Model Pupil

Jordan LOVES to pose for a few photos! We have often wondered whether we should cash in on his willingness to be photographed & get him modeling for an agency!! Auntie Helen bought him some new clothes at Easter but he was too ill while Helen was with us to try them on so I said when he was better we would take some photos to show her what he looked like in them. We had fun doing some catalogue poses!
Jordan was hand picked out of the 100 plus primary aged kids at our church to be involved in a photo shoot for various publicity things a few months ago. The lady organising it had told us that Jordan was a STAR being photographed & he certainly enjoyed himself! We couldn't believe it last week when we saw him on the front cover of our church news magazine! Jordan was delighted & showed the magazine to everyone! ;o) ;o)

Not only is Jordan a good model he is a model pupil too! We got his school report this week & it is amazing! Here are a few things his teacher said about him (coz I am so proud of all his hard work!)

......'Jordan is a confident member of the class. He consistently works at a high level; he is interested, excited & motivated to learn... Jordan is becoming more confident about speaking in a familiar group...and is sensitive to the feelings of others...Jordan has shown determination with all aspects of his work this year & he likes to complete things to the best of his ability...'

And here is my favourite part! 'His bubbly personality is infectious & he is a delight to teach.'

We have been working on good behaviour with all of our boys with the aid of sticker charts. They work really well & the boys love getting stickers, especially the very shiny star stickers we give them when they have been little angels! Jordan also has an extra chart (which we started today) to help remind him to do his jobs. We decided a while ago that it would be great to give Jordan pocket money so that he can save to buy presents for his friends birthdays or whatever but that he would have to earn it by doing jobs around the house. If he does all his jobs (making his bed, keeping his room tidy, clearing the table etc) then he gets 50p pocket money. It soon adds up I can tell you! He took Lee bowling with his pocket money the other day!!! Anyway, as you can see from the photo, Jordan loves his charts & has got rather a lot of shiny star stickers & only one sad face! (Sad faces can be covered up if behaviour within the time slot improves otherwise they stay put. No-one wants to get a sad face!)


Well, that's enough boasting about our lovely Jordan's achievements! Time to go for a rest as I am full of cold & Lee has taken the boys out to Blue Planet so I can rest up! Enjoy your weekend!

On a Roll!

I've decided that all this scrap booking & creating is my version of pregnancy nesting instinct! I'm cramming it all in now coz I won't get the chance to do any in a few weeks time when Little Baby is born! This first page is from one of my friend Charlotte's sister's wedding last September. (Charlotte is the one on the far right by the heart I've added). I still have to put the journaling on it with the date & other details but I couldn't wait to post it here! I've put a close up of the flowers so you can see the details & 3D effect! I did the sewing while the boys were watching telly before tea lst night (had to turn the tv up very loud so they could hear it over the sewing machine!!). Jordan kept asking me what I was knitting! Timmy stood & watched me sew, fascinated by it. He kept looking at the flowers & buttons & the page & saying 'It's beautiful Mummy! I love all your colours! I really like it!' Made my day! (Luke had nodded off to sleep by this point!)

These 2 layouts of Luke & Timmy I did ages ago after a trip to Delamere Forest but they never felt finished to me. The other night I added a few bits & I am happy with them now! The red ribbons are from my Mum's ribbon box. I think I used to wear them in my hair? Or maybe it was sewn on a dress Mum made for me? Either way it's cracking on a bit & it's nice to preserve the tiny piece that was left over on a scrapbook page.

And this last layout is one that I started before Christmas & just never got around to finishing till this week. The photos are of Jordan in the ladybird costume I made for his nursery school's Ugly Bug Ball last summer. Jordan isn't one for dressing up at all but he wore this costume over & over for quite a while. It was worth the effort making it for him just to see the fun he had flying around our garden & singing & dancing in the Ugly Bug Ball production at school.

Hope you are well & having a great week! Look forward to hearing from you soon! TTFN! ;O)

Isabella & Florence

Isabella & Florence are the twin daughters of our friends Alistair & Rachel, who also happen to be Timothy & Luke's Godparents. Last Saturday we went to their dedication service at church. Well, actually Lee lead the worship & small band & I played my trumpet. That was quite an achievement with all 3 boys there- they kept wanting to play my trumpet or hold my hand whilst I was playing! (Timmy is a natural trumpet player by the way & Jordan can make a decent sound through it, but Luke hasn't quite got to grips with it yet!). Anyway, it was great fun & the boys were really well behaved. I think the prospect of Florrie's chocolate cake might have had something to do with it!!
Before the service we arrived early so that Lee & the band could set up PA & do a sound check. The boys loved playing with Florrie & Izzy & helping to set out all the chairs.

