Parenting

Siblings September 2016

Posted by

11

We’ve had such a lovely summer holiday and the last month has seen so many gorgeous moments between our lovely pair that I don’t really know where to start. As such I apologise for the glut of images but I can’t help snapping away when they are being adorable with each other, and this linky does give me the opportunity to show those images to the world.

So, as ever, my children love to mess with each other. It’s pretty equal and both usually give as good as they get, and are tolerant of each other, resulting in lots of lovely giggles. There are times when one isn’t in the mood but those times are rare and they generally have so much fun together. photogrid_1473602607206

They love playing together and although there are times when LM messes up what Monkey wants to be doing (like running over to stand on the picture he was painting when we were painting outside last week, before running off with a huge cheeky grin on her face!), there are more times when she just plays alongside him. I particularly love how they sit and play lego together in his bedroom. So cute! photogrid_1473603516697

Monkey is so overprotective of his sister and always wants to make sure she’s ok. Sometimes I have to tell him that he should go and have fun as I am there to look after her. He doesn’t always think I am doing a good job though, so I am not sure what that says about my parenting haha. In truth though he thinks he is a parent too I think which is lovely but I do wish he wasn’t such a worrier sometimes. Still, it makes for some lovely moments where he says he is looking after her. photogrid_1473685688524

The loveliest recent development is that LM, who is not the biggest of hand-holders at the best of times, now loves to hold her brother’s hand. It started on a recent outing where we had a stand off going and LM would not walk the direction we were going. We were trying to move on so she would catch up when she wasn’t getting our attention for her behaviour, but Monkey, with his over-protectiveness, did not approve of this method. He did not like that we were leaving her behind so I announced “I will go get her.” Now, if hubs or I had gone and taken her hand to lead her then all hell would have broken loose, but, miraculously she allowed Monkey to lead her by the hand. photogrid_1473604113753

From then on she has not only allowed him to hold her hand but actively demands he hold her hand sometimes, which we do find completely adorable.photogrid_1473607111665

Monkey doesn’t always want to comply with her demands, it has to be said, but is a bit of a softy and usually relents. I love this video of a very reluctant superhero gradually giving in to his little sister’s demands and holding her hand!

Another little development has been an addition to our bedtime routine. Once LM has had her stories read, it is time for her to say goodnight to her brother with a kiss and cuddle. Just adorable! 20160912_142002

I think that covers most of their recent cuteness together! When this post is published Monkey will have only just started his week of mornings at school and I think LM won’t really have missed him much. But I get the feeling that as he starts doing full days that she really will note his absence. I wonder how their relationship will change as a result.

dear beautifulEthans EscapadesBest of Worst

Little Miss at 22 mths

Posted by

10

Another couple of months have passed so it is time for another update on our little lady. She seems to have changed and grown so much lately as she really moves from being our baby to being a real little girl.IMG_20160822_122311

Where do I even start? Well I guess her speech is one of the biggest developments. She’s still not properly talking but she is jabbering on almost constantly these days and there are definitely more recognise able words amongst all the babble. “wandat” for I want that “ishweh” for it’s wet and lots of mama and dada. She likes counting and copies our tone for saying “one, two etc, even if the words aren’t right yet. There’s loads though and I’m sure in the swing earlier she said some form of “I want to get down” and was jabbering on about her boots too. Because it’s hard to describe written down, and I’ve wanted to record her jabbering for posterity, here is a little video of random clips of her chatting.

We don’t always understand her though which can lead to a heck of a lot of frustration and some serious tantrums. She is still so bossy and likes her own way a lot which also leads to tantrums when we say no. I wrote previously about some of the challenges of this age so won’t go on about that too much here. We have used the naughty spot for the first time recently though and it seemed to work quite well.

