"Confidence comes from discipline and training."

With the new series of Ninja Warrior UK starting recently we have been catching up on Youtube while eating our tea. We're all big fans of people falling over and landing on their faces so the show has been an excellent source of meal time entertainment. Although people flying off things and shattering their ego's is great its also interesting to watch the extremely fit people tackle the crazy course with what sometimes seems like little effort. I doubt id even get past the first obstacle (I'd love to have a go though).

The boys have become miniature Ninja warriors, creating their own assault courses and setting each other tasks to complete, its very entertaining to watch. As Opeie's climbing class wasn't on today we ventured over to the town park as i had some shopping to do and i wanted to make sure he wasn't to bored. Whenever we go there we always stay on the play area suitable for his age group but as there was no one about today (no loud over excited older children) Opeie decided he wanted to put his Ninja training to the test.

 And when we got to the end Opeie excitedly hit the imaginary big red button. He hadn't had his fill of the course though and we had to go round it another few times. Its amazing how much stronger he has become over the last few months with the climbing, scooting and his new love of running wherever we go, hes turning into a proper little beefcake.

So we'll continue our training in hope that kids Ninja warrior becomes a thing Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii Ya!

“When life brings you mountains, you don’t waste your time asking why; you spend your time climbing over them.”

I spend pretty much all day every day with a big smile on my face. Getting to hang out with Opeie and watch him develop into the tower of awesomeness that he is is so rewarding. Although I am completely smitten and smiling from ear to ear, some days my little side kick takes that smile of mine to the next level.

We'd not had a great session at Opeie's Rock climbing last week, there was lots of moaning and "I can't do it". I'm not the sort of parent that pushes and pushes but I will continue to encourage him until it's clear he doesn't want to go any further in whatever he was doing. As I listened to a parent in the car park outside from the class before, telling her child he was basically useless, made no effort and they won't be coming again it just reinforced that I'm doing the best for Opeie. I put the session down to an off day (we all have them). He was still looking forward to the following session though which was great.

When this weeks session came round Opeie was feeling pumped but was a little deflated when he found out his climbing buddy had chicken pox. When we arrived though it turned out that we were the only people there which was great. There were no distractions and Opeie was like a climbing machine, up and down each wall with not a single "i can't do it". he was having so much fun that as he was climbing he started humming himself a James bond style theme tune which was so funny.

With all the children's climbs done there was still time to spare so Neil asked Opeie if he would like to try the grown ups wall which Opeie was very excited about. I didn't think he would climb that far but he was in the zone and just went for it, it was so lovely to watch.

Starting climbing has been one of the best things we have done so far as it has given Opeie so much more confidence. Its great seeing his determined little face as he makes his way up, assessing his position and thinking of each move. I'm really hoping it is something he sticks with as i would love to give it a go myself at some point soon and it would be s nice to be able to do it together somewhere down the line.

"You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself."

Opeie has never really been the physically adventurous type, he loves to run about and is one of the happiest children I know but he's never really shown interest in attacking the climbing frames at the park or shooting up trees. Obviously that's never going to be an issue but secretly (and it seems ridiculous to me now) I had always wished he was a little more that way. As I lay in bed writing this it has come to my attention that my reason for feeling like this is because of how I was when I was younger, what I am only realising now though is that this memory of myself like that is around the age of 7 and Opeie is still only 3 (for a couple more weeks anyhow).

We had tickets to go to the theatre for us all yesterday but Mrs M had to work and Seth wasn't with us so we asked our friends Emma, Wilberforce and Waldon if they wanted to join us. Emma mentioned that Wilberforce had his second rock climbing class and would Opeie be interested in joining in? My first thought was 'there's no chance he'll do that!' But I booked it anyway on the off chance.

I told him all about it and he'd seen the pictures of Wilbs on Facebook high up the wall the week before. He was really excited about going (I was sure he wouldn't make it two feet off the ground though). We arrived at the climbing place and Opeie entered with a loud 'Wow!'

Wilberforce and his troops followed us in and the fun began. Neil the instructor was a top bloke and really made Opeie feel at ease as he attached the harness. Opeie was chatting away which was great as usually he would seem a little anxious at going out of his comfort zone. I on the other hand was getting very anxious. It looked like so much fun as Wilberforce shot up the wall and I really hoped Opeie would give it a try.

Opeie's turn and as he climbed up the wall I was left at the bottom in complete awe, thanks to Neil's support and motivational words Opeie clearly felt at ease and made his way up without over thinking what he was doing. It was amazing to watch and his enthusiasm and strength blew my mind.

Opeie didn't quite make it to the top on his first attempt but for the second attempt Neil put a monkey at the top and explained to Opeie that he was stuck and Opeie was the only one that could save him. As Opeie climbed, Neil told him to say things like 'don't be scared monkey, I'm coming to save you' and before he knew it he was right at the top clutching the monkey, I was so proud of him.

It wasn't quite the save the monkey had hoped for when Opeie threw him down and then landed on him on his descent, it did make us all chuckle though.

The class was for 30 minutes which was more than enough time for a couple of hardcore rock climbing three year olds. 

Opeie had completely shocked me and I was left thinking 'what else can I throw him into' because as a doting parent I got as much out of the experience as he did. The best part of it for me though was the excitement afterwards and how much throughout the day I heard "daddy I've had such a fun day" and "I'm so proud of my rock climbing". 

Children are amazing! And Opeie had shown me a side of him I'd never seen before, I couldn't be more proud. We're all looking forward to class next week and it's another chance to hang out with his partner in climb (ba-dum tis) Wilberforce.

"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends."

