Silas says "NO"

Hello! Yes, my adorable little boy who, for the last few months, has only been able to shake his head vigorously if he didn't like something, can now say "NO", loud and clearly! It started yesterday when I said "let's go and have a bath" and he said "No"! I was so surprised! Then today he said it in the car again. Oh dear, poor me! Tim is actually impressed that it has taken him this long to learn it, so I suppose I should be thankful!

We have had a busy but very pleasant week so far. Naomi and Esther have enjoyed having space in their day to play and I have noticed that Esther is much sunnier. I think she functions better when she can sleep in a bit in the mornings and doesn't have to be nagged to eat her breakfast! The only problem is though, that Silas loves to wake Esther up in the morning, which is fine on a school day, but not so good when it is holiday time! I found him in bed with her this morning, having a nice cuddle, which was nice for him but I hadn't intended him to get in the room. It was still past 8am though so it wasn't early!

Naomi is better too this week although she still has been unsettled and a bit grumpy at times. She is very cross with the weather, which is difficult because there is nothing I can do about that but she was fine this afternoon. She was very tired this evening, so I hope that she has a good night's sleep and has a bit of a lie-in tomorrow morning. I think she is just relaxing a bit which is good.

On Monday we went into Seattle in the morning to meet with another Mum to arrange some family outings for parents over the summer, which was good. In the afternoon we had some time at home and then went back into Seattle in the evening for a party at Minhee and Eugene's home. They are off to Korea on Monday for a couple of months on a sabbatical and so it was a good chance to say "Bon Voyage" to them as well as to say Goodbye to a few people who are moving on to other things. Our wonderful Children's Ministry Leader, Karis is leaving to have a baby, so it was a farewell party for her too, although she is still remaining at church which is good!

The party was fun - we all enjoyed it very much but the children were late in bed on Monday night. However, yesterday we met up with Elisabeth and Amy at the park in the morning for a while and then had swimming in the afternoon. It was very cold at the park in the morning and we left earlier than normal because Amy and I were cold! It brightened up in the afternoon though, which was good as it did today. After swimming I took Naomi's bike to the bike shop and we hope that it is now fixed, although time will tell! I am hoping that the children will get to ride their bikes in the next couple of days, what with such wet weather, we have had very few days that we could have ridden them and often the days that we could have taken them out, we have either been in Seattle or have had met up with friends at the park.

Today we went food shopping this morning after a lazy start and then went to the park with Ulrike and the children. Unfortunately, Fritzi wasn't very well so they didn't stay very long but we still had a good time and the children are keen to return to the park again soon. They had a great time on the zip line (the thing where you sit on a tyre that is attached to a thick cable and go down a slight slope, can't remember what they are called!) and even Silas had to have a couple of turns!

I have been trying to do some reading with Naomi and to encourage Esther to learn the few letters that she is unsure of. I am definitely having more success with Naomi than I am with Esther! Naomi's reading seems to be coming together but Esther still struggles with a few sounds. Hopefully by the end of the holiday she will have learnt them all; she knows most of them! Silas of course always wants to join in if he is awake!

Well, that is it for now! Will write on Sunday again! Hope that this finds you all well!