This is Alistair & Rachel with the girls during the service talking about how they chose the girls names & what they mean & saying to God that they dedicate themselves to bring up their girls in God's way. Sorry it ain't the best piccie but I was looking after 3 boys & couldn't move around too much!

After chocolate cake & chatting to people we went to Sefton Park with the scooters & Jordan's bike to get rid of some energy! The photo below shows Timmy & Luke's different approaches to scooter riding!

We looked at the ducks & other animals on our way round the park. I think I gave this squirrel a fright taking it's picture!

Whenever we go to Sefton Park we always stop for a climb on Jordan's Chair which has been re-named as The Davies Chair now that Timmy & Luke climb on it to. We spend quite some time here & at some point usually sing 'I'm the King of the Castle'! Shortly after I took this photo Jordan did the most spectacular fall off his bike (his first real bike injury) giving himself a nasty cut on his knee & a few grazes on his hands & legs. Although it was horrible that Jordan hurt himself, it was fantastic to see how Timmy & Luke rushed across the park to help Jordan when they heard him crying. They really looked after him.

Jordan was very brave & hopped back on his bike & we headed off to the cafe for ice cream. I told you it was family tradition to have ice cream at the beach, well it's also a tradition here too ever since a friend of ours introduced Jordan to Mr Whippy when he was about 2 years old. Back then he would only eat the ice cream & never the cone!

When we got back from the park we found 3 pink balloons tied to our door! We thought the neighbours might have thought I'd had the baby! The balloons were from the dedication & the boys had asked Rachel if they could have a balloon each. They were SO excited to have the balloons & even took them to bed with them that night! ;O)

Walker Art Gallery

Ah! A spot of culture for the boys & me! We visited The Walker Art Gallery on Friday & had a fantastic time! We got the train into Lime Street which is always a treat & walked across the road to the gallery.
The boys absolutely LOVED the huge fountain outside the gallery & we spent quite sometime admiring it. This little piccie of Luke is him saying 'It's huge!' & showing me just how huge it is!
Had to pose for a photo on the steps coz my boys look so small compared to the enormous building! Inside the gallery is a room dedicated to children called Big Art. It is full of exciting things related to art & artwork for kids to experience & do. There is...
...a multi-sensory room full of lights that change colour & different buttons to press so you can hear different sounds...

...music to listen to...

...dress up doll jigsaws with different costumes from various paintings in the gallery...

...displays of old children's toys & artifacts with quizzes & games to play relating to the items (the snap game was right up Jordan's street!) & books & story bags to enjoy...

...there are flaps to slide back & holes to hide things in...

...puzzles based on wooden carvings that are hanging on the walls...

...interactive computer puzzles...

...a puppet theatre full of exciting puppets to play with...

...period costumes to dress up in & a king's throne to sit on! Luke & Jordan loved being Henry VIII!

There are shells to look at through magnifying glasses...

...phones to communicate with & play 20 questions with using the boxes full of carved animals that are hiding under flaps (bet you never thought you'd see 2 Henry VIIIs on the telephone!)...

...giant teapots to have a tea party with. Timmy makes a delicious cuppa by the way!

And last but not least there is paper, chalk, glue, tissue paper & crayons to make your very own work of art or brass rubbings & worksheets galore to do. What fun!

And if all that isn't enough fun for you there are railings outside the gallery to swing on till your heart's content! ;O)

We had such a lot of fun at the gallery. I love how excited the boys are to go to an art gallery & the interest it gives them in cultural things. After having some juice on the gallery steps we went back to Lime Street station to watch the trains coming in & out. We even saw the Virgin train! After about 45 minutes we got our train back to Wavertree & walked home. Just as we stepped in the door the rain came pouring down & didn't stop till the boys' bedtime! What good timing eh?!

National Wildflower Centre

The National Wildflower Centre is one of our favourite places to visit in Liverpool so as the boys didn't have school on yesterday or today & we seemed to have been cooped up in the house for weeks with chicken pox we thought we would venture out for the day! Actually, we only got to go to the Wildflower Centre because Lee was very ill with a gastric thing so was off work & I got to have the car! He is much better today though...
We arrived to find a huge marquee set up in the surrounding park land & hordes of young families milling around as the National Childbirth Trust were having some kind of do. The boys were very excited at the thought of a party (it looked just like the party marquee in an episode of Brum that we have on video!) but fortunately not going to the 'party' didn't prove to be too much of a problem- there's just so much else to do! First stop was the giant beehive where the boys spent much time buzzing around collecting 'honey' & rushing in & out of the willow archway...
...Next stop was the small play area to play the giant xylophone with great gusto...
...then we walked along the rooftop garden, where upon it began to rain very heavily. Jordan said we shouldn't have gone up there because we were getting very wet. I pointed out that wherever we were outside we would get wet. 'Ah!' said Jordan, 'But up here we get wet first!' He has a point!! Luke found the tiniest snail shell inside a sea shell while we were up on the roof too that he looked at for ages. I said I'd look after it for him & promptly lost it! Thankfully he didn't ask for it again!!
The boys were fascinated by the hand water pump at the pond & spent ages pumping water. Timmy & Luke kept saying 'Look! It's real water!' It's such fun to see their delight at simple things.

