Ready to learn

Leo has been back at school a month now, although it has to be said that it feels like so much longer. We have settled back into a routine, which is in fact a whole new one since we are now in our own home together, and this new set up is proving to be really helping that beautiful boy of mine, he's flourishing in a way that makes my heart sing.

In 4 weeks the little boy who never wanted to sit and read to me, reads each evening without any fights or any upset, his eyes sparkle when you cheer him on and praise him, and he just keeps going until he reaches the very last page. The little boy who didn't ever want to practice his writing, loves to show me the new letters and words he is learning to put together, he smiles as he perfects the technique and marvels at the markings he has made on his art easel. The same little boy who used to stay by my side in the school playground now parades himself around with the other children like an aeroplane.

They are just simple things to outsiders looking in, because these are all things that their children did in their reception year, but Leo didn't. In Leo's reception year he was classed as being globally delayed, and we had to jump through hoops just to even keep his attention on the task at hand. This new school term he is a completely different child, it's as though a switch has been flicked inside his head, and he's suddenly ready for school and he's ready to learn. 

When I got back home with Leo last night, I checked his reading record just as I always would. I opened it up and had a look at the notes that the teacher makes about how Leo has read at school that day. The words almost jumped off the page at me 'Leo read this really well. Leo made his sentence!'. The book was called 'The Play', and it's got some longer sentences than he is used too, so to see that he has not only given it a try, but read it really well was like all my Birthday's coming at once. 

Leo read the book twice last night, once to me and then later on to his Daddy when he arrived. We both sat there listening to our little boy reading. Really reading. Hearing how his voice flowed as the words left his lips, watching the expressions that danced across his face was just beautiful. 

When you have a child who is behind the other children, you grow a thicker skin. Parent's evenings, teacher meetings and educational psychologists all drumming it into you that your child is not achieving the same milestones as other children his age, it penetrates your skin like a knife and it cuts deep, really deep. It hurts and you really have to fight back those crocodile tears and save face to just get through those meetings. I have become so used to hearing what Leo can't do, I am always so taken a back when I hear positive feedback. Not because I don't think Leo is worthy of it, but because I am so used to hearing the concerns and worries, that now when I hear positive and encouraging feedback, I feel like my heart could burst.

I was talking to the head teacher of Leo's school yesterday, as I haven't really heard anything since Leo has gone back to school, I didn't know whether they were seeing the same changes in him that I was, I didn't know if they could see him really trying his hardest. The conversation was a positive one, and they too can see that Leo is suddenly taking flight. They can suddenly see the willingness to learn, and they are grabbing the opportunity with both hands. Just like we are at home. 

They are talking about letting Leo spend a few mornings in reception, just to help him catch up with his peers a little more. Now that he is actively absorbing information it will be beneficial for him to go over some of the lessons from last year. I am so happy that he is getting the opportunity to catch up, and I cannot be more thankful to the school for all that they have done for Leo.

We have implemented so much at home and I am always trying to find ways to make learning fun for Leo. I think the biggest change for us, and the biggest factor that has encouraged Leo to give learning his best shot is a mixture of things. We have given Leo the time, to ready himself, we have purchased fun learning aids such as the easel, we now live in a quiet home just the Two of us, where we can spend quality time without any disruptions. We have reward charts in place and at the end of this month, if Leo carries on doing the very best he can, we are purchasing him his treat. 

I made a promise to Leo before he returned back to school at the end of the summer holiday's. I told him that if he really tried his hardest and allowed me to help him, I would find the biggest Nerf Gun I could get my hands on for him. This incentive has really driven him, and as he has fulfilled his end of the bargain, I most certainly have to make good on my promise and deliver.

Incentives seem to really drive Leo to try, so I am going to make sure that we keep setting these exciting goals for him, and in turn he will not only reap the rewards of learning, but he will get a treat from Mummy and Daddy too.

Leo turns FIVE

It happened just as everyone warned that it would, time flew. Time really just picked me up, spun me round and dropped me off 5 whole years later. Time was relentless and time really did just tick away, the weeks and months fell away and before I knew it the baby days were just a distant memory, and in my baby boy's place was this little Prince Charming, this little cheeky chappy who has brightened every single day of the last 5 years.

How can it be that one small boy can lighten your heart and give you butterflies like no other? I don't think he really understands the power he has over me and everything that we do, because ultimately I just want him to be happy. So if making him smile means staying up all hours to complete everything needed for a Mario Birthday Party, then you can bet your bottom dollar that that's exactly what I am going to do. 