Another way she has so obviously grown up lately is the little routines she has developed. After playing the sand outside, for example, she will lead me into the house with her hands out in front of her, through into the downstairs loo and steps on the step so she can wash her hands. Another example is making sure stair gates are shut behind us when we enter/leave the living room etc. Very sweet. She’s also getting so lovely and following instructions and lives giving people things or “helping” with something. She will lay herself down when ready for a nappy change and another of her little routines is climbing into her brother’s chair once he has vacated after breakfast and hoovering up any porridge he left behind, even when that really isn’t very much!

 

Speaking of climbing she can now climb onto chairs pretty easily and in fact loves climbing on things, and I’ve even found her sat in her buggy having climbed in by herself.  We really had to watch her on a recent holiday as she was climbing on all sorts of dangerous things! I loved it recently at soft play though when she climbed all the way up by herself to follow her brother and friends. She is doing so well and is so brave. I was of course keeping a very close eye on her!PhotoGrid_1471959296711

She’s also getting good at showing how much she loves friends and family now. She will willingly and voluntarily give her relatives lovely big cuddles and often kisses which of course everyone loves.

She’s really good at waving hello and goodbye and screams with happiness when she sees someone she loves, especially her daddy! You may want to turn the volume down for this clip taken from my instagram feed haha.

So what else is she up to? Well she’s learned to ride her brother’s scooter, and we have bought her her own one… But she only ever rides it very briefly and isn’t interested beyond that. I still think she’s done phenomenally well though as Monkey only really got to grips riding his this year! She loves dressing up and often brings me a dress, a hat or her favourite dragon costume to put on her.PhotoGrid_1471957406442

She has a lovely little imagination already. She loves playing with people and putting them in cars, feeding them or putting them into bed. She’s also learnt the cutest little habit of closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep. Makes me melt as it is so adorable!

I’m obviously biased and even though she drives me crazy I just think she is such a gorgeous little girl. She’s so cheeky and funny and doesn’t take herself seriously at all, pulling the funniest little faces. She’s a little gymnast and throws herself around and she loves to learn too. She loves having a good splash around outside, playing with her granny’s dolls and playing with her brother.

PhotoGrid_1471959889404

This age certainly has it’s challenges but it is also amazing to watch her grow and change so much all the time. Our little girl.

Siblings August 2016

Posted by

4

I love the relationship between my little two. It’s everything a sibling relationship should be, in my mind. They have so much fun playing together, they mess with each other, wind each other up, drive each other crazy and love each other fiercely.

The big change this month though is how protective our Monkey has gotten over his little sister. Such a good big brother but I do wish he would worry less sometimes, as that’s our job. She’s at an age where she falls over a lot and seems to have constantly grazed knees, this doesn’t bother her for more than a few seconds each time, but he hates seeing her get hurt and constantly tries to prevent it. “don’t run! Mummy stop her running. Mummy you have to carry her so she doesn’t fall over!” He’s also her little defender “Mummy, you took that away from LM and that’s not fair!” Never mind the fact that she just whacked me with it or threw it!

LM is talking a bit more now (I will write a separate post about this) and Monkey loves it. He can’t wait for her talk and gets so excited and proud of her when she says something. He has also started initiating little conversations with her.
Monkey: “Ooh look LM I’ve got longer legs than you”
Me: “Yes you do have longer legs than LM”
Monkey: “Excuse me, I was talking to LM”

PhotoGrid_1471091692984

They have so much fun together and I adore hearing the giggles as they play, and looking to see what they are up to and seeing their grins. But it also makes me chuckle when they wind each other up as actually for the most part they both find it funny when they do it to each other. But of course Monkey can annoy her by going too far, and vice versa.PhotoGrid_1471092104152

Still, all part of the sibling fun eh? We are actually very fortunate with how well they get on though,and they sre cute with each other far far more than anything else. We shall see how that changes as they grow and when she can answer him back haha.

PhotoGrid_1471092394288

dear beautiful
Little Hearts, Big Love

Little Miss or Little Madam?

