The dark days...

The hour changes and the dark days begin.

But this year I have a winter blues beating plan that involves a whole catalogue of exciting activities planned to get us through to beyond February. You see it seems I’ve miraculously managed to plan at least one event every weekend between now and Christmas. And, although as yet unplanned, there is also already plenty for us to celebrate in the early part of the year as well. I’m actually really looking forward to all of this: Emily’s 5th birthday; Niomi's first Christmas with us; family festive visits and our very own 1st Family birthday; Niomi’s 3rd birthday and then Mummy’s 21st again; our house anniversary and a whole range of other fun-packed activity which is all sure to see off the worst winter will throw at us. It’s all very exciting and more than enough to keep those dark days at bay – so let it all begin…

And with the first crunch of autumn leaves, the whole Rooke family steps out to enjoy the start of the fun. Autumn has come fast this year, as it seems to be a little later than normal but with fine weather forecast we headed off to Inchmahone Priory on Lake of Menteith (Scotland’s one and only lake). And this visit to the island didn’t disappoint with fallen leaves aplenty to enable maximum crunch and leaf fighting potential. A great day amongst Scotland's autumn finery.

And then the dark days meant that Halloween was upon us which we spent at a fun filled party with lots of little witches (Niomi), skeletons, princesses (Emily) and a range of other spooky or not costumed children. And if that wasn't enough to bring warmth to battle the cold, the glorious sunrises on my morning commute have not disappointed.

 Leaf delight

Growing up fast

 Ready for battle

 Let battle commence

Morning world - the view from my bike

So with every threat from the dark days we must look for a window of opportunity. In this case its stars, and time in the early evening to look at them. And so we did. We switched off all the lights and then by the light of our Halloween pumpkin we sat and star-gazed. Actually Niomi jumped with excitement as we saw the sky come to life with stars, planets, satellites and planes. And then a moment happened that you just want to hold forever. She started singing. Our little one who 10 months ago said nothing started singing "Twinkle Twinkle" unprompted and all by herself. Magic that brings its own light to the dark days.

Soundclip: Twinkle Twinkle

 By the light of our Halloween pumpkin

Favourite things...

"What's your top ten favourite things?" asks Daddy, as Emily sat snuggled lovingly on his lap.
"Fairies" says Emily "and Unicorns".
Small pause. "And Rainbows" she continued. "And Daddy" says Daddy.
"Flowers, Butterflies..."says Emily
"And Daddy" says Daddy again, thinking Emily hadn't heard.
"No" says Emily "Princess dresses."
"What?!?" says Daddy. "Surely Daddy must be next."
"Mummy." says Emily teasingly "And Cake."
"C'mon...Daddy's surely next" says Daddy slightly desperate as only two remained.
"Sparkly things" says Emily now mischievous.
"And Wee Rabbit" Emily finishes with grin.
Gutted. Not in the top ten. Mild consolation in that Mummy only made number seven and Niomi didn't feature either.

Post favourite thing debate - butter wouldn't melt

Butter wouldn't melt here either

And talking of favourite things. Both of them are loving their bikes just now. Having been the only kid that cycled to nursery every day, Emily is now one of the few kids that cycles to school every day. And Niomi is looking likely to follow suit. In just a few short months she's pretty much mastering the art of the balance bike and by the time she starts nursery I expect she'll be properly gliding along. The only difference in them is that in teaching Emily I was always encouraging her to go faster, but with Niomi it's quite the opposite - "Slow down" is my regular cry. Particularly going downhill. She's fearless. And her bike is definitely one of her favourite things.

Videoclip: Bike-favourite things

Sound and vision...

Niomi's personality is growing with every day. Sometimes funny, regularly cute, often cheeky and occasionally wilful - there's always a wild side to an innocent face. And as autumn hits us full on we've had more time in the house just playing and all having family fun together. Family discos are back, and Jumping School even made a brief reappearance. I'm just enjoying being a big kid again.

 Sad face

 Cute face

Thoughtful face

 Silly face

Videoclip: Hello family...

