The Siblings Project – November 2017

The last month from October to November  has again been a whirl of hectic family life. Clubs, homework and school runs are our normal these days. I think with the weather getting colder (and the in the run up to Christmas) snuggling on the sofa and keeping warm has been our main goal this month.

When we can we like to try and get out for some fresh air – especially with the dog. All three of the kids get so excited when they see that ‘Jack Frost’ has been in the mornings too.

We’ve also embraced the dreaded germs this month, although I think they’ve done pretty well to get to mid November without getting more.

All three have had the most awful cough and I’ve felt so sorry for them. Coughing and waking yourself up is never fun.

Half term was pretty uneventful, aside from a lovely visit to Cotswold Farm Park where we picked pumpkins and the kids loved seeing all the different animals. We also managed to grab a sneaky October ice cream as it was such a lovely day. There was a bit more squabbling than usual due to everyone being stuck in the house as the weather was rubbish and our car was in to be serviced.

Halloween flew past, although this year there were three little people roaming the streets with their friends. Mason managed to walk the majority of the way – driven by the thought of all the sweets I imagine.

Bonfire night has come and gone too, Mason wasn’t so keen on the loud noises this year but all the kids loved the sparklers and glow sticks.

Izzie and Ollie have still been loving their Friday night sleepovers, with Ollie staying in the bottom bunk in Izzies room.

The biggest change this month though was the littlest Brushneen.

If you’ve been reading my siblings posts over the last few months, you’ll know that we were a little concerned about his lack of speech and love of grunting rather than trying to talk.

This month was the month it all changed – he’s now saying at least 3 new words a day – and actually speaking three words together. We are all so proud, and it’s been so lovely to see Izzie and Ollie encouraging him and trying to help him.

We took these photos on a afternoon dog walk at the weekend along the river. I don’t think there is a single photo where they are all looking at the camera, but they are perfectly imperfect and capture their personalities and the dynamic between them as siblings perfectly. There are so many as I just couldn’t choose.

I also love the photo of them looking over the river – I took a similar shot back in June (you can see here) and it’s amazing to see how much they have changed since.

This month Izzie has been loving:

*All things Choir – every waking moment she is practising her songs

*Marching with brownies in her first Remembrance Day Parade

*Reading (still) she is obsessed, which makes me super happy as I love reading too

This month Ollie has been loving:

*Food – he’s still being amazing at eating his school dinners, something I never thought I’d see

*Collecting Tat – bless him, he’s like a little magpie for all bits of junk, and tiny toys, which he likes to stash in his bedroom

*Carrying his own bags – maybe because I’m so used to Izzie who is totally lazy but love him, he comes out from school every day with his backpack on his back and carrying his book bag, and continues to carry them despite my offers of help.

This month Mason has been loving:

*Talking!

*Harley – he loves calling the dog when we are out on a walk

*Porridge – every morning he has asked for it, and demolishes the whole bowl

*****

I can’t believe the next time I write one of these, it’ll be the last one of 2017, and also we will be 10 days away from Christmas. The next month is as busy as ever, but with lots of lovely family activities planned – I can’t wait!

You can check out who else has linked for the Siblings project with the lovely Lucy at Dear Beautiful this month here.