Christmas holidays

A rather delayed blog about the loveliness of the Christmas holidays. After a few weeks (months) of hecticness, we made pretty much not a single plan over the Christmas break. We just wanted to stay at home, be together, do nothing, so that's exactly what we did. And we had THE BEST TIME. It was almost as though Ed and I were falling in love with the children all over again. Things were helped by Chloë having an unprecedented need for sleep - she would have lie-ins until 7.30, 8.30, once even 9.00, so we would bring Benjy into our bed at his usual 6.30 getting-up time and doze while he watched TV. She went back to normal hours on the first day back after the holidays - so strange. Overall, we have now hit a much easier phase I think - they can both play on their own, or together, without needing adults to intervene or join in, for relatively long periods, making things much more relaxing for us, and when we have other children over or go to play at friends', they're off, and we rarely need to get involved.

Of course they still adore each other, and Chloë thinks she can do everything Benjy can. Benjy got very involved in Chanukah songs last term, and when he would sing them, she'd pretend (although of course she thought it was real) to sing along with him. Benjy is absolutely thriving at school, is starting to read independently, and recently, reading words out of familiar context. Still a few lovely baby-ish things about him though - often a horse is still a 'horsey', for example (inexplicably, Chloë calls a horse a 'tap tap'), and he still loves Peppa Pig. He is starting to get more interested in 'grown-up' music which is nice, so when I am in the car without Chlo - who still insists on nursery rhymes - we put the radio on and he dances along in his car seat. And he still comes out with the funnies - when helping me put some plates away the other day I told him to be careful because they're delicate and made of china, and he replied that he'd be OK to help because he's the 'delicate chinaman'.

Chloë will be 2 in a few weeks. I LOVE this age. Nearly 2-year olds are just so, so funny. She does the most hilarious things, and still has no self-consciousness, but does have the awareness that she is making other people laugh. Saying more and more, some of which I want to capture here - she calls both grandmas 'Joo-joo' and both grandpas 'Col'; she took ages to say Benjy's name but then suddenly got it and uses it all the time, when she's excited to see him, wants to play with him, or is telling tales on him - 'Benchy!'; and now says her own name too - 'Cow-ie'. 

Hopefully an update soon, at birthday time - oh, and we have a trip to Disneyland Paris coming up too!