Tangled Branches, Roots and Shoots

Well Nathan has been swimming twice now and he loves it. We went to the new leisure pool both times and it’s fantastic. It has a lazy river, slides, fountains, water cannons, water curtains, bubble jets and a spa pool. By far his favourite thing has to be the spa pool, he loves the jets of water.

The only problem is that he doesn’t realise that he can’t swim. He lets go of me and pushes off, just like he’s about to swim off. Then he sinks. But he doesn’t mind the water on his face, he just spits it out and grins.

The great thing for me is that the water is nice and warm, so I can manage to stay in there as long as he wants to. Both times he managed about an hour and a half. That’s a lot of swimming for a little boy. The first time he fell asleep while I was getting him dried and dressed. I have to admit, I think I was as tired as him as well.

I really loved seeing how happy the water makes him. He splashes about like a very confident boy. I think he takes after me with his love of water. I was a bit of a water baby too. I still love swimming.

I’m really proud of our confident little boy. I hope he stays that way

Oh blimey, not been in here for a while, have I?

In fact, almost a year. Wow. has it been that long already? Well I never.

I’d best catch up, then.

First and foremost, it’s little Nathan’s first birthday soon! I really can’t believe the time’s gone by so quickly. He’s leaving the realms of being a baby and starting to do those ‘little boy’ things, like the other day when I had to go back to work after us 3 having lunch together, he waved goodbye! Awww! Right now, I can’t wait til he’s talking properly. But I’m sure in another year’s time we won’t be able to keep him quiet and be begging for a break.

And yes, I do know pretty much every word of all the Peppa Pig episodes published.

Sad news included my great aunty Ivy passing away recently. Cancer’s not a nice thing to get, so in a way it was a relief that it all happened quite quickly for her. It also gave us an opportunity to catch up with other Wisemans back in Aldershot - crazy tribe that they are. Shenanigans there included little Nathan performing for the crowds in the Garden Gate pub, just up the road from where I grew up. I’m sure one day he’ll appreciate the attention less, but my goodness that little boy knows how to flirt! I’m looking forward to spending some more time back there on happier terms soon.

There’s still very much geekery going on in my daytimes, but I don’t imagine most people are that interested in hearing about that. I’ve gotten into cameras a bit more and been loaned quite a nice digital SLR to play with and see if I can get on with.

Today Tash has taken Nathan swimming for the first time. I’m looking forward to hearing the stories later

Right then. See you in another 12 months!

Well as the title of this post suggests I’m a proud mummy. Nathan has (at last) cut his first tooth. He’s been teething for what feels like forever. I’m sure the amber teething beads have helped a lot. He’s not been grumpy with his teething, just drooling like crazy. I’m really looking forward to seeing him with a toothy grin

It feels like he’s growing up so fast.

He started crawling in November and now he’s pulling himself up on whatever he can get hold of (everything!) and he loves walking around with someone holding his hands. I get the feeling he’ll be walking on his own in the not too distant future.

I guess I’ll have to get used to the idea of him being a toddler and not a baby soon.

So far his words consist of dada, mumuh, mum, boob, bum and now he says something along the lines of bebbah beh which I think means Peppa Pig since he says it every time it comes on the TV or you give him his peppa pig book or toy. He loves Peppa Pig rather a lot and I’m pretty sure J knows almost every episode word for word. Frightening

It’s been 8 months and I love being a mum more than ever. It’s the best job in the world

I had it a couple of weeks ago and had a short stay in hospital while they gave me 4 litres of fluid via IV drip. After about 5 days I was more like myself, but had a cold. Then J was ill for about the same time and now it’s Nathan’s turn.

The poor mite has been projectile vomiting since Thursday evening and I’m exhausted from staying up at night to look after him. I can’t get any sleep while he’s like this. He vomits in his sleep and then breathes it in if I don’t move him quickly enough. He’s so worn out. I feel so bad for him. I just wish I could make it all better for him.

As much as I love his cloth nappies, these last few days have made me wish for disposables for a bit of a break… diarrhoea makes washing nappies rather unpleasant. I’m not used to washing out that much poo, he normally uses his potty so his nappies are usually just damp and nice and easy to wash.

I miss my cheeky little monkey. I’m looking forward to when he’s feeling all better again and getting up to his normal mischief

It’s taken me what feels like forever to sit down and write this. I was so shocked when I was watching the news and saw that beautiful photo of Jason Barnes on the TV. I felt sick when I realised what they were saying. Only a few weeks before I was showing photos of Jason to my husband and telling him of how we used to play together as kids. I guess I always thought we’d catch up one day. I just left it too late.

It’s so odd seeing people calling him Jay on the memorial sites. I never knew him as that. He will always be Jace to me…

I will always remember his cheeky smile and days spent playing in the garden or on the staircase in the flats, though not sure that we were supposed to be playing on the stairs. We were so very little. My dad was no longer in my life much and I often felt lonely, although Jason was 2 years younger than me his friendship meant so much to me. He always managed to make me giggle. One time when I was crying because I thought my dad didn’t love me, he said with a grin “don’t cry, you can have my dad” . I’m so glad to see he never stopped caring or helping people.

The lasting memory I have of him is us playing on the climbing frame together, not sure how old we were. But he grabbed hold of my skirt and pulled it over my head, giggling like a loony. He ran away and I chased him round and round until we were both too tired to stand and we just fell down on the grass and laughed. His laugh was always infectious. I think that’s how I’ll always remember him.

I sit here writing this with my 3 month old son sleeping on my lap. Feeling the bond that only a mother can feel. My heart really goes out to you Beverley. The thought of ever losing my son is like a knife in my heart. I can only just start to think of what you must be going through. What all of you must be going through. He was an amazing person who without a doubt touched the lives of many people.

Jace, my little flame haired playmate. You will forever be in my thoughts. Rest well. Maybe one day we will play in the sun again.

With much love
Tasha
Xxxx