The Rooke Family Blog: September 2017

And so all good things must draw to an end, and the end of summer this year has seen me in reflective mood. We might not have travelled far this year but we've certainly been on a grand old journey. The sun might not always have shone, but it's never been far away and we've had more than our fair share of bright, happy moments, with only the odd dark cloud.

If I look back over the past 9 months I simply can't believe the difference in Niomi. She's like a completely different child compared to when she joined our family in January. She's grown from strength to strength and, like us, been on a huge learning curve. She might not still be talking at the same pace as the rest of us but she does pretty well at getting her point across. Her language and concentration are growing by the day, and I'm very proud of how hard she's working. And better than anything else is the fact that she starts every day with a big smile and a bouncy personality, and ends it by giving me a big hug when I come home from work. That said, like any 2 year old, she can really try your patience...

Emily has also grown into a wonderful big sister. She's kind and nurturing towards Niomi, (when she's not telling her what to do), and has a lovely, caring personality which she's never lost despite the huge journey she's also been on over the past few months. She started school in August and is really starting to settle in well. She's even starred in the school's twitter feed. All that said, she also can push your buttons just like any 4 year old can do...

Ah the rich tapestry of family life!

Emily - Twitter star

Talking of family's we're just back from two lovely family weekends away. First up was a weekend at Crieff Hydro with all the Gediks and Gurneys to celebrate Omar's 40th birthday. It was quite an affair with the 6 grandkids all running round crazy for 4 days. Highlights for me were getting our two in a warm pool and watching them both going from quite unsure to becoming increasingly confident in the water. That said they were completely knackered by the end of the trip, so I'm not sure they'd have enjoyed it for much longer.

Clans Rooke, Gedik and Gurney

With barely enough time to recover we then headed off to Dunbar for another long weekend away in the van. This was the last trip of the summer and we hoped for some fine weather and exciting times to end the season's vanventures. And it was well worth it. We spent the first day at East Links Farm Park, watching Niomi go from terrified of the animals to not wanting to stop feeding them, and watching Emily pleased as punch on a pony ride. This was quickly followed by surprise campers next door in the shape of Aunty Leeloo and cousins Rosie and Abbie and a lovely day spent with them all the next day.

A final sleep and then we beetled it back home in time to dig up this years potato crop and pick the last of the blackberries before autumn really kicked in.

WOW! (As Niomi would say).