And as Niomi's speech continues to grow, so Emily continues to grow in confidence and learning. She's just passed her first parents evening with a glowing report and her teacher saying she's an absolute pleasure to teach. She's 'having a go' at writing and even starting to read a few words. And I was also very proud when I took her out on a night cycle along with about 40 other people all covered in fairy lights. Emi was I think the youngest taking part and cycled the whole way unaided, following the lead cyclist who was towing a trailer blaring out classical music. Quite a visual and aural spectacle it was too!

9 three-toed cats

Apparently my cooking makes her sick!

Night cyclist extraordinaire

Last of the summer...whine...

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).

Tractor Girls

 Unsure at first

But then mastering llama feeding

At home in the saddle

Videoclip: East Links family fun

Twilight exploration I

Twilight exploration II

Me with the girls

The joy of breakfast

My girls, tent and me

My girls, potatoes and me

A wee calf...

How can you tell a cow that's about to go on holiday?
It's the one with the wee calf...

Boom boom.

And so just before Emily went back to school I had a week off which we filled wonderfully with a visit from Dave, Jenny and Will (my brother and tribe). Chloe, his daughter, was performing at the Edinburgh Festival so we all went to see her and her wonderful show 'Stop', which got 5 star reviews. Whilst only a whistle-stop visit, we managed to cram lots of fun moments in and all had a marvellous time.

From then on we spent family days in the Trossachs, climbed Conic Hill and explored Mugdoch Park. We cycled, walked, ran, played and jumped. Lots of jumping. Never forget the jumping. All in all it was a lovely week off.

A Rookery

The cutest muncher in town

 A real bond is forming

 Adventurers the pair of them

 Stories by the loch

Dipping one's toes

 Half way up her first solo of Conic Hill

And then after all that came Kirkintilloch's annual highlight with the Canal Festival. We only moved out this way a few years ago but as we wandered round the activities, stalls, fair rides and other attractions I realised just how much I'd fallen in love with this town. We've met so many lovely people here which became apparent as we ambled round bumping into one after the other. There was face-painting, screen printing, crown making, pedalos, drumming workshops, vintage cars, merry-go-rounds, and bouncy slides and castles which were good for jumping. Lots of jumping. Let's definitely not forget the jumping. And there was lots more as well, with it all being topped off by some truly magnificent fireworks. Well done Kirkie!

Videoclip: Canal Festival 2017

Nervcited...

"Daddy I feel nervcited" said Emily.
"What's that mean?" replied Daddy.
"It's a cross between nervous and excited" said Emily, clearly nervcited.
"Oh" said Daddy, "I feel prouppy - a cross between proud and happy."
"How do you feel Mummy?" asked Emily.
"I feel sappy - a mix of sad and happy" answered Mummy.
"Niomi? How do you feel?" said Emily.
Niomi jumped. For joy and excitement, and 'cos that's just what she likes to do when happy. Then she jumped some more.

It was Emily's first day at school. She loved it.

 Emily got a new school bag

Niomi got a new bike basket

 My big girl (tear in my eye)

Ready for the off!

The joy of jumping...

Pretty much ever since Niomi appeared she's been jumping. She jumps to get breakfast, she jumps when dancing and she most definitely jumps round the garden. All day, every day. It started with a small trampoline that came with her, but she's quickly graduated onto the large trampoline we were given at Christmas, and this has been the focus of much outdoor activity for the whole of the summer. Emily is right up there with her jumping too, Mummy and Daddy are also regularly dragged in, and, if you're ever visiting, it's been well known that friends and relatives are pulled into the jumping action. You have been warned...

 Emily loves jumping on the trampoline

Niomi loves jumping everywhere

Videoclip: Jumping joy

But it's not just jumping that keeps Niomi amused. She's a real bundle of tactile, kinaesthetic energy. This means she learns by carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to what's been told or watching demonstrations. In essence she learns by doing. It's wonderfully exhausting. 

What's remarkable is watching both our children develop very differently. Emily is a wonderful listener - she absorbs information before putting it into practice. Niomi doesn't have time for any of that - and why would she when she can just dive right in and try things out. Her desire to try and get involved is a constant source of joy to watch - that said when you couple it with toddler frustrations it can lead to some interesting impasses. Still, her dogged determination to succeed should be an inspiration to us all. Last week she cycled 1.5 miles at a snails pace but refused to give up. All that for a girl who only sat on her balance bike a couple of months ago...genius.

Videoclip: Learning to ride