jackandtom.com

We had a nice day today.

It was interesting, something that Rachael and some people said about the boy's birthday. Last year we looked back over the last 12 months and their birth - it was quite something that we were here on their first birthday. The fact that it was their birthday seemed in a way secondary. This year it is different, the main thing we are thinking about is getting everything ready for their birthday tomorrow. I'm sure at around 15:00 we might look at the clock - but this year we will be celebrating their birthday.

Tomorrow, it will be two years. They have learnt to much and we have been there to see. They learnt how to breath, they learnt how to keep warm, they learnt how to suck and drink milk. They soon were able to hold their own head, they rolled over, they giggled. They finaly learnt how to crawl, how to walk forwards, how to walk backwards.

Worry worry worry - the whole thing that comes with children. Once one worry and milestone has passed, a number of new ones apear - they work at and finaly acheive the next milestone - and then prepare for the next one.

Tom has so much to say and share with us, under his "pickle" appearance he wants to do good and is so proud when he does - he kisses and cuddles and has his own special look and smile. He will talk one day, just another milestone, and I wonder that once he starts if we will be able to stop!

Jack also hides under his "pickle" appearence, always wanting to do pratical jokes, giggling away. He gets so excited at times that he just does not know what to do. He will talk, and he will hear, just more milestones to pass.

And when they are talking and when they are hearing, what milestone will they work towards next?

If this is the first time viewing and reading this blog then have a read - some bits make sense while others do not and possibly never will! If you have read the blog regularly then thank you.

This has been Tom and Jack's first two years - thank you for reading.

Goodbye.

In the early days I used to start the day with Jack at some silly hour in the morning. We would go downstairs and he would have a bottle of milk. Then, he would snuggle up on the bean bag and have a little snooze, holding his cuddling duck and crocodile and dressed in his duck sleepsuit. About an hour later, Tom would come downstairs with Rachael and he would have his bottle of milk too, with Jack waking up by the time he had finished.

In the winter is was cold and dark, in the summer it was light and warm. We went through all the sessons like this. Eventualy, Jack no longer needed a little snooze and he would keeep himself ammused playing with his toys. Eventualy, Tom would wake at the same time and we would all go downstairs.

At the beginning the bottles were all made up, Tom with his normal SMA milk and Jack with his Pre-Aptimil milk. I would take Jack into the kitchen, to the frigdge, over to the microwave and then take both bottles and Jack into the other room where Tom and Rachael would be waiting. Later, we swapped roles, Rachael and Tom get and heat the milk.

These days, Tom and Rachael get the bottles from the dishwasher while me and Jack get the milk from the fridge. We said goodbye to SMA ages and ages ago, we are now onto full fat milk - shortly we could be on to normal half-fat milk and be able to invite people over for a nice cup of tea instead of a milky cup of tea.

You can see then that ever since the boys came home we have always done the same thing each morning. For nearly two years Jack has had a cuddle with me first thing in the morning and had his bottle of milk, and Rachael likewise with Tom.

Just lately Jack in particular has refused his milk and in the end we wondered if we no longer really wanted his bottle of milk in the morning - he is getting quite grown up. So the other morning we decided that instead of a bottle we would give each a beaker of milk and leave them to it - and they seemed to like it. They had a little sip of milk and then went off to play, coming back now and then for another sip of milk.

So no longer are there any long hugs first thing in the morning - another part of baby Jack and Tom has gone to be replaced with toddler Jack and Tom.

Tom and Jack are now saying thankyou through sign language. The good little boys will sign their thankyou at the right time, normally when a biscuit comes their way.

Stickers for boys that have been good. They didn't throw their bowl on the floor this breakfast time and so both got two little stickers. There were proud smiles everywhere.

Last night Tom was all pleased with himself and even waited for me to come in from the garden to see him ...... sitting on the potty! Not actualy doing anything, but had the biggest smile ever on his face

Back from our holiday (more on this later...)

Yesturday we spent most of the day in the garden, ending the day with a walk along the beach (we took the buggy but Tom and Jack were quite happy walking a lot of the way).

We have "tracked-back" with the dummies these last nights. Tom was not happy going to sleep without his dummy and would cry for 40 minutes (and more if left) and be quite distressed about it all. Jack, strangly managed to sleep through all this, but he kept waking at around 05:00 and never settling - once again crying quite distressed.

So we will visit this again some day, but in the meantime they have their dummies for sleeping and at no other time. Infact, they are quie good at giving them back when they wake up, so we are still progressing....

It was one of those nice evenings when the tide is out a long way leaving behind funny patterns in the sand and lots of little streams and pools running down to the water.

Tom had not overcome his dislike for sand, but did manage two steps before he remembered and jumped back onto the pebbles. Rachael carried him the rest of the way down to the water. Meanwhile, Jack had no problems plodding over the sand and leaving Jack footprints from his new shoes.

Lots of running about and being chased. Jack went right down to all the streams and pools and giggled as he splashed in the water. Tom sat on my knee while I knelt down and played a bit in the water myself. He really wanted to be brave but didn't know if he could - eventualy Tom did a quick bit of splashing himself followed by a quick climb back up daddy.

It was past their bedtime when he got back home.....

Precission packing of a car is a dieing art I think - so feel free to come over for a lesson later this week......

Operation "holiday" has begun. We only have five days to run through our well planned and strict programme of preparing for our week long holiday - if only we did have such a plan! We do however have a list, and it is a list that is getting longer each time either of us walk passed it.

We will soon be leaving for the sunny South West where we have been promised a heatwave.

Still no dummys. Last night, no one apart from the cat woke up.

Jack seemed to wake up a number of times last night looking for his dummy - and in the end we did give it to him. However, it was a good start - and straight after their morning bottle of milk the dummies went away again. Tears from both, but soon stopped when we got a book out to read.....

Tonight - a milestone. Tom and Jack went to bed with no dummys. Jack did ask for one and started to look a bit sad, but when offered more milk he soon forgot and they both went to bed with just their teddys.....

A bit of a bug going around. Last week we planned an evening out with a friend baby sitting for the evening, but Tom didn't seem too well after his tea. He just wanted to sit on someone's lap and have cuddles for the rest of the day. When we put him to bed he was sick , which didn't please him and so we bought him back downstairs and he slept on the sofa while we changed his sheets. The next day, after a slow start, he was back to normal again. We didn't go out that night, but we did have a takeaway!

Last night, Jack did the same. He just wanted cuddles all afternoon and when we put him to bed he was sick. So he slept on the sofa this time while we changed his sheets. This morning, after a slow start, it looks like he will pick up again.

Tom and his train track! They have had a couple of train tracks for nearly a year now. At first they spent most of the time playing with the track by throwing it about the room. Later they started playing a bit more with the trains, pushing them along and stick their tongue in the moving wheels (strange boys).

These last couple of days Tom has started to get quite into the trains and the track and now spends ages sitting next to the track watching the train going round. When it gets stuck he puts it back on the track, when he wants more carriages he connects one to the back. He is quite happy to spend ages on his own playing.

This morning we were all in the front room with the train track and I had to go in the kitchen to make some sandwiches for lunch. Jack came with me while Tom, who didn't want to miss out, slowly came as well walking slighly backwards and undecided about leaving his train. I told him that he could stay with his train if he wanted, a big grin off he ran back to the track.

Jack can't see what all the fuss is about, it's just a train going round a track....