De Silva Family Blog

Like his elder brother, Ollie's been babbling "Dada dada da..." for a while now and I thought he might follow in his brothers footsteps and say "Mama" first. Thankfully, this this little Daddy's boy figured out who's his Dada and as I came into the room this afternoon, the sweetest little voice cried out "Dada!" as he turned around with his arms aloft wanting to be picked up. It won't be long before he figures out that little word will get him all the attention he wants. At least for a while anyway.

Ollie's just had his 8th month check-up and he passed with flying colours. In fact it's been quite an eventful week for him as he's recently become mobile. He's not quite crawling yet, but does manage to commando crawl when there's a toy of Leo's that he wants. Otherwise, he's become quite adept at rolling his way around the room. Ollie's first tooth finally broke through after four months teething and several gallons of dribble. Unfortunately it wasn't much use at dinner this evening when he discovered Lamb Chops for the first time. He thought he'd gone to heaven as he sucked on a piece for 15 minutes, desperately trying to use his 1mm long new tooth to chew it!

Nee naw! Nee naw! That's the soundtrack to our life. Leo is obsessed by emergencies - mostly by fire engines and ambulances, but also police cars and rescue helicoptors. Fireman Sam is his hero and we watch the cartoon series several times a day. He say's he's going to marry Firewoman Penny from the show and he spends all day making up emergencies and rescuing his toys (or parents). He has his own medical kit and is very good at bandaging up arms or legs. Every other saturday I take him to Dad's Club at the primary school in Watton-at-Stone. They have a toy library there which we used for the first time this week. Whilst searching through the items, we found this fireman's costume and our little hero couldn't believe his luck. He's been at it all day and is even talking about sleeping in costume just in case there's an emergency at night!

Went to Boston this week for the CAS Annual Meeting (an actuarial conference). It was a great conference and the US actuaries were very welcoming, so I really enjoyed myself. I even found the time to wander around Boston for a while. I learnt about the start of the US revolution by following the "Freedom Trail", visited Fenway Park (the home of the Red Sox), and even went clothes shopping for the first time in a decade! I then checked out the US version of Cambridge and their top university, Harvard. It doesn't quite match ours! Here's a statue of John Havard, also known as the "Statue of Three Lies", because he wasn't the founder, the founding date is wrong and it isn't even John Harvard!!! The best thing about Cambridge was the cool toy shops I found: Joie de Vivre and Curious George & Friends where I got a little carried away. Luckily it'll be Christmas soon.

As Dado's getting old he needs the help of his grandchildren to blow out the candles on his cake! Apparently they think he needs help eating it too...

I took Leo Gruffalo hunting this evening. We got kitted out in our explorer's gear and headed out into the deep dark woods under the light of the full moon. It was all very exciting for our intrepid adventurer. We heard a fox (probably a cat) rustle in the undergrowth and an owl call overhead. Then all was quiet as we crept softly along. Suddenly the silence was broken with, "I need a wee wee Daddy!" As he relieved himself by the moonlight, Leo asked, "Will the Gruffalo eat me, while I'm doing a wee wee?" "Probably!" Funnily enough, he didn't feel like walking after that!

The Boys went trick or treating this evening. Unfortunately, Vampire Leo didn't manage to get enough sweeties for his liking and Little Devil Ollie started to look quite juicy!!!

I've been travelling with work this week. First to Bermuda and then on to Montreal. Everyone seems to think I'm on holiday and it certainly would appear that way - upgraded to first class on the way out, luxury hotels , great food , swimming in the sea, etc. However it's the longest I've ever been away from my boys and following our time together in Centre Parcs two weeks ago it's even harder to be away. We've managed to see each other on Skype, but Leo's comment, "I thought you were dead, Daddy!" almost had me on the next plane home. In fact I've seen virtually nothing of either country, spending most of my time working or in meetings. Fortunately I did manage two hours to get some souvenirs and hopefully I can buy my way back into their favour. I can't wait to get back home.

Having loved our time in Centre Parcs earlier this summer, we returned for another week. The lodge was a wonderful woodland retreat and I loved spending the entire week with the family. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time with all the swimming, climbing, running, etc. and Leo became very proficient on his scooter. By the end of the week, however, all the activity had reduced our boys to mere shadows of their former selves. During our last meal there, poor Ollie slumped forward in his highchair, rested his chin on the dinner table and looked at us as if to say, "I can't take it anymore!" He couldn't even summon the strength lift his head again, barely opening his mouth for the odd spoonful of food. And for those of you familiar with Ollie's (a.k.a. the Beast of Mardley Heath) voracious appetite, that's really saying something.

