De Silva Family Blog

Leo, Ollie and Tristram had their 'Superhero and Princesses' party today. Poor Tristram was feeling poorly, but he still managed to put on a good show as Ben 10. Mr Marvel, the magician was the best children's entertainer that I've come across and he held about 40 young kids enthralled for well over an hour! However, as far as Leo was concerned, the pinnacle of his act was when Leo got to beat him over the head with a fluffy wand! You've got to wonder what goes through that boy's head! To top it all off, Kelly made the most amazing three-tier superhero cake. Ollie was very excited by Iron Man bursting out of it, saying "I'm going to eat Iron Man's head. Is I'm a baddie?!!" Here are a few pics from the party .

For Leo's fifth birthday we went to the Natural History and Science museums. Seeing dinosaurs the boys' birthdays is becoming a bit of a tradition, having visited Dinosaurs Unleashed for the last two years. As you can see, Ollie dressed perfectly for the occasion, with his black tie and blue Batman cape/towel! Unfortunately, he didn't see much holding his binoculars backwards! When we left the Natural History Museum, the queue was about a mile long! We were a little worried about the queue at the Science Museum, but as it turned out, there was none. I wonder what that says about our next generation...

...blow out a candle? Our little boys have gone loopy over Spiderman. Leo got a costume for his birthday last month and poor Ollie has been desperate for one ever since. Fortunately he didn't have long to wait, as less than a month later, he had his very own Spiderman party. Check out the pics . I hope I get muscles like that for my birthday...

Mary organised a wonderful birthday weekend for me. To start with, it began on Thursday! We spent the day as tourists sightseeing in Oxford, followed by dinner at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir where we had a wonderful "mini" tasting menu comprising of five courses. By the end we were glad not to have opted for the full nine-course feast! We spent the night away from the boys at a nearby B&B followed by a day of shopping in Bicester Village - my first proper shopping trip in a decade! Unfortunately it was rather fruitless as factory outlet stores don't seem to cater for short-arses like me! Saturday was my actual birthday. I had a lie in but was woken at 9:30am by the boys pouncing on me. They were very excited by my presents having spent a great deal of time working on them. As a result I've got some lovely coasters made with clay, paints and glitter and the imprints of tiny hands and feet. I also received an amazing photo collage from Mary containing s...

From all your boys. Love Ni, Leo & Ollie xxx

We celebrated Ollie's birthday a few weeks ago , together with Leo and Ros. So, for his actual birthday, we thought we'd celebrate with a day trip to London. We started by visiting my office, where the boys worked their charms on various colleagues and were well paid with chocolate, sweets and toys! We then headed off to the main attraction, Dinosaurs Unleashed , an amazing interactive exhibition. Leo was really excited about the whole thing, until we entered the building and he came face to face with a life-sized, roaring, T-Rex. He turned tail and ran! Fortunately, after some cajoling and some (very nice) hugs, he managed to overcome his fear and spent the next few hours becoming a palaeontologist: digging for fossils, piecing the bones together, classifying dinosaurs and learning all about them. He even appeared in a video with one! Meanwhile Ollie slept peacefully in his pushchair, blissfully unaware that he was sleeping under the most vicious carnivore ever to walk...

We celebrated Leo's third birthday today and it started with a present hunt around the house. With the help of his metal detector (his first present) he proceeded to uncover a whole shopful of toys - many of which were linked to some Welsh fire department. After dropping Ollie off at my parents we had lunch at Aroma, a chinese restaurant in Stevenage. Having learnt about China at pre-school last week, he was very excited, but not quite as much as he was about visiting the Netherlands' National Circus - where in contrast to us, he was rather fond of the clowns. Personally, I preferred the jugglers. We returned to my parents for dinner and a fire engine shaped birthday cake. Before blowing out the candles, we asked Leo to make a wish. He said, "I wish to be with my Daddy!" I turned to mush.

I had my first birthday party today and it was brilliant! I shared it with Leo and Roz, but luckily I had my own cake! Kelly made it especially for me but it was disguised as Thomas the Tank Engine. I figured it out though! In fact, everyone was disguised: Leo was a fireman and Roz was Peppa Pig, but there was also Spiderman, Snow White, SpongeBob SquarePants, faries, princesses, cowboys, etc. We had a nice entertainer who was a bit mad and liked jumping around to the music. I preferred jumping around on the bouncy castle, although I did enjoy the parachute. The ball pit was fun and the food delicious (Daddy didn't let me try the beer), but the best thing of all was having all my favourite people with me. If you'd like to see some pictures of my party, Daddy's put them here . So long, and thanks for all the prezzies. Love you all. Ollie xxx

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...