I felt exhausted yesterday after Opeie woke up at 3am and was suffering with some sort of ear pain. We went in to the lounge and Opeie wore Mrs M's ear muffs for a while which was making him feel better. It was no surprise at that time of the morning I really didn't have much of an idea what was going on, I'm a really deep sleeper so when I'm up at that time my limbs may be working but the rest of me resembles someone in a coma. So it was no surprise that before I knew it it was 7am and I was waking up to Mrs M hovering above me with a camera.

Opeie was shattered and i wasn't feeling great but we had made plans to meet up with our friends Lucie and Mrs Magee from over at Magee and Magoo and i was really looking forward to a good catch up. We had planned to meet at Weston park, despite it being basically on our doorstep we had never actually been but had heard lots of great things. Yesterday was their 50th birthday and to celebrate the entrance fee was 50p to get in which was great.

Lucie was also meeting with her friends Cathy and Jessica who were lovely and it was great to have a little group to chat with while having a wander around. I made the classic school boy error and forgot to pick up a map, Luckily Lucie had been a little more organised and was ready to guide us around the park.

The park was beautiful with lots of colourful flowers, sheep and a relaxing feel to the place

Last week i was having a chat with one of the moms from the nursery about Weston park and Opeie managed to catch the words 'Zip wire' so those two words were his driving force yesterday morning for getting to the play area. After walking around a little chatting we had made it to the play area and Opeie wasn't disappointed. It reminded me of a children's play version of the Ewok village in Star Wars with big wooden climbing areas and layered cabins built up around tree trunks.

It was great to see Opeie playing with the other children and chatting to the other moms. I do worry sometimes that he's not socialising enough even then we do take him to different things throughout the week. There's nothing to worry about though, he's confident, friendly and polite and has no problem talking to others.

The playground dominated the rest of our time there and the kids were fully entertained which was great. Opeie made me chuckle when he told me "daddy, Jessica has got really pretty shoes!" A possible fashion lover in the making.

It was soon lunch time and as with most places we go out to, the cafe didn't look to be offering anything suitable for Opeie to eat so we headed home for a bite to eat, a cuddle and some books, followed by a nap for the little climber.

After Opeies nap we headed over to see nanny and grandand for a while before picking Mrs M up. Opeie took a big box of toys and educated nanny on what all the superheroes were called. I love taking a step back when I'm there as it's really lovely to see Opeie playing with them, he really loves his nan and grandad and rightly so they are extremely lovable people.

So a pretty great day yesterday, fun with friends and family and a very happy little chap.

"Adventure is not outside man; it is within."

Usually when we have an item to review i aim to get the post written within a week or two but some items deserve so much more. I had a fantastic idea for this review that for a change didn't work out but I'm still going to aim to write it, maybe during the summer. We've been in limbo for quite some time now with how Opeie gets about while we are out. He hasn't wanted to be in his pushchair since he was about 14 months old (although we did had a week a month or so back when he requested it). He always seems happy perched on my shoulders and although i love him being up there its good for him to be doing his own thing.

The great thing about having children is their uncontrollable sense of adventure, its contagious. Thanks to Micro scooter the bridge between pushchair and the void we were in was sorted and having wheels to get around on was the start of even greater adventures. The reason it took me longer to write this review was because after receiving the two amazing scooters i really wanted to get out and about making the most of them. I used to love throwing Seth's balance bike in the boot when he was younger to take out places with us, but as the kids get bigger so do their bikes which throws a spanner in the works. Micro scooters amazing design though means i was back to loading up the boot ready for action. In fact they pretty much live in the car now as we take them everywhere we go.

Opeie was sent the Mini Micro scooter T-Bar in a lush orange colour (which is one of Micro Scooters new colours) and i was sent the adults black Micro scooter. Seth looked rather jealous when he saw us wizzing around on them and although he is loving his skateboard at the moment i think that with his muscle condition and limited mobility he found using the black micro scooter (which is great because the handle bars adjust for different heights) easier to control and has now been eying up the Micro Sprite Scooter, surprisingly in Pink which i love. After seeing how confident he was on the Black Micro Scooter and having the brake there to slow himself down its something i need to consider getting him soon.

As i said before the scooters have been everywhere with us and everywhere we go we ALWAYS see other Micro Scooter owners. On our recent weekend away visiting friends in London we walked through a park in central London and i counted at least 30, which sounds crazy but after owning one myself i can see why these Scooters are so saute after. This is a company aiming for world domination.

One of the great things about having the scooters is that even if we're not heading out just 'Scootering' ,its a way for us to get where were going when the car has taken us as far as it can. Which again for Seth's mobility limitations has been amazing. When we want to go tree climbing, which is our recent flavour of the month with Seth, the walk from wherever we park to the trees we are climbing is made that little more interesting and the journey that little less exhausting for Seth now having wheels on our feet. When we arrive at our destination we just park up and go about our adventures. Having scooters gives the boys a great sense of independence which i remember feeling myself when i had a scooter back when i was younger (it was no where near as classy as these though).

Because they fold up so well even if we plan a day out to the beach and have a boot full of picnic stuff theres still more than enough room for the scooters, helmets and probably more scooters for when we decide to include the other members of our team. It was great to see Mrs M having a go too and i know that secretly she'd love to join the scooter gang with us, i think sometimes she feels a litle left out, i could definitely imagine her on the Micro Floral White Scooter, we could go on some awesome family adventures.

There really isn't a bad word i can say about Micro scooter, this is a company that is giving the customer exactly what they want and giving us and our boys the sense of adventure and freedom they crave daily. Micro scooters will be dominating much of our summer i can see, so there will be many more posts coming soon.