When Mary complimented Leo on how nice he looked in his lovely new top he replied, "Mummy, why do you always have to go shopping?!!" After spluttering in my Starbucks latte, I realised that he had a good point. You see, we've recently taken on a nanny and she's looked after the boys for the last three tuesday mornings. During that time, Mary has spent her newfound freedom shopping. When we were considering the merits of a nanny verses a nursery, the cost factor was very definitely in favour of a nanny. Unfortunately, I'd neglected to consider that the true cost of a nanny is not just her wages but, perhaps more importantly, what your wife does with her time!

Leo had his first day at (pre-) school today. Here he is outside the front gates with his snack and satchell. He was very excited about it, which is hardly surprising as his three hours are filled entirely with free play! There's paint, a water table, a sand table, a dirt patch, lots of cars and climbing frames, etc. What more could he wish for? The poor boy hasn't quite got the protocol yet: during the more formal periods, the children are expected to raise their hands before they speak. Leo cottoned on to this quite quickly, but unfortunately raises his hand whenever anyone speaks!

Mummy said I could go to Legoland when I was big - now look at me!

We've finally bitten the bullet and started potty training Leo. I was all for leaving him in nappies until he's nine - after all, if you could get away with peeing in your pants all day, wouldn't that be preferable to using the invariably grim mens' public toilets or queueing for half an hour for the ladies? At first, Leo didn't seem particularly interested, but our bribes of chocolate buttons for a wee and a chocolate lolly for a poo seem to have done the trick. Anyway, he's taken to it very well and he especially likes his "Thomas the Tank Engine" throne. However we do have the occasional accident... Yesterday, after his afternoon nap, Mary went in to Leo's bedroom to find him sitting happily on his bed - apparently he hadn't been to sleep at all, just playing very quietly for an hour and a half! "I did a wee Mummy!" He said excitedly. At first Mary didn't believe him, but then noticed his nappy was on backwards. When aske

Ollie was getting a bit too big for his Moses basket, so seven months after we'd ordered it, we finally assembled his cot. Leo was brilliant at helping put it together and I was quite surprised at how tight he managed to get the screws. Given his previous DIY experience , I guess I should have expected it. Both boys were very excited by the new cot - let's just hope Ollie manages to fall asleep in it.

Leo is taking after his feline friends and has figured out how to use the cat flap. Oh dear!

As a chunky little lad, Ollie is clearly thriving on breast milk. Nevertheless, he is very interested in food and always trying to grab our dinners. Whilst at a barbecue with the Bounds family this weekend, we thought he could try a little bit of Eleanor's grub. The greedy monkey ate the lot!

Ollie has recently become very communicative. Unfortunately he talks in " Shyriiwook ", the native language of Wookiees from Star Wars. Here's a translation...

Our little Ollie has really started to grow up recently. Having seemingly doubled in size over the last few weeks, he has now started teething, moved to his own room and now rolled over for the first time. Here you see him looking particularly pleased with himself after being showered with praise by his adoring family.

Tom (Mary's brother) has just started the the Red Bull X-Alps , one of the World's toughest adventure races. They've just started out from Salzburg, Austria and will be racing 818km along the Alps to Monaco. They'll be going day and night for about two weeks, either paragliding or hiking (whilst carrying their glider)! Alex Raymont, Tom's team mate, is driving alongside providing the critical support. However, as you can see Tom also has some other supporters along the route, including his parents. You can follow Tom's progress live on the official race site or via Google Earth. So from all your family over here Tom - Good Luck!!!

