September is a milestone month, full of little changes. The start of a new school year, starting new groups or classes, the sense of change in the air as we shift from summer to autumn. Each year it’s a reminder of time moving on; of how quickly my children are growing and changing – well, two of them. Changes that make me acutely aware of the absence of the third member of my little trio who no longer grows and changes. Time passes by and Jessica stays forever six, instead of turning eight as she would have done at the start of this month.
September, and the start of the school year, brings a little shift in that sibling relationship. Thomas got used to having Sophie around all day, every day. I think it was a little strange for him when she went back to school and he missed having her home to help entertain him. It took a few days to adjust back to the routine of term time before it became the normal pattern of life once again.
There’s been a lot of little milestone moments for Sophie and Thomas this month. We finally finished their bedroom ready for them both to move into it. It’s lovely that they are now in their room but bittersweet too. The original plan of course, was to make that room the girls’ bedroom. We were planning on doing that before Thomas arrived. Our original plan was to have Thomas in our room for a couple of years before moving him into the spare room so he’s moved out a bit sooner than I would have done. It feels right to have him and Sophie together so she’s not on her own just yet. And as lovely as it is to see her and Thomas there together, my heart aches for the chats that the girls would have had at bedtime and how they would have adored sharing that room.
Thomas (1 years 1 month)
- Has learned to pull himself up to standing from sitting down in the middle of the room.
- Loves dancing along to Strictly Come Dancing – we have another Strictly fan in the house!
- Slept in his own bedroom for the first time. It’s mostly for just a couple of hours at the start of the night and then he ends up back co-sleeping with us, but we did have one night where he slept through until 5am in his own cot!
- Can now blow kisses and loves clapping his hands while saying “clap, clap!” He also says “mum-mum”, “da-da” and “aaaah… doo!” (pretending to sneeze).
- Took his first solo steps and is managing to walk a couple of steps here and there on his own. Clever boy!
Sophie (5 years 10 months)
- Has started back at school and is enjoying being in Year 1.
- Had her first wobbly tooth fall out and was very excited about her first visit from the tooth fairy. We are going to have a gappy Gretl for the show next month!
- Enjoyed going through the whole of Act 1 in rehearsals for The Sound of Music and starting on rehearsals for Act 2.
- Has moved up to the Grade 1 ballet class.
- Is very happy to finally be in her new bedroom.
Jessica (forever 6 years 7 months)
- Would have turned eight on 6th September. We celebrated her birthday by taking a cake to her forever bed and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her there.
- Would have been starting at the junior school this month. It feels strange not seeing her friends and their parents at school any more.
- It was lovely to be able to share Jessica’s story and meet other families who have been involved in campaigns for Action Medical Research at the GFI Charity Day. Jessica was the face of the Christmas campaign for Action Medical Research a few years ago.
