This week has been a whirlwind, but in a good way – especially for Libby. Saturday was her birthday and she was performing with her Stage Performance group in a local fete. She is still the smallest in the drama group, and listening to her singing her little part in ‘Do Ray Me’ a couple of seconds late, then trotting off after the others at the end was both adorable and hilarious.

We went straight from her performance and onto the pony rides and the bouncy castle, rounding off our trip to the fete by having their faces painted as pirates. Having spent the morning making her birthday cake with me, Libby then spent the afternoon making more cake with her aunt, before everyone came round for her birthday tea.

I’m pretty sure it was her perfect day and she wouldn’t have changed a thing. For her birthday, we bought Libby a telescope and a pair of roller skates. Neither was expensive, but they were what she wanted and she was delighted with them. We’ve spent a little bit of time learning to roller skate this week, but she still needs a bit more practice. What with that and learning to ride her bike, there’s a lot of challenges ahead for Libby this summer!

Lia’s week has been a bit more subdued. I often worry that she is the one that misses out on things because of my husband’s accident. Libby already had a very established routine before it happened, and I worked hard to keep up with that routine.

Things were a bit different for Lia – being so young, she has always tended to just tag along with Libby. Lately, she has ended up tagging along when I’ve been driving my husband to various appointments as well, meaning that she ends up having her afternoon nap in the car and she doesn’t get involved in as many activities as Libby did at the same age.

Luckily, she’s never known anything different and takes it all in her stride. Today was a rare occasion when Lia went to playgroup on her own. When we were in soft play yesterday, Libby accidentally knocked over a younger child. As I saw it happen, I asked Libby to say sorry. She refused to do so, and I  made a point of saying that she wasn’t allowed to go to playgroup today, because I want to teach her how important it is to be kind to other people and say sorry if she’s in the wrong.

Lia was a bit lost without Libby, but had a lovely time making a biscuit for her dad for Father’s Day. The playgroup we go to is associated with the church, and the children sing some quite religious songs at the end, including “Clap your hands because Jesus loves us”. After we left, Lia carried her biscuit to the car and asked me where the other biscuits were. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, so I told her that I didn’t know where they were. She replied, “Are the other biscuits where Jesus loves us mum?”

Our Thursday Photo #110