The Big Exciting Shop With Houses Insise

Charley showed us a new trick today - clapping!! This is something he's come out with all by himself! I'm very impressed, and he seems rather pleased with himself too :) He's also starting to curl his hand into a fist when trying to learn the "more" sign, and is learning that he has an effect on the world around him - gravity, for one, learning that food dropped over the side of his tray ends up on the floor, sometimes it rolls, sometimes it splats! He's learning he can be quite deliberate about making sounds, discovering that scratching his fingernail on a bottletop makes an interesting noise.

He's growing!

And Ben has learnt how to roll his tongue on demand. I am jealous. I can not roll my tongue. I suspect Charley will be able to as well. Meh...

We went to Ikea again today (after I'd been gifted a lie-in - like, a real lie-in, on my own, to just sleep!!) and spent a small fortune although not as much as we could have done as Steve is going to build some custom bits instead now we know what we want. So much for taking only a finite anount of cash and leaving the debit card at home though... But the boys were good company: Ben investigating each and every room, Charley watching from the wrap, Ben declaring his love for all the houses. Starting to form wishlists for birthday presents for the boys because I'm sure it won't be long before grandparents and aunts start asking us what the boys might like!!

The journey home was fun. A traffic jam from way before the Dartford Crossing, and along the M25. Ben slept through it but Charley did not. Charley started screaming. I thought he'd done a poo and because we were moving so slowly I decided eventually (because I was in the back with the boys) to get him out of his seat to change his nappy. I was relieved to find no trace of poo (turns out his farts smell atrocious) but grrr anyway at having to change a nappy with him lying on my lap squashed in between child car seats! He must just hate traffic jams like the rest of us. And he needed to burp. He was quite cross when the traffic started flowing and he had to go back in his chair but fell asleep eventually.

We saw a hot air balloon on our way home and took a brief detour up a hill to let Ben see it, and another detour to a playpark because we'd completely forgotten (not deliberately!) to let Ben have another play in the playpark outside Ikea. And of course that particular sandy playpark always goes hand in hand with a chip supper....!

Blipping as we wait for our chips, wondering how crowded the playpark will be at this time of the evening, and how late Ben's going to end up going to bed.....