2015 – A Year in Review!

As is now tradition on my blog, it’s time for a quick look back over the year.  The end of 2015 finds me feeling settled and happy.  It feels like the year has been successful and productive.  We’ve moved forward.  We’ve got stuff done.  Life has been a little easier. 

2014 was a tough year financially, the start of this year was hard going as well if I’m honest.  But things are getting easier.  My work is currently pretty steady, the childcare costs have gone down (albeit minimally) and we’ve finally learned to budget properly – by which I mean we actually plan for the month and then really stick to it instead of guessing.  It’s all baby steps but steps forward just the same. 

This time last year I wrote about how the overriding theme for 2014 was that of building work.  We moved into the extension just before Christmas and it has made such a difference.  The children are all now in their own rooms and we have so much more space downstairs.  This year hasn’t really seen any major progress in terms of getting the house finished – just bits and bobs here and there as we’ve had the time or a few spare pounds.  We still have some quite big jobs to do – the new bathroom needs fitting, the garage has no roof or doors and the utility & downstairs toilet are just plastered out rooms being used for storage.  For the most part it doesn’t really matter as I can’t see it all – the doors are shut and it just doesn’t feel like part of the house.  That said I can’t wait to get the garage done and feel like the house looks more tidy!  Every job done on the extension will have a big knock on effect elsewhere.

If 2014 was a good year for blogging then it’s fair to say that 2015 has been even better!  Ending the year with an award and at number 16 of the Tots100 along with some fantastic brand collaborations and review opportunities, I’m excited to see what 2016 brings! 

But really, the main purpose of this post each year is to record a snapshot in time for Ben, Chloe and Amy.  

At 6 years and 5 months what do we know about Ben? 

* In a mixed Year 1 / 2 class Ben is currently one of the oldest children in his class and whilst I wasn’t sure about this to start with I think it really suits him.  He seems settled and happy with his new teacher and often talks about his friends.

* Maths remains his favourite subject at school.

* He loves dancing and is still keen to learn to break dance.

* He’s super confident with his phonics now – acing his phonics screening check earlier in the year and getting full marks in most of his spelling tests. 

* Ben is an increasingly confident reader and has continued to move up his reading levels rapidly.  He now reads “gold” level books and can pretty much pick up any of the picture books in the house to read to the girls.  He has just started to read simple chapter books and chooses to read in bed before going to sleep. 

* He still isn’t quite dry at night – he sleeps far too deeply to wake when the need arises!

* The occasional teenage strops have increased in frequency but are still not too regular thankfully, he just doesn’t ever like to be wrong and so will often argue back (Dave and I find this infuriating but my Dad thinks it’s hilarious as he has clearly lived through it with me!) 

* The Lego obsession remains strong.  He is more than happy to disappear off into his room to play with those little bricks for hours on end.  His most recent build was an age 8-14 Star Wars kit.

* His wicked sense of humour continues to entertain us.  He occasionally needs reminding that he’s pushing his luck but mostly he managed to stay just the right side of cheeky! 

* He has developed his Dad’s hollow legs and is happy to eat most things now (though he did nearly make himself sick with a prune at Christmas after I made him eat it!) 

* His relationship with his girlfriend, Ferne, is still going strong.  They are clearly very good friends and don’t seem to be at all bothered if anyone else passes comment on their “relationship status”.  He insists they will get married and they love to spend time with each other outside of school. 

* I had been concerned that being in the same class as his best friend Finley might be damaging for their friendship but it would seem I was worrying over nothing! I don’t think they really spend much time together in class with being in different year groups & Ben explains that Finley is his best friend, but Leon is his best friend at school. Ben and Finn are still super excited to spend time with each other on a weekend!

* He is super affectionate and loves to snuggle up on the sofa with Mummy! 

* He enjoys watching CBBC on a morning when the girls are still in bed but also loves a good film  he has recently been watching the Star Wars films on his tablet.

* He’s lost 4 teeth this year and even received a letter from his tooth fairy, Sparkle Pants

And Chloe at 4 years and 5 months . . . 

* Chloe has settled beautifully into her Reception class and is always very well behaved at school.

* Her best friends are Violet and Willow (apparently she plans to marry Violet).

* She is really enthusiastic about phonics and learning to read in general. We’ve been really impressed at how quickly she’s picking it up. 

* She is happy to try and write independently, her writing is just about legible if you know the context.

* She loves to play imaginatively – acting out her little stories with Ben and Amy using a range of voices. 

* She is obsessed with wearing dresses and has to be forewarned the night before if its going to be “a trousers day” to avoid a meltdown!

* She can write her own name confidently.

* She’s clumsy and falls often.

* The love of all things Frozen continues.

* Her hair is really long and she prefers to wear it loose – but doesn’t enjoy the knots this causes! 

* Her favourite colour is red – though there’s definitely more than a passing interest in pink.

* She can be a bit of a madam when she feels like it & cries easily when frustrated. 

* She doesn’t have a particular favourite TV programme at the moment and is happy to watch most thing on Cbeebies.

* Her favourite films are Home, Frozen & Beauty and the Beast – all of which can be watched on repeat.

* She’s a very girly girl, loving nail polish, pretty jewellery and sparkly stuff. 

* She adores her little sister. 

* She hates tidying up & will often claim to be suddenly very tired! 

Amy at almost 26 months old . . . 

* Amy is a keen walker and would much prefer to run around and explore than be confined to her pushchair.

* She’s surprisingly good on her new scooter!

* She sucks her thumb all the time – to the point she has actually made it quite sore

* Whilst sucking her thumb Amy will almost always be found twiddling her hair and as a result she has much shorter hair on the left side where I’ve had to keep cutting out massive knots!

* Amy fell over in October and scraped her nose – she constantly picks and scratches at her scab whilst sucking her thumb which means it has only just healed over 2 months later. I fear a scar!

* The soft spot I talked about for Granny last year has grown into a full on adoration.  “Ganny” is pretty much her favourite person in the entire world!

* She is a good sleeper – sleeping through the night from around 7pm to 7am and then having an hour or two mid afternoon.

* She loves to play with dolls. 

* She’d wear her wellies every day if I let her. 

* She’s very much Mummy’s girl and is always telling me she loves me – which is just adorable.

* Bath time with her siblings is a winner! 

* She’s an able communicator, speaking in full sentences much of the time and is more than capable of making herself understood. 

* She loves her Puddle Ducks swimming lessons.

* She’s very affectionate and loves a good snuggle with the special people in her life.

* She adores her older siblings and plays really well with them, getting involved in their imaginative play.

* She will be starting playgroup in the new year which she’s really excited about. 

* She is very insistent about her name – if you call her gorgeous or beautiful she will reply “Not gorgeous, me Amy!” 

* Her favourite TV programme is Bing which she could watch back to back all day long if she were allowed. 

* She still loves to be carried on my back but I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to do it!

* She’s determined. 

* She likes to be tucked up on a blanket and asks for “you make me cosy cosy?”

* She likes to drink Granny’s tea.

* Her favourite food is fruit toast.

* Amy broke her arm in August of this year after falling out of her bed but it healed quickly.

I think Dave and I would both love for 2016 to be the year we get rid of nappies . . . we’ve been constantly in nappies for almost 7 years now and we’ve both definitely had enough!  Our babies have grown up so much this year, their needs are changing all the time and I can’t wait to see what the coming year holds for them all! 

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