’ or Upsy Daisy’s song). He also likes holding her hand as we help her walk and wants to help get her dressed and change her nappy – we’ll see how long that one lasts!
He’s really enjoying Nursery and all his friends (I'm totally going to cry on his last day, I know it) He says he knows all the boys’ names but not all the girls’. He is going to a girl’s bday party the day before we come home and has already told her what gift we got her J. Although I think his favourite part of Nursery is finding out I’ve come with a ‘train biscuit’ from the local Potts Family Bakery which happens at least twice a week – always on Friday Treat Day J It's been very exciting at Nursery this week with the arrival of Easter chicks, hatching at the Nursery in an incubator! Seems as though everyone in town with small kids is talking about it:) I heart small towns.
Liam has an English accent on certain words and names that he learns at Nursery like ‘reading record’, the journal I write in about the books he brings home twice a week, Lucar (Luca), Lolar (Lola) and other words that just sound different here like yogurt is ‘yog-hurt’ and to Liam it’s ‘yockit’!
Toilet training is going really well – he made it through our Barcelona and N. Ireland trips in only underwear (during the day) without an accident and has had only 1 accident at Nursery – but I do wonder if it was because his friend Rowan was having accidents and he wanted to have one too! He’s also out of nappies and into Big Boy Pull-Ups for nighttime – some are even dry in the morning too which we seriously didn’t think would happen until he was 5!
We’ve been talking to Liam a lot about our ‘Guelph House’ and getting him excited about returning to Canada. He’s expecting blue ice cream (hopefully someone still makes ‘Superkid’!) and playing with our new street neighbours Deacon and Ronan lots at the park behind our house. He is excited to do lots of gardening, plant a veggie patch and see the flowers come out from hiding in the ground for the second time this year. He’s also excited about timbits and is desperate to see our dog, OD. He’s been treating the stuffed dog (really a door stop) we got in Scotland which he named Coco Begeone (?) like a real dog! He also talks about visiting his cousin, Ella, in Malaysia, but that’s not happening anytime soon!
He’s really enjoying Nursery and all his friends (I'm totally going to cry on his last day, I know it) He says he knows all the boys’ names but not all the girls’. He is going to a girl’s bday party the day before we come home and has already told her what gift we got her J. Although I think his favourite part of Nursery is finding out I’ve come with a ‘train biscuit’ from the local Potts Family Bakery which happens at least twice a week – always on Friday Treat Day J It's been very exciting at Nursery this week with the arrival of Easter chicks, hatching at the Nursery in an incubator! Seems as though everyone in town with small kids is talking about it:) I heart small towns.
Liam has an English accent on certain words and names that he learns at Nursery like ‘reading record’, the journal I write in about the books he brings home twice a week, Lucar (Luca), Lolar (Lola) and other words that just sound different here like yogurt is ‘yog-hurt’ and to Liam it’s ‘yockit’!
Toilet training is going really well – he made it through our Barcelona and N. Ireland trips in only underwear (during the day) without an accident and has had only 1 accident at Nursery – but I do wonder if it was because his friend Rowan was having accidents and he wanted to have one too! He’s also out of nappies and into Big Boy Pull-Ups for nighttime – some are even dry in the morning too which we seriously didn’t think would happen until he was 5!
We’ve been talking to Liam a lot about our ‘Guelph House’ and getting him excited about returning to Canada. He’s expecting blue ice cream (hopefully someone still makes ‘Superkid’!) and playing with our new street neighbours Deacon and Ronan lots at the park behind our house. He is excited to do lots of gardening, plant a veggie patch and see the flowers come out from hiding in the ground for the second time this year. He’s also excited about timbits and is desperate to see our dog, OD. He’s been treating the stuffed dog (really a door stop) we got in Scotland which he named Coco Begeone (?) like a real dog! He also talks about visiting his cousin, Ella, in Malaysia, but that’s not happening anytime soon!