After all that hard work pumping water Timmy had to lie down to have a sleep! Bless his little cotton socks! We all went to have a well earned drink in the cafe & a little play in the tree house (which to Jordan is always his own little cafe where he makes me anything I care to ask for!).

In the surrounding park there is a fantastic play area that the boys LOVE! We pretty much had the place to ourselves despite the NCT party going on. Timmy was content to swing & slide but Luke watched his big brother avidly & climbed up the 7 foot high (or there abouts! Yikes!) ladder with great ease so that he could go down the big wavy slide for himself. It's amazing how much their climbing abilities have developed since our last trip there a few months back.

I can't believe that Lee's parents used to live minutes away from the park when we were first married & we never ever went there! Lee's parents still haven't been there to this day! Anyway, we all thoroughly enjoyed our day out & recommend you have a little visit there too if you are up this way. It's just off the M62! :o)

Creating AGAIN!

Timmy & Luke came home from nursery today with these fabulous paintings of My Happy & Mr Greedy. Timmy's is the top one, Luke's is the second one. I think these are their first observational paintings. Pretty cool I reckon, but then I'm their mum so I guess I am biased! ;O)

And somehow, I have managed to create another scrapbook page! I had lots of help from Jordan & Timothy who adore buttons as much as I do! If they had had their way I think this layout would have had about 100 buttons on it! The photos are from a trip to Sefton Park last August (yep, August it most definitely was despite the fact that the boys are wearing their winter coats! that's English weather for you!) & this was the boys' first attempt at climbing trees.

Just to let you know if you haven't had an e-mail from us for a while please e-mail us as we have got a new computer so have 'lost' a lot of addresses in the process! Hope you are having a great week everyone.

Creating!

We've been getting all creative in the Davies household of late! I have done 3 scrapbook pages & 4 birthday cards just in the past week!! My favourite layout is the one of my sister Helen. It has just the right amount of fiddly frilly bits & ribbons but still has nice clean lines! I love the big brown buttons for the flower centres too. They came out of my Mum's button box & we think they were from my Grandma or Nanny's Aaran jumpers that they knitted.

And I'm not the only one who is being creative in this house either.....

...Luke & Jordan have been cooking up a storm in the play kitchen! Luke especially loves making play toast, birthday cakes & sandwiches to share with us all. This lovely dish was created for me by Jordan. I just love ice cream & cheese on toast, especially when finished off with a nice juicy orange!!!! Yum! (Maybe it's a pregnancy thing!) Anyway, it's good to see that I have managed to show the boys what a healthy meal is- some carbohydrate, protein, a little bit of something sweet & some fresh fruit!

Talking of our little Jordi, he is battling on with his chicken pox. He's got it bad, although piccies don't do it justice, he even has chicken pox in his mouth & eyes! He was pleased that the doctor said he should eat lots of ice cream though! Despite his horrible spots Jordan is quite chirpy & enjoying the chance to play games with me & Nanny while Timmy & Luke are at nursery. It's nice to have him around too....

Funky Kettle!

It seems we are incapable of buying a kettle that just boils water! Our rather lovely silver kettle died last week & so we were forced to buy a new one. Not content with any normal kettle we bought one that changes colour as it boils & when it is on stand by!!!! We have to switch it off at the wall for most of the time because the boys get so distracted at meal times seeing it change colour (well, we all do actually) that they forget to eat their food!!!!
On Wednesday night I went to a scrap booking evening & did this layout of Luke & his love of nature. It's very simple but I am pleased with it. I posted it on Two Peas scrapbook website & was delighted that someone who is well known in the scrap booking world left me a comment to say how much she liked what I have done. Made my day!

We are in the middle of Chicken Pox v Daviestribe Round Two at the moment as Jordan has now got it! At least it's all out of the way before Baby Davies 4 arrives! By the way, I went to the hospital this week to set a date for her birth day which is quite exciting! Providing she doesn't decide to make an early appearance, her birth day (by Cesarean section) will be 10th September 2007. It's rather strange having it all organised so far in advance but quite nice too!

Today, my mum arrived at the crack of dawn to take Timmy back to stay with them overnight. He is very excited to be having a little holiday with Grandma & Grandad! So I am here with Luke & Jordan supposedly having a quiet time but the boys are playing rather loudly, but very nicely, together as I type! It's great to see them enjoying each other's company & giggling so much!

Have a great day! TTFN! ;o)