Posted by

4

Our little miss is a feisty one. Always has been and being completely honest I actually think for girls, and children in general, a bit of feistiness is a good thing. I want my children to grow into strong adults and not be doormats. It makes it hard work as a parent but still I am glad my kids are a bit feisty.

Lately though LM’s feistiness has stepped up and ooh she is being a real little madam. In truth I am finding her quite hard to deal with at times right now. She’s in a funny transitionary phase. She doesn’t have many words but understands everything and knows what she wants. She just can’t communicate that to us so there are LOTS of tantrums rooted in frustration. I know this is the root cause but that still doesn’t make it easy to cope with the screaming.

She has always been an incredibly loud child and the volume and pitch of her screaming and whining when she can’t get a toy to do what she wants it to, or if she doesn’t get her way in general is just insane. And I am finding that it well and truly grates on my nerves!

20160727_130913She’s always being so so wilful. She is a really bossy britches and constantly demands things. She comes and takes my hand and pulls me where she wants to go. She stands waving at me to follow her, shouting her “err-ow” sound at the top of her lungs until I acquiesce. And when I don’t acquiesce, oh my goodness the volume of the tantrum. There are times I do what she wants simply so I avoid the aftermath… But other times I just don’t. Sometimes she presents me with shoes and tries to drag me out of the house. At 6.30 am I’m sorry darling but it’s just not happening.

I don’t generally take pictures of tantrums a) because I’m usually stressed b) because I don’t want to somehow encourage it by taking a picture and c) because I don’t like my picture taken when I’m upset so it feels a bit mean. But, this tantrum amused me because of her sticking her legs in the air, so I did take a picture on this occasion!20160727_100853

She is pushing my buttons all the time. She throws things and hits things when she is frustrated and when I tell her not to do something she deliberately ignores me and does it again and again until I remove her from the situation. And then tries to return kicking and screaming.

Food is a huge sticking point at the moment too as she is beyond fussy and just refuses to eat almost anything, even things we know she likes. I try not to worry, to make sure she doesn’t have snacks too late before mealtimes and trying to do what I can but I just feel I can’t win. The result is that she is even grumpier and screams more than normal because she is hungry… But she still refuses to eat. We worry that it is her teeth or something so offer her something else to eat but then she eats so it is more like fussiness than anything else. In which case we don’t want to keep giving her what she wants as that will limit her diet and set a precedent she will expect. It is so frustrating and I feel at my wits end at times when she refuses food I know she likes. It even got to a point where I take photos of happy mealtimes as they feel so rare. How daft is that? PhotoGrid_1469698821371

For her life until now distraction has been pretty good at moving her on from any tantrums and upsets.. But now that very often just won’t wash with her. It is time for some stronger discipline.

I know it is just her age and I also know she needs some firmer boundaries to help her make sense of the world. I know it isn’t for everyone but we found the naughty spot technique from Jo frost, aka Supernanny, worked really well with Monkey. I don’t agree with everything she says but that definitely worked with him. I wanted to wait until LM had more words before starting more discipline with her but the truth is that it is time now. I hope it works with her as it did with her brother but they are such different characters so we will have to see.

The trouble is that her behaviour is just so draining and feels almost impossible to deal with! She can also be the loveliest happiest, sweet, kind little thing too… So I really hope this phase doesn’t last too long!20160719_131356

Are your children feisty? How do you deal with discipline?

The label of SAHM

Posted by

12

Something really interesting happened lately that has prompted quite a bit of discussion in our house. I was tagged by a lovely friend of mine on the following meme, which made me chuckle. 20160725_204520

Not everyone saw the funny side though and the following conversation took place on my Facebook.

PhotoGrid_1469476285808
Now I’m not saying either of us is right or wrong and I’m certainly not criticising her for holding her opinion. But it did stay with me a bit and on a recent evening chat with hubs and a good friend I brought it up as part of a discussion about labels.