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

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!!!

The second half of Mum's 60th Birthday celebrations was a holiday to see her family and friends in Mauritius. We thought we'd tag along too! We almost didn't make it past the airport. Leo loves minibuses so he thought he was in heaven whilst standing outside Heathrow's Terminal 2. After two hours of chasing minibuses, we finally convinced him that planes were more interesting and made our way inside. We spent the first half of the holiday with Aunty Arlette. Leo was loving all the attention and frequently toddled off to visit cousins Magali and Patrick nearby. We had parties most nights but ended with a big bash for Mum's actual 60th birthday (above). The entertainment was provided by our very own Patrick on the guitar, Magali and Mary on vocals and Leo with some cool new dance moves. If you'd like to see some photos, please see our online album .

Mum will be celebrating her 60th birthday during the whole of September with a three-week trip to Mauritius. To kick off the proceedings, we held a garden party in her honour for all her family and friends in the UK. It was a perfect afternoon in an otherwise awful summer and Mary's recently finished garden was a great venue. We had a Sri Lankan buffet followed by the World's Best Brownies from the local farmers' market, topped off with a lovely cake and a glass of bubbly. Despite Mum's protestations that she didn't want people to make a fuss of her, she secretly loved it and later likened the butterflies she felt in anticipation to those on her wedding day. Over 50 friends and family came to celebrate and once or twice I caught a little glint in Mum's eye as she looked around. For once in her 60 years she was lost for words when it came to making a speech, but Noel came to her rescue when he presented her with a "This is Your Life" photo album...

My gorgeous little neice had her second birthday today which she celebrated with all her friends. Thankfully the weather cleared up just in time so we had a wonderful garden party with lots of bubbles, toys and games. I was surprised to learn that she's got a new boyfriend, Alex (pictured). Watching them together, I can see that she's going to be a real man-eater! I pity her poor father when she gets older!

Mary had a wonderful start to her birthday - a great big hug and a wet sloppy kiss from Leo! It was a gorgeous morning so we all went for a walk in the woods before having a quick rest in her new swing seat (a birthday present from me). After lunch we celebrated Sophie Smith's first birthday, followed by a lovely romantic dinner at Sazio in Hapenden (probably our first since last year!)

Now I am a big boy and daddy lets me play with his computer, I thought I'd get a quick blog entry in while he wasn't looking! Yesterday was my first birthday and I was very excited. I knew there would be a party for me because I've been sneakily listening while mummy thinks I'm sleeping. Also I saw grandpa go red in the face after blowing up a gazillion balloons for me. All my friends and family came round to play and I loved being centre of attention (Daddy says I get that from Mummy)! We danced, played pass the parcel and had bubbles (my favourite)! Mummy gave a short speech during which she cried (and she's really old too - I thought only babies cry). Then they put a cake in front of me, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't want to bite it as Daddy spent all of Saturday decorating it with a picture of a Lion. Then, to my surprise, they cut it all up and let me bite it anyway - I'll never understand big people! I got lots and lots ...

Leo's first night alone wasn't so bad after all. He woke up a few times during the night, but it was certainly better than his recent performances. It's my birthday today and Leo spent all night making me my first birthday present of the day, a large pooey nappy, which he was very pleased to give me at 5:30am! I also received an ipod (so that I can be a cool dad and catch up with the rest of the World), various accessories for it, some cash and some lovely birthday cards - thanks all! Leo actually made his own birthday card with lots of red finger paint! I saw the remnants of his craft session a few days ago - it looked like a crime scene! We spent the day in St Albans which turned out to be a lovely place - I can't believe I've never been before. We had lunch (and afternoon tea) at The Waffle House , situated within a 16th century watermill on the River Ver. It was followed by a lovely walk through the park beside the lakes and up to the amazing cathedr...

It was Mary's 30th birthday today. She received lots of cards, but she couldn't quite match Leo's record. I'd spent a few weeks getting a diamond necklace made for her in Hatton Gardens. She's always wanted one and I thought that a 30th birthday and having just given birth to our first child would be as good a reason as any. She loved it! We went to lunch with her friend Helen, from Geneva, at the nearby Tewin Bury Farm . In the evening, grandma and grandpa (my parents) came over to babysit whilst Mary and I went out for a lovely meal at the Auberge Du Lac (see picture). It was our first time away from Leo, so we were a little nervous and conversation kept returning to him. Nevertheless, it all went well and my parents had a lovely time with their grandson. All in all, a very good day!