Avast there me hearties

I think that national "speak like a pirate day" occurs some time around mid-September (at least in the UK). However, there was no shortage of pirate related activities at the weekend during A.'s birthday party. What to do with 34 four year olds (the invitation take up with rather higher than expected)? We decided on a party by the beach at a cafe which had an outside terrace with a play area overlooking the beach. To keep the kids entertained the entertainer came dressed as a pirate (A.'s current obsession) and a remarkably good job she did too - treasure hunts, magic tricks, lots of dancing around. Slight panic at the beginning as (a) we were late due to delays in picking up the cake (Thomas the Tank Engine since you ask) so we had various guests asking if they had come to the right place (the nature of these things is that you tend to only know a handful of the parents by sight let alone by name); and (b) the cafe had ommitted to stock up on children's drinks so it was an emergency trip to the supermarket for Dina to buy up their stock of fruit juice.

Still everyone seemed to have a good time and the pizzas were excellent. Dina was an absolute star as she battled with the hordes of kids who were intent on blowing out the candles on the cake and then licking off the icing before it was cut - I have a particulaly good picutre of her holding the cake aloft whilst surrounded by a sea of hands as the guests (and A) tried to stick their fingers in.

Everything calmed down at around 1.30pm and after we had transported the remaining food and the presents home (A. will be opening them until Christams - never a bad position for a child to be in), I took him to the reservoir for a ride on his new bike - very picturesque and ideal for a first major bike ride (nearly an hour there and back although it helped that he found a friend to race around with).

In the evening we celebrated our 6th Wedding anniversary with some champagne and a take away curry which made it a very pleasant (if somewhat exhausting) day all round.

Return to normality?

As anticipated life has been pretty hectic since V. arrived on the scene. Initially her time was mostly spent eating and sleeping, with occasional bouts of ear-splitting crying thrown in when things were not entirely to her satisfaction. It is amazing how quickly one forgets the tramp up and down the corridor trying to persuade a clearly not interested in sleeping child to take a nap. With A. I seem to recall the volume was lower, but the same routine involving the pram and walking up and down in darkenend rooms has returned with a vengeance.

In recent weeks we have started to venture out with V. and A. V. has been extremely good - sleeping through a meal with some friends at a local restaurant, and remaining the very picture of a model baby during our walk around the coast to Cafe Uno on Sunday and our trip to the Coastal Defence Museum yesterday. Unfortunately we paid the price in the evening with what must have sounded like a full scale torture session being undertaken by anybody listening. V. is very much a martyr to wind and does not bear it stoically.

A. takes his sister's loud protests very much in his stride. It has also been particularly noticeable in the last few weeks how he will engage just about anybody in conversation if they are prepared to respond. This mainly involves accosting strangers on the beach (particularly if they have beach toys near them) or people eating at adjoining tables and buttonholing them in lengthy discussions about what he has been doing or would like to do (this usually involves use of their toys or a sample of their food - especially if it involves crisps).

He has (when he wants to) a very winning disposition and particularly turns on the charm for young ladies - he may find striking up such conversations a little more difficult when he gets older! Apart from an uncomfortable feeling that the objects of his attention may think that his parents are simply ignoring him, it is nice to see him so outgoing and gregarious.Although he is also talkative at home, this mainly seems to manifest itself shortly before it is time for bed!A. and I went on a boat trip with some friends a couple of weeks ago on a trip to powerstation beach (not a particularly inspiring name but a very pleasant spot). They have an 8 year old daughter who he was virtually inseparable from. This combined with his first time on a junk proved to be an afternoon of high excitement and he was very much the life and soul of the party - until we got into the taxi home when it was like turning out a light - one minute much chatter the next instant deep sleep. All in all A. and V. in their own separate ways know how to engage our attention.