The trouble with the label of SAHM, or SAHD is that it implies that you stay at home all day, which let’s face it isn’t an accurate description, as just because we don’t work elsewhere doesn’t mean we stay at home all day. It brings with it connotations of laziness and an implication that we don’t do anything which is obviously not the case. As the lady above rightly says though, an alternative would be to be called unemployed, which doesn’t have the best connotations either.

So what would be a better label for a SAHM? My friend suggested full time mum, but then by comparison that suggests that working mums aren’t full time mums when of course they are. Going out to work doesn’t make you any less of a mum.

The conversation continued on and to the distinction of why there is even a label of working mum? You rarely call someone a working dad. A SAHD yes but there’s not label for working dad. My hubs is a dad but he is also a technical director.

The thing is though why do any of these labels matter? Why are we so defined by what we “do?” Generally when you meet someone new it is very common to ask or be asked “What do you do?” but why? Why is it so important to know what someone does so early on in forming an opinion of them. Your job may be a huge part of your character but it also may not. Your job doesn’t necessarily definitely e who you are. It certainly isn’t all that you are.

I’ve always hated being asked what I do, at all parts of my life, when I was a TV producer, when I was an estate agent, when I was a manager in a call centre for a concierge service for high net worth clients and now as a SAHM. Because whatever your answer may be you can see a judgement being made about you. About your wealth and status and honestly I really hate all that rubbish. None of it really matters, in my opinion, and they don’t equal who you are as a person.

I am a SAHM, yes, but that is not all that I am, which I guess is the point of the meme that started this off. I’m also a reader, a novice runner, a wannabe photographer, a lover of rock music. I’ve travelled the world, done a sky dive and a bungy jump and been white water rafting a few times. I have a degree in TV production and have been to Glastonbury 3 times. I love being with my family and right now raising my children is what is important to me and we are fortunate that we are in a position where I am able to do so. But being a SAHM right now shouldn’t have to define all that I am.

In the same way, my husband is a Technical Director. But that’s not all that he is. He is a loving daddy, who is hugely interested in politics and loves whisky. He loves to learn and likes science and experimenting. He is currently learning which red wines he prefers. He is also incredibly lucky to love his job and the business he helped to build, but he also hates when people ask what he does as they form an opinion based on what they think his job is.

This doesn’t just for for the labels for what you do work wise though, it’s all labels really. They pigeonhole us. Gay, straight, black, white, the label may describe a part of us but not all that we are. There is nothing wrong with embracing a label and being proud of it but I do wish it didn’t have to define us.

What do you think? Is is just a label and not something to be worried about, or does the label hold power?

And then the fun began...
Best of Worst

Monkey Says at age 4

Posted by

7

I have been meaning to write a little compilation of the funny things Monkey says for a while but not got round to it, so I have loads noted down. I will try and limit this post to the best ones.

20160708_182108Starting with one of my faves from our funny boy. On a recent walk he said to Daddy “I need to whisper in your ear” Daddy bent down and Monkey said “wa wa wa waaaa”  (think sad trombone sound)  and ran off chuckling. Cheeky monkey!

One bathtime Daddy randomly started singing California Dreaming and Monkey was most confused by this
Daddy: All the leaves are brown
Monkey: All the leaves are brown?
Daddy: And the sky is grey
Monkey: the sky is grey?
Daddy: I went for a walk
Monkey: You went for a walk?
Daddy: On a winters day
Monkey: on a winters day?

His voice was getting more high pitched and he sounded more and more incredulous with each questions so by this point we were chuckling away!

Another bathtime conversation I overheard was Monkey asking what plastic was. I didn’t hear exactly but Daddy gave a detailed description and Monkey asked more and more questions, resulting in the wonderful question “What are atoms?” haha Daddy told him but I’m not sure he really understood.  In fact I think he lost him a lot earlier in the conversation with mention of hydrocarbons!

He’s ever so polite and says excuse me all the time…. Even when he is being rude.