Gemma is… wait for it… WALKING! She has been able to take 6 - 10 steps for about 6 weeks but really had to be persuaded to do so. And just this past week she has been convinced that it’s a good idea and is happily walking about on her own. She’s even got the confidence to walk around in the Children’s Centre playgroups and at the playground! There have been lots of falls, some flat on her tummy! We can tell she was trying to run first, just like her brother (and her Daddy)!
On that note, she is now obsessed with doing everything Liam does like drinking leftover cereal milk right from the bowl (Mark, who did they get that from?), and pressing buttons on lifts (elevators) or for automatic doors. She has also started to ‘roar’ with him! We can only hope she will toilet train sooner – although she’ll likely want to stand up like Liam too!
Finally after months of literally having gums the shape of molars, Gemma’s four 1yr molars came through. She arrived in England with 4 teeth and will probably leave with 16 if her last 3 incisors come out in the next 2 weeks!
Now that Gemma’s walking better she’s also ‘talking’ more and will say a new ‘word’ every day or so. The only word she says like Liam did so far is ‘dogga’ (doggie), although unlike Liam, she seems to know the difference between dogs, cats and horses J
Gemma’s really developing personality. She is definitely not a girl that will sit still and colour in the lines. She pinches Liam, hits him, swipes his toys or snack and sometimes does all this just to give him ‘I’m sorry’ cuddles and kisses. She just does it to him so we’re fairly certain she wants his attention. Liam must really love her because he puts up with a lot.
She's taken an interest in 'helping' in the kitchen - by this I mean taking out all the herbs and spices from the cupboard, placing them on the floor and then putting them back in (and not in the same spot either!) She's fairly careful however a lot of packaging here is still glass so I worry about her dropping one and it breaking. Although the real danger comes from catching her tiny fingers in the door as she plays with that too:)
Aside from not proper walking until she's 19 months, Gemma's showing all signs she's going to be quite athletic (music to Daddy's ears). She's really great at throwing and catching, loves to kick and even tried to before she could stand, loves hockey sticks and has amazing balance. We think she will be a gymnastics girl seeing as she has always been crazy strong for her small size, she's got really good form during 'Cool Tricks' with Daddy (she tucks her head in for landings!) and she loves music and dancing.
The English weather we've had this winter has been really great for Gemma -she's become poorly with the regular cold viruses but didn't get near as bad as last year when she required many nights in hospital. And the warm (and early) Spring we've had here has been great too! For some reason, Gemma, Liam and me all got eczema (pronounced eck-zehma here, not ex-zeema) - having never had it before! All taken care of with free Aveeno lotion (can you believe it?) as prescribed for Gemma - it wasn't Baby Aveeno -they don't have that here- but it worked!
Mark's off work now from an extended P.E. coverage at a Manchester school - it was only supposed to be from 2nd Feb to 2nd March but was extended until 22nd March (and could have been longer but Mark was ready to finish). It was great for him to end his employment in the UK on such a high note. (Special Edition Mark Blog still Coming Soon) So our UK Adventure finishes the way it began for Mark - on holiday and spending time with the family. He did a 10 mile trail race in the Lake District on the weekend (finished 20th just ahead of the first female) and is attempting to bike across England in 3 segments before we leave - he completed the first leg today from Liverpool to New Mills along the Trans Pennine Trail - 70 miles in 6 hours.Photo of: Mark's Race
The big news in New Mills is the newest cafe, Revive, and despite the fact that it's affiliated with the local 'Revival' Church, I still go:) It's steps from the Nursery and doesn't have any steps to haul the pram over to get in (very important!). Plus they have Chai Lattes. I've already been with 2 different Mummy friends (and many times myself) and picked Liam up sorta-late once because of it - Yikes!
That's all the updating for now - will blog again soon with weekend trip details from York, Belfast, Lincoln and The Lakes.
Photos: Facebook
Cheers,
The Nicholson Family
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