Saturday 31 August 2013

Harley

General 

Elliott was good today except for one incident when we had coffee and he deliberately wiped his face clean on my sleeve after having cake when he was asked not to. He did apologise for this though and he knew he had been naughty. 

Activities

In the morning we went shopping to Tescos where we also had coffee - we got a Lego mini-figure as part of the trip and it was the Roman Centurion again.      

After lunch we went to visit Andrea's friend Sarah who was looking after her brother's new puppy Harley. Harley was very small although quite active and Elliott was really brave and seemed pretty at ease. There were a few moments where Harley got a bit boisterous, but overall he was brilliant with Harley and even did some stroking. On the way home we stopped at the park for a while before we had Chicken Fajitas for tea. 


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Friday 23 August 2013

Monsters University

General 

Elliott was really good today with just a few normal moments when he and Harry were playing football and things got a bit rough. He did get up at 5.30am though.

Activities

In the morning we met Matt and Harry Higgins outside Salisbury's Odeon before going to watch Monsters University. Both boys were really good during the screening, which was fortunately in Odeon 5 - which was very small and so a little quieter than some screens. They both seemed to really enjoy the film although afterwards Elliott did say it hadn't made him laugh very much.     

After the film it was off to Elizabeth Gardens again for a picnic lunch only this time with Harry and with a football for playing with. After lunch we all played football and this is when there were a few moments to do with balls not being passed and over boisterous tackles. After football the boys went paddling in the shallow river in the park and then spent some time on the park equipment. Finally we went for some drinks at Boston Tea Party before we headed home after a really good day out.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Thursday 22 August 2013

New school shoes

General 

Elliott had some difficult moments today, including one moment where he got very would up and worked himself up a lot (to do with a toy swap that hadn't worked out how he wanted it to). I'm not sure quite why things were worse today and tried finding reasons, but in the end I guess it's best to put it down as a bad day and move on. When he was being difficult I tried to explain whatever the problem was and remind him that being silly didn't get him anywhere. I also had a brief chat with him about it before bed but he didn't seem in the mood.

Activities

In the morning we went to visit Peter, Charlie and Alice Sladen at their house, where Al from the old, old band and his son Zach were. We all headed out to the park and played scootering and football. in general Elliott seemed to have a good time but he did get upset a few times about footballs not being passed. After we went back to the Sladens he wanted to swap a coloured stone he has (crystal) for a toy with Charlie but the swap being proposed wasn't ok for Charlie and this is when he had a big melt down - the Sladens were off somewhere else in a hurry anyway so we went to the car to try and calm down before moving the car to a park.    

Once he had calmed down we scootered down the town path to Elizabeth Gardens for a pic nic lunch with Granny. He even had an ice cream (a "nobbly bobbly"?), although he still wasn't that keen on the actual ice cream underneath the hundreds and thousands coating. Then we went to the shoe shop where he was really good and tried on 2 pairs of shoes after being measured, before settling on the shoes that had toys stored in the heels. After that we went to look at the toyshop before heading home for a sausage and mash tea which he eat well. I got him into bed a little early in case triedness had played a factor in the bad behaviour during the day.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Granny and Grandpa

General 

Elliott was good today and reports of his time with Granny and Grandpa were very good. He also got dressed much quicker this morning.

Activities

In the morning we got up and went in to Salisbury for breakfast. Then I got a train to London to watch the cricket.    

Elliott spent the rest of the day with Granny and Grandpa - mainly Granny I think. Granny took him to Old Macdonalds for lunch and they went to an event in the Cathedral of mediaeval activities (no religious connotations from what I can gather). He was one of the youngest at this event and it sounds like he and another boy around his age were quite friendly and spent some of the time watching what was going on rather than joining in - Granny said she wanted him to be comfortable joining in rather than forced. However when the juggling balls came out apparently they both started joining in.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Salisbury museum

General 

Elliott was good today apart from getting dressed again, when he was really slow and difficult this morning. I'm trying not to just dress him myself but he is taking ages to get round to getting dressed, even though when he does it doesn't take very long.

Activities

In the morning we had a lazy time playing, playing iPad games and doing a little reading.    

After lunch we went to Salisbury museum where they were having a crafts day with a royal theme. To start with we made a cherry pie "for the King" out of clay. Then we went out into the courtyard to hear a story from a woman storyteller who was dressed in medieval clothes. Then we went back into the crafts hall and made a crown. On the way home we also stopped off in the park for some scootering and playing on the play equipment. After his fall he was a bit timid with climbing so I helped and started trying to build his confidence back up, but it might not be a bad thing if he's a little more cautious!? He had chicken goujons for tea with no problems at all.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Monday 19 August 2013

Old Wardour castle

General 

Elliott was good today apart from he took quite a long time to get dressed after being asked repeatedly.

