A round up

This week has been the usual hotch potch of fun, friends, learning, working, and generally cramming a month into a week!

Things that particularly stand out:

The paediatric nutritionalist came on Monday. She was impressed, as most people usually seem to be, by how tall/heavy/"bonny" Jonathan is and commented that any intolerance or sensitivity doesn't seem to be holding *him* back!

She has recommended calcium supplements for me (on top of my current vitamins) to make up for the lack of dairy/soya, also to prescribe the amino acid based formula for Jonathan should I wish to use it. Obviously, it would be better for him to stay breastfeeding, but I must admit that I also have to balance how the restrictive diet is affecting me, and my emotional/mental health.

It especially gets me down on the days when he seems so bad, even if I've tried very hard to avoid all the foods that seem to trigger him off :0(

(as if to reinforce this, he's just woken yelling... back in a bit...)

Right, where was I?

So, we've got to decide what to do now about it all. Meantime he is starting on solids, just one food at a time, all home made of course, and taking it very slowly.

On Monday Joshua went bowling with the other teens from the group.

Tuesday we had a camerman and reporter from Teachers TV again, to refilm the bit that they did in May that never got used. William read on camera, Samuel cooked (of course!) and even agreed to count to ten in french, and Joshua wrote his book blog. Then we went off to Monkey Bizz where two other HE families bravely agreed to give interviews. The reporter was quite impressed with how earnest we all were about it!

Straight from there, we went to a birthday party, with the two older ones going bowling and William and Jonathan staying with me back at the house. We left there, after party food and cake when the bowlers returned, some time after 7.30 I think. I like Joshua's write up of the week!

Roarke has been working hard, and working me hard too this week on the business, with a second web-based business due to come online before Christmas.

Wednesday, the boys went up to Keston Ponds again with two other boys from our group, for more muddy walks and pond-side adventures, whilst I managed to get some work done.

Jonathan had his first adventure in the baby walker! I know not everyone likes them/agrees with them, but Samuel and William had one (can't remember if Joshua did!) and it certainly helped at this stage where they start to get frustrated at not being able to move like their older brothers seem to. Straight away, he worked out how to go forwards (they usually just go backwards at first!) and has already worked out how to "steer" it and has headed out of the door after them all!

He also rolled from his back onto his front, and then up onto his knees today for the first time (he's been rolling from front to back for ages) so it looks like he'll be an early walker like the other three, who all walked around 10 months.

Today we had the twins and their mum up, which was great. By the way, if you are in the south east and need - or know someone - who needs make up for a special occasion, here's a quick plug for her, and her business!

Despite the huge age range - 2 1/2 year old twins, a 5, 9 and 12 year old - the kids all played brilliantly downstairs in the one room together, with the duplo. As always, one of the huge positives of home ed.