“Excuse me you’re talking too fast and just going blah blah blah blah blah”

“You’re really old. ” Thanks Monkey

“Mummy look at your big fat tummy!” Thanks again haha. He does love us though.

“You’re all my best friends. I’m going to keep you.”

After being told he’s my bestest boy he tells me I am his bestest girl in the world too.

“Mummy, I need to whisper in you’re ear… I love you”

He loves his sister and really cares about her. Shes at an age where she has lots of bumps and scrapes and one day pronounced”Oh no look at your knee! ” to a bemused LM in the bath.

His drawings have come along so much lately and I do adore the descriptions he gives for them!20160629_074211

That’s the earth apparently and the little circle at the bottom is the “North pole” where father Christmas lives. The circles are our family and though you may think that the lines coming out the sides are arms, they are actually ears. Connecting ears to be precise and apparently Daddy has very big ears haha.

He also comes out with some really random phrases.

“I would like a salad. A teapot one. I think I need a dinosaur one actually.”

“Excuse me, in olden times that path used to be a road.” (It did not)

“Did the bear make it?” (About the maple syrup Daddy bought back from Canada)

Monkey: “It’s a ruin. It was a castle but the bad guys went in and made it into a ruin. It was a long time ago.”
Daddy: “It was before I was born”
Monkey: “And before Mummy and me and LM”
Daddy: “and Granny and Granddaddy”
Monkey: “Naaaoooo”  (disbelief)

He also had the occasional Pearl of wisdom, like this one about his school transition session.
“I cried at the beginning but I didn’t need to.” Very true little Monkey

He sings constantly and as he is currently reliving his Daddy’s childhood he now knows all the words to the theme from the original transformers cartoon and loves singing and dancing to that. Along with the spiderman theme tune bless him.

20160709_073729And finally, because toilet jokes and naughty humour are funny at all ages,  when holding up a long cardboard tube between his legs, and chuckling away to himself he announced “Look mummy I have a big willy” and burst into fits of giggles while I pretended not to find it funny too haha.

He says so many funny, lovely, cheeky, annoying things all the time and I wish I could remember all of them. I can’t of course but I love having these little records to look back on.

Little Hearts, Big Love

Siblings July 2016

Posted by

6

As often happens before a siblings post I can be wondering what I have to say about my pair that is new. Then, as also often happens, they are so so cute together that I know exactly what I want to share. In many ways the relationship between this cute pair hasn’t changed much since last month, other than that they have grown ever closer and have more fun together.

On a day out at a country park last week, what started as LM moaning that she wanted to sit on a wooden egg, turned into the loveliest game of them chasing each other round the eggs with the most gorgeous giggles! PhotoGrid_1468230177250

Then later that afternoon when flopped on the sofa, as often happened LM started messing with her brother. She loves to mess with him and I find it pretty incredible how tolerant he is of her. When she poked him in the eye I told her off, only to be told by Monkey “it’s ok, I like it” (huh?) then when she started kicking, I told her off, again to be told by Monkey, “I’m OK, that was lovely kicking” and when she stopped, he asked her to do it again. I give up. PhotoGrid_1468230299443

Obviously there are tantrums and squabbles over toys and things but for the most part we see so so lucky how much fun they have together. LM is without doubt the leader of the 2 and Monkey often copies her when she is acting loopy, he just loves having her to play with I think. PhotoGrid_1468230819572

So that’s my little pair at the moment. There are big changes ahead with Monkey started school in September, so I am looking forward to having a lot of fun with them both over the holidays.

dear beautiful

Ice Excavating with Monkey, age 4

Posted by

6

Like many children his age, Monkey is constantly on the go and really interested in the world around him. The questions are endless and I am always trying to find new fun things to do with him, that he will be interested in. After seeing some programme about fossils on the tv I decided to have a go at an activity that has been on my to do list for ages, ice excavating!

