Busy boys

Finn was invested in the Beavers last night. He has been going since starting P2 and, despite vowing never to return after his first night there, has subsequently really enjoyed it. He won the Beaver of the Week trophy a few weeks back and was one of the two best-behaved beavers over the term, receiving a balsa wood helicopter as a prize. Shame he can't translate that behaviour into the house, where he has been very disobedient and downright disagreeable at times. Whether there is a negative effect from being in a bigger P2 class (30 compared to 20 or so in P1) is hard to say.

Sean and Finn received their Level 7 trampolining certificates last week. Finn demonstrated his front flop and Sean did a flip, from an all fours position on to his back then back to his feet. Sean has also started skiing lessons at Hillend with predictable fulminating about how it's too hard, but he's with a load of his school pals and enjoying it really.

September has been a party season for Finn with events every weekend. Sean's 8th birthday party was the subject of much debate but we seem to have settled on having a few of his friends round here.

Rowan has been competing with Finn for any disobediency awards going in the house, forever wailing and throwing the lip when he is asked to do something he doesn't want to do. He works the cheeky dimples with other people but they only go so far with us so he generally cuts to the tantrum when the TV goes off or he's asked (repeatedly) to get his jammies on or shoes on or coat on...

Angus is stomping about with increasing certainty, regularly emptying cupboards, devouring toothpaste and leaving a trail of mess throughout the house. Usually he picks up things and carries them about until he sees something else that takes his fancy at which point he drops the first items and moves on. This continues until the contents of the playroom, his room, his brothers' rooms and the kitchen are homogenized throughout the house. Lately he has taken pleasure in blowing a football-shaped whistle with gusto, just in case the house wasn't noisy enough. He's now a keen reader of the baby sign books and is making good progress with some of the signs. Not surprisingly, like his brothers before him, "more" seems to be the sign he's readily adopted when seated at the kitchen table.