'Mind the Gap!'

Its been hanging on for dear life for weeks, but finally Opeie's first tooth has come out. Watching him trying to coax him out during that time took me right back to trying to get my own teeth out when I was younger. I'd sit there wobbling, pushing and even twisting to get that sucker out. Being woken up crazy early to give us the good news wasn't the most relaxing way to wake up but the huge gappy smile and glowing face was a fun start to our weekend.

As expected Opeie is proud of his new gap and has found that when having a chupa chup the stick fits tidily in the space. Another great thing to have come from the toothy event is that Opeie has been introduced to his own personal toothfairy Penelope sparklebottom, who wrote him a lovely letter letting him know that the tooth was very clean and that sometimes when she is tired she rides around on the back of a ladybird or bumblebee (a classy way to travel). Of course Opeie has a huge list of questions for her and has requested a photo, so watch this space (Or gap!).

"Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment."

We've got so much going on at the moment that the blog has suffered a little over the last few weeks, but I'll be back on track soon. The exciting build Up to Christmas is in mid flow now and with under three weeks to go it's all the boys are talking about.

With letters to Santa sent, the boys wait patiently for the big day. Opeie knows exactly what he would like from Santa and has made it very clear what is at the top of his wish list. Where as Seth (and his old thoughtful head) as always has been unbelievably caring and has asked for only one thing for himself (in fact it is something for him and Opeie to share which is even cuter), anything else he would like to be given to children that don't have mommies or daddies, my heart could melt.

This selflessness that we get every year from Seth is rubbing off onto his little brother and I couldn't be more proud of the both of the them. They are such well rounded children. The countdown to the big day is already getting to be so exciting and I am thoroughly looking forward to spending some quality family time with the people I adore the most.

“When I give, I give myself”

Seth has made me so proud this Christmas in fact both our boys have proved once again how thoughtful and kind they are and overall how much they love each other. The week we came back from our holiday we brought up the subject of this years letter to Santa. Now Seth knows what a good boy he is, there's no fear of ever being on the naughty list so he would be well within his right to request anything, this is Santa we are talking about after all. That night he disappeared to his bedroom and returned with this...

'Dear santa claws pleas cud you bring homeless children some presents and pleas cud I have a sprise. Thank you'

I could have cried when reading it. Seth proceeded to explain that he didn't really need anything this year and he would like some things to go to people that really need it, he really is one of a kind. Of course we had planned to help out people less fortunate than us as we always do but more so now for Seth's very kind request. His selflessness didn't stop there though. Seth had made it quite clear that there was a specific present that he would like to buy for Opeie, we explained that it may take Seth some time to save for it, but Seth said he wanted to save his pocket money and do whatever he needed to make sure his special little brother got this special gift. So over the last week we have been clearing Seth's room of unwanted toys and selling them on so that he would have the money for his Christmas gift. 

Today was the day that we finally made the £40 that he needed after selling his unwanted things and also a few nights back helping Mrs M to part with £5 for a bulk payment of smoochies. That never works for me! One of the great things about this situation is that it has taught Seth that items such as these don't come easily, it has taught him a valuable lesson in the value of money and what it takes to get what you want. A lesson that i think would be beneficial to all children. He couldn't wait to go to the shops so after tea  I said I'd take him. Seth looked so chuffed as he paid the shop assistant and i assume he will be even happier when he sees the happiness on Opeie's face.

It seems that Opeie too has taken on his brothers kind nature too, today i sold some of Seth's unwanted books to one of the moms at the school. I handed her her £1 change and she kindly handed it to Opeie and said this is for you, he looked so excited and couldn't wait to show Seth and Mrs M. When i asked him what he wanted to spend his money on he simply replied 'Christmas present for Seth'.

It seems we are bringing the boys up just right. great morals and a sense of selflessness that you don't see a lot in children these days. I'll say it again, I'm so very proud of the way they are turning out and i am very smitten by my two Special boys.

Part of the story may have resulted in the purchase of an item but the words of Dr. Seuss are permanently etched in to our family's ethos...

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

'I don't like people!' is a phrase i tend to use a lot, not because I'm some strange hermit man that shuts himself off from the rest of the world, but any of us only have to leave the house and walk down the street and chances are you will come across some moron that is doing something that really gets up your nose, a parent being verbally abusive to their child, people walking down the street in their PJs because they cant be bothered to get dressed, young kids smoking and being aggressive (i could go on). Because of this and the fact that i have been let down so many times by family and previous friendships i can be a bit of a grump and it takes a lot for me to trust people. Generally 'people are horrible'.

Every now and again though my faith in humanity is restored and today was one of those days. Myself and Mrs M have been eyeing up an apple tree from over our back fence, the apples are a beautiful red colour and because we go through so many in a week we wanted to see if we could get some. Over the past few weeks we have noticed that they hadn't seemed to be being picked so earlier today i popped round and knocked on the door to politely ask if we could fill a bag. I knocked the door and i saw someone behind the net curtains look out but they wouldn't come to the door (be honest how many of you would open the door to me?). So i headed home, Mrs M, the younger and clearly more attractive one of the two of us popped round instead thinking that maybe she would be more approachable, but sadly the same outcome, so we dropped a note through the door (i wouldnt want anyone worrying or thinking we were dodgy and up to no good).

While we were putting the boys to bed earlier the door went and Mrs M went and found an envelope on the floor...

It blew me away that this gentleman had taken the time to type out what i thought was an unbelievably sweet letter. Its very rare that you come across people that are this thoughtful and honestly receiving this unexpected letter put me in a great mood. I'm safe in the knowledge once more that there are kind and thoughtful people all around us. Thanks Bobby x

"No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks."

After popping out this morning we got home and walked through the door to find an interesting envelope lying on the floor addressed to "The lovely Saucils". If we receive anything through the post addressed to a saucil we know it is going to be fun as it is a pseudonym that both myself and Mrs M have been using since we met. Seth was very intrigued and once he had seen the Santa stamp he was convinced it was a letter off the jolly red chap himself, possibly with an early request for next years gifts. Inside though was something a lot more fun.

After sending our friend Annie over at Snowingindoors a little Lego gift (if you remember the post), She very kindly made us a thank you card which blew me away and put a smile on all of our faces. Annie had drawn us the Lorax and used her artistic flair (and colourful pompoms) to make some lovely Truffula trees. Inside the card was signed and Annie had written 'Thank you' beautifully inside. Well we were all very impressed and i was touched that she had gone to such efforts. I love seeing childrens drawings and Annie's was up there as one of my favourites.

There has been talk between our two families of a meet up later in the year when the weather gets a little warmer and Annie has come up with the idea of a 'Lego Picnic', Obviously we are very excited about that concept and will be counting down the days.

Thank you Annie for your very kind card, it's nice to know we have such lovely friends xx