Leo's birthday this year fell on a Monday, just like it did the day he arrived in the world. Due to this I decided to get his party booked in on the Saturday so that he could have a full weekend to just relax and enjoy himself. It meant that we got to do his friends cards and presents on the Saturday, then on the Sunday we did our gifts with him and realised just how much we had all spoiled that special boy of ours.

There were two things that Leo really wanted for his birthday, a new 2 wheeled scooter because in his words 'I'm a big boy now Mumma. Big boys have 2 wheels! Not 3 wheels!'. I told Leo that I would absolutely love for him to get the new scooter he longed for, but until we moved out it probably wasn't the best idea. Of course I already had a plan up my sleeve and wanted to make sure that the Micro Scooter he has had from a very young age, was upgraded for his special day! 

The second request was a Star Wars Light Saber, it had to be red of course, so I got hunting to find the perfect light saber for my very own storm trooper! 

The scooter had been put together ready as I knew that as soon as he saw the Micro Stunt Scooter he was going to be outside as quick as a shot. As he plodded into the living room on that Sunday morning, his smile took over his entire face. You could see the excitement sparking off of him and he exclaimed 'I have a new scooter! I have a new scooter Mumma! Look!'. He could tell that much just from the way it was wrapped, and it took mere seconds for him to tear the paper away and him to discover the treasure that was waiting beneath.

As expected he headed straight outside, which for me meant that I had to hop on my own scooter at just gone 8am in my pants and the top I slept in! Thank god our post man doesn't come that early in the morning!

The rest of the morning was spent playing with Leo's many amazing birthday presents, one of which the adults seemed to get more enjoyment out of than the kids.. The Wicked Mega Bounce XL which really lived up to it's name, and we managed to get it bouncing higher than the garage roof! Luke was the bigger kid in the end (Luke being my 26 year old other half folks!) and just check out the enthusiasm he put into his efforts..

We spent the morning together as a family which was just lovely. Then I got an un-expected text off Leo's friends Mum who very kindly invited to take Leo over to soft play with her little boy. Leo and his school friend have become as thick as thieves and he was beyond excited to head off with them. As I strapped him into the car to take him over to his friends house for the afternoon, it suddenly dawned on me that this was his very first play date, and the first of what I am sure will be many more to come. 

Leo spent the rest of the afternoon with his friend and their family, it was a weird feeling not having him around at a time when he would usually always be with us, but he came back with so many stories and a very happy face which told me all that I needed to know. They even dropped Leo back at home for me, and the kids got a little bit longer to play together before they went back to school the following morning.

With Monday being Leo's actual birthday, I sent him armed with as many jam tarts as he could carry and couldn't wait for him to come home. At 12:55 I watched the clock to see it hit 12:56 marking exactly 5 years to the very minute that my beautiful boy entered the world. I wondered what he would be doing at school and thought back to those very first moments we shared together all of those years ago.

We took Leo out to Frankie and Benny's with his friend that evening and they were both so over excited and the toilet humor was flowing (Thank you school!) apparently 5 year old's think the word 'poo' is so overwhelmingly funny that it must be added into every other sentence! They were both on their best behavior and treated to a slap up meal full of laughter and each other's company.

So there we have it, another year has passed, and my darling boy is yet another year older. 

Half a decade old already.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful baby boy.

Because despite his age, 

he's always going to be my baby.

Today you are 5

5 years ago tonight I was pacing the house. 

It was Sunday 26th June 2011, the day had been long and hot. I was just about to turn 39 weeks pregnant and my feet had ballooned into some sort of un-human form of trotters, and I was being summoned to see the midwife first thing Monday morning. 

Little did I know that the pacing I was performing throughout the night was paving the way to the arrival of the most amazing little boy I could have possibly imagined. It seems impossible to even fathom that 5 years have past, and 5 years ago to the day that I walked the halls before finally heading to hospital around 8am to meet the absolute love of my life. 

Tomorrow my little super star turns 5.

5 years have molded the most caring, funny and clever little boy. Leo's personality boasts the most amazing sense of humour that often see's me falling about laughing, sometimes so hard that the tears fall down my cheek. He's sarcastic, cheeky and down right mischievous. and I wouldn't have him any other way.