Activities

In the morning we made the cardboard castle which slotted together and played with castles and knights. We also did lots of other playing including some time playing Ninja Turtles on the iPad. Before lunch we watched some Ben 10 Omniverse on Granny and Grandpa's Sky box.    

After lunch we decided to go and see a real castle so we went to Old Wardour castle. He seemed to find the castle very interesting (it's quite well preserved) and explored all the rooms and little alcoves. After we'd been round the castle he asked to buy a book about castles from the shop that explained what castles were like when people lived in them. We sat and read this while we looked at the castle and he did some reading too (it's a book aimed at little people). He also enjoyed running around the grounds a lot. When we got home my Mum had a friend - Marilyn - visiting and he was very chatty with her. We had spaghetti bolognese for tea and he ate loads of this very nicely.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Downton

General 

Elliott was good all day.

Activities

In the morning we had a lazy time which included doing some reading (Lego Star Wars encyclopaedia again) and some writing (featuring the word "the" which I know he already knows but I thought any writing was good). We played some Lego Star Wars on the iPad and he also watched some Lego Star Wars on You Tube to see how to play the game..   

After lunch we drove down to Granny and Grandpas house in Downton. When we got there they had bought some presents for Elliott from their France holiday - some Cars Lego (Ivan Mater), a toy knight, princess and dragon and a castle to make made out of cardboard. We made the Ivan Mater Lego and he was brilliant and did the majority of the building himself by looking at the instructions / ingredients. We had Roast Lamb for tea and he ate well although wasn't keen on vegetables but am keeping on trying. 

Saturday 17 August 2013

Mr Bloom's Big Day Out

General 

Elliott was good for all of today.

Activities

In the morning we played a new Lego Star Wars game we'd downloaded for the iPad for free and played with lego. Then just after we'd skyped you Graham, Harry and Jack Jenkins came over fvor lunch and Elliott played with Harry and Jack.    

After lunch we met up with Harry and Jack's Mummy as well and then we all went to Mr Blooms Big Day Out in Caversham. This was really good. The whole event was free and we had free tickets from the BBC for a stage show featuring Mr Bloom called "When Julian Lost His Wiggle". The show was similar to a pantomime in terms of interaction and having songs and the real Mr Bloom was there with some of his veggies. After the show there were lots of other stalls and tents to explore including an outdoor stage with Rastamouse and Nick Cope performing and a little tent with some snakes. Elliott really enjoyed himself and even went up on the outdoor stage with some other children to dance along to Nick Cope. He didn't want to touch any of the snakes but he did seem intrigued by them and at one stage accidentally brushed his hand against one (although he was a little upset by this). After we got home we had Chicken Fajitas for tea (with his chicken being plain) and he ate very well and seemed to enjoy them.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Friday 16 August 2013

Octonauts in Stratford

General 

Elliott was good for most of today. Unfortunately he had a meltdown when we had our packed lunch in the Olympic Park as he didn't want water he wanted orange. He walked off and got very worked up. However after a measured talking to and ignoring him for a bit he calmed down and was a little sheepish for a while, eating his lunch on my knee away from every one else for a bit. However he soon re-integrated and was back on form.

Activities

In the morning we met up with Dave, Alice and Fi Reed at Reading station and made our way up to Westfield shopping centre in Stratford by train and tube. This was good fun and Elliott was really pleased to give the girls their soft toy Wenlock presents. When we got to Westfield we met up with Alex and Lucas Dawson and also gave Lucas his soft toy Wenlock present. Then we headed off to the part of the Olympic Park that's now open for our packed lunches. There was a kids festival going on there (Lollibop) which we'd previously decided not to pay to go to and unfortunately this took up quite a bit of the park, but the path by the canal and some of the open areas were still open so we headed there for lunch. Lunch was fun and they all played nicely together apart from Elliott's drinks meltdown.    

After lunch we headed back to Westfield shopping centre for an Octonauts show. This was really good fun with a lifesize Captain Barnacles and Shellington along with a compere. There was lots of singing and dancing with moves and clapping along and everyone was joining in. After the Octonauts show we all went to the Lego shop which was great and had lots of Lego for everyone to play with and dream of owning. Then Alex and Lucas left for home and the rest of us started the tube and rail journey home. After we got to Reading and said goodbye to Dave, Alice and Fi we headed home a tea of hot dogs - although he was a bit funny about the sausages unfortunately.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Milestones

General 

Elliott was good today in particular when we had to wait for the AA and it could have been dangerous if he misbehaved.

Activities

In the morning we went to Basingstoke where we looked around the shops and bought some cheap presents for our trip to the Olympic Park tomorrow where we're going to see Lucas Dawson and Alice and Fi Reed - in the toy shop they had soft toy London Olympics mascots very reduced which we thought would be nice (well I thought and he agreed). We then had lunch at Old MacDonalds.    

