Happy Valentine's Day! This year I'm not quite as prepared as last year, I didn't manage to make Ethan 3 meals of heart shaped food, or to make any crafts or do any baking, but Ethan and Ivy did get Valentine's cards and presents to open and Ethan did colour in some Valentine's cards for his family and friends. In the end we didn't actually get to see his friends (it was a rough night so we didn't make it in time to Ethan's music class today) but hopefully I'll manage to be more organised by the next special occasion.
Today Ethan went swimming at the local pool with Daddy. He was so excited, he hasn't been swimming in ages. It was also really lovely for him to have some quality time with his Daddy, and for me to have some bonding time with Ivy. I also absolutely love when he gets back from somewhere fun, and runs to me when he gets home, talking a mile a minute with all of the details of the things he did. He was so excited to tell me all about swimming and he had a fantastic time. I just hope that I can find ways to have that much fun with him when I'm on my own with both kids!
We have been given a copy of Reef 2: High Tide to review, it will be released next week (17th February) so we're quite privileged to have a sneak peek. It couldn't have come at a better time either, as we spent a quiet day at home as none of us were feeling very well. Ethan doesn't watch a lot of TV, so watching a movie is definitely a treat. It is nice to sit and watch a movie altogether, that way Ethan can ask lots of questions and we make it a learning experience.
I wouldn't want to give the plot of the movie away, but basically the reef is under threat from sharks and the fish have to work together to protect themselves. This gave us the opportunity to talk to Ethan about teamwork and doing things together with his friends. We even simplified it and talked about sharing and ways that he could play nicely with his friends at play dates. This way it became part of his Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Ethan liked watching the 'fish movie' as he called it, and was very interested in the characters and what they were doing. He is still a bit young to watch a full length movie, so we just watched a bit at a time throughout the day. This also gave us a chance to chat in between, and to colour in this lovely colouring page with the main character Pi from the film on it.
I wouldn't want to give the plot of the movie away, but basically the reef is under threat from sharks and the fish have to work together to protect themselves. This gave us the opportunity to talk to Ethan about teamwork and doing things together with his friends. We even simplified it and talked about sharing and ways that he could play nicely with his friends at play dates. This way it became part of his Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Ethan liked watching the 'fish movie' as he called it, and was very interested in the characters and what they were doing. He is still a bit young to watch a full length movie, so we just watched a bit at a time throughout the day. This also gave us a chance to chat in between, and to colour in this lovely colouring page with the main character Pi from the film on it.
* This is a review post, Paramount sent us the DVD of Reef 2: High Tide for us to watch and write an honest review about. For more information about our review policy please click here *
Today we took Ivy to Ethan's music class for the first time. It was actually the first time that we've taken both children anywhere. Let's just say that it took a long time to get out of the house! It was nice though, to be able to see lots of our friends and to get back into our routine. Ethan loved showing off his little sister and chasing his friends around (I have to say, there wasn't much music being made by Ethan today, he was far too excited!) I have no idea how we're ever going to be anywhere on time, but hopefully it will get easier!
Today Ethan's grandparents took him to the London Transport Museum, as a special treat for him and to give us some time to bond with Ivy (and rest!) Ethan absolutely loves trains and buses, so it's a great way to extend his Knowledge and Understanding of the World.
Ethan had such a fantastic time there, he came home full of stories about all of the things that he did. And he was very excited to tell 'his baby' all about it! The only problem is that I missed out on seeing him having all that fun, we'll just have to take him again another time.
Well, it turned out that our little one was ready to make her appearance into the world last night! After writing yesterday's post about preparing Ethan to be a big brother, the contractions started, then late last night Ivy arrived! We were very lucky to have a straightforward delivery, so that we could bring Ivy home early this morning. We got ourselves settled before Ethan woke up, put Ivy in her crib and brought Ethan in to meet his baby sister. He was so excited to see her, we must have done something right, as he really seemed to understand. We gave him a present from Ivy (a big brother top) and he gave her a gift (a bodysuit that says 'I love my big brother')
I am sure that we're going to have our difficult times, but so far Ethan is just excited and wants to smother his little sister with kisses! I just love watching the two of them together, I can't wait to see their relationship develop.
I am sure that we're going to have our difficult times, but so far Ethan is just excited and wants to smother his little sister with kisses! I just love watching the two of them together, I can't wait to see their relationship develop.
Today we added a sticker to our ‘Waiting for Baby’
calendar, a sticker to represent 40 weeks pregnant, that's right, baby is due today! I wasn’t even sure that we would be needing
this many stickers (as Ethan was born at 38 weeks) but here we are. We’ve been doing a lot of things to prepare
Ethan to be a big brother, and I’m hoping that he understands more now as baby
really could arrive any day now.
Here’s what we’ve done so far:
Preparing
Ethan to be a Big Brother
- Read books about babies and becoming a big brother (There's a House Inside my Mummy, Waiting for Baby and I'm a New Big Brother)
- Waiting for baby calendar
- Looking at baby photos of Ethan together and talking about what he was like when he was a baby, and when he was in Mommy’s tummy
- Feeding and being gentle with Baby BornInteractive
- Bonding with baby bump, talking to baby, learning to be gentle and giving baby kisses and cuddles
- Meeting other babies
- Choosing a present to buy for baby, and then talking about how little baby is going to be when they wear or play with the present
- Changing Baby Born’s nappy
- Make a card for baby, yet another opportunity to talk about baby’s arrival and what baby might like
- Giving Baby Born a bath, a reminder of how gentle we have to be with babies and how Ethan can be a very good helper to Mommy
Wish us luck!













