Sunday 9 September 2012

Week 26 - back to school


The boys enjoyed their last couple of days of the summer holiday with G treating them to soft play and time on the beach. On Tuesday they all went to celebrate Nanny's birthday lunch before an early night ready for the first day of term for Joe on Wednesday.

He was unsurprisingly reluctant to go in on Wednesday, it's amazing how strongly he can root himself to the ground and grip on to your leg when he doesn't want to go in through the gates! In the end G took him in to the classroom and he soon settled down. His teachers did a good job of starting to rebuild his confidence, really celebrating the work he had done on his diary of our holiday, even sending him to show the head teacher his good work.

On Friday we took Charlie in to meet his new teacher again before he starts reception in a couple of weeks. Joe was once again very clingy at the gates, to which Charlie responded, 'don't be sad, I'll take you in to the playground!' so hopefully we won't be having the same issue when he starts!

Talking to Charlie's new teacher about him, it was an interesting reflection on how he's changed in the last few months. 6 months ago he could barely run his co-ordination was so poor, he wouldn't hold a pencil and he needed constant entertainment. Over the last few weeks he's not only shown great strength in the park and on his scooter, he's also started to form the letters of his name and he's engaging in imaginative play. He still loves to be with us (you can't sit down at home without him plonking himself on your lap!) but the last few weeks we've noticed him playing happily in his room on his own, lining up his toys to act out games.

Friday afternoon Charlie had an afternoon being looked after by Aunty Nikki. This was because we were meant to be seeing our social worker at lunchtime, but due to a mix up that didn't end up happening. It's a long time since we've seen a social worker so they can't be too worried about our progress! Nevertheless Charlie enjoyed himself (although when I asked what he did at aunty Nikki's he told me he just did the mopping!). We also finally completed our court application pack on Friday evening, meaning that we can take that to the courts on Monday to start the final process in our legal adoption of the children.

This weekend the sun has shone better than I've seen it all summer, and we've had a wonderful time with the boys. Saturday we spent all day on the beach, we all swam in the sea, and the boys spent hours playing, giving G and I time to drink coffee and even read some of our books! And today we went off to a kids farm and play centre and had a picnic with great friends and their kids. We love days like today, the children all entertain each other allowing us time to catch up with friends, and they wear themselves out being in the fresh air all day.

And today also marks a big milestone. It's six months today since we started introductions. I can't believe that six months has gone by so quickly, and yet at the same time, I can't imagine life without them, and it feels like they've always been part of our family. They've been so well behaved this weekend, it's been genuinely fun to be with them. I was watching a group of 20 something, no kid couples having a picnic on the beach on Sunday. Booze flowing, relaxing and having fun. That was our life six months ago, and despite the fact that this crazy new life is hard, tiring, taxing, challenging and relentless, it's also rewarding, satisfying, fun, exciting, emotional and generally, well, amazing! 

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