After lunch we went to Milestones museum in Basingstoke. This is a big hanger where inside they've built lots of buildings from Victorian and other eras. There are also lots of old vehicles and machines there. We had a good time looking around and we even bought some old fashioned sweets from an old fashioned sweet shop. There were also lots of old fashioned penny arcade machines that were a lot of fun. Unfortunately on the way home we got a puncture on the A33 so we had to get the AA to come and change the tyre so I could make sure he was safe. He behaved really well while we were waiting and understood the danger involved and was very patient.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Coral Reef

General 

Elliott was very good for the whole day.

Activities

In the morning we had a lazy time and did some writing, concentrating on the words it and got.   

After lunch we went to Coral Reef for some swimming and bought a pair of goggles. We had a really good time and he was in for ages. With the goggles on he was much more adventurous and jumped in and put his head underwater lots. He also seemed far less worried about water showering down from the many water features at Coral Reef. We did a lot of swimming including going into an outside part of the pool and a figure of eight part with currents. He also had a shower after swimming and we washed his hair and he said he'd learnt how to have a shower when he went to your Mum's leisure centre. After swimming we ate at Coral Reef. When we got home we had a pyjama party before bed time.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Lazy day

General 

Elliott was good all day.

Activities

Elliott woke at around 6.30am and seemed totally normal, though said his head still hurt a little bit. We had a lazy morning in pyjamas either playing with cars and lego or watching the iPad. He ate really well at lunch and had lots of pasta with sausage (though I persuaded him it was the same as bacon).   

After lunch he got dressed and we went to the Peel Centre to do some shopping. We got a Ben 10 Omniverse blind bag (transparent Rook) and a Lego Minifigure blind bag (Grandpa). After we got home we played football in the garden for quite a while and he seemed completely fine running and jumping around. He was also totally fine with bedtime routine and I haven't given him any calpol since breakfast time. 

Monday 12 August 2013

Accident and emergency

General 

Elliott was really good and brave today. Unfortunately he had an accident falling off the play equipment in Jubilee Park (near The London Eye) about half an hour after we'd met up with Chas, Billy and Sid Loft and he bumped his head as part of the fall. He was quite upset afterwards but after comforting seemed to calm down. However he was quite quiet and when we went for lunch at Giraffe he said he felt tired and sick and wasn't interested in eating. So he lay across me for a while and had a rest before suddenly waking up and being sick. At that point we went to St Thomas's hospital accident and emergency to get him checked out. He was quite subdued during the short walk there, but said he felt better. However while we were being processed he was sick again. By the time we saw the Doctor he had perked up a bit but they kept us there for another 30 minutes to make sure he wasn't sick again in the 4 hour period after his fall - which would have led to a scan. During the half an hour he had some more water, kept it down and really perked up as they were showing Toy Story in the waiting room. So they let us go with some advice about what to look out for over the next 24 hours to be safe (more being sick, being hard to wake, throwing a fit).

Activities

In the morning we got the train to London to meet Billy, Sid and Chas Loft for the day. We had a really good start to the visit until the fall in the playground.   

After we got the bus from the hospital to the Waterloo he seemed much more like himself and was asking for sweets, etc. On the train ride home he asked lots of questions about how trains worked and even preformed some magic (that involved me looking away for large periods of time while toy cars magically disappeared). When we got home he had some rolls for tea and seemed really hungry. He said his head still hurt a bit so he had calpol before bed, but he seemed back to his normal self and was playing with his toys and watching how to play Lego Batman on the iPad. I checked on him regularly after he fell asleep and everything was fine and normal.


To see photos of today visit 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elliottsweekends/.

Sunday 11 August 2013

Abbie and Sophie's birthday party

General 

Elliott was good for most of today though he was stubborn about drinking water instead of squash at lunch time (i.e. we asked him to drink water) and he got so worked up that he had to go to his room to calm down.

Activities

In the morning we played with Lego, wrapped up the presents and wrote the cards for Abbie and Sophie and we went shopping for food. We also did some writing and reading practice and focused on the word "into" (which Miss Biscoe has already taught him) and "maps".    

After lunch we went to Abbie and Sophie's birthday party at Bulmershe Gymnastics. Marley and Isaac were also there. For the first part they all ran around the gymnastic and soft play equipment and then they played some supervised games like hide and seek. Then they had a party style tea. After we got back we watched some athletics - he was interested in knowing when the diving would be but was quite engaged, especially by the 100 metres races. We also read some information from our Star Wars Lego encyclopaedia. He had Roast Pork for tea and eat really well, though only a little broccoli. 

Saturday 10 August 2013

Shredder's Bike

General 

Elliott was good for the whole day.

Activities

After being picked up we went to Asda to shop for presents for Abbie and Sophie. We also spent his pocket money on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Lego Shredder's Bike set that was heavily reduced. Then we had a snack in Asda's café.   

After we got home we spent the day playing with the new Lego and various other toys and sorting through his art work together (I have a new file to store it in) which was good fun. We had Spaghetti Bolognese for tea and he ate it really well. 

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