We opted for the "staycation" this year, as we didn't fancy , so found ourselves at Centre Parcs in Elveden Forest. We shared a 4-bed house with friends Andy, Fiona and their three kids. The house was great and even had its own hot tub, sauna and steam room! Trouble kicked off immediately as the two boys wanted to play with each other's toys but neither wanted to share their own (Alex always has the best toys - even I wanted to play with them). However they managed to work it out in the end and even after the holiday Leo has continued to play well with other children. Centre Parcs is amazing for kids with so many activities on your doorstep. I can't wait until the boys are a little older and we get to do some of the more exciting activities (like the high ropes course). However, when that time comes I'm sure I'll be too old/embarassing and will have to spend the holiday lounging in the hot tub. Looks like this will become a regular holiday for us

In times of recession entrepreneurship thrives. So as daddy's pay rise disappears down the drain, Leo thought he'd help pay the mortgage. A wise man once said, “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Well, Leo has certainly taken these words to heart as he set up his car washing business (the boy loves cars, hosepipes and water). He doesn't do a bad job for a two-year old and at £2 a car it's good value for money. Unfortunately for our mortgage, he insists on being paid with chocolate coins!

Leo loves Fairlands Valley Park. It's got some great climbing frames and slides including this one from when I was a wee lad - "The Big Slide." It's huge, measuring at least 15 metres long. To one with such little legs, it's a veritable mountain. Leo was up and down the thing about 20 times and as he climbed, his mantra was "Climbing like Uncle Tom !" After a while, he could take it no more and plonked himself down on a nearby bench for a coffee break... The poor little thing was so shattered that he fell asleep into his lunch of alphabetti spaghetti!

The process of mummification is a very exact ritual, perfected over centuries and designed to ease the passing of the baby into the Dream World. Whilst in ancient Egypt, the process always began half an urn before sunset (they used water clocks in those days), higher up in the northern hemisphere, where the time of sunset varies considerably during the year, it is necessary to maintain the same time to preserve the baby's internal body clock. Scientists have empirically found 7:14pm to be ideal. It starts with a thorough washing of the baby in warm water (approximately 40°C) scented with a blend of natural oils, including lavender to assist with sleep (Johnson's Bedtime Bath is a suitable alternative). The subject is then clothed in garments of cotton and wrapped tightly in an outer layer to simulate the close environment of the womb. The baby is placed carefully in a wicker basket and surrounded by sacred charms and toys to give good luck to the baby's "Ka"

Our cheerful chappie has certainly got a dazzling smile - even without any pearly whites.

Leo loves Peppa Pig, a cartoon about the life of a precocious five-year old pig and her family. Each 5 minute episode follows Peppa on an everyday adventure such as washing the car, going to the supermarket, or Leo's favourite: jumping in muddy puddles. They're great for teaching him about life. Each time Leo wakes up from his sleep (both morning and afternoon) he must watch a minimum of four episodes. Our Sky+ hard disk is almost full of them and we must have seen each about 37 times! During the day he often copies Peppa. He even speaks like her sometimes with phrases like, "It was a little bit funny," or "Silly daddy!" Clearly he's living in a fantasy world! Similarly, before he goes to sleep, Leo always asks for a bedtime story about Peppa. Usually he'll make up his own storylines to fit into something he saw or did that day, but just like on TV, most stories end up with everyone rolling around laughing! If only real life were like P

Sleeping on the sofa after a hard night out with the lads!

We went to Kirsty's third birthday party this weekend and, just like that Destiny's Child song, the party was "Jumpin', jumpin"! Quite literally in fact, as she had a trampoline party. The kids loved it, but I'm sure the grown ups were even more thrilled. It was my first time on a trampoline and I can't wait to go again. Happy Birthday Kirsty!

Ollie hasn't quite grasped the concept of kissing yet!

We went to the Van Hage garden centre in Ware today, where we saw lots of "aminamles"! Leo's favourite were the giant Easter Bunnies that were almost as big as him. He loved feeding them, but loved them even more when they gave him an Easter egg.

Elephants do big poos. Whales do even bigger ones. In fact the biggest poop in the World is that of a Humpback whale, but it's very liquidy so you'd never notice. However the biggest poop, per unit of bodymass, is that of our own little Ollie who not only filled his nappy, but the both legs of his sleepsuit too! This little mammal even uses poo as a defence mechanism by projecting them at predators in times of distress. He recently mistook mummy for one such predator and hit her in the cleavage with his last effort!

To celebrate my last day on paternity leave I decided to have a little male bonding time with my new baby. We had a little skin-on-skin cuddles whilst watching "Enter The Dragon" with Bruce Lee. It clearly had an influence on the little ninja...

After a few days in hospital, we welcomed Ollie home for the first time on wednesday afternoon. Leo was delighted to show him around the house. He was even more delighted when he found out that Ollie had bought him a slide as a homecoming present. Leo's very proud of his new slide and keen to show everyone his prowess, as Nana found out in the following clip. As our little lion cub, Leo is naturally fond of other cats. Unfortunately those feelings are not mutual!