Over the years we have weathered storms and embarked on adventure that I have loved sharing with you all on this here blog. We have grown together and become this super team. He knows that he is my entire world, and he knows that there is nothing I would not do for him. Leo is my number one, and I have loved watching him grow into the boy that stands before me today. 

They say time flies when your having fun, and if there is one word that wraps up the years that have past since Leo's arrival it has to be that. Fun. Of course it has been so much more than that though, because we have both grown, both evolved. Both adapted to find our place in this crazy, beautiful world. Sometimes the world spins so fast that it's hard to hold onto, but somehow no matter how fast the world has twirled and whirled, we are still here, were still smiling. 

Were still strong.

Tonight as I tooked my 4 year old into bed for the final time, I looked at him. His long hair brushing his face before I brushed it back revealing his beautiful blue eyes. 'I love you to the moon and back' I said as I stood there just looking at him, memorising every detail on his ever changing face. 'I love you to the moon and back too Mumma!' he replied. 

'One more sleep until your birthday little man!' 

'It's taking for ages Mumma! I want to be 5 like my friends!'

'Don't wish your life away baby boy, you will be 5 before you know it'.

While my soon to be 5 year old can't wait to grow up, I just wish I could freeze time. To keep my beautiful innocent boy and keep him all to myself. Leo is growing up, right before my eyes he's growing up.

5 years ago tonight I paced the house awaiting the arrival of a baby boy, and tonight I sit at the laptop looking back over an incredible half a decade. 5 years of love, 5 years that have been cherished and lived to the full. 5 years of being a Mother to my little man.

Tomorrow you are 5 Leo, so dream big and sleep tight, because you just wait to see how amazing your next 5 years are going to be! I have big plans for us, and I hope you know just how loved you really are.

Happy Birthday beautiful boy, I am so incredibly proud of you in everything you say, everything that you do. Keep shining bright my boy and there is absolutely nothing you cannot achieve. 

Birthday Planning for a 5 Year Old

I have been so behind in getting everything I want to say about Leo over these last few months, and this is something that I will be changing. We have so much going on right now, and it is all definitely something that I want and will document, but that will have to wait for another post. For now though I want to focus on an exciting event that is taking place next month, Leo turns FIVE! 

Yes FIVE!

It's been Five years of firsts for both Leo and I, we have had some incredible moments, and we have had some equally trying moments, but when I look back at everything we have done, everything that we have achieved and everything that is yet to come, I feel an intense sense of pride. Leo has over come so many hurdles that have been lay in the path before him, and even when he has stumbled, he has always, always got back up on his feet again.

With Leo turning Five, I really want to give him an incredibly special day this year. This will be the first time I have ever thrown him a party, but with it being his first year of school and the first year he has really actually asked for a Birthday Party, I am determined to give that to him.

This year Leo's Birthday falls on a Monday, which means he will be at school. It will be hard not having him with me on that day, but what I plan on doing is organizing his party for Sunday the 26th June so that we get to celebrate as close to his actual big day as we can. In fact the more I think about it, the more I think that we will just celebrate his birthday a day earlier this year. There will be friends, yummy food and all of his friends. I will have all of his gifts ready for him to open and enjoy too. This way it means he gets to enjoy everything without having to wait until he get's home from school on the Monday. 

I am looking to book the local leisure centre's soft play area and get all of Leo's friends to come along for an afternoon of fun. I have never entertained so many children before, so this is going to be an occasion that really puts me to the test! Think party games and ample disposable supplies so that I can literally bag everything up and bin it at the end of the party! You see there was a method to not having the party at home!

Leo has set his heart on a Bowser Castle Cake, and as I look at the Pinterest inspiration I have been busy pinning, I can already envision myself having a melt down over the icing. That being said though, last year when Leo asked for a Mario Kart 8 cake, I spent hours the day before getting it all together for him, and when he laid eyes on it the next day, his reaction melted away all of the frustration I had in making it. In fact hearing the excitement flicker across his face and light up those sparkly eyes of his, I could have cried with pride. He was so pleased with that cake, that he didn't even care about presents. He thought the cake was his gift! 

All he has asked for this year is his party and his Bowser Castle Cake, so I will be pulling out all of the stops to make this all happen for him, and I will have to get creative in what I get for his main present this year, as he genuinely has not asked for anything.

I just want to give Leo a special day, a day that celebrates him. A day where there's no school, stress or anything like that. Just a day of smiles, laughter and love that celebrates Leo turning 5 years old.