It’s a dead simple activity and while I think most people excavate dinosaur toys out of the ice, we don’t actually have any so I just found some other rubbery toys that I thought would survive freezing, and a few jewels and set to work. In a big tupperware I popped a few toys in a bit of water and froze it for a few hours. Once that layer had frozen I added more water and more toys and then left the whole thing in the freezer overnight ready for Mummy & Monkey time.

PhotoGrid_1468231739367

The next day Monkey and I set to work. We set up in the tuff spot inside as the weather outside wasn’t great, popped the ice block into a big roasting tin and set to work trying to melt the ice and free the toys using some jugs of water, a couple of teaspoons and some table salt.PhotoGrid_1468231854163

As you can see Monkey absolutely loved every minute. There was so much to talk about too which was great for his vocabulary.PhotoGrid_1468232031232

Definitely a lot of fun and will repeat it over the holidays if we have a warm day I think as then the ice will melt even faster! As it was this kept us going for about an hour and there was still ice left afterwards.

Have you tried ice excavating before?

#ToddlerApprovedTuesday

Little Miss at 20 months

Posted by

10

So our little lady is 20 months old. How do I describe her? She is feisty, demanding, bossy, caring, fun, loving, cheeky, and seriously cute as well as infuriating haha. She is also learning so so much all of the time and it is wonderful to watch her growing from a baby into a little girl.20160619_105035

She really has made a sudden leap in the last couple of months, and though we still don’t have many words, her communication has really stepped up. She pays so much attention when we talk to her and understands so much of what we say, often following directions. Her babbling is almost constant and she makes some seriously lovely noises.

She also does have more noises approximating words, sentences and phrases. “i wan dat” is one, though it often comes out as i-on-da with arms thrust at whatever it is she wants haha. I’m also sure that one day when I asked where her ball was she said something resembling “oer dare” and then “igetit” but it is difficult to be sure. We aren’t worried by the lack of actual words. Her brother didn’t speak at all beyond babbling until he was 2, and now he never shuts up haha. And like I say she understands so much and communicates her needs very well. In fact she is so so bossy. And because she is pretty darn adorable she gets her own way from people a lot… Hmm.

The downside to the lack of words is the frustration that we don’t understand her. And frustration when we don’t do what she wants. Ooh she does get frustrated and very much makes her feelings known. Screaming her head off and holding her breath til she is blue in the face. Lying on the floor screaming, sitting on the floor screaming. Oh the tantrums are really really starting, especially when I don’t give in to her bossyness, and we never had it as bad with Monkey. It is so embarrassing at times but I also try not to worry too much.

She can also be the loveliest loveliest girl. She always wants to be helpful and always brings us all our shoes when we want to go out (and when we don’t want to…), she loves washing her big brother in the bath and is so proud of herself when we ask her to give someone something and she does it. She loves feeding her dolls and toys and us haha and is always trying to give people food and drink! She strokes pictures of animals and says aaah and adores her teddies and cuddly things. She loved seeing our friends’ Guinea pig recently and gave them some carrot to eat! She also hates when people are upset and if we can hear a child crying she will get really concerned and say “oh no!” she really hates when her brother is upset too. She loves a good cuddle too and there’s nothing I like more than having her snuggle on my lap.PhotoGrid_1467045986712

She runs just about everywhere and has the cutest bouncy run. As much energy must go into bouncing up and down as moving forward but she looks so adorable when she runs off. She is seriously fast when she wants to be though!

She is intrigued by everything in the world and routinely stops to explore a blade of grass, leaves and was so excited to watch and follow a bumble bee a few days ago, giggling away everytime it flew from one flower to another. In general she just loves being outdoors and if you follow my instagram feed you will know how much she loves puddles and bubbles and climbing. PhotoGrid_1467050215991

She adores being in the bath and is such a water baby. She loves playing and splashing about with her brother but also adores lying down and having a swim. Sometimes in a bubbly bath we can only see her head which is a bit bizarre but she seriously adores it and it’s just lovely seeing her happy in there.PhotoGrid_1467046353251