At 3am we rushed Mary to hospital with some bleeding. Six hours later, it was agreed to have an elective C-section and things moved so quickly that before we knew it we were in theatre. The operation was conducted by two of Mum's ex-colleagues, so Mary and Ollie were in great hands. It fascinating to watch and remarkably quick. Within five minutes, at 11:58am, the operating theatre was filled with the beautiful sound of Ollie's cries, shortly followed by Mary's sobs of joy. Weighing in at a very respectable 7lb 3.5oz, the little lad was remarkable calm despite all the pricking and poking he was subjected to. Both mum and baby are now recuperating well. I'll be adding some photos to our online album over the next few days so please check back periodically for the latest pics. Thanks to all for the lovely messages we've received. Nigel, Mary, Leo and Oliver xxxx

Unfortunately, Mary's been diagnosed with Major Placenta Praevia (low lying placenta). Whilst she and the baby are fine, there is a risk of major bleeding and she was expected to stay in hospital for the next month. Thankfully, my parents live opposite the hospital and they've allowed Mary to stay there. So we've all moved in together! Leo loves it, thinking he's on holiday and Mary hasn't had to lift a finger since she got here. There's no pool, but staff are very friendly and the excellent childcare is available 24 hours a day. We lie in most mornings and when it's finally time to get up, a fully fed and dressed Leo is delivered to us with a cup of tea and some books to read in bed! If Mum and Dad aren't careful, we may end up staying!

Leo moved into his new room yesterday. We've been decorating it with all his favourite things - cars, fire engines, diggers, police cars, monster trucks. We also took the opportunity to convert his cot into a bed and take down the sides. It worked remarkably well yesterday and putting him to bed was even easier than normal. Unfortunately this afternoon was a different story... He got into his bed easily and after a short story told mummy to go away. Fifteen minutes later, we had a call from the builders decorating our bathroom that Leo was running around on the landing! The little lad was beside himself with excitement and a battle of wills ensued. Familiar with the techniques of Supernanny, Mary returned him to bed. Five minutes later his head peered around the door. This process was repeated approximately 35 times before it stopped being a game and all was quiet. When Mary checked on him a little later, she found him sitting quietly on his bed with his alarm clock, tr

After three days of opening presents from his party, it is finally Leo's second birthday. He's quickly adapted and this morning, when he woke up, his first word was "Presents!" Ever since helping me build the wardrobe, Leo has become fascinated with "fixing" things, so his main present from us was a Bosch Workshop. He now has nearly as many tools as me - screwdrivers, hammers, saws, adjustable spanners, wrenches, etc. His favourite, by a long way, is his cordless drill which is virtually a replica of mine. In fact, his is an updated model as it has quick-change bits and a red light that comes on when it spins - I'm jealous! Whilst we were changing his nappy before bed this evening, our cheeky chappy got up and ran off to his workshop shouting, "Leo naked woodworker!" I'm sure he'll have his own TV series soon.

Leo had a joint second birthday party this Valentine's afternoon with girlfriend Rosalind and Sebastian. As you can see, they had a wonderful time as "Dinky Dancers" - Leo's favourite bit was the Balamory theme tune and I can't wait to show his girlfriend this clip in 10 years time! Backed up by "Supertots" soft play equipment and plenty of party food these happy manic toddlers were wired and unfortunately bedtime wasn't the usual relaxing end to the day. Terrible twos - here we come!!!

Here's our little angel making snow angels. Doesn't he look like Makka Pakka in his new snowsuit?!!

Leo received "The Snowman" book for Christmas and ever since, he's been hooked. We've read it to him eighty-seven times now. He listens to a CD of it on car journeys and I recently bought him the DVD version. So you can imagine how excited he was today when he saw six inches of snow in the garden. This is his first ever snowman and he was very proud of himself. He couldn't bear to leave it and we only managed to get him to come inside by telling him that the snowman wouldn't move until he was asleep!

Two years ago, we demolished our walk-in wardrobe to replace it with our own cutom made one. Shortly aftwerwards work stalled following the birth of our son and we've been using propped up rails covered with a blanket ever since. Mary had almost given up hope when a little boy in disguise offered a helping hand. Before she knew it, she'd hired the L Team!