She is learning so much all the time and getting more dextrous. We have been working on fine motor controls and generally having a lot more involved play she loves sorting things and just exploring in general. Her latest loves are painting, and play doh! She would play playdoh all day long if she had her way. Thank goodness she also enjoys watching peppa pig and paw patrol as that usually distracts her when I am at the end of my play doh tether haha.PhotoGrid_1467053235157

She is desperate to be a big girl and loves drinking from an open cup and using her fork and spoon which is lovely to see. Though she still uses her hands most of the time!PhotoGrid_1467045614881

She still loves her food and though she can be fussy at times with new things on the whole she is great. Favourites include curries, especially with chickpeas in, baked beans, tortelloni in tomato sauce, my homemade soups and strawberries!

She loves books and stories and is constantly bringing books for me to read her, or sitting flicking through pages and lifting flaps on her own. She is getting interested in some more grown up books too and currently loves “What the ladybird heard” and enjoyed her brother’s current favourite “the pirate who lived next door. ”

She is a complete and utter loon at times. She loves spinning around and throwing herself on the floor. It baffles me but is another sign of how full of fun she is. She so loves to laugh and to make others laugh too. We adore our girl so much and it is a privilege to be her mummy, even if she does drive me crazy at times. She is cute as a button and I love, love, love watching her grow and learn.PhotoGrid_1467056019675

 

MummascribblesEthans Escapades

SIblings June 2015

Posted by

8

I love watching my little pair and seeing their relationship grow and develop as each month passes. This month they really seem to have grown the tiniest bit closer. I wouldn’t have said it was possible, as they were already so close, but they have. I think partially because LM is getting older so their interactions are changing. Looking through the photos from the last month there are so many examples of the fun they have together!june siblings

Sometimes they are content to play alongside each other, both doing their own thing but simultaneously, which I do love and is seriously cute. It also makes a change from arguing over things or messing with each other.june siblings 1

Because oh they do like to mess with each other, in pretty good spirits most of the time. LM is a cheeky thing and she does do most of the messing. From just going up to her brother and poking him in the face (haha) to playing peepo with her brother from behind his chair at the table.june siblings 2

Very often when they are sat on the sofa together LM will sidle closer and closer to her brother until she is basically on top of him and sometimes it gets very giggly and silly which is lovely. Add a front facing camera in to that and it can get a bit bonkers hahajune siblings 3

It’s funny to watch but though she is younger LM is the bossiest of the pair, she knows her own mind and what she wants to do, and a lot of the time Monkey is very happy to follow her lead. He will often copy what she is up to and follow her. Difficult sometimes when obviously we are a bit more lenient on her due to her age but expect him to know better than to copy her naughtier behaviours. We aren’t that lenient on her obviously and so she does have tantrums. On a recent walk, in the midst of her mini meltdown, LM plonked herself on the path and refused to move, beacuse a blade of grass annoyed her I think (honestly sometimes she is such a drama queen it actually makes me chuckle, but thats another story!) and bless her big brother he sat down with her out of solidarity haha cutie.june siblings 6

A great example of her bossiness that I happened to capture was when she wanted to lie on the beanbag but Monkey was on it. After a very brief argument (wordless on her part) he gave in, rolled off.. and well as you can see LM was quite pleased with herself.june siblings 4

Bathtime gives the best and most fun example of her dominance and is also the best example of the fun they have together. They are such a little duo in the bath and most of the time he copies what she is doing… which she loves and plays up to. For obvious reasons I am limited with how much I can share visually to show this, but suffice to say bathtime can get very loud and very wet! It is also very fun though.june siblings 5

They are such a lovely pair and yes there are the odd arguments and squabbles but I think we are lucky for the most part as it is very rare. Just this morning I saw Monkey take his sister’s hand and I say “you’re my best friend.”She shook him off and ran away giggling but that’s just the way they are. So lucky to have each other.

dear beautifulEthans EscapadesBest of Worst